Make Instagram Your Brand Ambassador Watch this VIDEO to quickly double your Instagram followers by spending just 5 minutes per day. Instagram is the new wave in social media marketing niche and is growing by leaps and bounds. Since it is an online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing social networking service, user access is easy – is that not an added advantage for your business promotion? More than selling, making your brand reach the right target audience is more important. Instagram is one such mobile SNWS which facilitates easy brand promotion with little effort but huge exposure. A Few Excerpts from the Web on How to Use Instagram Effectively for Your Marketing What if we told you that Instagram is currently the world’s fastest-growing social media network and can boast of having 400 million active users? That’s 100 million more than Twitter. Can you afford to ignore such an opportunity? Since Facebook’s acquisition of the channel in 2012, Instagram growth has exploded, with 400 million active users, 30 billion photos shared, and an average of 70 million photos posted per day. With the adoption of a few best practices, Instagram can become a viable and engaging platform for many businesses to help build their brand and reputation and ultimately sell more. And while some businesses, particularly those with visual appeal (including those in the fashion, food, travel and entertainment industries), will find Instagram an instant fit, there remain a number of opportunities available to organizations in any vertical. Remember: Instagram will only drive success if it is operated as part of a cohesive marketing #strategy (nothing works in a vacuum). To this end, you should use Instagram (and any other social media channel) to keep your prospects and clients engaged with your brand. Social media will not replace the need for a well-designed website, a regularly updated blog and a targeted email marketing strategy (this will drive revenue). Put all four of these items together, and you’ll find, with the addition of hard work and planning, success comes more easily. Curated from Instagram for Business — Picture-Perfect Marketing Instagram Gives Amazing Results Through User Engagement People are engaging with Instagram posts on levels unparalleled by any other social network. According to Forrester research, Instagram user interactions with brands is 400% higher than on Facebook and Twitter, delivering 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more engagement per follower than Twitter. Curated from 5 Killer Instagram Marketing Strategies You Need to Know | SocialTimes Effective Instagram Marketing Strategies 1. Formulate your creative strategy: Ask yourself what your business has to offer people who are on Instagram. Why should they follow you on Instagram, when they are already following you on Facebook and Twitter? The trick here is to give them exclusive access to things that have more to do with your business location and your community than the actual promotions itself. When you’re using Instagram, think of personal engagement and the genuine interest of your audience as opposed to making your posts all about sales and promotions. 2. Use relevant hashtags: Hashtags tend to get mixed reviews from people, primarily because a lot of users haven’t mastered the art of effectively using them. But the beauty of hashtags from a business perspective is that it allows your posts to be visible to people who search for certain hashtags. The rule of thumb is to stick to about 4 to 7 hashtags, and make sure you make use of popular trending hashtags. 3. Share often, but don’t over-saturate your followers’ feeds: The best way to go about this is to create a posting schedule when you think your followers are most...

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES RECRUITING – AN INSIGHT Recruitment followed by hiring is a crucial and challenging task for any organization and human resource department acting as the hub for selecting the right candidates from the talent pool is always on a talent hunt. It is a herculean task to narrow down on the right prospect for every position and corporate companies most often outsource the job to leading recruiting companies having a large database to fill up corporate positions. I was inspired from this read on Bdaily which highlights how social media has turned the recruiting process simple and hassle free. Social Networking Sites are not for personal use anymore; they are becoming a professional platform too. There are more Pros than Cons Today we use social media for everything from sharing what we have eaten for dinner to organising special events, but did you know that many companies also use it during the recruitment process? Social media is an extremely useful tool for recruiters to use and here we are going to explain some of the ways it can assist them in hiring the right candidates to fill their vacancies. It takes seconds to complete an enquiry of a professional nature whereas in the past, it would have taken days. Instant communication brings about obvious benefits and even more obvious pitfalls; so how does this all affect the world of recruitment? There are more pros than cons to those who work in recruitment when it comes to social media and some of them are quite surprising! Using Social Media in the Recruiting Process In the past job vacancies would usually be published in newspapers and job boards at community centres and local post offices. Today employers not only have the option to use online job websites to post their vacancies, but social media sites too. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ provide the perfect way for employers to advertise their vacancies to their target audience, particularly if they are aged between eighteen and thirty four. Another benefit of posting job adverts on social media sites is that it is completely free to do so. Be sure to use hash tags and keywords to make it easier for individuals to find your adverts. Today it is becoming more and more common for employers to share interview tips on their social media pages. Providing interview tips will help candidates to prepare and will therefore allow both parties to benefit from a better interview process. Some of the tips you could share may relate to information about your company that candidates need to know or information regarding the type of interview you will be conducting, to give them an idea of what to expect on the day. Social Media Helps Employers to Promote Their Brand Finally, companies can use social media sites to improve their employer brands. The better you present yourself as an employer to potential candidates, the more they will want to work for you and not one of your competitors. A great way to strengthen your employer brand via social media is to publish content such as testimonials from your employees and behind the scenes footage (e.g. videos) of them at work. Curated from Social media in the recruitment process | Bdaily Business News Employees Look For Added Benefits Hiring has now become a 24/7 process since at any point of time there are a few vacancies in a firm due to dearth of good employees. More than the pay, the prospective employees are on the look out for added benefits in the form of insurance, medical allowance and stock options. Those companies in the higher echelon are focusing more and more on these aspects and this can be easily communicated through social media networks. Why Bother? By helping people understand what it’s like...

#Social Media Marketing Tips and Strategies I have always felt that gathering information on a particular topic is made easy when you visit the top influencers’ #social network profile in that particular niche. And people are willing to part with useful information now-a-days as it helps them establish trust amongst their followers and also convert them into returning customers or audience. That way Twitter is a great info platform where you are able to locate a topic in a jiffy since the gist has to be limites and catchy as well. That is a blessing in disguise as it helps us to hit bang on target. Social Media Marketing is now synonymous with sales and every marketing firm is in a position to find the best social media #strategy that suits its business activity. Follow @managementguru1 There are lot of social media marketing tools that facilitate the vendors to generate more leads which in turn can lead to conversions. Customers are the focal point and products and services are customized to suit their taste. Data also plays a big role for marketers to capture leads from each and every possible source. Major social media platforms are on a high taking full advantage of the situation by targeting the marketers to leverage the huge traffic to sell their products or services. It becomes a win-win situation for both sides and the customers are flushed with information on new commodities along with product reviews and competitive price info. Read the Social Media & Marketing Daily Here is a curated version of nine tweets from top social media influencers in the Tweeting Circle that gives insight as “How to leverage consumer psychology, how to generate leads, how to reward your social followers, how to boost your #social media engagement, how to carry out a successful email marketing campaign and the essential skills a social manager neeeds!” Curated from Write to Right on Twitter: “How to use the psychology of reviews to improve your social media marketing http://t.co/TwK7y6aYIZ socialmedia http://t.co/BXyPB7alyI” Curated from Jonathan Gebauer on Twitter: “7 Great Ways To Generate Leads From LinkedIn – And They Are Personal http://t.co/g7IFZ7tkTu http://t.co/mTWqnIzd9p” Curated from Kerry Butters on Twitter: “3 Great Ways To Reward Your Social Followers: http://t.co/d2dNJILphi  SocialMediaMarketing SocialMedia http://t.co/5j9FIl3rMh” Curated from Jay Baer on Twitter: “Top 3 Mistakes Brands Make with Influencer Marketing via @Insightpool http://t.co/hNTdBIr24z http://t.co/AbTM9RDEkI” Curated from Marketing Technology on Twitter: “6 Ways to Maximize Social Media for Event Marketing http://t.co/83juwyTBao infographics social http://t.co/rjeTXUicPn” Curated from Tim Fargo on Twitter: “4 Steps to Boost Your Social Media Engagement growthhacking socialmediatools smm http://t.co/nwQj3G2Deg http://t.co/chGgVSTdok” Curated from Qualaroo on Twitter: “7 Email, SMS, & Push Message Hacks To Convert Trial Users Into Customers http://t.co/9LjuGMcfui http://t.co/lGwSjN6iU5” Curated from GrowthHackers SMB on Twitter: “3 Steps to Convert Followers into Users and Customers http://t.co/JxJwTWuriI http://t.co/pLyTb2Icgq” Curated from Jeff Bullas on Twitter: “10 Essential Skills a SocialMedia Manager Needs @somerocontesthttp://t.co/VkOeojHjtH smm marketingtips http://t.co/3eGbHKbByv”...

As Halloween the beloved festival observed in many countries is fast approaching, the retail market is like steaming hot. Manufacturers and Marketers are on a constant roll to maximize the sales volume with a decent margin. Christmas follows suit and the market enthusiasm is never going to boil down. People will be on a “Shopping Spree” and will definitely not mind spending a few extra bucks on their purchases. So, how the retail market which is going to be the shopping hub react to this “Mega Holiday Shopping?” Holiday #ecommerce sales are important for many online retailers In some cases, small business owners might see a significant portion of total annual sales in just a couple of months. Understanding what to expect in terms of growth or trends may help with planning your holiday season. The holiday shopping season will start long before #Black Friday or #Cyber Monday. In fact, at least 25 percent of holiday shoppers in the United States will purchase a Christmas gift before Halloween. Year after year, online retail sales outpace retail sales overall, and 2015 will be no exception. But regardless of where a product is sold, it will be a good year for retail. 4 Predictions for the 2015 Holiday Shopping Season Early shopping, Ecommerce Sales Growth, Improved #email marketing, and #mobile commerce will be among the most important ecommerce trends during the 2015 Christmas shopping season, which lasts from the end of October through December 24. Two things will make email even better this holiday season First, expect to see more companies automate email messages, so that when shoppers make a holiday purchase they will see follow up messages that are designed to make additional sales and retain those holiday customers all year long. Second, email marketers are getting better at segmentation and personalization, which, in turn, should make an already effective #marketing vehicle even better. Three factors will continue to push growth for mobile ecommerce First, even more sites are responsive and mobile optimized. Having a responsive website is not a competitive advantage in 2015; it is a competitive requirement. Second, as smartphone screens get larger, mobile ecommerce becomes easier. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is 5.65 inches tall and 2.78 inches wide. The iPhone 6 Plus is 6.22 inches tall and 3.06 inches wide with a 5.5 inch HD display. On devices like these, it is simply easier to shop. Third, mobile payment options are improving, again making it easier to shop from a smartphone. Curated from 4 Predictions for 2015 Holiday Shopping Season | Practical Ecommerce How to prep your ecommerce store for holiday shoppers Even though it’s only early October, if you’re online #retail business isn’t already gearing up for the holiday season, you may miss out on revenue. So what should you and your staff be doing now to ensure your ecommerce store is able to handle the extra holiday-related traffic? Don’t make any drastic changes to navigation or layout right now Make certain your site can handle the additional holiday traffic  Ensure your site is up to speed Show that your site is secure Ensure you’re properly stocked – and can re-order inventory quickly if necessary Staff up Make sure people can shop from a variety of devices Optimize images and give your site a festive feel Showcase top-rated items – and offer gift suggestions Alert customers to holiday shipping deadlines Offer live chat Add a gift-wrap option Offer free shipping Provide hassle free exchanges/returns Make checking out easy Provide a self-service option so customers can check on shipping and get answers to FAQs Curated from How to prep your ecommerce store for holiday shoppers | CIO Ultimately the customers must leave...

When you write your business plan, start with the basics, and write the things that you have already thought about. The name of your business, your goals, your team and the products/services you propose to offer. This gives a clean headstart to further evolve your business plan. A business plan should mainly focus on the future fund flow that will pique the interest of the bankers you are trying to pitch for a loan or investors whom you want to genuinely impress. Here are a few Business Plan Starter Questions 1. What is your mission statement? Your mission statement is what you want to do now, and your vision statement is what you want to do in the future. 2. What are your top keys to success? Don’t write a laundry list of keys, keep it simple, and focused. 3. What is your value proposition? Why should someone do business with you? 4. What are your core competencies or skills? 5. What is your start up budget? Write it like a grocery list, at first, and add up the numbers. 6. The executive summary is written last; after the entire business plan is, absolutely, finished. Think of the executive summary as your movie trailer, build to attract interest in your business. Writing a business plan is a huge undertaking, and if you have never done it before, it is down-right scary. Planning to start a small business? Think no more.. You’ve hit the right spot and we have compiled all that is necessary to win over the challenges of a new startup. This guide will serve as a jump start for your new venture and make it exciting. The web has loads of sample plans, but how do you, really, write your own business plan, your own way? How do you write the plan that accomplishes the goals that you want to accomplish in your business? This Business Planner will make your process simple and hassle free! How to Start a Small Business at Home – Read on to find out the Benefits and Advantages of a Home-Based Business Ask Yourself the Right Questions First things first, you have to start thinking about what you’re not thinking about. Ask yourself the right questions, about your business and put it into your plan notes. The best way to write a business plan is to write it in small segments or pieces. Forget trying to consume, writing the entire plan as a large, mammoth, assignment. It is, too, overwhelming, give yourself a break, and write small bursts, of information. It is easier, to write your top three to five business objectives, clearly and concisely when you are not looking down the barrel of a twenty-thirty page business plan....