Instagram Now Offers Direct Messaging

inInstagram is now more than just a place to share pictures with your followers. You can now directly send pictures to designated users. When Instagram released the ability to share videos it was clear that they were willing to compete with other social media platforms such as vine. Now with direct photo messaging they are just one step further in competing with new social media platforms. Instagram released a statement on their blog, “There are, however, moments in our lives that we want to share, but that will be the most relevant only to a smaller group of people—an inside joke between friends captured on the go, a special family moment or even just one more photo of your new puppy. Instagram Direct helps you share these moments.”

Instagram has clearly attracted a large audience and many young teens are turning to Instagram instead of Facebook or Twitter. Instagram has really offered a unique way of visual communication.  Now with direct messaging users can easily share photos by looking up the user. Instagram has put a button on the upper right side of the app screen to open direct messaging. Direct messaging is another way to share great photos privately without showing everyone who is following you the photo you post.

Instagram that was purchased by Facebook for 1 billion dollars has over 150 million users. Users range from teenagers to young adults and even have celebrities. Instagram gives you the opportunity to take a picture and modify it with the 16 Instagram filters. Direct messaging allows your pictures to be kept more private and intimate with your close friends and not the 500+ followers that you never normally would talk to.

4.6 Million Snap Chat users hacked this New Year.

Millions of accounts are hacked on the app “Snap Chat” this New Years. It appears to have around 4.6 million account numbers and names available for download on the hackers website, making names and partial phone numbers available for download. In a statement to a technology blog called Tech Crunch the hackers said, “Our motivation behind the release was to raise the public awareness around the issue, and also put public pressure on Snapchat to get this exploit fixed. It is understandable that tech startups have limited resources but security and privacy should not be a secondary goal. Security matters as much as user experience does.” Last week Gibson Security had published a code that could supposedly enable such a hack.

 

For those of you who don’t know Snap Chat is an app that is used primarily by teenagers to send photos with their friends and share messages. Photos can be timed to a number of seconds and then disappear. Snap Chat has become popular with teenagers since their photos can’t be duplicated and if someone takes a screenshot of their photo they are immediately notified.

Unknown

Snap Chat released a statement on their blog last week, “Theoretically, if someone were able to upload a huge set of phone numbers, like every number in an area code, or every possible number in the U.S., they could create a database of the results and match usernames to phone numbers that way. Over the past year we’ve implemented various safeguards to make it more difficult to do. We recently added additional counter-measures and continue to make improvements to combat spam and abuse.”
 In the past the ever so popular app has been offered 3 billion dollars reportedly by Facebook and turned it down. The company currently is not making any money and with this recent breach in information it’s clear something will have to be done. To check to see if you have been affected go to Gibson Security Link  and enter your username.

No More Anonymity for YouTube Users as Comment Section Gets a Makeover

The YouTube comment section has long served as an example of how rotten people can become when not held accountable.  Cesspools of racism, sexism, homophobia, and complete idiocy have long occupied the YouTube comment sections and have been the source of everything from hilarious, to disturbing comments. So it comes as no surprise that Google, who owns YouTube, would want to clean up the disastrous comment section.

While the regulation of YouTube comments does not come as a surprise, the shock lies in the way that Google has decided to regulate the comments.

YouTube_G+Comments

The aim of the new comment system was to ensure that there are no more trolls or spam in the youtube-google-commentcomment section, but rather, actual informative conversations. While the idea sounds great in theory, Google has achieved this through integrating Google+ into the site’s commenting functionality. What does this mean? It means that the comment section of YouTube will no longer allow for anonymity and thus, there will be controlled comments.

The new comment section will be displayed via your actual name, due to being connected to your now required Google+ profile. This means that you will need a Google email and a Google+ page just to be eligible to leave a comment. Comments will also be organized via people you know and popularity, with people you know appearing at the top and the popular comments following soon after. There is also a spam sifter, and the ability to turn off replies and comments ratings on their own comments.

In theory, these changes will inspire better conversations and more controlled YouTube viewing. But it also changes the very basic entertainment that the YouTube section offers. Most disturbing to the YouTube fanbase is the aggressive fact that Google is literally forcing people to sign up for a Google+ account, which can be a major pain, before commenting on a video. To the added dismay of the YouTube fanbase is the fact that once your Google+ account is integrated, your comment will show up as from your real name, as well as have your photo next to the comment. This makes trolling and blatant harassing a bit less rewarding.

YoutubeComments

In response to the changes, a petition on Change.org demanding that Google bring back the old YouTube comments has racked up more than 90,000 signatures. And Reddit’s YouTube community is entirely consumed by the commenting change, with post after post lamenting it as a major misstep by Google. Popular YouTube users have also joined in the battle cry against Google+ comment integration. According to a list compiled by redditors, dozens of users with hundreds of thousands or millions of subscribers have blasted the change or simply turned off commenting altogether.

Do we mock this up to the change that always occurs when heavily used Web products have big changes to their interface? Perhaps once people get used to the change they will come to see the positive side of a civil YouTube comment section. It is unlikely that a giant like Google will change the comments back to the old way, despite the complete backlash.

3 Social Media Truths Your Business Can’t Afford to Ignore

If you’re reading this, than you know the importance of social. Although the phrase, “social media is important,” may come off as an indisputable fact to you, chances are, there are components of social that are just as integral as social itself, that you are ignoring. If you have a social media plan that just isn’t falling into place, read these three truths and see if you are integrating the actions into your social plans. Guaranteed that when applied, these tips will make all the difference!

Truth #1:  Your business must operate at the speed of social

Each business has a different speed, but when it comes to social media, it is imperative that you respond at the speed of social. When does this come into play? When your company is making big speed of socialchanges, or if they’re sitting in a hot spot. Your consumers will be interacting to you on social, and responding at the speed of social will show that you not only have a grip on your service, but that you are engaged and listening to your consumer.  A great example of this is the Netflix Qwikster merge. In 2011, when they doubled their prices and announced the ill-fated Qwikster, their stock plummeted from a high of 298 on July 13th(5 days before their announcement at the beginning of July) to 63 by the on November 25th.  Having the ability to interact with fans via social media was integral to fixing Netflix’s reputation, but it had to be done asap, “with the speed of social.”  Your ability to respond to your consumers must be precise and fast; faster than ever before.

Truth #2:  The Crowd will define you (if you let it)

social media crowdThink of the crowd as public perception or your social “community.”  The crowd on social is real and engaging (and is growing massively!) The crowd is also responsible for the virality that has taken over the web. While many businesses are making their presence known on social media, they are forgetting to engage the crowd and thus, to create a community. A great way to remember the importance of this is to realize that product sentiment and brand sentiment are two very different things; people can love your product, but it doesn’t mean that they like your company. Creating a brand that evokes your company’s message, and carrying that into your daily social postings will help to include (and create!) a Crowd!

Truth #3:  Both Opportunities and Attacks can come from anywhere, anytime

Social media allows people to interact at any time, and can encourage a lot of either positive or negative energy towards your company. Truth #3 is based on your knowledge that your chances to shine are totally unpredictable – as are your attacks.

facebook monitoring

The best way to combat the unpredictable nature of social is to stay on top of it. Negative recommendations or comments on your social pages when not addressed can lead to a negative Crowd image of your company – but, when maintained, negative comments can lead to a positive experience. Negative interactions with customers give your company the opportunity to make things right and to go above and beyond with communication, thus further impacting your company positively than the harm a negative comment, or even a dull, positive comment, would have. In summary: Being Proactive is the New Normal!

 

What Are Do-Follow Links & How Do They Help Your Small Business?

Are you trying to boost your website’s SEO ranking? Are you sick of tirelessly re-posting blogs throughout social sites, without seeing any improvement? Certain social sites provide do-follow links that will help to improve your SEO value, but which? Below, we explain the process and give you the top 10 social media sites that provide do-follow links!

what are do follow links

What is a do-follow link? A Do-Follow Link tells Search Engines like Google, to follow the destination inside the link, thus indexing your page and helping your SEO value.  Certain sites automatically provide do-follow links, although most popular sites provide only no-follow links. A No-Follow link does not help your SEO value because it tells Search Engines that they should not follow the link, hence not indexing your page or helping boost your SERP.

1. YouTube

YouTube is a great place to ensure a video about your product, company, or service will be seen by lots of people, and better yet, YouTube allows you to add a description where you can include a link in your header, as well as social links, that are all do-follow links. Links added in your description or in the place specifically asking for a link, are actually no-follow.

2. Hubpages

You may have noticed that Hubpages have do-follow links in the articles, rather than mainly no-follow links. The catch here is that your Hubpages account needs a particular number of points (minimum 75) or the hub score needs to be minimum of 40, to provide do-follow links in the hubs. Also, remember Hubpages does not accommodate do-follow links in the comment section or profiles.

3. Google+

Google+ is a tricky site, as it provides both do-follow and no-follow links. The links in the comments and the links we get when sharing text content, are no-follow. The content posted in the “Share What’s New” section however, are do-follow links.

4. LinkedIn

All the links you see in your LinkedIn feed are all do-follow links, however your LinkedIn posts will not appear in a Google search, as the search engine doesn’t have access to a huge part of LinkedIn content. The most notable place that LinkedIn offers do-follow links are in the “My Publications” section. The ranking factor for the links posted in the “My Publications” section are based on how long the redirect has been around.

5. Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the first sites people think of when they think of social sites that offer do-follow links, although it doesn’t allow for as much linking as you would think. Pinterest links to your site from the profile, via a do-follow. Contrary to popular belief, links in the “Pinned from…” box are internal and don’t lead directly to your site.

6. WordPress

WordPress offers an excellent free blogging platform. WordPress automatically uses no-follow profile and comment links, in an attempt to prevent spam. However, WordPress does offer the opportunity for you to turn your links into do-follow with each individual post you create.

7. Reddit

Reddit is the ultimate in social bookmarking sites, as it allows you to bookmark virtually any type of content. Bonus! All links that are provided via reddit are do-follow (the only exception of this are links that come via a redirect.)

8. BizSugar

BizSugar is an awesome site that encourages the sharing of business tips and updates for entrepreneurs, digital markets or those in social business. All links posted via BizSugar are do-follow!

9. Tumblr

Tumblr is a super popular blogging platform that offers lots of beneficial links. Links in both your profile, a well as links shared via posts are all do-follow links, so get to tumblring!

10. Blogger

Blogger is owned by Google, and thus it shares the posts that get indexed first, plus all the links on both Blogger and Blogspot, all are automatically do-follow links.

As an added linking benefit, we have included social bookmarking sites that fetch do-follow links!

www.digg.com

www.stumleupon.com

www.delicious.com

www.diigo.com

www.technorati.com

www.slashdot.org

www.folkd.com

www.newsvine.com

Google+ Vanity (URLs)!

With Google already being synonymous with search engines, it is no surprise that their social network has reached the same  level of compulsory use. Google currently provides millions of google plus vanity urlspeople with indispensable services from Search to Gmail, to Maps, to Product Integration, YouTube and Chrome, and their social site, Google+ has become just as necessary as their other services.

Google+ is absolutely the best social networks to gain more customers, while gaining a social presence! Google has changed SEO (search engine optimization) to include SMO (social media optimization) and then, because they’re Google, they allocated the greatest amount of points to Google+, meaning being on it is essential to SEO! In a lot of cases, your search results will show up with Google+ posts before actual stand-alone websites!

With the heavy influence Google+ has, it is important to take advantage of every new trick they unroll.  The latest are vanity Urls!

google-plus-custom-urls

Must like Facebook Usernames, your vanity url changes your businesses digital address from https://plus.google.com/104515723610834155994‎ to   https://plus.google.com/wizler. A vanity URL is easier to remember than a bunch of random numbers and will stick in your customers heads more so than random numbers! The only requirements to obtain a vanity url are:: you must have a minimum of 10 followers, your Google+ account must be at least 30 days old, and it must contain a profile photo. So long as you meet that criteria (and we suspect must active Google+ members will) you’ll be able to select a custom URL. But it’s important to note that you won’t be able to simply enter your ideal web address. Rather, a help page notes that Google will let users pick from a list of URLs they’ve been approved for. Even then, Google says you may be asked to tack on a few extra letters or numbers to make a URL “unique to you.”

Do you use Google+? Have you seen an increase in your SEO ranking since implementing the social platform?

Three Reasons Why Your Facebook Strategy Is Failing

Social networking sites have been the vehicle for many online businesses. Facebook in particular Three Reasons Why Your FB Strategy Is Failinghas been the top choice for a few years now. With the constant updates that facebook offers to stay relevant, is all the more reason why your strategy for marketing on facebook should be up to par. Of course there are people that dominate facebook and continue to grow their businesses. Then, there are those that are struggling to create a buzz, and are failing miserably. It time to start analyzing your moves and techniques, in order to get better results. Lets take a look at three reasons why your facebook strategy is failing.

The first reason why your facebook strategy is failing may be because you don’t have a presence. Many people fail to plan in this area. You can’t just get online, especially on facebook, and expect others to just come to you. You have to strategize and market yourself. In this case, become familiar with people and let them feel like you are approachable. You must learn to build rapport with the public, even if you do it on another platform and share it on facebook. For example, we all know that videos reach a broader audience. Therefore, use youtube as your vehicle to gain more people by posting that video on facebook. Also, post your facebook link on youtube. Now, you have more people viewing and looking to interact with you. Not only are you just a face at this point, but now you can begin building a more personal relationship with your prospects. Here, you will be able to market to more people indirectly because they are now more prone to see you and what you post everyday.

Three Reasons Why Your FB Strategy Is FailingReason number two for your failing fb strategy is maybe you’re not consistent. Lets face it, as human beings, we have to see something over and over in order to stay interested. If you are not putting yourself, idea or product out there constantly, then you will get lost in the matrix like you have never existed. A good idea is to choose specific times in which you want to market to your target. For example, if you are offering a product and business that will bring financial freedom, then plan times and attractive marketing that will pull them in; such as every morning before people go to work, just when they’re getting home from work, or even throughout specific days. The point is that must know who you want to target and stay on top of that.

Last but not least, your strategy could be failing because you may be getting responses, but you Three Reasons Why Your FB Strategy Is Failingdon’t know how to interact with people. It is very easy to post and do videos, but what happens when you are approached? You may be lacking in communication skills that people expect you to have. To the prospect, you have something that they are looking for and may be solving some type of problem that they have; therefore, they expect you to guide them to the point of surety and comfort in closing a sale. You represent what you are advertising. Yes, people can read information and watch videos, but people want to have, and in some cases, need a guide into what they are getting into. So, ask questions, interact and converse with people. It’s always a good way to build because that person may bring others to you, just for your communication skills with them. Be helpful and useful, it’s what people virtually look for.

Now that you have gone over three particular reasons why your fb strategy is failing, make it a point to go back and re-evaluate, plan and make changes. Build your presence, be personable and be consistent. Watch the positive turn that you will experience.

The Best [And Worst] Times To Post On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+

The Best [And Worst] Times To Post On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+

Timing is essential to your everyday life, and social media posts are no different! Knowing the best and the worst times to post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ is essential to effective marketing through social media! The Best And Worst Times To Post

Wizler has created a guide that illustrates the best times to post on different social platforms, and why!

Time

Time is precious and valuable to people everywhere. The social media world knows that. Followers know that as well. Anyone that is posting to social media sites must understand this fact and realize that posts should be sent at the right time of day or night in order to get the largest amount of exposure to the intended audience.

Timing is Everything

Everyone says it and people all know that it is a truth, but why is it a true thing? In social media there are times when people will see things and times when they won’t. If someone wants his or her followers to see what his or her post is saying, then the timing is essential. There are specific times when followers check the tweets for the day.

Ages and Timing

Different ages check Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ at different times of the day and night. Depending on the category and niche, those followers check in at different times as well. All of that must be considered when deciding to post to all of those social media sites. Each one has a unique schedule for visitors and must be evaluated in order to find the perfect time to post on any of them.

Facebook Timing

Mobile Facebook users check the site around eight in the morning and again at two in the afternoon. Statistics from research show that most Facebook users that are employed do not check Facebook until lunch and after work. Anyone that wants to post during those down times will be wasting his or her time. The week-end is the worst time to post anything.

Twitter Timing

social media twitter timingTwitter is a unique creature. It is about quick posts that happen frequently. The time invested in posting needs to be short and to the point. Statistics show that the tweets that are under 60 characters are highly effective. The language that is used for those tweets adds that much more to the audience.

The audience always reflects the timing, but in general the best times are from one in the afternoon to six in the early evening. Tweets can be posted at any time and will be viewed or re-tweeted if the request for a re-tweet is made to followers. In this manner, the timing for Twitter is far different from other social media sites.

LinkedIn Times

The times for posting with this social media outlet are from seven until eight in the morning. After work, the times are best from five to six in the evening. It also is used more frequently on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Google+ Times

This is viewed by people during the hours from nine in the morning until eleven. The later day views  The Best [And Worst] Times To Postbegin at six in the evening and go until seven in the morning. That offers far more time to post things for followers to see and interact with.

All of these social media sites offer an excellent way to make a persona, daily connection with the audience that fits a niche for business. It could even be for a non-profit operation that raises money for someone in need. No matter what the goal is for the use of social media, there is a time of day or night that suits each one the best. Anyone that follows that time schedule will see improvements in both traffic and potential business.

What is The Future of Search? 2013 SEO Ranking Factors Released

SEO is a term that most people, who do any type of internet marketing, or anything on the internet, are quite familiar with. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the way the search engine ranks the page according to what information the user is looking for. Through keywords listed on the web page, the search engine will rank that page using what is called ranking factors. These factors help the search engine decide who gets their site first, second, etc. Every couple of years, Moz releases what the latest ranking factors are. This data is compiled using the top one hundred industry professionals. Marketing companies and those who write blogs always wait for these statistics in hopes of creating better SEO content, which can rank their page higher than before.

2013 Search Engine Ranking

Understanding Ranking Factors

Algorithm is a formula that Google uses to figure where a page ranks. Recently, Hummingbird, their new algorithm, was released and is currently being used. Though many consumers don’t notice a change, Google stands behind their new methods calling it faster and more accurate. Within this new algorithm, there are over two hundred signals that rank the content. Though Google doesn’t allow the general public to know what these signals are, one must look at the highest rank pages to detect a pattern. The pages that rank highest are there for a reason, whether it is content or backlinks. What makes a search engine select one page with similar information over another? By studying these highly ranked pages, it is easy to see a pattern and why the search engine gives these pages favoritism over others.For instance, the search engine may be ranking pages higher because they have a great number of external backlinks hooked to their site. If we observe that there is in fact a great deal of backlinks on a site highly ranked, then we can come to the conclusion that backlinks are part of the algorithm that is used to rank pages. This is called correlation data. However, using correlation data, does not always tell the truth. It may merely point to characteristics of the high ranking pages and not to part of the algorithm itself.

2013 Search Engine Ranking Factors ReleasedBy looking at this year’s correlation data, it shows that there are significant correlations between those who are using Google + 1 and receiving higher rankings. However, when Google was confronted with this theory, they said that the algorithm doesn’t include the +1’s at all. While this doesn’t mean that this is not important, it just means that the pages at the top all tend to have something in common, Google + 1.

It is easy to theorize what may or may not be contributing to the algorithm. Correlation data can steer us in the right direction, but this data is just noticing similarities and not coming up with any concrete proof. When looking at the Google search engine, one of the most popular, their ranking criteria are going to be quite different than Bing, Yahoo or some of the others. That is why when a person conducts a search on one site, they may get very different responses. Actually, by entering the same data in all major search engines, the pages they return will be ranked differently. There may be a popular page that shows up on one engines search that doesn’t on another. This is all due to the algorithm.

2013 Search Engine Ranking Factors

What Has Changed for 2013

Those who want to create articles and blogs that are content rich and still rank high in the search engines may be interested in the data collected from this year’s study. First, the Motz has noticed that having keyword domains and also the keyword links have lost their relevance. However, brand name companies and using these company names would be the exception to this rule. Those who are using social signals and are linked to social media pages and such are ranking higher than those who are not. As a matter of fact, when dealing with a Google search, those who are linked to Google + 1 are being showed favoritism over other social media outlets. Because of this precedence, it is estimated that within a year, Google + 1 will replace both Facebook and Twitter in social media. While some feel that that is an unfair analogy, due to overwhelming data, this may prove to be true.

The study has also shown that while the search engine considers more than 200 things, one thing at the top of the list is content. SEO simply means how the search engine ranks the site, but content marketing creates rich content that is good for the customer base. But, believe it or not, the search engine is also looking for a content rich page to present to the user. How reliable would a search engine be if the pages they returned for the user were useless? Of course they are going to scan for content before they suggest them.

While all these things presented are of the utmost importance, it cannot be ignored that the more backlinks that are on a page is highly important. A backlink simply takes a page to another level. They are an important part of the SEO metrics. Though this may be new information to some, this has always been and probably always will be an important part of ranking factors. Though, this year’s data shows that not only the quantity of backlinks is being considered, they also show that search engines are also reviewing their quality for their users. There are many diverse quality factors that are examined, but it should be noted of their importance.

In two years, it will be interesting to see where the trends have gone and where they are heading. Though SEO is still very important, it also can’t be denied that content marketing and backlinks play an important part in the decision of where the page ranks in search engine results.

Facebook Contest Ideas that Boost Engagement!

On August 26th, Facebook updated its promotions guidelines to allow brands to run Facebook contests on their fan page timelines. Prior to this, the rules for running a Facebook post were tricky to say the least, as you were not allowed to ask for direct engagement. But alas – the new rules allow for an awesome way to generate excitement about your company, thus boosting engagement and getting your fans talking! Even better, a Facebook contest with good attendance spreads your business’ Facebook page to countless new people. A good contest is also a great way to show off your unique brand personality and the spirit of your company!

facebook contests ideas

With these new Facebook promotion guidelines, brands can now accept contest entries by asking fans to like, comment, or message the page. But, the new rules have left a lot of businesses stumped as to how to make the most of the new Facebook contest rules. What is a good contest? How should they be structured?

What Kind of Contest Should I be Conducting?

There are tons of different types of contests you can use, and we at Wizler recommend a mixture of a few different types. Of course, there is truly no way to know what your audience is going to respond too, without first testing the waters, but knowing your brand should help you to cater your specific audience.

There are two basic mediums via Facebook that you can use to conduct a contest: a status update, or an event. The main difference between the two is longevity; a status update will only live in your fan’s news feed for a short while, and will move down the page as you continue to post. You can always click the star to highlight the post as important, thus enlarging it on your page, but it will still be dated and will move accordingly.

A Facebook event will be more prevalent on your page. A Facebook event will show up in the events square top at the top of your page, and will remain there until you post a new event. Furthermore, each event has a unique URL that you can use to share via social media, including on Facebook, to continue to remind your audience to participate. Each event also has its own wall where people can post to participate, or ask questions

At Wizler Social Media Management, we recommend a combination of these two methods. We post small giveaways via status updates, and we will do longer product promotions via events. Below are awesome examples of Facebook Contests that will drive likes, comments, and help build your brand:

Status Updates:

facebook giveaway ideas

Happy Friday! We’re celebrating by giving away ___________. Let us know how you plan to spend your weekend, and the best answer will win __________. Winner will be chosen Monday at 5pm EST.

Who has a case of the Mondays?  If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? __________________. Share your favorite vacation destination for a chance to win! Winner will be picked at noon EST tomorrow!

If you could eat only one thing from our menu for 365 days, what would it be? Share with us for your chance to win a giftcard! Winner will be announced at 3pm EST on Tuesday!

What’s your favorite thing about our product? Tell us, and you could win!

Who was the first astronaut to go into space? Answer correctly, and you could win tickets to the Air & Space museum downtown! Contest ends at 5pm EST tomorrow.

Despite your product, business, or audience, a simple status update giveaway always has the same formula: question,  incentive, prize, and information about when the prize will be given. We recommend that you comment on the winning response, rather than just posting or tagging the persons name, as the more you interact with a post on Facebook, the more likely it is to show up on others news feeds.

Event Creation:

facebook contestsEvents are awesome because they have a lasting effect and allow for a lot of personal interaction. It is a great idea to cater your event to both your product and to what is going on in the media, or even to the seasons. Here are some examples:

Host a halloween costume contest, or a scary story contest. Tie in your product into either the images posted, or the stories shared. Remember, every time someone posts to your event wall, it will show up to all of their friends, and will create a chain reaction, so make it something engaging!

In November, post a contest asking your customers, “What are you thankful for?” Try to tie it in with your product, but either way, anything that inspires a compelling story always does a lot for brand loyalty.

Favorite T.V Show coming to an end? Ask your customers what they think will happen. The one with the closest response wins. It is always great to show your customers that you are more than a company – involvement in trends helps to showcase that.

A Facebook giveaway is a great way to judge the engagement occurring on your business page, and to interact personally and show your unique brand. Having a good, engaging following to your business translates to ROI, as participation stays in consumers minds and creates brand loyalty. Don’t forget to monitor your contests for questions and comments to ensure your contests turn into likes and comments.. The  formula described above will work regardless of your product or service, but keep your contest focused and brand specific for best results!