The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media

by Marc Georges

Whether it’s keeping up on the latest web memes on Reddit or Tumblr, following your favorite comedians onTwitter, profesionally networking on LinkedIn, or staying in touch with college friends on Facebook, social media has become an integrated and constant part of our everyday lives.

To digital natives, it may be difficult to imagine a world where these tools aren’t at our fingertips, but the fact is, new users join these services every day. For the uninitiated, check out our beginner’s guides to get started on Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn and Facebook.

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1. The Beginner’s Guide to Tumblr

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This micro-blogging platform brings together bloggers, brands and tastemakers. Whether you want to create your own content or curate and share the stuff on the web you dig the most, Tumblr give you a user-friendly, beautiful way to get started.

If you’re already comfortable tumbling, check out these our tips and tricks for power users:

 

11 Tumblr Tips for Power Users

8 Professional Tumblr Themes for Your Small Business

12 Free Tumblr Themes to Class Up Your Blog

 

 

 

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2. The Beginner’s Guide to LinkedIn

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It may not be the sexiest social network out there, but LinkedIn now has 161 million members in more than 200 countries, making it the world’s largest professional network on the web. Our beginner’s guide will walk you through everything you need to tackle today’s job market, from creating a profile to finding professional organizations and applying for jobs directly from the site.

Already have a profile? Our tips for advanced users will show you how to get even more out of LinkedIn:

 

How to Change Your LinkedIn Password

6 Things You Need to Know About LinkedIn Recommendations

6 Things on Your LinkedIn Profile That Shouldn’t Be on Your Resume

 

 

 

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3. The Beginner’s Guide to Reddit

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Reddit is the web’s most popular message board. If you’re new to the site, you may be overwhelmed by the mishmash of text links, comment threads, points and upvotes but sticking with it reveals what really distinguishes Reddit: its community. Our guide takes you through the Reddit culture, how to submit a story, upvoting and downvoting user submissions and more.

Once you’ve posted a couple of stories to the site, check out what other Redditors have been able to do with this social network:

 

How Reddit Saved One Man’s Life

How Top Redditors Compete for Karma

Reddit Users Shower Dying Grandma with Birthday Wishes

 

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4. The Beginner’s Guide to Facebook

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As the world’s largest social network, Facebook boasts 900 million users worldwide. But even if you’re already on Facebook, there are plenty of aspects of the service that are worth reviewing. Our guideline recaps the network’s main features and policies.

For a more in-depth look at the world’s most popular social network, check out these additional resources:

Consumer Magazine Gives 5 Tips for Smart Facebook Shopping

Facebook Client Pica for iPad Returns with Lots of New Features

10 Facebook Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

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5. The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter

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Share news updates, links or one-liners 140 characters at a time with this social platform, which lets you communicate with and follow people from around the world. Our beginner’s walkthrough takes you through everything you need to get tweeting, from creating a profile to retweeting and direct messaging.

Racking up followers faster than Ashton Kutcher? Check out these pro tips to stay on top of your Twitter game:

5 Apps to Help Manage Your Twitter Account

15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers

Tweepify Turns Your Twitter Activity Into a Person

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, akinbostanci

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The New Rules of Relationship Marketing

Mari Smith has been deeply immersed in social media since 2007, but even before social media started to really pick up steam, she was evangelizing the idea of relationship marketing through the Internet and email for almost a decade. In 2008, Fast Company dubbed her “the Pied Piper of the Online World” because of her thought leadership on Facebook and Twitter for business.

Smith’s new book, The New Relationship Marketing, explores how the discipline has changed and why personalizing your brand is so important. As Smith likes to say, there’s no longer B2B or B2C — the new rules are about P2P, or people to people.

In this episode of Behind the Brand you’ll learn some of the tips from Smith’s new book, including how to grow your social media followers, fans and engagement, how to become a curator to establish yourself as an expert, how to leverage OPC (other people’s content) to build real attention and how to keep your content fresh.

The Beginner’s Guide to Instagram

Even if you don’t use Instagram, we’re guessing you’ve encountered an Instagram image somewhere on the web — even if you didn’t realize it.

Instagram’s calling card is the photo filter, a digital layer that, when added to a standard photo, gives it the appearance of professional editing. Some filters enhance the colors in a photo, while other dull the light to a soft glow for an aged, vintage appearance.

But while Instagram’s filters revolutionized mobile photo editing, they’re only a portion of the appeal. The mobile app boasts over 50 million users, despite only living in iOS and Android devices. Instagram launched on Android just this year — it quickly earned 5 million downloads in six days.

Its success caught the eye of the most valuable social network in the world. Facebook acquired Instagram in April for $1 billion. Although we’ve only just begun to witness Facebook’s plans for the photo sharing app, the social giant recently launched its own filter-friendly photo app, dubbed Facebook Camera.

Instagram has surely come a long way, business-wise, since co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger introduced the app in 2010. But on the whole, the app has remained simple, straightforward and social since its inception.

We’re here to share the Instagram basics, whether you’re new to the network or need some additional tips. Better hurry, though — Instagram has undergone such changes in the past few months, who knows what else is in store.

We’d love to learn about your Instagram experiences. How do you use the app? Can you share any helpful advice or anecdotes for new users? Any predictions for the future of Instagram? Please share in the comments below.

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1. Register / Setup

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Instagram has always been an almost exclusively mobile platform. Therefore, you must download the iPhone or Android app to your device in order to register an Instagram account.

Instagram accounts are public by default, but you may elect to create a private account. In that case, only users who you approve may follow you and view your photos. Head to your profile tab and scroll down to “Privacy.” There, you may select to make photos private.

Once registered, change your profile picture and edit your profile information, which includes a brief 150-character bio and a website. You may also edit profile information here.

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2. Notifications

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Since Instagram doesn’t have a web-hosted feed of photos, you’ll be doing most of your browsing on mobile. For that reason, you may choose to enrich your mobile experience by setting up push notifications.

Depending on your level of comfort, enable the following push notifications:

• When a user likes or comments on one of your photos.
• When a user @mentions you in a comment.
• When your photo is posted to the Popular page.

To control the notifications on your iOS device, exit the Instagram app and access the Settings location. From there, find Instagram in the Notification Center and configure your app preferences.

Android Instagram users must change notification settings from the app itself. Head to Settings > Edit Profile > Push Notifications.

If you choose not to enable external notifications, Instagram will still keep you apprised of your account activity in-app. New user and comment notifications appear in the News section of the app (see above-left), which you can access via the navigation panel — the icon looks like a speech bubble with a heart in it.

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3. Connect to Social

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Again, because Instagram is a relatively isolated social app that lives inherently on mobile, it’s important to connect social accounts to get the most out of the experience. You may choose to link Instagram to your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr, Mixi and Weibo accounts (the last two apply only to iPhone users in Japan and China, respectively).

To connect social accounts, head to the Profile Tab > Edit Sharing Settings, then choose the network you wish to connect.

Each time you upload a photo to Instagram, you’ll have the option to share to each of the social networks you’ve enabled, or to none. If you choose to share to no social networks, the photo will post only to Instagram, viewable only by those users who follow you on the app. (More on social sharing later.)

Here are some examples of how Instagram has affected, and in some cases, revolutionized social media:
 

Facebook Releases Instagram Clone

Meet @TextInstagram — Instagram Without Photos

 

 

 

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4. Add a Photo

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The bread and butter of Instagram is, obviously, sharing photos. Before you explore much else, I suggest you test it out.

Click the blue camera button in the center of your Instagram navigation panel. By default, Instagram activates your device’s camera, so you may either choose to snap a picture then and there, or choose a picture already saved to your phone. If you choose the latter, click the double-square button on the lower-left of the screen.

If you choose a photo from your camera roll, keep in mind that Instagram sizes photos to perfect squares. Therefore, if you select a photo that was originally taken horizontally (landscape), you’ll have to crop some portions of the image — either that, or live with the default black border.

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5. Filters / Borders

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Once you’ve either taken or selected a photo, a set of tree icons appears beneath the image. These are the 17 famous Instagram filters which add different pre-determined layers to your photos, and give the effect that you’ve altered or professionally edited them. Many filters add “vintage” effects, which have certainly pleased many a hipster.

Scroll through the filters and experiment with the best one for that particular image. You’ll soon find that certain filters work well with specific types of photos, whether outdoor panoramas, personal portraits, odd perspectives, intense colors, etc.

Each filter also has its own associated border. For instance, the Earlybird filter adds rounded edges to your photo, and Kelvin adds a rough, sandpapery frame. You may, however, choose to forego borders altogether by tapping the square “frame” on the upper-left of the edit screen.

Check out these photos, which all take full advantage of Instagram filters:

View As Slideshow »

1. Circle, Indonesia

 

Courtesy of @bogieeryawan

 

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2. Skyline, Paris

 

Courtesy of @natenurse

 

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3. Architecture in Belgrade

 

Courtesy of @iconomaque

 

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4. Louvre Museum, Paris

 

Courtesy of @iconomaque

 

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5. CN Tower, Toronto

 

Courtesy of @monicarooney

 

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6. Urban Butterfly, New York City

 

Courtesy of @johndeguzman

 

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7. Chrysler Building and 42nd Street, New York City

 

Courtesy of @johndeguzman

 

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8. Hospital Facade, Asturias

 

Courtesy of @alemor73

 

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9. White Facade, Gijón

 

Courtesy of @alemor73

 

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10. Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

 

Courtesy of @argen

 

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11. Bicycle, Florence

 

Courtesy of @birgittebrondsted

 

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12. Wet Street, Florence

 

Courtesy of @birgittebrondsted

 

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13. Renault 4, Graz

 

Courtesy of @darkolabor

 

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14. Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, Ipanema

 

Courtesy of @giuseppeamado

 

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15. Skyline, Goiânia

 

Courtesy of @giuseppeamado

 

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16. Big Ben, London

 

Courtesy of @jeera

 

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17. Millenium Bridge, London

 

Courtesy of @jeera

 

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18. Fontainebleau and Hilton, Miami

 

Courtesy of @theunknownchef

 

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19. Obelisk, Buenos Aires

 

Courtesy of @jorgegobbi

 

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20. Connection, Germany

 

Courtesy of @monstropolis

 

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21. City of Zagreb, Croatia

 

Courtesy of @notanotherbarbie

 

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22. Quincy Market, Boston

 

Courtesy of @rickbellitti

 

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23. Millennium Park, Chicago

 

Courtesy of @sixftosunshine

 

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24. Skyline, Los Angeles

 

Courtesy of @thegreenpotato

 

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25. Skyline, San Francisco

 

Courtesy of @zhazha

 

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6. Tilt-Shift

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Another celebrated editing option on Instagram, tilt-shift allows you to selectively focus certain planes of the photo, almost as if you were using a special DSLR lens. Tilt-shift gives the appearance of an altered depth of field, which can make smartphone snaps look stunning when used wisely.

Experiment with the tilt-shift feature by tapping the button above the photo that looks like a water droplet. From there, choose either the horizontal bar or the circle. The bar adds a thin field of focus across your image, which you may tap and move up and down, or two-finger tap and swivel to rotate. Or move the circle tilt-shift across your photo for a more focused effect.

You’ll find that tilt-shift elevates many photos to a professional (and sometimes artistic) standard. But other times, tilt-shift can seem out of place. Use your best judgment and artistic know-how to determine the effect you’re looking for.

Here’s why Android users got excited:
 

Instagram Adds Popular Tilt-Shift Feature to Android App

 

 

 

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7. Other Options

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Before saving your photo, test a few other edit options. Tap the sun icon on the lower-left of the edit screen to apply the Lux effect — essentially, an auto-enhance button that enriches the colors in your image.

Additionally, the curved arrow to the right of the frame option rotates your image, and the next camera icon flips your camera front-facing so you can take a picture of yourself.

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8. Share

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Once your photo is ready to go, click the green checkmark. This brings you to the social sharing screen.

If you wish, add a caption explaining what you’ve photographed, an anecdote, or really anything your social networks would enjoy. Feel free to add category hashtags and @mention people, especially if you plan to share via Twitter. The caption will be the text of the tweet, and the app will file hashtags and @mentions accordingly.

If you’ve enabled location services, you even have the option to tag where you took the photo.

Then, depending on what networks you’ve linked to Instagram, toggle the accounts to share across those platforms.

The way your photo appears when posted depends on the style of the social network to which you post. For instance, if you share to Twitter (see left), Instagram tweets a link to your photo, along with the text you choose as the caption. Instagram photos appear natively on Twitter.com, which means you don’t even have to click the link to view someone’s photo — you may simply expand the tweet to view directly. When sharing to Facebook, your Instagram photo will appear in the news feed with the attached caption.

You may also choose to retroactively share the Instagram photos you’ve already posted. Head to your profile, then select a photo. To share, click the icon on the lower-right of the screen — it has three dots. Choose the “Share post” option and select one of your networks. Or choose “copy URL” to share manually.

At this time, you may only share another user’s photo if A) you use iOS 5.0, and B) you tweet the photo. Android users do not have this feature. Follow the steps to enable this capability here.

Browse some great Instagram photos here:
 

Facebook HQ on IPO Day, As Seen on Instagram [PICS]

21 Ridiculously Cute Dog and Cat Instagram Pics

 

 

 

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9. Follow Users

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Now you’re ready to find users to follow. Chances are many of your social media friends are already using Instagram, and on top of that, a bunch of celebrities are, too.

Head to your profile tab and select “Find Friends.” You may search for friends who have connected their Facebook and Twitter accounts to Instagram, or you may input your phone’s contact list to generate further connections. Or search by name, username or tag (e.g. “#skydiving”).

Finally, Instagram does a great job curating suggested users and trending photos. Head to the Popular page (see right), denoted by the star on your navigation panel, and peruse photos that strike your fancy.

Once you’ve followed some users, you’ll begin to see their photos appear in your news feed, accessed by tapping the icon that looks like a house on the left side of the navigation panel. Alongside user photos, you’ll see people who have liked or commented on the photo. Add your own two cents!

Learn more about interesting Instagramers to follow here:
 

25 Most-Followed Users on Instagram [PICS]

12 Extravagant Instagram Pics by the Rich and Famous

 

 

 

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10. Getting Around the Web Barrier

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As you’ve probably surmised by now, Instagram’s web presence is quite prohibitive. It relies on social integration for navigation, sharing and discovery, however clunky the process may be.

In its Help Center, Instagram admits, “While we’re still developing our web presence at instagram.com, we encourage you to check out third-party sites that have been created using the official Instagram API.”

It highlights sites like Webstagram, Flipboard and Prinstagram for viewing photos on the web and printing photos off the web, among others.

Many users wish they could access their Instagram news feeds on the web, similar to Facebook. It stands that we’ll likely see a bit more web integration now that Facebook owns Instagram, but for now, Facebook’s focus is primarily mobile. Instagram may have to wait. Until then, enjoy the app and get filtering!

In addition to Instgram’s suggested third-party apps, give these a go:

In this week's viral video - The bar has been set, this is the greatest wedding proposal ever!

Couple of tips:

• If you’re able to, watch it in 720p
• Once you’ve watched it once, watch it again keeping an eye on the bride-to-be’s expressions and reactions in the top right corner.

 

Ca Office Furniture and Design Digital Handshake and Testimonial

 

The 5 Golden Rules of Content Marketing

If you’re a marketer or serve any function of marketing, the term content marketing has most probably passed your desk within the past year. It’s not a new item, but one that’s steadily grown over the past few years thanks to the quick, easy, and powerful tool that is social media.

Typically a marketing push successfully used by B2C campaigns, B2B marketers are taking note and pouncing on the lead generating capabilities that content marketing offers. According to a recent survey (pdf) published by the Content Marketing Institute:

• 60% report that they plan to increase their spend on content marketing over the next 12 months.

The survey goes on to reveal a plethora of other interesting statistics including the fact that B2B marketers are dedicating more than a quarter of their total budgets (26%) towards content marketing initiatives.

So with all of this content marketing flying around, and both B2C and B2B marketers recognizing the power of the draw and the market positioning that content marketing supplies, what’s the magic formula for success? I’d be lying if I said there’s a tried and true method that will resound with your target audience each and every time, but there are 5 practical and easy points to keep in mind each time you set out on a content marketing piece.

Transparency

As we’ve seen time and time again, even some of the best Internet hoaxes are viewed under a microscope and exposed for what they are. The same holds true for your content marketing piece. Remember, you’re putting content out there with the goal of drawing in readers, viewers, etc. that are genuinely interested in not only what you’ve got to say, but the fact that it’s coming from your organization.

One of the key factors in producing great content marketing is to provide value and knowledge to would be customers. That’s not to say that you’ve got to give the secret formula away, but tease your audience with ingredients 1 and 5. If they want the whole kit and caboodle, Sales now has a nurtured (if not qualified) lead ready for a conversation.

To this end, I always like to think of myself as a teacher rather than an advertiser or marketer when crafting a great piece. Consumers are there to learn, evaluate, and make informed decisions. There’s no need to shout an advertisement at them (that’s what television and radio are for). If the words ring true and nail the customer’s pain on the head, you’ll never need a “Buy Now” button, but over time, your sales team will begin to see the results with increased site visits, longer time on page views, and increased conversations.

Go the distance

Marketers are curious people. We’re always chasing another angle, seeking to address the next target audience, or looking for new ways to address the same audience, but in a slightly different way to achieve better results. To this end, it’s a common pitfall to want to serve all audiences, all at once, all the time.

When mapping out your content marketing strategy, take a look at the calendar first. We have 12 months in a year, and other departments around the office all have their own individual goals. Obviously a major support to sales, your content marketing rollout should line up with, or prepare the way for Sales’ targets.

If there’s a big push in Q3 coming up, make sure you’ve got a few targeted pieces lined up at the end of Q2 that can directly tie into what Sales has on tap with the ultimate goal of warming up the RFP plate a month of two in advance. In addition to succeeding on your own deliverables, pacing and prolonging your content release schedule allows you time to measure and refine (or redefine if need be) your overall message.

A two-way street

We’ve all heard this time and time again regarding the conversation that is social media, so don’t drop the ball when it comes to your content marketing. It could be as simple as flipping the “comments on” switch on your blog or really digging into those Facebook comments or reactions and exchanges on Twitter. Whether your readers know it or not, each and every comment they make is yet another opportunity for you to further push the underlying message within your piece. Got a reader who wants to know more about XYZ? Surely you’ve got a supporting piece or documentation on the subject and can reference them back to your site.

With that said, it’s crucial that you do in fact make the time on a daily basis to thoughtfully respond to comments, reactions, etc. If you’re out there creating interesting, thought-provoking content, wouldn’t it be a shame to let the conversation stop at the front door? Instead, invite your new guests inside for a drink or two, get to know them, and then, and only then, can you comfortably move into a sales cycle.

It’s not all about you

Tied to transparency above, remember that your content marketing shouldn’t be just about you and your organization. Creating original content takes time, money, and a lot of effort. If your organization doesn’t have a person devoted solely to content creation, there’s another way to offer great content that doesn’t require an original piece each and every time: Content Curation.

As a marketer, your reading, reading, and reading all day long. It’s your job to know what customers what, what they’re interested in, and where they are. If you’ve come across a great article that’s particularly relevant to your industry or organization, don’t hold back when it comes to sharing. Do not, however, just blindly share the words, but add your own take to it. Meaning, before clicking that Share button, or republishing a paragraph and linking to the original article, inform your audience precisely why you’re sharing this piece. Does it directly relate to, or support another piece that you’ve recently published? Does it provide a different take on one of your positions? Good or bad, let your audience know.

Curating content is a relatively quick and easy thing to do, and provides a number of upsides with few downsides. Your audience will get a better view into the way you and your organization think, they’ll appreciate that you’ve exposed them to another voice (and subconsciously praise you for offering another point of view that’s not directly your own), and you’ve given credit where credit is due to this outside author, a door opener that might lead to future collaboration or partnering with individual or organization.

Always Be Measuring

David Mamet thinks that sales professionals should ABC (Always Be Closing), but I offer up that marketing professionals should ABM (Always Be Measuring). To be frank, if you’re not measuring your efforts, you’re not marketing.

With this in mind, it’s vital that you measure the success or failure of your content marketing strategy. Starting with the very basic page views, time on page, and bounce rate web metrics, make sure that every single link that goes into your content marketing piece is trackable. If you’re using Google Analytics to measure your success, are you using their URL Builder tool? Have you dug into bit.ly’s free, simple, and highly effective link tracking analytics?

You’ll want to drill as far down in the metrics as possible to truly analyze your content marketing efforts, as well as have some numbers to show the boss at years’ end. As it’s already a part of your established sales funnel, be sure not to miss the count on which qualified leads arrived via a content marketing piece. Likewise, how many of these qualified leads then converted to paying customers? Lead forms, promotions, contests, etc. are all viable methods of tracking these prospects/leads/customers.

Again, there’s no one golden formula for content marketing success. Some audiences will eat white papers for breakfast but have no interest in your videos. Conversely, your RSS subscriber count might be through the roof, but your email newsletter has been falling flat. This is precisely what your measurements are for, allowing you to put your best efforts into the most successful channels. By following and applying the above steps you’re well on your way to creating engaging, successful content marketing pieces that are sure to resonate with your audience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dan Taylor is a Digital Media Consultant based in Vienna, Austria. A writer, communicator, photographer, and doer of cool things with good people, Dan works with brands to maximize their social footprint across the web via a variety of media channels. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter launches Promoted Products for small business advertisers who use American Express

Twitter has today launched its advertising program specifically aimed at small businesses with an American Express card. The program appears to be designed as a test run for rolling out advertising options suited to smaller businesses on a larger scale.

The test group will be small at first, with a larger group getting access to the product after a few weeks.

Twitter says that it wanted to make the process simple, allowing business owners to ‘get started in minutes’ with no previous experience in advertising. It offers benefits like gaining new followers and amplifying your tweets through Twitter’s automated services, which will help you automatically identify and leverage the Tweets that hit home with your audience the most.

Users of the program pay per follower gained when using the Promoted Accounts product, and per-click, retweet, reply or favorite for Promoted Tweets. They are also offering targeting by region, including cities, countries or worldwide areas.

Promoted Tweets will simply pull one that Twitter deems to be likely to be enjoyed by your users from your existing trove of tweets. It will place it in their timeline, but you only get charged if they follow you or engage in your tweet in some ways. The Promoted Accounts feature places your account into the ‘who to follow’ box of users who Twitter feels are likely to be a good match for you, and likely to follow.

The program is currently open only to American Express card holders or merchants who accept the card. If you fit into that category and want to try out the promoted products, you can register here. As a bonus, American Express will give $100 in free Twitter advertising to the first 10,000 eligible Cardmembers and merchants that register. After this initial run, the program is likely to be expanded out beyond just Amex customers, but this should serve as an initial jaunt that helps Twitter work out the bugs in its advertising system.

Late last month, Twitter announced that it would begin showing ads in its official mobile apps, in addition to its desktop services, but it only showed them to you if they were following the brand who initiated the campaign. Last week, Twitter said that it was expanding this test, enabling brands to target Promoted Tweets to mobile users that “share similar interests with their existing followers. ”

SOURCES: IMAGE CREDIT