Category: Social Media

Twitter is Revamping Direct Messages

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Marketing, Social Media

In the beginning, mankind created social media and digital interactions. Before this, the world was dependent on phone calls and written communication, and our friendships were void of constant contact with our friends. Twitter rose from the darkness and said, “Let there be direct messages!” Mankind saw that direct messages were good. Mankind called them “DMs”. 

Direct messages and the slang “DMs” have become a part of our daily conversations and remain a focus in how we interact with social media. When Twitter originally launched,most social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest were in their infancy stages, and did not support personal messaging. At the time, social media platforms were instead designed to create a sense of community and interaction among you and your friends. In order to cultivate this feeling, social media platforms forced you to interact publicly, meaning all of your comments could been seen by your “friends”. It wasn’t until 2015 that Twitter decided to break ground by integrating personal messaging into their platform. This meant that you could send someone a message without your all of your followers seeing it. Considering where social media started, this was revolutionary! 

With change often comes complaints, bugs, and disappointment. While this feature was designed and launched with the best of intentions, the human race learned how to abuse this feature. We began to see Twitter Bots pop up and send phishing links through direct messages to try to steal personal information from you. Users would send multiple direct messages in a row if a user wasn’t responding to them right away. Some users would hide behind anonymous accounts and send rude direct messages to someone if they didn’t like their tweets. This behavior was eventually coined “cyberbullying”. 

As time has gone on, society has worked hard to combat cyberbullying, and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are at the forefront. Facebook has implemented features like restricting the ability to send messages if you’re not friends with them first. Instagram has introduced settings that allow a profile to filter out offensive language or certain keywords. Twitter has decided to jump in and test out a new feature for their DMs as well.

On August 15th, 2019, Twitter began testing a feature that filtered out unwanted messages from bots or abusive users. The filter works by adding an “additional messages” section to your inbox. This is where DMs from people you’re not connected with (those you follow or those who follow you) will be. Once you click to view your additional messages, any photos will be blurred to protect graphic content. You also have the ability to delete a message without actually reading it first, so the sender won’t be aware that you saw their direct message. As of September 30th, 2019, this feature has officially been launched to the public and is available for the majority of their users. This is a breathe or fresh air for avid Twitter users, and frankly, long overdue considering Instagram has had a feature like this for quite some time. Nevertheless, we’re excited to see this feature be rolled out to improve user experience. 

In addition to the adding of a filter to direct messages, Twitter has also decided to follow in the footsteps of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Apple with beginning to test emoji “reactions” for direct messages! They’re now going to make it easier, faster, and more fun to respond to messages with options such as “crying from laughter”, “heart eyes”, “gasping”, “crying”, “annoyed”, “love”, and “fire”. These options have been available for certain aspects of Facebook since 2017 and more recently available for LinkedIn. 

While this may be a trend that Twitter is following, we’re loving it because it means introducing a whole new way to engage with social media content which we are all for! Plus, we never get tired of reacting with the fire emoji when a co-worker makes a punny social media joke. 

Social media is ever changing and with so many platforms, it’s difficult to stay up to date with changes. Here at The AD Leaf ®, our social media team is obsessed with always being in “the know” with the latest trends, updates, and new features. Let us take the stress off of your hands with our unique social media campaigns tailored for you and your business. Call 321-255-0900 to get started. 

Craft an Instagram Bio Like a Boss

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Marketing, Social Media

Ah, the wonderful world of Instagram. Did you know that June of 2018, Instagram had one billion users scrolling and double-tapping photos for that month alone?

One. Billion. Users.

That is a significant amount of people utilizing the platform. Instagram is different from other platforms such as Facebook in various ways. For example, Instagram is a heavily image-based platform where people and communities gather around images specifically, where other platforms such as Twitter or Facebook are more copy based with many more options to build out a profile. This is one of the more unique things about Instagram versus other accounts is its simplicity. Being largely a photo-based platform connected now with Facebook, along with the rise of 3+ smartphone cameras, we’d say that Instagram isn’t going anywhere soon.

 

An Instagram bio is something that many users don’t think much about. You have 150 characters and a link to communicate your brand. If you think about it, the bio is the “greeting” of your account. Social media accounts can be and often are extensions to your brand, so how you craft your bio is a reflection of the brand you are wanting to communicate with the one billion users who are scrolling. An Instagram bio is not a separate part of your profile: it is apart of your profile. Your Instagram feed and your Instagram bio are one message; and that message matters. So what are some tips on crafting an Instagram bio like a boss?

  • The first rule is that there are no rules when it comes to creating a bio. There are best practices, but as is relevant for all social media, there isn’t one set, hard drawn line in the sand saying that this is the only right way to do something. So we encourage experimentation! Think about your brand. What do you want to communicate? Do you want a lot of information? Remember: you have 150 characters to work with. 
  • Let your bio be a call to action. This means using verbs, for example, is a good idea. Think about what the “one thing” you want your brand to communicate, and then craft that for your bio. Then add a call-to-action directing your audience to the link you have there.
  • This brings us to the next principle: Make your bio link count. This is important. Let this be an extension of the one message you want to communicate. If you have any links you’d like to direct people to try signing up for a free multi-link account such as Linktree to house the various places you’d like to direct people to.
  • Another tip would be to be creative with the layout of your bio. It can be tricky, but adding things like line breaks within your bio can help take it to the next level by creating a list format that is quite popular. But if you’re like us, you’ve bumped into the frustration knowing exactly how to create a different bio layout within the app. To get around this, try logging into your Instagram account through a desktop browser. There, you will be able to add all the line breaks your heart could desire.
  • Next, try adding an emoji to your bio to really catch people’s attention! Sometimes this can feel inappropriate, but understanding that the goal of social media and the context of these emoji can be different than traditional business formatting will help you make the jump. Just make sure that if you do use emojis that they are on-brand with your profile and/or business. Some great ways to use emojis for the more professional profiles can be the telephone emoji to add a business number, a laptop emoji to link a website, or a world emoji to indicate that your business is worldwide. 
  • Our last tip would be to utilize hashtags if you see fit. This can be a great way to create greater discoverability of your page, brand, ideas, or products. Hashtags can also be a great marketing tool if you have a business or idea you are promoting. Don’t forget to change your bio regularly, especially if you have a promotion going on. Remembering that your bio is a part of your profile, not a separate entity, will help you grow in valuing the importance of the bio. So use those hashtags to help your profile become more discoverable!

There is no one way to craft the perfect Instagram. The choice is completely up to you and the message you want to communicate.

Remember that you only have 150 characters and a link to use – so make your bio count.  Craft it around the “one thing” you want to communicate. Don’t forget to make it a call to action by potentially using verbs that direct your audience to specific links. Log into Instagram on your desktop to be able to get creative with your bio’s layout that you aren’t able to perform in-app. Sprinkle in some emojis that are on-brand that will catch people’s eye, along with creating greater discoverability by utilizing hashtags. As you implement some of these best practices, you will be crafting a bio like a boss quicker than someone can create a new boomerang. 

Let us help you not only craft that incredible Instagram bio, but also take your company to the next level. Give us a call to discuss all the ways we at The AD Leaf ® can help you not only create compelling bios, but also capture a greater audience through engaging, creative, and unique content tailored just for you. Call us today at 321-255-0900.

Social Media And SEO

5 Ways Social Media and SEO Work Together

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media

While Social Media might not impact your search ranking directly, a robust social media marketing strategy will still have a significant impact on your SEO. When utilizing the right strategies as part of your posts on social media, you can increase your search engine ranking, visibility, and make it easier for your customers to find your page. 

  1. Social Sharing – Social media allows you to spread the word about your content to a wider audience than you normally would be able to reach by means of search engines alone. When you create high-quality content, you naturally are encouraging your customers to interact with it, share it with their friends and followers, and eventually create a wide net of enhanced visibility. Over the course of time, you’ll find that your social media channels will increase your overall reach, in turn, helping boost your rankings in the search engines.
  2. Increase Brand Awareness –  The way in which your customers view your brand is vital and social media can help expand on that. When sharing information about your brand on social media you connect your brand to your industry. When interested searchers are looking for more information about the products and services you offer, they’re more likely to search for your company directly.
  3. Reaching a Mobile Audience – Google and other search engines recognize the importance of social media in providing the content that customers are looking for. In turn, they’re giving searchers information from Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms when they come looking for content. Google has even gone to the likes of partnering with Twitter to improve index searching and increase visibility for many customers. This makes your Twitter posts even more important for raising brand awareness for your company. 
  4. Online Reviews – As we know by now, online reviews are such a critical part of building your search engine presence. Through social media, you can encourage customers to easily leave those critical reviews, increasing your brand presence. The customers of today are looking for social proof: the information from other customers online that you are as legitimate as your online presence says you are. High-quality reviews can bring more customers to your business, while poor reviews will turn customers away before they even have a chance to get to know you. 
  5. Building Relationships – This is one of, if not the most important aspects of this whole process. When you build a relationship with your followers through social media, they’re more likely to turn to your website for their questions and concerns. More visitors to your website will improve your search ranking. By focusing on building a relationship with your followers on social media, you can simultaneously increase brand awareness,  improve your connection to your audience and, in turn, increase your conversions. 

Your social media channels are way more than just a vehicle for directing customers to your website, it is a critical part of your SEO strategy. Working on growing both sides hand in hand makes it easier to bring in organic search results and in turn, create more satisfied customers.

If you need help with your Social Media or SEO, contact our digital marketing experts at The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm in Melbourne FL. We have the tools and expertise necessary to help drive your business’s success by improving your search engine ranking as well as making engaging content for your social channels. Learn more about what we have to offer your business and contact us to plan out and design a marketing strategy with one of our highly skilled marketing professionals. 

A Business-Owner’s Guide to Instagram Stories

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Marketing, Social Media

More than 500 million people post and view Instagram stories every single day. That is the population of an entire continent! Instagram stories are one of the most popular and most beneficial tools for both users and marketers. As a business owner, it is now critical to add Instagram Stories into your marketing strategy.

Instagram stories are short posts that are pinned to the top of every user’s home page that disappear after 24 hours. They are ultimately “prime real estate” considering that your posted Story is now the first thing that all of your followers see when they log in. There is a colorful ring around a profile to indicate if something is added to a story. Having something posted to your Instagram Story increases the likelihood that your profile will draw attention to users.

Creating Instagram Stories is just like creating a regular post. From the home page, swipe left or click the camera icon in the top left-hand corner. You can either choose to take a picture or video in the moment, or upload from your camera roll. There are several filters, stickers, and tags to choose from. Like traditional posts, the user is able to add hashtags and location tags for anyone to see that looks up that tag on explore. Making your posts more exciting and more visually appealing will catch the attention of more users and will be more likely to drive engagement.

Now that you know how to create Instagram Stories…what’s next?

Using Instagram Stories to promote a business or even to just get your name out there is fairly simple because there are so many options. Research shows that posting on an Instagram Story at least once a day is the most beneficial. This shows followers and other users out there that your page is alive! People will be more likely to engage with your content and join the community of your page. Stories allow for quick, in the moment updates of how your business operates. The priority is to show your audience something more about you and what you offer. This helps to create an informative and engaging community that people will want to join by following.

So get posting! Here are our ideas and tips about how to use Instagram Stories for business:

#1 Behind the Scenes Action

Give your followers sneak peeks or access to content that usually wouldn’t be posted on your feed. This adds more excitement and creates a better chance of someone becoming interested in your page and your business.

#2 Turn posts into stories

Is there something you posted on the main feed that you don’t want to lose into the vast sea that is Instagram posts? Encourage your followers to visit your post by sharing it on your story. Simply click the arrow icon next to the like and comment button on the post you would like to share, and choose “Add post to your story.” Users can then tap on the post in the story and it will take them directly to the full post on your profile.

#3 It’s a way to post more frequently

We all know those accounts that bombard your feed with posts every hour, and you have no choice but to unfollow. Unlike regular posts, instagram stories allow you to post multiple things to share more information in one convenient place without annoying your followers. You can use Instagram’s bulk stories uploader button found in the upper right-hand corner when browsing through your camera roll to select multiple items to make multiple Stories.

#4 Share posts from followers and fans

Instagram Stories are a great way to share what your followers are putting out there. Featuring followers on your profile encourages them to continue posting about your business which is also seen by all of their followers. Promoting this encourages your business to be advertised to a larger audience for free! You can repost things on your Instagram Story such as when someone leaves a good review, shares a picture of your product, or posts at your location.

#5 Engagement tools and stickers

In addition to stickers and hashtags, Stories have engagement features which drive audience participation. These tools include a poll, multiple choice quiz, questions, countdown, and a slider tool with an emoji of your choice. Use these to learn about what your audience enjoys and what they want to see more of.

#6 Link directly to shop or website

Business profiles with more than 10,000 followers have the option to link a website directly to an Instagram Story. The user simply swipes up and it redirects them to your website instantly. People are more likely to purchase a product or visit a website if it is convenient for them. With this tool, it takes no more than a second for them to be on your website or wherever you want them redirected to.

These all sound like wonderful ideas, but do these Stories really disappear after only 24 hours? Well yes….and no. The story itself on the top of the homescreen will in fact go away after 24 hours. However, you have the option to create Instagram Story Highlights which save these archived posts directly to your profile under your bio. These highlights allow for viewing of the previously posted story forever! There is no limit to how many highlights you can have, so if you’d like, you can have different themes of highlights for different types of posts. This allows your followers to easily view something that they are looking for or for something that interests them.

Instagram Stories are becoming one of the best places to increase exposure, drive engagement and improve brand awareness. Now that you know the basics, take your phone out and get snapping!

We here at the AD Leaf have a staff of trained social media marketing professionals to help you improve your social media utilizing tools such as Instagram Stories. We’ll help your business get the exposure it needs on all social media platforms. Give us a call at 321-255-0900 to schedule an appointment with us.

Spying on Your Competitors With Facebook Ad Library

Posted on | by Shannon Sullivan
Marketing, Social Media

Anyone who has done even one Facebook Ad has had the same question: How does my competition do it? Whether good, bad, or ugly, it’s both best practice and human nature to want to know how your competition is advertising and who they’re targeting. However, what used to be a guessing game is becoming a bit clearer thanks to Facebook’s push to be more transparent to its base, allowing you to “spy” on your competitors.

While you won’t get a direct listing of who a particular ad is targeted toward (you can only gain insight into that by being a part of the target audience and seeing the ad in your feed) you will get clues to help you piece together your Facebook Ad strategy, which, if you’re marketing nerds like us, is like Christmas morning! There are two ways to go about spying on your competitor’s ads: through their page itself and the Facebook Ad Library.

The first way is to look at the page transparency right on the Facebook page itself. Go to the page you’d like more information on, click “see more” next to Page Transparency, and voila! Here you’ll see the history of the page, the location(s) where the page is managed, and the ad(s) the company is currently running. It will also give you the option to click through to the Ad Library, where you can see a history of what ads the company has run in the past.

Facebook Ad Library

 

The second way is to skip the page and go right to the Ad Library itself. Once there, you can search either by a company or by topic. When searching by topic, you’re able to take a look at any ad that matches the criteria that you search for. It can take a few tries to get your search keywords right, but it is worth the added effort. In addition to what you can see through the Page Transparency, you can also click to see how much they have spent on individual ads and as a total of all ads. This not only helps you to set your own budget, but it also shows you how successful their ads have been at targeting, which is key information. A low spend on a long-running ad tells you there is ad space to be won with proper targeting.

Facebook Ad Library

The information you can gain from Facebook Ad spying isn’t perfect and does rely on you correctly drawing conclusions. Still, it can show you what types of ads your competitors are running, what they look like, and how much they’re spending, which are good weapons to have when creating your own ad. 

If you’re reading through this and it’s coming off a bit like a foreign language, that’s okay! This information is designed for people who already have a high-level knowledge of Facebook Ads. That’s where we come in. Let us flex our marketing prowess and give you expert social media recommendations based on this in-depth analysis. Give us a call today at 321-255-0900 or email us at info@theadleaf.com to schedule your one-on-one Facebook Ads discovery session.

 

Instagram and Facebook Updates At-A-Glance

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Social Media, Uncategorized

Are you struggling to keep up with the changes that occur on social media platforms almost daily? Algorithms are updated routinely, new features are tested out in select locations or industries on a regular basis, ad targeting options seem to change weekly; it can be a lot for a business owner to keep up with, especially since social media is just one part of a successful digital marketing strategy. That’s where we come in. Having an agency at your disposal who stays at the forefront of trends and breakthroughs in the industry is vital for an effective and successful digital presence and overall marketing strategy. Today we’re going to catch you up on the latest changes with a quick overview so you can get back to running your business and we’re also going to give you a little sneak preview of some changes that may be coming in the near future. 

 

Facebook

Top Fans and Exclusive Content

For Facebook pages with over 10,000 followers, you can exclusively target your followers who engage the most with your content now. These users receive ‘Top Fan’ badges and everytime they comment on your content the badge is displayed by their name. You can publish organic content that only ‘Top Fans’ can see on your page enabling you to test new campaigns with your most engaged audience members before rolling it out to everyone or provide special offers or exclusive information to your most loyal fans. 

Mobile Content Gets Compressed

Last month, Facebook updated the layout of the mobile experience for users by changing the aspect ratio on screens from 2:3 to 4:5 and reducing the number of text lines shown from 7 to 3. This means any text past the 3 line limit will be hidden and users will need to click see more to read the rest. This just means it’s even more important than ever to hook them with those first few lines. 

Update to Facebook’s Terms of Service

With all the media buzz around privacy and Facebook’s lack of transparency around user information and security, the social media platform has updated its terms of service to include things like details on how they make profits, information on content removal and intellectual property and more. You can read them all here.  This change was put in place to offer a more straightforward and transparent relationship with users. 

Cracking Down on Health Claims 

If you’re in the health and wellness space you will be especially interested in this one. Facebook has begun ‘downranking’ posts that talk about sensationalized treatments such as magic pills to get instant results or DIY ideas for losing weight that are dangerous. The key here is ‘sensationalized’ phrases. As usual, Facebook does not release details on algorithm changes so the exact phrases being targeted are unknown. Stick to medically proven health and wellness content and you should not be affected. 

 

Instagram 

Desktop Publishing Abilities 

In the past, the only way to work on Instagram was through third party software or through the mobile application itself. That means marketers and business owners could only use Instagram through their mobile devices. Most busy business owners and marketers take time to sit down at their desktops to do this type of work in depth. Now, thanks to the Creator Studio in Facebook, Instagram photos and videos can be posted to the platform along with the ability to check and respond to messages. This will save time for so many and as you know time = money!

Ad Placements Now Available in Explore 

If you’re not a heavy Instagram users you may not know about the explore tab. This is a place on Instagram where the platform shows you content you are likely to be interested in based on your behavior and actions taken in the app. So if you love watching cat videos, your explore feed may feature lots of pics and videos of cats. It’s usually got a good mix of things and in the past did not allow for ad placements. This is great news for business owners and marketers as it’s a brand new space to promote your content. 

Study Claims Instagram Engagement is Down Platform Wide

According to a study of 1.4 million Instagram posts by consulting firm Trust Insights, the average number of interactions on Instagram is down 18% from the beginning of the year. The study notes that brands as well as individual influencers are feeling the pain of dropping engagement rates and are still looking into what the potential cause could be. 

 

What’s Coming Next?

Facebook and Instagram Likes May Disappear 

Are you obsessed with comparing how many likes your posts get compared to others? Facebook and Instagram are testing hiding that feature from you in select countries. You’ll still be able to see your own likes but you won’t be able to see anyone else’s if they decide to roll this feature out permanently and in the United States. 

 

To stay up to date on all the changes being rolled out on your favorite social media platforms be sure to check back on our blog for future updates and join our newsletter list to get the latest and greatest information sent right to your inbox. If you want to learn more about how our agency can help you define and deploy a digital marketing strategy to include web development, SEO, content marketing and social media marketing, give us a call today at 321-255-0900 or email us at info@theadleaf.com. 

 

Social Media Marketing

Quora: The Marketers Guide to the Internet

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Content Writing, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media

We have entered the digital age and the rest of the world has quickly followed suit. While more traditional forms of advertising such as billboards and print ads still exist, marketing has by and large moved into the digital space, changing our entire approach with it. How can we make use of this limitless information at our fingertips when trying to market our business? Offer it! The digital world allows marketers and business owners the unique privilege of connecting with their potential customers like never before, and there is no better way to do this than with online forums like Quora.

Quora is an information focused question and answer forum for anything and everything on the internet. With over 300 million monthly visitors and over 400,000 topics (sprout social) Quora can be used for anything from keeping up with the latest trends for social media marketing to keeping a healthy vegetable garden.  What does this have to do with marketing? For starters, you’re trying to market a business online, so is everyone else, so why do it alone? Use your resources! Are you having trouble navigating your software or social media platforms new interface? Someone else probably is too and there is an answer for that. Trying to figure out how to replicate that ad you saw on Facebook? Quora can point you to a resource. With the world more connected than ever, there is nothing you can’t learn online.

With how easy it is to offer and trade information, there is a myriad of answers to any topic online, but reliable sources can seem hard to come by. Be sure you’re being pointed in the right direction with Quora. Similar to other forum based sites like Reddit, Quora operates using an upvote and downvote system. This is an easy way to tell how reputable and helpful your sources are at a glance. The more helpful answers you provide, the more upvotes you receive and the more credible your answer becomes. These upvotes and downvotes don’t just stop at your post either. Build out a profile on Quora to keep not only all of your questions and answers in one place, but all of your upvotes too. Provide consistently helpful answers on a topic, and your profile will build a credible reputation and a reliable source of information. Soon, people will be searching up your profile, and looking to you as an industry resource for marketing, vegetable growing, anything!     

So our world is more connected, and people can communicate and share ideas like never before, but the question still stands, what does that mean for marketers? It means that you can connect with your audience like never before. The opportunity to connect with your audience on forums like quora gives marketers and business owners a unique insight to their audience. So get to know them. What questions are they asking? What do they want to know about your business or your industry? Quora gives you the opportunity to keep a close eye on exactly what your audience is interested in, and then gives you the opportunity to get writing. Stay updated on topics with the tracking and searching feature, and speak to your audience directly. Remember: If people are asking, it’s worth writing about, so don’t stop there. Establish you and your business on Quora, then establish you and your website as a resource. Demonstrate your knowledge in your industry by writing blogs, frequently asked questions pages, and other exciting and informative content that will keep your audience engaged and coming back. 

Getting started on Quora is completely free, and if it’s not part of your strategy, your missing out on the social part of social media marketing. Get started talking in your industry, and start building some credibility around you and your brand. Set up your profile to reflect you and your business, and begin delivering value to your to your audience like never before.  

Social Media Marketing

The Dangers of Being Shadow Banned

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Marketing, Social Media

After putting so much work into our social media marketing content, we all want it to be seen, right?

Most businesses that use social media marketing achieve success from exposure. Advertising their goods and services gives them the consumers, and revenue, they need to keep running. So, want to continue having your posts visible on Instagram? Then beware of shadow banning.

Shadow banning is an unfortunate part of Instagram software that prevents certain posts from appearing in hashtag feeds. A hashtag feed is a hub for all content that includes the same hashtag. Instagram users frequent a particular hashtag feed when they want to see specific posts. For example, if a user wished to see photos of cars, they may go to the #car feed.

While it may seem easy to use the same hashtags over and over in your content, that’s exactly how your posts could become shadow banned. When Instagram continues to see the same hashtags, it regards the post as spam. Instagram will then remove the post from public hashtag feeds, only making it visible to users who already follow your company. This eliminates any opportunity of new people seeing your content, thereby greatly reducing your chance of new customers.

Even if you change up your hashtags, they could still put you at risk of shadow banning. Certain hashtags can be associated with inappropriate content, leading to the hashtag being considered “broken.” Even if you are using the hashtag appropriately, other Instagram users may have used the same hashtag in unsuitable posts. Therefore, Instagram may have placed a ban on the entire hashtag, only allowing it to be used in private settings. Be cautious when choosing which hashtags to include on your posts, as some banned hashtags are surprising.

Pro-Tip: These five hashtags are considered “broken,” and “banned,” by Instagram. Using them will most likely result in your post becoming shadow-banned.  #boho #costumes #petite #mustfollow #saltwater

Even if all of your hashtags are perfect, shadow banning could still hurt you. Random large surges of activity, such as following or unfollowing hundreds of people, could get your posts shadow banned. In an attempt to reduce spam messages and other potentially harmful practices, Instagram implemented software to ban users who have sporadic activity. If you go on multiple following sprees, are blocked by a group of Instagram users, or have any other suspicious activity, your posts could disappear from the public.

Avoid this at all costs. As stated earlier, exposure is crucial for social media marketing. At the moment, there is no “set time,” for shadow banning. If you’re lucky, the Instagram help center can try to fix the issue. If you’re not lucky, then you may have to completely change how you make posts and run your account. Just think, potentially thousands of people could view your content. Don’t ruin it. You want the most amount of people possible to view your posts, especially after all that time you put into generating Grade A content!

However, if you suspect that you have been shadow banned, you should know how to check it. As disappointing as shadow banning is, it is better to know that you have been banned so you can take the appropriate steps to fix it.

There are a few ways to see if Instagram has made your post invisible to the public.

  1. Ask one of your followers to, temporarily, unfollow you. Once they are no longer your follower, post content with your normal hashtags. If that previous follower can no longer see your post, then it is fairly likely you have been shadow banned. Keep in mind, this is only if your account was public in the first place.

Pro-Tip: Don’t forget to ask them to follow you again!

  1. Post content, with your normal hashtags, and go to a hashtag feed. Click the “recent,” option at the top of the page and view the posts. If your own post is not visible, then you have been shadow banned. The “recent,” option allows you to see all the recent posts that have included a particular hashtag. If your content is not there, then it has been removed from that public hashtag feed.

The biggest question is does Instagram know about shadow banning? Even though we’re certain it’s in their software, did Instagram create this or is it just a glitch? The answer is Instagram claims not to have created this practice on purpose and released a statement promising to work on the issue. Their recommendation is to focus on branding your company and not rely on the use of hashtags: something that cannot be sustained forever.

Our recommendation: Be careful when creating your content. Take an additional five or ten minutes to proofread both your hashtags and the post itself.

Even with all of these precautions, shadow banning can still easily happen. Lucky for you, we have a staff of trained social media marketing professionals to help you avoid this sneaky practice! Let us teach you all of the tips and tricks to never being shadow banned. Even better, we’ll help your business get the exposure it needs on all social media platforms. Give us a call at 321-255-0900 to schedule an appointment with us. Get your company out there today!

SEO in Melbourne FL

How Firefox Privacy Updates Are Affecting Your SEO In Melbourne FL

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media

New Updates

If you haven’t been up to date with news in the tech world, Mozilla has now updated their latest browser, Firefox, and advertisers aren’t too fond of the changes and severely affecting SEO in Melbourne FL and everywhere else. After more than a year of ratcheting up their privacy protections, Firefox now blocks website cookies that can lead advertisers to track you across the web by default. This comes after a 2018 announcement that they were going to be doing this through their enhanced tracking protection (ETP).

If you aren’t up to speed on what cookies are, they are small text files that websites store in your browser that can then be used to market and advertise to you later down the road, either by first party operators or third parties such as advertising and analytics firms.

Remember that lamp you saw on Amazon that you put in the cart and forgot about that just so happened to pop up on Facebook as you were scrolling through? Well, that’s a product of tracking cookies through web browsers. This is the type of information and experience that will be affected. Now Facebook and it’s advertising platform isn’t the only platform affected here because this change spans even to Bing, Google, and affects Google Analytics.

Privacy  

This update should come as no surprise given the Facebook privacy issues they were facing last year and that have caused them to address privacy with their latest update and plan moving forward. Privacy is becoming the topic of discussion due to the vastness of the internet and how the data that gets collected on a daily basis is being used.

Browser tracking is becoming more of a topic of discussion but even Apple’s Safari and Brave have given users the ability to block third-party cookies by default even before 2017.

Newly installed versions of Firefox will block trackers by default and if you already have it installed, it will become available in the coming months. This is an option you can choose to turn off or even opt for different levels of blocking.

Privacy has become the new browser war and given Facebook and Google are the largest powers in the internet advertising world, they are of course going to be the ones people are looking towards for direction.

What does this mean for consumers?

For consumers, this means that there will be more pressure on your search engines and websites to win you over by engaging in and caring about your privacy. They know that your information is valuable and will have to respect that or face the consequences of not being responsible with your data.

What does this mean for advertisers?

So what does this mean for advertisers? Well, to start, it is going to affect analytic reports and data tracking for websites and social network which will seem to result in less traffic when that might not be the case. Data will be non-personally identifiable which is something businesses will suffer from in the long term. While the data will be harder to decipher, tactics for marketing should progress with the times as it always has and will continue to do.There will need to be more of a respect for consumer information at the base level of it all.

 

If you are having trouble with your SEO in Melbourne FL then we are here to help! We specialize in this field and we have the tools and expertise necessary to help drive your business’s success by improving your search engine ranking. Learn more about what we have to offer your business and contact us to plan out and design a strategy for SEO in Melbourne FL.

Social Media for Small Businesses

Getting Started with Social Media for Small Businesses: Taking the First Steps

Posted on | by Brian J Wallace
Marketing, Social Media

Congratulations! You’ve decided that your small business is going to take the plunge into the 21st century, and there is no better way to do that than with social media. In 2019, social media has become the biggest source of inspiration for consumer purchases, inspiring 37% of sales as opposed to other means such as retailer websites, digital press & magazines, or emails. (via Sprout Social) So how can we get started? Breaking your business into the modern marketing scape can feel like a daunting task. We have provided three steps to getting started with social media for your small business.

Determine What Will Work for You and Your Brand:

The first step in beginning your small business’ social media strategy is asking yourself who you are trying to talk to and what are you trying to achieve. Identifying your target audience is key to deciding which platforms to use and what type of content will best support your brand. You wouldn’t see that hip new cupcake shop down the block networking on LinkedIn, the same way a law firm may not be pinning recipes on Pinterest.

Determine your goals and choose the social media platform best suited for your needs. If your business relies heavily on visual content, you will want to reflect that by focusing on more visually oriented platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram. For you, getting that brand new menu item or that freshly renovated home seen is your top priority. If you are looking for professional networking and branding, LinkedIn may be more relevant to your needs. We also suggest looking into the demographics of these platforms, and taking these into consideration when making your choices.

Get Out There:   

Now that you’ve created your social media channels, it’s time to get out there and make them all about you! In the digital world, it is likely that consumers will come to your social media channels to learn everything there is to know about your business, and even vet your business against a competitor. Social media is your business’s opportunity to share your story like never before possible. Build out your platform with location, hours, and store information to give your consumers easy access to quick information. Don’t stop there, fill your social media with content that tells your brand’s story. How did your business get started? Fill out your about section to tell your consumer all about your product or service, and your values. Consumers love to know about the brand they are buying from. With social media, You customers will know your business before ever setting foot in your store.

Don’t Let Up!

Now that your social media channels are built out, they are ready to be posted to. Businesses will often create social media accounts only to neglect them. Ultimately, this is more harmful to your brand than helpful, as this can quickly look disorganized and frustrating to a consumer trying to learn more about your business. Your social media marketing strategy is a living, breathing extension of your business that is constantly working for you. Keep it going with regular updates. Social media is the perfect place to keep your followers constantly informed about local events your business is participating in, new additions to your team, sales and promotions, or new items added to your menu or store. Continue to grow your following with images of you and your team, store, product, or service. Day to day images like these, or “lifestyle images” let your followers be a part of your business everyday. This is an invaluable tool for branding. In many ways, social media acts as a modern day word of mouth for small business. It gives your potential customers a unique insight to your business without them even realizing it. Soon, your brand will be recognizable to people that may have never been reached before.

 

Social media for small businesses has become one of the most effective marketing and brand recognition tools in modern world. Simply put, it your brand is not on social media, you are missing out on the digital conversation, and ultimately losing out on potential sales. While social media is meant to be an easy and free resource, some additional research and strategy is necessary to be the most effective. Take the first steps into your small business social media marketing strategy; identify your audience and needs, personalize your profile, and regularly post out amazing content to tell the world who you are as a brand. If you need help getting your small business’ social media strategy off the ground, or your social media could just use some attention, The AD Leaf ® is here for you. We can help you devise the perfect social media strategy from the ground up, and manage it so your business is always out there. For more information about the benefits of social media marketing, contact us today at info@theadleaf.com or give us a call at 321-255-0900.