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10 Marketing Companies You Need To Be Following Right Now

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Twitter Accounts To Follow

Whether you’re a new startup looking to make it in an increasingly competitive business world, or a seasoned veteran who thinks they’ve got it all figured out, one thing is for sure: you should never stop learning from other people.

That’s why I’ve compiled this list of some of my favorite marketing and business advice Twitter accounts, so you can take advantage of some of the great advice they tweet out on a daily basis.

From marketing and advertising tips, to business and social media strategies, these companies know what they’re talking about. So, follow their accounts, take their advice, and get to learning some new tips and tricks!

Adweek, @Adweek

Originally a weekly publication first published in 1978, Adweek covers everything to do with the advertising business. They’re a good source for figuring out market trends and strategies for promoting products.


eMarketer, @eMarketer

This website is an independent market research company that was founded in 1996. They focus on providing insights and trends that relate to digital marketing, media and commerce. Great for getting all the valuable data you could possibly need.


Hubspot, @HubSpot

Known for their inbound marketing software, HubSpot also has a fantastic blog that provides great marketing tips and insights into everything business related. They regularly tweet out links to their blog posts, and you can sign up for their newsletter to receive their blog posts directly to your inbox.


Inc., @Inc

A business magazine founded in 1979, Inc. focuses on stories of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and Fortune 500 companies. Their magazine, and also their website, is full of inspiring stories and helpful tips, which are tweeted out on an hourly basis.


Entrepreneur, @Entrepreneur

Another business minded magazine and website, Entrepreneur publishes the same type of content that Inc. does, but it’s always good to follow more than one entrepreneurial-minded account.


Marketo, @marketo

Much like HubSpot, Marketo is company that specialized in a specific marketing automation software. But, again like HubSpot, they have a fantastic blog with valuable insight into lots of different marketing topics.


Officevibe, @Officevibe

Officevibe is a very cool new startup company that specializes in software that measures employee engagement and happiness. Most of their blog posts focus on how to be happy, healthy and sane in the office. Which are, you know, pretty good things to be when you’re working in a high stress environment.


Mashable Business, @mashbusiness

An offshoot of the main Mashable Twitter account, the Mashable Business account tweets out fun and interesting links to business-related articles and marketing tips.


Ad Age, @adage

Another advertising focused business that started out as a magazine, Ad Age has been giving tips to businessmen and women since 1930. They are a great source for news, intelligence and conversation for marketing and media communities.


Hootsuite, @hootsuite

Finally, we have Hootsuite. Hootsuite specializes in a fantastic social media management software that I use every day at FGmarket. But they also have a fantastic blog with tons and tons of social media tips for people of all skill levels. They even wrote a glossary of social media terms to help you identify just what the heck a Twitter Canoe means.


It pays to pay attention to people on Twitter. Following these accounts will get you started, but there are many more out there with valuable information just waiting to be discovered. Find what works best for you and your business!

6 Easy Steps To Connect Your Facebook and Instagram Accounts

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Have you ever encountered this problem: You just posted a fantastic picture to Instagram, complete with pleasing angles, perfect lighting, an interesting subject, and high quality resolution. You’ve written the perfect caption for your photo, and used all the correct trending hashtags. Then, you think, “oh no! I need to post this to Facebook as well. Ugh, it’s going to take forever to copy everything over.”

That’s where connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts can really help you out! Once you get them connected, Instagram and Facebook do the work for you, and make sure your pic is posted perfectly — caption and all — on both sites! Check out the steps below to get your Instagram and Facebook accounts connected.

Login to Instagram

If you haven’t created an Instagram account prior to reading this article, now’s a great time to do that. The process is simple, and should only take you a few minutes to complete! Once you’re signed up, login to Instagram using your phone or tablet.

Go To Your Profile Page

Next, you’ll need to navigate to your Instagram profile page, by pressing the person icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. This will take you directly to your profile page, that lists your followers, who you follow, and all the pictures you’ve shared.

Click On The Options Icon

Click on your profile’s settings next, the gear icon in the upper right corner of your profile page.

Scroll Down Until You See “Linked Accounts”

The options page lets you manage and modify all of your Instagram profile settings. In order to link your Facebook profile, you’ll need to scroll down the page until you see the option for “linked accounts.” Click on this option.

Click on Facebook to Login and Connect

You’ll see a number of different social media websites that you can connect on this screen, such as Twitter, Foursquare, and more. In order to connect your Facebook account, just click on the word “Facebook.” You’ll then be asked to login to your Facebook account using your Facebook account login information.

After logging in, you’ll be directed back to the Instagram account. Your Facebook and Instagram accounts are now linked, and you will not have to link your accounts in the future, as long as you don’t unlink the two accounts.

When You Post Pictures, Click the Facebook Icon To Post There As Well

Now that you’ve linked your Facebook and Instagram accounts, you can choose the option to share whatever you post on Instagram to Facebook as well. To do this, go through the normal steps that you take when you post a photo to Instagram, such as cropping and adding filters. Once you get to the page where you add a caption to your photo, you’ll see options below the text box that allow you to select certain other social media accounts to post your photo to as well. Simply click Facebook, and it will highlight blue, letting you know that you’ve selected the option to post this photo to Facebook as well.

That’s it! You’ve successfully linked your Instagram and Facebook accounts. You’ll now have the freedom to post pictures to Facebook at the same time that you post to your Instagram account, saving you time and frustration.

This post was originally published here, on Atwill Media’s blog. If you’re looking for a custom website for your business, check them out!

5 Ways To Use Pinterest For Your Business

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By now, you’ve probably heard of the content sharing and discovering platform called Pinterest. It’s a great social media tool that lets users finds, share, and save content from a wide range of interests, from DIY projects to discovering delicious new recipes. But did you know that it’s also a great tool to integrate into your business’s social media branding strategy? Check out the top five reasons why you should get started using Pinterest for your business.

Create Relevant Boards

When you pin your content, you want it to be easy to find for anyone who stumbles upon your profile page. The best way to help followers find what they’re looking for, place your content into relevant boards. Are you a restaurant? Create boards divided into categories like Appetizers and Desserts to show off your dishes. Pet Supply Store? Divide your boards by different pets or types of products (food, toys, etc.). The more precise you make your boards, the easier you’ll make it for your customers.

Use Great Visuals

The Internet is a tapestry of eye-catching photos, gifs, memes, artwork, design and more. Customers are much more likely to engage in your content if it’s visually appealing. In fact, 40 percent of people will respond better to visual information rather than simple text. Pinterest is a great place to show off your visuals; it’s practically built around that idea! Use vivid visuals with engaging photos or artwork to get your customers’ attentions.

Make Your Pins Inspiring

Pinterest is a place where people go to get inspiration for their next big passion project, or new hobby. So, make sure to make your pins inspiring to your followers! This means pinning fun DIY projects, recipes, inspiring quotes, and great products. People can find inspiration from many different sources, so experiment to see what gets you the most repins and likes.

Engage With Customers

Customers love to know that you appreciate them and are paying attention to what they post on your content. If a customer repins your pin, comments on something you’ve posted, or likes your pin, it’s totally okay to engage with them. It shows your customers that you’re not just a faceless zombie; you care about what they have to say, too!

Share Influencers Content

Do you know your influencers? You should! These are the people or businesses that work in the same market as you. It’s a great idea to share your influencers content on your own page, or like their content — especially when you first start out. This helps you build a relationship with your influencers, that could ultimately benefit you in the long run.

Gifs Are More Than Just Fun; They Can Really Help Your Business

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If you’re as active on the Internet as you should be in this day and age (and you really should be), then chances are you’ve come across the mythical, magical, Harry-Potter-moving-picture-esque images known as Gifs.

Gif (pronounced “jif,” no matter what your friends might say) is an image file type that’s short for Graphic Interchange Format, and can be used as both a static image, or a moving image. The latter is really what sets gifs apart from other file formats, because they allow an image to move like a short video clip, but with a much smaller file size, and a constantly looping format.

Source, www.giphy.com

In recent years, gifs have exploded all over the Internet, thanks to their popular use on social sites like Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter, and, recently, Facebook. So, how can your business use gifs to its advantage? Check out these fun tips on gifs for business.

What’s Up With Gifs?

Truthfully, you probably won’t be using gifs unless you already have a social media account on one of the big 3 social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest — sorry, ‘Grammers, Instagram doesn’t natively support GIF animations yet).

One of the most popular places you can use gifs is Twitter. Some of the bigger name businesses have been catching on to the trend for quite some time, and have found some fun and creative ways to use them.

Gifs are amazing!

Source, www.giphy.com

One of the biggest reasons to use gifs is that they show your customers that you’re paying attention to Internet trends. Why is this important? Why do you need to cater to the young whipper snapper millennials with their fancy moving pictures, and iced chai mocha lattes with non-fat soy milk?

Really, you don’t. You can go through your entire company’s lifespan without using a single Gif. But if you do use them, you’ll show your customers that you’re fun, that you’re not just an unreachable money machine, pumping out products and calculating overhead costs 24/7, 365.

But there’s also a proper way to use gifs. It’s unproductive to post gifs without context, or without reason. Typically, gifs are used to compliment an idea or statement that you’re already tweeting out.

For example, if I was tweeting something fun about being ready for an upcoming holiday, such as the 4th of July, I would compliment the tweet with a gif of fireworks going off.

Source, www.giphy.com

Or, if I was looking to get a funny reaction from customers, I could post a gif of this firework scenario gone wrong. If people like it, your tweet will be retweeted, favorited, quoted and maybe get some replies.

Source, www.giphy.com

All of these things will make your social media traffic go WAY up. The more RT’s you get, the more people are going to see your company’s Twitter account.

Gif Etiquette

But like everything else in the world, there’s something called “too much of a good thing.” So be careful you don’t post gifs with every post. People get tired of repetitive content very quickly, and will soon unfollow you if your gifs are posted too much.

You also need to make sure the gif you’re posting isn’t going to have a negative impact on your followers. Something that might seem like a harmless tweet, might in fact put a bad image in the minds of some people (literally).

Quality of gifs is also a big part of their effectiveness. Tumblr has a knack for producing lots of gifs, but with really poor quality. People don’t like to see low quality photos, so why would they want to see low quality gifs? But thankfully, there are plenty of sites out there that produce great gifs. Check them out.

Where Can I Find Gifs?

These sites are great for finding the perfect gifs for whatever situation you need. Most have easy download options, and share options, so you should have no problem finding the right gif.

  • Giphy – Probably the best gif finding website out there. They literally have gifs for every situation. I’m not kidding. Every. Situation. Plus, their search option is super effective and easy to use. Just type in any keyword, and Giphy will pull up a gif that’s related to that keyword.

Source, www.giphy.com

  • Reaction Gifs – If you’re looking for gifs that express certain moods, or emotions, than Reaction Gifs is your personal glass case of emotion. From anger to sadness to joy, they  have gifs that perfectly express every feeling.

Source, www.reactiongifs.com

You can even make your own gifs, if you’re feeling really dangerous. Websites like imgflip, gifmaker.me, and makeagif are all great, easy to use sites. You can even use Photoshop to make your own gifs, but that should be reserved for the photo editing pros in your company.

Just make sure to credit the source of the gif from one of these sites when you use them on your blog or website. Gifs fall under the Fair Use doctrine, but like anything else, it’s important to credit the source.

Gifs are great, and they show your company can be fun, humorous, and creative. So don’t be afraid to use a gif in a post every once in a while.

IFTTT Makes Handling Everyday Tasks Easier Than Ever

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IFTTT

Juggling all the various aspects of a business can be a daunting, and sometimes frustrating, task to take on. And it becomes even more complicated when you try to juggle all the different social accounts, apps, and tech that make up our rapidly evolving world. Wouldn’t it be so much simpler if there was an easy to use tool that connects all of the technology you use on a daily basis in one, cohesive package?

IFTTT (short for If This, Then That) is a web-based service that connects with other web-based services all of the Internet — such as your email, calendar, and social accounts — to make completing tasks simpler, and more efficient.

These tasks, or “recipes,” are created by selecting one service, such as your Gmail, and connecting it to another, such as your digital calendar. You can then run these recipes in the background of your phone or computer, and they will trigger when certain conditions in the recipe are met.

For example, a recipe that I’m quite fond of connects my Instagram and Twitter accounts. Whenever I post a picture on Instagram, the recipe will trigger, and then post my Instagram photo onto Twitter as an attachment. This bypasses the frustration of the default picture sharing option from Instagram to Twitter, where only a link to your Instagram picture is tweeted instead of the actual picture.

This is just one of hundreds of great ways to use IFTTT, and more are added every day. IFTTT even allows you to create your own recipes in their “Do” section, allowing even more options for optimizing efficiency.

Here are a few more examples of how you can use IFTTT to help your business.

  • If Square, Then Google Drive Recipe: This recipe allows you to connect your Square account to your Google Drive account. Whenever you make a transaction through Square, the details of that transaction — such as the item inventory number, price, etc. — will be automatically added to a spreadsheet in your Google Drive account for easy viewing later.

  • If Square, Then Email Recipe: With this recipe, any refund that you give to a customer will be emailed to your selected email account, so you can keep tabs of what refunds you’ve had to give. In a variation of this recipe, you can also have the refund info sent as a notification to your smartphone.

  • If New York Times, Then Email Recipe: If you like viewing the New York Times Business Section, you can use this recipe to easily grab the daily most read articles from that section automatically sent to your email in a convenient digest. This recipe can also be used for other sections of the New York Times.

  • Mute My Phone Recipe: This one is handy for avoiding any embarrassing ringing or notification sounds when at the office. It works by connecting your phone’s GPS and volume controls to recognize when you arrive at the office. It then mutes your phone, based on the location that you set as your workplace, until you leave that location.

  • If Google Calendar, Then Mute Phone Recipe: This is kind of a variation on the Mute My Phone Recipe, but instead of location, it works with your Google Calendar. You can add a meeting time to your Google Calendar, and when that time occurs, your phone will automatically mute itself to avoid interruptions during an important meeting.

  • If Instagram, Then Facebook Page Album Recipe: This recipe is useful for avoiding have to post a single photo over and over across multiple accounts. When you post a picture on Instagram, this recipe will add it to a special album on your Facebook Page.

  • If Twitter, Then Twitter List Recipe: If you need to keep up with a certain hashtag that your business uses, or want to find who’s using a hashtag collected in one location, this recipe allows you to do just that. First, you select a hashtag to track. Then, the recipe will collect the people who use that hashtag into a convenient list on Twitter.

  • If YouTube, Then Facebook Page Recipe: Another fun and useful recipe, this one uploads your YouTube videos from your channel to your Facebook Page. It saves time, plus makes it easier for you to get content out across all platforms.

And if you need ideas on recipes that can be used to help your business, IFTTT has a section of ever-growing recipe collections that you can browse. There are even collections specifically for small businesses and work!

IFTTT is very much in the infancy of its lifetime, but with more and more apps and features being added every day, it’s quickly shaping up to be a must-have web service for businesses across the country!

Tips For Optimizing Your YouTube Page

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Since 2005, YouTube has been allowing people to create content, share user made videos, and build a community around amateur and professional filmmakers alike.

And if your company isn’t already using this wonderful tool to make videos of your own, let me take a moment to give you some stats that might help sway your opinion

  • YouTube currently has more than 1 billion (that’s billion with a B) registered users.

  • 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute to the site.

  • Every day, there are billions of views on user created videos, along with hundreds of millions of hours of video watched.

Those are astounding numbers for a company that’s only been around for 10 years. So if you’re thinking about utilizing YouTube for your company, check out these tips that should make the process much easier and more stress free.

Appearance

Appearance is almost everything in the business world, and the same is true for social pages. With YouTube, there are quite a few options to customize your pages appearance. The most important one, is your YouTube channel’s art. This is the first thing visitors to your channel will see, and so having a custom banner for your channel is key to a good first impression. Remember, your channel art needs to be 2560 x 1440 pixels, and at least 2 Megabytes for it to look perfect!

Info

It’s also important to make sure you fill out your channel description section with important info, like how your company got started, your goals, and of course, your business hours and contact info.

And while you’re at it, make sure to include descriptions for every video that you upload. Not only does this give viewers a glimpse of what your video is about, you can also optimize your videos SEO. Since YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet, this is vastly important to get consumers to actually FIND your videos. What good is a video if nobody watches it?

Lastly, you can add a link to your website in the video descriptions, creating a great call to action for your videos.

Entertain, Don’t Advertise

Here’s one of the key ideas to remember about YouTube: People don’t go there to watch a commercial, they go to there to be entertained. So, when you’re thinking about what kind of video content to create, remember to make it entertaining. Something that people will enjoy, and not get bored of watching.

But that’s not to say advertising can’t be done through YouTube videos. You can still promote your product while being entertaining. Think of it this way: No matter what, if somebody watches your video or visits your channel, they’re being exposed to your product. It’s like free advertising!

Share

The beautiful thing about the Internet is that you aren’t confined to one little corner of it. Sharing content across multiple social platforms is how information is spread these days, especially videos.

If you already have a Facebook or Twitter account set up, then you can use those accounts to share your videos easily and effectively. Not only does YouTube include share buttons for multiple social sites underneath your videos, but you can also grab the videos URL to share in a post, and you can even embed your videos into other sites you manage.

Don’t be afraid of YouTube! It’s a great tool for marketing your business, and by following these steps you’ll be making great, shareable content in no time!

The Best Time Of The Day To Post On Social Media

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The Best Time To Post

Finding the sweet spot for posting on social media is a tricky task. It seems like you can never find that right time where your post is going to reach the most people, because honestly, you never know when people are going to check their smartphones for social updates.

I’m speaking strictly from my own experiences here, but I’ve found a few optimal times during the day that seem to reach the most people. But even these times aren’t guaranteed to work. It all depends on your target audience, and what social platform you’re posting on. Check out these tips for finding the best times to reach your audience!

Facebook – Optimal Posting Times: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.

When Facebook first started in 2004, it attracted a lot of younger people. Overtime, the platform has shifted from the young audience, to an older audience. In fact, 56 millions users (or about 31 percent of total Facebook users) are in the 35-54 age range. Which means that many of these users have day jobs or businesses that they run. So, you have to catch these users when they’re taking a break from work, or when business slows down. Between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. is a perfect range for posting on Facebook.

Twitter – Optimal Posting Times: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Twitter is a little bit different, but has about the same posting range as Facebook. The thing with Twitter is that it’s more geared toward quick info, and multiple postings. With Facebook, you can post during the optimal time and users will still see it later in the day when scrolling through their News Feed. But with Twitter, you don’t really have that option. If you missed something when it was first posted, you’ll have to go back through hours of posts to find what you want. So, post around the same times as Facebook, but stagger your posts so you’re not posting at the same time your Facebook post goes live. And it’s not a problem to tweet the same post at different times during the day.

Instagram – Optimal Posting Times: 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

With Instagram, you have an altogether different beast to tackle. This popular photo sharing app is typically used by the younger crowd, 18-29 year olds, who can spend longer amounts of time going through their feeds. But, unlike Facebook or Twitter, Instagram users typically check out their feeds after work, closer to the time when they would be winding down in the evening and getting in bed. So, posting later in the evening will reach the most people, since they’ll be spending a lot of free time scrolling through posts.

Pinterest – Optimal Posting Times: 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Pinterest is kinda different than the other social platforms as well. Since it’s mostly used to share recipes, DIY projects, and household tips, most people are going to get on Pinterest in their free time. That means that some people might not even get on their Pinterest account until after work, or on the weekends. So, plan your posts accordingly and try to get the info to them during the early afternoon or late evening, when most people will be up and moving around, or looking for something to make for dinner, if your business works in the food business.

LinkedIn – Optimal Posting Times: 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. or 5 p.m. – Late

Since LinkedIn is mainly used for networking between businessmen and women, and people looking for potential employers, most people are going to look at their LinkedIn at the start of their workday. Posting during the early morning or late evening works great for this social platform.

Social media can be finicky, but learning how to use it will do wonders for your company. The best strategy is to experiment with your posts, and see what times work best for your company, and your customers.

infographic, social media

How To Get Your Blog Post Shared 3,567 Times (Approximately)

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How To Get Your Blog Post Shared

If you have a blog for your business, one of the most important aspects of managing it is trying to reach the most people with what you have to say.

With millions of articles shared through social media and email each day, it might seem difficult to get your blog noticed. But here are some tips that can help you get the most shares out of your posts and increase your reach exponentially!

Titles Are Key

When creating a blog post, you want it to convey the main message behind the post, but you also want it to grab the attention of people who are casually skimming through your site. There are two main elements of a compelling title.

  1. Include a number in your headline. Numbers grab people’s’ attentions, and no site does that better than Buzzfeed. Just check out any article on their website, and you’re guaranteed to see hundreds of posts with numbers in the title, such as “14 Ways To Increase Your Likes on Instagram” or “26 Pictures of Cats Wearing Tiny Hats.” Numbers, especially odd numbers, draw in customers, and make them want to read more of what your have to say.

  2. Power words are great attention grabbers. Words such as “Hot,” “Fresh,” or “Amazing” are great words to use in headlines, because customers will want to read to find out why something is “hot” or “amazing.”

Add Share Buttons

Before the invention of Facebook or Twitter share buttons, articles were shared by grabbing the URL of the current page of the website, pasting that URL in an email, and then sending it to a friend or colleague. These days, social share buttons make it easier than ever for customers to share an article they like with others. Be sure to get these buttons set up on your site, and place them at the top of the article for maximum exposure.

Meta Information

Your posts meta information is highly important to getting info out on search engines. For example, using the correct meta information and tags on a post will help your post to show up much more frequently on search engines like Google. It essentially tells search engines to show your post whenever someone searches keywords related to your blog post. If meta information is somewhat foreign to you, don’t fret! There are thousands of websites out there that can help to explain how this info works for your benefit.

Share, Share, Share!

With so much info out there on the Internet, sometimes your post can get lost if you share it during a busy time of the day. So make sure to share your post more than once during the week that it’s published. You can use the acronym ICYMI (which stands for In Case You Missed It) in front of posts to let others know it’s a previous post, and not a new one. Just don’t share too often; you don’t want to overload people.

There are so many different ways to share your posts in order to get the most views, so it’s best to experiment with different strategies to see which one works best for your business!

Networking for the Socially Awkward

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Networking can be very intimidating for many business owners. Some people are naturally outgoing, personable, and do great with small talk. Others (myself included) dread the idea of having to talk to a person that they have no common experiences with, and have no idea how to make conversation with them.

Luckily, in this new era of tech advancements and varied forms of communication, there are some great ways for those who are socially awkward to network just as well as those who are socially confident.

Social Media Master

A lot of times, people who are socially awkward feel much more comfortable communicating with someone via the Internet rather than in person. Whether it be through email, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, or LinkedIn, chatting and making connections with someone through social media is a much more comfortable setting.

You can gather your thoughts on what you want to say, rather than being put on the spot; send helpful pictures, files, and videos that you may want to share; and meet far more people than you could ever meet in real life.

You can even join an online group that shares the same interests as you. Facebook makes joining group very easy and efficient, and any topic that you’re interested in creating a business around is available in an online group. You’ll find ideas in these groups that you might never think of on your own.

In-Person Meetings

But that’s not to say in-person meetings aren’t important. Eventually, you’re still going to have to meet a client or go to a networking party. So what do you do in those situations, where your comfort level is at an all time low?

First, you need to remember that networking is vital to growing your business. You never know when the person you met once at a networking party is going to contact you offering the deal of a lifetime.

So, when you’re faced with a situation where you have to network in person, and you feel uncomfortable about it, try to remember these two things: Be yourself, and relax.

Just Be Yourself

Both of these things are kind of easier said than done, but they’re key to making good connections. I’ll be honest with you; I HATE small talk. Networking, and meeting new people in general, is 90% small talk, 10% deeper connections. So it’s not my favorite thing in the world. A lot of the pressure and awkwardness that I feel comes from the fact that most of the time I’m trying to show the other person I’m a professional, dedicated person. That’s all well and good, but the problem is, when I do that, I end up coming off as stiff and serious. And that’s not me.

It’s sometimes hard, but if you’re a jokey person like me, then try to throw in a few light jokes into a conversation. Sometimes it’ll be well received, sometimes it won’t. But that’s a good risk to take when you’re trying to lighten up a conversation and make deeper connections.

Relax, man…

It’s also important to relax. Why? Because no one likes a stickler. In all seriousness, though, when you’re less worried about whether you’re making a good impression on the other person, you’ll have a much better time. So what if you can’t make a good connection with everyone you meet? You only need one good connection to make the whole thing worthwhile.

Chances are, there are a lot of people out there who feel exactly the same as you do about social events. But there’s always a way to make those fears turn into strengths, and network in a way that makes you feel the most comfortable.

What’s Up With Meerkat and Periscope? Tips For Two New Apps

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Social media is a constantly evolving form of technology. From the early days of Xanga and Myspace, to the global Internet takeover by powerhouse companies such as Facebook and Twitter, social media has a huge impact on the way people have lived their everyday lives for the past two decades.

When a new social media platform, or application, pops up on the radar, it’s important for businesses to research how they can utilize this new tech to become more connected with their customers.

So what are the newest apps that are making waves in the social world? Introducing: Meerkat and Periscope.

What Are They?

Meerkat and Periscope are both apps that allow users to live stream video of whatever they’re doing, whenever they’re doing it, through the ever popular 140-character quick info app Twitter. When you start streaming your live video, your followers will get a notification telling them you are streaming live video. They can open up Twitter and watch your live stream. They can also leave comments while the video is playing. Periscope even has the option to watch video in the app itself, without having to log in to Twitter.

Meerkat was the first one of these two apps to premiere to the world, first showing up at the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) tech, music, and art festival in Austin, Texas, and quickly sent media and tech journalists into a frenzy. Although Twitter now limits the usage of Meerkat on its site, and is quickly being surpassed by Periscope in terms of active users, it was touted as the “next big thing” in social media and interactivity.

Periscope launched its own app shortly after, and has given Meerkat some very stiff competition, due to the fact that it is owned and endorsed by Twitter.

Effectively Using These Apps

So, what’s the point of these two apps, and how can your business use them to optimize connectivity with customers?

The No. 1 reason why these apps are great for business is they can give you the unprecedented opportunity to connect with people in a way that’s more honest and open than ever  before.

Live streaming is different than posting a short video on other apps, like Instagram and Vine, because there’s no editing involved with them. What you stream is what people get, no matter if you make a mistake or shoot the wrong angle of something you’re trying to capture.

Although this can be intimidating to some people, it can be worth the risk because people will appreciate the honesty and realness of your interaction with them. That’s why more people are using Twitter and Facebook to voice their opinions to companies: because they know they can interact with businesses directly.

These apps can also be used for promotions. For example, you can send out a Tweet to all your followers that if they tune in to your live stream at a certain time, they’ll be treated with a promotional discount code, or exclusive offer. It’s a win-win situation for both parties. Not only will your customers appreciate the discount, and might possibly refer your company to others, but your company can bring in more potential customers through your promotion.

And make no mistake about it, customers remember the kind things you do for them, and will stick with your company if they know you care about them.

So don’t be afraid of the new tech that’s coming out each and every day in today’s world. There’s always something new and better, and there are always ways to use it to create a more connected and honest relationship with customers!