When I found out that one of my favorite bakeries was about to open a new location in my neighborhood, my first reaction was to jump on Facebook to share the news. Guess what? My post got 11 likes, and 7 comments.

Think about the power of this dynamic. Before social media, I’d have to wait until I gathered with a group of friends to share the news (if I remembered at the time). Today, thanks to my mobile device, I can easily share the news with my Facebook friends in real time.

Many of my Facebook friends either live or work in the same area, and have similar tastes—which makes them great prospects for that new bakery. Based on the level of engagement with the original post I shared, that information will spread beyond my immediate connections. Pretty cool, right?

This type of social sharing goes beyond our offline experiences. Consider how much information is now available to us online, and how easy it is to share the content that resonates with us most with a simple click. People are sharing content they find valuable. Content they believe their connections may have an interest in. And for all these reasons content is something you can’t ignore when it comes to your business getting found online. (more…)

Friday 15: Small Business Tips, is a series designed to help small businesses like yours make the most of their online presence. If you missed our February post about email marketing, check it out here.

Today, I’m talking hashtags. You see them everywhere: on websites, social media sites, and even on television, radio and in print. I decided to dedicate this post to the wonderful pound symbol, so you can start using it as part of your business’s social media strategy. #Enjoy.

Lesson Highlight: Hashtag basics: Connect to customers on social media

A hashtag is word or phrase prefixed with a pound, or hash, symbol (#), typically used in a social media post. For example, #Friday15 is a hashtag. Hashtags organize messages by topic. People can search for a hashtag to see all associated messages. You can use hashtags to target messages to specific groups of people interested in particular topics.

For example, let’s say you own a coffee shop. When posting a photo of your lovely caramel latte on a social media site, you include the hashtag #coffee. Now, people tracking #coffee will see your post. This provides exposure for your business and helps position you as an authority on the topic. (more…)

Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social network that allows you to create professional-looking photos with a click of a button, using a number of different digital filters. The best part is that it is super easy to use – both to create visually-appealing images, and to share your new photos to social networks.

There are a countless ways that you can use Instagram for your business, but if you are just getting started, here are 5 quick “secrets” to success:

Get familiar before diving in: It’s easy to over think your new venture. Just because you eventually want to build your new channel, doesn’t mean that this has to be your first goal. Play around with the platform, take some photos and share them on your personal social networks. This will help you get used to the new technology and will allow you to see how others react to specific pieces of content. Once you understand how it works, create photos for your business and share them on your business social networks.

Connect Instagram with your Facebook Business Page: Whether you’ve already connected your Instagram account to your personal or business Facebook Page or not, don’t worry. It’s easy to connect Instagram to your Facebook Page.This will make it easier for you to share your Instagram photos on Facebook, and easier for people on Facebook to connect with you on Instagram as well. (more…)