How to Use Facebook and Twitter Without the Internet

As Hurricane Sandy makes its way up the Eastern Seaboard, many are without electricity. Without power you could lose your access to Internet via Wi-Fi and, potentially, access to mobile networks. If that happens, how can you still post on Facebook and Twitter to let your friends and family know that everything is fine? Or ask for help?

You can use good-old text messages.

To tweet, first you need to enable your mobile phone on Twitter.com, so do it now while you can. Go to your Twitter homepage, then to “Settings” and then “Mobile.” Insert your cellphone number under “Activate Twitter text messaging,” and then you’ll have to text “GO” to the number 40404.

Once you’ve done that, you should receive a text message telling you that your phone is now activated. You should also see new settings on the webpage that allow you to enable or disable text notifications.
Now, to tweet, just write a text and send it to 40404.

To find out more about how to use other Twitter functionalities without an Internet connection, check Twitter’s official guide.


If you’re more of a Facebook fan, worry not. You can update your status via SMS as well and the social network also gives you the ability to subscribe to your friends’ updates and even use Facebook chat. Again, to access these functionalities, you first need to link your mobile phone to your Facebook account.
Log into Facebook.com and go to your “Account Settings,” which you can find under the arrow next to your name on the top bar. Then go to “Mobile,” introduce your number and click on “Activate Text Messaging.” You’ll have to select your country and your carrier. Once you’ve done that, follow the instructions on the screen and text the letter “F” to the number 32665.

Finally, you will receive a confirmation number on your phone. Insert that number on the page. You should then receive a text message that will confirm that your phone is activated.
Now, to update your status, you simply have to write it in a text and send it to 32665.

Photo credit: Mashable composite, photo courtesy of iStockphoto, SimmySimons.

Is Pheed the Next Big Thing?

A rise in popularity among celebrities has meant that new Social Media site Pheed has sprung up from nowhere to possibly be the next big thing.

Forbes calls the self-funded start-up, ‘Twitter with a business plan’, the idea of Pheed is to share content in all formats, including audio, video and photo. Influencers such as celebrities can then share content for free or share for a fee, therefore giving fans a more exclusive and higher quality piece of content.

Celebrities that have jumped aboard the Pheed train so far include, Miley Cyrus, B.O.B and Paris Hilton. The site has only been live for a couple of days but already gathered a huge celebrity following, though it is still to be seen how fans will react and whether they will be willing to pay for the exclusive content.

The key to this site surviving is celebrity endorsement and impressive content to keep users coming back. Try it out.

Twitter header image: How one picture can make all the difference

Introduction

If you haven’t tried it yet, you need to make careful consideration of adding a header image to your Twitter profile. Much like the Cover Photo on Facebook Timeline Pages, the header image injects a much needed amount of personality to your page, making it that much more attractive and easy to read.

In your profile page, the header image frames your profile picture, Twitter username, your listed name, and the description you’ve made of yourself. It’s another way to personalize user owned accounts. For corporate Twitter accounts, it is an aid in optimizing that real estate.

A few things you need to note for readability’s sake

The text is centered in the middle of your Twitter account. You’re better off using an image that has no details in the middle.

Furthermore, the font they went with does not come with its own shadow or outline effect to make it appear on top of whatever background. In other words, you have to avoid backgrounds with bright or mixed colours so that it stays readable.

Twitter layouts are different on mobile, with iOS and all the different implementations of Android to deal with. When Twitter launched this feature, it coincided with the release of updated iPhone and iPad apps, so those devices integrate the header image. However, the iPhone also changed the dimensions of the header image and the profile picture slightly. If you can double check how it appears on your and your friends’ smartphones, you should get their help.

Of course, the header image does not appear on third party apps like Hootsuite. The header image is not a replacement for your profile picture, so you still need to have a profile picture that will stand up on its own.

Some users inventively arranged the header image in such a way that the profile picture can align with the header image perfectly, Unfortunately, this effect is lost in mobile devices, so I find it hard to recommend this.

Generally, you are best off picking header images that are not particularly detailed, that will look good irregardless of the screen size you are viewing it in, and will appear attractive irregardless if the scale changes between it and your profile picture.

The picture dimensions

The picture needs to be under 5 MB
The ideal size is 1252 x 626, but at the very least, it should not go below 700px
I personally think you should decide what to do with your Twitter page, but if you want advice on making it look good;

Choose an image that will match your background.
Choose an image that will match your profile picture.
If you’re scared to screw it up, Twitter temporarily still allows you to remove the header and revert to the old layout.

How to add/replace your header image

1. From the Twitter toolbar, click the gear icon and choose settings. This will bring you to the Account page

2. From the Account page, click on Design. This will bring you to the Design page

3. From the Design page, scroll down and look for the “Customize your area” section.

4. Click “Change header” and proceed to add or replace the header image.

5. Finally, click “Save Changes”.

Some personal tips

Of course many people made up their backgrounds using Photoshop or GIMP, but most of us don’t know how to use that, so what do you do? Use Flickr, Wikimedia Commons or Google Image Search to find pictures in large dimensions.

In fact, desktop backgrounds can be easily reappropriated to the 1252 x 626 dimensions of the header image, but you have to remember that the image will be considerably shrunk. Try to find pictures at a ratio of 2 to 1.

Match the header image colors with the profile picture colors. This may appear self evident, but it is worth noting if you have a hard time picking a picture.

If you are not a professional, you do not have to try too hard. Get a simple picture that will reflect your identity. Take a picture of flowers, robots, a close up of your PS3, a landscape, whatever. Just remember the guidelines I’ve noted above and you should do fine.

If you are a professional, yes, when you make the jump you will want to invest in getting an illustrator to make you a good header image. Remember that profiles without header images use the old layout, which is not as great, but still looks OK.

If you are a graphic designer and you have not tried this out yet, get off your butt and do this. There is no end of templates and free tools out there to help you make your own header image.

Finally: A Confession

I have personally known about the header image for a while now and I have purposely made the decision not to add a header image. Why? Because I’m OK with the old layout. On a personal level, I do not feel like I have extra time to seek out or make a picture for that purpose, but even on my days off, I still do not feel like it.

So remember, at the end of the day, the header image is an optional thing. Twitter has played around with different ways of making the profile page look better, and as time goes on, we may see future changes making this one obsolete. We might even lose header images after a while.

If you do use Twitter for business, you should take the effort to add that header image. It is not so much an obligation as it is an opportunity. A really easy opportunity to brand your Twitter account, and one that is not as intrusive as Timeline was for Facebook.

What do you guys think of the header image? Would you make the jump? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

How Social Media Can Benefit You

There are many different ways in which you can use social media to help bring attention to your company and the products and services that you offer. Many times companies don't know how to successfully include social media into their existing marketing plan; what we are going to do is to help you understand the different ways in which social media can help your business grow.

· Become More Visible - Using social media as part of your marketing plan is a great way to increase the awareness of your business. By creating a fan page you are inviting the public to visit your page and discover everything that you have to offer.

· Bring In More Traffic - Participating in some type of social media is an excellent way to help increase the amount of traffic that your website sees. By providing fans or followers new and interesting information on upcoming product releases you are awakening their curiosity and they are more likely to visit your website to find out more. While they are there investigating the new products, they may also decide to make a purchase.

· Increase Your Likability - Becoming active on social media websites is a great way to provide your business with a face and personality. Visitors who see this are more inclined to trust your company over another because they are now able to develop a connection with your brand. It will also give your business a sense of caring for the public and what they think about your products or services.

· Invite Interaction - Your fan page is a great resource when it comes to discovering how the public views your business or products. You can also ask your fans what they would like to see you develop next or if they have any problems with any of your existing products. You can obtain a lot of valuable information by inviting your fans to interact with each other or even you.

· Target Your Marketing Efforts - Creating a fan page is also a great way to focus your marketing efforts to specific groups of customers. You are also able to promote any specials that you are currently running. You may also want to create specialized discounts that are only available to fans of your page.

Social media has created a new avenue that wasn't available in past years. You are now able to reach thousands of people with one simple update to your page. This allows you to create targeted marketing plans that are geared towards your online activity. If you haven't already embraced the age of social media, the time has come. By not actively participating in social media you are missing a great opportunity to grow your customer base.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7331847

9 Social Media Fun Facts to Shock or Maybe Just Awe

The following stats are based on information about Social Media usage in the United States.

1. Almost 1/2 Of Twitter Users Are Democrats
Twittercrats find this #Debatable? This is compared to approximately 30% of the U.S. of the population being Democrats overall. 

2. By Far, Facebook Still The Most Addicting
Stalking has never been more fun! 23% of Facebook’s users check their account at least five times every single day. 

3. More than 1/2 Are Getting Social
Still awkward in public? Sure, but our fingers can clickety-clack away with “Don Draper” esque poise and sophistication. Americans (12 and up) could push 75% Social Media usage within the next 5 years. 

4. Nearly 3/4 Aren’t “Checking In”
Most Americans still think they need Gym shorts for Foursquare. In fact, while only 3% have claimed to checked in this year, it is even down from the year before. The concept of “checking-in” will probably soon be replaced by “Opting-in” to share location data. 

5. Only over 1/4 Are Following Brands on Facebook
After all the work Businesses and Brands put into reaching the Facebook audience, there is still a lot of work to be done to reach out and incentivize and audience to like and participate with Facebook pages. 

6. Nearly 1/4 Are using Social Media Several times a day
There aren’t many things people do every day, but Facebook and Twitter make the list for many. 

7. Almost 1/2 Say Facebook has an impact on what they buy
As compared to last year, Facebook’s influence on purchasing has doubled. For Twitter, on the other hand, buying influence ranks somewhere between 1-5%. 

8. 3/4 of Twitter are posting their own Tweets
Followers, Groupies and Disciples have turned into active participators up from only 50% updating their statuses in 2010. 

9. Over 1/2 of people have used Facebook on a Mobile device
While over 50% of users have used their Mobile devices to access Facebook, over 1/4 use them regularly to see their feed, post, share and like.


Research Via Jay Baer

5 Ways to Manage Your Google+ Community

Google+ can play an essential role in your social media strategy, but if you are not managing it properly then you will not see the results you hope for. The time and energy you put into sites like Facebook and Twitter should also be divided into your Google+ community if you expect to have any success with it.

You might only have a small community, but it is still important to be actively engaged if you want to grow your following and get your brand's page to pop up more often in search results.
Here are five ways that you can form a better strategy for Google+ so that you can start bringing in the benefits of being an active member of that social community.

Stay on Top of Notifications
When you sit down to check your social media each day, make sure that you are going through your notifications on Google+. You will see who has shared your posts, added you to their circles, shares a post with you or mentions your company in a comment or post.
If they share something you post, thank them. If they share something with you or leave a comment, take time to read it and respond. If they added you to their circles, find a circle to add them to on your end.
Do a Search for Your Brand and Keywords

Another way to stay on top of your Google+ community is to keep an "ear" out for what people are saying about your brand and the industry in general. You can do a search that will bring up results of pages, posts, people and hangouts that contain your search terms. You can also filter it down so that you only get results from Google+.

Get the Ripple Effect
Google+ Ripples were introduced in 2011 and can show you how your Google+ posts are spread through user sharing. The ripples of any public post can be viewed by clicking on "View Ripples" on the drop down-menu. You will see who has shared your content and how the content is being spread. This kind of insight into what posts are being shared most often can help you know what type of content you should be focusing on to get the most benefit.

Talk About Other Brands and People
Like you, other businesses and entrepreneurs are looking for any mention of their name on Google+. To help get noticed, mention other people and brands in your posts. Link to other blogs, business owners, community members, etc. Those people and businesses will get a notification that they were mentioned. There is a good chance that they will reciprocate, leave a comment, +1 it or another beneficial action.

Set Up a Hangout
Google+ makes it easy to interact with one another and even gives you the option for some face-to-face chats with a Hangout. These offer great opportunities to have a Q&A session with customers or clients or have a casual chat with people who share similar interests.
Google+ is an important part of social media and shouldn't be overlooked. As you start to become more involved with the community, you will be able to see great growth and an increase in your brand awareness.
How have you made sure that your Google+ community is getting enough attention? What is your routine for managing your page?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7296153

YouTube Expands Original Content With New European Channels

YouTube has expanded its roster of original channels with new, global channels from France, Germany, the UK and the US.
The new channels will cover a variety of topics, including sports, music, comedy, news, animation, local cuisine, health and wellness. So far, YouTube has launched 100 original channels; the new additions will bring this number to 160.

In the UK, for example, “Fast, Furious & Funny” is covering cars; in Germany, “Motorvision” will cover the same topic. The UK will have four sports channels, covering cycling and football among other topics. In France, a channel called “X-Treme video” is dedicated to extreme sports; in Germany, it will be “Boneless.”
You can see a list of all YouTube original channels here.

In a blog post, YouTube also shared some stats on its original programming. According to the company, the top 25 original channels are averaging over a million views weekly, and 800 million viewers are watching 4 billion hours of content every month — up from 3 billion hours earlier this year.
Furthermore, the number of subscribers has doubled year-over-year, and YouTube partners are reaching the 100,000 subscriber mark five times faster than two years ago.

5 Better Ways to Network on Twitter and LinkedIn

Social media is like a professional cocktail hour — a way to connect, share and interact with others beyond the confines of your cubicle. But now, it feels more like an epic college kegger — the kind where you find yourself wandering in a sea of red cups, the clamor of rowdy partygoers drowning out any real conversation and eliminating the chance to forge relationships that don’t involve tacos at 3 a.m.
So, how do you bring that party back down to a reasonable size, and actually connect with people you want to talk to? Half the battle is being able to sift through the noise. Here are a few easy ways to identify and jump into the right conversations with the right people for you and your professional interests.

1. Find the Authors of the Content You Read
Who are the social influencers in your area of expertise? Identifying these people is particularly useful in seeking out great conversations. One of the best places to start is the blogs or websites you go to for content. Check out the authors — people who contribute to online publications usually have a social presence, too. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and take the time to let them know what you think. Comment on their articles or blogs, then take it a step further and tweet some feedback. Giving a compliment with some added insight on the topic goes a long way.

2. Become an Author Yourself
There’s no better way to join the conversation in your field than by writing on the topic — either on your own blog or for industry publications. Not only will you have something to readily share and discuss on your social networks, you’ll likely have people in your field reach out to you with comments and ideas of their own.
If you don’t consider yourself a wordsmith, stick to what you know. Think about what questions you get asked most often about what you do, and write down your thoughts. Once you get started, you’ll be surprised how much you truly have to say.

3. Leverage Twitter Keyword Searches
Twitter can be a great source of information, but it can also be one of the “noisiest” places on the web. So a great way to find people, filter tweets and join a conversation is to search for keywords related to the topics in which you are interested. For example, if you work in social media, the most obvious place to start would be a keyword like “social media.”
It seems simple, but this isn’t a perfect science, and it requires some trial and error to see which keywords get you the results you want (for example, you might try “social media marketing” or “Twitter marketing”). Play around with different versions, and join the conversation when you find something of interest. Reply to people’s tweets and give your feedback or comments. Did someone link out to an article and give her opinion? Tell her that you agree or disagree and why.

4. Join Relevant LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn groups are great forums for career-related discussions — members often share articles, ask questions and start online conversations with each other. Do a quick group search on LinkedIn, and you’re likely to get a long list of niche groups within your field. That said, do your research to make sure that any group you’re looking at is a good fit for your goals and interests before you request to join. (If you work in healthcare marketing, for example, a general marketing group might not be the best fit.) If the group is open (vs. invite-only), take a look around at the discussions and members to get a feel for the content and makeup of the group and see if it’s a good fit.

5. Meet the People Who are Looking at You
Even if you haven’t upgraded your LinkedIn account, if your settings allow others to see who you are when you look at their profiles, you should be able to see who’s looking at yours. Scan this once a week and take a peek at who has viewed your profile.
When it’s appropriate, connect with these people, thinking about why they might have taken the time to look at your profile. Are they in your field? In your community? A recruiter? Reaching out to engage in conversation not only shows you’re paying attention, but also shows you’re open to forming new professional relationships.

Why You Shouldn't Over Post on Facebook

As social media professionals, I believe this is one of the two biggest struggles we have both with our clients and with our bosses, the other being actually what to post, but that is a completely different topic.
More is not always better when it comes to Facebook. Ignoring the fact that most fans never return to a page after they like it, people get frustrated and annoyed by constant posts. Worse than that: now you, the social media professional, has to come up with a large amount of posts. When posting three or more times per day, most of those post are worthless with little value to the fans.

This is a graph from Jeff Bullas' article 10 Powerful Tips to Increase Engagement on Facebook:

Here are some great stats from an article from the social business:

One-to-two posts a day is more effective than fewer or more posts per day. One or two brand posts receive 32% higher “like” rates and 73% higher comment rates compared to posting 3 or more times a day.

Engagement is highest when brands post four to five posts a week. Posting one to four times a week produces 71% higher user engagement than five or more posts in a given week. Posting less than that, does not maximize your opportunity to target your fans as often as possible.

Clients may think the easy to fix to a low level of Facebook engagement is more posts, this will never work. Content is king. Visually appealing posts get more engagement, along with questions and discounts.
In short, be sure to experiment with what you post and the times you post. You may be surprised to see when you are getting the most engagement.
If you’re having a hard time with social media marketing, seek consultation from a social media agency to create a plan or manage your networks.
How often do you post on your social networks, and what results have you seen? Let us know in the comments.