Twitter Adds Secondary 'Requests' Inbox for DMs

Taking cues from Facebook, Twitter has announced a new DM inbox system which will sort your incoming messages into those from people you follow and those from people you don't, which will go to a new ‘Requests’ folder.

Facebook's Adding New Click to Messenger Ads in Instagram

Facebook really thinks it makes sense for you to conduct direct conversations with brands via Messenger bots - you really should do it. To help facilitate this, The Social Network released ‘Click to Messenger’ ads on Facebook last November, which enable businesses to include a button to start up a DM interaction direct from the ad post.

5 Reasons Why a Social Media Content Calendar Is Important For Business

Now that you know that your social media marketing plan requires a stellar content strategy to support it, you may find yourself overwhelmed. Creating and publishing great content can be a lot of work, so you need to get organized and figure out a schedule that works for your business. When you’ve got a content calendar you can commit to, social media marketing becomes a lot less daunting.
Creating a plan, a template, or a calendar simply means that you make all the necessary information available to all the relevant stakeholders in one place. It takes in all your channels and resources and organizes them in a way that makes it easy to access information you need when you need it.

A 5 Step Guide to Using Twitter for Business

While more recent headlines have not been flattering, Twitter has earned its spot as a leading social media platform over the past eleven years.
Those 140-character snippets can provide tons of organic growth, engagement and brand recognition for businesses of all sizes. Users latch on to the conversational and up-to-the-minute nature of the platform. If you’re running a small business, incorporating Twitter into your marketing plan is likely a wise and cost-effective idea.
Today, we’ll review the essential steps to get your Twitter for Business account up and running - and most importantly, generating the positive results you want.

A Quick Guide to Using Twitter for eCommerce

Despite the ever-increasing popularity of new social media and communication apps like Snapchat, Instagram and others, Twitter remains one of the most effective tools that business owners can use to build brand awareness, engage with current and future customers and grow their businesses. 
An active brand presence on Twitter can have a significant impact on the purchasing behaviors of online shoppers. As explained in a 2015 report from research firm Millward Brown:

Instagram Announces New Option to Save Live Broadcasts

When Instagram introduced the addition of a live-streaming option to their app back in November, many (including myself) questioned whether live-streaming would fit into the Instagram process. But Instagram saw a unique use-case for live, catering to their younger audience.
As noted by Instagram Live product manager Shilp Sarkar, they’d had taken note of a new live-streaming trend being facilitated by group streaming app Houseparty, where younger users were turning to live not as a broadcasting option, necessarily, but as a virtual hangout.

6 Ways to Use Instagram Stories to Boost Audience Engagement

Social storytelling is the latest content trend. Starting with Snapchat's innovative 'Stories' format, the process of connecting various content pieces into a more comprehensive post has caught on, with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all implementing their own variations on the Stories format.
Instagram Stories is the most direct duplicate of Snapchat's function, and it provides brands with a whole new consideration in their Instagram marketing process.
​Sо how саn your business use Instagram Stories to better engage your audience?
Here are some ideas and tips based on our experience.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Advertising on Instagram

Instagram offers incredible opportunities for businesses of all sizes to reach their target audiences.
But as more and more brands join Instagram and the feed becomes more competitive, it can be harder to stand out.
Imagine being able to reach the specific groups of Instagram users you want to connect with, engage them, and convert them into customers.
Well, that’s totally possible!
In late 2015, Instagram opened up Instagram ads. Using the Facebook advertising system, marketers can now reach any specific segment of Instagram’s 600+ million users. And with 400 million people using Instagram every day, Instagram ads have become an enticing avenue for brands looking to increase engagement (and profits, too).
We’d love to help you get started and running with Instagram ads. In this post, we’ll go through all you need to know to create your first Instagram ad, measure your ad performance, and improve your results.

How to Get Verified on Twitter

The blue verified checkmark is a symbol of trust on Twitter. Continue reading to discover why getting verified on Twitter is important—and how you can accomplish this.

See Why You Shouldn't Buy Instagram Followers

You could grow your Instagram following the honest way—crafting a thoughtful strategy, setting smart goals, sharing great content, and engaging your audience. Or you could take the quick and easy path and join the dark side of Instagram marketing.
You could buy Instagram followers.
We created a dummy account to test that tactic to find out whether or not it’s worth it (spoiler alert: it totally is it if you want an audience of spambots peddling softcore porn). Jump ahead to the results of our experiment or continue reading to learn about the “why” and “how” of buying Instagram followers.

How To Build Your Brand On Instagram: 8 Steps To Double Your Following

With more than 600 million users a month, the once little and lowly Instagram platform has become a powerful networking engine. Particularly as visual media of every variety gains steam, Instagram gives entrepreneurs the power to grow and promote their brands more effectively than ever before. But how?

Facebook Messenger: The Complete Guide for Business

Would you ignore a channel with 1 billion active monthly users? If your brand is not currently using Facebook Messenger, that’s exactly what you’re doing.
If you think messaging apps are just for personal communications, consider this: Nielsen’s Facebook Messaging Survey showed that messaging ranked second out of nine possible modes of communication with business, and that 53 percent of people are more likely to shop with a business they can message directly.
In fact, people exchange 1 billion messages with businesses on Facebook every month.

3 Surefire Ways to Grow Your Snapchat Follower Base

The very best way to grow your Snapchat following and keep them engaged is by posting quality content every single day. Quality content can be almost anything as long as it’s entertaining or educational.

For example you could post tips like "5 Ways to Be More Productive in the Morning", or you could post a tutorial like "3 Steps to Setting Up Your New Widget". You could also post product reviews like "An Unboxing of the Newest Best Phone" or a giveaway for your fans.

You could even simply post behind the scenes snaps of your office if your colleagues often do funny or educational things.

Here are some snaps from the Foundr office where I spend my days

10 Facebook Marketing Tips for 2017

Facebook is evolving. What started out as a place to share cat photos has turned into a network of 1.79 billion active users. That's billion, with a 'B'.
And for marketers, the platform has changed as much as it has for users.
The platform has changed completely in just a few years, and staying up to date with those changes can be a challenge. That's why we're highlighting some new marketing tips for Facebook in this article. These ten Facebook marketing tips take into account the way the platform has changed into 2017, and highlight the features and strategies marketers need to use going forward.

Ads and Analytics are coming to Instagram Stories

70% of Instagram Stories are watched with the sound on, 20% of Stories result in a direct message from viewers, and 150 million Instagrammers use Stories on a daily basis.

Instagram launched its Stories feature in August of 2016, and today 150 million Instagrammers use Stories on a daily basis. If you’re not familiar with the Stories format, they are photos and videos that last for 24 hours, which users access at the top of their main feed, and via the Explore tab.

Instagram Stories has lead to increased engagement too, with roughly 20% of Stories resulting in a direct message from viewers. It’s also worth noting that 70% of Instagrammers follow a business account, proving Stories is a feature that businesses need to consider.

With more users and businesses using Stories, Instagram made a few big announcements…

Facebook is adding the Stories feature that Instagram took from Snapchat

The new feature will allow users to share ephemeral photos and videos in a slideshow that disappears 24 hours later. Essentially, the same way Stories function on Instagram and Snapchat.

In August, Instagram launched “Instagram Stories” to encourage people to share more moments throughout their day. The feature pretty much took a page directly out of Snapchat’s playbook, and now, Facebook is adding Stories to its main app, directly above the feed making it nearly impossible to ignore.

According to TechCrunch, the new feature will allow users to share ephemeral photos and videos in a slideshow that disappears 24 hours later. Essentially, the same way Stories function on Instagram and Snapchat.

It was recently announced that 150 million Instagrammers use Stories on a daily basis, which is about 25% of all Instagram users. With Facebook quickly approaching 2 billion users, Stories are likely going to be a big part of the Facebook experience in 2017.

44 Instagram Tricks and Features You Probably Didn’t Know About

Instagram users Like 4.2 billion posts every day. Let that sink in: 4.2 billion.

That’s a lot of double taps.

It’s no secret that Instagram is a power player in the world of social, but with a whopping 600 million active monthly users and 150 million daily users on Stories alone, it’s clear that businesses can’t afford to ignore the photo-and video-sharing app.

Get your business a bigger piece of the action—and make the most of your efforts—with these little-known features, tricks, and straight-up Instagram hacks.