Canva Archives - The Social Media Advisor

June 25, 2018
Social Media Strategy

#GrowYourAudience – Using the Tools of the Trade in Your Online Marketing

In the world of online marketing, things move fast – so fast that we rarely get the chance to pause and evaluate how we do our work. It’s easy to lose track of all the tools that are available to help us maximize our online marketing efforts.

From social media managers, analytical tools, and other utilities, there are many tools from which to choose from. Some are designed for casual users, some are super techie, some are expensive, and some are cheap. Which ones are best for you all depends on what you are trying to do. But no matter what your skill level or strategy, there are some must-haves. Let’s take a look at five tools of the trade that every online marketer should have in his or her toolbox.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a tool that allows you to schedule and post updates to your social media accounts. You can implement and analyze campaigns across all the platforms you use all from one dashboard. Depending on the type of account you have (yes, there are both free and paid versions) you can track a wide variety of metrics to monitor your efforts.

Canva

Canva is a powerful graphics media program that allows you to create a wide variety of marketing pieces using your own designs or pre-designed templates. It also offers the ability to collaborate with other members of your team. Many of Canva’s most useful features are free.

Google Analytics

When you insert a short piece of code on your web pages, Google Analytics allows you to track and analyze your website traffic. This must have tool for any webmaster will help you understand what your users are looking at, how they get to your website, and if they are using your content the way you intended.

Facebook Pixel

Facebook Pixel helps you monitor whether or not the ads you place on Facebook are working. The Pixel is activated by code you put on your website. You’ll be able to analyze the effectiveness of your ads using a variety of metrics.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is remote storage space that is made available over a network. Among the most well-known cloud storage is Apple’s iCloud but there are other services available. You purchase storage based on your needs. The service will take care of maintaining and backing up your data in a way that is virtually invisible to you.

There are many tools available to help you work more effectively to manage your social media needs. For many people, having these five tools and knowing how to use them is enough; they can make your life easier, make your team more effective, and ensure that your business is running smoothly.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

March 7, 2017
Brand Storytelling

#AwesomeContent – Branded Images are the Third Highest for Engagement on Social Media

Probably the most important goal of any social media strategy is to create content that viewers want to read and engage with. There is a ton of content being created and posted every day. Much of it is not getting seen, liked or shared. The idea is not to work harder – don’t just become a content creation factory. You should be working smarter by creating the types of content that viewers like the most. Yes, live video is all the rage this year and shouldn’t be overlooked when building your marketing plan. However, not everyone is capable, or even interested, in creating videos. What’s the next best thing in social media when it comes to getting a ROI on engagement? Anything visual will work well – this includes pictures, photoquotes, infographics and other images.

Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images. Buzzsumo

Branded images are pieces of visual content created using your own words, material, content or logo. It can be as simple as a picture with a quote on it and your logo or as complicated as an infographic filled with valuable stats and facts about your industry. The spectrum of options is wide and diverse and limited only by your own creativity. Just make sure that any content you are creating doesn’t violate copyright laws and that it is clear that you own it. The best graphics get shared often and if you don’t put your mark on it, no one will know where it came from. Don’t waste time creating quality content and then forget to label it with your brand.

37% of marketers said visual marketing was the most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging. Social Media Examiner

Visual Storytelling

Gone are the days where a business could invest in commercials, direct mail, paper ads and other old school forms of marketing in order to boost presence and generate sales. No one wants to be sold to anymore.

Today’s marketing is all about organic reach, becoming an influencer and creating stand out content online and in social media to build a following.

There is a lot of stuff out there vying for consumer attention and more added gets every day. In order to rise to the top and really reach your target audience, marketers and business owners need to learn the value of visual storytelling.

Telling a story is all about gathering attention and then making an emotional impact. If your content isn’t telling a story that engages, surprises, motivates, or inspires others – then it’s time to start incorporating those elements into your marketing. Basically, it’s time to start hitting people in the feels with your words, images, and data.

Social Media Graphics

Where do you start when it’s time to come up with your social media images? The Content Strategist identifies 5 elements that you have to take into consideration when you are creating your branded images.

Does your content match the mood you are trying to achieve? You shouldn’t be creating anything that confuses your audience. Make certain it matches your company’s brand, your voice and your purpose.

Also, be sure you are designing images that appeal to people. There is a lot of thought that goes into a great visual including tone, concept, emotional response, and simplicity. Understanding some basic elements of graphic design and marketing will boost your returns.

There are a lot of great, free, online tools to help you create your own images. We prefer Canva.com if you need a place to start.

Not everyone will be good at creating his or her own images. If this is you, seek out help from someone who understands how to design images for social media. You don’t have to be an expert at how to do this in order to generate your own social images.

Increasing Engagement with Images

Don’t forget to take time to brainstorm how to get the most engagement out of your branded images. Use quotes, from you or others, that generate an emotional response. Ask questions. Use pictures of other people – there is something about seeing a person and being able to identify with them that helps boost engagement. Keep it as local as possible. People want to interact within their own communities. Achieving presence and reach is great but don’t lose sight of being able to exchange words and ideas with your followers.

51% of B2B marketers prioritized creating visual content assets in 2016. Content Marketing Institute

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

August 2, 2016
Social Media Marketing

#EducationMatters – Simplify Your Social Media With Tools

This month is all about #EducationMatters. Social Media can be a major time-suck but it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve listed our top Social Media Tools to help keep you organized, stay on track, and, best of all, save you time so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

Canva: Incredibly easy social media imaging tool that takes the guesswork out of image sizes. With over 50 templates available for various social media sites (From Facebook to YouTube channel art), Canva can deliver high quality productions with a wide variety of image and font choices, making it easy to #BeAwesome. Their price range for images are from $0-$1, but you can always upload your own into the template for free. It’s also available as an app for iPad and iPhone. Android users need not worry. There’s a Canva app on the way for you as well!
Hashtracking: Have you ever wondered if a hashtag you use is a relevant one? Or what a popular hashtag would be for a certain product or service? Hashtracking.com takes the guesswork out of hashtags for social media campaigns and events. If you’re not willing to pay for ongoing report options, they offer free social media snapshot reports without a subscription. You simply need to log in to your Twitter or Instagram account to use the service. This is a one-time log-in.
Feedly: Have all your content curation in one spot. Feedly is an RSS aggregator. This RSS reader can gather feeds from multiple sites based on your preferences, add feeds from publications, blogs, podcasts, and even YouTube channels. It works well with Google Alerts as well as a multitude of other apps. The best part of the service is that you can organize all your feeds into collections that make them more accessible in the future. One of its biggest pluses is the integration it has with another social media tool, Buffer.
Buffer: Posting your social-media content across multiple social-media services just got a lot easier. With Buffer you can schedule Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+ pages all it once. To use Pinterest, you’ll need to pay for their service, but the others are free. Please note that you’ll need a mobile device to push out your Instagram posts, but that’s an Instagram requirement, rather than a limitation to Buffer.
Hootsuite: Another option for social media content scheduling and sharing is Hootsuite. Hootsuite can connect to Twitter, WordPress, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. Please note that their free version limits you to three social media accounts. Their pro version is $9.99 a month and allows you to have real-time analytics and 50 social profiles. Like Buffer, you’ll need to use a mobile device to push out your Instagram posts.
Commun.it: For businesses that find Twitter especially valuable, this tool helps the user to manage their engagement and presence on the platform. This relationship management tool allows users to monitor and respond automatically with potential leads on the site. It will also track and monitor accounts you have expressed interest in and report their daily activities to you. As with most of the tools mentioned, there are both free and paid versions that offer different features.
Trello: This website exists as an online program management tool with a free option. Users create lists and cards to organize their projects. For businesses with team member, it is simple to assign different individuals to various cards as an indication for team assignments.
Google Drive & Dropbox: Both of these sites are excellent (and FREE) options for cloud storage that can be easily shared with clients and team. Dropbox is more for just storing the files themselves, while Google Drive is an online document center allowing individuals and team to work within files right on the site.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Social Media Tools. Is there a place where you struggle with time? If so, let us know in comments and we might be able to direct you to just the right tool to help you #BeAwesome at what you do!

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

June 14, 2016
Social Media Marketing

#TimeManagement – Planning Your Images for Social Media

Social Media management can be tough. Between content creation, image creation (and licensing), scheduling, branding, engagement, and more; it’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel as though your time is stretched in a thousand different directions.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Today, I’m going to share one of my #TimeManagement tools I use to tackle image creation. It’s an online program called Canva. Canva is free, intuitive, and the templates are already in place for the most popular social media sites.

Signing up is easy. Just use one of your social media accounts or email address and you’re all set.

Though there are many different designs available, the default “Social Media” design works great for most platforms. When you select it, you’ll have the option of using premade templates of text and images. There are free and paid options, so make sure you choose the one that best suits your project.

If you don’t like the premade templates, you’re welcome to upload your own or use one of their 100,000+ images. Remember, our aim is to create quality, shareable images for your social media brand in a short period of time. The templates are there to help you save minutes if not hours for each image.

The text options are easy to create and alter as needed. Color, effects, etc. are simple to use. If you’re familiar with Instagram’s filtering options, you’ll have no problem navigating this section.

Once the image is created, you can download it for permanent use. A quick note: Make sure you’ve used your brand in the image with your website link, if possible. You want people to be able to find you, after all, and it’s easy to lose the original thread when an image has been pinned and shared multiple times.

Here’s another #TimeManagement tip for you: If you are an Instagram user, there’s an added bonus for sharing to Facebook when you post. According to a study released in February 2016 by Buzzsumo, images posted to Facebook via Instagram are seeing a 23% more engagement rate than those posted directly to FB. So, if you’re looking for a bigger impact with a nominal effort, just check that little FB box on Instagram.

Do you already use Canva? If not, what image building software do you use? Let us know what you use to #BeAwesome when planning your visual content for social media in comments!

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

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