Do you want more followers on Snapchat? Are you taking advantage of every connection option? Using the right tools to their fullest potential will grow your following and increase the chances that others will discover your Snapchat profile. In this article, you'll discover three ways to grow your audience on Snapchat. #1: Make an In-Person Connection [...]
This post 3 Ways to Grow Your Audience on Snapchat first appeared on .
- Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
The answer to this question might depend on who you ask. I recently sat in on a webinar by BuzzSumo Director Steve Rayson that discussed blog post length and the role it plays in SEO and user engagement, and there seems to be agreement about a few key truths. First and foremost, blog post length won't matter if the quality is rubbish. Furthermore, whether or not long-form or short-form content performs well will depend on the intent behind the writing (i.e., B2B or B2C).
In theory, long-form content does better in search results for a few reasons: the longer the content, the more backlinks you can insert; search engines will be more likely to understand what the content topic is about; long-form content tends to be high quality. Again, these statements are theoretical, and only sometimes true.
BuzzSumo conducted a study that pulled several thousand articles from top performing websites (Inc., TechCrunch, etc.). By data, it showed that the longer the content was, the more shares it received. However, most of the top performing articles from these sites were actually short-form content. This seems to indicate that there's a lot of low quality short-form content on the internet being cranked out like factory products.
In truth, creating short-form content at a high quality can be incredibly challenging and time consuming, but very effective at drawing user engagement. The reality is that reading behavior varies on an individual level. Sometimes users prefer a long, researched article over a short list of content, but users always prefer quality.
There isn't an ideal, standard length for blog posts. The best thing you can do is take a good look at the content you've produced and see what has or hasn't done well. Are your highest quality pieces short-form or long-form content? Do you get more user engagement from listicles and quizzes, or researched articles backed with data? Once you determine the kind of content your readers want from you, you can move forward with creating the kind of blog posts that are ideal for your goals.
Republished by permission. Original here.
Tape Measure Photo via Shutterstock
This article, "What's the Best Length for Your Blog Posts?" was first published on Small Business Trends
Every year you're spending 560 hours managing work email.
That's right. According to McKinsey, 28% of the average work week is spent reading and answering work emails. Based on a typical 40-hour schedule, that's 11.2 hours per week, or 560 hours each year.
That number may not be a shock. After all, most of us recognize email to be a necessary evil. But when you begin to think about all you could accomplish with just a portion of those hours back, you may realize the huge drain that email is on your productivity.
In fact, the same study from McKinsey estimates that we could get back 7 to 8 hours each week if we did a better job of managing our email. I don't know about you, but I could certainly use an extra work day every week!
In my experience, there are really just three ways that you can improve your inbox productivity.
The good news is that there are many tools out there that can help you manage your inbox. The bad news is that you have to sift through all the noise to go and find them. I'm sure you'd love to cut down on the time, stress, and chaos that email creates, but we both know you don't have time to sift through all of the tools and tricks out there.
Lucky for you, I've already invested that time. Keep reading and I'll share the 5 best tools I've found to make your inbox more organized and productive.
Throttle is a brilliant browser extension. It generates a unique email address for anything you need to sign up for online – newsletters, eBook downloads, apps and so much more. Throttle will even help you bring over your existing services too. It then puts all of your messages into one beautiful, daily email. Throttle removes the less important emails from your inbox so you can focus only on the most important messages.
It also makes you more secure since you don't have to give out your email address. And that's not all – Throttle gives you complete control over all of your subscriptions. In one click, you can revoke access from any sender. This doesn't just unsubscribe you from their list, it actually shuts down that uniquely generated email address. Throttle is the only tool we've found that will help improve inbox productivity in all three ways.
Price: FREE
Benefits: Helps you prioritize, Saves you time, Helps you unsubscribe
IFTTT is a powerhouse tool that can be used to simplify your entire life, not just your inbox. However, relating to inbox productivity, IFTTT can help you automate tedious manual tasks that take up precious time.
You can create endless email-related “recipes” such as creating a reminder for high priority emails, saving attachments directly to Google Drive, sending important emails to Evernote, or receiving a text message when certain people email you. IFTTT takes these manual tasks off your plate, freeing up time for you to focus on what really matters.
Price: FREE
Benefits: Saves you time
Sidekick helps you be the boss of your inbox. With this extension, you'll know who opens your emails and when, you'll get detailed profiles about contacts right in your inbox and you can even schedule emails to send at the ideal time.
The scheduling feature lets you crank out emails when it's most productive for you, but deliver them to your recipient when they're most likely to get opened. With detailed contact information, you'll have everything you need to know about your recipient right in front of you as you write your email, saving you time from having to search LinkedIn or past email threads for things like title, company name, mutual connections and more.
Sidekick saves you time and makes you a more powerful email user.
Price: Free or Business Plan ($50/user/month)
Benefits: Saves you time
Have you ever tried scheduling a meeting over email? How about a group meeting with several participants?
The back and forth can get out of control when trying to manage all participants' busy schedules, leading to piles of unnecessary email. Calendly lets you get all of this done with one email.
You simply set your availability and then send out an invite to all parties. They choose the time that's convenient for them, and you avoid an entire chain of complicated and painful back and forth. It's a simple principle but will make scheduling meetings the easiest thing you do all day.
Price: Free or Premium Plan ($8/month)
Benefits: Helps you prioritize, Saves you time
Last, but certainly not least, Todoist's Gmail and Outlook extensions make you uber productive, by seamlessly integrating their beautiful task manager into your inbox. This allows you to review all of your to-do tasks and projects right from your email.
You can instantly turn emails into tasks, setting deadlines and labels as needed. The best part? You can access your to-do list from anywhere, and when you click on a task that you created from the extension, you'll be taken back to the original email.
No more searching through your inbox looking for a message from weeks ago or letting things slip through the cracks. The Todoist email integration takes your inbox to the next level of productivity.
Price: Free or Premium Plan ($28.99/year)
Benefits: Saves you time
Sadly, we can't yet predict a future where email doesn't exist. But these five tools will help you spend less time managing your inbox and potentially give you hours back each day.
All of these tools have a free option, so give them a try and see what sticks!
Got any other favorite tools for streamlining email? Tell me in the comments below.
Guest Author: Christopher Riegger is an expert on growth and list building for businesses. Check out his writing at Growth Fruit.
The post Better Inbox Productivity – 5 Tools for Reclaiming the 560 Hours You Spend on Email appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Do you wonder how your peers are using social media? Wondering if you should focus on Instagram or Snapchat? Thinking of getting into live video? In our eighth-annual social media study, more than 5,000 marketers reveal where they focus their social media efforts. This industry report also shows you which social tactics are most effective and [...]
This post 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report first appeared on .
- Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Google wants small businesses make the most of the internet, and it's doing its bit to encourage them.
In April, the internet giant announced it will offer free workshops to help small businesses improve their online presence. To that effect, it has now shared a video that explains digital marketing for small and medium businesses.
The 43-minute video is part of the Google Partners Connect video program and provides useful tips and insights to strengthen your online presence and grow business. It features two presentations: one on mobile consumer behavior and one on the importance of micro-moments.
Presented by Aditi Manwani, Product Marketing Manager at Google, the first part of the Google Partners Connect video provides some interesting insights on consumer behavior and introduces the concept of micro-moments.
Manwani says micro-moments represent a new consumer behavior trend. Increasing use of mobile is changing the way we behave, making these micro-moments more important than ever.
She explains this by talking about four moment types.
The first type is the “I want to know” moment when consumers are not ready to buy yet. Next is the “I want to go” moment when they want to visit a local business. This is followed by the “I want to do” moment which is either before or after the purchase. At this moment, businesses have the opportunity to build loyalty. Finally, there's the “I want to buy” moment when consumers are still making a decision of how to buy.
By being useful and staying accountable, businesses can capture these moments.
In the second part of the video, Google digital evangelist Frederick Vallaeys shares some cool tips to help you boost your business online.
He begins by saying that every second more than 40,000 searches are made on Google. Yet, as he remarks later, only 45 percent of businesses in the United States have a website. It goes without saying that there's an opportunity waiting to be grabbed, and businesses are simply not doing enough to make the most of it.
Emphasizing the importance of mobile, Vallaeys adds that businesses should think mobile first when they build their website. That's because, mobile is getting bigger and a mobile-first approach will help businesses do well on desktop as well.
He provides more information on how businesses can connect with customers at moment of relevance by selecting the most appropriate keywords.
Among other things, he highlights the importance of videos to “raise trust factor” and the need to acknowledge and respond to online reviews to connect with more customers.
Another word of advice for small businesses is to measure the impact of their online marketing initiatives and be reasonable while setting goals.
Response to the workshop and the program has been overwhelmingly positive, with businesses appreciating Google for sharing valuable insights. Many small business owners used the #PartnersConnect hashtag to thank the company.
Thank you #partnersconnect and #Google for another great, informative live stream!
- Josh Echele (@Josh_Blayzer) May 4, 2016
Gotta grab those micro moments! Thanks @googlepartners for a great presentation! #partnersconnect
- Jennifer Hill (@jenniferdhill) May 4, 2016
Neat #partnersconnect presentation, thanks @googlepartners @MarketingChimp1!
- 3PRIME LLC (@3PRIME) May 4, 2016
In the coming days, Google will upload more videos under its Google Partner Connect video program channel on YouTube.
Image: Google
This article, "Google Shares Ways To Increase Traffic To Your Business [Watch]" was first published on Small Business Trends
Being an entrepreneur isn't all about sitting on a secluded beach somewhere in paradise. If you think that entrepreneurship is about working 2-3 hours a day, then you're a wrong.
An entrepreneur has a lot of responsibilities including marketing, managing teams and hiring employees. This can become stressful; with productivity, efficiency and the growth of the company suffering.
But you can overcome these barriers by using some simple tools. These tools are helpful in making you a productive and efficient entrepreneur.
If you want to stop wasting your valuable time, and instead focus on the important things in your business – these tools will help.
So here are 7 tools every entrepreneur must use.
Mention is a media monitoring app. This tool will inform you whenever your name is mentioned on the web.
You can also set target keywords or other brand names to receive their updates and track your competitors.
Using Mention is simple. Let me show you:
First of all you need to set up an account. You can do this by entering you details and signing up using email or you can just use your social accounts.
Next, create an alert. You can choose the type of alert you want to create.
There are three types:
Here I have selected My Company or Product.
In the first two steps you need to enter your name, website, Twitter handle and Facebook handle.
Now you have to select the channels and languages.
Once you're done, you reach your dashboard where you can see your mentions. You can also view your statistics and exports.
So with this tool, you can monitor all your mentions from anywhere and track your competitors.
Wunderlist is a great tool to get things done. It is a very simple task manager that helps you boost your productivity. This is the first app that is on the screen of Satya Nadella's (CEO of Microsoft) smartphone.
You can create lists, share those lists to your team and group them in a folder to avoid any mess.
This tool has a very clean user interface and you will really enjoy using this tool.
Let us create some tasks and see what wonders you can do with Wunderlist.
I am logged into my account and here is what it looks like.
Now let us create some lists and tasks.
To create a list, click on the button in he bottom left corner. Now give a name to your list. Here I am creating a list named “App development”.
You can add other members to your list. If you work with a team this feature is very helpful.
Once you're done you can start adding tasks to your list. Then you can give your tasks a due date.
There are many other features that will maximize your productivity with Wunderlist.
There are several alternatives to Wunderlist, but this is the best one I've ever used, and that's why I recommend you use it too.
I was able to boost my productivity and work faster with this app and you can too.
Moving on to the next one.
Upwork is a marketplace to get tasks done by freelancers. As an entrepreneur, there are many things you have to do and some of these things aren't your cup of tea.
So with Upwork you can find people who can work for you. There are many freelancers on Upwork that will do specific jobs for you.
The process of hiring someone on Upwork is very simple. Let me show you how:
Now suppose you need a logo to be designed. All you need to do is to search for logo design and find the best designer based on your requirements. Always try to hire freelancers with high job success rate.
After selecting a freelancer, check their overview and their portfolio. Also check their work history and feedback to know whether they can do your job well or not.
Once you feel that the freelancer is perfect for your job, you can move on to the next step and hire him/her.
Slack is basically a chat room for your whole company or team. So if you have a team working for you then slack is a very awesome tool.
This tool looks complex but if you use it, you will find it pretty simple. All the conversations that your team has are divided into channels. Anyone can join the channel and be a part of the conversation.
You can also select which channel you want to be a part of. It also has real-time notifications so you can stay updated.
The best feature of this app is the file sharing. You can share files to any member of your team hassle free.
Time management is a waste if your cash-flow is non existent. You may have heard stories of entrepreneurs being broke. To avoid such a situation yourself, Mint is a powerful tool.
This tool will help you manage your money and budget. You can create budgets and control your money.
Some people think managing money from these tools doesn't help, but that's probably because many people don't create a realistic budget.
You can easily set a budget and manage your transactions. To understand Mint and get the most out of it read this guide.
I don't think this tool needs an introduction. Dropbox will help you manage all your files and access them from anywhere.
There is nothing much to explain about Dropbox. But you can use some productivity hacks to make it work even better.
This is the ultimate tool. Almost everything can be done using IFTT. You can connect all your apps to this tool and create recipes to get the most out it.
Here are some great recipes for Twitter.
You can find many recipes for different tools and if you don't find one, you can also create a recipe. Let me show you how:
First click on your profile name and then click on the create button.
Then click on “then” and select your trigger channel. There are many channels to choose from. I have selected Facebook here.
The next step is to choose a trigger for your selected channel. You will find many options to choose from.
I have selected “New status message by you” in this example.
Click on “that” to move forward and select your action channel. I am selecting twitter here.
Now choose an action for twitter. I have selected “Post a tweet”.
Then all you need to do is to click on create action and then create the recipe.
So now whenever I post a status on Facebook it will tweet the same status on Twitter. Simple isn't it?
With this you can create thousands of recipes and use this tool to do all kinds of stuff. I never felt the need to create a new recipe because you can find all the recipes you want already created.
If you browse the recipes thoroughly, you will find recipes that you may never have thought of!
So this was a list of the tools every entrepreneur must use. I am sure that by using these tools you will be able to boost your productivity and work faster. If you find any tool missing in this list, let me know in the comments below.
Which tool has helped you boost your productivity and save the most time?
Guest Author: Ahfaz Ahmed is a blogger who loves to write about blogging and internet marketing. With his blog, he aims at helping people grow their website traffic and make money. He takes on a step-by-step approach in his articles and is obsessed with extremely detailed articles. You can follow him on Twitter to get the latest updates by him.
The post 7 Tools Every Digital Entrepreneur Must Use appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Everyone wants to get noticed. And everyone wants attention.
Well, why are we trying the same old, tired techniques?
When you're trying to gain media attention it's important to standout. If you're exactly like everyone else, why would anyone care to cover you?
Find your unique voice and own it.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't try to repeat what works for others, but find your own spin on that approach.
Below are 49 more unconventional, yet effective, approaches to help you get noticed.
If you missed the first part of this series, check it out here.
Find an information gap for a particular reporter (Hint: Read other reporters' accounts as well.)
Hire an editor or outside contractor with experience editing. Treat each email like you would a blog post, brand page, etc.
A/B test subject headings when pitching several reporters and editors. Take notice of who replies given which headings.
Locals, already familiar with a topic, may be interested to hear follow-up stories.
Target reporters who regularly cover your niche, and contact them for direct quotes for a story that you're writing.
Find a common bond, doing an image (or reverse image) search for their name to possibly unearth pictures of them doing hobbies or pictures they've used in their pieces.
Don't (just) follow a reporter before you make an outreach attempt. Make (at least) two sentiments of interest (follow the reporter on Twitter and comment on a post of theirs) before writing an outreach email.
Pitch a follow-up or annual study to those who have previously covered you or your business.
Send a written letter as outreach rather than email; place it in a larger envelope and include pictures and graphs to supplement your insight – be different!
Find (at least) three supporting articles (from respected sources) to support your own arguments or position for credibility purposes.
Make a counterargument regarding a reporter or organization's opinion; even if a reporter does not agree, they may want to include a counterpoint in a follow-up story.
Consider changing the name of your business, service, or popular product, and get consumers involved in the process via a contest.
Take interest in ongoing stories with two or more reporters contributing. You'll be more likely to offer something one (or the others) find intriguing.
Use another alert system, besides Google, to stay on top of stories and particular reporters.
Include links to prior articles you've written (or been referenced in) along with your email signature during the initial outreach to express authority.
Don't keep an interested reporter waiting; get back to them within the hour!
If you're a better speaker than writer, consider uploading a YouTube video rather than write, yet explain (in the body of the email) why you rather include a video link.
Include quotes of a friend or colleague who has a counterpoint to your argument. Both parties may get coverage.
Along with a written thank you, get digital and thank them with a link.
Making contact (email, tweet, blog comment) once each month.
Have (at least) two other people read your email for grammar and spelling before sending it to a reporter or editor.
Avoid Facebook stalking or informal gestures on Twitter.
If you think an 'influencer' in your niche (has already) answered a reporter's present query, do the work for the former party and send the reporter a link to quotes or works along with contact information.
Send a personalized bobblehead doll as a memorable 'thank you' sentiment.
Make a donation in the name of the reporter or media outlet in appreciation for coverage or ongoing contact.
Make a Pinterest board filled with insights regarding a particular topic, and refer reporters to your curated effort.
Filled with information to supplement your initial information, especially if you have a lot of information to relay.
Create a Twitter list of people who can help a reporter with a query.
Create a hashtag to support a reporter's active and ongoing query or topic of interest.
Interview a reporter or editor via a Twitter chat.
Don't only use 'influencers' for roundup or mass opinion posts; those with a limited number of followers are (more) likely to appreciate the attention.
If you're a graphic artist, or an in-house designer, consider creating a political cartoon to illustrate a point rather than write an argument or opinion.
Ask influencers to contribute to an ongoing collage of data, tables, and other varieties of visual information.
Create a 'thank you' page of particular followers who express extra interest in your posts, tweets, insights, etc.
Make sure you address how your information benefits the reporter's readers.
Use BuzzSumo to find the most-shared content and to identify influencers.
Spend most of your time on the opening three-to-four sentences of the outreach email.
Establish that you're a good listener, relaying previous opinions and work of reporters.
Thank the reporter for their time (even if you don't hear back from them). It's a sentiment of respect (as well as a subtle reminder!)
Show the reporter you're savvy about where a story has been and (especially) where it's going. Reporters look for arcs, so you should too.
Wait to respond to a query you can truly contribute toward; first impressions count!
Focus on building a relationship with a reporter more than being covered for a story.
Ask questions in comments and using tweets rather than only sharing a reporter's story.
Use an analogy to support your position or argument (perhaps using a hobby or interest of the reporter).
Use spacing in your email, especially between major points.
Be confident with your writing voice; you are asking for inclusion in a story, but don't lose sight of the fact that you're doing something for the reporter too.
Reporters work with deadlines; let them know that you're available for a follow-up whenever they're ready.
When following up with a reporter, use the same email chain (for their convenience) rather than starting a new string.
Get better at outreach, reading related literature and being inquisitive about reporter and editor preferences.
Guest Author: Cam Secore is an internet entrepreneur and currently blogging at Power Moves, where he writes reviews on his cool devices. Fun Fact: He once went four consecutive years without missing a Boston Celtics game. Don't even think about telling him the Celtics aren't winning a championship this year.
The post 49 Surprising Tips for Getting Attention in Mass Media appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
