Lately we've been discussing website conversion rates, specifically what they are and how to improve them.  We're not done with that topic, but today we're going to take a little break and catch everybody up on what they may have missed this week.  It's always important to stay on top of the game when it comes to the internet, since everything's constantly changing.  This week we're bringing you news about Facebook updates, new marketing strategies, and the scoop about iOS 7.  Here's what you may have missed this week: 

Facebook Post-Editing

One of the biggest concerns with using Facebook is the inability to edit your posts.  Most anyone who's used Facebook can tell you they've posted something, then immediately wanted to edit it because they noticed a spelling error, grammatical error, or wrong word choice.  This problem is even greater for businesses because the ability to articulate yourself clearly is important to how people view your business.  Bad spelling or grammar can make you look unprofessional or unknowledgeable.  Well, there's no need to worry about that anymore. Just yesterday Facebook released a new feature that allows users to edit their posts on Facebook.  If you make a post now on Facebook and then go back to edit it, the post will be marked as "edited" and users will be able to go back and look at the history of the post. However, you will no longer suffer the blow of catching an embarrassing typo in a post after sharing it, having to delete it, and losing the "likes" and audience interaction it acquired.

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Humanizing Marketing

Forbes, which is always a great source for the latest in business news, recently published an article about strategies for humanizing your social media marketing. This is a very important topic to look over, because being "human" on the Internet is critical, not even just for marketing.  Users on your website or social media page don't want to be talking to a robot, they want to be talking to an actual human being that can understand their questions, comments, and concerns.  Some of the strategies the article offers are very easy to implement in your everyday regime.  One of the strategies is to not talk about your product or service all the time.  Forbes says the general rule of thumb should be to not talk about your product 10% of the time.  The other great tip they provide is the simple saying that social media is a two way street, so you have to give a little to get a little.  Basically, if you want people to interact with your social media page, you need to put yourself out there and interact with others as well.

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Going Mobile

One thing businesses always need to take into consideration is that a big percentage of the users that come to their website or their social media pages are doing so from a mobile device.  Take for example the new iOS 7 update.  Everybody is talking about it, how quickly people are picking it up and adapting to it.  It's big news, because so many people use these types of devices these days.  That's why it's important for businesses to make sure that their website and social media pages are optimized so that mobile users don't have trouble viewing their site.  It can be frustrating for a user to try and visit a  website that isn't optimized for mobile users, and they typically leave the website frustrated or angry.  Another big step that businesses can start taking with the dramatic increase of mobile users is the ability to create simple apps that have to do with their business.  Some of these apps are a simple business locator, others are a downloadable version of their website.

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Growth

An article just published yesterday documents how four different businesses used social media to expand.  Whether your business is just starting out, or is one of the top competitors in its field, it never hurts to take a look at strategies that seem to be working and implement them.  One of the businesses in the article mentions how they give their followers on social media a reason to be there: they offer daily news, polls, a hiring page, and monthly sweepstakes.  Another of the businesses shows just how powerful a video can be to gathering a following in social media.  The business, a restaurant, regularly uploads embedded videos showing followers what they do in their business, how they make food, etc.  This is a great idea for businesses of any field--sometimes simply showing people what you do can have a big impact on if they'd like to use your products or services.  

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Trending

An article publisher on Tuesday talks about how seven social media marketing trends are going to dominate the field in 2014.  It's always important for businesses to look toward the future in social media, because it isn't hard to be left in the dust. One of these seven trends is the idea that Google + is going to become a big factor in the social media world.  If you remember when Google + first released, it was welcomed with trepidation and disappointment.  However, it's starting to pick up steam, now holding the second highest count of monthly users.  While other social media sites will lose popularity and fall off the grid, it is predicted that Google + will start to be the social media site that people look to.  On a similar note, the social media site Foursquare, it is predicted, is going to see a rapid decline in its number of users. The site is having problems keeping its traffic up this year, and with its stale features being sub-par compared to others, it's going to become a thing of the past.

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That's all for this week!  We'll pick back up next week with more knowledge on website conversion rates and how they effect your business.  For more information on social media marketing, contact a Blue Archer Professional.

Michelle Hawley

Digital Content Writer

@BlueArcherPGH