With so many professionals working from home these days as a result of forced quarantine, security is a top priority. If social media is part of your marketing strategy, use these tips to stay safe, and secure your Facebook account during this heavier than normal usage period.

Use a Strong Password and Never Share Your Login

Facebook urges users to always use a strong password made up of a complex combination of letters, numbers, and symbols (alternating case). Be careful not to use a password that can be easily guessed or has any details from your life (your pet’s name, kids’ birthdates, etc.). 

Never use the same password on other websites and do not share your Facebook or Instagram login with anyone else. Change your password often to stay extra safe.

Turn on Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication helps to keep your Facebook account safe by texting or emailing a code so that only you can log in and make changes. Whenever two-factor authentication is...

Social media is a giant that you cannot ignore. More than 3.5 billion people use social platforms every day. That equates to almost half the world’s population, and Facebook is the market leader with 68% of that pie. Facebook averages 2.32 billion active monthly users. If you don’t have a Facebook page for your business yet, you should. 

Below are the quick steps to create your Facebook business page in minutes.

Create Your Facebook Business Page

If the idea of setting up a Facebook business page seems daunting, don’t worry. You can set up one within minutes easily. 

1. Visit the Facebook for Business webpage.
2. Click the Create a Page button.
3. Select your type of business (Business or Brand/Community or Public Figure).
4. Choose a page name; keep it consistent with your other social media platforms.
5. Select a category for your business.

Select a Profile Picture to Represent Your Brand

Your profile image is an essential element of your...

Since 2019, Instagram Checkout has been in beta testing. It will soon be released to the public and could become your new, best marketing tool, turning followers into instant customers! 

What is Instagram Checkout

Instagram Checkout is an add-on feature allowing users to purchase products without ever leaving the app. Customers can click on a product to see details; then, with one additional tap, they can enter their personal information, pay, and purchase. Instagram Checkout was initially tested using 26 brands, including (Zara, Revolve, Warby Parker, and Nike). Brands who are currently using Checkout love the potential of it.

Instagram Checkout is not currently open to all brands yet, and it is only available in the U.S. Most likely, once it is released to the public, it will also be expanded to other countries.

How Can My Business Benefit from Instagram Checkout?

Once it is rolled out, Instagram Checkout will have tons of features for small, medium, and large businesses. The...

Instagram sprung onto the scene with a very simple concept of sharing photos and videos. Since its inception, Instagram has grown into one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, and it is a critical asset for any business’s marketing strategy. 

Instagram’s features are continually changing and upgrading, so it can be confusing to stay on top of what’s new. To get the most out of Instagram, here are the most important features you need to know about.

Instagram Live

One of the most useful features of Instagram is Instagram Live, where you can live stream video content to your audience. You can also turn on commenting or reactions to gain real-time feedback. Live video allows you to authentically connect with your followers and be real. Some good reasons to use Instagram Live are:

• You can broadcast live video for a close-up and personal connection.
• Save your video to Instagram Stories, so if any followers missed it, they can replay.
• Pin your...

Studies show that 90% of Instagram users follow at least one brand, and most Instagram followers use it to find brands and to shop for products. Since its inception, Instagram has grown into a marketing giant earning the highest engagement rate of all social media platforms. 

Instagram offers companies Instagram Ads, Business Accounts, and even Instagram TV, along with dozens of other tools to increase your brand awareness and organically grow your followers. In just eight quick steps, you can begin using Instagram to expand your reach and stake your claim to some serious marketing influence on the platform.

1 - Research the Best Days/Times to Post

There are dozens of helpful charts online that show you the days and times when the peak number of users are online and engaging on Instagram. Always post each week consistently, so your followers begin to expect your great content.

2 - Create Great Content That is Interesting to Your Audience

Know your audience inside and out. What...

You may have wondered about this thing called TikTok that everyone is talking about. If you haven’t yet started using TikTok for your brand, you might want to reconsider. With more than 2 billion downloads, TikTok is quickly becoming a marketing tool with real teeth. 

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos. It was initially intended for the dance-loving GenZ teens audience but has quickly become widely popular among celebrities, influencers, and many essential brands. Users spend approximately 52 minutes per day on TikTok, that’s a lot of exposure for your brand!

What Makes TikTok Different?

The first thing that makes this social media platform different is that it is actually fun to use. The social media drenched masses are hungry for something new, and TikTok delivers. 

The first successful users of TikTok focused on dance trends and lip-synced challenges. Although this type of content still...

If you know anything about marketing via social media, you know that hashtags are the name of the game. Hashtags are a powerful tool that boosts engagement. They work by making content discoverable and grouping similar items together, so when a user clicks on a hashtag, they see all posts related to it. By using some hashtag tricks, you can attract more visitors and grow your audience substantially.

Give these hacks a try to step up your hashtag game instantly.

1 - Use Relevant Hashtags

If you want to target genuine followers, use super relevant hashtags that directly relate to your business or brand. Stay away from using popular or trendy hashtags to get a few extra likes. Stay the course and target real followers for the long-term. Use at least ten or more hashtags per post to be effective.

2 - Add Line Breaks Before Your Hashtags

Instagram has a bad habit of removing extra line breaks, so your hashtags get pushed up against your content and often overlooked. Use an app like ...

Instagram is an invaluable marketing tool for businesses. In 2018, the social media giant reached more than 1 billion users, making it the #2 platform after Facebook. 

Instagram is a highly visual medium allowing you to share images, videos, Stories, and even live presentations. Instagram’s Live feature is a powerful tool you can use to connect with your audience on a very personal level. Instead of using pre-recorded video, you stream your experience in real-time and allow feedback, comments, and suggestions from your audience, gaining valuable insight along the way. The more you engage with your followers, the stronger your brand awareness. 

Let’s get started with these step-by-step instructions on how to get the most out of Instagram Live for your business.

1 - Check Your Live Settings

Before you start streaming, you will want to check your Live settings. 

• Open Instagram and tap the Your Story icon to open the camera. 

• At the bottom of...

As COVID-19 makes its way across the US, educational institutions are reviewing their communication and response plans. Oftentimes these plans can be outdated or need to be tailored to handle individual cases.  Coronavirus is one such case. 

While we're helping our clients communicate in a proactive and informative manner online, we thought it would be important to share this information with others who are reviewing or implementing their plans. 

Here are four steps for communicating information on the coronavirus to parents, teachers, and students: 

Initial Email

If you have not yet done so, disseminate a "just in case" email to parents, teachers, and students to assure them that the administration is monitoring the situation. Messages should be tailored to each audience and explain the proactive measures your institution is taking to prevent and mitigate exposure to the virus as well as how you will be communicating updates going forward. 

Email Updates

...

The goal of all higher education institutions is to attract students. College and universities, like any other type of business, are brands, and the best way to connect with students is to meet them where they are at - on social media watching countless videos. 

Prior to my panel at the Social Media Strategies Summit for Higher Education in New York, Facebook’s Charlie Shin stated that the social media giant predicts that in 2020 almost 74% of the platform’s content will be video. 

How can colleges and universities capture the attention of these students when so many videos are being pushed at them daily?  Charlie shared four Facebook video rules everyone should be following: 

1- Keep Videos Short

The average attention span is about 6 seconds, and with teens, that number drops even lower. Keep your videos less than 15 seconds long. You can communicate a lot of information quickly using video. Try to keep your higher education Facebook...