Danger, Will Robinson, danger: Chatbots!

A chatbot is a computer program which conducts a conversation 

via auditory or textual methods. Such programs are often designed 

to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a 

conversational partner. Chatbots are typically used in dialog systems 

for various practical purposes including customer service or

 information acquisition.

(Wikipedia)

Social media and the rise of the chatbots
tinyurl.com/ya9wv2ro

7 eCommerce Trends for 2017
tinyurl.com/y7b7al2d

4 Social Media Trends You Need to Know About for 2018
tinyurl.com/y78oeaks

Everything you need to know about chatbots
tinyurl.com/ycushmbn

Common Misconceptions About Chatbots
tinyurl.com/y7tobnf2

The future of chatbots, statistics & trends
tinyurl.com/yagu5jvw

Photos 2

How to use your own photos and tips on using photo-sharing websites.

1.- Tips for Taking Great Photos with Your Smartphone Camera
tinyurl.com/y7nfa45f

2.-  How Photo-Sharing Can Boost Social Marketing
tinyurl.com/pvpoysm

3.-  A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Posts!
tinyurl.com/yats5vog

4.-  Do I Own My Photos and Posts on Facebook, Twitter, &; Instagram?

tinyurl.com/ycmn7wrk 

5.-  How AI and image recognition are transforming social media marketing
.tinyurl.com/ycuyd4lm

You may also want to revisit Stock Photograhy entry here in my blog.

Content marketing 2

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach 

focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, 

and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly 

defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive 

profitable customer action.

 (Content Marketing Institute)

Content marketing is changing the way marketers, public relations, publicists and advertisers do business.  As technology changes and evolves, so does the way one must adapt to the new way platforms and services available. 

Here is a compilation of articles to get you started.

1.- The 6 Core Elements Of A Successful Content Marketing Strategy 

tinyurl.com/j8apkfs

2.- Traditional publicity vs. content marketing 

tinyurl.com/yaz24xja

3.- Measuring the value of  content marketing 

tinyurl.com/jfnlp2e

4.- How And Why Content Marketing Works 

tinyurl.com/nbqw3sm

5.- 10 Truths About Content Marketing You Need To Know 

tinyurl.com/yd6nxn6o

Also see Content Marketing: tips & hacks. 

Visual Content 2

Did you know...

Visual content is 40x more likely to get shared on 

social media than other types of content? 

3 Ways to Make Visual Content Shine with Multi-Image Collages 

tinyurl.com/ybjlcaas

Visual Marketing Tips to Master Social Engagement 

tinyurl.com/ybccaeg4

Improve Your Social Media Images in 4 Easy Steps 

tinyurl.com/ycy2n4mf

Visual Content Marketing Statistics  

 tinyurl.com/z5zebx5

Social Media Image Size Hacks  

tinyurl.com/y79dyxb6

 

Happy Independence Day!

That all men are created equal

with certain unalienable rights,

that among these are

Life, Liberty and the

pursuit of Happiness.

Enjoy the fireworks and the company.

#July4th

hhghgh

Social Media Audience

Determining your audience is a key factor in running a successful social media campaign.
You may want to "eavesdrop" on what others are doing to study how they reach their target audience.  These articles will help you get you started on identifying your audience.

1) Where Is Your Audience?
tinyurl.com/q2umj9q

2) How to Identify Your Target Market Using Social Media
tinyurl.com/y92vtuga

3) Finding Your Social Media Target Audience
tinyurl.com/y8s29kbh

4) How to Research Your Target Audience Before Starting your #SMM Campaign
tinyurl.com/yb8g4c57

5) 8 Tips to Find Your Social Media Audience
tinyurl.com/ybq4xqaz

6) 5 Simple Ways to Segment Your Social Media Audience
tinyurl.com/y85puvcg

7) How to Find Your Target Audience on Social Media
 tinyurl.com/yddy8ple

Content Marketing: Tips and Hacks

One needs to constantly create content for marketing campaigns but there are times that one runs out of steam or ideas, or both! One strategy is to recycle the material that we have previously created. Create content from input from your users or target audience. Create more visuals to accompany posts on social media. Add video content. Another is to share other people's content. At different times one must give a try to the different strategies to find the one that best fits your objective.

These articles may help you get started:

1) Content Marketing Hacks That Social Media Marketers Should Use
tinyurl.com/nxa98mn

2) 5 Crucial Content Creation Tactics You Might be Missing Out On
tinyurl.com/l9f5od8

3) 5 Strategies for Creating Epic Content Marketing on a Tight Budget
tinyurl.com/l4xm88w

4) Create Content Your Audience Will Love
tinyurl.com/ktuhr7t

5) How to Make Your Content Marketing Deliver ROI
tinyurl.com/mh4zjey

And I leave you with this graphic of  the many hats a marketer wears.

(Source)

Traditional Marketing and Social Media Marketing

Marketing and promoting services have changed a lot in the last twenty five years with the easier access to the internet and its popularity. Even the the past 10 years how a company promotes its goods and services have been tremendously transformed with the widespread of the social networks, so much that there is a sub-field of marketing devoted just to social media marketing.

Here are a few articles that will help you learn about the differences.

1) 5 Key reasons why social media strategies are different than traditional marketing strategies
tinyurl.com/ljmsndy

2) 16 Differences between traditional media and social networking
tinyurl.com/zvfu2un

3) Social Media vs. Traditional Media – Make the Transition to Digital Marketing

tinyurl.com/lgq7mdm

4) Traditional vs. Online Marketing: The Real Value of Your Online Marketing Efforts
tinyurl.com/lza9tfp

Keeping your Focus & Motivation

Some times is good to step back and take a moment to breathe.  This will help you to evaluate what the work you are doing and also to keep you focus. While you work towards your goal, you may need to do course corrections in order to get there.

I recommend you watch this 34 minute video. The hosts discussed how they stepped back and looked at what they were doing; they share what they've learned about evolving, changing and adapting to new situations and environments as part of growing and evolving both themselves and their business.

Here are couple of articles that I've come across that have help me to stay on course.

1) Learn how to manage your time
tinyurl.com/luzmsua

2) Five Benefits You Will Experience Once You Become Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable http://bit.ly/2lZl23S

Visual Content & Marketing

When sharing content online, it is recommended to use photos, infographics or visuals. The images catch the eye of your audience and generate more engagement.  To get you started on visualcontent here is a collection of articles on the subject.

1.- The Best Typography, Colors, and Templates Used in the Highest-Converting Social Media Images
tinyurl.com/qzodts4

2.- Visual content is a must in reaching today's audience.
tinyurl.com/ybpextl3

3.-  A quick lesson in Graphic file formats
tinyurl.com/yd2zzovt

4.- Visual Content: How to Create Shareable Images People Love
tinyurl.com/oce2gt5

5.- Why Visual Content Can Boost Your Brand Better Than Copy? 
tinyurl.com/knclwwj

6 Visual Tools to Improve Your Social Media Content
tinyurl.com/y78se7cr

7.- Graphic file formats explained.
tinyurl.com/y8925924

39% of marketers believe more budget should be 

allocated to develop compelling visual assets. 

Stock photography

Here are some articles that will help you get stock photos you can use on for your marketing ancillaries and literature and your social media posts.  Not all websites are the same, read the fine print before using the photographs.  

As you probably already noticed images and/or photos in your Tweets or Facebook posts generate more engagement than posts without. Also keep in mind that adding text on a image or photo will help you increase the 140 character limit on Tweeter. One can post up to four photos on a single Tweet.

1.  DIY: Tips For Taking Your Own Great Stock Photos
 tinyurl.com/htc3hh8 

2.  Best Stock Photography Sites on the Internet. 
ow.ly/z19V306oupD 

3.  The 9 Best Sites for Free Stock Photography
bit.ly/1MAqv75  

4.  Where to get Free Stock Photographs for your Blog and Social Media
ow.ly/czSl303hney  

5.  20 of the latest websites for free, non-cheesy stock photography in 2017 
   tinyurl.com/ltk5spf

6.  9 Resources to Find High-Quality Free Stock Photography to Use On Your Blog
tinyurl.com/nxe5arw

Typogrphy

Besides posting on social media, a small business also needs printed promotional material. Even a subtle variations on the typography can change your audience's perception These articles will help you along on with the designing of your logo, business cards, brochures, postcards, coupons and any other marketing pieces.


1. The 8 biggest typography mistakes designers make
tinyurl.com/mrxpftc

2.  Consider your typography & style when creating marketing collateral: http://ow.ly/8iOc309hHFs

3.  Can a Font Make Us Believe Something is True?
tinyurl.com/n8e5twv

4.  The Do's and Don'ts of Infographic Typography
tinyurl.com/korjh8s

5.  The Do's and Don'ts of Infographic Typography

tinyurl.com/kok4gz9

6.  10 typography tricks every designer should know
tinyurl.com/odvkshy

7.  Use This ‘Flawless Typography Checklist’ To Ensure Your Font Makes Sense
tinyurl.com/lft8oom

8. Typography Guidelines And References

tinyurl.com/gsdkfjo

Posting Times on Social Media

One should not be glued to the computer 24/7 to post on the different social media platforms. The articles below show you different formulas and methods to decide when is the best time to post for your business. Try the different suggestions to boil down when is best for your business and the audience you are trying to reach.

1) Use your own data to figure out the bsest time to post on Twitter
bit.ly/2d6mHk3

2) What's the best day & time to post content on Social  Media?
ow.ly/Itkj307EJBN

3) The best times to post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
tinyurl.com/h69psux

4) When is the BEST time to post on Facebook?
ow.ly/YqqG307e7U4

5) When Is The Definitive Best Time To Post On Twitter?
tinyurl.com/kfhbsb9

Happy timely posting!

Writing Copy and Writing Content

Writing has a purpose. In the field of marketing, writing is focused on enhancing the qualities of the product or service that is being promoted. As a small business entrepreneur with limited budget (or in some cases no budget), one falls into the role of being the manager, promoter, social media marketer, accountant, in order words, one wears many hats. It is important to understand the differences between content writing and copy writing. 

Here is a small compilation of articles that will help you understand the differences and help you improve your writing. 

1)  The Art of Copywriting 
tinyurl.com/lcldwpj 

2)  What is copywriting? 
tinyurl.com/l2t93zt

3)  Content Writing vs Copywriting 
tinyurl.com/m68tds5

4)  Why Professional Copywriting Services are Crucial for your Business
tinyurl.com/k8n8s3l

5)  16 Helpful Copywriting Articles To Launch You Into Web Writing Greatness 
tinyurl.com/kt9rqo8

6)  5 Subtle Yet Super Powerful Copywriting Tips 
bit.ly/2ky8MV2

My two cents in regards to writing: 
As having someone else read the piece you wrote is not always possible, I recommend to write your copy and set it aside for a day.  Then read it again, proofread it and then publish.  This will help you catch inconsistencies, typos, and to make sure you are conveying the message you intend.  It's your quality control. 

What are Twitter lists?

Twitter defines a list as "a curated group of Twitter accounts." You could say it is a list you create of Twitter users that have similar hobbies, or who post about a particular topic that interest you, or are your college buddies. The possibilities are limitless.

Lists can be public or private; one may subscribe to other's lists, and you may even share the link to a particular list. For the basics on creating a list, consult the Twitter Lists page here:
support.twitter.com/articles/76460

If you are new to social media marketing, my recommendation is to start by creating a list of other social media marketers.  You can learn so much from other experts in the field as they can give you ideas, keep you updated on the SMM trends, and you can even interact with them by beginning a conversation when you reply to their tweets. 

Below is a small collection of articles on the topic of lists to get you started:

8 Twitter Lists You Should Be Using
socialquant.net/twitter-lists/

Today’s Smartest Baby Boomers Use Twitter Lists
boomersknowhow.com/technology/twitter-lists/

The Best Ways to Organize People You’re Following Into Twitter Lists
ustandout.com/twitter/organize-people-following-twitter-lists

Why you definitely should be using Twitter Lists

goo.gl/q50YVw 

I have a couple of Social Media Marketers lists in Twitter and I invite you to peruse them. 

Social Media Marketing Influencers U.S.A/Canada

Social Media Marketing Influencers -International  

Importance of using video in your social media marketing

Video marketing ideas and stats to help you to understand how vital video marketing can be.

"Video is the next best thing to being there." 

@Nish_iSood, Night and Day Productions

1. 6 Reasons Your Site Needs Video.

https://nightdayproductions.com/2012/02/21/6-reasons-your-site-needs-video/

2. 31 Must Know Video Marketing Stats

http://www.hyperfinemedia.co.uk/infographic-31-must-know-video-marketing-stats/

3  37 Video marketing statistics you need to know for 2017
http://www.rendrfx.com/video-marketing-statistics?utm__

4. The future of video marketing

http://www.business2community.com/video-marketing/future-video-marketing-01783302?utm

SMM SmallBusiness Tips

Social Media Marketing

Here are some articles  on how to become a well rounded social marketer. 

1. 5 Tips to help you land a role in social media marketing

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/5-tips-help-you-land-role-social-media-marketing


2. 9 Tips to save time in social media marketing

https://strongsocial.ca/9-tips-to-save-time-in-social-media-marketing/


3. A simplified guide to social media marketing platforms

http://www.myfrugalbusiness.com/2016/10/simple-guide-social-media-marketing-platforms.htmlhttp://www.myfrugalbusiness.com/2016/10/simple-guide-social-media-marketing-platforms.html


4.  The top 8 hottest social media marketing trends in 2017

http://designtoolnews.com/8-social-media-trends/http://designtoolnews.com/8-social-media-trends/

5.  37 Free marketing and social media classes to elevate your skills today

https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-classeshttp://designtoolnews.com/8-social-media-trends/


And if you speak Spanish here is a bonus article for you:

5 Conceptos imprescindibles  para comunicacion de marca en medios digitales propios
http://www.puromarketing.com/55/28415/conceptos-imprescindibles-para-comunicacion-marca-medios-digitales-propios.htmlhttp://www.puromarketing.com/55/28415/conceptos-imprescindibles-para-comunicacion-marca-medios-digitales-propios.html

SMM  SmallBusiness  Tips