Belle Strategies Marketing Agency

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Avoid these Instagram SCAMS!

A new wave of internet scams is showing up on Instagram where bogus accounts lure users into providing personal information. You’d think we’d all know by now that you shouldn’t provide your name and address to strangers online right? Online shopping is secure (always look for the SSL Certificate folks)…but social media platforms do not provide that type of security.

We’re seeing a large number Instagram scams in particular because of it’s casual atmosphere. Here are five tips to make sure you aren’t part of the one in ten people who fall for a social media scam this year!

  • Don’t engage with accounts that have the “giveaway” in their name.

  • Check to see how much they post, and what kind of content it is. If there isn’t much going on – it’s likely a scam!

  • Don’t ever click a SHORT URL!

  • Check out their profile; are they following anyone? If not, it’s probably a scam.

  • And of course…never provide your personal information!

Lots of companies are using social media platforms for giveaways the right way; so don’t give up online contests all together! Just remember the tips above and use common sense to make sure you don’t end up involved with these Instagram scams.

*Image courtesy of Instagram


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Creating an Instagram Filter Look with Photoshop – Photoshop Filter Tutorial

Let’s do a quick Photoshop filter tutorial today.  Instagram filters have become so popular, but the final images are too small to print and frame.  If you want to achieve an “antiqued” or “vintage” filter and maintain the high pixel count, you can do it in Photoshop.

I downloaded this free image to use as an example from the wallpaper site www.wallpapersus.com.

spring

The first step is to find (or create) an antiqued texture with lots of vintage touches.  This will serve as our “filter”. I found this one here.

Vintage_Paper_Texture_by_KillxThexScenexStock

Open your main image in PS, and then create a new layer (ctrl+shift+N). Insert the texture onto the new layer.

filter1

Next, change the Blend Mode of the texture layer. I suggest trying a few of the different modes to see what works best. Sometimes, the colors on your texture layer are too bright to work well with “screen” but look great with “overlay”.

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I used overlay to achieve this initial filtered look. I brought the opacity down to 80%.

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The colors in this photo are lovely, but if you want to go a step further, consider adjusting the hue and saturation.  To do this, add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer.  Select Layer>Add Adjustment Layer>Hue/Saturation.

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Click ok with the preset options.  Then, click “colorize” and adjust the hue to create a sepia tone-style look.

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Looking good, right?

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Next, select (ctrl+shift+E) to merge the layers down.  If you want to make your image even more “vintage” by adding a grainy look, go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise.

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By checking “Gaussian” and “Monochromatic”, you can get a very old-timey look easily.

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That will cause your image to look like this:

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To go even further, consider using the Burn tool to darken some areas (I did the corners and the shadows on her arms and legs).

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Here’s the final result!

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Optimize your LinkedIn in Two Easy Steps!

LinkedIn is an excellent place to be if you’re seeking new employment.  Recruiters are constantly searching for job candidates!  If you want to pop up in those searches, you need to optimize your LinkedIn profile to include buzz words.

You’re probably used to seeing profiles that look like this:

li1

Notice the generic title I’ve listed.  It’s vague and doesn’t indicate where my expertise lies.  LinkedIn asks you to choose an industry, so you can see I’m working in the eLearning field and that’s about it.  When people are searching on LinkedIn, they usually only see your name and title.  Take a look at this generic search for eLearning:

li3

Now let’s look at some properly optimized titles:

li4

To include the RIGHT key words in your own profile, follow these two easy steps:

1) Make a list of your skills and professional accomplishments.

You might be a Manager or a President, but those words don’t matter as much (in this case).  Determine what you want potential connections, recruiters, and employers to know about you.  Have you increased sales by 500%?  Did you write a successful marketing e-book? It’s okay if you don’t have any specific examples like the ones listed above; industry key words are more than enough!

2) Incorporate those key words into your profile.

Take a look at my title description now:

li2

Now, anyone searching the major terms used in the eLearning industry are going to find me, and so are people looking for design work.  Before the changes, none of those people would have seen me because my “formal” title is too vague to accurately convey what I can do.

I recommend spending a little time on step one.  Do some research on others in your field.  You can also ask those closest to you; sometimes they can shine a light on skills and accomplishments you haven’t considered.  Enjoy!

 


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Hubspot Content Creation Tips

HubSpot_Logo_2xWe give thanks to @corey_bos at HUBSPOT for an excellent article about creating great social media content fast! Let’s look at her tips:

“How you can whip up some blog posts quickly to feed your social media presence:

  • Reach out to guest bloggers — they’ll create your content for you!

  • Curate content — round up the best blog posts, data points, infographics, etc. on various subject matters.

  • Jot down the answer to a common question — people love a good FAQ.

  • Publish excerpts from existing content, like ebooks and white papers.

  • Conduct a quick interview — either on video or via email — and let your subject matter expertise blow your audience away for you.”

You can download these tips and many more in her e-book here!


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The Top Five Business Blog Musts

Professional blogging requires writing skills and creativity; but it takes more than that to put together 150+ words if your goal is to bring in new and continued business. I’ve put together a top five list for you to see exactly what every effective business blog needs!

1) Get Out There.

Being visible to your readers is crucial – and that means more than just having a clear link to your blog on your homepage.  Your blog URL should be in the bio sections on your social media pages, as well as in your email signature (if that applies).

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) helps new readers find you.  Consider what your post is about and what key word(s) your potential readers would use to “search” the topic.  Include the word(s) in your URL if possible, and utilize it throughout your post.  Don’t overdo it though; search engines are smart enough to tell if you’re overloading the key words!

2) Blog Regularly.

It seems a little obvious, but I have to point out that consistency is key when it comes to blogging for business.  As long as the content of your blog is interesting, relevant, and/or useful – more is always better.  Determine how frequently you can post while ensuring your content still fulfills the above requirements, and then make a schedule you can stick to.  We recommend no less than twice a month, but each business is different!

 3) Utilize Social Media Buttons.

Aside from standard search engines, social sharing is the best way new readers can find your blog.  Make sure to have social media icons on your blog so people can share it with their followers.  Like it, tweet it…whatever they are doing with it – it’s helping people see your content (and that’s the goal)!

4) Appeal Visually.

Incorporating images and video into your blog can be done in a way that still conveys the level of professionalism your business wishes to uphold.  Don’t be afraid to appeal to your readers with visual aids, just make sure you don’t use copyrighted materials.  In fact, using properly named imagery will increase your search optimization!

topfiveThis little guy is named “topfive.png”.  Part of our logo is in the background, and our website’s URL is right there too.

5) PRUFREED.

Listen people – proof your copy!  An effective blog is one that develops credibility for your business.  Well-crafted sentences, proper punctuation, and proper spelling are all musts!  It seems a little silly that this is on a top five list considering your 2nd grade teacher taught you to double check things, but it deems repeating.  Your readers are researching you and determining if they want to give you their business…typos are a turnoff!

 


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Twitter Ads: Mo’ Money Mo’ Followers

For a business, Twitter has long been an easy way to keep in touch with customers at little to no cost. Twitter ads aren’t new, but we’re seeing the capability of Twitter Ads enhancing in ways that can benefit businesses both large and small.

Twitter ads offer the unique ability to target and track users in more ways than other social platforms can. Clicks, follows, replies and retweets are all offering up stats that can be dissected in a multitude of ways:

  • by @handle
  • by device
  • by gender
  • by interest
  • by key word
  • by location

For companies diving deep into the analysis of a social campaign, these kind of metrics allow for easier and more detailed split-testing opportunities (and we all know how hard it is to measure ROI in the social world without that). These robust options are making it easier for anyone to utilize Twitter ads in a way that optimizes their investment, regardless of budget.

Twitter ads offer two types of campaigns: Promoted Accounts and Promoted Tweets.

Promoted Account Twitter ads helps advertisers gain more followers. Twitter ads lets you target potential followers who are similar to your current follower base OR those who are similar to another Twitter account (you can even upload a specific list of @handles if you want). You can also target new followers based on interests.

Promoted Tweets offer three types of targeting: keyword search, keyword timeline, and interests in timeline. Keyword search Twitter ads is the same as other paid-search ads across the internet; promoted tweets show up when key words you bid on are searched. Simple! Keyword timeline will likely get you increased impressions and engagements (compared to timeline search) because Twitter users aren’t as actively utilizing the search bar as they are engaging in their timelines. Last up is interests in timeline; this option works exactly the same way Promoted Accounts work. Target followers (in the timeline) with the same interests as your current followers, other’s followers, or upload a list of @handles.

The best part about twitter ads is that you feel like you’re getting a deal every time you invest in a campaign. The platform’s wider opportunity for engagements means your overall CPE (cost per engagement) means your money is working harder for you here than other social platforms.

 


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Geo-Tracking – Who’s Stalking You?

When a warning-fueled blog post about a dramatic news clip covering online stalking started circulating through social media, I wanted to know what made this so interesting since most of us know that posting online makes us visible to the world (that’s the point right?)…

After watching the clip I learned that even people who are not choosing to freely share their locations are still subject to high-level internet stalking due to geo-tracking through mobile phones.  This technology, like the GPS in your car, embeds your location when your upload an image to a social sharing site.  Free browser add-ons allow ANYONE to turn data from your pictures into a map and start stalking you.

geotrack

Put simply, online mapping is so advanced that people interested in stalking you can use it to find and follow you without ever leaving their home. Stalking with geo-tracking is scary and it’s a real threat – so please turn geo-tracking OFF your smartphone’s camera.

This link offers easy directions for most phones (settings for newer models are close if not the same). Some phones offer app-specific location services as well. http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/11712/how-to-disable-geotagging-on-your-smartphones-camera-android-iphone-blackberry/

We’re all doing our best to build our brands and gain followers, but let’s make sure they are the right kind of followers.

Watch the news clip referenced above here.

 


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Get More Attention – Facebook’s New Ranking Algorithm

Hey everyone!  This week I am writing about Facebook’s new algorithm…why I love it and also sorta hate it. Mom always taught me to sandwich an insult between two compliments so let’s go with that theory and start off with this:

Love It: Story Bumping – one of the new features – pushes stories that users haven’t seen above the ones they have. Before Story Bumping, Facebook ranked all published updates since a user last logged in. That user’s News Feed would display the best ones, effectively burying stories that Facebook didn’t deem relevant. You might have also seen the same stories over and over when logging in multiple times over a short span. Story Bumping won’t let that happen anymore! It will bump all the updates a user hasn’t seen to the top of the feed since last logging in even if they aren’t super new.

Hate It: Story Bumping – ok don’t be confused but I also kinda hate this. From a professional perspective this is so awesome! But personally, I am a process nut and a detail freak. I want to see the most recent stories and scroll down my feed in chronological order…it’s ironic that Story Bumping gives me the opportunity to do my job more effectively but goes against my first-to-last, loves-making-lists nature.

Love it: Last Actor – another new feature – is a huge win for businesses/organizations using facebook to create an online community. Without getting too technical, Last Actor keeps track of your last 50 interactions, then shows more (or less) of people/pages based on that. For a company this means a) the more a user interacts with you (likes, comments, shares) the more likely your posts will show up in their feed moving forward and b) it increases the likelihood of that user’s friends seeing information about your company too (for example: “Rachel Creveling likes Belle Strategies” will show up on my friends’ feeds more and more as I interact with the Belle Strategies fan page).

What it comes down to is this: Post relevant and engaging content that will prompt your facebook fans to interact! More social, more sold!