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Can you guess who took the top spot for LinkedIn’s list of most desirable companies to work for? Google, of course!  For the second straight year, Google claimed the top spot on LinkedIn’s annual list of most InDemand Employers, a ranking of the companies LinkedIn members “most want to work for.” Who was runner-up you ask? Apple!

You might be wondering what the average salary for a software engineer at Google is. Well, it’s nearly $119,000 per year, according to Glassdoor, and took the top spot on Fortune‘s Best Companies to Work For list in 2014. Not too shabby right? Google even donates $50 to charity for every five hours each employee volunteers.

Tell us, what company would be your dream company to work for?

You can see the complete list of LinkedIn’s list of most desirable companies to work for here.

On Wednesday, Facebook rolled out a new feature to its iOS app that encourages users to share more about what they are doing.

Now, Facebook users will start seeing “Context Cards,” which will appear over their News Feeds and provide detailed information after they check in or link to subjects such as movies or songs in status updates.

Here are some examples:

• If a user checks in to a location, the context cards will show friends who have recently checked in to the same location and when those check-ins occurred, as well as related photos they have posted.
• If a user posts a structured status update referencing listening to a musical artist or watching a movie, the context cards will show friends who have consumed the same media.

Facebook is hoping the cards will provide helpful information and encourage users to interact with their nearby friends.

Twitter is currently testing a new feature that could be very popular for users following thousands of people.

It’s called ‘Fave People’, and it allows you to easily build a separate timeline for your favorite Twitter users. Building your ‘Fave People’ timeline is pretty simple – just tap on the star icon in the profile of the user you want to add.

It’s also possible to choose to receive notifications every time someone in your ‘Fave People’ timeline tweets. This concept is similar to Twitter’s existing “Lists,” which lets you organize users into labeled groups such as “reporters” or “celebrities.”

But don’t get too excited yet…

As we mentioned before, this concept is in the testing process! Tell us, would you like to see a feature like this on Twitter?

 

In a world increasingly filtered through Instagram, a carefully crafted photo shoot starts to look dated. That’s why retailers are rushing to crowdsource their product shots — harvesting a stream of photos from social platforms to help sell everything from West Elm couches to Coach handbags.

The photos are typically curated in galleries, where each picture is linked to a page selling the product. Increasingly, the amateur images are also showing up directly on product pages, next to professionally styled pictures. “The path to purchase has evolved tremendously, and consumers are much more likely to trust their peers than a brand,” said Mimi Banks, director of social media at L’Oreal’s Lancome brand.

The team at Lancome recently goaded women into posting portraits of themselves sans makeup for a project coded “#bareselfie.” The campaign urged women to “be proud of the skin you’re in,” but it also tied in nicely with one of Lancome’s newest products: a cosmetic called Dreamtone that promises to correct blemishes and weird skin tones without blush and powder.

“It’s a challenging ask,” Banks said of getting strangers to share stripped-down selfies. “But people love social clout — to be acknowledged by the brand.”

Coach, meanwhile, is burnishing its brand with a website that collects photos from women wearing its shoes all over the world. The pictures — routed to the company via the hashtag #coachfromabove — aren’t a far cry from what one would find in a professional lookbook.

Both strategies constitute more than branding, according to Olapic, a New York-based startup that helps retail companies collect, curate, and display social content. Photo tie-ins from Facebook and Instagram increase the odds of a purchase by from 5 percent to 12 percent on average, according to co-founder Luis Sanz. What’s more, there is plenty of material: Olapic’s clients feature only about 4 percent of the photos they capture.

“The structure of an e-commerce site has basically been the same since the beginning of the Internet,” Sanz said. “But as soon as we started doing this, the results were really good.” Olapic, which launched in 2010, closed a $5 million round of funding in July. It also won the backing of Scott Galloway, a New York University marketing professor known for founding Red Envelope.

Galloway said Olapic is hitting a sweet spot in e-commerce: High-quality cameras are now standard in new smartphones, and consumers are searching for a sense of authenticity that’s lacking in traditional advertising. “If I can show a Coach bag looking great on me, it carries more credibility than if Annie Leibowitz makes it look great,” Galloway said.

The photos also prime purchases by addressing what might best be called a failure of imagination. For instance, consumers who like a throw pillow from West Elm, a Williams-Sonoma home-goods brand, might be more eager to buy if they see it paired with a particular couch or carpet. That’s one of the main strategies behind the company’s #myWestElm campaign, which went up in September.

“We don’t want to be style dictators,” said Abigail Jacobs, West Elm’s vice president of brand marketing. “And there’s this age-old thing that we love seeing inside other peoples’ homes. […] The goal really is for them to inspire each other.”

An “inspired” customer is often a spendthrift customer. What’s more, social media lets retailers engage in an incessant exercise in AB testing. Coach, for example, might decide to make more of a particular shoe in red if photos of that color appear more often and get more positive feedback.

The practice isn’t entirely new, but it is spreading through the retail industry at a rapid pace. Web marketers are starting to develop best practices. Just this week, two marketing professors at the University of Wisconsin unveiled an algorithm that promises to help retailers select the best photos to drive sales. The researchers found that increased purchasing activity comes from unfiltered photos without long captions, question marks, or exclamation points. In short, authenticity is all.

West Elm, meanwhile, has found another surefire attention-getter: pets. Everything gets more “likes” when it has an adorable animal on it. That’s just a law of the Internet — no research required.

This article originally published at Businessweek here

Photo by Coach

You don’t always need graphics, photos, or images to make your design pop — sometimes the right font does the trick. But scouring the internet for hours on end can be very frustrating! So, we’ve made it easy for you…

We have compiled 5 of the most beautiful fonts we could find. Here’s the best part… they are FREE!

Journal

Great Vibes

Cinzel

Sofia

Learning Curve Pro

Enjoy…

Black Friday and Cyber Monday brought our holiday shopping dreams to life, and now we’re paying it forward for Giving Tuesday.

In its second year, the new “holiday” of sorts offers a selfless response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday by encouraging charitable giving and highlighting worthy causes. This year, participants were urged to upload to social media an “#UNselfie,” a hashtagged photo of the user that depicts a cause that’s important to them.

Check out these inspirational Giving Tuesday “UNselfies” found on Instagram! (Thanks to @LXELA ON INSTAGRAM, @MELGOOD711 ON INSTAGRAM, @DAWNELYSE ON INSTAGRAM, @FELTSOCUTE ON INSTAGRAM and  @MMCTIGUE ON INSTAGRAM  for these amazing UNselfies).

We love to keep our readers up to date on the latest social media news! So here’s what’s new in the LinkedIn world…

LinkedIn has recently replaced its news aggregator in order to get the right content in front of the right users.

On Tuesday, LinkedIn unveiled ‘Showcase Pages’. According to LinkedIn, “These pages are dedicated pages that allow companies to highlight different aspects of their business and build relationships with the right community. Whether it’s a brand, a business unit, or an initiative, following a Showcase Page will provide you the updates you are most interested in.”

Interested in creating a Showcase Page for your business? Here’s how you do it!

First, identify the business areas of your company that need a Showcase Page. Then go to the “Edit” dropdown menu and select “Create a Showcase Page.” Once created, you can start sharing content from your page. You will also be able to monitor the performance of your Showcase Page through our analytic tools.

Companies will not be charged for creating showcase pages, and can create up to 10 of them on their own. If you do not see the option to create one of these Showcase Pages, don’t fret. LinkedIn will be rolling out this new feature slowly.

Let’s be honest, your logo will come to symbolize your company more than anything else! Finding a firm that can craft a sophisticated design takes research, open communication, and an honest evaluation of your business. So I have compiled these four tips for finding the right firm.

Decide on a Budget

Before the search even begins, determine how much you can spend on the logo. One thing to keep in mind is that, like any other business investment, the more you put into it, the greater the return. A logo that costs $100 will yield only the most basic design. You get what you pay for…

Research, Research, Research

A talented firm can handle any client, but you should first make sure you like the firm’s style, form, and previous work.

Talk about your Company

This might seem obvious, but humor me. During your first meeting; a good firm will ask you to describe your company’s personality, tone, and future aspirations. Make sure they get a good feel, so they can portray your company correctly.

Discuss the Contract

A contract will not only secure the transaction between you and the designers, but it will also detail what will come next.

That’s it for today. I hope you find these tips helpful!

 

LinkedIn is recognized as the professional social network.  It’s a place where people in all industries can go to build relationships with their colleagues and demonstrate their experience and expertise.  You can establish connections with people who are in the same industry or an industry you’re interested in becoming a part of.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind while creating a personal or professional LinkedIn profile.

Keep it professional

Silly or risqué photos we often see on Facebook are not a good choice on LinkedIn.  Keep your headshot professional. Make sure that your profile photo is appropriately cropped.  Your profile picture is the first thing most people see so make sure you are giving your best first impression.

Update your contact information

It’s important to keep all of your information up-to-date.  You don’t want to make it difficult for people to connect with you.  With the LinkedIn app it is now easier than ever to maintain your profile and engage in important discussions.

Personalize invitations

When you invite someone to connect on LinkedIn, your request is accompanied by a brief note.  You have the option of selecting a standard boilerplate message that reads, “I’d like to add you to my professional network”, but adding a quick tailored note will enhance personalization.

Keep up with new tools

LinkedIn, along with all the other social media outlets, are constantly adding new tools to enable a smooth, user-friendly experience.  Make sure to educate yourself on any new tools offered.  LinkedIn recently updated their company page analytics.  With this new set of analytics, you can:

• Identify the updates that drive the greatest engagement.
• Filter engagement trends by type and time period.
• Get more detailed demographic data about your followers.
• See the growth of your follower base and benchmark it against similar brands.

Stay tuned for more tips to create an effective LinkedIn profile and network.

 

 

 

Hi guys, this week I am going to write about the use of hashtags on Facebook. Yes… hashtags; that pound sign looking thing you see all over social media. Believe it or not, there are legitimate reasons for them!

As you have undoubtedly seen, hashtags are now clickable on Facebook. Using a hashtag # (or pound symbol) in front of a word or phrase turns the word into a clickable link. And when you click the link, you will find a feed of public posts that include that hashtag.

If used correctly, hashtags can expand your reach, amplify your brand and promote specials and events. But there are some common mistakes that people make when using hashtags.

Don’t Do This:

• Create a hashtag that is two words. Hashtags have to be all one word.
• Use another brand’s hashtag. Do your research!
• Use hashtags too much. Use them sparingly (not in every single post). Some people may not be as excited about hashtags as you are!
• Use long hashtags. Make them short and easy to understand.

Well, that about wraps up this week’s post! Hopefully you use these tips to your advantage and are able to see the benefits of increasing your visibility. Now, get out there and get your #hashtagging on!