How To Create Your Facebook Ad Image In Under 5 Minutes

In this video, I walk you through how to create an image for your Facebook ad using the tool Snappa.io (affiliate link).

If you’ve done Facebook ads before or are just beginning to get started, then you know that you have to:

  • Create a campaign with ad set, audience, targeting
  • Create the ad copy
  • Create the ad image
  • Setup a landing page (for your lead-magnet, webinar, service, product, etc)
  • Set up your targeting (and any corresponding custom conversions)
  • Test!!

For the purpose of this post, I’m focusing on the image piece because that is one of the places that many people get stuck.

Not only do you have to come up with an idea for an image to support your offer, you have to think about where to source images, what text to include and so on.

That’s why I’m loving this new tool, Snappa.io and as I show you in the video, includes existing templates that you can tweak (or use as is) and free high-res stock photos (just that alone is huge- no more searching multiple sites).

 

Set your Facebook Ads up for success. Get the free training here.

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social media hashtags

The Mystery & Magic of Hashtags Revealed

Have I ever mentioned that I loooove #hashtags?

I still remember when I was a huge LOST fan and when the finale aired back in 2010 (when watching shows ‘real-time’ was a thing) how cool it was to just type in #LOST on Twitter and be connected to a global water-cooler and see what fans around the world were chatting about during the show (or commercial breaks for the PVR-less amongst us).

Well, flash-forward 3 years later and hashtags are EVERYWHERE. #BreakingBad, anyone?

I bet your favorite beverage even has one. It’s kind of like back in the late 90’s when you started to see website addresses everywhere and probably wondered why your laundry detergent needed a website.

Makes sense now, right?

Hashtags have become ubiquitous.

Buuuuuut if you’re still scratching your head and wondering what the fuss is all about (and how you could maybe even use’em in your biz) read on! And don’t worry! You’re not alone.

Hashtags connect people and ideas.

What do I mean?

The thing that’s different about hashtags vs just following people on Twitter- is that when you click on a hashtag (#smallbiz, for example) you are presented with hundreds of tweets of people whom you may not be following but who sharing information related to a topic that may interest you.  The same thing applies to Instagram, but instead your search will turn up pictures.

6 HashTag Strategies To Market Your Business, Connect and Brand Your Content

1) Live events (Meetups, Conferences)

Create a hashtag for your event which allows people to connect before, during and after your event.

hashtag at events

Make your hashtag visible at events

Get the word out about your hashtag in your email marketing, on your event sign up page and make it visible during the event. If you have a Twitter savvy crowd, they are probably already talking about the event and looking for opportunities to connect. Make it easy and use it to your advantage!

How does it benefit your business?

  • The word about your event gets spread to new audiences

  • You can curate tweets and use them to create content after the event

  • Connects you with people who are interested in your business/event/topic which is key for community building.

2) Twitter Chats

Twitter chats have to be one my favorite uses of Twitter. And all thanks to the mighty hashtag. There are Twitter chats for every topic under the sun. You can join chats related to your industry and exchange with your peers and keep up with trends or you can participate in chats where your target audience is hanging out. The possibilities are endless! You can also create and host your own chat.

3) Connect with new people!

Head on over to search.twitter.com and use the advanced search and search for hashtags related to your business. Some ideas: #blogchat #smbiz

4) Hashtag your content:

When you share content on Twitter (or Google+/Instagram/Facebook) add keyword hashtags to make your content searchable by others using or looking for those hashtags.

For example: Want to up your game? Surround yourself with other influential #women #entrepreneurs. See you in The Hive:bit.ly/UpFJS4

5) Branded Hashtag:

Start a conversation and ask your followers to tag their tweets with your branded hashtag.

Some examples: #HDGameDay which is celebrating the start of College Football and encouraging people to share their photos on Twitter and Instagram.

6) Running promotions

You can run a promotion and use a hashtag (services like OfferPop make this super easy). For example, another client is running one called: #twgoldenticket. But running Twitter promotions is for another day 🙂

Choosing a Hashtag:

It’s probably best to research to make sure the hashtag is not already in use. Try sites like http://topsy.com/ or http://www.hashtags.org/

Some Don’ts:

  • Hashtag spam: No one likes a spammer. This applies on social media as well.

  • Hashtag sparingly: #don’t #hashtag #every #word. It’s kind of #annoying.

Some Do’s

  • Use #hashtags related to keywords, locations, events that you want to be found for

  • Be creative. You can make up a hashtag. #makeyourownrules

Hashtags: The Mystery & Magic #Revealed

Click To Tweet

And for some more inspiration:

 

So what do you think? Will you be #hashtagging anytime soon?

Let me know in the comments!

Social Media Management System

{Q&A} Should I Use A Social Media Management System?

I got asked this question at a recent talk I gave about the importance of community to help you leap, launch and grow and of course, social media came up! I figured that there are may be others with this burning question so thought I would share:

My answer, a resounding-HELL YEAH!

Seriously, I could not survive* without my social media management system (SMS) of choice, Hootsuite (*yes, total #socialmediafirstworldproblems) and am a big advocate of using these types of tools to manage your social media presence.

Why?

Let me count the ways:

1. Method to the Madness

Twitter.com can be full on chaotic when you first start out. Especially if you’ve gone and followed hundreds of people. The stream moves fast, there are a bajillion conversations happening and you. have . no . idea.

How a management system helps?

With a tool like Hootsuite (which I might add has a free-plan), you can import/create Twitter lists and stalk follow conversations much more closely than you can on Twitter.com. You don’t have to follow your home feed but rather zoom in on the conversations that are more relevant/interesting to you.

2. Manage your multiple personalities from one place

Got multiple identities? You know where you have a profile for your personal use and one for where you want to be a little more business-y? SMS’s have you covered. From your dashboard you can manage your multiple Twitter identities from one place and decide what to post and where. Bonus: you can also add other social networks

 3. Actually Join The Conversation

Because of course you want to be able to chime in when people talk about you or share your content. Yep. Instead of scratching your head and wondering what’s going on, management tools have got you covered- you can create different streams that allow you to easily follow keywords related to your brand. For instance, I have a stream with “sidekickpm” that pulls in any blog posts that may have been shared even when my twitter handle @SandySidhu has not been included.

 4. Scheduling!

Yep. I said it. And it’s not a bad thing. You can’t be on social media all the time. You just can’t. But your business can be with the help of scheduling. This topic could be a post in itself, but essentially, social media management systems allow you to plan out your social media content ahead of time, something you can’t do directly on Twitter.

  • Promoting a new service? Schedule out content throughout the week.
  • Launching a new product? Schedule out teasers before, during and after your launch.
  • Blogging? Schedule your post to go out at different times of the week to reach different audiences.

5. Keywords, Hashtags and all that

Last but not least, one of my favorite uses of Hootsuite, is to follow keywords/keyword phrases and hashtags. These might be related to questions that I could/want to answer or chats that I want to participate in.

So, are you convinced yet? Let me know in the comments how you plan on using one!

Have a question that you want answered?  Submit it here and it just may be the next Q&A featured!

Step-By-Step:Private Google+ Hangouts

How To Record A Google+ Hangout Without Doing A Hangout On Air

So first off, you’re probably wondering why would you want to record a Google+ Hangout?
 
Well, in one of my mastermind groups we regularly do Google Hangouts on different business topics (list building, side-hustling etc) and just like webinars, not everyone can make it live.
 
Not to mention, Hangouts have limits to 10 people and therefore not all members can join live.
 
So, why not just do a Hangout On Air?
 
Because Thrive Hive Google Hangout sessions are for members only, so streaming live to Youtube is not really an option since we keep this content private.  We decided against using Webinar format since we like the face-to-face interaction as we are an online community and interacting “in-person” is great.
 
We could use Go To Meeting (and have in the past) but paying a monthly fee for something we weren’t going to use all the time wasn’t appealing.

Having fun with my mastermind group 🙂

How To Record a Google+ Hangout

There is no default way to hit record on your Google Hangout (yet) so:

Step 1:

To record a Hangout I use the software discussed in: How To Do Screencasts, in particular, Camtasia Studio.

I set up Camtasia with the Youtube preset:

And once everyone has joined the Hangout, I hit record.

Step 2:

Once the Hangout is complete, I open the recording in Camtasia and prepare the file to be exported to Youtube (and any editing that may be needed).

Step 3:

The final step is to upload to your Youtube channel.

Et voilà! The final product:

So as you can see, it is a 3 step process but it is pretty straightforward once you know how to use the recording software. And your only investment is the recording software which you can use to create all kinds of content in your business.

Do you use Google Hangouts in your business? I’d love to hear how you are using them! Leave me a comment below.

For more tech tips and training, check out the Tech Training Vault:

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How to record your screen and share online

How To Create Screencasts (and please the Youtube Gods)

If you are interested in recording screencasts, you’re lucky there are plenty of great tools out there that are easy to use.   Some are free while others require purchasing a license.

Why screencasts?

Screencasts are particularly useful if you want to document how-to videos and demonstrate step-by-step with narration.

Whether that is creating an online product in which you share your expertise, or if you want to document your processes in your business so you can share with your virtual assistant- a screencast can be much more effective than screenshots and allow the person to play back at their leisure.

Makeup not required!

Showing your face is totally optional. You can record these videos in your pj bottoms (or not) and no one will be the wiser. Soothe us with your lovely voice and share those sweet nuggets and leave us guessing as to who is behind the scenes.

BUT WHAT DO I SHARE!

You don’t necessarily have to create new content but look at how existing content may be easily explained in visual format. For example, how to install a plugin in WordPress or a quick tutorial on creating an image for Pinterest.

Narrate a powerpoint presentation or edit and upload a webinar for repeat playback (and lead generation, ftw!). Or simply create short how-to videos and please the Youtube gods because you’re finally creating content for that social network. Woohoo!

Here are some examples of screencasts:

 

 

Recommended Tools

Jing

Using Jing you can record short videos of up to 5 minutes (for free) or take a screenshot and share it. You can save the videos and edit using an editor like Camtasia or simply share the link immediately.

Camtasia Studio (Mac/PC)

The above videos were all done with Camtasia Studio. While there is a learning curve, Camtasia is a complete solution that will allow you to record, edit your screen captures and add multi-media. It’s also easy to export to share and upload to Youtube.

ScreenFlow for Mac

I have only heard good things about ScreenFlow from anyone who has used it. I was using Camtasia on PC for a few years, I decided to continue with it when I made the switch from PC to Mac. From a feature point of view, it compares to Camtasia but is considerably cheaper.

How do you plan on using screencasts? Let me know in the comments below!

For more tech tips and training, check out the Tech Training Vault:

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