So I’m starting a Master’s degree in Social Media, Community Management and Digital Marketing at the University of Barcelona!
Any handy hints or tricks I learn I will be sharing on here, as well as my experiences of learning online!
So I’m starting a Master’s degree in Social Media, Community Management and Digital Marketing at the University of Barcelona!
Any handy hints or tricks I learn I will be sharing on here, as well as my experiences of learning online!
The Social Media world is buzzing with the news that Twitter now supports GIF files! Wonderful…but what is a GIF? Can you make one yourself? Can it help your business?
GIF stands for Graphic Interchange Format. Animated GIFs are short pieces of video (usually only two or three seconds) that continuously loop round. OR they can be created from a series of still images in Photoshop…I’m sure you have seen them, usually coupled with a clever caption of sorts…
Yes in fact, you can make your own! Here is a handy 5 step guide to creating your animated GIF with video. Here is a guide to creating your GIF from still images in photoshop.
Now then, as for helping your business…Well, as with most things in marketing these days, you have to get creative. What can you show off about your business in three seconds? The answer is, a lot.
For example, if you are a shoe company, why not have your model wearing three different styles? With a bit of photoshop wizardry you show off three different styles in three seconds! Great! Instead of having to use three separate images, you have advertised three styles in one handy animated GIF…
And now, rather than just having to stick to your website or Tumblr to peddle your wares, you can now show them off to the world on Twitter!
Good Luck!
Here are some things for businesses to think about when creating online content:
Hope this is helpful!
Well we all know that…
But I’m talking about bloggers in your local community.
If, for example, you own a restaurant and want people to know you exist, reach out to local bloggers! Following them on Facebook and Twitter, inviting them to come and check out your restaurant – you could even offer them freebies. Blogs are a great way to get your name out to your locals – who are the people you really want, as they are most likely to be your repeat customers.
People listen to each other and they want recommendations. Think about the last time you wanted to go for dinner, maybe you asked a friend who knows about these things, maybe you just randomly chose somewhere…but chances are you looked for reviews on the internet before you went – wouldn’t it be magic if you could have great reviews of YOUR restaurant out there?!….
Well it’s a lot easier than you might think…and trust me it is worth the effort!
Professional (or at least high quality) photos make a HUGE difference to any post, even outside of platforms like Pinterest and Instagram where beautiful are the norm.
Nobody likes a shabby image, and if you are looking to get people to share and like your content (which is kind of the whole point), don’t post fuzzy, stretched or squashed photos!
I get that not everyone can afford a nice camera or a professional photographer, but my advice is beg, borrow, barter or steal…(well, don’t actually steal…)! Ask a friend, colleague or customer that is handy with a camera if they would consider taking some photos for you in exchange for something…your time, a free beer, sandwich, home-cooked meal, or whatever you can muster!
When you look at your, e.g. Facebook, business page, it should look bright, inviting and professional…quality photos are a hugely influential factor in this.
If there is one thing that I have learned from working with social media, it’s that posts that say thank you do the best, and the posts that say BUY MY STUFF do the worst…