How to increase your YouTube subscribers

A subscriber is someone who follows your YouTube channel and wants to stay informed of any new content you post.

Increasing your subscribers on YouTube is important because it will increase the popularity and exposure of your channel. Your subscribers will often share your videos, which may even result in your videos going viral.

Social Media Examiner has provided some great tips for getting more subscribers to your YouTube channel.

Prompt people to become subscribers: You can ask people to subscribe to your YouTube channel by asking them to click the ‘subscribe’ button above your video. You can write a sentence on your YouTube channel telling people how to subscribe, where to find the button and why they should subscribe.

Include an annotation: Annotations are colourful messages that you can stick on your videos. You should add an annotation just under your subscribe button and ask people to subscribe. Only add one or two annotations because they are often overused and can become distracting.

Put your video on your website: A great way to increase your subscribers is to exposure your video to a wider audience. You can imbed your videos on your website, blog, Facebook or other social media pages to attract more people to your YouTube channel.

Interact with your subscribers: People will be more likely to subscribe to your channel when they see that you are constantly updating it and providing new content. YouTube is a community and you need to maintain a constant interaction in this community. Comment on other people’s videos and they may be more likely to watch your videos and comment back. If you create a relationship with other YouTube users you can increase your subscribers.

Set a goal: Set a goal of how many subscribers you want to achieve and post this goal on your YouTube channel. People will be more willing to become subscribers to help you reach your goal. Make sure you provide people with an incentive to become a subscriber, such as when you reach your goal you will do something fun or unique that they would be interested in.

Once you have increased your subscribers you need to keep them interested in your channel. Make sure you post content consistently and interact with others on YouTube. You also need to provide content that is interesting and of value to your subscribers.

Read the full article here.

What you need to know about LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social media platform that has been specifically created for businesses and professionals.

LinkedIn provides a great way to stay in touch with your business connections or create relationships with new people.

When you join LinkedIn make sure you fill out every section of your profile so that people can identify you. Add a summary of where you are working now and your previous positions. You should also include a photo.

Start making connections
LinkedIn allows you to quickly add your contacts via Outlook. You can search for people you want to link with and LinkedIn suggests people you may know, and then you can send them a message asking to add them to your network.

LinkedIn isn’t a popularity contest – it’s the quality of connections rather than quantity. Having said that, the more connections you have means you can create more business relationships. As with ‘real-life’ networking, people would much rather work with people who their associates are connected to.

When you attend networking functions you can then add the people you met to LinkedIn and easily stay in touch with each other. You can also look at their connections and add anyone you would like to get to know better.

Join a LinkedIn group
There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn. Joining groups is a great way to build your online network of connections on LinkedIn. They allow you to find communities of professionals who share a common experience, passion, interest, affiliation or goal. You can join a group or even create your own group.

Ask and answer questions
LinkedIn has a feature called ‘LinkedIn Answers’ where you can ask and answer business-related questions posted by your connections or the extended LinkedIn network. Participating in this feature is a great way of gaining trust and building your reputation, as well as a chance to show off your own expertise to others.

Improve your Google PageRank
Have you noticed that when you Google a person’s name often their LinkedIn profile is highly ranked. This means you can influence what people see when they search for you online. Make sure you add not only important (credible) information to your profile but also a link to your website or blog. Remember to create a public profile or it may not appear on Google searches.

Ask for recommendations
Recommendations are an effective way of promoting yourself and your business. People who are happy with your work can write a brief description of their experience on your LinkedIn profile. You can ask your clients or co-workers to post recommendations, which future employers and clients can view to gauge your skill and level of trustworthiness. Obviously, what goes around comes around, so you should also take the time to write recommendations for other people that you’ve had good experiences with.

Your LinkedIn page is basically your online resume, which means it’s important to include professional information about yourself. You should also conduct yourself professionally when using the site and communicating with your connections.

How to find ideas for your next blog

Are you struggling to think of ideas for your next blog post?

Creating new and exciting content each week can be difficult and you may feel like you have run out of ideas. However, don’t give up because there are so many ideas out there for you to choose from.

Business 2 Community has provided some great tips for how to find your next blog post.

• How to guides: You can write a how to guide, which is a set of instructions explaining the steps on how to do something. How to guides have a limitless number of possibilities from the simplest task to a challenging procedure. They are also a great way to display your expert knowledge and teach other people. How to guides can also position you as an expert in your industry.
• Conduct interviews: You can interview a thought leader in your industry and ask them to share their advice or inspiring story. You can then write the blog post as an interview or include their quotes in your article.
• Ask for contributions: You can ask other people or bloggers to write a post to include on your blog. You can also offer them a guest blogging position where they contribute a regular post to your blog.
• Ask questions: Engage your followers by asking questions and encouraging them to answer. Feedback from your followers is very important to understand what they are interested in reading on your blog. You could even ask them what they would like you to write about next.
• Record podcasts or videos: By having a different medium of communication on your blog it can attract new followers and add an extra spark of interest to your blog. Record your blog post in a podcast or video to add variety to your blog.
• Hold a giveaway: You can run a giveaway and reward the winner with a free gift. Get the participants to answer a question and the best response wins.

There are so many ideas that you can use for your next blog post, you just need to think outside the box.

Be creative with your blog posts and you may find that you gain new followers or increase the traffic to your blog.

Read the full article here.

Sharing your message – how to build a media list

You’ve written a media release announcing an exciting piece of news from your company (or client) and you’re now ready to send it.

Securing coverage is vital to the success of the project, so you want to make sure you distribute the announcement to the right journalists. So how do you do that?

By following these simple tips you can build a media list that will have your important announcement in the hands of those that matter.

Identify the industry sectors that are relevant to your message
Consider the makeup of a business and its clients. What organisations does it identify with? Who is its target audience? Does it operate on a national, state or local level? Think outside the box, but always ensure the sector has relevance to the company.

Ask yourself – is your message for trade or consumer media (what’s the difference)
Once you have identified the relevant industry sectors that you wish to send your announcement to, you must decide if the release is for general distribution, or relevant to either trade or consumer media.

Trade publications are specific to an industry and are a useful channel to get your message out to those in your sector. Trade publications are always looking for relevant industry copy and are very open to forging positive relationships.

Mainstream media comprises newspapers and newspaper magazines (suburban, state and national), popular magazines (often national), radio and television (state or national). Don’t forget there are specific sections in the mainstream media you can target, for example IT and marketing.

With the exception of suburban newspapers, mainstream media will often only run a story if it has wide appeal, is relevant to an ongoing national issue, timely to an event and non-promotional.

Compile a list of target publications and journalists
There are many media sites which can assist with this process for a fee, otherwise you can research search terms (such as Australian small business magazines) through Google or similar programs.

If you choose to research your own list you may often find there is a generic email address for media releases. If a contact number is also provided, phone the organisation and ask for the email of a journalist who deals specifically with your industry. It is always better to send your release to an actual person, rather than a newsdesk. Not only does it help when phoning to follow up, but it also ensures your message is not going to get lost in a spam filter.

Always double check
Even if you are using a paid-for media list, there are times when it will still be incorrect.

If you are unsure, look up the news organisation, or give them a call to confirm. The only thing worse than an announcement going to the wrong person at the wrong outlet, is it going nowhere at all.

Choose relevant contact information
For most media lists, this will be the name of the publication, the first and last name of the journalist and their title, an email address and a phone number for following up. You could include a company website for reference, but it’s unlikely you will need to make note of a fax number.

Build your list
Either use a database program or an excel spreadsheet to display your media list. All columns should have clear bold headings and information should be displayed in order, and in a consistent format.

If you work with multiple industry sectors and want to tailor messages to specific media, display contact information by industry group.

Maintain your list
Now that you have compiled a great media list, it’s important to maintain it. When you receive an email bounce back, immediately update the contact in your media list.

Often the bounce back will include the new contact. If not, phone the organisation to get the name, contact information and rounds list of the replacement.

Even though we often spend the most time on developing the angle or the media release, if you don’t send it to the correct journalists, then it isn’t going to be successful, no matter how great it is.

Tips to grow your LinkedIn network

LinkedIn is a great social media platform, which allows you to connect with other business professionals and people in your industry.

To gain the best results from LinkedIn it’s important to grow your LinkedIn network by connecting with new people.

Social Media Examiner has provided some great tips on how to build your LinkedIn network.

1. Look for new connection opportunities: You should constantly be looking for new people on LinkedIn that you can connect with. Check the ‘people you may know’ section to see new people on LinkedIn that you might know. You can then send them an invitation to connect with you. You can also use the ‘Alumni’ search feature to find people you may know from the school or University you attended. 
2. Be active on LinkedIn: You can grow your LinkedIn network when other people see that you are an active member on the social media platform. By constantly updating your status you will increase your visibility to others by regularly appearing in the LinkedIn newsfeed. Other people will then see you as a familiar face and may be more likely to connect with you on LinkedIn. You can increase your activity on LinkedIn by updating your status three times a day, commenting on other status updates, answering questions or commenting on other people’s profiles.
3. Use LinkedIn at the best time of the day: The best time to be active on LinkedIn is in the afternoon or evening because most people use LinkedIn at this time. This means you can post your status updates at the best time for people to see and engage with them.
4. Join LinkedIn groups: You can join a LinkedIn group to find new connections and increase your visibility on the social media platform. To maximise the benefits of a LinkedIn group you need to actively participate and contribute to the conversation. Post helpful comments, ask for advice and respond to other people’s posts.
5. Post useful and interesting content: The information you post on LinkedIn must be relevant, interesting and useful to your connections. By posting great content other people will see you as an authority in your industry and as a valuable member on LinkedIn. Other people might then share your content with their connections.

When you grow your LinkedIn network you are creating relationships with other business professionals and people in your industry. This could then lead to new business or job opportunities.

Read the full article here.

What you need to know before joining social media

Before you dive into social media there are a few things to consider. There are hundreds of social media platforms; however many have different audiences and different ways they interact with their users.

You need to choose the platforms that suit the needs of your business and represent your brand effectively. Here are a few questions you should consider before you join a social media platform.

Where is your target audience? Before you join a social media platform stop and think about where your target audience is. What social media platforms are they using and which ones are they avoiding? You should think about how your target audience is using these platforms and when. With this information you can create a targeted approach to social media by joining platforms that reach your target audience.

Which platform suits your business? You don’t have to join all the social media platforms at once. Start by choosing the top two platforms that are right for your business. For example if you have a corporate business that is interested in increasing your professional network then LinkedIn is the perfect site.

Who will manage your social media accounts? Social media can be very time consuming. You need to consider who will manage your social media accounts and who is able to devote enough time to each platform. You can designate a particular employee or a team of people to manage your accounts. Make sure to educate your staff on how to use social media effectively and what messages you want them to distribute.

How will you use social media? You need to develop a strategy about how your business will use social media. This strategy should include what information you will post, how often it will be posted, how your brand will be represented and how you respond to positive and negative comments.

What are the security settings?  Make sure you are aware of the security settings on each social media platform to ensure that your privacy settings are up to date. Always read the terms and conditions of each site to ensure you are aware of its rules.

Are you prepared for a long relationship with social media? Social media is not just a onetime thing. It takes a long time to build a following on social media and to position your business as a valuable member of an online community. Join well-established social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook because they have the potential to continue for a long time.

By taking into consideration these six points you can start using social media with a clear goal and strategy in mind.

How your business can use Twitter

Twitter can be a great social media platform for your business, if it’s used correctly.

Using Twitter isn’t just about posting anything that will fit into the 140 character limit. You need to strategically think about how you will use Twitter to communicate with your customers.

Once you start posting tweets that are useful to your customers you have the potential to increase your brand awareness, attract new customers and engage with existing customers.

Social Media Today has provided some great tips on how to use Twitter for your business.

Research: You can conduct market research on Twitter by asking your customers questions. You can ask for their opinions about your products, their interests or about their purchasing behaviours. This allows your business to gain real customer feedback, which will help to improve your business.

Build brand loyalty: You can use Twitter to quickly respond to customer needs or complaints. By creating a regular presence on Twitter you can monitor the conversation about your business and view negative comments. You can then resolve issues quickly and make your customers happy. This will increase your brand loyalty and reputation for good customer service.

Customer engagement: It’s important to create a relationship with your customers on Twitter to increase their brand awareness. You can engage with your customers by responding to their tweets quickly, thanking them if they retweet your posts and by tweeting relevant and useful content. By starting a meaningful conversation with your customers they will feel a closer connection with your business. 

Create a strategy: Your business should develop a strategy for their Twitter usage with a clear goal in mind. Write down how and when you will use Twitter. Discuss the types of information you will tweet and whether it will appeal to your customers. This strategy will help your business engage with your customers and gain the best results from your use of Twitter.

Twitter provides a great opportunity to communicate directly with your customers. Take advantage of this opportunity and increase your brand awareness and loyalty with existing and potential customers.

Read the full article here.

Starting out in PR – why internships give you the edge over your competition

Qualifications are important in any career but when you are starting out in PR, it is experience that will give you the edge over other job candidates.

In today’s competitive world, even graduates need to be able to hit the ground running and be able to confidently and effectively deal with anything that comes their way.

Most tertiary institutions that offer courses in public relations and communications will provide students with at least one internship opportunity, but if you are passionate about a career in PR the best thing to do is to be proactive and source your own opportunities.

What industry are you interested in?
Start by identifying the type of organisation you are interested in and even which industry sectors you would like to work with.

The more experience you have in different sectors, the easier it will be, when it comes time for looking at full time work to choose an agency or even in-house job in the industry you know you are interested in.

Each industry differs when it comes to skill. Some industries, such as consumer, are fast-paced, constantly on the go and turning over work and writing lots of media releases and sending out product. Other industries, such as business or government might include more strategy and media relations.

Choosing an agency
Once you have identified the type of role you are after it is important to do your research and identify the agencies that match your skills and interests. There is no point in approaching a fashion agency if you are interested in finance.

The size of an agency will also play a large role in the skills and experience you gain. Consultants employed at large agencies will often specialise in a particular client type and will have specific duties.

In smaller agencies there is often a need to have all hands on deck and you will be exposed to a multitude of public relations practices, from event planning to media liaison and everything in between.

Send the director or (if applicable) the HR manager of each agency a personalised email outlining why you want to intern with them and what it is about them that captured your attention. Also send with it your resume and a cover letter explaining what your professional background is i.e. tertiary education, part time work and any other experience relating to your chosen field.

If you haven’t heard anything after two days follow up with a phone call. Be prepared to answer questions and have a note pad and pen available to take notes on.

Get maximum benefit from your internship
Once you have been accepted for an internship or work experience, make the most of the opportunity. Don’t hide in the background and wait to be given work. Put your hand up for any task that you feel able to accomplish and if you take something on and need help, ask for it.

It is important to be proactive and contribute to the team. Your ideas are valid, and even though they may not be used, you will be remembered for speaking up.

A positive internship will lead to positive recommendations, which will ultimately give you the edge over your competition once you graduate. It may even lead to an offer from the company you interned with.

If you don’t feel you gained as much from an internship as you would have liked, or would like to experience a different type of environment, apply for another internship. The more experience you can gain, the better!

Using social media to communicate with women

Social media is a great way to directly communicate with your target audience, especially if they are women.

Studies have shown that many of the users on popular social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are women.

This means that your business can use social media platforms as a tactic to reach women and gain real feedback and opinions about your business or its products. Social media is also perfect for selling your business’ products online because some women frequently discuss products and purchases on social media.

Webseo Analytics has provided some great tips on how to use social media to reach women and increase your business’ visibility.

• Research: Conduct some research into how women use social media sites and why they use it. Research what these women are interested in and create a strategy around how your business can best fulfil their needs.
• Join major social media sites: Start a business page on the major social media sites used by women, which are Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. Don’t just set up the page and hope that people will interact with you. You need to post regular updates and useful information that will appeal to women. Develop a strategy for each social media site detailing how your business will use it to engage with your target audience.
• Target specific small sites: Once you know what your target audience is interested in you can research specific niche social media sites that they might be using. There are hundreds of niche blogs for women that you can discover such as Mummy bloggers or businesswomen bloggers. Your business can create a presence on these sites by contributing useful information and benefiting the conversation on the site.
• Make interaction exciting: Engage women online by offering promotions, competitions and discounts. Make it fun for women to interact with your business online and you will maximise your success on social media.

Take advantage of the unique opportunity social media presents and start communicating with your target audience today.

Read the full article here.

How to follow up with the media

So you’ve sent out a pitch or a media release to journalists and have received no reply. What now?  What should you do to find out if the journalist received your email or if they are interested? An essential skill for all PR professionals is to learn how to follow up with the media over the phone.

The best way to follow up with a journalist is by calling them. An appropriate time to follow-up is usually two to three days after the email pitch or release has been sent.

Never wait more than a week to  follow up as waiting too long may result in the journalist deleting your email, the story being covered by another person or the story becoming (quite literally) yesterday’s news.

When it comes to following-up journalists the best advice would be to go with your gut instinct – listen to their tone of voice and the way they phrase their answers and make decisions based on that.

However, sometimes that can be a bit hard to do, so here are a few tips you should always take into account when following-up with a journalist.

Be very specific about the media pitch or release you sent them. Don’t just say “I sent you a release and wanted to know if you were interested”.

• Be polite and speak clearly
  When calling a journalist speak clearly and be very direct and to the point. Try to sound interested and enthusiastic to make the call interesting for the journalist.
• Don’t be afraid of journalists
  Don’t be intimidated by journalists, they are people too.  If you contact them at a bad time apologise once and move on, apologising more than that can become annoying.
• Choose your questions wisely
  When calling a journalist don’t ask them if they are going to publish the media release. Instead, tell them the date you sent the media release on and what it was regarding. Simply ask if they received the release and if they would like further information or high resolution images.
• Be ready to respond to their requests
  You should be ready to supply the journalist with relevant images, additional information, event details or the contact details of your spokesperson. You can also line up interviews for the journalist to make it easier for them to cover your story/client.

Now that you have the journalist on the phone, how do you react to their responses? One way to calm your nerves and sound more confident on the phone would be to plan out what you want to get across – your pitch or key points.

However, any phone conversation can be unpredictable especially when dealing with a journalist. The best way to tackle any response from a journalist is to be flexible and prepared for anything. You may need to resend the release or answer detailed questions on the spot. More than likely you will need to leave a voice message, so be prepared for that.

Remember after every follow-up to make a note of the outcome to ensure you remember who you have called and who was interested.

The most important thing to remember when conducting a media follow-up is to remain confident and try to provide the most appropriate and interesting information for the journalist. With a little bit of preparation beforehand, you can then hang up the phone feeling like you’ve achieved your goal and maintained a good relationship with the journalist.