Tuesday, January 24, 2017

How to Use Facebook Login on Your Website


social media how toDo you want more information about the people who log into your website?

Wondering how you can target your website visitors more effectively on Facebook?

When you let visitors log into your site with their Facebook profile, you can collect their demographic attributes and other characteristics.

In this article, you'll discover how to add Facebook Login to your website.

How to Use Facebook Login on Your Websit   e by Peter Szanto on Social Media Examiner. How to Use Facebook Login on Your Website by Peter Szanto on Social Media Examiner.

From musical tastes to work history, there are close to 50 different types of permissions you can request from your visitors with Facebook Login.

Allow website visitors to register with Facebook Login. Allow website visitors to register with Facebook Login.

Although it may be tempting to collect as much information as you can from visitors' Facebook profiles, asking for permissions is a double-edged sword. Each data field you request is likely to decrease the opt-in rate.

So focus on the data that will be most helpful to your business and only ask permission to access this information. Here are some permissions that could be useful:

Email

If you collect visitors' email addresses with Facebook, you can avoid misspellings or obtaining that special email address people use only for registrations. Plus, you'll collect valid, working emails that will match with custom audience uploads to social ad networks, like Facebook Ads or Google AdWords.

Public Profile

With access to visitors' public profiles, you'll collect visitors' names, the languages they speak, their age group, and gender. Among other things, you can use this information to create more effective and personal marketing messages.

Decide what information you want to collect from    visitors' Facebook profiles. Decide what information you want to collect from visitors' Facebook profiles.

User Likes

Likes let you learn about your visitors' interests and preferences, allowing you to provide a much better experience for them. For instance, if you're an ecommerce site, you could use this information to recommend products your visitors would like or offer suggestions based on their favorite activities.

User Friends

With this permission, you can find out which of a visitor's Facebook friends have registered at your site. This will help provide social proof and improve your recommendation engine.

Tip: If you call your visitors' attention to the advantages of social log in and clearly explain how their data will be used, they'll be more likely to grant you the necessary permissions.

After you decide which permissions you want to request from your visitors, you'll need to build a Facebook application that can handle them. Fortunately, it's not as complicated as it might sound.

To get started, you'll need to create a developers account on Facebook. To do this, navigate to developers.facebook.com and log in with your Facebook credentials. Then click Create App in the upper-right corner.

Click Create App after logging into your Facebook developers account. Click Create App after logging into your Facebook developers account.

In the pop-up window, type in a name for your app and choose the category that best describes your website.

Fill in the details for your new Facebook app. Fill in the details for your new Facebook app.

After you've successfully created your app (and gotten past the captcha), click the Get Started button for Facebook Login.

Click Get Started next to Facebook Login. Click Get Started next to Facebook Login.

Next click Settings > Basic in the left sidebar.

Go to Settings > Basic in your Facebook developers dashboard. Go to Settings > Basic in your Facebook developers dashboard.

Then add a link to the privacy policy and the terms of use on your website, and check your contact email.

Add a link to your website privacy policy and terms of use. Add a link to your website privacy policy and terms of use.

Click on +Add Platform and select the Website option.

Select Website as your Facebook app platform. Select Website as your Facebook app platform.

Add the URL of your site. Make sure you use the correct form of the URL (for example, http://mydomain.com); otherwise, the integration won't work.

Add the URL for your website. Add the URL for your website.

At this point, you can go ahead and publish your app. Don't be concerned that no one will find your app at this point. You can publish it in the App Review menu (under Settings).

The next step is to add extra permissions (development and app review as well).

If your app asks for permission from website visitors to access information other than their email address, friend list, and public profile info, you'll need approval from Facebook before you can start using the app.

Here's how to ask for permission to access user likes. First, navigate to App Review on your dashboard and click Start a Submission.

Under App Review, click Start a Submission. Under App Review, click Start a Submission.

Scroll down and selec t the user_likes option and click Add 1 Item.

Select which items you want to include in your Facebook app submission. Select which items you want to include in your Facebook app submission.

To get access to the likes, you'll need to provide a step-by-step description of the login process on your website. Facebook's Developers Guide details everything you need to know about its requirements.

You'll also need to explain what you'll use the likes for. To do this, click the Edit Notes link.

Click Edit Notes under Current Submission. Click Edit Notes under Current Submission.

Now provide a brief description of how your app wi ll work.

Explain how you'll use the Facebook likes data you collect. Explain how you'll use the Facebook likes data you collect.

For example, here's one way you might explain how you'll use likes for website personalization:

We need access to a person's list of interests to create a personalized experience by surfacing content related to a person's social profile.

Using permissions will allow us to visibly change the structure of the website and prioritize content based on the user's interests.

In addition to this description, you could provide the URL of the site to show your app in action and explain how it will change after visitors use the Login button.

You can also attach a video about the login process on your site. In your video, record and narrate at least the following events on your site:

How a person logs in with Facebook. Explain the placement of the Login button and how it works.How a person sees this permission used in your app. For example, illustrate how user likes could modify the content of the website after login.Upload a video that explains the Facebook login process on your website. Upload a video that explains the Facebook login process on your website.

After you upload your documents and files, click Save.

If you want to ask for other permissions in addition to user_likes (such as information about relationship_status, education_history, or work_history), repeat this process.

Once you explain e very permission you want to use on your website, click Submit for Review. Your app generally will be reviewed in a couple of days. In rare cases, it might take longer but no more than two weeks.

You can trigger the Facebook login process on your website in two ways. We'll walk you through how to integrate the official Login button into your website because it's the simpler solution.

Navigate to https://developers.facebook.com/docs/facebook-login/web/login-button. Here you can customize the appearance of your Login button. You can define the language of the button and modify its code.

Customize your Facebook Login button. Customize your Facebook Login button.

The page lists every modification you can make to your button's operations. For example, if you change auto_logout_link to True, your button will allow users to log out if they click on the button a second time.

The default setting for the Login button is to ask permission from users to collect basic information from their profile. Don't forget to change it if you plan to ask for any other permissions.

When you're finished customizing your button, copy the JavaScript SDK. Then after the opening body tag on your webpage, place the button code wherever you want the plugin to appear on your page.

Review the list of modifications you can make to the Facebook Login button. Review the list of modifications you can make to the Facebook Login button.

Make sure you change the code and add the extra scopes. If yo u have extra permissions for user_likes, user_relationships, and user_location, for example, the code should look something like this:

function fblogin(){ FB.login(function(response) {},{ scope: 'email,user_friends,publish_actions,user_likes,user_relationships,user_location' });

And that's it. If you're requesting extra permissions, you'll have to wait for verification from the Facebook team; otherwise, your app is ready.

One more thing to consider is how you plan to store, access, and use the information your users provide through Facebook Login.

If you can't devote a large developer team for this task but want to take advantage of the data (for instance, by using it to create more convincing retargeting campaigns or personalize your website), consider working with a third-party data provider. There are several great tools that can help you export and analyze the profile information of your visitors.

If you can handle this development in-house, y ou can access your visitors' data in .xls or .cvs file exported by your developers.

Facebook Login Registration Example: RevNGo

Pointing out the advantages of social login and clearly explaining to visitors how their data is going to be used can significantly increase the number of people who register on your site with Facebook.

A pop-up message provides further explanation for the Facebook Login process. A pop-up message provides further explanation for the Facebook Login process.

As an example, let's look at how travel site RevNGo effectively uses Facebook Login. You can find their registration box in the upper-right corner of the site. The incentive is simple and clear:

Join the inner circle! You can view our secret offers! It is accessible on all your devices! Log in with Facebook!

Move the cursor ov er the registration box and another pop-up explanation is visible. The goal is to resolve misgivings that users might have about the process.

If you click the blue Facebook button, a pop-up box informs you that the site will get access to your public profile, friend list, email address, and current city. Only access to your profile is required for registration.

Explain what Facebook profile data you're requesting for Facebook permissions. Explain what Facebook profile data you're requesting for Facebook permissions.

If you click Edit This, you can deny access to the other data sources.

You can allow users to deny access to certain Facebook profile data. You can allow users to deny access to certain Facebook profile data.

It takes about three clicks to subscribe or register at RevNGo.com. You don't need to enter your email address, come up with a new password, or remember a password that you probably use too often.

Although the site emphasizes Facebook Login, it also allows you to register with your email address. According to studies, about half of website visitors prefer social logins and are willing to share personal information with the owners of sites they trust.

That's why it's a good idea to provide alternative solutions for the other 50% of your visitors. This way you can ensure that you won't lose any subscriptions.

Conclusion

The most obvious benefit of using social logins is that it speeds up the registration process. Every extra step that visitors have to take before making a purchase or signing up reduces conversion rates. On websites that use social logins, visitors can get through the process with just a few clicks.

Integrating social logins also helps you get to know your visitors better than if you went with more traditional solutions.

Of course, if you want to take full advantage of Facebook Login (such as personalizing your website based on the preferences of your users), you'll need to devote more time and resources for development. But it's worth the effort because a deeper understanding of your visitors can help significantly increase your conversion rates.

What do you think? Do you use Facebook Login on your website? What tips can you share? Please share your thoughts in the comment below.

How to Use Facebook Login on Your Website by Peter Szanto on Social Media Examiner. How to Use Facebook Login on Your Website by Peter Szanto on Soci al Media Examiner.

View the original article here



Original source: How to Use Facebook Login on Your Website.
http://www.jretechnology.com

5 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile Photo (and Why it's So Important)


5 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile Photo (and Why it's So Important) | Social Media TodayIf you want to win new business online – especially on LinkedIn – you have to go back to an era before computers (let alone the Internet and social media) even existed.

For as long as human beings have been alive and doing business, people have decided who to give their trust, affection and money to others based on some rather simple (and, some would argue, shallow) factors, including one's personal appearance and dress.

Love it or hate it, this is the truth about how business often gets done in-person and online.

This is especially true on LinkedIn, where personal appearance matters far more than you might think.

Case in point: Statistics from LinkedIn show members who include a photo receive up to 21 times more profile views, and up to 36 times more messages.

What's really alarming is there are still people on LinkedIn today who don't have a a photo uploaded on their profile – although, it should also be noted that if you upload the wrong type of photo on LinkedIn, you can do more harm to your personal and professional brand than if you'd had no photo at all.

So how can you ensure that your LinkedIn profile photo helps prospective clients and customers get to know, like and trust you? Here are five key tips.

LinkedIn's not the place for a goofy Snapchat selfie or to crop your head out of your wedding photo. It is also not a place to upload your company logo as your profile photo, nor is it a place to show you holding your kids, hanging at the beach or playing fetch with your dog.

Instead, you need a professional photo. That means a clear, high-quality head shot of you looking your best and dressed to impress.

Also, the photo needs to be a "close up" of your face. LinkedIn will use that image all over the platform in various sizes, and people want to associate an easy-to-see face with the posts, comments and messages you send on LinkedIn. If your face is too far away or too small in the photo, it will be hard to see when LinkedIn displays your image in smaller sizes.

Remember to use a clean, clutter-free background for your profile photo. A simple, white background works best.

You're not Corey Hart – you don't need to wear your sunglasses at night, and you don't need to wear them in your LinkedIn profile photo, either.

I'm still shocked at how many people I see on LinkedIn with sunglasses on, which is why I'm including this tip.

Remember, people want to look you in the eye (even online), and if they can't see your eyes, it makes it harder for them to trust you.

I had a goofball friend growing up who always had a smile on his face everywhere we went.

"Why are you always smiling?" I'd ask him.

"Because smiles are free!" he'd reply.

And, funny, Brad has more friends than I can count – everybody likes the guy, because he's always smiling, friendly and welcoming. His smiling face instantly puts strangers at ease.

See how this works?

Even if it kills you, it's important that you smile in your LinkedIn profile photo. Smiling is so important that I've actually told students in my LinkedIn courses to go back and get retakes of their profile photos because they weren't smiling.

According to LinkedIn, users who have a professional headshot get 14 times more views than those without.

If you are asking potential clients and customers to spend thousands of dollars with you or your company, you need to look the part.

A professional, high-quality headshot shows you're serious, competent and able to deliver on what you're promising.

At first glance, it might feel silly to worry so much about what goes into your LinkedIn profile photo, but when you are first "meeting" someone online, it's often the small details that matter the most.

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression, and your LinkedIn profile photo is usually the first (and sometimes only) chance you have to impress a potential client or customer.

So take it seriously.

View the original article here



Original source: 5 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile Photo (and Why it's So Important).
http://www.jretechnology.com

3 Ways to Republish Instagram Content on Facebook


social media how toDoes your Facebook audience respond well to image posts?

Have you thought about sharing your Instagram posts on Facebook?

Publishing select Instagram posts on your Facebook page adds variety to your feed and can improve organic reach.

In this article, you'll discover three ways to share your Instagram content on Facebook.

3 Ways to Republish Instagram Content on Facebook by Gillon Hunter on S   ocial Media Examiner. 3 Ways to Republish Instagram Content on Facebook by Gillon Hunter on Social Media Examiner.

With the Facebook algorithm giving news feed priority to posts from friends and family, many businesses are seeing reduced organic reach. Fortunately, there's a way to reach more people on Facebook without paying for advertising: by using Instagram.

Take a look at the Facebook Insights for four different post types on a Facebook page for travel brand Azur Vibes, which has 2,000 followers. The post types shown in the image below from top to bottom are 360 photo, article link, video, and Instagram.

As you can see, the Instagram post had more than double the organic reach compared to the other thre e post types. It also reached almost double the number of page followers for this Facebook page.

This Instagram post got more than double the organic reach of the other Facebook post types. This Instagram post got more than double the organic reach of the other Facebook post types.

Yes, there are many other factors that influence reach, such as the text, image, time of day you post, the content's topic, and so forth. But there's enough evidence to support the idea that regardless of those variables, Instagram posts almost always get more reach.

Here are three ways you can publish your Instagram posts to your Facebook page. Consider trying each of the three options and analyzing your results with Facebook Insights.

If you like to post different content on each of your social platforms (that is, you don't like to blanket-post the same thi ng at the same time across all of your channels), this is a good way to share your Instagram content on Facebook.

With this tactic, you copy the post URL from Instagram and paste it into your Facebook update. This gives you the opportunity to schedule your Instagram content to go live at the ideal time of day in Facebook's native scheduling system.

To get started, copy the URL from the Instagram post you want to share on Facebook.

Copy the Instagram URL for the post you want to share. Copy the Instagram URL for the post you want to share on your Facebook page.

Then paste the URL into your Facebook page status. Here's what the post will look like once the post renders:

Paste your Instagram URL into a Facebook status update. Paste the Instagram post URL you copied into a Facebook status update.

Next, delete the Instagram URL from your post and write your status update.

Once the Instagram post renders, delete the URL and write your Facebook post status. Once the Instagram post renders, delete the URL and write your Facebook post status.

Now schedule your post for an optimal delivery time for your Facebook audience.

Use Facebook's native post scheduling system to choose an optimal time to post. Use Facebook's native post scheduling system to choose an optimal time to post to your page.

Usi ng Facebook's scheduling system rather than tools like Hootsuite or Buffer allows you to enhance the post with the "what you're doing or how you're feeling" options, add check-ins, and so on.

This technique is a slight variation on the one above. You may see better reach this way, so test it for yourself and see if it makes a difference.

Tip: This is also a great technique if you want to embed Instagram posts into your blog articles or website pages.

Find the Instagram post you want to share and click the … icon in the lower-right corner to get the Instagram embed code.

Click the three dots on your Instagram post to see the embed code. Click the three dots icon in the lower-right corner of your Instagram post to see the embed code.

In the pop-up menu that appears, click Embed.

aClick the Embed option.viary Click the Embed option in the pop-up menu that appears.

You'll then see the embed code for the post. Click the green button to copy it.

Click the green button to copy the Instagram post embed code. Click the green Copy Embed Code button to copy the Instagram post's embed code.

Now go to your Facebook page and paste the code in a new status update.

Paste the embed code from your Instagram post into a Facebook status update.   Paste the embed code from your Instagram post into a Facebook status update.

Once the Instagram post renders, delete the embed code and compose your Facebook post text.

Then schedule your Facebook post for a specific time and click Publish. Now sit back and watch your organic reach grow!

Once the post renders, delete the embed code and write your post status text. Once the Instagram post renders, delete the embed code and write your Facebook post status text.

The third way to publish Instagram posts to Facebook is to use the automatic Post to Facebook option when you create a new Instagram post.

The downside is that you can� �t schedule it (it will post immediately to Facebook) and it will replicate the text of your Instagram post. Instagram posts are often written in a different style and use more hashtags than Facebook posts. Also, the page and people tags you use on Instagram won't always work on Facebook.

However, it's still worth trying to see if it will work for you.

To post to Facebook automatically, compose a new Instagram post and just before sharing it, turn on the Post to Facebook option, shown below. The Instagram post will now publish to both Instagram and Facebook.

Publish a new Instagram post to Facebook automatically. Publish a new Instagram post to your Facebook page automatically.

Tip: As soon as you hit Publish, head over to Facebook and e dit the status update to better match the style you use on Facebook. Also tag relevant Facebook pages and profiles in your post.

Conclusion

Posting your Instagram content on Facebook is a great way to get more organic reach. In addition to getting more eyeballs for your business and content, this tactic may also help you get more Facebook and Instagram followers.

Now all you need to do is get out there and take some Instagram-worthy photos and share them to Facebook.

What do you think? How do you share your Instagram content on Facebook? What kind of reach are you seeing? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

3 Ways to Republish Instagram Content on Facebook by Gillon Hunter on Social Media Examiner. 3 Ways to Republish Instagram Content on Facebook by Gillon Hunter on Social Media Examiner.

View the original article here



Original source: 3 Ways to Republish Instagram Content on Facebook.
http://www.jretechnology.com

Monday, January 23, 2017

Small Business Blog Marketing: What Does It Entail?

Blog marketing can be quite complicated for anyone that has never even blogged before. If you are considering getting into small business blog marketing, you will want to first have a blog and see what that is like before you get into something more. Blogging requires dedication and patience. You have to update your blog on a regular basis in order to keep your readers happy. Doing so will keep them coming back for more and to see what you have new to say.

Small business blog marketing consists of blogging about your business. It definitely is a great tool that you should use to get your business out there and known by others. However, you will need to be patient because it is a long process that will require much of your attention. Just because you have a blog does not mean that someone is going to find it and read it. You are going to have to make it known. If you have a website for your business, you can link your blog to it and that will let the ones that know about your business and business website know about your blog as well.

Small business blog marketing is something that anyone can do. Having a blog and keeping it up to date with the latest information is not hard. All you need to have is a plan and you will be set to market any type of business from your blog. Whether you are selling a product or a service, it does not matter. A blog that is marketed the right way will be beneficial to any business whatever it might be.

So you are probably wondering how you are going to accomplish this small business blog marketing. When you are marketing a blog, you pretty much do it the same way that you would market a website. It is going to need keywords, and content. You can write the content yourself, or pay someone else to write it for you. That part is totally up to you. However you will want to be sure that the content is decent and something that your readers will want to read. This will keep them coming back. Make sure that the content is written from special keywords that you choose. You will also want to become familiar with SEO which is Search Engine Optimization. SEO will help you to optimize your blog to get a better ranking with the search engines.

Once you have chosen the keywords, and gotten some content published on your blog, you will be ready to get it out there some more. Link exchanges are wonderful for marketing your small business blog. You want to try and exchange links with sites that are relevant to yours, but not in direct competition. If you try to exchange links with sites in competition with yours, you are going to find that many of them will turn you down in fear of losing business to you.

Paid directories are a big part of small business blog marketing as well. You can pay some directories to list your blog URL in their directory under the specific category that it falls under. However, some of these even have specific qualifications that you must have to get in. Follow all of the application steps, and you should be ok. Just do not try to submit your blog to a directory that it does not qualify for, or fit in.

Another important thing to remember when you are into small business blog marketing is that if anyone leaves you a comment on your blog, you should acknowledge it and respond. You can also comment on other blogs that are relevant to yours, and leave a link to your blog as well. This will help bring in visitors to your blog, and you will begin to see more and more traffic.

Small business blog marketing is not rocket science, however someone that has never marketed a single thing before in their life may have problems. Just be persistent, and don't give up.



Original source: Small Business Blog Marketing: What Does It Entail?.
http://www.jretechnology.com

All The Social Ladies: Ashley Cook of Buzzfeed [Podcast]


All The Social Ladies: Ashley Cook of Buzzfeed [Podcast] | Social Media Today

Ashley Cook currently works as a manager and senior creative producer at BuzzFeed.com. She produces branded content for ginormous brands like Nickelodeon and Target. She's had a brilliant career thus far –  in the episode of the 'All the Social Ladies' podcast, you'll hear how she followed one of her favorite brands on the planet and got the job of her dreams. Then she took some time off and taught kid's yoga. She's had the most varied career you've ever heard of AND she landed at one of the biggest tech companies around: BuzzFeed. It's pretty incredible. Take a listen.

The Story of Ashley's CareerWhy Networking is so ImportantThe Value of Brands Participating with BuzzFeed

How do you figure out what will resonate for a brand when you are concepting ideas?

?"We have an amazing research department where we can go in and mine for great ideas – it's also really useful to have access to this for returning clients.Our motto and approach is "test and learn," so my favorite thing is when we get a client that is willing to experiment with posts." 

What is the primary metric for success on social media for BuzzFeed?

"For the most part, I would say this is reach, but it also depends on the brand's KPIs – do they want to drive more awareness for their product, do they want a large number of views or do they want engagement with a post. What's the brand looking for and what do they consider successful?"

What can digital marketers learn from the success of BuzzFeed?

Learn to have fun.Go niche – people have all sorts of interests and you're never going to know who will like what. ?

– "Push the limits. Try something different. Get weird!"

– "I use Twitter as my imaginary friend that I don't have to clean up after!"

– "Our motto and approach is 'test and learn'."

?Enjoy, and check back here for more episodes of the All the Social Ladies podcast on Social Media Today. 

This article was originally published on Apple News:

View the original article here



Original source: All The Social Ladies: Ashley Cook of Buzzfeed [Podcast].
http://www.jretechnology.com

How Snapchat and Periscope Can Grow a Business


Do you want to use Snapchat for business?

Wondering how to incorporate your brand into live stories?

To explore how to use Periscope and Snapchat for business, I interview John Kapos.

The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

In this episode, I interview John Kapos, part of a long family line of chocolatiers who have run Perfection Chocolates in Australia since 1939. Online he's known as Chocolate Johnny. He's very active on Snapchat, Instagram, and Periscope.

John shares how marketing on Snapchat has affected his business.

You'll discover creative ideas to help your own business succeed with Periscope, Snapchat, and Instagram Stories.

How Snapchat and Periscope Can Grow a Business featuring insights from John Kapos on the Social Media Marketing Podcast. How Snapchat and Periscope Can Grow a Business featuring insights from John Kapos on the Social Media Marketing Podcast.

Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.

Listen now: Play in new window | Download

You can also subscribe via iTunes, RSS, Stitcher, or SoundCloud.

Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:

How John Got Started With Snapchat

John shares that his store in Sydney, Australia gets bombarded with kids at the end of the school day, and he had begun to notice his sons and their friends using Snapchat. Even though he was told he's "too old" for Snapchat, he decided to take a chance.

John, a self-described early adopter, started on Facebook and then got involved with Instagram. While he felt Instagram was cleaner, nicer, and crisper, he loved the functionality of Snapchat. For example, it let him do a video and include titles, add music, and so on.

In the beginning, John posted photos of customers and chocolate, as well as videos of him introducing himself and making treats.

In one of those early promos, he posted a picture and told his followers to screenshot it and then come in for a free hot chocolate. Two people did just that, and John shares that he's had as many as 60 people come to the store in response to a similar promotion.

John invites his Snapchat followers to come in for hot chocolate. The hot chocolate promotion, where John asks his customers to screenshot a picture and come in for a free hot chocolate, has become popular.

Now, John explains, his Snapchat stories all have a beginning, a middle, and an end, and all have a tie to chocolate. Each story also has a call to action such as Come to Perfection Chocolates, Come to the website, Come to meet me, or Be part of the party.

For example, a Snapchat promotion of his Star Wars chocolate products began with an image of Han Solo and the text, "I'm in a dilemma. Help Me." The middle was an explanation of what John was making. The story ended with a call to action: "Please screenshot and tell me which one is better: milk chocolate or dark chocolate." A total of 63 people responded.

John engages with his followers, buy asking them their preferences via Snapchat. Pose questions and ask customers to respond via Snapchat.

Listen to the show to discover how using Snapchat has turned John's store into a global brand.

Working Your Brand Into Snapchat Stories

Everyone has a story, John believes, and he says it's all about getting out of your comfort zone and telling your story.

People tell John he's got an advantage because he's promoting chocolate, and everybody loves chocolate. However, John doesn't think that should make a difference, and shares that he's helped a dentist create funny stories that make children want to come and see him, and a mechanic in New Zealand build a story around how to change a tire.

John reiterates that anyone can create stories with any product, they just have to step out of the box.

For example, he explains, spotting a large chocolate Easter egg in his store inspired a Snapchat video about two chocolate rabbits that mated to produce a 10-pound chocolate egg, out of which came a white chocolate elephant.

John Kapos created a Snapchat, inspired by a large chocolate Easter egg. John gets inspiration from the things around him, such as a large chocolate Easter egg.

John also creates stories about his characters, Johnny Chocolate, a chocolate 'dealer'; Johnny's bodyguard, Frankie; and Johnny's drag-queen girlfriend, Vanilla Chocolate.

Listen to the show to hear what happened when John set out to prove he could go a week without using chocolate in his snaps.

John's Process for Creating Snapchat Stories

As John comes up with possible Snapchat stories throughout the day, he keeps notes about each idea on his phone. He also takes advantage of customers who want to be in a story.

John's various social media are posted all over the store. Perfection Chocolates' social media names are posted all over the store.

For example, a customer who discovered John on Periscope traveled from Queensland to come to his shop and meet him. The customer had brought a gift for John, which inspired him to create a six-snap story about the gift delivery. At the end of the story, John asked people to follow his new friend, who got 42 new followers as a result.

To develop ideas for your own stories, John suggests using a piece of paper and drawing three little squares with "10 seconds" under each square. This helps you create a focused story. Use the first square to describe the beginning or opening of your story, use the second square for the middle, and the third to depict the end. Remember, this is your chance to be funny and informative and share information.

Snapchat filters add fun to Snapchats. John loves Snapchat filters.

Go slowly at the beginning, John adds. At the most, John spends half an hour a day on Snapchat and does about five snaps a day. Do a few stories at a time and don't make them too long.

Listen to the show to hear why it's okay to take risks with Snapchat stories.

How John's Use of Instagram and Snapchat Differ

John uses Snapchat for branding and he focuses only on Chocolate Johnny. On Instagram, he focuses only on the business of Perfection Chocolates. Because he doesn't want people who follow both accounts to see the same thing twice, he doesn't cross-post his content.

For example, to promote his salted Brazil nut caramel, he did separate stories on Instagram and Snapchat.

Instagram is great for showing images and videos behind the scenes. John often does images and videos behind the scenes on Perfection Chocolates' Instagram.

The Snapchat story featured the Chocolate Johnny voice and Oompa Loompas, and had a comedic feel. The Instagram version featured John's regular voice, different camera angles, and a more professional message: "Hey guys, I'm making a Brazil nut salted caramel. These are the ingredients and this is what it looks like in the end. I really want you to come to the store."

Same product, two different platforms, two different stories.

Listen to the show to hear how John targeted local customers on Instagram.

How John Uses Periscope

While he doesn't combine Periscope with Snapchat, John promotes his Snapchat account via Periscope. For example, he'll hold up his snapcode and ask people to screenshot it so they can follow him on Snapchat.

John says that because he uses a single Periscope account to broadcast as Perfection Chocolates, Chocolate Johnny, and John Kapos, the content varies.

For instance, John Kapos will do a Sunday morning motivational scope while he walks on the beach. He'll use a title like, "How Can I ____?" and ask viewers what he should talk about. Someone might say, "How can I become a better businessman?", "How can I become a better entrepreneur?", or "How can I become a better father?" Then they discuss the topic on Periscope.

John invites his Periscope viewers to direct the conversation. John uses Periscope in a couple of different ways.

While most of John's scopes run between 15 and 30 minutes, he recalls one scope during which he streamed chocolate flowing, along with his playlist, for 45 minutes. John thinks he had 4,000 live viewers, who were talking among themselves while they watched. Sometimes, he'll just set up his phone on a tripod near the coffee or chocolate machine and just chat with customers.

Periscope has had an immense impact on John's business. His first Periscope was on April 1, 2015. Since then, 61 viewers from all over the world have come to the store. Currently, John is waiting to meet his 100th visitor from Periscope, as he's planning a Periscope party in their honor. They'll also receive $100 worth of chocolate!

Snapchat and Periscope have affected John's life in a positive way, too, allowing him to fulfill a long-time dream. He was invited to speak at Periscope Summit, which has enabled him to inspire, motivate, and educate others.

Listen to the show to hear John and Mike discuss Messenger Day.

Pocket, a bookmarking site, recently added Pocket Explore. This new feature curates all of the content saved to its site into a searchable, public news feed, allowing marketers to find popular stories they may have missed.

Pocket explore suggests content based on your interests. Pocket Explore, an addition to the Pocket bookmarking site, curates content into a news feed.

Pocket knows how long somebody scrolled through an article to read it, how long it was open, and whether they shared it, and uses all of those signals to surface the top-rated stuff.

Marketers can type in "social media," "Facebook," "Twitter," and even "marketing" to find top shared news about these topics. It's another great resource to find cool stuff.

Pocket Explore is built into the paid and free versions of Pocket, and is usable on desktop and iOS and Android devices.

Listen to the show to learn more and let us know how Pocket Explore works for you.

Listen to the show!

Social Media Marketing Podcast w/ Michael Stelzner

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What do you think? What are your thoughts on Snapchat and Periscope? Please leave your comments below.

How Snapchat and Periscope Can Grow a Business featuring insights from John Kapos on the Social Media Marketing Podcast. How Snapchat and Periscope Can Grow a Business featuring insights from John Kapos on the Social Media Marketing Podcast.

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Original source: How Snapchat and Periscope Can Grow a Business.
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