Instagram's Effect on the Food Industry

Everyone loves looking at pictures. Whether they are photos of nature or wildlife, photos of family and friends, cooking experiences, or even pictures of fun events, people take pleasure in living vicariously through other individuals via these photographs. This has come to include the interest of seeing a delicious meal that another food enthusiast was able to sit down and enjoy. Over the previous few months, I have really begun to see the affect that Instagram has had on the food industry, whether it is home cooking, eating out or trying new restaurants, people's photographs have proven to be a unique promotional tool for anything food related. Often times, I have had to make a mad dash towards the kitchen cupboards in order to satisfy my cravings after seeing one of these mouth-watering photographs. Chefs that are cooking from home or individuals that have visited a certain restaurant are able to snap quick photos from their phone and post them to social media resources like Instagram for the world to see. As a result, it can spark another's interest in trying that recipe, visiting that food establishment or it may just simply activate that person's hunger for any food.

I have been on Instagram for about one year now and during this period I have really enjoyed seeing the lives of friends and family through pictures and short videos. However, during this time frame, one trend that has really stood out to me was how proud these cuisine fanatics were about their food orders they put in or the meals that they had prepared. Eating is one hobby or activity that is going to be a part of everyone's life and why not share your favorite recipes or cooking experiences with the social world? Any individual with access to the internet can snap photos of their appetizers, main dishes, desserts or even fancy beverages that they were able to consume, upload it to Instagram and within seconds, that tasty photo will be potentially visible to thousands of followers on some of the largest social media resources around the world. In addition to that, there are numerous different apps that will enhance these photos or even dozens of filters that will make the food and beverage item look even more mouth-watering. Even the most unappealing of food items can be made appealing through some of these fancy advancements in technology.

Another fun perk of using Instagram for meals is that this photo app also works with another app called Foursquare, which allows the user to share their location on a map with their followers. Individuals can "check-in" at certain food venues, buildings or other locations to let their friends know what they are up to. From this partnership, I see Instagram as being a unique marketing tool not only because restaurant goers and food consumption specialist are able to take appealing photos of their food and drinks, but they can also attach a location with that photo so if other interested parties want to experience that same menu item then they know right where to find it. Even if Instagram is not considered one of the most effective forms of media right now, I would recommend the free application to any chef, group or small business owner that is looking to promote any product or service.

Over the past year, this unique photo-related application has at times, proved to be sort of a motivator for me by seeing others accomplishments, it has helped me better engage in people's lives that I do not see on a regular basis and it has even brought some awareness to me on certain things like local events or charity information. For example, I have found myself saying things like "well I didn't know they served that food there", or "wow that healthy meal plan has really paid off for that person" or maybe even "dang, I did not know that bar had that fun promotional there last weekend!" and by seeing photos of individual's experiences in this situations, it has lead me to want to try new things, get more involved or not miss another similar event. Now is this going to be the feeling that everyone has who sees these photos? Not likely, but for being a free tool that anyone can use, why would groups and businesses not want to use Instagram as a marketing method? It definitely would not hurt the business or group at all!

Instagram can be a fun tool to utilize for any small business or non-profit that may not be looking to spend tons of money on marketing. For example, I began a kitchen related retail business recently with a blog, Twitter and Facebook page and as a fun marketing method I created a separate Instagram account from my personal account that was strictly for this ecommerce business. It allowed me to upload unique photos to all my other web sites as a way of interacting with my followers and visitors and my website has seen an increase in activity and engagement because of it. Now showing fancy photos of recipes that I prepared or menu items that indulged in will not necessarily sell products or make me a ton of money, but it can promote user engagement on all my pages and that is something that I want for my business.

The promotional photo options are endless and that is why I would really recommend including this resource in one's marketing plan. Business owners like myself can snap and upload pictures of basically anything associated with their business, such as people having a great time using their products, the reactions of individuals tasting new foods, specials or discounts that are being offered for a period of time, or just photos of all the different menu items or product lines that managers and owners want to promote more. In my opinion, Instagram has not become as utilized of a free marketing tool as Facebook and Twitter, but I do think it could eventually reach that point, especially with the ease at which these users can integrate their Instagram with these other major social media sites. From all of this, restaurants and bars can promote their menu options through their visitors at no cost as long as those hungry patrons enjoyed their meal.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7970056

How To Encourage Your Customers To Sign Up To Your List

You need to encourage your customers to sign up to your email list.

Gone are the days when you could simply say "Give me your email".

Potential customers need a good reason to trust you with their email address. They get enough spam in their inbox without inviting you to send them more. Sure, I know you're not going to spam them, but they don't know that unless you tell them.

Nowadays, you need to spell out that you won't spam your list. Tell them that precisely and have a clear link to your privacy policy where you tell them that again.

After that, you need to decide what to offer customers as an ethical bribe to join your list.

It could be the promise of hard to find information.

More likely, it will be a short report that you've written (or had written for you) that addresses some of the problems they are likely to face in your particular area.

For instance, if you're in the dog training area, you could offer them a series of handy tips to get their dog in better control. If you're asking them to travel to your town or city, let them know what attractions they can visit whilst they're there. You get the idea.

If your free gift is unique to you, tell your customers that they can only get it from you.

If it's chargeable elsewhere but they get it for free for signing up with you, let them know this fact.

You need to work hard on persuading your customers to sign up to your list. Sometimes it's more difficult to give something away for free than it is to sell an item.

Monitor your signup figures. You should be aiming to get at least 25% of the people who visit your sign-up page to join your list. Ideally more.

Keep testing and tweaking until you get a sign-up rate from your landing page that you're happy with.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/798503

Is Instagram a Fad?

Instagram is the latest social networking site to be up on the internet. The question is: is it a fad? And the answer: Heck no. Instagram, like Facebook, is the product of a lot of work, a lot of thought, and a lot of investment.

The makers of Instagram connected with a former employee of Facebook who helped them, in turn, launch their application. Ever since, the application has gained popularity in a manner not similar to MySpace. It was like Facebook with a mash up of Twitter: celebrities started getting Instagram accounts to post pictures on Twitter. Soon enough, the application caught on.

Whether it is because of the instantaneous gratification of posting a picture and getting feedback, or because the application acts as a way to demystify celebrities lives, Instagram is going strong and it is here to stay.
There is something beautiful about the communities on Instagram, even when people are grumpy, they still are interacting in a way that is not available on Facebook or even MySpace. People complement each other, connect with each other, and they can do that without sitting in front of a computer. They can do this from their phones or iPod touches.

In an article called Facetagram Photo Opportunity, published in the Economist, the writer says, Instagram has proved irresistible largely because of two big trends that are transforming the technology landscape. The first is the rapid rise of the mobile internet, which is being driven by a proliferation of smartphones and wireless broadband connections. The second is the desire of people to be able to share stuff with their pals from wherever they are. These forces have already spawned a number of mobile-phone-focused social networks such as Path and Foursquare.The writer reflects, Instagram has blossomed precisely because it is cooler, less cluttered and less commercial than Facebook.

Not only is it opening doors for other applications, it is also making photography and art easier than ever to share. I would add Vine to the list of applications that Instagram has inspired. It is a video version of the application. There is a newfound confidence found online because people rarely bash each other on Instagram. In my year on the application, I have never seen anyone respond negatively to the other, even with celebs. Instead, people tend to offer constructive criticism and maintain a good respect for boundaries. You can set up your account on private, and thus you can restrict who sees you. You can block or report anyone who bothers you and it is just a safe place.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8311140

Instagram iPhone App Tutorial

What is Social Media Optimization and How Can I Do It?

Social media optimization is one of the primary online marketing strategies you need to know--and it's getting more important every day. It is a catch-all term for making your pages more visible in social media searches and easier to link to.

It also refers to making your content easier to distribute via other websites, in a way that helps instead of hurts you (i.e. doesn't violate your copyright, brings in good social media traffic, etc.). Her are some social media optimization basics.

One of the most basic things you can do to improve your standing with social media is to place social media buttons on your web pages. Sites like Digg, Reddit, Sumbleupon and Technorati all have graphic buttons you can insert into your web pages, which make it easy for users of those sites to add you to their favorites list on those sites.

Finding those buttons isn't hard--it's easy to find the html for these buttons on each site (you can use Google or the site's own internal search engine). If you used WordPress to build your site, or you're running a Wordpress blog, a plugin called Socialble lets you add these buttons with the click of a mouse.

Digg.com has a special "Digg This" button that can work out better for you, if you think you'll be getting a lot of Digg traffic. This button allows members to vote on your site instead of adding a new bookmark or story. More votes give you a more powerful link/story, vs. many smaller ones. A few other social bookmarking sites--like Sphinn--offer this as well.

RSS feeds are another good way to increase your social bookmarking optimization, if you have a blog. Sites like Technorati--the number one social media and bookmarking site for blogs--and Google Blog search use RSS feeds to index blogs. Having an RSS feed also

Adding an RSS feed is relatively simple. Feedburner.com provides an easy way to RSS feed to your blog, making it great for beginners. It also offers tracking, and

Using video and photo sites is another essential part of social media optimization. You'll definitely want to get an account with Flickr.com. Then, add all the images from your blog or website, and link them to the appropriate pages or posts.

Video sites are good for increasing your visibility, as well. You can make a video of yourself or a friend using a product or talking about your niche. You can also use software like Camtasia, to make instructional videos.

Once you've done this, add a black bar at the bottom of the screen, with your website's name on it, then submit it to YouTube, Google Video, and any other video sharing site you can think of. If your video catches some attention, it may wind up on other people's blogs or websites. This helps out the website owner by providing free content--and helps you out by providing "free advertising" and social media optimization!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1454791

Using Social Media to Your Advantage

Working on the social media side of SEO isn't as easy as it seems, and should not be used merely to get links. Firstly, it is very time consuming and secondly there is a certain way to go about it. Spamming forums or blog comment boxes with "I agree!" type comments isn't exactly giving you or your company a good reputation, nor will it earn you any traffic.

I am going to touch on 5 social media practises: forums, social bookmarking, blogging, article submission and social networking sites. Not everyone will agree that all of these topics fall into social media, and that's fine. The way I see it, all of these topics deal directly with people and therefore fall into the social media category. But enough of that and on to the subject at hand.

1. Forums

Forums are a great source of information. You will find a wide range of expertise on the subject matter of your choice, from beginners to gurus, and all levels of people use forums to share their opinions and knowledge.

Generally, there are a few things that you need to remember when using forums:

- You may only be using them to try and find information but they are a great way to get your brand out there and get some backlinks - that doesn't mean you should spam them with replies or threads that don't really contribute or are merely for advertising purposes. Start threads that will entice people to reply or click the link in your signature, when you reply, reply with something helpful. Ask your own questions. Using forums in this way builds a good reputation for you and your brand, earning traffic as well as links. If you spam the sites people won't give your contributions a second glance and you may even get banned.

- You should read the rules for the forums that you join, that way there is less chance of you being banned for something you might not have known you were doing that is wrong.

- If you do have links to your websites in your signature, try not to list more than 3 otherwise it looks spammy. I'm more inclined to only list 1 as it is more "authentic" but most forums suggest no more than 3.

- The most important thing to remember is that it's not just about getting the links, this is a good opportunity to find regular traffic and learn new things, make it count.

Some good forums are webmaster-talk.com, http://www.irishwebmasterforum.com and webproworld.com.

2. Social bookmarking

This is another good way to get links and if you use it, the right kind of traffic too. Social bookmarking is simply telling bookmarking sites that you like certain articles or stories, and sharing those articles with other members when you submit them. You can vote on stories that you like or don't like and leave reviews.

Of course you can submit your own blog posts or article submissions, but if people see only submissions relating to your site, you could lose valuable traffic because you look like you are spamming the sites.

There is no "trick" to using this kind of social media - all you have to do is not "pretend" to look authentic...but actually be authentic. You will receive worthwhile traffic and build a good reputation this way. Submit interesting articles you read, or blog posts you find funny, include a profile picture...do anything a real user would do - because that is what you should be. There is no quick fix. You need to act like a human in order to receive human interaction with your site.

Some sites you can use are StumbleUpon, Digg and Sphinn.

3. Blogging

By owning a blog you get to share your thoughts, ideas and business with a huge audience. If your content is useful enough you will get links and loyal followers too.

The trick here is to not make the blog about you, make it about your audience. If you have specials running, sure, share it with them...but don't make your entire blog about specials your company is running. That will encourage...nothing. No links, no loyal followers and no comments.

Make your content relevant and interesting to read. Comment on other blogs you find interesting too - people read those comments and you may get some extra traffic if you contribute something worthwhile, maybe even a link from the blogger whose post you are commenting on - if you get their attention. Interaction is key to making your blog successful.

Other ways of getting more traffic and links in this social media category is by guest posting on other blogs and sponsoring competitions (you will earn links from the bloggers running those competitions etc).

Some good blogs for SEO are mattcutts.com/blog, seobook.com, seo-scoop.com and http://www.interleado.com/blog.

4. Article submission

There are many online article submission sites you can use to showcase your articles. As with blogging, if they are interesting and helpful enough, they will earn you links and traffic.

Most of these social media sites require an article length of around 500 words - this is to help to ensure that the articles that are submitted are worthwhile reading. As with the other mentioned social media categories, making an article all about a special you are running won't earn you anything and will probably not be published - most sites have a waiting period of up to 7 days so that the articles can be reviewed.

There are many free article submission sites online such as eZineArticles and ArticleBase. You will be able to find lists of these sites on forums and in blogs - all you have to do is search.

5. Social networking sites

These sites put you in touch with people of similar interests. You are able to create groups that you can send updates to, network with other members and on some sites post articles that the members of the groups may find interesting. Some examples are LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

The thing to remember with social media is that pretending to be involved isn't enough to earn you the traffic you need. If you are interested, people will be interested in you - show them your interest. Let your audience know that you have opinions and knowledge to share, or questions to ask.

More importantly - make sure your business will benefit from this aspect of SEO as it is time consuming and hard work needs to be put in. Articles and blog posts need to be optimised for the search engines, profiles needs to be created, forums and blogs need to be checked and contributed to. But what's anything without a little hard work?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1646850

Simple Tricks to Make Your Site More Social Media Ready

Once thought to be a passing fad, and although still relatively new, social media is now taking a firm hold and warrants attention in many retailers' online marketing efforts.

You can't avoid it. No matter where you turn it seems you hear terms like "fan page", "followers", "tweet", "re-tweet", "blog" and more being used. With all the social media hype, many are questioning what social media actually is and how they can use it to move their business forward.

In this article I am going to explain what social media is, provide some strategies for making your site more social media friendly, touch upon differences between options presented by major social media outlets, and answer the question of whether you should do it yourself, or hire a consultant to do it for you.

Social Media can be time consuming, but when implemented correctly can add a level to your business that helps build brand loyalty, and awareness which in turn can boost your bottom line.

What is Social Media?

Wikipedia defines social media as: media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.

In other words, it is a group of Internet-based applications that utilize new web concepts to promote user generated content.

Examples of some of the major social applications currently online are Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Twitter can be seen as a "micro blog" type service that enables you to post short messages of up to 140 characters that are fed in real time to your followers. Facebook is more of a "publishing" platform which enables you to create a page that integrates multiple media options into one (i.e. discussion boards, blogs, photos, shopping carts, etc...) YouTube is a service that enables you to produce video content to the masses (possibly to demonstrate the use of your product.)

The power and uniqueness of each provides pros and cons. Because Facebook has a little more of a learning curve to it and because it has a number of options to choose from, I'll briefly touch upon that below.

Simple Tricks to Make Your Site More Social Media Friendly

Whether or not you're on social media platforms or not, odds are you're customers are. They're sharing your URL with their friends on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or MySpace.

If you want to engage in social media marketing, you'll want to be sure to have that presence reflected on your e-commerce site.

Social Sharing
There are dozens of sites you can visit that will provide embeddable code which can be used to create social networking icons on your site. These icons make it easy for visitors to share what they like about your site with their social media friends and followers.

A couple of sites worth checking out are ShareThis. ShareThis is a tool you can install on your site that makes it easier for visitors to share with their network. You've probably seen some form of ShareThis on news sites. There are typically several icons spread out in a horizontal line or grouped together under a header of "Share." Installing this tool lets your visitors easily spread the word via social networking sites about a page or website - yours - they like.

Add This is very similar to ShareThis. Both require site registration and a little publisher information, but both are also easy to use and do basically the same thing.

Show off your Social Media presence
If you're on several social networking sites, it behooves you to display that affiliation somewhere on your site. For the consummate online shopper, these links show you're not just an e-commerce beginner. The more social media sites you're a part of, the more web-knowledgeable you look and the greater brand awareness you can build.

You can display your social media links either in self-created sidebar module or by using sites like Lijit ( http://www.lijit.com ). Lijit is similar to ShareThis; however, rather than pushing people out social networking sites, Lijit pulls them into your other sites.

Facebook Fan Page or Group?

A question that often gets asked when it comes to Facebook and brands is should you build a Facebook Group Page or a Fan Page?

It is a good question and the answer depends mostly on what your plans are for your site. I've broken down the pros and cons of both a fan page versus a group page below.

Facebook Fan Page
Facebook Fan Pages are a great option for brands - including e-commerce sites - that plan on posting information at least once a week.

Facebook Fan Page Pro's:

* Looks polished; closely resembles an individual profile page

* Can include videos, photos, links, events, etc.

* Can be fed into "fans'" update stream similar to an individual profile update

* Can be given a customized url similar to an individual profile

* Hides the name and address of the page creator

* Offers options to add applications such as a Twitter feed

* Includes a "wall" similar to individual profiles that people can post comments on

* Can be paired with a Facebook Fan Page Widget on your site

Facebook Fan Page Con's:

* More difficult to manage conversations between fans

* Conversations are on display for the public to see

* Unable to convert Facebook Groups to Fan Pages if you've already got a Group page set up

* Until you have an adequate number of fans, you'll be posting a lot

* A dismal Fan Page linked to your site can hurt your inbound links in SEO

Facebook Group Page

Facebook Group pages are easy to create and slightly more personal than a Fan Page. Because it is not a constantly fed profile-like page, posts do not need to be as often.

Facebook Group Pro's

* Can be more intimate; people see who created the group

* Still allows for pictures, photos, videos, events, etc. to be posted

* Allows for emails to be sent to all group members

* Pre-dates Fan Pages; more familiarity among early adopters of Facebook

Facebook Group Con's

* Visitors must visit your group page for updates

* Does not allow applications to be added to the group page

* Offers visibility

* Will automatically post related groups to your group page whether you want them or not

* Cannot be linked to your site via widget(s)

The Verdict? Consider a Facebook Fan Page if you want to keep your "fans" up to date on the goings on of your site. Consider a Group if you have a niche within your site that people might want to create conversations about.

Should You Hire a Social Media Consultant for Your Site?

With the hundreds of social sites and applications available, it's easy to get overwhelmed. When you're already trying to keep your e-commerce business afloat, social media can seem unnecessary and time-consuming.

Research has shown, however, that e-commerce retailers are reaping the benefits of this new media channel (i.e., offering better customer service and increased sales) so it pays to use it.

Not everyone is social media savvy nor do they have the time which is why a lot of companies hire consultants to help them with their campaigns.

Do you need a consultant or should you do your own work?

When to hire a social media consultant:

* If you really do not have the time to commit to a social marketing campaign.
* If you don't have the time to learn the ins and outs of social applications.
* If you don't consider yourself a strong writer and/or interactive with your audience.
* If you want to launch a large social media campaign and need experts to help get things off the ground.
* If you tend to defer project work to experts rather than attempt to try it yourself.

When to do your own social media work:

* If you're familiar with social media sites (like YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook) and use them on a personal basis.
* If you're a quick-learner and tech-savvy.
* If you're planning a small campaign with only one or two social sites.
* If you have content ready to post on a blog (or Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

Note: Social media consultants tend to pay per project or per hour depending on their rates and availability.

What We've Learned

Social media seems to be here to stay. It most certainly will evolve and change as time goes, but you can be sure that in one form or another social media will continue. It's much like the TV or radio were when they began and the power it harnesses for those who use it will shine through.

It can bring awareness to your product or brand and help you build a stronger relationship with your customers which can lead to greater sales and future growth for your business.

Having said that, keep in mind that social media can be time consuming and integrating a social media marketing campaign into your business should not be taken lightly. Proper planning and implementation is critical to your success-you may even want to consider hiring an expert to handle it for you. This will largely depend on your needs, budget, and time you have to allocate your own resources to getting the job done in-house.

When it comes to Facebook and the choice between creating a Fan Page or a Group, you'll want to consider your objective before you determine which is best for you. Fan Pages are best for pushing brands and for ecommerce sites that can commit to posting at least once per week. Consider a Facebook Group if you want a more personal touch and if you can't commit to posting at least once per week.

Integrating social media into your site is easy. There are sites that provide the code and icons for you to simply paste into your web structure. Once you are utilizing social media make sure you display it on your site so customers know where to find you.

Remember, social media is a tool that can push your business and brand forward. Plan carefully and choose wisely. Like those that harnessed the power of TV and radio, social media adopters will see the benefits with time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3498170