Showing posts with label Business Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Blogging. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Blogs YOU Should Know?


5 Social media blogs that you need to know about..

Social media marketing is, undoubtedly, an ever-changing medium. Whether it’s keeping abreast of new developments in social media, such as new social media features or new algorithms, or whether it’s educating yourself on new social media strategies and emerging statistics and data, digital marketers and business owners need to constantly keep up to date and educate themselves.


And the best way to do this? By reading the best blogs and news sources, religiously.

In this blog post, I’m going to share five social media blogs that you need to know about.

Tip: Get an RSS reader like Feedly to subscribe to multiple social media and digital marketing blogs so that you can easily check them whenever you have a spare moment.

All you need is either your smartphone, tablet or laptop/desktop computer to read the latest articles.


Social Media Examiner

Social Media Examiner is one of the best known and popular social media marketing blogs in the world and for good reason: their content always provides value.

With articles from social media experts like Michael Stelzner and Lisa D. Jenkins – as well as a collection of other social media specialists who contribute regularly – beginners and experts alike can learn all about social media marketing strategies.

As a beginner, you can use Social Media Examiner to learn with step-by-step instructions how to leverage social media marketing and how to use various social networks to your advantage.

As an experienced marketer, you can use their blog to learn new strategies and improve on your knowledge.

And for both beginners and experienced users, you can check Social Media Examiner for information on the latest features and developments you need to know about, as well as for keeping up to date on the latest findings in social media marketing (relevant research and statistics) and the best social media marketing tools that you need to know about.

Frequency: They usually publish about an article a day, forsaking weekends.


Social Media Today

Another top social media marketing blog that should be bookmarked is Social Media Today; this immensely popular blog is an impressive library of social media marketing content, whether it’s news or tips.

The blog relies on a huge network of regular contributors who post content on any and all social media topics you can think of.

One of the biggest reasons why it’s such a great source of social media marketing content is that they’re constantly reporting on the latest news and developments in social media so that you can stay abreast of the latest features, algorithms and releases that you need to know about when planning your social media strategy.

Furthermore, you also get other useful content, such as tips from top social media experts, listicles with useful social media marketing tools that can help you implement your strategy more effectively and opinion articles from specialists and experienced marketers.

Frequency: They usually update with new content several times a day, every day.


Convince and Convert

Convince and Convert is a content marketing blog – and one the most popular ones of its kind – but it also hosts some of the best content on social media marketing. Written by founder Jay Baer and other top social media experts, their social media marketing blog offers new content regularly, with a focus on value: how to guides, useful tips, case studies, opinion pieces and useful tools.

While beginners can certainly learn a lot from this blog, it’s better-suited to those who have some experience with social media marketing already; there aren’t as many articles written specifically for beginners – their articles are usually about very specific topics that require some existing knowledge and experience with social media, such as how to create an influencer marketing agreement that protects you and how to leverage different psychology strategies as part of your social media campaigns and strategies.

Frequency: While on the main blog you get several articles a week, social media articles usually come at least weekly, although he frequency does oscillate.

Related Article: YOUR Video Content Is King?


Social Media Lab, by Agorapulse

Social Media Lab is a social media marketing blog powered by social media management tool Agorapulse that’s all about case studies and experiments.

The premise is simple: every month, they invest $15k of their profits into creating various interesting experiments for all major social networks. In most cases, they look at popular and lesser-known social media strategies, as well as social media myths and rumors and test them for an extended period of time in order to find out whether they actually work or not.

You can browse through their experiments easily by selecting the social network you’re interested in (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter) or whether you’re interested in organic versus paid strategies.

There is quite a bit to learn from these experiments; not just finding out which strategies work and which don’t, but also understanding how to create such types of tests (if you want to try experimenting by yourself), as well as discovering new strategies that you might not know about.

To give you a few examples of the type of experiments that you can find on the platform, you can learn whether using emojis to your tweets actually helps improve your impressions and engagement, whether Facebook has a problem with 3rd party scheduling apps and whether it’s worth investing in Twitter Promote or not – among many others.

Plus, if you prefer listening to podcasts, you can also listen to their experiments and findings via iTunes, Google Play and other popular podcasting platforms.

Frequency: They usually post new content weekly, or a few times a month.


Socially Sorted

Socially Sorted is social media expert’s Donna Moritz’s creation, a social media marketing blog that has been named 3 years in a row one of top 10 social media blogs by Social Media Examiner.

Most of the articles on the blog are written by Donna Moritz herself, although there are occasional contributors who bring their own knowledge to the table. As for what type of content you can find on Socially Sorted, the focus is on visual platforms and content (such as Instagram and Pinterest), although any social media marketer/business can get valuable content even if they don’t use the 2 platforms.

Read it to learn about different tools that you can use as part of your social media content strategy, to learn how to create amazing social media content and to download useful resources such as social media holiday calendars, among others. Plus, while there might be a bigger focus on the visual aspect, there is plenty of content on other topics relevant to marketers who use other mediums (blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook and so on).

Frequency: She usually publishes one article a week.


Guest Authored By Lilach Bullock. Lilach is an entrepreneur and passionate blogger for over a decade, during which time She has written thousands of articles on her blog and many other publications.

Her Forbes column is all about helping businesses market themselves, whether entrepreneurs or start-ups, enterprises, and everything in between.

If she's not blogging, she loves speaking at events all over the world, spending time with her daughter, and when time permits, she's also a big fan of Zumba. Follow Lilach on Twitter.






Digital marketing in general – and social media in particular – requires constant learning and self-development.

It’s not just about keeping up to date with news such changes to the Facebook algorithm or new forms of social media content, but also about knowing what tools you should use, what strategies perform best and what digital marketing trends you need to know about.

Ideally, subscribe to several top social media marketing blogs and read them regularly – knowledge is one of the best tools you have at your disposal to help you grow and evolve..

  • Post Crafted By:
    Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO. where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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Friday, September 28, 2018

Dominate YOUR Marketing In Less Time?


9 Ways to dominate marketing in less time..

Success often requires getting things done sooner but without cutting corners.



As an entrepreneur, you're in a Catch-22. If you don't spend time marketing your business, it can't grow.

If you spend too much time focused on marketing, you can't develop or enhance the products or services you're selling.

How can you get out of this jam? By dominating your marketing in less time.

Start by using these nine tips:



1. Map Things Out

When you started marketing your business, you undoubtedly felt tempted to blog about whatever was on your mind or share social media content as you saw fit. As you probably know by now, that's not an effective strategy. Is this the content your audience cares about? Are you posting at optimal times? Is your content converting new subscribers or sales?

When your marketing strategy doesn't have any rhyme or reason, you can't attribute sales or other outcomes. What's more, if you haven't mapped anything out, how can you be certain you're reaching your goals? You need to take the time to properly launch a marketing campaign.

Do some research to determine what kind of content your audience members are looking for and where they spend their time online. Then, you can create an editorial calendar, download a scheduling app and develop a marketing section within your business plan to keep track of what's working and what's not.

Although you're spending time mapping out your marketing campaign, think of it as an investment. When you have a plan, your marketing efforts will become more effective and less time-consuming because you'll know exactly where your marketing efforts are going -- without wasting time on a strategy that doesn't work.



2. Write The Way You Talk

Blogging is one of the most effective ways to market your business. It demonstrates that you're not only an industry leader, but also someone who can enhance the lives of his or her target audience.

You don't need to spend two hours a day writing blog posts. In fact, because you're an expert who knows what you're talking about, you should be able to crank out a blog post in no time.

The reason this isn't happening is because you're writing differently than you think.

When it's time to write a blog post, phrase things the way you would while discussing it. Don't worry about impressing people with big words. Just showcase your knowledge while being authentic -- like you do when having a discussion.

The same idea can be applied to your social media posts or the answers you share on sites like Quora. You'll notice it won't take long to compose written content. As an added perk, your content be found easier. Algorithms from Google and Facebook look for content with a personal, genuine tone.



3. Take Advantage Of Automation

There's no shortage of tools that can automate your marketing efforts. For example, Infusionsoft streamlines your entire advertising experience by providing a landing page builder, CRM integration, and a campaign builder that will automatically send personalized emails and discounts to hot leads.

There's also Zapier and IFTTT, which allow you to automate actions like sharing a WordPress blog post to Facebook or monitoring YouTube for relevant videos to share on Twitter.

Buffer, Hootsuite and Post Planner allow you to manage your social media posts, as well as schedule content in advance.



4. Outsource Or Delegate

Although automation can save you a lot of time, there needs to be a human touch involved with your marketing. Instead of doing this yourself, consider outsourcing or delegating content creation.

For example, ask your team to snap photos throughout the day and post them to Instagram to give your audience a behind-the-scenes look. For blog content, you could hire a freelance writer who has experience writing about your industry.

 (Editors Note: - You can save a lot of time, money and they can really help you scale your business. If you outsource to freelancers, you'll get some very productive people at a very comptetive rate, but it does require a bit of work and processes in order to be able to find the right person for your business. Here's an article from Time Doctor (complete guide) that can help you a lot if you choose to outsource..)

There's a misconception that when it comes to marketing, you need to be everywhere. The truth is that it doesn't make sense to spend the time and money on channels and platforms your audience doesn't visit.

For example, if you're targeting a Millennial audience, you would want to focus on Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter rather than spend time on LinkedIn or radio ads.

By narrowing the channels and platforms you use, you'll spend significantly less time marketing -- and you'll see higher conversions because you're only marketing to your target audience, not everyone else.



5. Prioritize Your Channels And Platforms

There's a misconception that when it comes to marketing, you need to be everywhere. The truth is that it doesn't make sense to spend the time and money on channels and platforms your audience doesn't visit.

For example, if you're targeting a Millennial audience, you would want to focus on Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter rather than spend time on LinkedIn or radio ads.

By narrowing the channels and platforms you use, you'll spend significantly less time marketing -- and you'll see higher conversions because you're only marketing to your target audience, not everyone else.



6. Batch And Schedule

I'm a big fan of batching, or grouping similar tasks together. You're not jumping between various tasks, which ultimately saves you time.

For marketing, devote one day a week to scheduling and curating content for the next week and creating a monthly newsletter. You then only have to check in on your efforts every other day as opposed to spending 20 minutes or more on these activities daily.

7. Get Others To Market Your Business For You

Why spend time on marketing when you can get others to do it for you?

The easiest way to do this is though word of mouth from existing customers. If you deliver a high-quality product or service, along with outstanding customer service, your customers will rave about you in person and online.



Sometimes, Though, They Need A Nudge

Ask them to leave reviews or testimonials that can be placed on your site or third-party review sites. Launch a referral program or run a social media contest, like asking customers to show how they enjoy using your product to receive a prize.

Another option is to team up with another growing business to split marketing responsibilities.

8. Commit To 30 Minutes A Day

Even if you use the tips listed above, you'll have to set aside the time for your content marketing. The good news is that HubSpot has a method for achieving this in just 30 minutes a day.



The method assigns 10 minutes to writing blog posts. You may not finish a post in this amount of time.

However, if you spent 10 minutes a day writing, you could have a lengthy, high-quality article in less than a week. You can actually write more than you think by setting a timer, eliminating distractions, preparing an outline and not stopping to edit.

Then, allot five minutes for updating social media. Use this time to respond to followers and write an engaging post for the day.

Research should also take five minutes per day. Doing a small amount of studying and researching each day makes creating content faster and easier. Subscribe to relevant industry newsletters and RSS feeds so content comes to you.

Finally, conduct outreach for 10 minutes. Build Twitter lists, and reach out to bloggers who wrote the articles you've enjoyed reading in your feed.



9. Pay Attention To Analytics

All of this is moot if you aren't running analytics on your social channels and website. Analytics will let you know which marketing techniques are working -- and which aren't. This ensures you spend time on what you're doing right, not what you're doing wrong.

A growing business may feel like it doesn't have the bandwidth to accommodate marketing, but without marketing, it will stop growing. By taking a few steps to make marketing an incremental effort, you can ensure you get your company's name out without taking time away from the business itself.

Guest Authored By John Rampton. John is is an entrepreneur, investor, and startup enthusiast. He is founder of the calendar productivity tool Calendar. Follow John on Twitter.





A growing business may feel like it doesn't have the bandwidth to accommodate marketing, but without marketing, it will stop growing.

By taking a few steps to make marketing an incremental effort, you can ensure you get your company's name out without taking time away from the business itself..


    • Post Crafted By:
      Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ. where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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    Location: Draper, UT 84020, USA

    Friday, April 20, 2018

    Turning YOUR Social Media Account Into A Business?


    Tips for entrepreneurs who want to turn a social media account into a social media business..



    If you were to ask ten random people on the street if they have an Instagram account, statistics show that six of those ten people have one.

    There are over 800 million monthly Instagram users snapping selfies, liking images, and following influencers every day. For most, Instagram is an easy platform to show off vacation photos or gloat about their courtside seats at a playoff game.

    But for the almost 32 million bloggers, this platform is an untapped reservoir of potential buyers with an almost religious eye on daily posts from their favorite blogger and money to spend.



    I caught up with two bloggers who use this platform to connect with hundreds of thousands of followers every day.

    For the past five years, Sarah and Robbie Tripp have created a lucrative career for themselves by sharing fashion, relationship, and lifestyle tips via Sassy Red Lipstick, a blog they started in 2013. “There’s no doubt that Instagram is where the money is at for bloggers and influencers,” said Robbie.

    That same year, blogger Corrine Stokoe acted on a platform idea that seemed to find her first. As a mom of a newborn, Corrine would spend the long Utah winters walking around the mall or down the aisles at Target and look for good deals. “I started posting the deals I’d find on my personal Instagram with the hashtag #someonegobuythis,” said Corrine. “My friends and family loved it and encouraged me to start a blog where I can share the good deals. That’s how Mint Arrow was born.”



    Although it may appear as if The Tripps and Corrine have a glamorous life filled with vacations, nice clothes, and high-end toys.

    And they do enjoy all of those things, building and maintaining a successful social media presence takes a lot of work.

    So along with a commitment to succeed in this business, here are four main practices that have helped launch these two successful social media platforms.



    1. Find Your Niche

    Sarah Tripp wasn’t the first person to post about fashion on Instagram, and it showed in her platform’s lack of momentum. It wasn’t until Sarah used her brand as a voice for body positivity and began marketing to curvy women (Sarah wears a 10/12 dress size) that she started growing a loyal and engaged audience.

    “This is certainly a hallmark of successful Instagramers,” says R. L. Adams “They all had the original intent of doing something that they were passionate about to help inspire or motivate others.”

    That is the philosophy which also guides Mint Arrow, a site that blends the worlds of deal-finding with fashion blogging. “When I started, people were used to seeing an unstyled info site with tons of coupons, or a site filled with stylized outfits that were out of most people’s price range,” said Corrine. “By trying to combine the two, we’ve created something that is relatable and exciting when we find great deals for our readers.”



    2.Treat It Like A Business

    Whether you have 100 followers or 300,000, the discipline for maintaining a robust and profitable following remains the same. Although it may look like The Tripps are, in fact, simply “tripping” around the globe, in reality, each post is a carefully designed image that serves to further their brand and promotional impact. “Your income in this game is inseparably linked to your number of followers,” said Robbie. “It’s simple advertising logic -- the bigger your audience, the more brands are willing to pay for sponsored content on your platform.”

    Balance Business Savvy with Authenticity

    Both blogging teams admit that metrics influence what strategies they use, but it shouldn’t dictate the feel of the brand. “Metrics aren’t really my focus,” said Corrine. “And when I get really focused on the numbers, I lose what makes everything we do so special.” She said that her ultimate goal is to be the same person online as she is in person. “When someone meets me and says I am who they thought I would be in real life. . . that’s success. That means I’ve stayed true to myself,” said Corrine. “And I think that’s why the metrics are so often in our favor.”



    Be Patient

    Even the most committed blogger knows that it takes time to build a strong following. “Social media is a marathon, not a sprint,” says Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of Vaynermedia. “It’s important to understand that results take time.”

    To maintain their following, Sarah admits that she and Robbie work around the clock to ensure they keep up the momentum. For most of social media’s leading bloggers, results took years to present themselves -- not mere months. “A common thread I’ve seen with successful bloggers is that it takes about 5-6 years to get to the point where your platform is established and major campaigns are coming your way.”

    “For the first eighteen months or so, I worked my tail off and made almost nothing,” said Corrine. “But around that year and a half mark it started to really pay off.” Now, both her and her husband work on the site full-time and they employ five-member direct team.



    “For your content to achieve its desired effect it must compound over time.

    Building a pyramid of content takes patience and consistent effort,” says Forbes contributor AJ Agrawal. “The good news is that this accumulation of content will have long-term effects on your brand, SEO and customer acquisition.”

    With 500 million people turning to Instagram every day, the potential for a social media campaign to expand one’s reach holds some provocative possibilities. “There are no rules,” said Robbie Tripp. “You can create your own career path, and you can customize your lifestyle; you just have to think outside the box and be willing to take the risk. This is a whole new industry of opportunity, and there’s serious money to be made if you can create content that cuts through the noise.”

    Guest Authored By Ryan Westwood. Ryan is the CEO of Simplus, a Platinum Salesforce Partner. An experienced entrepreneur, he is also a bestselling author and speaker on entrepreneurship. Follow Ryan on Twitter.





    Building a pyramid of content takes patience and consistent effort,” says Forbes contributor AJ Agrawal.

    “The good news is that this accumulation of content will have long-term effects on your brand, SEO and customer acquisition..”


      • Post Crafted By:
        Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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      Location: Loveland, CO 80538, USA
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