Get Social With Supriya Prasad Of The Spirit Digital With Our Weekly Blog.
Preparing Your Social Media for the Holidays
Almost everyone can relate to the holidays in the Western part of the world and it's the reason why you should change your profile and cover photos to reflect the holidays. Another way you can get a wider reach is to make fun blogs, create a Facebook contest that is holiday related, and engage with potential customers by doing a cute graphics.
Does Social Media Get in the Way of Our Happiness?
Most people use social media to connect with friends and loved ones, but does it overall bring down our happiness? Studies have shown that our emotions control what we buy and I am guilty of it as well. I definitely have bought things on Facebook that I don't really need, but it's because I am part of the target market (which is why I have 15 pairs of leggings).
Could You Follow a #Hashtag on Instagram?
According to dictionary.com, a hashtag is "a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic." Hashtags were made popular by Twitter, as the former 140 character limit, was used to make users messages short and sweet. Today, hashtags are used to not only describe the content of the message posted, but it is also used to convey a feeling for example #boring or #imsodone. In a business sense, hashtags are mostly used to find audiences in social media. Whether it's an audience on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, hashtags are used to gain a following on these channels.
Getting Personal: How It All Started for Me
It seems everyone I talk to asks the same question: why did you go into digital marketing? The answer is quite simple. I didn't want to go to grad school! Although I am pretty sure there are people in digital marketing who further their education based on what they want to do, I didn't want to put myself into even more debt by being in a field that may or may not be there for ten years to come. I mean, hey, that's what they say about digital marketing right? It's working out well for me so far. I grew to love this field, simply because it just uses all of my best assets: writing, curating and analyzing.
Social Media Rising Trend: Augmented Reality
When I was a kid, video games were my escape from reality. I played on every video game console imaginable in the early to late 90's: SEGA, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, GameCube, PlayStation, ect. Video games were my escape from the troubles of pre-teen life and it was my first introduction into a world that I could make my own. Fast forward to today, where social media has taken over our versions of reality, almost like a video game in itself. Most content on social media channels are custom made based on what you like or follow. SnapChat has taken this concept a step further in placing ads in the camera base.
Will Facebook's Ad Transparency Bring an End to Dark Posts?
Facebook ads. Does that freak you out? No worries, it freaks me out too. I mean to be honest, it gives me nightmares. The kind of nightmares that will make Freddy Kruger shake in his striped sweater. Digital advertising is confusing enough, I mean the algorithms, the budgeting, the copy, it's all confusing right? Well to top that post off, Facebook has made another big change recently: ad transparency. Most importantly, ad transparency to stop dark posts.
The Mental Process Behind Social Media
The biggest question I get asked after a prospect gets my proposal is why. "Why do I need social media? Why do I need a manager for all my social sites, I mean 400 bucks a month is a lot for just a few tweets and posts to Facebook. What's the point of social media management, if I can do this on my own?" Well, it's true, you CAN manage your social media on your own, but unless you are an expert on digital marketing, which most small business owners are not, you won't be able to leverage it effectively.
Why You Need to be Partnering with Micro-Influencers on Social Media
As a small business owner, you are constantly learning how to fill in the blanks. Figuring out how billing, electric, and loans work while providing the best service or product that you can is also a struggle that I can relate to as well. Technology is the same way, we are constantly changing and if you are not in the present moment, you are already five years behind the curve. Keeping up with the likes of Google, Facebook, and Yahoo! has not been an easy task for anyone working in those spaces for the last 15 years. Filling in the blanks of what people want in each of these search engines has been, and continues to be an uphill battle. The same goes for social media, if you are not keeping up with the biggest influencers and how they are running things, you will be as Kansas says "dust in the wind".
3 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Instagram Stories
In this age of streaming content, everything can and must be recorded, uploaded, and liked at a customer or users will on social media. While streamed and mostly unsaved content apps like SnapChat have been a popular tool for millennials and Gen Z'ers alike, it also has a growing user base for older generations as well. One of these apps that is gaining traction among the older generation is Instagram. Ever since Instagram was bought out by Facebook five years ago, Instagram has exploded in popularity. Small businesses of all generations have embraced Instagram as more food and lifestyle bloggers discover their favorite cupcake spot.
Twitter's Doubling Down on Character Count - Is This a Good Thing?
Made famous by celebs like Ashton Kutcher, Twitter was known for it's microblogging platform, paving the way for other social media sites like Tumblr to images instead of words to post on their blogs or pages in a short amount of time. Since its debut at the South by Southwest festival in 2006, Twitter has been notorious for its 140 character feature. Twitter is used all around the world, in countries like Japan, South Africa and Germany where the languages don't always fit the 140 character mold. Creativity plays a big part in getting messages across Twitter, and emojis have had a huge hand in this, however words still play a huge part in marketing even though video content is slowly taking over. How's this a good thing? I'll explain.
Are Instagram Ads the Next Big Thing?
Since its inception in 2010, Instagram has exploded on to the social media scene as being one of the top social media platforms of the last decade. Filters, tags, and selfies has made Instagram a must-have on every smartphone today and with over 700 million users, Instagram has no sign of slowing down. In 2012, Instagram sold their business over to Facebook, which took it to another level, integrating their features for easier sharing on mobile devices. As a result, ads on Instagram have now become a huge deal.
What Streaming Technology Means for Your Small Business
Since the beginning of the internet, streaming content has been a vital source of communication and information. With musicians like Linkin Park, who were the first to start streaming their own music (this is how they gained their fan following in the beginning) creating their own content and copyrighting their own material gave them the freedom that most artists do not have these days. YouTube has been a real game changer in streaming content and is now the second most popular search engine on the internet, right behind Google.
4 Top Trends in Social Media Right Now
It's no secret that social media has really taken off in the last twelve years. I mean looking at Facebook alone, which has grown at an incredible exponential rate over the last 5-10 years, it has changed dramatically and has arguably been the center of many social media trends. The truth of the matter is that social media has become more visual and dynamic. With gifs and videos with captions taking over the ranks of Facebook, texts posts have become a thing of the past.
Facebook Punishing Pages for Fake News?
Fake news. That's a phrase used a lot by our current president and while Trump's real news involves debunking global warming, Facebook is taking steps to make sure fake news like that doesn't spread. While I don't like to get political on my website, the truth of the matter is that a lot of people go on Facebook to get their news. Social media sites like Facebook were widely criticized for spreading false news without proper vetting. Without real fact checkers, disinformation often gets spread around causing riots from an uninformed audience. Pressured by the previous administration, Facebook has finally put their foot down on fake news.
Women in Technology: Fighting Sexism and Racism in the Workplace
What's with the rise of women entrepreneurship? Many believe it is because of the shrinking opportunities in the workplace for women, especially women of color. Sexism and racism has been a hot topic in the news for the last five to ten years, even more so with our current president. A combination of the market crash in 2008 and institutional racism has made it harder for women of color to break the glass ceiling in technology.