Facebook Shops Everything you need to know about the new Instagram and Facebook Shop

Facebook has just introduced Facebook Shops! Will this disrupt the e-commerce industry? Will this be amazing for your print on demand stores, your amazon FBA stores, and your Shopify businesses. All is answered in this video!

How To Schedule Your Instagram Posts For Better Results

The first thing to realize when using Instagram for business and being able to schedule Instagram posts is that you need to upgrade your account to a business account.

When you have a business Instagram account, you unlock many features that aren't in the personal platform. So do that right away, then follow the rest of the steps.

Tools You Can Use

There are numerous tools that you can use to schedule Instagram posts. Hootsuite.com, Later.com, and HopperHq.com are great platforms to use. You can upload the information using your laptop or PC, or you can hire a virtual assistant to do it for you. You don't have to push individual posts out via your phone anymore. If you have a business account you can just use the scheduling software to schedule each post. But you will still need to use your phone to finish the process if you are publishing photo albums or videos.

Engage with Your Followers

Even though you can now use tools to schedule posts on Instagram without your phone, you still need to force yourself to engage with your followers. You don't want to forget to look at Instagram and comment to people who say things to you and comment on other people's posts, even though you can schedule using your PC. Remember, social media is all about engaging. Engage.

Instagram Automation

There are some services that will say that they'll automate getting more follows and shares for you. But the truth is, this is a bad idea. While it might seem fun to automatically follow and like people who comment or use a hashtag you set up, the best way to do this is personally. If you really want an active and legitimate following, do that yourself or ask your VA to do it for you. Otherwise you could even end up with a blocked account.

Don't Spam Your Audience

Instagram are very adept at getting rid of spammers. So, you want to be careful about appearing spammy. If you have a lot of images that are from the same event, post them as a photo album. Plus, try to offer free content more than you promote. They say that you should promote only once after three posts. So, post useful content three times, then on the fourth time promote. It's a good rule of thumb.

Avoid Scheduling Content Too Far Out

If you schedule your posts too far out, you may end up accidentally offending people. But, if you pay attention to the news and can stop your schedule, you might be saved if something happens. Be super-careful about any type of scheduled post that could be taken wrongly on a bad day.

Always check your post before you schedule or post. Check that you don't have typos, and ensure nothing is wrong with your image that could be taken the wrong way, or something you don't want out there. Post regularly, use appropriate hashtags, and follow your fans back.

Instagram's popularity continues to rocket as the cameras in smart phones become better at taking high-quality pics and videos. To learn more about this social media powerhouse and to get more tips to gain followers on Instagram, download my free Instagram Marketing Guide at http://jonallo.com/instagram

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10110705

Improving Your Social Media Profile Quickly and Easily

You have a social media profile for every one of the social media channels that you have joined. You are probably aware of the fact that you must stay on top of your social media profiles once you create them. It isn't enough to simply create the profiles and then leave them alone. If you do that, they won't give anything back to you.

Quick and painless changes to your social media profiles
There are many different tweaks that you can make to your profiles and they don't necessarily have to take a lot of time or effort to accomplish. However, if you make the changes (at least the ones that seem to make sense for your particular business), you will see a significant difference in the way that other people respond to you.

Enhancing your social media profiles will take you very little time and very little effort.

• Check the sizes of your images on the profiles: When dealing with the images, you will want to make sure that they are optimized (that means each and every one of them). Optimizing them means that you check the specifications of the particular social media channels and you ensure that the dimensions of your photos match those specifications. It will not take you any time at all to verify the dimensions and to make sure that your photos are within those guidelines. You shouldn't necessarily assume that your photos should be perfect squares. That will not necessarily be the case. One good reason why you want to make sure that your photos are up to par is that they may be used (by you or someone else) in other places on the Internet.

• Make sure that your profile photos are consistent across all of your social media channels: Your photo should be a clean, professional headshot and you should use it on all of your channels. If that means that you need to get your photo taken by a professional, it is probably worth the investment. After all, that photo will be seen by so many people and your photo is a strong representation of who you are. You want people to get used to seeing that photo and associating it with your brand.
• Untag yourself: If you see that you are tagged in photos in the various social media channels and those photos are either not flattering or just plain inappropriate (or anything in between), there is nothing wrong with untagging yourself (or disassociating yourself) from those photos. Why would you want to be associated with photos that can potentially damage your reputation? You should be aware that some of the more popular social media channels allow you to disassociate quite easily. You will want to check the tags on a regular basis. If you don't keep tabs on the tags, they may do your business some harm.
• Make sure that your profiles have keywords for optimization: No matter which business you are in, you still need to make sure that all of your content (no matter where you put it) is optimized. The reason that you want to do that is so that people can find you when they are searching for what you happen to be offering. The fact is that you want them to find you before finding anyone else first.
• Make sure that your profiles are complete: You don't want people to look at your profiles and not be able to see the whole picture. That is just not effective. You can easily avoid that by just paying attention to your profiles and filling in the gaps. It won't take you very long. As you are filling in the missing content, make sure that you make that content as engaging as possible.
• Connect one social media profile to the others: That is a really good thing to do and it will produce great results. You will want to test the links among the social media profiles. There is nothing more annoying than clicking on a link only to see that nothing happens.

Conclusion
Your social media profiles are an important part of your business and you can't afford to let them stagnate. Using share buttons will help you to keep it interesting. Not only should you fill in all of the fields in your profiles but you should also make sure to update them on a regular basis (but not too frequently). You will want to share all sorts of interesting information (both words and images) so that you hold the interest of your target audience. You always want your content to be fresh, current, and engaging at all times.

Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies. Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was on initiating and leading synergy efforts across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company's Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. He also reduced company travel and travel costs by introducing and implementing various collaboration technologies.

His expertise includes business analysis; project management; management of global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.

Mr. Cohn earned a Master's degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master's degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

Mr. Cohn is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10044485

How Social Media is changing the face of Marketing | Teresa Heath-Wareing | TEDxTelford

Social Media is dubbed on of the worlds fastest moving industries. For marketers and businesses alike it has changed the way we market our products, the way we find our customers and the way we speak to them. Discover how businesses can use this innovative tool to their advantage. Teresa is a business owner, wife, mum and step mum and these keep her very busy! Her business gives her the opportunity to travel to some amazing places around the globe which she loves and as far as hobbies go, she prefers to spend her time between the family and work so she doesn’t really have any, unless you call drinking Gin a hobby!

Teresa is a social media & marketing consultant trainer and international speaker. She helps entrepreneurs and marketers all over the globe, improve their social media marketing so they can grow their business. She loves to share knowledge and does this through her popular podcast call Social Media Marketing Made Simple. Social Media is dubbed on of the worlds fastest moving industries. For markers and businesses alike it has changed the way we market our products, the way we find our customers and the way we speak to them. Discover how businesses can use this innovative tool to their advantage. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

5 Must Have Skills For A Social Media Manager

Social Media managing has become an integral part of any organisation that is dependent on marketing in one or other ways. It has evolved into a multi-purpose and complex role that can help a company in achieving its highest goals. It has become so widespread that now every single member of a team is required to have an aptitude for using these platforms.

A social media manager is now required to work in coordination with every department of a company; it is no longer a job that has an independent or isolated role. As it is already mentioned it has now a complex role and that's why you need a specialized person for it - An expert. Every social media manager needs to have some important skills and we have made a list to help you in finding one for your company:

1. An Aptitude For Writing - A major part of the job of a social media manager is regularly communicating with the customers and that too in writing. While the person shouldn't be an expert in writing but he/she needs to have a consistent voice on behalf of the company. So, command over the language to coherently express the ideas is a must.
2. Graphics Designing - It is now an almost universal fact that a post with a photo is more likely to engage the users of social media. Several surveys have been done to establish this fact. Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest which are more focussed on visuals constantly require good quality images.
3. Analytical Skills - When managing a page on any social media platform, you will be constantly bombarded with data and charts. This information can help to increase the organic reach if understood and used wisely.
4. Understanding Of Content Marketing - This is an important skill to have as the whole concept of social media managing also fits in the wider goal of achieving higher rankings on it. A marketer should know how these platforms influence the search rankings.
5. Being A Real Person - Sometimes in the constant cycle of posting and retweeting, we forget that social media is for interaction and socially engaging with real people. If you constantly show to your customers that your company is comprised of real people working day and night for them then your customers will be able to relate to you.

If you are looking to hire a person to do this job for you or looking for an agency, remember to look for passion in them for being constantly updated with latest trends.

Contact us at 8750587506 for Website Designing Company in India that provides innovative and Responsive Website Designing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9996764

How To Make Your Business More Visible On Social Media

The more people see you, the more they're going to remember you. When you think of it that way, you can automatically see that as people notice you it will build your brand. Some studies say that a new customer needs to be exposed to you at least seven times over a short period of time in order to recognize your existence.

Be Active on the Right Social Media Platforms

You don't need to be on every single social media platform. You might want to get a profile on each of them, but you don't need to be on every single one. You only need to be where your audience is. Study your audience to find out where they like to be active. When you discover that, that is where you should concentrate your efforts.

Improve and Optimize Your Visual Branding

Images and graphics are very important online. People are attracted to looking at images over text first. Ensure that you have the same branding throughout all social media platforms, your website, and offline.

Post Regularly

Blogging or posting articles and content on a regular basis on your website (and then sharing it on social media) should be done regularly. Don't just do it once, then get upset that there is no response. Content marketing is a slow process. It is more effective than other methods, but it does take time and commitment.

Work with Influencers

One way to be more visible is to work with influencers. Don't worry; you don't have to find someone with a million subscribers. You'll want to pick the right platform for your product or service, but other than that find someone with 10,000 to 40,000 active subscribers or followers to work with.

Make the Most of Your Profiles

Don't forget that on all social media you have a profile or a bio space that needs to be completed. Use every single space the platform offers you that you reasonably can. If you don't have content for that space yet, put it in your calendar to create it. Check them regularly because each platform often updates the features they offer.

Promote Yourself

Many people are scared to promote themselves on social media. But, you must. Now, don't go and spam a group about your offers without permission, or anything like that. However, use retargeting ads with the Facebook pixel, look-a-like ads, and some paid promotions. Build up a group where you can engage with others and promote your products without issue.

Engage More

Remember that social media is about being social. No one is on Facebook to buy stuff. But, if you engage, share, and become a resource to people on those platforms, you're going to stand out from the crowd and build trust through engagement.

Building your brand is something you should always be doing - just like marketing. It's all part of the solution to reach more people, help more people, and make more money. To learn more about how to make your business stand out, download my free checklist, Branding For Small Businesses at https://jonallo.com/branding

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10111839

3 Tips for Social Media Storytelling

How to Build Better Engagement for Your Business

Stories predate television, the internet and social media, but they're a big part of the modern marketing landscape. Social media is-or should be-a big part of your marketing strategy, no matter what line of business you're in.

Social media storytelling can increase reach and brand awareness and help you gain new followers. However, there is a great deal of noise out there.

If you don't attract attention, your message is going to be lost in a sea of other competing messages.

When we're attempting to connect and engage with our followers, customers and potential customers, it's essential to remember that we're not talking at people or simply posting products or services.

Think of this as a chance to narrate your brand, to start a conversation about who you are and what you offer.

Here's 3 tips to help bring storytelling into your social media marketing strategy:

Tip #1: Be Human

People are going to connect with people first, not brands. Share what's happening in your world with your followers, what you're learning and what's exciting you. Reinforce your brand's message, your mission and what you stand for.

Audiences are savvy, and they can tell when a brand isn't being authentic in their posts. Recently, we've been engaging our eVision audience with questions, and based on the response we're getting, it's a fun and genuine way to learn more about our followers while promoting our business.

That said, only share things that you want the whole world to know! Once you put something out there, it's out there for everyone to see-and snapshot and share-so make sure it's well-thought out and appropriate.

Tip #2: Create Value

Your creative has to have intent, which isn't necessarily to make leads or sales. Think of ways to inform, entertain or surprise your audience.

Provide people with unique and interesting content, like blog posts, articles, infographics, videos or eBooks on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Offering resources is one of the top ways to attract attention and followers. Inviting your community to be part of your brand is an ideal way to get them engaged with your resources.

For example, if you're an accountant trying to increase your online presence and engagement, you could ask your followers to share their top reasons for hiring someone else to do their taxes.

Ask them to hashtag their responses with #taxhelp or #relaxingnottaxing or something else clever and short.

If you don't have many fans, you'll need to gain more followers by sharing relevant content from your industry, interacting with people and finding relevant users to follow.

Here's an example of a brand who did this well: Lululemon with their #justmymat campaign. It began with a woman doing yoga in different settings in an Instagram brand video. As a result, thousands of followers uploaded photos and videos of themselves practicing yoga all over the world while using the campaign hashtag.

Tip #3: Show, Don't Tell

Telling your brand story doesn't have to mean typing out a whole bunch of copy. Images and videos can be a great way to capture the essence of your branding. Some platforms centre around images (Pinterest and Instagram, for example).

Even the ones that don't have made changes to make social media storytelling easier, with more opportunities for photos, videos and albums.

If you're not sure where to get images, do some research on design apps and sites that let you use your own images or templates and backgrounds to create engaging posts for the various social platforms.

There are so many ways you can tell a story that will best reflect your brand, business and you! You don't need to tackle the world of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter on your own.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

If you are new to Social Media and online marketing or find it overwhelming and confusing, my monthly group coaching program, AMPLIFY! Business Academy http://amplifybusinessacademy.com/ is a perfect way for you to incrementally learn the best strategies and tactics to help you grow your business online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10092441

The Power of Social Media Marketing in 2019 | Gary Vaynerchuk - Imagine Keynote, Las Vegas -#entrepreneur #AskGaryVee

Absolutely loved this keynote that I gave in Las Vegas.. One of the most tactical talks I had in terms of organic and paid content strategy, why I'm producing 30-50 pieces of content a day, what the next trends will look like in the market, how audio/voice industry is going to dominate and understanding value of organic LinkedIn content. If you're B2B or B2C this keynote is definitely for you to watch. Hope you enjoy ;)

How to Build a Better Social Media Presence

Key Strategies for Small Businesses to be More Social with Social Media

We've mentioned the importance of interacting with your followers in previous blog posts. We'll say it again: there has to be more to your social media strategy than simply posting content.

Unfortunately, many brands don't realize they can't just promote their products on social media and expect to attract their target audience.

You can have thousands of followers, but if you have nothing entertaining or engaging, social media isn't going to be a valuable marketing tool at all.

You need to include sharing non-promotional content and interacting with your followers on your to-do list each and every week.

How Much Self-Promotion is Too Much?

I like to use the 20/80 rule, a widely-accepted ratio for sales posts vs. other content. For example, if you own a day spa, 20% of your posts could be related to promoting your therapeutic services, products for sale and so on.

The other 80% of your posts should be content that your target audience will find interesting. You could post links to articles, blogs and videos on everything from healthy recipes to self-care tips. Make sure that if you share humorous photos, videos or articles that they're appropriate for your audience and your industry.

All of your content can be valuable and increase your social media presence if you speak authentically to your followers.

You're not just entertaining them - you're increasing the odds that they'll like or comment on your post and share it with their followers.

Get to Know Your Followers

Part of a good strategy includes setting time aside each week (or hiring a marketing company to do this for you) to go into your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts and:

• Accept relevant follower requests

• Look for people in your target audience to follow/Like

• Like, retweet and share others' content you enjoyed

• Comment back to followers who leave you comments

Building trust with your followers makes them more likely to purchase your products or services and to be loyal to your brand.

If you do build a set of active and loyal followers who engage with you, be sure you follow them back and interact with them on a regular basis to keep them happy.

Access is Everything

If you're constantly switching between your work and personal devices, it can be easy to accidentally tweet something you don't want to share on your business page or vice versa. Double check which account you're posting from before you hit that button.

Larger companies may have several pros accessing social media accounts. Even small- and medium-sized companies might outsource their social media strategy and promotion to a marketing company (like ours).

To keep your social media presence positive, make sure you take away access from people who are no longer with the company, and if you do outsource your social media marketing, ensure the company you've hired does the same.

If you don't, you could end up with a situation like HMV did in 2013 when a disgruntled ex-employee still had access to their Twitter account.

Yikes. Knowing who's posting is just as important as what you're posting.

There's so much noise on social media, so you need to work hard to get noticed and stay noticed! By creating the right strategy for your target audience and aiming for relationships, not followers, you'll be well on your way to building a better social media presence.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

If you are new to Social Media and online marketing or find it overwhelming and confusing, my monthly group coaching program, AMPLIFY! Business Academy http://amplifybusinessacademy.com/ is a perfect way for you to incrementally learn the best strategies and tactics to help you grow your business online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10046459

5 Steps to Launching Your Affiliate Marketing Business

                               

BY BRIAN EDMONDSON

One of the fastest and easiest ways to make money online is by launching an affiliate marketing business (or adding affiliate marketing to your existing business).

Affiliate marketing allows you to make money online, even if you don’t have blog, website, or any products of your own. Following a few simple steps can get you up and running within hours and earning your first commissions right away. Affiliate marketing really is one of the fastest and easiest ways to make money online and should be a part of every online business owner's portfolio.

The formula for affiliate marketing remains relatively constant no matter what your market or niche. Your main task will always be traffic generation (i.e. driving prospects to the merchant’s website via your unique “affiliate” link). You can start by finding ways to drive free traffic and then adding paid advertising methods to your traffic mix.

Writing good advertising sales copy (copywriting) is the other important skill for internet marketers. The good news is that when it comes to affiliate marketing, many vendors will provide you with copy to use for your blog posts, websites ads, etc. They'll give you the emails to send, the banner ads to display, and even posts you can use on social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

That being said, what are these essential steps for affiliate marketing success? Here, we focus on five critical steps to launching your own profitable affiliate marketing business quickly and easily.

1. Choosing the Right Affiliate Network

The fit must be right between you and the merchant who is going to benefit from your promotional efforts, or it simply won’t work. The easiest way to begin with affiliate marketing is to select an affiliate network. Many affiliate networks exist, some which are tied to well-known companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple, while others specialize in specific types of products and services.

You may have heard of ClickBank, one of the oldest and most popular affiliate networks. A billion-dollar company, ClickBank specializes in digital products like e-books and software, as well as membership sites. If you are comfortable selling information and don’t want the management and administration hassles of “real” businesses, this may be a good starting point. Its commissions can be anywhere from 10% all the way to 75%.

Sometimes, individual entrepreneurs with great products are worth a look, although you should check them out first and do some research. Entrepreneurs or companies may run their own affiliate program and you can apply directly to them to promote their products and services. Finally, Amazon is always an option as you can be an affiliate for just about any type of physical product on their network.

2. Research and Select the Right Affiliate Products

A sound product strategy is a must for new affiliate marketers. Ideally, you should choose a niche that you can make money online with and has a lot of product vendors. This will give you a wide selection of products to offer your online community. However, limit yourself to two or three products at a time, so that you become the expert others turn to and trust when reaching for their wallet.

As you become comfortable with the affiliate marketing process, you can consider both specialized (e.g. fly fishing) and broad (e.g. weight loss) niches. Don’t forget to track your marketing metrics! They are usually provided by your merchant and/or affiliate network. This way you'll be able to know which products your audience are responding to and which ones aren't generating any profits for your business. This is especially important if you are investing into paid advertising to drive traffic and promote products as an affiliate...

you need to know which campaigns are profitable and which ones are losing money.

You'll want to continually monitor the marketplace for new products, review and test promoting those products to your audience to see which ones resonate and convert.

3. Consider Buying the Product Before Promoting It

As a new affiliate marketer, you are not obligated to purchase every product you want to promote.  However, it goes without saying that actually owning and using the products is huge for establishing credibility and trust. Intimate knowledge of the product can mean the difference between making the sale and having prospects move elsewhere.

Writing product reviews are an excellent way to enhance your credibility as an affiliate marketer. This is especially easy with information products like e-books which are relatively inexpensive. After establishing some steady income it may even be worth buying higher-end products, provided you get in touch with the product creator to work out a strategic marketing plan that takes you to the next level.

If you actually use the product and get results with it, then sharing a case study or your personal experience can be one of the most effective ways of selling that products to your audience.

As you build a more responsive list of email subscribers and buyers and your reputation, merchants may offer you “free” samples of e-books or other products.

Note: in many cases merchants will be happy to offer you a free copy / sample of the product even if you don't have an established business -- it never hurts to ask! If so, you'll want to include full disclosure that you were provided complimentary access to the product in addition to having a disclaimer disclosing your affiliate relationship.

4. Utilize Social Media Marketing to Get More Traffic

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and other social media marketing methods are great vehicles for “word of mouth” or viral marketing. Video marketing in particular is a great way to demonstrate your expertise via commentary, screenshots, and live demonstrations if necessary.

Right now doing videos on Facebook and Facebook Live are extremely effective as well as utilizing YouTube for a more longer term approach to video marketing.

While at first you may be focused on using social media as a free way to get traffic, keep in mind that there are powerful ways to use paid advertising on social media to reach your targeted audience and drive that traffic back to your site or your affiliate offers.

5. Consider Using Redirect / "Pretty" Links

Cloaking or using anchor links was a controversial issue in internet marketing circles, with some affiliate marketers swearing by it and others who feel it is unnecessary.

On one hand, long and ugly affiliate tracking links are a straight giveaway to people that you want to sell them a product (and people may be uncomfortable clicking on them). Therefore, making your link shorter and "nicer" looking will it give a more professional appearance. One of my favorite plugins for making links look "pretty" is the Pretty Links WordPress plugin.

This makes the link much shorter, more friendly, and easier to type in case they can't click the link for some reason and want to type it into their browser.

Original Article: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/launching-affiliate-marketing-business-2531501

Impact Over Likes

It's really not about how many likes you have. Instead of that, focus on what content you are putting out there to change other people's lives. If you can offer value to other people, you are already doing it right and time will prove it all. Change your perspective by watching this video.

Facebook Supporter - Is ‘Free’ Content Dying? Radical Social Media change via @robprogressive

Facebook: In-Depth: Facebook Data Privacy & Social Media Data Mining

Facebook’s ability to see your personal data has been a big deal in the news ever since Cambridge Analytica was singled out as abusing this data for coordinated political advertising. As a result of the investigation on April 4, 2018, Facebook shared a draft of their updated data policy. Some things that were addressed in the release may be news to users. Did you know that when a user clicks the LIKE button on a business Facebook page, that business can then gain access to that user’s personal profile? Depending on the user’s privacy settings the company can see very little or absolutely everything. For many casual social media users, this has been concerning because most rarely have taken a look at the fine print in the privacy agreement or even their own privacy settings. It’s easy to see what data they can see and many people forget what’s even been on their Facebook profile over the years. You can download your own data quite easily. Here are the steps involved (this is also good if you want a backup of old pictures you’ve shared) 1. Log in to Facebook and go to the top right corner and click the drop down arrow; 2. Click Settings; 3. Click Your Facebook Information; 4. Go to Download Your Information and click View; 5. Select your options then click Create File. You’ll then be sent a link to your email that allows you to download all your profile data. You can see every conversation, image and more! To date, Facebook has 98 personal data points within your profile that allows companies to target their advertising towards you. Facebook Ad Targeting Facebook uses this information for targeting so they ensure users see ads that are relevant and interesting to them based on their profile information. We at eVision Media use this data all of the time when creating ads for our clients who want to get the right message in front of the right people. Here are just a few of the targeting options Facebook advertisers have using your information: 1. Geographic location 2. Age 3. Sex 4. Main Language spoken 5. Last completed level of education 6. School or college you attended 7. Race 8. Income and net worth 9. Homeownership and type 10. Estimated value of your home 11. Property size 12. Square footage of the home 13. Year home was built 14. Household size 15. And countless others.... What Advertisers Can Glean from this Data Let's look at the other types of data companies can derive based on your Facebook Profile. There is a lot to go through so we’re just going to look at the more basic ones. 1. Information on your personal interests. They can see all the groups you are a member of. This reveals a lot about you. In April, Facebook made several changes to the API that allows third-party app access, including limiting access to Groups and excluding the guest list from the Events API. 2. The contact information on your personal profile can include your email address, phone number, and full name. 3. A permanent record of who you have deleted from your Facebook group. When you delete something from Facebook it won't be publicly visible but that doesn't mean the information just goes away. Facebook retains that data even though it’s not outwardly visible anywhere on their platform. 4. Facebook records exactly when you signed up for Facebook and every time you log in. 5. Facebook Advertisers have access to all information about you. This allows them to target ads based on your interests, age, geographic location, behaviours and more that allow them to serve up ads to you that are a match based on your preferences. 6. Data is collected about what ads you click on, what device you use, and the type of internet connection you use. They know every page and post you Like and Share. 7. Milestones. Facebook tracks birthdays, anniversaries, marriages and other significant milestones you celebrate. 8. Employment information. If you enter this into Facebook then it will be stored and associated with your profile. For anyone interested, this article has the full list of 98 pieces of data Facebook has for every user’s profile. The Truth About Your Data Privacy If you are concerned about your privacy settings on Facebook, you can adjust your settings to limit shared data and view which third-party apps have been authorized. Facebook offers instructions on how to adjust those settings for any user concerned about the privacy of their data. Should you be concerned? Not really. This was all blown up from the start because Cambridge Analytica was singled out and the reasoning was entirely political. The truth is (and this is something anyone working in SEO and social media already knew) everyone from political parties to clothing manufacturers to maybe even your own business has been using user data for targeted advertising. It’s what has kept Facebook free and Facebook is far from alone. Data is being collected on everyone, everywhere! Whenever you use a loyalty card, gift card or even a credit card etc., data is being stored and used for targeted advertising and more. What Facebook and every other social media channel and app that you’re using on your smart phone is doing is standard procedure. Embracing Social Media Data Mining Instead of being overly concerned and shutting down your social media profiles, we suggest you embrace the opportunities this data provides to you as a business owner. If you’re interested in upgrading your own advertising, eVision Media has been using Facebook to help target users for a long time. When Facebook was first released it was entirely free and free from ads but was invitation only. And seeing how it’s changed and grown as the entire industry has, makes it a lot less scary and a lot more fun.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media. If you are new to Social Media and online marketing or find it overwhelming and confusing, my monthly group coaching program, AMPLIFY! Business Academy http://amplifybusinessacademy.com/ is a perfect way for you to incrementally learn the best strategies and tactics to help you grow your business online. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com Original Article: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051644875-1-in-depth-facebook-data-privacy-social-media-data-mining/