The Ultimate social video starter guide – Infographic

The dawn of video sharing sites introduced the world to a series of potentials that it had previously never experienced. Millions of hours of video are uploaded to sites like YouTube and Vimeo on a monthly basis, and YouTube receives well over a billion unique visits per month. The videos provide visitors with virtually anything that they need to look for, and have become resources that are growing as their users’ demands shift.

With the popularity of video sharing sites comes the potential for monetization of the process. Brands, small businesses, even people realized that they could be using the popularity of videos to create like-minded content, content that would be shared widely and enjoyed by the maximum number of eyes. It was realizations like this that led to the rise in a new brand of marketing that focused on harnessing the power of video sharing, while integrating it with a concerted social media strategy. Thus, social video marketing was born.

This social video starter guide infographic, provided by TollFreeForwarding.com, provides a how-to guide for exploiting the wild popularity of social video sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Google Hangouts, Instagram, and Vine. It explores how social video sites have become a major component of the online marketing medium, and why so many are succeeding because of it.

Let’s take a look at this social video starter guide  and how you can leverage these social video sites to help grow your business.

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Share Instagram photos and videos with Instagram Direct in 4 Simple Steps

After a failed attempt by Facebook to acquire Snapchat for $3 billion, they hit back in a big way when they announced Instagram Direct.

What is Instagram Direct?

Instagram Direct is a way for users to share photos and videos privately with up to 15 other Instagram users.

Here is what makes Instagram Direct so powerful and why it should be part of your Instagram strategy.

For example, one of the biggest issues that Instagram used to have was that every update, like, or comment was public.

Now, that isn’t the case because you can share Instagram photos or videos with everyone in your Instagram feed or use Instagram Direct to share them privately with a select group of followers.

Besides this new feature, Instagram also put Snapchat and Twitter on notice that they are a major force in social media.

Instagram Direct vs. Snapchat and Twitter

Previously, if you wanted to share a photo or video with someone privately, you had to look to Snapchat and Twitter because they offered the ability to send private messages while Instagram did not.

With 150 million Instagram users, by introducing private photo and video sharing, Instagram can keep its growing userbase within their platform.

Couple that with the fact that Facebook owns Instagram and you can start to understand why this feature is a giant step forward for Instagram.

So how easy is it to use Instagram Direct?

Follow the step-by-step guide and instructional video below on how to use Instagram Direct.

How to use Instagram Direct

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Make 2013 Your Best-Ever Year: A 12-Month Plan For Social Media Success [INFOGRAPHIC]

2012 was the year of social media.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest all experienced tremendous growth in social media.

So how can you as a business, capitalize on the success of these growing social networks in 2013? First, you need a social media plan.

No, you don’t have to get your calendar out and start feverishly writing. Instead, there’s a handy infographic that can help you figure out what you need to be doing each month to reach social media success in 2013.

A few of the key steps include:

  1. Assessing your social fitness
  2. Revisiting your social goals
  3. Becoming a better listener
  4. Integrating all of your social platforms, and
  5. Planning for the future
  6. ….

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Everything I Need to Know About Social Media, I Learned From Football

Blue 42, hut hut, hike.  Who’s ready for some Football? With the NFL Playoffs set, I put together this fun (and handy) infographic to help explain social media in terms of Football.

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The State of Social Media in 2012

2012 was a HUGE year for social media – especially for mobile.  Twitter revamped their mobile app, Facebook followed suit and overhauled Facebook for iOS (which was sorely needed). Then, not to be outdone, Pinterest launched business pages for Pinterest, which allowed businesses to create their own accounts that didn’t require a complex way to squeeze your business into the first name and last name fields (finally).

Besides mobile, 2012 was also big for investors as well, as Facebook went public – and who can forget about Facebook Timeline, which also launched in 2012 – I know, it’s hard to remember all the way back to January 2012.

So what else happened with social media in 2012? Take a look at this infographic on everything that happened in social media in 2012.

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The 10 Types of Social Media Addicts [Infographic]

Social Media Addiction is a disease, just like drug addiction and alcoholism.  In fact, social media addiction affects millions of people and can show up in many different forms.  For example, are you a “serial liker” – someone who likes every page you possibly can? How about the “constant checker” who cannot go five minutes without refreshing their Twitter or Instagram accounts checking for updates?

And one of my favorites? The “Self-Proclaimed Influencer” who’s obsessed with getting their Klout score to the top (it’s not all that important).

So do you suffer from social media addiction?

Check out the following infographic below for more types of social media addicts – and don’t be ashamed to admit it, we’re all addicts of something. Admitting there’s a problem is the first step to recovery!

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10 everyday places to find more fans, followers, and subscribers

How to find more fans with social media

Everywhere you look, businesses are on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube…the list goes on.  While joining lots of social networks is a great way to grow your online presence, it does not guarantee that you’ll get fans, followers or subscribers.  In fact, getting fans, followers or subscribers can be a challenge – often because you’re unknown, you’re not targeting the right audience, or you’re not posting enough (or at the wrong times).

While there are many ways to build your fanbase over time, here are 10 everyday places where you can find more fans, followers and subscribers.

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5 ways to use Instagram for business

5 way to use Instagram for your business5 ways to use Instagram for business. Most people think of Instagram as a quick and convenient way to take photos of their friends, family and vacations. While it is great for pleasure, you can also use Instagram for business as well.

In fact, not only does it serve as a great way to take quick photos, but you can also customize the look of your photos using various filters and tilt-shift blur (adding a blur to the background while keeping a single point on the photo sharp).

So now that you’re aware of what Instagram can do, how can you use Instagram for business and what are some of the benefits of using Instagram for business?

5 ways to use Instagram for business

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Link Instagram and Facebook Pages You Manage

Instagram logo

 
If you want to link Instagram and Facebook Pages that you manage, all it takes is a few minutes.

Before you link Instagram and Facebook Pages together, consider these amazing stats: every 58 seconds, a photo is uploaded to Instagram1 new user joins Instagram every second, and 50 million+ users are already using Instagram.

If those don’t move you to link Instagram and Facebook Pages you manage together, think about it from your fans’ standpoint.

Besides posting  typical Facebook Page updates – “LIKE this post…”, we launched a new product or news about your brand, Instagram photos can be a great way to boost the quality of the content you already post to your Facebook Page.

Why link Instagram and Facebook Pages?

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