Freelancer work can be both very rewarding and very frustrating depending on the day. This is because it is a job unlike many others since you don’t have nearly as much structure or protection as you would in a traditional job. You are very likely to get ripped off by a client or be asked to work beyond what is reasonable to expect on a project.

To understand if the freelancer route is going to work for you, it is important to understand what you are getting into. There are many common problems that freelancers face so chances are that you will too. To understand if it’s the right option for you to freelance you have to understand what the problems are.

There are many great things about being a freelancer and working for yourself, earning your own money. However, there are some drawbacks to this too. 

One huge concern for new freelancers and established freelancers alike is how to get paid and not get ripped off and taken advantage of.  

Of course, this should never be an issue, but the disappointing thing is that it can and does happen. To help you as a freelance worker, here are some of the best ways to prevent this from happening to you.  

Freelancer Work: The Problem of Disappearing Clients 

When you take on a project, most clients are going to be present for much of the project. In fact, many of them will be too present and want to micromanage the entire process. You will be in regular contact with them for the entire duration since they are generally nervous and want to make sure that the project is done to their specifications.

However, they get very quiet and hard to find when it comes to when the invoice is sent. Then, they can often disappear and be hard to track down.

If you didn’t have a contract signed by them stipulating how much will be paid and when then you are probably out of luck if they decide to ghost you.

On the other hand, if you did sign a contract with them then you can take them to court if they don’t pay. You’ll need an HKM breach of contract attorney to handle this since this is what they deal with. Your client is in violation of breaking a contract so you have legal recourse and eventually they must pay you.

Micromanaging Clients with Freelancer Work

It is a very good idea to have every last detail laid on in an organized manner as to what the freelance gig entails. It is also wise to attach some timelines to the contract so there is complete understanding by both parties as to the timing of when things will be done.

This is because some clients have to be involved with every step of the project. Therefore, they tell you how to do the job. By taking time to define the job and how you plan to do it you can usually circumvent this behavior by reminding them to look at the contract.

No one likes to be micromanaged and this can quickly lead to you firing the client. If you are spending way more time with a micromanaging client, you will not be profitable.

Avoid Scoop Creep with Contracts

It is also a good idea to clearly define the project in the contract so that you aren’t being asked to do work that wasn’t agreed to beforehand. This is because some clients will want to change the project on a whim or say that they aren’t happy with the results and want it redone.

This is called scope creep as the scope of the project is always slowly changing.

One of the best ways to protect yourself as a freelancer is to make sure that you have a signed contract with your client. 

Do you worry that you cannot print contracts out and get them physically signed?  A great alternative is to send out an electronic contract and ask them to include an e-signature on the relevant bits. Doing it this way makes life much easier.

Freelancing is doing jobs – usually over the internet, but it could be in person –
on a job-by-job basis.

According to Forbes, between 2005 and 2015, 94% of the 10 million jobs
created were either freelance or temporary gigs.

— The Digital Marketing Guy (@kevinsvips) July 21, 2021

Learn How to Trust Your Gut with Freelancer Work

If you meet a client (in person or virtually) and they don’t feel right in your gut, then there is a good reason for this.

Whilst those instincts and first impressions are not always correct, most of the time, they are.  Actually, they are going to help you to make decisions and protect yourself as much as you can.  

The important thing to remember as a freelance worker is that you are in control even if you work from home only part-time.

Get a Deposit for Freelance Work 

Following on from your gut feeling, if you think that your new client will not pay you when the time comes, then get a deposit. I do this with new clients I haven’t done work with in the past.

Sure, it might feel uncomfortable asking them for this, but they should know that it is good business sense. It’s best to get some of the payment if not all of it.

Sure, it might feel uncomfortable asking them for this, but they should know that it is t good business sense. #freelancing
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Set a Realistic Timescale for Work

Of course, you will want to impress your new client as a freelancer, but the important thing to remember is that you should always be realistic with your timescales.

If it is going to take you three weeks, tell them three weeks. Maybe even four. That way, when it takes less time, you are going to impress them.  

If it takes longer, this can lead to payment disputes. It will never be good news for you or your business. Give yourself that extra time to be sure you can fulfill the workload.

Simply because the work takes time, and it can cause you much more work than you will want to do. 

For example, if my freelancers can’t do the work in time I like it when they give me a warning. As a result, I can rearrange my day in advance. Then, I know I have to pick up the slack for a day. 

Life happens and we must give some slack but also run a business at the same time.  

The worst thing to happen is to find out the work hasn't been done. #freelancers
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Freelancers Learn How to Earn Quickly with Leads

If you’re a freelancer, then you know that one of the toughest parts of the job is generating leads for more freelancer work. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to help generate leads and grow your freelance business.

One way to generate leads is by networking with other professionals in your field. Get involved in professional organizations or attend industry events where you can meet potential clients and get your name out there. You can also generate leads by cold-calling or sending emails to companies that might need your services.

Another great way to generate leads is through online marketing. Use SEO techniques to ensure that your website comes up when people search for keywords related to your business. Create informative blog posts or whitepapers that will attract the attention of potential clients. And make sure to use social media to spread the word about your freelance business.

Furthermore, you could use websites like Upwork and Fiverr to pitch your freelance services to make more money.

By following these tips, you can generate leads and grow your freelance business. So get out there and start networking, marketing, and cold-calling today.

A Bonus Tip for Freelancers from Brandon:

Quick tip for my fellow #freelancers on @LinkedIn

Potential leads searching for you may not be able to view your contact info if they aren’t a connection (depending on your settings).

You can add your email to your banner to help them find your contact info more easily! pic.twitter.com/EbTu0Tsby0

— Brandon C (@TheContentEng) July 20, 2021

Your Turn

What freelancer work problems have you had?  It happened to me once when a client never paid me, luckily it was not for a lot of money. However, the lesson was worth the money in gold! That’s how freelancers learn the most – by experience.

I’d love to hear about your freelancing experiences in the comments below.

The post Freelancer Work – 7 Most Common Problems To Overcome appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

When your staff makes the change and starts working remotely for whatever reason, you need to make sure that you maintain the same expectations in terms of productivity and efficiency. It’s fair to say that they will face some challenges during their transition as they settle into home working, but it’s your responsibility to help your remote team thrive and stay productive.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might imagine to help your remote staff stay productive, as this guide contains some of the most effective tips and ideas that you can utilize to support your team no matter where they are located.

So, if you’re interested in finding out more to help your remote team thrive, then simply read on.

Make Sure They Have The Right Tools For The Job

First and foremost, it’s absolutely vital that you can ensure your team has the right tools for the job if you want them to stand any chance of thriving while they work remotely, and it’s your responsibility to provide them with the tools that they need. You cannot expect them to buy their own computers and any other devices they might need, as you would never have such a demand for an employee who was working in-house.

So, find a good supplier that you can use to place a bulk order for every member of your team, and be sure that you have full coverage insurance that will pay out the full cost of the device if it breaks for any reason.

It’s important that you can teach your team how to look after and maintain the tools you provide them with too, as it’s all too easy to let them fall into disrepair which can certainly have an effect on productivity.

Don’t forget to show your team how they can keep their computer in full working order as this is a device that is prone to problems – any good computer whizz recommends regular cache cleaning, unwanted file deletion, and a number of other safe practices to keep your remote computers in great shape with no lagging or delays.

Set Goals & Offer Rewards for Your Remote Team to Thrive

Another brilliant step that you can follow to ensure your team can stay as productive as possible while they work from home is to set goals and offer rewards. You need to find a way of motivating your staff to reach their full potential despite their new environment. Not only that but providing them with a sense of direction in terms of what you expect of them.

Goals and rewards fill that gap with ease, as it’s the perfect way to inspire your staff while leading them towards total success! Don’t be afraid to say challenging goals that your team will have to work a little harder to achieve, as long as you can repay this hard work by offering some truly brilliant rewards for their efforts!

Communication for Your Remote Team to Thrive

Communication has never been more important. With employees scattered across towns, cities, or even states, it’s vital to utilize technology to bring people together and facilitate cohesive, collaborative working.

Encourage open communication by organizing frequent group, team, and department meetings.

Then provide access to software that enables people to use live chat, instant messages, and video calls to keep in touch.

With employees scattered across towns, cities, or even states, it’s vital to utilize technology to bring people together and facilitate cohesive, collaborative working. #InspireToThrive
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Technology

Technology is vital for opening up channels of communication.  But tech can also help to boost efficiency and streamline operations while employees are working remotely.

Look for investments that could help your business to flourish and move forward, such as industry-specific software and automated technology that eliminates time-consuming processes.

Carry out a tech audit, and use feedback from employees and customers to see how you could use technology to optimize performance. You can also monitor what your competitors are doing via tech to help your remote team thrive.

Carry out a tech audit, use feedback from employees and customers to see how you could use technology to optimize performance. #tech #workingfromhome
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Socialization

Ordinarily, employees would chat during the day, discussing everything from the latest TV series that has got everyone talking to the weekend’s sports results. As an employer, it’s beneficial to try and replace those water cooler chats. Hence, try to inject a bit of fun and enjoyment into the working day.

Plan virtual hangouts, catch up on movies and series you’ve watched, or do a quiz on a Friday afternoon. You can stream all sorts of content these days and modern technology makes it easy to catch up.

Not only that but, regularly check-in with colleagues and ensure that people benefit from the interaction. They can interact even though they’re not seeing coworkers face-to-face.

Socialization can boost wellbeing and morale, especially at a time when some people may be struggling to stay positive.

As an employer, it’s beneficial to try and replace those water cooler chats. Hence, try to inject a bit of fun and enjoyment into the working day. #workingremote
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Flexibility To Ensure Your Remote Team Thrives

One of the most significant benefits of remote working for employees is the scope to enjoy greater flexibility. Many employees are used to signing in and clocking off at a specific time but this doesn’t always provide a healthy work-life balance.

Being at home often affords people more time because you can cut out your commute. You’re able to start work earlier or finish later depending on your schedule.

As an employer, it’s beneficial to try and actively promote flexible working hours to enable your employees to strike a better balance.

Some people may want to begin the working day early and finish at 4 pm. They may have to do the school run or go to an exercise class, for example.

Others may want to start and finish later so that they can fit in other commitments earlier in the day. If you establish core hours, your employees can choose how to plan the rest of the day.

As an employer, it’s beneficial to try and actively promote flexible working hours to enable your employees to strike a better balance. #workingfromhome
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In Conclusion

Remote working has been thrust upon many employers and employees. There are challenges but there are also advantages.

If you run a business and you’re on a mission to make remote teams working a success, take these tips on board. Learn to be flexible yourself and with your help.

It will make a big difference for your business today and tomorrow!

Your Turn on Having Your Remote Team Thrive Today

What other tips would you use to make your remote team thrive today and beyond?

I’d love to know more in the comments below!

The post 6 Tips To Help Your Remote Team Thrive & Stay Productive appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

For entrepreneurs who are experiencing difficulty growing their businesses, there is hope. Yes, it is challenging. But what is the alternative? a life-draining 9 to 5 job? Definitely not. Okay, so perhaps you long for the security of a consistent paycheck. But would that come at what psychological or emotional cost? The truth? If you put in the effort, relax your mind, and just take a fresh look at things, you can easily discover strategies to grow your business and make more money quickly with a successful online business.

All things considered, now is a prime time to be starting or working on improving your online business and making it a success. Here are some tips for you:

Establish a Mailing List for Your Online Business

One of the best and most effective ways to grow a successful online business quickly is by building an email list. That unequivocally shows that you need a lead magnet. Why would anyone else sign up for your mailing list?

When using a lead magnet, a sales funnel is further necessary. You will want to know how people get to your landing pages and make a purchase.

Advisory Services Could Be Required

Stop wasting too much time and energy attempting to decipher and organize your business analytics. Make your data work for you instead. Even if you have well-structured, high-quality, documented data streams, you still need a team of data experts to manually evaluate them and turn them into usable papers that your team can use in order for them to be beneficial to your business goals.

The rising need for immediate, real-time analytics information seems impossible to meet when your comptroller, human resources manager, logistics manager, and sales vice president each have different needs.

Data may unlock fresh potential for any business when utilized properly. What transpires, though, if your staff is unable to access or interpret it? Only when technological expertise can leverage your data to better your business and profit is it considered worthwhile.

Look to use a data analytics consulting company for your business.

Use a System to Handle Your Customer Relationships

Tracking sales transactions manually is difficult. Nobody desires to do that. As the company grows, it becomes overly demanding. For simple scaling, use a customer management system.

There are numerous alternatives. But a lot depends on the kind of work you do and who you hire to help you with a customer management system.

Look At The Competition

If you actually want to reach the largest potential audience with your service, you must research the competitors before entering the market. Look for the commercials that have been airing the longest and attempt to replicate them.

This is the quickest way to scale any business. If it has proven effective for your competitors, it will probably work for you as well.

Discover New Opportunities For Your Successful Online Business

Analyze the potential of a new business by better understanding your target market. Know everything, including your immediate competitors, distribution channels, and how to analyze international markets and other potential industries.

You can immediately pursue hundreds of new choices with the correct amount of investigation. Learn what the demographics are of your clientele. Use Google analytics and questionnaires to learn more about your audience and customers.

Fine Tune Your Online Business Services

Every facet of your business that your customer deals with – the product or service, price points has to be fine-tuned.

Even your social media platforms, customer service, delivery times, and any other direct interaction will build their perception of your business in their minds.

Naturally, fine-tuning and always looking to improve these aspects will put you a step ahead of your competitors. Start looking into small details that you can improve.

These may include working on optimizing a quick, efficient and affordable delivery. People today want everything fast including products ordered online.

Working with a local courier service, for example, could offer you a more personal, focused, and cost-effective service.

Work on Local Collaborations

Sticking with the theme of staying local. Moreover, finding ways in which to collaborate with local brands is going to boost your business in many different ways.

The ‘support local’ movement has blown up since the pandemic started and many people are looking to make switches over to products and services in their immediate vicinity.

This happened to benefit their budget and contribute to the community. Working with other local companies (online or otherwise) to bring your community a new collaborative product, service, or campaign.

This way will offer a boost to both parties and bring new customers to your door.

A 1. Collaboration allows you to do things that are beyond your reach. @GrowMap #vcbuzz We can’t be available everywhere, we can’t do everything alone – but if we Collab, we can leverage other people’s network and skills to achieve ends. @vcbuzz

— Uttoran Sen (@uttoransen) August 9, 2022

Another option is a mutual promotion between two companies that align well with one another, without being in direct competition.

For example, within the wellness space, companies produce healthy food products. As well as companies that make gym attire or equipment like yoga mats could offer one another great exposure. They could do promotions without interfering with one another’s client bases.

Encouraging customers to make a healthy lifestyle shift by investing in products from both companies. This way it can boost sales in both departments, creating a win-win situation for everyone involved.

They could do promotions without interfering with one another’s client bases. #collaboration
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Improve Your Website for Your Online Business

Since you are in the business of being online you must be sure your website is up to date. Too many businesses ignore this one along the way!

Keep your themes and pages simple. Don’t overcrowd them and do not have pop-ups flaring up everywhere to annoy your clients.

Next, make sure all your offers are current and your blog posts updated from time to time. Finally, be sure the website speed is fast and make it easy for people to order from your online business.

Since you are in the business of being online you must be sure your website is up to date. #onlinebusiness
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Use Social-Media Well 

Particularly as a successful online business, your online presence is one of the most important parts of your business. Take advantage of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and even the ever-growing TikTok or MeWe to reach your own niche audience.

Reaching them in the way they want to be reached, is crucial to being seen and heard.

However, simply using the platforms isn’t going to be enough. With all the tools at our disposal (oftentimes free), there’s no excuse to not have a well-managed, beautifully designed, and active social media page. That page then should be able to continuously draw your customers towards your business.

Spend some time looking into your audience. Learn what appeals to them and how you can best reach them on social media.

Reach them in the way they want to be reached, is crucial in being seen and heard. #socialmediamarketing
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Your Online Business Today

How are you doing with your online business this year? What other tips would you add to make it more successful? I’d love to know more in the comments below!

The post Scale Your Successful Online Business With These Tips appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Looking for the best social media techniques to boost your presence? You’ve come to the right spot. Using the right social media marketing techniques is more important than ever before with all the competition and algorithm changes out there.

The number of active social media users has crossed 4.62 billion already and the number is steadily growing.

Image via We Are Social

A large part of this user base could also be your target audience and you can reach out to them and get them to become your customers.

Numerous brands are already using various social media platforms and marketing tactics to convert social media users into customers.

But which techniques are actually effective in engaging social media users?

Let’s find out.

Social Media Techniques That Will Take Your Sales Through the Roof

Here are 5 emerging social media techniques that you should implement this year to grow your business.

1. Leverage Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the most useful social media techniques you should be leveraging. Figure this — China’s top influencers, Li Jiaqi and Viya, once sold goods worth $3 billion in just one day.

Your influencer may not bring in such huge sales. But these numbers show the potential that influencer marketing holds.

It can not only boost sales but also build brand awareness and trust. It’s perhaps due to these reasons that it was valued at $13.8 billion in 2021.

Image via Statista

Influencer marketing is effective because influencers have built a rapport with their followers. When they recommend a product, the audience trusts their judgment and knows the product is worth trying. Additionally, it’s better than the brand marketing itself.

However, for best results, ensure:

• The influencer’s vision and audience match your own.
• They have a strong engagement rate. Keep in mind that micro-influencers have a higher engagement rate than macro-influencers. They also charge less.
• Their niche and content are relevant to your brand
• The influencer’s values align with yours

Although influencers are most common for marketing on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat are also great options.

2. Use Social Media Ads

Organic social media techniques like posting regularly may be cost-effective, but using paid social media ads is sure to expand your reach, engagement, and sales.

Through them, you can get your brand in front of a larger audience without having to put too much effort into consistent content creation and promotion.

A major advantage of social media ads is that most platforms have strong targeting capabilities.

They use interests, past behavior, and demographic data to target users. So, you can choose the audience that will see your ads, leading to better results.

Social media advertising also provides plenty of opportunities to get creative. You can showcase your brand and products using:

• Image ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Stories ads
• Collection ads

It’s also possible to connect your lead generation platform with social media platforms to collect information about all the leads generated.

Here is an example of a video ad by SamCart on Facebook.

Image via Facebook

A good idea here is to promote those posts that have performed well organically. These posts are more likely to perform well as ads too.

And the best part?

You can track the performance of your ads to improve on what’s working and cut down on the ads that don’t bring in results.

3. Incorporate Social Commerce

Social commerce involves selling your products directly on a social media platform.

A customer can find a product suitable for their needs and check out successfully without even leaving the platform. That makes it one of the best techniques for driving sales through social media.

You don’t have to worry about losing their attention in between finding the product on your website, adding it to the shopping cart, and providing their payment details.

The Instagram Shopping feature is the perfect example of social commerce. Numerous brands like We Wore What Shop are using it.

Image via Instagram

4. Be a Participant, Don’t Just Post

Scheduling your posts for a month and leaving it at that will not help your social media strategy. You need to connect with your audience — create a community.

Use social media tools to keep track of who’s engaging with your posts and engage back with likes and responses.

Responding to comments and messages encourages other people to comment on your post and react to your responses, which could translate into more engagement and followers.

It’s, however, important to ensure that you respond to both positive and negative comments. If a customer complains about a delay in shipping, for instance, own up to the mistake and rectify it by switching to a more reliable dropshipping agent.

Additionally, you shouldn’t stick to text for the sake of engaging with your audience. Instead, you can use images, videos, polls, live streams, or real-time Q&A sessions. Doing this can help in improving your engagement rate and build a strong connection with your audience.

5. Leverage Brand Advocates

In addition to influencers, customers will always trust a recommendation from a person like themselves.

Brand advocates are third-party cheerleaders, who can be customers, employees, or even fans of your brand. These will help boost your best social media marketing techniques over the top.

When these brand advocates talk about your products or services on their social media channels, their followers will notice your brand. Their comments about your brand will also be authentic as they’re coming from a third party.

When done well, brand advocacy is one of the social media techniques that can lead to:

• Higher conversions
• A more positive brand sentiment
• A large share of voice for your brand in your niche

And how do you get brand ambassadors?

You can leverage the power of peer-to-peer recommendation by turning your existing customers into brand advocates using an affiliate program. Similarly, you can incentivize them to create content around your brand and give them a shoutout on social media too.

By offering an incentive, you encourage them to make favorable posts about your products and services on their social media accounts.

Ready to Use These Social Media Techniques?

These tactics can go a long way in helping you grow your business on social media. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

To ensure that these tactics are successful, you need to focus on creating high-quality content that attracts an audience to your brand.

Which other social media techniques have worked exceptionally well for your business? Share in the comments below.

The post 5 Emerging Social Media Techniques Crucial for Your Business appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Are you looking for ways to make your customer service on Twitter faster and more effective for your business? If so, there are a few key things you can do to make sure your clients are getting the help they need. Have you ever been frustrated with a service or a product and tweeted about it?

Years ago I lost my internet service the other week and was left on hold and told to go online for it – really? A little hard to do without an internet connection. (Thank goodness for my Droid) I was able to get someone on the phone after being on hold and they had to call me back on my cell which I missed as the volume was low.  Then, I tweeted from my Droid and within seconds I had someone who responded and the problems was fixed in minutes.

NOW that is great Customer Service on Twitter by businesses.

Customer Service on Twitter Examples

I saved some examples back in 2013 when I was amazed at the speed of customer service I had received on Twitter while using social media.

@Lisapatb Hi Lisa, I can assist you with your internet. What problems are you having? -Renee

— Cox Customer Care (@CoxHelp) December 7, 2013

More Great Examples

As you can see below I had other shopping issues and they too were resolved via Twitter rather quickly. It is so much easier than searching for a number and being on hold for hours. The customer experience on Twitter was quicker and resolved easily.

However, it is even slower sending an email, and awaiting a reply that can take up to 24 hours or even more. Who has time for that today, especially when you need your coffee?

@Lisapatb the main difference is the MINI Plus brewer doesn’t have a water reservoir. Compare them here: http://t.co/CNHNy5IxIC

— Keurig (@Keurig) December 8, 2013

@Lisapatb Great! Register your Keurig brewer online http://t.co/24kjubLJse to qualify for our special K-Cup pack offer.

— Keurig (@Keurig) December 8, 2013

@Lisapatb We want to help you out with your order! Please give us a call at 800.591.3869 and provide reference number 3-916355021. Thank you

— AskTarget (@AskTarget) December 13, 2013

What does this mean to you as a small business owner?  You better be ready to reply to tweets and provide customer service the Twitter Way!  Since you can’t be online 24/7 – You do need to sleep too.

Thankfully there are some ways to achieve this great customer service on the  Twitter social media network. (You could also apply these tips to other social media networks for customer service.)

Here Are 6 Tips To Improve Customer Service On Twitter:

1. Set Up Notifications

Have notifications either on your mobile phone or sent to an email you use frequently. Wherever you spend the most time is where your notifications should go to.

That way you can respond quickly to any questions or concerns. The faster you can reply, the happier your customers will be.

2. Make a Dedicated Customer Service Account

Make sure you have a dedicated customer service account. This will ensure that your customer service team can quickly and easily respond to questions and concerns. Furthermore, they may be able to build up communications with your clients.

Use your brand Twitter handle for this and assign someone in charge of it.

3. Listen to Brand Mentions

Use a tool like Brand24 that will automatically let you know when your brand is mentioned on Twitter. Tools like that will help you respond quickly before your customers even ask for your help. You could incorporate hashtags into your listening tool to monitor those for your brand as well as your brand name on various social media channels.

However, you can also use the listening tools like this to check on your competitors as well on the social network. If they are not receiving the care they need you could connect with them on Twitter.

Not only that but you may find influencers in your niche to build your brand on social media.

Tools like that will help you respond quickly before your customers even ask for your help. #listeningtools
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4. Hire Someone or a Build a Team

If your business has grown and you can hire someone to monitor your social channels by all means do it.  Having a team in place to monitor 24/7 is a great way for a business to respond quickly on any brand social media channel.

You would need at least 3 people to be available 24 hours in a day to monitor your account. (They could be on-call as you may not receive anything for a days at a time.)

5. Learn When To Go Offline to Complete

As you saw in the example above with the coffee maker, they game me a phone number to complete the actions needed. Other times I have received a phone call from a business to finish the conversation vs. direct messages on the Twitter network.

Using this method of customer service on Twitter, you strengthen the relationships with your clients and beef up your marketing strategy.

6. Build Twitter Lists

Once you have received these inquires on the Twitter social network, start to build a Twitter list to keep track of your target audience. Twitter lists are a great way to stay organized on the social network.

Not only that but you can look at that Twitter feed vs. your home feed to stay more focused on what your customers are doing on this social network.

Your Turn

Have you used Twitter or other social media sites to resolve issues with a company? Since 2013 I have also had great success with airlines and other businesses with customer service on Twitter. It has always been faster and much more effective method than trying to reach brands endlessly via email or a phone call.

And if you have used Twitter for customer service – did you find great customer service on Twitter with other brands? Are you using for your brand today? I’d love to hear more about in the comments below.

The post Customer Service On Twitter – How To Make It Fast & Effective appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

These days, nearly everyone has at least one social media account, with many people having multiple. There are many uses of social media, with some simply using it as a way to connect with their loved ones. Or, others view social media as a way to increase their business profitability. However, with so many social media profiles, businesses and influencers need to spend more time than ever making sure that their social media profiles stand out from the crowd. It is not easy to manage social media today. Here are 5 tips to make your social media stand out.

Get Creative with Social Media Posts

Social media can feel quite limiting, with many platforms having restrictions. For example, how many photos you can post in a single post, or how long your videos should be.

But if you let yourself think outside the box, the possibilities of creating an amazing social media profile are endless. You simply need to get creative with what you post and how you post it.

If you’re bored of your social media, your followers likely are as well, so switch things up with creative posts like this animation maker online: create awesome videos now … You might just be surprised at what a difference it can make.

Another option is linkless posts and posts with text only that tell a story like Tweetstorms.

Engage with Your Followers

Social media is a two-way street. If someone is consistently supporting your social media by sharing your posts or commenting on your photos, the odds are that they will expect some type of gratitude in return. That gratitude means liking their comment or responding to it.

Many people assume that running a successful social media page is as simple as posting a pretty picture online, but if you never spend any time engaging with your audience, your social media will fade away into all the others.

If you are a business, responding and engaging to comments and tags on your post is even more essential, as it is a way of customer connection.

Be Unique to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

As mentioned, there are millions of social media profiles that already exist, with more being created every day.

So, you might not be able to create an entirely unique social media profile. But you should still try to incorporate some unique elements to your profile, such as using unique filters, posting funny captions, or looking at things from a different perspective.

It can feel like a risk to do this, but the pay-off is usually worth it.

Be True to Yourself

This goes hand-in-hand with being unique. We often read about what’s important when it comes to social media. There is more emphasis on the aesthetic of it all, or having a cohesive feed.

But if that’s not your style, that’s okay! Your audience will be able to notice if you are simply a sheep following trends, and they will likely appreciate you being authentic by posting what you want.

Of course, there are still certain things to keep in mind about what you should post, especially on platforms like a business Instagram account. However, your social media should be an accurate representation of you or your business.

Best of 5 Social Media Tips – Post Consistently

One thing that has been reiterated time and time again is that for your social media to succeed, you need to post consistently.

This will also allow your profiles to stand out because consistent posting proves to your audience that you are passionate about your social media and willing to put in the time and effort needed to make it a success.

Once again, however, there are no strict rules. You should think about what consistency means for you, and about what’s realistic. Some people may be able to post twice a day, while others can only post once a week. In the end, as long as you are consistently posting high-quality content, you will eventually attract the right audience.

If you struggle with posting consistently, setting reminders in Outlook helps you form the habit.

—> Use A Social Media Scheduling Tool

There are many different social media scheduling tools like MissingLttr or Agorapulse to name a few that you can try for FREE before committing to them with a paid program. Compare 3 of these tools here!

In Conclusion of Making Your Social Media Stand Out With 5 Tips

With so many social media platforms and profiles out there, getting yours to stand out from the crowd can feel like an impossible mission.

But it doesn’t have to be as hard as people often make it out to be. You need to be patient, as your social media account likely won’t grow overnight. However, if you stick to the social media tips mentioned in this post, you will see success over time. Which tip do you like the best? What would you add to the list?

The post A Guide to Making Your Social Media Stand Out: 5 Tips in 2022 appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Social media has been beneficial for both businesses and individual users. For businesses, these platforms allow for easy access to a wide range of potential clients. Regardless of your type of business, you would create effective marketing strategies, even for marketing your rental property.

However, renting out properties is tough on the internet because making such an investment isn’t done on impulse. Fortunately, with the right strategies, you can create a robust social media marketing strategy that can bring you your desired results.

Here Are 5 Marketing Strategies for Your Rental Property on Social Media

Consider Video Marketing

Social media has evolved greatly over the years, incorporating more features such as sound and video. Recent research shows that over 90% of internet users prefer to interact with videos when learning about a product or service.

Statistics also show that using videos in your marketing strategy increases sales by 76%. Videos also increase support queries from interested individuals by 76%. If you want to be more impactful with your real estate business on social media, using videos is a great step.

Videos allow you to show relevant elements within and around your properties, so keep this in mind. From furnishing to smart home settings and even fob systems, videos give potential customers a vivid picture of what to expect.

You can consider using video formats such as Instagram reels, Facebook and Instagram live videos, Snapchat story updates, and the use of YouTube.

Optimize Your Social Media Profile

Another thing to consider is creating an informative and attractive profile. While this might sound obvious to many, the truth is several businesses overlook their profiles, especially uploading vital information such as their phone numbers or office locations.

When optimizing your social media, be sure to include essential information like your office address, contact details, website URL, and a profile photo.

Show Off

Customers are drawn to reviews, especially positive reviews. In general, several home buyers and business investors admit they’re more likely to invest in real estate businesses with excellent online reviews.

Thanks to social media, the truth about how good or bad your business is, is made known to the entire world. You must use reviews to your advantage.

There are easy ways to display customer reviews, including sharing testimonies on Instagram. You can also retweet your company’s profile, and fill the Facebook review tab with all your 5-star reviews.

Join Local Online Communities To Market Your Rental Property

In addition to showcasing your worth in the form of video input and reviews, your real estate business can market itself by participating in local online communities. A great platform for this is Facebook Groups. With over a billion users, Facebook is a platform bound to provide you with several ideal customers.

In addition, you can also sign your company up with real estate-specific groups. These groups enable potential customers to easily locate you and your marketing of rental properties.

You could also find groups like that over on MeWe, Gab, and other alternative social media networks today as well.

Perfect Posts for Marketing Your Rental Properties

Be sure to use photos in your social media posts when marketing your rentals. People love to see pictures and you don’t want to be driving people around to view them. Include outside and inside photographs of the property.

If potential renters see what the place looks like first and like it, they are more likely to rent it. Otherwise, you will have a lot of tire kickers and wasted time.

Your Turn on Marketing Rental Properties on Social Media

When marketing on social media, ensure that every strategy implemented focuses on your company goals and objectives. As well as providing value to your target audience.

I’d love to hear from you if you used social media to market your rental properties. Or if you found a rental property via social media, please drop a comment below.

The post 5 Tips For Marketing Your Rental Property On Social Media appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Before the pandemic, it was rare for people to work at home. Fast forward to 2022 in a post-pandemic world and the world of employment looks very different. Nowadays, millions of employees have working from home jobs on a permanent basis. Sixteen percent of companies across the globe now work 100% remotely, and this number is bound to increase over the next few years.

The public opinion on permanently working from home is divided. Some people love it and some people hate it.

Many employers chose to return their employees to the office after two years of working remotely during the worst part of the pandemic. Others decided to continue with remote working on a full-time or part-time basis.

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to whether working from home is good or bad. It depends on your personal preferences or your employer’s needs, and there are advantages and disadvantages to consider.

Let’s take a look at the main benefits and drawbacks of working from home in the modern day.

What Are the Benefits of Working From Home?

Whether you’re an employer or employee, you might wonder whether working from home will affect your motivation or success in the workplace. Despite remote working presenting some challenges, there are also several advantages to working from home yourself or allowing your employees to do so.

Here are some of the main benefits of working remotely.

Better Work-Life Balance

A record number of employees are now searching for jobs that allow them to have a great work-life balance. People want flexibility and they want more control over their schedules, and working from home provides them with the flexibility that they want.

Remote working enables you and your employees (if you have them) to start and finish the work day whenever is most practical. Even if you still need to work to a relatively strict schedule, working from home still provides a little more flexibility than in-office working doors.

Because of the reduced travel time, you have more time to get a morning workout in or enjoy a sit-down breakfast with your family before you start work. You have much more freedom to arrange the things that you enjoy around your work life.

Improved Health and Well-Being

Establishing a great work-life balance through remote working can boost your physical and mental well-being in a number of ways.

Having more control over your schedule empowers you and makes you feel more confident in your work. You will also feel more relaxed knowing that you have a great level of flexibility in your schedule. This can have positive effects on your mental health, may reduce your work-related stress, and increase your motivation.

You can also schedule your workouts and social activities around your work life more easily when your job is remote. As a result, you will find it easier to maintain a great level of physical fitness and thriving social life.

Both health and social life have beneficial effects on your physical and mental well-being.

Increased Productivity with Working From Home Jobs

The empowerment that you feel when you have control over your schedule and are able to organize your life outside of your employment feeds into your productivity and engagement at work. As long as you’ve got the best WFH furniture, you’ll be able to concentrate more easily and focus on your tasks.

Many studies show that remote workers are usually more productive, more engaged, and happier. The increased flexibility and lower work-related stress encourage employees to be more productive during the workday.

If you are a business owner and you have recently transitioned into full-time remote working arrangements with your employees, you may also notice an increase in employee retention rates. Happy employees that have flexible remote working roles are less likely to search elsewhere for work.

When you show your employees that you genuinely care about their health and well-being, you can build a trusting and loyal relationship with them, and this is important for any employer to consider.

What Are the Drawbacks of Working From Home Jobs?

It’s clear to see that remote working provides a range of benefits, but it also has a few drawbacks. Whether you’re an employee or employer, these drawbacks are worth keeping in mind when you’re considering switching to a remote working arrangement.

Here are the potential disadvantages of working from home.

Siloing

Even with the many communication platforms that are now available,  working from home still presents a risk of siloing. When you are working in a different location from your colleagues, you may feel isolated and unsupported.

You can no longer get up and speak to your colleague sitting next to you in the office. Instead, you need to communicate your concerns through an online platform and wait for a response. This can cause you to feel worried, alone, and less motivated to work. You may also find yourself sitting for long hours without getting up to stretch.

Lack of Company Culture

As a business owner, allowing your employees to work remotely may impact company culture. It’s much harder to establish a strong sense of teamwork when you don’t have a central location to bring your staff together.

A lack of company culture can negatively impact your engagement and productivity as an employee. If you’re an employer, you need to consider how to manage your remote workers and maintain your existing company culture and avoid any detrimental effects on your business’s success.

If your employees are expressing interest in remote working but you’re about its potential negative impacts, you could try a hybrid model, where they work from home on a part-time basis.

This arrangement may help to maintain a great company culture while also catering to your team’s wishes.

Distractions Working at Home

It’s no surprise that there are more distractions at home than in the workplace. Kids, pets, housemates, and noisy neighbors can interrupt your workflow and make it difficult to concentrate on your tasks.

In some cases, it’s almost impossible to completely eliminate every destruction. Sometimes, you need to work around the distractions, which can make your work life very stressful and reduce productivity.

Your Turn

How do you like working from home?  Do you feel isolated or do you love the flexibility it gives your life? I’d love to hear more in the comments below.

The post Working From Home Jobs: Benefits and Drawbacks To Consider appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

A reader the other day asked about Pinterest. A blogger named Lauren from ThinkSpin wanted to learn more about how to use Pinterest many years ago. She wanted to know what was the best day to post on Pinterest to increase her reach there. She wanted to pin in at the right time, who could blame her? There are over 433 million active users today on this social platform.

Saturdays are known to be the day to pin it over at the popular social media site, Pinterest. The folks at the Buffer app also concluded that Saturday was the best day to increase your reach on Pinterest.

They concluded:

• Prime Day: Saturday.
• Best time to pin – 8 pm to midnight of any day is the best time to pin.
• Some other potential best times for the highest traffic: 8 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 6 pm.
• Saturday evenings are the best time to post on Pinterest.

It’s when people have more time to be online leisurely whether looking for new recipes or new do-it-yourself home projects. Pinterest is great for that and more!

Saturday Pins – The Best Day to Post on Pinterest

You can see the stats below here that I opened up one early Sunday morning on this social media platform. There was quite some activity going on from it. I also increased followers by 7 in just the 10-hour time span I had spent – a few minutes here, a few minutes there. Of course, having the mobile app on the run is great for this photo-sharing site.

Why Pin It On Saturdays?

Value – Did you know that a Pinterest Pin is now worth more than a Facebook Like?  I had seen this from the retail sites I had worked on for years. Pinterest was not only bringing more visits but it made actual sales for the website.

Since I no longer work on that website I have spent more time on my own Pinterest for Inspire To Thrive.  It will be interesting to see how the growth will continue to climb in the coming months. You can see the latest stats on the networking site below:

Research = The research shows an increase in volume on Pinterest for Saturdays. However, on my own account today it is not showing Saturday as always the best day. Remember, every niche may be different!

Time – You have to spend some time with Pinterest – but not really a lot of time. That’s another beauty of using this social network over some of the others.

Topics – The best topics include:

• Quotes
• Hair
• Food
• Recipes
• Do It Yourself Projects
• Finance

Does that mean your niche will not do well? Not necessarily. Be creative, quotes can be used for almost any niche.

More Ways to Use Pinterest Effectively

Be There – Use it daily, just 5 minutes a day can make a difference! The Pinterest mobile app is a great and easy way to pin it on the go.

Follow Others – Did you know you can now see your Twitter Followers on Pinterest? It used to be just Facebook but now they show your Twitter friends as well.  If some pins drive you nuts you can unfollow the boards with them. I do that fairly often. Things of no interest I stop following. Or if someone pins 10-20+ pins in a matter of minutes and they look spammy, I unfollow them as well.

Like Pin Others Pins – People are more likely to share your pins if you like, share or comment on their pins. Just remember though – be REAL. Don’t like it for the sake of liking a pin!

Other Times To Use Pinterest – 9 pm in the evening is another popular time to be pinning over at Pinterest.  So spend a few nights a week around 9 and various times on Saturday to see your Pinterest network grow. Check out more great stats on Pinterest via Search Engine Journal. If you haven’t been using Pinterest their stats may make you think again.

The Right Size Images – Pinterest is a visual website. Check out the correct visual sizes via Louise Myer.  1000×1500 is the most optimal size today or any 2:3 ratio for pinning.

Did you also know red, orange, and brown pins get more repins? Colors can make a difference to promote your pins.

Schedule Right on Pinterest

With a business Pinterest account, you can easily schedule your pins now! You can have up to 100 pins scheduled out. Great for pinning on Saturdays when you are out and about!

It’s easy, just be sure to click the publish at a later date button on your Pinterest business account.

You can have up to 100 pins scheduled out. Great for pinning on Saturdays when you are out and about! @pinterest
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Video Pins Rock It

Video content pins are hot today. These types of pins can tell a story about your brand or product. Like YouTube, you will need a cover image to make them pop out on Pinterest.

Furthermore, you will need a Pinterest business account to create video Pins on your desktop. If you’re an advertiser, you can create video Pins on your mobile device, too. Alternatively, if you do not have a Pinterest business account and you’re not an advertiser, you can create Idea Pins that can feature video clips.

Use An App for Pinterest

If you want to get the most out of Pinterest, consider using an app like TailWind. This app can help you analyze your activity and figure out what sort of content is most popular with your audience.

Additionally, it can help you schedule your pins so that they go live at the best times. Using an app like this can help you make the most of Pinterest and ensure that your content is seen by as many people as possible.

See why you should pin today and how the TailwindApp can help you. You can use their FREE app for some basic info or upgrade to their Pro account from $29 to $99 per month. I used to use it all the time but really needed to up my Pro account and decided not to use it after several years. It did work well for quite some time.

There, you have to earn seeds by liking others to get points to schedule your pins at no cost. Or you may purchase seeds if you prefer. (Similar to Viral Content Bee.) 

Engage and Have Fun As You Pin Along!

Don’t forget to have fun along the way pinning. The more you enjoy Pinterest the more time you will spend and see the benefits along with the fun. It’s about being visual, engaging, and sharing along the way. No one likes someone who only pins their own stuff just like on Facebook or Twitter when people share only their content and do not share anyone else’s content.

Do you plan on pinning it more in 2022?

Have you had success with this visual social network? I’d love to hear about it from you in the comments below.

The post Best Day To Post On Pinterest – Pin It On Saturdays appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Do you know what really makes social proof-proof? Today the social proof principle is no longer only about how many followers you may have on the various social networks. For this reason, social proof today is much more than having many followers. Let’s look at the definition of social proof as well.

Having more followers may be useful on a social network but it’s not proof of anything anymore today. Did you know Social proof is also known as Informational Social Influence?

Social influence is when people can influence other people on social media.

What Is the Definition of the Social Proof Principle?

Social proof is a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in an attempt to undertake behavior in a given situation. The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: Science and Practice, and the concept is also known as informational social influence – Wikipedia

This proof is an effect caused by people on other people. This makes them do something. It could be reading a post, watching a video, signing up for email, or buying a product.

Therefore, there is no doubt this proof causes them to do something when being influenced!

How Can You Prove Your Social Proof Today?

Images – Images speak volumes when it comes to proving something. People are generally visual and they love to see how and why. It’s the old saying “Pictures paint a thousand words”. Ryan Biddulph does this well on his Blogging from Paradise blog today.

Testimonials – People rely on testimonials all the time before making purchases today both online and offline. Do you remember the last time you asked a friend for a recommendation for something? We do it all the time. According to David Melamed “The Function of a Testimonial is to Assure People They Won’t Look Like A Fool By Trusting You. “ People defend their decision to trust you with the use of testimonials. They want to know others trusted you and that it worked out well for them.

Engagement – Engagement rates are key to having influence and lead to social proof. People love buying from those they trust and know. What better way than to engage with them! Engagement rates can be on social networks or right on your blog posts.

Engagements include likes, comments, replies, and shares on social networks or blog posts. (Reach is the percentage of people that actually see the posts). Your engagement rate is calculating what percentage of people who saw the post engaged with it.

Social Shares – People love landing on a page or blog post when there are a lot of social shares. It gives the impression of perceived value.

Know What Others Are Saying About You

Use a social listening tool like Brand24 so you can stay on top of what others are saying about you. There have been several times I’ve been mentioned on posts and on social media that I was not aware of.

Therefore, engage in a post that you are mentioned in. It’s a great way to display that mention or citation on your website or on your social profiles.

Create Google alerts to see if there are other mentions on the web. (But Google Alerts do NOT show you social mentions.) It’s important today to stay on top of these things as one can’t be everywhere 24/7. Everywhere online has gotten much larger in the past few years.

Show Off Your Social Proof – Social Proof Examples

Neal Scheffer does this the best!  He does it on all of his social networks.  You can see how he adds his authority to his bio. And he often changes it as he gains more authority. The more places are featured, the more highlights can be shown on his bio.

Very smart! Likewise, think about those places that you have been featured on or mentioned. Then add them to your social profiles or about page for social proof.

You can’t share your social proof if you don’t know you have any. Remember it’s important to know what others are saying about you on social media and elsewhere.

Read what others have to say. Please Retweet your favorites right from here below!

Exactly! Social proof inspires trust, and trust is everything.

— Jennifer Bridges (@JenBridgesRD) July 26, 2022

Social proof is proof of concept. Positive 3rd party, customer or celebrity reviews wield powerful influence to drive purchase behavior.

— Rebekah Radice (@RebekahRadice) June 4, 2017

a must for all businesses. Seeing others experiences validates, creates desire (they have it, I want it) and reduces friction ???

— Mike Kawula ??? (@MikeKawula) June 4, 2017

Lisa, authenticity with who you are. Valid experience, education & other credentials that support your social presence. Provide real proof!

— Jeff Sheehan (@jeffsheehan) June 4, 2017

SP is what people say about you

— Donna Merrill (@donna_tribe) June 5, 2017

What Social Proof Can Do For You

Adds Engagement – By having some social proof (remember the definition of social proof?) you may see more engagement on the social networks and on your blog or website. People like to engage with others that are engaging. Makes sense right? It’s what I refer to as the “snowball effect” – the more social proof you have the more engagement you will get.

People Will Make Purchases – Indeed they will also make purchases from you if you can prove that an item or service will make their lives better in some way. They may read a testimonial about you or your services or products. People want to know others are buying or using your products or services.

Grow Your Audience More – Social proof will snowball once you begin to have traction with it. People love to engage with others who engage with them. No one wants to engage with someone who does not engage back. Be engaging everywhere and you will see the difference!

How To Get Your Social Proof

Of course, you may be thinking “I don’t have any social proof yet, not little ole me.”  It will take time but you can surely generate some social proof over time. No one starts out blogging or content marketing with instant social proof. (Not even Neal Schaffer, sorry Neal!).

Ask for Reviews – People don’t mind giving reviews or testimonials if you have done some great work for them. You can review Inspire To Thrive here.

Give Testimonials – Give others proof first! Don’t wait for others to give you one. Be genuine, don’t just give them for giving them. Give testimonials or reviews to your mentors.

Engage, Engage and Engage – I can’t say that one enough. Answer people’s questions on social networks and on your blog. Respond to every comment. Help people with their problems and questions.

Keep your eyes and ears open – Listen on the web. Use a social listening tool to know what others are saying about you or your brand online.

Retweet Others and Share on Other Social Networks – People love when you share their content. Hence, it will help to get their share counts up too.

Respond to every comment. Help people with their problems and questions. #socialmedia
Click To Tweet

Over To You

I’d love to know more in the comments below on what you think the social proof principle is!

Does it really exist and do we need it? Furthermore, how do you obtain it? What is your definition of the social proof principle?

The post What Is Social Proof Principle and Do You Really Need It? appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Email marketing is a massive part of any online business. It can increase brand awareness, drive sales, and more. This blog post will discuss some of the most popular email marketing trends to help your business succeed!

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is sending commercial messages, typically to a group of people, using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer is considered email marketing.

However, the term is usually used to refer to:

• Sending emails with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers
• Sending emails with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately
• Adding advertisements to emails sent by other companies to their customers. Email marketing can be done to either sold lists or a current customer database

Broadly, the term is usually used to send email messages to enhance a merchant’s relationship with its current or previous customers, encourage customer loyalty and repeat business, acquire new customers, or convince existing customers to purchase something immediately.

11 Evergreen Email Marketing Trends

1. Email Marketing Templates Are Speeding the Process of Creating Marketing Emails

Email Marketing Templates provide a quick and easy way to create professional-looking emails tailored to your target audience. And with so many Email Marketing Template options available, it’s easy to find one that fits your needs.

Whether you’re looking for a simple or more complex design, there’s an email marketing template out there that’s perfect for you, and you don’t need to create it from scratch. For example, if you are launching a product, you can get many product launch email templates from websites like Flodesk.

2. Videos and GIFs are Becoming Popular

In recent years, we’ve seen a shift from textual content to more visual content, such as images and videos. And now, GIFs are becoming increasingly popular in email marketing campaigns.

GIFs are short, looping videos that can display a product in action, show a brand’s personality, or add fun to an otherwise dull email. They’re easy to consume and can be auto-played on many devices, making them an ideal email marketing format.

One downside of using GIFs in email marketing is that they can slow down the loading time of an email, so it’s essential to keep them small in size. Additionally, some email clients don’t support GIFs, so they may not appear correctly to all readers.

Nonetheless, Email Marketing Trends experts believe that the benefits of using GIFs outweigh the drawbacks, and we expect to see more and more brands using this format in their campaigns.

3. Machine Learning Is Being Used to Automate Emails

With the help of machine learning, businesses are now able to automate their email marketing campaigns, making the process more efficient and effective. Machine learning algorithms analyze customer data and identify patterns that can be used to trigger automated emails.

For example, if a customer abandonment pattern is detected, an automated email can be sent out reminding the customer of your product and offering a discount. This helps ensure that potential customers are reached timely, increasing the chances of conversion.

Email automation also helps to free up time for businesses, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their marketing strategy. As machine learning continues to evolve, we expect to see even more innovative applications in email marketing.

4. Chatbots Are Becoming Popular in Email Marketing

Did you know chatbots are becoming increasingly popular? Chatbots are computer programs that simulate human conversation. They can automate various tasks, including customer service and marketing.

Email Marketing is no different. Chatbots are now used to personalize Email Marketing messages, answer customer questions, and even provide customer support. In addition, Chatbots help segment the email marketing list so you can send more targeted Email Marketing messages.

5. Responsive Emails are Becoming the Norm

Email marketing is evolving. It’s giving way to more personalized messages. Responsive design is leading the charge. It’s designed to look great on any device, from desktop to mobile. 

That means no more squinting to read tiny text or struggling to click small links. Companies that use responsive design in their email marketing see higher open and click-through rates and lower unsubscribe rates.

So why isn’t everyone using responsive design? Email template builders like MailChimp and Constant Contact make it easy to create responsive emails without coding knowledge. Plus, more and more people are checking their email on their phones, so it’s essential to have a mobile-friendly message.

If you’re not using responsive design in your email marketing, you’re behind the times. But it’s never too late to start catching up with the latest trends.

Email template builders like MailChimp and Constant Contact make it easy to create responsive emails without coding knowledge. #emailmarketing
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6. Dark Modes are Being Introduced to Emails too

Email marketing is constantly evolving. As more and more people adopt dark mode on their devices, email marketers are starting to follow suit. Introducing a dark mode option for emails can have several benefits.

For one, it can help reduce eye strain, especially for those who spend a lot of time staring at their inboxes. Additionally, the dark mode can also extend battery life on devices with OLED screens.

Finally, the dark mode can also help create a visual unity between an email and its surrounding environment (such as a website or app). As the use of dark mode continues to rise, we can expect more email marketers to take advantage of this trend.

7. Email Marketers are Now Mindful of Time

As email marketers are looking for ways to improve their strategies and stay ahead of the curve. Recently, there has been a shift towards more personalization and engagement, focusing on building strong relationships with subscribers.

However, as the demands on our time continue to increase, there is also a growing awareness of the need to be more mindful of our recipients’ time constraints. Email marketers are now focusing on crafting shorter, more concise messages that can be easily consumed on the go. 

In addition, many are also experimenting with different formats to make their emails more visually appealing and engaging. As a result of these trends, we are seeing a new wave of email marketing that is more effective and efficient.

8. Mobile Optimization is Being Considered Now

Another trend in email marketing is mobile optimization. More and more people are using their smartphones to check their email, so businesses must ensure their messages are being seen on these devices.

There are a few different ways to optimize email for mobile, such as using shorter subject lines and including smaller images. By following these tips, businesses can ensure their messages are being seen and read by the people who matter most.

9. Better Email Security with Email Marketing Trends

Email security is a hot topic these days. With so much sensitive information exchanged via email, it’s more important than ever to make sure your messages are safe from prying eyes. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to improve email security.

• Consider using an email encryption service. This will scramble your messages so that only the intended recipient can read them.
• Be careful about what information you include in your emails. Avoid sending sensitive data like credit cards or social security numbers unless necessary.
• Make sure to keep your email software up to date. Regularly installing updates will help patch any security vulnerabilities in your system.

10. Predictive Analytics

Predictive Analytics is another trend in email marketing. This technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) to study past email marketing campaigns and recipient behavior to predict what present and future email recipients are likely to do.

In this way, email marketers can send more targeted and personalized messages that are more likely to result in engagement, whether that means opens, clicks, or purchases. Predictive Analytics is just one of many email marketing trends that are helping marketers achieve better results with their email campaigns.

11. AI-Powered Subject Line Optimization

Email subject line optimization is the process of choosing the best email subject line to increase open email rates. Despite popular belief, email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing channels, and email subject lines are a big part of that effectiveness.

Email subject lines are often the difference between an email being opened or sent straight to the trash. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that email marketers are always looking for ways to optimize their subject lines. And lately, one of the most popular methods is artificial intelligence (AI). 

AI-powered subject line optimization uses machine learning to analyze your email list and identify patterns that make people open your emails. Once it has that data, it can start generating its email subject lines more likely to be opened. 

This might sound like a lot of work, but there are now plenty of AI-powered subject line optimization tools available that can do all the heavy lifting for you. All you need to do is basic input information about your email list and campaign goals and let the tool do its thing. 

If you’re looking for an edge in your email marketing, AI-powered subject line optimization is worth exploring.

Conclusion on Email Marketing Trends

That’s it for our roundup of the top evergreen email marketing trends. We hope you found this helpful information and that it helps you to create emails that your subscribers will love. Are there any other trends you’d like us to cover? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 11 Evergreen Email Marketing Trends That Get Results appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

If you’re in the social media business, you know that one of the most common questions clients ask is “What’s the ROI of social media?” It’s a valid question and one that can be difficult to answer. After all, social media is often seen as a bit of a black box – it’s hard to track how social activity leads to sales or other conversions. But social media ROI is important for your clients to understand as you work on their social media strategy.

What Is Social Media ROI?

Social media ROI is the return on the investment of your social media marketing. That can include social media posts, boosts, and pure ads. The time to create posts is included in this calculation of social media return on investment. Of course, you may be paying someone to do that for you.

To calculate the ROI of your social media it’s simple math:

Investment – Cost = Profit  For example, if you spent $1,000 a month on social media posts and ads that were your investment.

Profit / Investment = Social Media ROI.  2,000/1000 = 1,000 ROI or 100% ROI.

However, if these social media posts and ads brought in $2,000 of new business then you would subtract the investment cost of $1,000 and you would be making $1,000 in profit.

Of course, note that it can take 12-36 months for social media to work well in most cases. (Unless you spend a lot of money on social media ads.)

You need to gain traction with your social media marketing for it to work and that takes time and patience. Something many business owners may not have a lot of these days. Social media helps brand awareness grow but that does not equal ROI to many business owners.

In the event you are feeling the pressure of managing social media, there are reports for measuring social media ROI you can generate to show the progress over time as you will see below. 

Here’s Why Social Media ROI Is Important To Understand

1. It shows them that you’re serious about your work.
2. Then, the ROI demonstrates that social media can be a valuable investment, not just a time-suck.
3. Therefore, it helps them set realistic expectations for what social media can achieve.
4. It can help them plan better for future social media campaigns by analyzing what is working and what is NOT working.

How Can You Measure The Return of Investment?

Here are a few tips for you:

• Look at web traffic data. If you see an increase in web traffic after starting a social media campaign, that’s a good sign that social media is driving results. You can also see which social network is driving the traffic by looking at referral traffic.
• Use Google Analytics to track actionable conversions. You can set up goals in Google Analytics. This tracks how many people who visit your site take the desired action. Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.
• Pay attention to engagement metrics. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter provide insights into how people are interacting with your content. If you see more likes, shares, and comments, that’s a good sign. It means that people are engaged with what you’re putting out there.
• Look at the demographics. What demographic is responding the most to the social media marketing strategy? Maybe some changes are needed to match the demographic.

Why Organic Social Traffic Can Be Hard to Track

With organic social media, it’s harder to track the ROI. Sometimes, it takes weeks or months for a post to go viral.

It may be harder to point to it when a purchase is made. (Unless you have a store right on Facebook or Instagram.)  It’s even harder for service industry types of accounts. That’s where social media KPIs come into play. A good marketer knows you have to have the metrics in place to be measured.

KPI’s  – Key Performance Indicators

Before you manage social media for anyone, you should figure out which KPIs are important and how to measure ROI on social media:

• Engagement – The number of people who liked, commented, or shared the post on the social media network.
• Reach – How many people saw the post in their social media feed.
• Leads – Inquiries from direct messages on the social network, emails, or a contact page set up on your website. If done correctly, it could be a goal set up in Google analytics.
• Sales – If you can track the sale back to the social media post or ad.
• Email Subscribers – Visitors sign up for your newsletter.
• Downloads – Ebooks or white papers downloaded from your website.

These actions can be tracked with a pixel set up on your website’s backend. Then, of course between your social media analytics and Google Analytics, you should be able to track better the results of your social media ROI.

However, your post may have received a lot of engagement but if no one reached out to you directly or purchase anything, does it really count? As a social media manager, you need to figure out what’s working and what is not working well on social networks.

Reporting Made Quick and Easy

Agorapulse offers social media reporting that is easy to show clients how their social media posts and marketing is working for them. Years ago I tried Hootsuite and found Agorapulse much easier to use and their reporting extremely simple.

Not only can you share the reporting with clients but you can “white glove” the report with your logo and their company logo as well. 

Furthermore, you can spot which days work best and what type of media works on each network for your accounts. However, notice that you can change up the days and times after reviewing each month’s reporting. Users tend to have different habits during different seasons.

This feature from Agorapulse helps you plan future social media posts to get more traction.  It also is easier and quicker to track social media ROI with Agorapulse reporting. 

Not only that but you can view competitor reports with up to 3 competitors per client in Agorapulse.  Look at Kim Garst go! Notice that she does not post often either on Facebook. Sometimes less is best when it comes to social media strategies.

See the easy-to-produce social media reports here. 

Easier Facebook Ad Reports to Show ROI

Agorapulse also offers an easy-to-understand Facebook ads report feature. You know how complicated the Facebook business suite can be and how often they change it, right? 

Well, this report by Agorapulse makes it much easier to understand you can share it with your clients too. It will help them see the social media ROI of their Facebook ad campaigns and boosts.

Now Social Media ROI with Agorapulse Reports

Yes, now Agorapulse offers these new integrated reports for social media ROI.

These automatically pull data from Google Analytics, so you can easily see the performance of your social media efforts. You can easily create, organize, and shorten UTM links for social media posts, comments, or messages. All in one convenient place.

Furthermore, you can showcase the ROI for your social media marketing strategies as well. This clear reporting makes proving the real impact of your social media efforts on sales, leads, and visitor behavior simple!

How To Dig Deeper for Alternative Social Media ROI with UTM Codes

If you want to dive deeper into your results set up goals in Google analytics. You could also use UTM parameters to show where your traffic is coming from.

For example, I’m on Gab, an alternative social media network. The traffic does not show in Google unless I put the UTM parameters in. It is the same for the MeWe Social Network.  MeWe is the Facebook alternative. It’s easy with this tool online to set them up. It takes less than one minute and is a great way how to measure social media ROI for all social networks.

Once in place, you can track your social share posts from there in your GA account. For a while, I thought I was getting no traffic from these sites until I started using the UTM codes. Now I can see the traffic coming in by tracking them.

It’s a great way to show alternative social media ROI to your clients. However, visits may not turn into sales so be sure they have the correct landing pages set up with each social media campaign in place. 

You can bring the horse to water but you can’t make the horse drink the water! Sometimes you have to nudge clients about their website and where the social media posts and ads are taking viewers to. 

Your Turn  

How are you proving the measuring of social media ROI to your clients? I’d love to know more in the comment section below.

The post How To Measure Social Media ROI For Your Clients Needs appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Do you know if you fix orphaned content on your blog or website it can help your site rank better? Yes, each of your pages and posts may be orphaned pages on your website. However, there is a correct way how to fix your orphaned pages in WordPress vs. just updating an older blog post.

A few years ago, I noticed in my WordPress dashboard the orphaned content column when I looked at my posts. I was looking at them to find old blog posts to update.

Therefore, I had to know how to fix the orphaned content staring me right in the eyes!

To my surprise, I had over 550 total blog posts that were orphaned! Has it really been that long I’ve been blogging here? (The answer can be found on my about me page.)

But what intrigued me the most was the orphaned content had over 350 blog posts. (The screenshot here shows I have since fixed a few). Hmm, I wondered?

The Orphaned Content Blog Post Pages

Now, if you know me, I had to investigate what that was all about. Looking at the WordPress dashboard under posts and/or pages is where you’ll find your orphaned content.

But, if you don’t have Yoast, you would need an SEO tool like SEM Rush to find out your orphaned pages and fix that orphaned content.

(By the way SEM Rush is a great tool, even the Free version! You can even find your broken links with this SEO tool. I’ve been loving the suggestions that they email me weekly for my site’s SEO here.

Of course, fixing it slow and steady is the best way. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself with updating them. And while you are fixing them you can make your content more relevant and up to date with new information.

So, here is how you can fix that orphaned content on your site: (And in this blog post is a YouTube video on how to do it if you prefer to watch and learn.) 

Being An Orphan

Now, I could really relate to those orphaned pages lately as my dad passed away a few years ago and I’m an adult orphan. It started to hit me after I was no longer in the busy stage of emptying the old homestead and such.

(I know how these pages feel being alone in left field without a parent to watch over them. There is a missing link to my family tree.)

Hence, think of your website as a family tree. All the roots need to be interconnected and talk to each other.

Think of your website as a family tree. All the roots need to be interconnected and talking to each other. #SEOtips
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What Does Orphaned Content Mean?

Orphaned content means a page or post that is NOT linked to any other page on that same website. It’s all by itself. The orphaned page is all alone. No internal links are pointing to it.

The orphaned page is like this dog by himself below waiting for a missing link.

According to Confluence, the technical answer is: “ An orphaned page is a page without any incoming links and is located at what’s called the ‘root of the space’, meaning it sits alongside the space’s homepage. This means that, unless you know the page exists, you’re not likely to come across it during the natural course of navigation.

Navigation of your blog or website is key when doing search engine optimization.

Readers of your content need to be able to find things quickly, otherwise, they will leave and go elsewhere. Therefore, having fewer orphaned pages on your website will lead to a lower bounce rate!

The SEO gods love lower bounce rates as people stay on your website for more extended periods of time-devouring content.

The SEO gods love lower bounce rates as people stay on your website for longer periods of time-devouring content. #SEO
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Why Fix Orphaned Content?

• SEO Benefits – You will see a higher amount of traffic as the SEO of your site gets better with fewer orphaned pages. Your site structure will be better for your readers. The Google bots will LOVE you for interconnecting all your blog posts.
• Lower Bounce Rate – Readers will stay longer on your site with links pointing to other content that is RELEVANT for them to read. Relevant is the keyword here! Do not point to useless information just for the sake of it.
• Readers Will Love It – Your readers will appreciate reading more on a topic if you point them to the most relevant content about it. It will be easier for them to find things on your website.

Now, I’ve always linked new posts to old ones but not the other way around. Yes, now link your old posts to new ones when it makes sense. And don’t forget to link to your pages too. So, I’m in the process of fixing these, a few per day, and of course, updating the older posts and pages along the way!

Now, after doing these (months later) the site Inspire To Thrive’s traffic grew. It’s a great way to grow your website’s traffic organically.

#SEO Benefits – You will see a higher amount of traffic as the SEO of your site gets better with fewer orphaned pages. Your site structure will be better for your readers.
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How To Fix Orphaned Content in WordPress

Not only do they increase your website’s traffic but they can increase your ranking when people are searching online for content. These orphan pages of your site may not be crawled thus causing them to rank further down from other sites.

In the old days of blackhat SEO, orphan pages were hidden for no good reasons. The search engines caught on.

Now, the search engines think these orphaned pages are not important since they were not interlinked on a website. Make them appear more important by fixing them for your site.

These search engines can even punish a whole site with the presence of orphaned pages. (Blog posts are considered pages too in SEO speak.)

How Else Can You Fix Orphaned Pages?

You can update your old posts and pages. How long since some of these pages have received any attention from you?

Some of my old blog posts made me cringe. How could I have written that? And the creative art was another part that needed a refresh! Recently I did an overhaul of Content Viral Bee.

It was like rewriting the entire post. But things have changed, and the post had to reflect that. What was surprising to me was that some people still haven’t heard of the services from Content Viral Bee. You may have many blog posts like that yourself that can use a refresh.

So not only will you be fixing your links to other pages, but you may update your old content and make it fresh! You know how much Google loves fresh content if you have been a reader here.

For my dog lover blogger friends and clients, Hunter now has a stepbrother and loves being linked to another dog. (I babysit him from time to time, imagine me with 2 dogs when I was once afraid of dogs?) So if you are thinking about links, think about your dogs as part of that family tree.

So not only will you be fixing your links to other pages, but you may update your old content and make it fresh! #seotips
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SEO Changes Frequently and Often

Recently, Google had a major algorithm change. Oh yes, they keep on changing just like the social networks do. The structure of keywords and how people search have changed over the years and months. Mobile devices like Google Home and Alexa have contributed to these more recent algorithm updates.

SEO is not all about keywords and the old keyword stuffing method.

Today, it is more about site structure, website speed, helpfulness to readers, and mobile friendliness. There are still over 200 factors that count towards your website’s SEO score and how your website ranks in search.

As a result, when you fix orphaned content you are increasing the SEO juice of your website by refreshing content and linking pages and posts of your website.

As a matter of fact, you can add some evergreen SEO to your content. This will ensure it is quality content that is everlasting.

The structure of keywords and the way people search has really changed over the years. #SEOTips
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Have You Fixed Your Orphaned Content?

Finally, I’d love to know if you knew how to fix orphaned pages in WordPress or if you have fixed orphaned content on your website already.

Please leave a comment below about it today! I’d love to know if it helped your traffic increase.

Need to reposition your website quickly? Try this website generation traffic tool today.

The post Fix Orphaned Content on Your Website To Rank Better appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Customer Communication is the foundation of any business. Even if your company produces a unique product or sells it at an attractive price, you should not skimp on the quality of customer service. If you think this is an exaggeration, let’s consider a fictional example.

The buyer, Bob, finally saved up the money to buy his first car. He’s unsure whether to go to a small and cheap car dealership or to a large chain where prices are higher.

Bob calls the local car dealership. The consultant listened to his questions but could not answer them because another customer came to the store. They promised to call Bob back but didn’t. Bob called again a few days later and landed on another salesman who didn’t know anything about his request.

So, Bob feels he cannot trust the dealership after that, and he decides to contact the larger company. This situation would have easily been avoided if the store had used a system for unlimited audio recordings of customers’ calls.

This simple example demonstrates how important customer communication is for small businesses in a highly competitive environment. Keep on reading the article to find out how to boost customer communication and make it one of the top competitive advantages of small businesses.

The Importance of Customer Communication

In practice, customer communication is not just about consulting customers and responding to their complaints. It is a whole system of organizing business processes. Therefore, the key to building effective communication is understanding why companies need to communicate with clients at all.

Here are the main reasons:

• It helps to attract and retain customers. According to the PwC report, 73% of clients pay attention to the customer experience when making a purchase decision.
• It strengthens a company’s brand. Brand-loyal customers continue to buy from your company over a long period, creating consistent sales. Moreover, 43% of buyers would pay more for a higher level of client service.
• It promotes your business. It is especially important for small businesses to connect with their audience to gain a firm foothold in the market.
• It helps to generate new ideas. A company may create a unique product, improve an existing one or expand the range if it understands the needs of customers. For example, imagine you are the owner of a local grocery store, and a few customers have complained there was no gluten-free pasta. So, if you diversify, the product lineup will increase, as will customer loyalty, and you may attract new clients.
• It boosts profit. Repeat happy customers spend more than double what new ones do. It is a fact that it costs more to attract new customers. Regular customers are also not so price sensitive. You’ve already established a good relationship, so people prefer to pay a little more to you rather than spend time looking for another firm. Therefore, customer communication is for the long term.

Repeat happy customers spend more than double what new ones do. It is a fact that it costs more to attract new customers. #happycustomers
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10 Ways to Boost Customer Communication

Be patient.

If you communicate with clients on a daily basis, you should be patient even in difficult cases. It is always better to thoroughly understand the issue and offer competent advice than lose your client.

Do not use scripts for customer communication.

Your communication will be dry and impersonal if you use only pre-prepared phrases. Clients quickly understand if you read from a piece of paper.

This causes irritation and leaves a negative impression. Therefore, make sure that support uses only live communication.

Train your team to boost customer communication.

It is very important that your employees know how to communicate with customers in accordance with the values of your company. So, you should conduct training and corporate games and discuss particular situations together.

Do not punish employees for customer complaints; otherwise, they will simply hide them. Instead, encourage effective complaint resolution but not a reduction in the number of complaints.

Everyone in the company should understand the connection between productive complaint handling and the company’s progress.

Automate customer service.

Install a CRM system and other digital tools. It will help you to organize all incoming requests and manage them from one place. This kind of system will also significantly reduce the response time and help to increase the productivity of your employees by minimizing routine work.

So you will be able to focus on better understanding and satisfying your customers’ needs.

Pay particular attention to social media.

Social networks are an important platform for customer communications. Through social networks, clients find answers to their concerns about your products and services.

Create a social media support channel that tells your customers what to do when they need to file a complaint or ask a question. If you notice multiple requests for the same issue, fix it and let your customers know about it.

This way, you will reduce the number of incoming complaints. Furthermore, be sure to set up a listening tool so you can monitor all your social channels when your brand is mentioned.

Answer all requests for customer communication.

Sometimes you will get messages from angry customers. In some situations, you will be responsible for their reaction, but in others, you will have nothing to do with it. Regardless, do not ignore such comments.

You should respond to all requests if you want to control the damage they cause. Try to respond as quickly as possible before a new wave of negativity forms.

Any delay will only frustrate the client and give others a reason to write a bad review.

Show empathy.

Empathy is the best way to show your customers that you really care about them. Even if you cannot always solve a client’s problem, showing empathy helps clients feel that their problems matter. There are so many tips to train empathy skills.

For example, practice active listening. Sometimes clients can not specifically explain what exactly they are not satisfied with. In this case, your task is to listen carefully to them and ask clarifying questions to understand the essence of their appeals.

Another tip is to always acknowledge the client’s problem. Do not make excuses or argue with the client. Agree with their feelings and experiences, so they will understand that you are on the same side.

Use only positive language in customer communication.

This means telling the client what you can do for them, not what you can’t. Imagine that a customer contacts your company to order 30 kilos of cat food, and the goods will be delivered only next month. Now compare the two answers.

You can say: “We can’t ship it right now. You will have to wait until next month”, or you can answer: “We are getting the item next month. But I can place an order for you right now. We will ship it to you as soon as the item is on stock”. We are sure you see the difference.

Be honest in your communications.

Do not try to fool your client. If there is a problem, acknowledge it and tell the client what you are doing right now to fix it. No system is perfect. Customers understand that failures can occur within any company.

However,  if you hide something or pretend to solve a problem, the client will find out about it and lose trust and confidence in your brand.

Use expert experience.

Small business is the initial stage of a company’s long journey. And it’s always easier to learn from the mistakes of others than to make your own. Perhaps someone has already solved similar problems, and you can use some ideas from their experience.

Why Negative Reviews Are Good for Your Business

Bad reviews are a stumbling block for most businesses. Many entrepreneurs think the fewer, the better. On the one hand, this is true, but on the other hand, feedback helps companies improve their business. Do not be afraid of bad reviews; you should just know how to work with them. And there are some reasons why your company actually needs bad reviews.

1. Complaints are an efficient and cheap way to get customers to rate a company’s products. Usually, it is hard to get the information that customers write in the complaint form in any other way. It is valuable information through customer communication about the shortcomings that you might not know about at all.
2. Bad reviews allow you to understand the real needs of clients. You may never know what customers really need until the product fails.
3. Negative feedback is a possibility to correct the situation and retain customers. Most clients prefer to choose another company rather than complain. Therefore, it is important to give customers an opportunity to complain and make this process convenient and reward them for feedback.

Furthermore, another benefit is that effective complaint resolution can be a source of positive feedback. Although a client remembers your oversights, they also remember what you did to compensate for the damage.

Final Thoughts on Customer Communication for Your Business

Of course, customer service cannot exist without quality products or services. But boosting customer communication is a profitable investment for small businesses. You do not have to do everything at once. Create a strategy and take small but sure steps toward your satisfied customers.

What are you doing to boost your customer communications?  I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.

The post How to Boost Customer Communication for Your Small Biz appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Having Twitter suspensions and landing in Twitter jail gave me more insights into how long they can last: for hours, days, or indefinitely.

Suspended Twitter accounts are more common today than ever before as we are in 2022. However, this may change once Elon Musk makes changes on the Twitter network if the purchase of the social network ever goes through as it’s hung up in a huge legal battle.

However, recently one person, named Alex Berneson won a lawsuit against Twitter and had their account reinstated.

Twitter Suspensions Are Real

Have you ever got up in the morning, looked at your mobile phone as you are getting out of bed, and seen your Twitter account has been locked?   You now have a Twitter suspension. 

You can’t log into your Twitter account. They ask for your phone number. You enter it but they don’t call? Then, you wonder “What am I missing?”

Next, you wonder: “What tweets did I miss since I was last on Twitter?”

“Why did I get a Twitter suspension?” you may ask yourself.

Of course, there may be new Twitter rules you were not aware of – like this recent one:

Beginning today, we will not allow the sharing of private media, such as images or videos of private individuals without their consent. Publishing people’s private info is also prohibited under the policy, as is threatening or incentivizing others to do so.https://t.co/7EXvXdwegG

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) November 30, 2021

The Twitter Jail Experience

Yes, you have landed yourself in Twitter Jail. It happened to me a few years ago and even recently.

It’s happening much more today in 2022 and many people headed over to Parler, Gab, and elsewhere after Parler was shut down by Amazon.

Not only is it happening on Twitter but on Facebook as well. 

For example, you can see all the restricted accounts I see in my Tweepsmap weekly email update. There were never this many Twitter-restricted accounts before!

The Last Tweet Before a Twitter Suspension

I remember my last tweet was about seeing the space station flying over. I was not threatening anyone. I’m not a bot, I tweet and retweet all the time about things I find my audience will like. I tweet with links, photos, videos, and sometimes just quotes.

My last tweet below before the Twitter Suspension:

Watching it now!!! https://t.co/Wxbl7BUCPq

— Lisa ??? (@Lisapatb) June 12, 2017

The Last of the Twitter Suspensions

Yes, imagine it happened again? This time to my less used Twitter account at @InspireToThrive.  You can see I awake early at 4:20 to find this notification on my mobile device.

Well, I think to myself, There is no better way to teach about this than to go through it myself.

So, the next step was to confirm my mobile device. After that, I learned that I could repeal the suspension. I went into the Twitter help center and did just that.

Next, I did receive an email from them. This is why I say it is so important to have access to the email you use to open up your Twitter account at all times!

Finally, about 48 hours later I received an email from the Twitter support team. They had unsuspended my account but the reasons why it was suspended in the first place were a little vague.

After reviewing my own accounts I think it may have happened with what Twitter refers to as “decks.” There were peeps on that account always tagging me with dozens of others in quotes and such. I really did not use the other third-party apps on that account as I wrote about on Medium.

I would thank these peeps and reply. Now, I no longer respond. Of course, I feel bad though   I’m asking around on Twitter from others using this practice. Stay tuned as they say! 

FastBack to Twitter in Late 2020

Twitter support just came out with this tweet on their Ban Evasion Policy. It comes down to this: You cannot circumvent any Twitter suspensions. If you do, you will not be able to use Twitter again ever. This breach will cause a permanent Twitter suspension.

Furthermore, if you are caught helping someone circumvent this rule, your Twitter account will be suspended. You cannot allow someone to take over your Twitter account or imitate one that has been banned.

Our Ban Evasion policy is for people who try to sign up again for Twitter after their account has been suspended.

We know this is an important rule, so we’ve updated it to make it easier to understand and include everything you need to know.https://t.co/mTYPhcwGib

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) October 13, 2020

What are social media users doing now? Be sure to have your own content on a self-hosted website. Furthermore, have a backup of your website too!

Twitter Jail from 2013

I landed in Twitter Jail nine years ago back in 2013.  Back then I was stuck in the Twitter Jail for 48 hours. There was no reason or rhythm to it. Finally, no explanation was to be found via Twitter.  It was almost to the day this time in 2017 that my Twitter suspension happened again.

It can happen to the best of us as Ana Hoffman found out back then and again now too. Back then I was in a tizzy over it. Not this time. I knew better. Experience can be the best teacher.

Before you learn what to do after your account gets suspended, check out my newest post on the updated Twitter rules to guide you to avoid it!

Finally, no explanation was to be found via Twitter. It was almost to the day this time in 2017 that my Twitter suspension happened again. #Twittertips
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What To Do When Twitter Suspends Your Account  

• Don’t panic! Take a DEEP breath. Remember, it has happened to many of us before. Twitter does suspend accounts every day with its automated system. You may end up in Twitter jail one day.
• When your Twitter account gets suspended the first time be sure to use their call me feature. (That’s new now! You must have your phone number on your Twitter account. I highly recommend you do. It also helps keep your account secure.) The call me feature may work the first time as it did for me. I’ve heard from a few peeps lately that it hasn’t worked for them. If not,  you have to contact them through their Support. You may contact them at Twitter Support. And then go to fix a problem button from there. You can also file an appeal which I did this last time.
• Are you seeing a message that your Twitter account is locked? Your account may also be temporarily disabled in response to reports of spammy or abusive behavior. For example, you may be prevented from Tweeting from your account for a specific period of time or you may be asked to verify certain information about yourself before proceeding. Get help unlocking your account.
• Double-check your URLs in your Twitter profile if you are using both your personal and blog profiles on Twitter. I had both set to the homepage. I changed my personal one to my about page just to be safe.
• Now, check the new page on the Twitter Ban Evasion Policy. 
• Lastly, file a lawsuit as Alex Berenson did and won.

And @DailyMailUK⁩ with a long article about my unbanning. Still crickets from the US media. Remember: it’s not news if it’s ideologically inconvenient. https://t.co/u3Fgv6tpxn

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) July 9, 2022

Be sure not to miss the above rules when your Twitter account is suspended!

New – Twitter has info for those deactivated Twitter accounts!

• Twitter now has a new page for learning how to reactivate your Twitter account.  This new page is for those who have had their Twitter accounts deactivated in the past 30 days only.

How to Avoid Twitter Jail:

• Do not tweet all the same stuff on any multiple Twitter accounts you have. Mix up the wording and images.
• Follow the Twitter Rules. There are at least 30 rules. If you haven’t reviewed them in a while, it’s a great idea to read them again. They have added and changed many of their Twitter rules over the years. They are all not in black and white, many have gray areas.
• Read the Best Practices for following and using Twitter. They do monitor if you follow or unfollow aggressively. (Defined as following hundreds at a time).  Beware if you follow and/or unfollow often. Any automatic unfollowing is not acceptable. I wondered if I had gone over this number in my recent Twitter suspension.
• Don’t use AI paraphrasing software like Quillbot and other similar tools to take other people’s popular tweets, rephrase them, and post them as your own. Though AI tools are not specifically mentioned on the Twitter rules page, I’m sure this would be frowned upon.
• Check out their troubleshooting page for additional help and learn how long a Twitter suspension lasts.

More Important Twitter Updates to Avoid Getting Your Twitter Account Suspended

These rules appear on Twitter’s policy page. You may think they are common sense but for some people, they may not be. Impersonation is something I do see from time to time on Twitter. Some get around it by having a “parody account” right in their profile. Have you seen them?   

Platform manipulation and spam: You may not use Twitter’s services in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience on Twitter. Learn more.

Election integrity: You may not use Twitter’s services to manipulate or interfere in elections. This includes posting or sharing content that may suppress voter turnout or mislead people about when, where, or how to vote. Learn more.

Impersonation: You may not impersonate individuals, groups, or organizations in a manner that is intended to or does mislead, confuse, or deceive others. Learn more.

Copyright and trademark: You may not violate others’ intellectual property rights, including copyright and trademark. Learn more about our trademark policy and copyright policy.

Posting duplicative or substantially similar content, replies, or mentions over multiple accounts you control, or creating duplicate or substantially similar accounts, with or without the use of automation, is never allowed. https://t.co/1LgqPdH462 #Twittertips

— Lisa ??? (@Lisapatb) February 23, 2018

Learn More After Being in Twitter Jail

Don’t Panic!

First, Don’t Panic over it. Knowing I had 48 hours to be Twitter-free, my world would not end in those 48 hours without Twitter. Being in a Twitter Jail can give you more time elsewhere like over on Reddit.

You Will Gain Free Time While in Twitter Jail

The second thing I learned while being blocked by Twitter was that it gave me more free time!

Free time to work and get that much-needed exercise from sitting all day. Not only that but I was able to engage on other networks and grow my blog and business.

You Can Grow Your Other Social Network Audiences

The third thing I learned was I was starting to gain a little traction over on LinkedIn after Ravi wrote his success on the LinkedIn pulse. So I began working on more posts for LinkedIn in the future. I went from 5 views to 50 so I want to continue along there.

The fourth thing I learned was to spend more time on Quora. Since the suspension, I answer people’s questions about Twitter mishaps.

Sometimes to be an expert you have to make mistakes and learn from them by sharing with others. Since this first post appeared my traffic from Quora has become a top referral for traffic here on Inspire To Thrive.

Now Many Are Going Over to Parler from Twitter Now

Yes, many folks who have lost their accounts on Twitter have recently joined Parler. About 5 million joined this new social network site in June of 2020. In November there were thousands by the minute signing up on Parler. However, now in 2022 as more people are fed up with Twitter headed to Gab, Gettr, and Truth, which are similar to Twitter. 

Many are conservatives and with all the “political” stuff going on right now this social network site has increased users day by day. 

I’ve also made a FREE terminology guide for new users that want to use the Parler app.

Do note, that Parler was shut down by the Amazon servers. Then, Apple and Google would not allow downloads of their app in mid-January of 2021. They are back online today. Other alternative social networks have since sprung up.

I’m not leaving Twitter but wanted to check out this new social network as many big brands are boycotting Facebook and even Twitter.

Another alternative social media site similar to Twitter is called Minds. They have been around much longer than Parler and offer a larger variety of topics like Cryptocurrency, Nature Photography, News, and much more.  It really has something for everyone!

Now they are many other alternative social media networks out there for you to try.

Tweet With Multiple Accounts Carefully

Another thing I learned was I was pushing it with Twitter. I was taking some of the rules to the max. Not good! Many Twitter experts say when you have two accounts not to keep tweeting the same stuff.  I’ve done variations but I’ve got to be much more careful going forward.

So, if you have two accounts BEWARE.

So if you have multiple Twitter accounts be very careful not to tweet the same stuff. Mix it up! Don’t share the same stuff from the same automation tools like Hootsuite, Agorapulse, or Buffer. I’m using a newer tool called Missinger Lttr and it helps to tweet out different content every time! 

Don’t Just Tweet All Links

Twitter does not like Twitter accounts that only tweet out links. I began to think, had I been doing that? I do tweet many links as I’m sharing others’ content and my own there.

Most bloggers do tweet out mostly links. It’s time to go to the 80/20 rule to be safe. 20 percent of your tweets should not contain a link to stay within the Twitter rules. 

However, the newest fad is tweetstorms. Those are text tweets that you can add to each and make it a longer format tweet. These types of tweets are getting more engagement on the social network.

The Most Important Thing To Learn From Twitter Suspensions

Do NOT rely just on one social network. Remember, social media is all rented space. A self-hosted blog is the best way to go with owning your own content.

You can make your own rules and do what you what with your own property.

Being on a social network is like renting, you never know when the rent will go up or the place will close down.

Do NOT rely just on one social network. Remember, social media is all rented space. #socialmedia
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Twitter Account Reactivated

I got an email with an apology from Twitter. Yes, they really did apologize! No wonder I love the Twitter network. They apologized for suspending my Twitter account for 48 hours.

Twitter actually apologized for having suspended my account!

Twitter Spam Groups

Caught up in spam groups by mistake? So it was nothing done in error. Thank goodness for that. So it can happen to you too for no reason. Always remember never to put all your social eggs in one social basket. You may lose one and need some others along the way.

Now, there is also the Twitter algorithm that has changed dramatically in 2021. Learn how it can affect your Twitterness with Twitter in 2022 and beyond!

Just How Long Does Twitter Suspension Last?

From my 2 experiences of a Twitter suspension, it was 48 hours to the minute each time. But if you are being spammy or violate their terms, your Twitter suspension can last longer. Other people I’ve learned had their accounts suspended for a month or forever.

So be careful about how and what you tweet and know the Twitter rules! I’ve also been in the bots when I could not log into Twitter.

Once I put in my phone number in it was unlocked. Therefore, please remember to have your mobile phone number in your Twitter settings. This will help you to unlock your account when you cannot get it in.

Thank You Twitter Friends

Thank you to everyone who emailed me, and sent me private messages with screenshots to find out what happened to my Twitter account. It’s so nice to know fellow bloggers and content marketers have your back in these situations!

FAQs about Twitter Suspensions and How to Avoid Having Your Twitter Account Locked Out

The Final Analysis

My Twitter Conclusion On Why I Landed in Twitter Jail – I believe I may have unfollowed too many people as I was using Social Quant. I have since stopped using Social Quant though I do NOT blame them in any way. However, they did have great services that are no longer available.

According to the Twitter email, it was the bots.

Have you ever ended up in Twitter Jail?

Need more Twitter help? Purchase my updated 31-page eBook on Amazon now.

If so, I’d love to know how long did the Twitter suspension lasted for you?

The post Twitter Jail: How Long Do Twitter Suspensions Last? appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Few individuals doing a Google search will ever go beyond the first page – even though Google provides billions of alternative answers to their questions. Instead, searchers would take the pains of entering another question than simply clicking ‘page 2’ of search results. And even if your site manages to make it to the first page, not every position is great either. People naturally assume that the first search results page they see must contain the correct answer to what they’re looking for. Many common SEO mistakes account for this result.

As a result, the first entry takes over 30% of the entire clicks and gathers ten times more clicks than the last entry on the first page. 

And when it comes to search results pages, SEO is ultimately responsible for what’s displayed on a customer’s search result page. And failing to obey SEO principles remains one of the reasons why many sites underperform. 

So, if you own or manage a website and want to promote or monetize your content, we’ve prepared these tips that’d help you avoid SEO troubles that could lead to disasters. 

What Is SEO and Why is SEO Important?

Everyone knows that SEO simply means Search Engine Optimization, and it’s responsible for the quantity and quality of results a search result page displays. Think of SEO as the gravitational law of page ranking. Having a solid grasp of SEO will determine if your web page rises or falls.

Now, although there are several search engines out there like Duckduckgo, Yahoo, and Bing, Google remains the leading channel for online search, direct traffic, and social media. Google search is by far the most important of the lot, being that it contributes 60% of the traffic generated by a webpage. 

Just the same way entrepreneurs must find a great company name idea to give their business a fighting chance, for a site to rank on the first page of any search result page, it must comply with SEO standards. 

And more importantly, it mustn’t make any SEO mistakes; otherwise, it’d be lost alongside the other billions of answers Google provides. 

Think of SEO as the gravitational law of page ranking. Having a solid grasp of SEO will determine if your web page rises or falls. #SEO
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Here Are Some Common SEO Mistakes and Disasters You Must Avoid if Your Site Must Grow 

• Keyword Mistakes 

Keywords are the foundation of how SEO works. In the past, Google provided keywords and didn’t care much about keyword stuffing, but this quickly led to almost everyone stuffing their web pages with every keyword they could find.

Keyword stuffing involves adding a lot of keywords to a webpage with the intention of manipulating site ranking. Google’s algorithms have been steadily improving over the years, making it easier to better detect meaningful keyword placements and punish pages stuffed with keywords. 

Ensure you avoid targeting weak keywords that customers aren’t searching for, or keywords that are too competitive because they’d affect your site’s ability to rank. 

Also, understand that creating content just for keywords or not balancing long and short-tail keywords appropriately are terrible keyword SEO mistakes. These keyword mistakes also harm your webpage’s ranking. 

• Publishing Non-Original Content 

Like keywords, SEO algorithms don’t promote web pages with non-original content. SEO algorithm identifies and downgrades plagiarized content, filler content with no real value, and even low-quality content on search results. 

The way out is to ensure your contents are always original and use only reputable information. Using headings, avoiding clickbait titles, and providing actionable-practical information for your readers can help improve your SEO performance. 

Also, creatively optimizing your content with images and videos can improve user experience and SEO. Remember, high-quality content will always engage your readers. And engaged readers are a good sign for the algorithm. 

• Low-Quality Links

External and internal links can help increase traffic to your site, enhance credibility, and domain authority, and improve SEO ranking. The problem comes when the link is poor quality, fraudulent, broken, or if there’s none used. 

The internet is built on links, and any webpage that isn’t connected to a reputable site lacks an essential ingredient. It’s an ingredient that’d help boost its performance.

Links also help with flow and user navigation. Not to mention that it makes it easy for web crawlers to find your page during searches. 

• Mobile Use 

Mobile phones are gradually becoming the primary way most people access the internet. And SEO algorithms also uniquely cater to them, and so should you. Mobile SEOs are now an entirely new field of the SEO market that is quickly gathering its own attention. 

When ranking web pages for mobile, Google concentrates a lot on local search optimization. It is a fancy word for how relevant the page is from the user’s location. They also pay significant attention to load time, reliability, and accuracy.

So while crafting your SEO strategy, ensure you plan extensively for mobile users.

The Way Forward with SEO

Growing your SEO is a gradual process. It is, like coming up with a company name idea; you only truly achieve your goals with consistent efforts.

So, don’t be discouraged if you don’t see the results immediately. SEO takes a lot of work and patience. However, a great SEO routine will overall increase the traffic benchmark for your website.

This blog post is from Grant Polachek who is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. They are also the world’s leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients such as Nestle, Dell, Nuskin, and AutoNation.

Growing your SEO is a gradual process. It is, like coming up with a company name idea; you only truly achieve your goals with consistent efforts. #SEO
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Your Turn on SEO Mistakes To Avoid

What other common SEO mistakes can you recommend avoiding? We would love to hear about them and discuss them more in the comments below.

The post How to Avoid Common SEO Mistakes Managing Your Webpage appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

When Twitter suspends an account, it is not usually a permanent one. However, some suspensions on its social network platform are permanent. A recent lawsuit brought by Alex Berenson back in December of 2021 has resulted in a reversal of his permanent Twitter suspension.

Below was his last tweet before the suspension from Twitter began back in August of 2021.

1/ Hey Twitter censors: what is misleading about this tweet? Please be specific. The @cdcgov and everyone else now agree the #Covid vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission. Nor am I suggesting that anyone specific not be vaccinated, only that mandates don’t make sense… pic.twitter.com/PbbKcuOB85

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) August 28, 2021

So what happened with the permanently suspended Twitter account? 

Alex Berenson sued Twitter in December in federal court in San Francisco, Twitter’s preferred venue. In April federal Judge William Alsup rejected Twitter’s motion to dismiss the suit, allowing his breach of contract and promissory estoppel (basically that he had relied on Twitter’s words to his detriment) claims to proceed.

Now that Twitter and Alex have settled the case, Twitter has reinstated him as a user and acknowledged its error. Now Twitter told Fox News that his tweets “should not have led to his suspension” last year.

The Twitter Lawsuit of the Permanent Twitter Suspension

Berenson’s case hinged on the fact that Twitter did not give him any notice or opportunity to appeal his Twitter suspension. The court found that this was a violation of due process, and ordered Twitter to reinstate Berenson’s account on the social network.

This case may have implications for other users who have been suspended by Twitter. If you have been suspended without notice or the opportunity to appeal, you may now be able to get your social media account reinstated.

The court found that this was a violation of due process, and ordered Twitter to reinstate Berenson's account on the social network. #Twitter
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What Was The Bottom Line?

According to Alex, if Twitter’s position is that it can ban anyone for any reason, fine. Section 230 – at least as it is now interpreted – allows that discretion. But once Twitter or any social media company voluntarily sets and disseminates guidelines that it says it will follow in disciplining or banning users, it must follow those, even if its underlying terms of service explicitly say otherwise.

Now here’s the key for other banned users: in settling the case, acknowledging the error, and reinstating Alex, Twitter seems to have inherently – and publicly – accepted this theory of its contractual obligations. Not just because of its specific representations to me. But for any user.

Twitter has acknowledged that his tweets should not have led to my suspension at that time.

In its own words, in its own public statement, the little bird admitted that the tweets themselves – the CONTENT of the tweets – mattered.

A Breach of Contract

In other words, if you’ve been banned for tweeting Covid misinformation – or ANY specific and named violation of Twitter’s policies – and you have a plausible case that your tweets did not in fact violate those policies – you may now be able to bring a breach of contract case.

The more granular your argument, the more you can argue that on a factual basis your statements were correct, and the better chance you will have.

Is A Twitter Account Suspension Permanent All The Time?

No, many Twitter suspensions are temporary, for only 12 hours, a few days or a week, or possibly more. However, sometimes Twitter does ban an account forever like former president Donald Trump’s account.

The former president filed a lawsuit in the state of FL which was dismissed in court this past May. (It was moved to CA.) However, the court case did leave the door open to an appeal according to The Verge.

Judge Donato from the case noted. “It also states that Twitter may remove or refuse to distribute any content. There is nothing cagey or misleading about these provisions.”

That note leaves the Twitter rules quite gray with no right or wrong. It gives Twitter the right to make judgments on its platform about its active users. This is something that Elon Musk was fighting for Twitter about.

Interesting that former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently said: “But generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don’t work,” he said. He went on to say:

He agreed with another user who tweeted that it’s “short-sighted’ for “a handful of social media companies” to act as “gatekeepers to political discourse.”

“It was a business decision, it shouldn’t have been,” Dorsey wrote of Trump’s ban, saying he believes that “permanent bans of individuals are directionally wrong.” He also replied to another comment about Trump’s ban that “businesses should not be making these decisions.”

“I’m saying a corporation should not have to make this decision in the first place. [N]ot for something as important as public conversation,” Dorsey wrote.

His argument received widespread support, with many saying he should have realized the error while still at the head of the company. – via NY Post. 

What Other Celebrities Have Been Banned From Twitter?

According to some sources, Twitter bans a million accounts a day! (There are 229 million users on this social-networking site today.) However, many of these are back on within 12 hours or within days as they are temporarily banned from the network.

Some other famous people and influencers who have been using Twitter were banned from using the Twitter website over the past few years including:

• Milo Yiannopoulos
• David Icke
• Katie Hopkins
• Senator Ron Johnson
• Adele
• Cameron Diaz
• Rihanna
• Christopher Walken
• Courtney Love
• Alex Jones
• and yours truly.

(Some of these people were also taken off other popular social media sites like Facebook.)

As you can see from below, every week I see suspended accounts that unfollowed me or were turned into unfollows by the suspension. Once reinstated the followers come back unless they choose not to follow you. Some of these users may be very active on social media.

What Are Other Reasons For A Twitter Suspension?

Abusive tweets are considered a violation of Twitter policies. However, they are in a gray area and the rules are not all black and white.

Most of the Twitter rules are gray, and that is why there are so many suspensions every day on the popular social media platform.

Another reason may be that an account is considered a bot on this social media site. Bots are often taken down as quickly as they are put up.  Furthermore, if you publish anyone’s private information, like a phone number you can up in a Twitter suspension.

Of course, if you are using a misleading identity that’s another reason to get the ax on the network.

You can read all the Twitter rules here for Twitter users.

The Reinstatement of Alex Berenson

Shady’s back.

Tell a friend.

For the full story of my reinstatment, including @Twitter‘s acknowledgment of error, see my Substack.https://t.co/SgXfocIFiQ

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) July 6, 2022

How The Permanent Twitter Suspension Turned Into a Book for Alex

Since Alex was banned as a Twitter user, he decided to write a best-selling book. If life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right? That is exactly was Alex did.

The ban kept me from telling you about the release of PANDEMIA, my book about Covid, published Nov. 30.

It’s more relevant than ever, as we fall down the Omicron rathole and governments and public health bureaucrats push mRNA jabs for kids.

Find it here:https://t.co/lQCfFBaltE

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) July 7, 2022

Could you turn your tweets into a book? With Twitter’s new note feature coming it may not be a bad idea to keep your tweets and retweets from disappearing if you get a permanent suspension from Twitter or other popular social networking sites.

Your Turn On Is A Twitter Account Suspension Permanent?

What would you do if you had a suspension from Twitter permanently and lost millions of users that followed you? Would you write a book or join an alternative social media network? Or would you file a lawsuit against the big tech giant? Maybe start a new social site?

I’d love to hear what you would do in the comments below.

The post How You Can Recover From A Permanent Twitter Suspension appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Having some exciting creative hobbies is essential to keep you busy when you’re not working. These hobbies can inspire you and will help improve your quality of life and make you more well-rounded.

Here are several different hobbies that you may want to consider picking up. From painting to woodworking, there is something for everyone!

How Creative Hobbies Inspire You

Creative hobbies can inspire you in many ways. They can help you to be more creative in your work, come up with new ideas, and find new ways of expressing yourself.

Furthermore, they can also help you to relax and de-stress and to connect with other people who share your interests.

Whether you’re looking for a new hobby or just want to find ways to be more creative, consider picking up one of these creative hobbies:

Creative Hobbies – Painting

A lot of people think that painting is a very relaxing hobby. You can let your creative juices flow and make something beautiful. There are plenty of classes you can take to help you get started.

There are also a lot of different types of painting that you can try. Watercolors, oil paints, and acrylics are all popular choices. You can even try spray painting if you’re feeling adventurous.

No matter what type of paint you choose to try, it’s a great way to express yourself and have some fun.

Woodworking as Favorite Creative Hobbies

If you’re the more handy type, woodworking may be the hobby for you. You can make all sorts of different things, from simple birdhouses to complex pieces of furniture. You can even sell your creations if you’re feeling entrepreneurial.

There are plenty of classes available to help you get started. Of course, you’ll need to invest in some tools, but once you have them, the sky’s the limit.

Rebuilding A Car

This one is for the gearheads out there. Rebuilding a car can be an enriching experience. You get to take something old and battered and make it look and run like new again.

Of course, this hobby requires a lot of knowledge and skills. If you’re unsure where to start, plenty of books and online resources can help you out. You’ll also need a fair amount of money to start, as car parts can be expensive. Components like an ak25 engine can cost you a pretty penny.

But if you’re up for the challenge, rebuilding a car can be a lot of fun. And when you’re finished, you’ll have a ride sure to turn heads.

Playing A Musical Instrument

Playing an instrument is a great way to relax and express yourself. There are plenty of different instruments to choose from, so you’re sure to find one that’s right for you.

However, there are plenty of classes available, and you can also find plenty of resources online. Once you get the hang of it, you may even want to start a band with some friends.

Playing an instrument is a great way to relax and express yourself. #creativehobbies
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Gardening Hobby

Gardening is a great way to get in touch with nature. You can grow your fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Gardening is also a great form of exercise. It can also be a therapeutic way to relax.

However, there are plenty of resources available to help you get started. You can even join a gardening club or community garden. Once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy this hobby.

Creative Hobbies for Some is Cooking

Cooking is a great way to show your culinary skills. You can whip up some delicious meals for yourself or others. Plus, it’s a great way to bond with your family and friends. Many people find cooking relaxing.

There are also many different types of cooking, from baking to grilling. You can even try your hand at some exotic cuisines.

No matter what you choose, cooking is a great hobby that’s sure to please.

Doing Puzzles for Hobby

Studies show that puzzles are extremely good for the brain, and playing a puzzle game can provide an excellent mental workout. The games are also great fun to play alone, or with friends and family – the perfect entertainment – with the added benefit of boosting your IQ. It’s one of my favorite creative hobbies that inspire me.

Conclusion of Creative Hobbies to Inspire You

These are just a few of the many creative hobbies that you can pursue. So get out there and start exploring. You’re sure to find something that you enjoy. Who knows, you may even find a new passion.

What is your favorite hobby and why? My favorite hobbies are doing puzzles and gardening to relax.

The post Creative Hobbies To Inspire You and Give You Needed Break appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

Whether you are a small business or a Fortune 500 company, case studies in marketing can be an extremely valuable online marketing tool. A well-written case study can help you attract new customers, differentiate your company from the competition, and boost your credibility.

In this blog post, we will discuss how to create case studies as part of your online marketing strategy, provide tips for creating effective case studies that will help you achieve your business goals, and show some case study examples for reference.

What Are Case Studies In Marketing?

Case studies in marketing are case study which is the analysis of a particular instance (or “case”) of something to demonstrate quantifiable results as a result of the application of something.

In marketing, case studies are used as social proof — to provide buyers with the context to determine whether they’re making a good choice. (according to the folks at the Hubspot Blog.)

Start with Pain Points in Case Studies

What were the pain points for the client? List what the problems were before they came to you for marketing their business. Or better yet, create the story of where your customers were before they came to you for help.

Then show the solutions you provided and how they worked through your marketing case study. Show how your marketing solutions helped the business OUT of their pain points and how they attained success.

Case Study Format of Individual Campaigns

There are a number of different ways to conduct case study research for online marketing. One approach is to look at the performance of individual campaigns.

You can compare the results of different campaigns to see which ones are most effective.

Case Studies in Marketing Sample with Customer Behavior

Another approach is to analyze the behavior of customers who have interacted with your brand. How did they find you and what did they do when they landed on your website?

This can help you understand what motivates them and how they interact with your content.

Case Analysis Example of Marketing Channels

Case study research can also help you evaluate the effectiveness of different marketing channels. For example, you can compare the results of campaigns that used different channels, such as email, social media, or paid advertising. This can help you identify which channels are most effective for your business.

Ultimately, case study research can help you make better decisions about your online marketing strategy. By understanding what works and what doesn’t, you can optimize your campaigns to achieve better results.

If you’re looking for improvement in your online marketing, case study research is a great way to get started. By understanding how different strategies and tactics work in specific situations, you can optimize your campaigns and achieve better results.

Case study research can also help you evaluate the effectiveness of different marketing channels. #casestudies
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Tips to Get Started

Make your case study relevant to the audience

When it comes to case study research for online marketing, there are a few different things you need to keep in mind. For one, you need to make sure that your case studies are actually relevant to your target audience.

Furthermore, you need to make sure that they are well written and engaging so that readers will actually want to read your report.

However, you need to make sure that the case studies are properly formatted and easy to follow.

Use headings and subheadings to help break up the text, and use clear and concise language. If possible, include a table of contents so that readers can quickly find the information they’re looking for.

Focus on current trends by using case study examples with solutions

One great way to ensure that your case studies are relevant is to focus on current trends. For example, if you’re selling a new type of smartphone, you might want to highlight some of the ways in which your product differs from the competition.

Or, if you’re running a social media campaign, you might want to focus on case studies that show how your campaign has been successful or how it offers solutions to existing problems.

Draft as if making a case study example for students

When it comes to writing case studies, it’s important to remember that less is more. Try drafting your case study as if your audience is students who will learn from scratch.

You don’t need to include every single detail; just focus on the most important points. And, if possible, try to find images or graphs that will help illustrate your points for easier understanding.

Your Turn on Marketing Case Studies

However, by following these tips, you can create case studies that are both informative and engaging. And, when you’re done, your online marketing efforts will be boosted in no time!

If you’re feeling inspired but don’t have the time or resources to create a case study on your own, Venngage can help. They offer easy-to-use infographic templates and tools that make it simple for anyone to create beautiful data visualizations.

Plus, they have a library of expertly designed templates and themes that are perfect for any business or occasion. Sign up today and see how easy it is to get started!

Finally, have you done any case studies in marketing of your own? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

The post How Case Studies in Marketing Are An Effective Online Tool appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.

This Instagram guide explains how to create a business page on Instagram for your brand. It’s for business owners who wish to grow and generate leads from Instagram.

How to Create a Business Page on Instagram – An Introduction

Instagram is a powerful tool for marketers and business owners, with about 1.393 billion active users each month. This data highlights Instagram’s potential for your business. There is so much you can do with an Instagram business page, from product research to meaningful business relationships, lead generation, and branding.

According to a 2021 Instagram survey, 63% of users agreed that Instagram helped them form meaningful relationships with brands.

This post discusses a straightforward way to create a business Instagram account within 2 minutes.

How to Set Up a Business Account on Instagram

Have you ever wondered how to get customers and other companies to notice you on Instagram? Perhaps, you are new to Instagram and find it challenging to create a business account for your brand.

Follow these Instagram Business account creation steps below to create a business account from scratch.

Create an Instagram Business Account in 2 Minutes

First Step – Download the Instagram app or Visit the Instagram website.

Depending on your device, you can download the Instagram app from any of the stores – Google Playstore or Apple store. You can also use Instagram on the web by visiting www.instagram.com.

Read: 11 Must-Have Instagram Tools To Boost Your Business

Second Step – Click on Sign Up

Launch the app and click on Sign Up for an account. Fill in your details to get started. Because it’s a business Instagram account, we recommend you use an official/administrative email address, especially if you want multiple people to access the account.

Note: If you have an existing Facebook Business Page, you can opt to log in with it to connect your Instagram and Facebook business pages.

Read: Facebook Page Posts; Who is Seeing Your Posts Now?

Step Three – Choose a Username and Password

Select a secure username and password, complete your profile details and finish logging in.

Step Four – You’ll get a New Personal Instagram Account.

When you open a new account on Instagram, the default is always a personal account which you can switch to a business/professional account.

Convert Your Personal Instagram Account to a Business Account

Creating a business page on Instagram is simpler if you have an existing account. In this case, all you need to do is to convert the page into a business account.

Step Five – Visit your Profile

Navigate to your personal Instagram profile.

Step Six – Tap on Menu and go to Settings

Step Seven – Switch to a Professional Account

Here, scroll down to the bottom of the options where you’ll see ‘Switch Account.’ Switch your account from a personal Instagram account to a business Instagram account. You might be required to fill in additional business information.

Note: In some accounts, you may see the option that says, “Switch to a professional account.” If you don’t see that, go to the next step, Click on Account, and Click Business.

Congrats! You have just created your business page on Instagram.

After Creating Your Instagram Business Account, What Next?

There are a few more things you must do if you want to gain the most out of your Instagram business page. These steps will help you grow faster, build an influence, generate leads, and make sales through your Instagram business page.

Read: 3 Things To Consider When Building An Audience On Instagram

Create a Winning Instagram Strategy

No doubt, you plan to use Instagram to grow your business. Thus, don’t relax after creating your business page. Develop an Instagram marketing strategy.

You have a lot of work before you, from what to post to when to post, accounts to engage, how to engage, reels strategy, and video strategy.

Start with understanding your audience and how Instagram works for marketing, and develop a winning Instagram marketing strategy.

Optimize Your Instagram Profile for Business

It’s easier to gain customer loyalty on Instagram when you have an optimized profile and are consistent with your brand identity. Consider using your company’s logo as your Instagram profile photo. Additionally, fill out your contact details so anyone can contact you directly from your profile.

You can also leverage Instagram buttons to allow customers to take specific actions, such as booking a slot or an appointment when they visit your profile.

Also, consider setting up highlights to add some personality to your business profile.

Read: How to View Private Instagram Accounts; 13 Proven Tips and Hacks

Share High-Quality Content

Instagram isn’t like Facebook or other social sites showcasing more written content. Instagram is more about visuals. Because of this, the hallmark of your content creation will be how creative you can get with images and videos.

Start with deciding on a standard visual identity and theme consistent with your branding. After that, you can create your first post-introductory content or just your company logo. In all, never lose track of your brand voice and tone.

Lastly, take quality photos. You may not need to buy a lot of equipment when your smartphone can serve for taking high-quality images, editing, and uploading them.

Grow and Engage Your Audience

Your business page on Instagram may not convert optimally if you don’t develop a road map for growing your business online with Instagram.

Besides posting content, you should work on engaging your audience via comments, likes, and shares. That way, they’ll feel your brand personality and align with you more.

Measure Success and Make Adjustments

Tracking your Instagram business account analytics is another critical thing to do after setting up your business account. This involves analyzing existing strategies and marketing tactics to know the ones yielding the most results and the ones you may have to discard.

Set up analytics metrics, measure what matters, and make informed decisions based on the tracked KPIs.

Benefits of Instagram Business Account

There are a lot of perks to using a business page on Instagram vs. using a personal account. Here are some benefits your business gets when you use Instagram for business.

• Customers will take you more seriously.
• You take advantage of Instagram advertising.
• You access Instagram analytics.
• It allows you to add links to your Instagram profile
• You can schedule posts and tag products in their posts.

An Instagram business account is optimized for business. It has many features that allow social media marketing automation.

Don’t Miss This: An Instagram Account for Business; 5 Reasons You Need It

Instagram Business Account Features

A business page on Instagram has a lot of features. Some of which will be strategic to your social media marketing.

Here are the popular ones.

• Viewing post insights
• Adding contact information and links
• Instagram online business promotion
• Bio upgrade (you can specify your industry)
• Create an Instagram online shop
• Creating quick replies or setting up automated responses.

You can access these features on any device that supports Instagram.

Wrapping Up on How to Create a Business Page on Instagram

Now that you know how to create a business page on Instagram, what’s next?

This is the perfect time to scale up marketing tactics and beat the competition. You can reach a wider audience, attract and convert more leads and grow your business by creating a business page on Instagram.

We hope this guide on How to Create a Business Page on Instagram helps you get the best out of Instagram marketing.

The post How to Create a Business Page on Instagram in 2 Minutes appeared first on Inspire To Thrive.