Social Media Is Easy!

You may have heard of Squidoo . You may have also heard that you can make money on it. But what is Squidoo? What is Squidoo? Squidoo is an online publishing site that is a web 2.0 platform. This means that it is interactive - like social media, as there is a Squidoo community. Basically, you publish single web pages called lenses, that focus in on a niche topic - a little bit like a specialist blog, but one entry. Then, you interact with other people by liking and commenting on their lenses. It has a monster scoring system, and although it is not a game, it certainly is fun. More importantly, it is profitable! How do I sign up to Squidoo? You can sign up to Squidoo by following this link . You will need to add the personal details that you are asked for and add a profile image (this is not essential but is recommended for getting more traffic and interest). What should I write a Squidoo Lens About? For example, you might decide to do a Squidoo page on an animal such

Why would I want to Post a Facebook 'Question'? Facebook questions are great for both personal and business use. Maybe you want feedback on people's favourite bands to book gig tickets. Or perhaps you want to know what your friends are reading to give you an idea for the next book to read. Perhaps you own a product based business and want to do market research on what products to order next. You may want to find out what price people are prepared to pay for a product or service. You may even want feedback on the way you run your business, for example, do they prefer to shop online or in a physical shop. When you find out what you need to know from your Facebook friends or fans, make sure you act on it! How to Post a Question on Facebook To post a question on Facebook, you need to be using Facebook as a page.  On the status bar, click where it says event/question/offers.  Click on the 'Question' option on the status bar (it is on the top right hand side of t

What is a webinar? Short for   Web-based Seminar , a webinar is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web. A key feature of a webinar is its interactive elements — the ability to give, receive and discuss information. This is significantly different to Webcasts, which are one way and do not allow interaction between the presenter and the audience. ( Webopedia ) How does a webinar work? You can try running a webinar yourself, and if you’re brave, you’ll line up this equipment: ·          A computer with access to the Internet ·          A set of speakers (or a headset) to hear questions and talk to the attendees. ·          An inexpensive microphone to give your presentation. You will also want to make sure your software allows you to: ·          Share Videos ·          Share Web Sites ·          Share Power Point Presentations ·          Record your entire event to share with others Helpful video on a webina

What is Stumbleupon? Stumbleupon is my new favourite thing in the world of social media!  It a web based platform that is perfect for both sharing and researching.  You can set up a Stumbleupon account here . Using Stumbleupon for Research Stumbleupon can help you to discover new and interesting things on the internet. You tell Stumbleupon what you like and what your interests are, such as technology, cooking, animals or Facebook.  Stumbleupon will then introduce you to web pages, videos, photos and more that you might not find on your own. As you 'Stumble' on new web pages, you can click 'Like' or 'Dislike'.  Stumbleupon then can show you more of what you will love, based on what you have 'Liked'. Using Stumbleupon for Sharing When you create a website or update your blog, you can input it into Stumbleupon's list of websites. Simply go to your home page, click on the down arrow next to your user name and click on 'Add a Page

What is Facebook Graph Search? Facebook graph search is now in beta stages, and will soon be rolled out for public use. Graph search will allow you to find very specific information about your friends on facebook based on profiles and interactions. For example, it will allow you to search for 'friends who have been to New York' or 'friends who like Italian food and live in Manchester' for example.  This image shows the example of a Facebook graph search for photos before 1980.   How will Facebook Graph Search effect the way that Business market their brand through Facebook? This will also have many positive effects on Facebook use for business. Of course, it will enable businesses that have a Facebook page to be more easily searchable, leading to a quality fan base. There is also talk already on Graph Search Optimisation - GSO as opposed to SEO!  To find out more about Facebook Graph Search, click here .

What is a Blog? Many people want to know ‘what is a blog?’ A blog is a discussion or informative site published on the internet that is made up of a series of posts (blog entries).  Usually, blogs are displayed in reverse chronological order, displaying the most recent first. Therefore, blogs work like a series of diary entries. What can I Blog about? There are hundreds, thousands, even million of blogs on the internet today - food blogs, travel blogs , even dog blogs! A blog can be a diary, a cookbook, a photo album… the list goes on.  Blogs generally (but not always) have a theme or topic. For example, an International Development Blog  or Philosophy Blog .  A blog can be whatever you want to make it! What Blogging Platforms are available? There are so many blogging tools or platforms available for writing a blog. The internet has a series of brilliant blogging platforms that you can use for free, such as Blogger and Wordpress . Blogger is probably the easiest to use if

We have been testing out Ozoshare, the 'green' alternative social network, and think it's going to become the sexiest ethical social media platform for 2013. Ozoshare - The new and alternative Social Media Working a little bit like a green Facebook, Ozoshare offers good functionality and is specifically aimed at the eco-friendly social media user.  If you are interested in environmental and ethical issues, then Ozoshare could be the new social media platform for you. How do you use Ozoshare? On Ozoshare, you can share status as 'recycle' and approve the status of others. You can add photos and join 'Pow-Wows', which work in a similar way to Facebook groups.  Ozoshare is not for everyone. Of course, you have to be green and ethically minded. Ozoshare for Social Media Marketing and Business If you run an ethical business, you should definitely consider using Ozoshare. You can share images of ethical products and links to your website with green

Pinterest is hot and sexy for 2013! It is particularly great for creative business and Pinterest has a high percentage of female users. It is the third popular social networking site in the US.  Here are our top tips for using Pinterest. 1. Pin original content. 2. If you pin unoriginal content, always get permission and reference the source. 3. Pin around 5 pins daily. 4. Like other people's pins. 5. Comment on other people's pins, especially when they are in a similar topic or area. 6. Use hashtags and website links when describing a pin. 7. Follow related pinners, most will follow you back. 8. Avoid too much self promotion. 9. Consider using Pinstamatic to pin sticky notes, blogs and calendar dates. 10. Consider using reachli to become an advertiser or publisher. If you want to find out more about using Pinterest successfully, follow this link .

Delicious is a great way to bookmark and share your favourite web links. Today, it launched it's new site design. Delicious is easy to use, and helps to get traffic to your sites and blogs. First, you will need to set up an account. Simply go to www.delicious.com and follow the instructions to set up. The easiest way is to log in with Facebook or Twitter. Once you have an account, you can follow people and add links. You also have a personal inbox for messaging. When you add a website link into Delicious, you can tag it to make it more searchable for other people. To add a link, simply click 'Add Link' in the down arrow menu in the top right hand corner. Tags are extremely important as they make the site that you add more searchable. When you add a link to delicious, make sure that you add as many tags as you can think of, bearing in mind that people will search for topics under different names and headings. Do you use Delicious? Do you use it for

Advantages of Twitter Marketing Using Twitter is like sending a text message to the world! It offers the facility to ‘tweet’ a generic message to everyone following, @mention – send a direct tweet to someone, and to send a direct message. Twitter can be great for sharing links and asking people’s opinion on topics and products. You can make your tweet more searchable by using the #hashtag as a social bookmark. For example, using #socialmedia would mean that anyone searching for #socialmedia would be likely to stumble upon this tweet. Twitter marketing is also great for research and finding new connections. If you use the search bar, you can find people interested in similar things to you by searching for tweets on a particular topic. You can get a pretty good reach if you have a lot of followers who retweet you. Don't be afraid to ask for the RT (retweet), but don't ask too often - this might be seen as cheeky!  By sharing useful, unique and relevant content, you will find