The new 'who's viewed your profile' on LinkedIn

Although LinkedIn has many awesome features, by far my favourite is the 'who's viewed your profile' one. It allows you to see who has been looking at your profile, but until recently this information has been very brief, and only gives the user a broad understanding of how and why these people are actually looking at them. This is a feature that I think we all wish we could have on Twitter and Facebook, but they are yet to explore the idea. The updates this week give the user a much deeper understanding of who is looking at them, and more importantly how they actually found them!

The new updates explained

Previously, we were only shown how many people had viewed our profile over a certain period of time - for example '25 people in 3 days' - we still get this basic information but we are also now greeted by another figure just below it, it shows your ranking between you and all of your connections. Think of this as a giant profile views leaderboard. This creates a competitive feel, and makes you want to get even more views to beat your connections/ peers.

The next improvement comes when you actually click into the new who's viewed your profile area, you are now greeted with some quick stats and a graph to show your progression over time, something which I personally love. This graph relates to a week by week timescale, so you can see in which weeks you were getting viewed more or less, which in turn will allow you to see which of your posts are working and which are not. Shown below.

Hovering your mouse over a certain week, as showed here will bring up how many views were obtained during that week. A great piece of information so you can compare how you are doing over a period of time.

So, below this you still get the standard list of profile pictures of those who have viewed your profile (although the layout is slightly more 'jazzy'.) You also get a button which says "viewers who search for words on your profile" - this shows you a breakdown of what words have been used to search for your profile. Next to this you will also now find an image displaying from where these people actually found you, for example, from an inbox message, or from their homepage etc.

Its all a big race for more views.

As well as all of the above, which give you a much deeper insight into your views, you also get a button which says 'how you rank for profile views'. Upon clicking on this feature you are met with some quick and easy to see stats, firstly, you will see your overall ranking between you and all of your connections. Scrolling down will actually show your position on this list, who is above, and below you. You will then see two more options, you can change the search to those within your company, and see your ranking there - similarly you can change the search between you and LinkedIn employees, a pretty cool feature!

Tips to grow

Not only have LinkedIn introduced all of these great features, but they've also gone and added tips for you to expand even further (you will find these hidden within your viewers). To the right hand side of your 'views insights' you will find a section called "easy ways to get more views" which shows you tips (tailored to you) to get more views. This might be people you should connect with, words to add to your summary, skills to add to your page or groups you should join. Awesome.

In my opinion the new 'who's viewed your profile analytics' section is great, and gives us, as LinkedIn users a much greater understanding of our audience, and where they are actually coming from - which is vital in order to continue your social growth in the long term!

What are your thoughts about the new updates? Please leave a comment below.

Sheryl Sandberg and ‘lean in’ what’s the big fuss all about?

Image curtsey of Nicholas Carlton, 2013

Being chosen as ‘one to watch’ by LinkedIn UK opens up a world of opportunities, this week, Our Founder, Jake Tipper was asked, along with others to go and hear Sheryl (COO, Facebook) talk about her new book, and life at Kings Place, London.

A woman who can sell over 800 paid tickets within minutes, and has been said to be a key component in making both Google and Facebook billion pound companies must have something good to say, right?

Sheryl’s new book – ‘lean in for graduates’ talks about how graduates need to ‘lean in more’ when approaching their first job, something that our founder (as a young entrepreneur himself) thought would be extremely interesting. Sheryl’s book is focused more towards young women, but there is also many points she makes which males can also use when looking for a job.

For those who know Sheryl, you will know she talks passionately about feminism in whatever she does, and this was no exception. As one of the very few male members of the audience it gave me the opportunity to perhaps take a different outlook on her speech and the questions she was being asked. She talked in depth about the lack of women working in the top 500 companies in the world, and mentioned many facts and figures, some of which surprised me. I was aware, prior to the event that there was a lack of women in CEO positions within multi national companies, but did not realise quite how extreme these figures were.

Sheryl is an extremely opinionated woman, but what makes her different is the way in which she presents her thoughts, she has a way with words that makes you believe and feel everything she feels. The great thing about Sheryl is that her thoughts and ideas are backed up with action and results. She now has over 16,000 ‘lean in circles’ running across 72 countries, she also uses real life examples in her book of young people who have actually ‘leaned in’ and achieved results.

Overall, the night was extremely interesting and eye opening for Jake. He was extremely grateful for the opportunity that was given to me by LinkedIn UK, and will take a lot away from the experience.

Instagram For Business - 25 Tips

Instagram is a social channel that let’s you snap photos (and now video), add creative filters and share them with your followers. The photos can be posted not only on Instagram, but on social channels like Facebook and Twitter too.

Below are some tips from Instagram users for how to effectively use Instagram for business as a tool to build your brand.

Getting Started with Instagram for Business

1. Think before you click. Ask yourself the following questions:  What is the purpose for using Instagram? What is the tone and style we want to portray through our images?

2. Become a regular user first. It’s always a good idea to experience Instagram as a regular user so you can see how people are using it. That will provide ideas for tying this platform into other social media marketing efforts.

3. Think about your product. What do you sell or what do you use to sell your services? Without being too promotional, you can get your followers engaging with your product. Instagram is about everyday people taking everyday pictures.

---

---

---

4. Establish a customer profile. Brands can establish their customer profile by carefully monitoring the types of content posted by their followers. For example, a brand notices that a majority of its followers post images of shoes.

5. Coordinate with social media campaigns. How can you use Instagram in conjunction with your existing Facebook and Twitter activities?

6. Think strategically about your posts. Just because Instagram is a series of visuals doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think strategically about what you should post and when.

7. Choose your handle carefully. When setting up your Instagram account, where possible, use the same username as your Twitter account. So when your content is tagged and shared on Twitter the @username links to your Twitter bio.

Choose the Right Content

8. Show off your products with sneak previews. Clothing companies and even publishers may use Instagram to give “sneak previews” of new additions prior to launch date.

9. Remember that cuteness sells. It is a well-known fact that cute animals with funny quotes are among the category of images most likely to go viral. People like images that create a visceral reaction.

10. Announce new hires, promote your culture. Instagram is a great place to announce new hires, profile your staff and even promote your organization as a trendy, fun place to work.

11. Showcase your customers and service. Virgin America does a great job of giving their followers a taste of the company on Instagram. They showcase their customers and other fun things they are doing to make a person’s in-flight experience more enjoyable.

---

---

---

Use Instagram Filters Effectively

12. Begin with a thoughtful approach. You might not think that choosing one filter over another could lead to a noticeable shift in engagement, but it does. Using the right filter can create up to a 60% increase in average engagement.

13. Consider your location first. Instagram is great for making a standard scenery shot look much more appealing. Intensify the color with filters like Hefe, which can turn the average sunset into something spectacular.

---

---

---

14. Show a sense of style. Simple rule: If the photo does not look good before you select an Instagram filter, it will not look good afterwards. Instagram’s filters help give your great photo an artsy and even professional look. However, you must make sure that the end product fits in with the style your company is trying to portray.

15. Lo-Fi is perfect for restaurants. The high saturation makes the colors immediately richer, and an average sandwich snap can have followers heading down for a meal in no time.

16. Experiment with retro. Instagram has a lot of filters which change photos into images of times gone by. Everyone likes a ‘do you remember when…’ moment. Think about the history of your brand, and use Instagram to show users a visual depiction of it.

More Tips for Using Instagram

17. Follow a defined theme. There are so many things companies can take photos of, so it is vital to think things through before you jump in. Stand alone style photos will not be as powerful as photos that are part of a collection or that follow a defined theme.

18. Show your brand’s personality. Businesses should look at their use of Instagram similar to the way they use other social media platforms. There should be a nice balance of showing the brand’s personality but also giving the followers information about the brand.

19. Don’t just advertise. Instagram is a great place to showcase shots of your products, services and how-tos. Of course, you don’t want to turn your feed into a series of display ads. Find a creative way to incorporate your products and brand into images people will want to see and share.

---

---

---

20. Calls to action work well. Don’t be afraid to use calls to action on Instagram. Users will quickly scroll past messaging buried in the comments, but by placing your call to action on the image itself you’re more likely to grab their attention.

21. Apply the 80/20 rule. Pictures of their products, products in use, happy customers and the environment in which the products can, and are, used are all sound marketing techniques. But those should only be a portion of what a business shares to Instagram or any other social network — approximately 20%. The other 80% of the content shared should be of other people, other things, other scenarios… things that relate to your business but aren’t images of your business specifically.

22. Examine your feedback. Definitely – you can learn a lot by what customers comment on and share, how they tag photos and more.

23. Invite guest contributors. Inviting users to contribute images to your Instagram feed is an easy way to collect content and generate buzz. Call for entries that fit a specific theme and ask users to include a branded hashtag in their posts.

24. Use hashtags for branding. Hashtags are rapidly becoming a cross-platform social media currency. They originated on Twitter and are now used on Google Plus, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Facebook.

---

---

---

25. Remain loyal to your brand. Marketers who choose to add Instagram to their social media marketing tool box should remember to remain loyal to their brand image. Brands should never forget that everything they post represents their brand’s promise to consumers.

Make yourself 'searchable' on social media

"Total Socials is a business directory with a difference, it allows you to be found on a huge range of social media channels."


When you join Total Socials, you don't just get a listing in our business directory. You get a beautiful page with your most important business information on, not only this but more importantly you get a page which has your social media accounts on. Directories have become something we see as outdated and useless, but yet we still all take the time to add ourselves into them incase it may generate a lead or two. 

At Total Socials, we know that you want people to find you for what you produce or the service you provide - but you want to be found on social media, something which is nearly impossible with the way in which the social media giants' searches work. 

As an example, we ask you to try and track down the nearest Mechanic to you on Twitter, or an Accountant on Twitter in London, maybe a Vet in Aberdeen on Instagram or a Marketing Agency in Brighton on Pinterest?

"We are here to solve the problem that is searching for businesses on social media."

Adding your business to our directory will allow anyone to find you, for keywords YOU CHOOSE. You can add your business, and select a range of keywords that match your business, meaning when anyone searches for that service or product you will appear - but more importantly so will your social media profiles. An example is shown below, where you can see this profile, from Social Media Training Cheshire has LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest listed. All of these are easy for the person searching to join. 

Social Media Training Cheshire on the Total Socials website. 

"Your page will look amazing, and will be something you are happy to share across your networks"


Your unique page will look great, and will include all of the information you provided when you joined us, such as a contact email and phone number, a description of the business and a google maps location. More importantly, your social media will be shown larger and is easier for a user to follow from here - your page will also have a unique URL that you can share across your networks to drive even more people to join you. Some examples are shown below -                   

Tweetable Business Solutions

Biz Promo Video

Both of these users have amazing pages, which can now be shared - and will help them grow. We also ensure that all of our members get a shout out to our massive audience on Twitter and Facebook - with some lucky ones also getting promotion on Google+, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn (Depending on the membership scheme you choose)


Overall, joining Total Socials will make you easier to find on all of your social media accounts - our 'search for social' feature is unmatched and no other directory allows you to search through social media sites like ours.

Add your business now, and list one social media profile to your page. Visit www.totalsocials.co.uk 

6 Simple Photo Tools for Creating Social Media Visuals

Are you including images in your social media content?

Looking for easy-to-use tools to help you create images for your content strategy?

If the idea of using Photoshop makes your head spin or hiring a graphic designer isn’t an option, there are many easy-to-use, low-cost alternatives available to you to create social media graphics.

In this article, I’ll show you 6 easy tools that will help you create compelling graphics for social media.

#1: Use PicMonkey’s Online Photo Editor to Take Your Images From Good to Glorious

PicMonkey‘s free option has a wide variety of frames, special effects and font types to choose from.

With a touch of a button, you can crop and resize your photo, and add text to your images.

Choose from a wide variety of free fonts on PicMonkey to create appealing images like this one with PicMonkey.

The paid option offers additional features that include more frames and photo effects.

PicMonkey is a great solution for all types of social media images. Not only can youcreate graphics for your posts, you also can make banners and buttons for your social media accounts, such as Facebook.

#2: Express Yourself Through Photos and Creations on LiveLuvCreate

LiveLuvCreate is an image-creation website most anyone will find easy to use.

With LiveLuvCreate, you pick from a variety of design layouts—from one image as a background to a collage of graphics. You can use images from your computer or choose from LiveLuvCreate’s library.

Choose up to three text areas with a range of font types, colors and styles.

You may also select borders, filters and photo effects for additional image enhancements.

An example of a social media graphic you can create on LiveLuvCreate.com.

Once you complete your graphic, you can share your creation on Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook, or download the image to your computer.

#3: Create Your Own Designs With Canva

Canva is a free application that offers a myriad of graphic types for use in everything from presentations and posters, to business cards and invitations. For social media use, consider Canva to help you design Facebook cover photos and blog images.

Canva offers many different layouts to help you create compelling and shareable social media images.

If you’re signed into Facebook, Canva can pull in your photos. You can also upload your own graphics from your computer, or purchase from Canva’s stock image library (most images are only $1 US).

Additionally, Canva has a unique feature where you can collaborate with other users, which is great if you need to share or edit your images with someone else.

Canva is currently under closed beta, but you can reserve your username and be placed on a waiting list. Then, you can try Canva out once you gain access to the beta version.

#4: Use Image and Photo Editing Software From Paint.NET

If you want some of PhotoShop’s capabilities, check out Paint.NET as an alternative.

Paint.NET is a free download for PCs and offers many of the same features available in PhotoShop.

It supports layers, has unlimited undo capability and offers special photo effects, including red-eye removal. You can also draw shapes, add text and recolor your images with Paint.NET.

You can easily crop any image on Paint.NET and then resize to your specifications.

Because Paint.NET is a free download, tapping into the user community is the best way to get help with how to use it. Check out Paint.NET’s online forum for help, tutorials and plugins.

#5: Design Unique and Compelling Presentations With PowerPoint

It may come as a surprise to see PowerPoint on this list, but it offers another easy way to create social media images.

Any PowerPoint slide can be saved as a JPEG or PNG. Just click on Save As, and then select JPEG or PNG from the Save as Type drop-down menu.

PowerPoint then asks if you want to export every slide or just the current slide. Select Current Slide Only, and you have an image file of your PowerPoint slide. If you’re comfortable using PowerPoint, take advantage of this capability to create social media images.

And if you’re looking for an easy way to make Facebook cover photos, be sure tocheck out Tabsite’s PowerPoint Template for Facebook Cover Photos.

Use Tabsite’s PowerPoint template to create eye-catching Facebook cover photos. Photo courtesy of Tabsite.

Tabsite made a free, easy-to-use template that even shows where your profile photo appears on a cover photo so you can design around it.

#6: Make Awesome Collages With PicCollage

Don’t forget that compelling social media images can include snapshots, and when you want to creatively display these types of photos, check out PicCollage.

PicCollage is an app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Once you download the app, use photos from your Facebook account or camera stream to create collages.

Select a background on PicCollage, add your photos, then text and stickers to your image. PicCollage also allows you to resize, rotate, edit and delete any of your creations. When you complete your collage, you can share your image on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram.

You can choose from many different layouts for your collage. Photo courtesy of PicCollage.

Use PicCollage to creatively display photos from a client event, office party or conference. Or pull in a favorite quote and surround it with images.

With a little creativity, PicCollage helps you create social media graphics that show a more personal side to your business.