As always it's been a busy week, and I bet I'm not the only one saying thank goodness it's Friday.  Everybody here is ready for the weekend.  Even though we're going to be taking a breather, nothing on the internet will. As you know, things are constantly changing, and new things are popping up.  This week there was an interesting article published about social advertising tips for your business, as well as some new features added to Google Maps promising to make travel easier.  Here's what you may have missed this week:

Social Advertising

Many people used to shy away from using Facebook ads because of their complexity in nature.  But after a recent overhaul on Facebook's part, the process to purchase an ad is much simpler now.  Even simpler than Facebook is Twitter ad suite.  There are two categories you can choose from when deciding to advertise with Twitter: promoted tweet, which is just one tweet being advertising; or promoted account, which is every tweet made by you being advertised.  The article also suggests stepping beyond the typical social media sites for advertising, and trying something new, such as: Pinterest, Tumblr, or LinedIn.

View original article here

Google Maps

Google recently included four new updates to their Google Maps, claiming that they are going to make traveling easier for people (don't judge;some of us need this).  One of the features, possibly the most exciting one, is the ability to route more than one set of directions at once.  This way you can plan for multiple stops and look at more detailed routes for a trip.  You can now also manage your reservations with Google Maps, including reservations for flights, hotels, and restaurants.  There will also be a feature where you can manage your upcoming events, like a calendar of sorts.

View original article here

Rock star

In an article published by Entrepreneur on Wednesday, they give businesses all the tools they need to be a rock star on social media.  So, how do you get that type of popularity?  On there list is: being a good communicator, using images when it makes sense, and keeping emotions in check. They also suggest avoiding talking about yourself. That's right; not every post should be about your business and its stellar services or products.  You should answer questions, make comments, curate content, and more.  Entrepreneur also suggests that you should expand beyond your customers, use flattery, and buy advertising.

View original article here

Stats

Some stats were published recently about social media, some of them  might shock you.  Mentioned in an earlier post, but warrants reiterating is that Google+ is on the rise.  Surprisingly, the site has around 1.2 billion visits per month, which is more than both Facebook and Twitter. However, these numbers also include visits to other Google services, such as Gmail.  Another statistic offered is that 78% of Facebook users are mobile.  That's an increase of 10.3% from just last year alone.  Also, 27% of time spent on line by users is spent on social media sites. That's a large amount of people spending a large amount of time just using websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

View original article here

New Face of Marketing

Forbes published an article just yesterday about the new face of marketing.  And what does this face hold? Well, that would be infographics, videos, and more.  Infographics are both information and graphics that convey information to people.  They're a good way to get across information that would otherwise be boring to read about.  There is also an alarming increase in video use, thanks to the popularity of YouTube.  The marketing industry is starting to realize just how powerful a viral video can be.  Content expertise is also a big factor in marketing today.  Customers don't just want businesses to have some knowledge in the field, they want them to be experts.  This way, they feel secure in what your business is telling them; that the information is valid and understandable.

View original article here

That's all for this week, hopefully this weekend will be enjoyable for everyone!  Remember to stay up to date throughout the week in the world of social media and marketing.  But if not, we have you covered.  There'll be another post next week about everything you may have missed!

If you have any questions about social media or website marketing, contact the Blue Archer team in Pittsburgh, PA.

Michelle Hawley

Digital Content Writer

@BlueArcherPGH