Make It With Michael

By Curtis Foreman Thanks to the magic of following and unfollowing, every Twitter user can tweak and adjust their feed until it delivers exactly what they want. Looking for breaking news ? Product recommendations ? Cat GIFs ? Twitter’s the place to find the latest and greatest. What that means for marketers is that there as many ways to use Twitter as there are brands (and people) using it. What is Twitter marketing? It’s what you want it to be. Want to learn more about your customers? Make your brand a little more human ? Build buzz about your new product? Make an influencer’s day ? Provide lightning-fast customer support ? Start mopping up after a PR disaster ? Publicly humiliate trolls ? Twitter’s got you covered. Whatever your marketing goals, there’s no question Twitter can be a powerful tool to help you achieve them. But you might not be sure where to start—or if you’ve already started, maybe you’re having trouble tying your Twitter strategy to your larger business objectives....

By Shane Barker Instagram is one of the most widely used social media platforms, and therefore an excellent marketing channel. That’s why even a casual glance at its accounts will reveal lots of big brands. Its unique photo-sharing platform offers brands one-of-a-kind opportunities to gain visibility and engage in dialogue with their customers. It’s highly likely you’re already doing your best to market your business through Instagram. Here are nine of the easiest (and most effective) ways to increase your sales on Instagram and optimize your content. #1: Only post compelling images Instagram is a visual platform. So first and foremost, you should only post high-quality images. Ideally, your images will be creative and eye-catching, and appropriately highlight the products you wish to promote. Once your customers land on your profile, they must be able to recognize your brand immediately. Check out some of the images posted by Taco Bell below. As you can see, they’re playful an...

By Christina Newberry Mobile messaging is on the rise. More than 1.4 billion people used mobile messaging apps in 2016 according to eMarketer —an increase of almost 16 percent over 2015. According to Nielsen’s Facebook Messaging Survey , 59 percent of people use messaging apps more now than they did two years ago, and 56 percent expect to use messaging even more over the next two years. And in case you think messaging is only for chatting with friends, take note: while 59 percent of respondents to the Nielsen survey said they use messaging apps to connect with friends and family, 67 percent said they expect to use messaging more for communicating with businesses over the next two years. Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals how to increase social media engagement with better audience research, sharper customer targeting, and Hootsuite’s easy-to-use social media software. What is a messenger app? Messenger apps allow users to message one another, either one-on-one or in grou...