“When Instagram was down, I ran around town shouting “like” at flowers, dogs and expensive hamburgers”
via @laurenlaborde on Twitter
It’s clear that Instagram continues to be the latest social obsession. Over 10 million photos mentioning Thanksgiving were shared on Instagram on Thursday, a new record, WOW!
In a blog a few weeks ago, we shared about the new Web Profiles, one step closer to connecting your Instagram creations with the world. Now they have added Badges, to connect your Instagram Web Profile to your website or blog site, which will increase your engagement + connections.
How To Add the Instagram Badge to Your Site
Step One
Go to your Web Profile by typing in the URL www.instagram.com/your Instagram name here and click on your name, then click Badges.
Step Two
Click on the Badge you would like to embed into your site.
Step Three
Copy the code and embed it into your site. If you do not know how to embed code on your Blogsite or Website, ask your Webmaster, IT guy/gal (smart person), or whoever in your world helps you with this kind of stuff.
This is what the Badges look like once they are embedded. Cool, right? Click on the Badge and see where it takes you!
To learn more about Instagram Web Profiles, check out our previous blog on the topic, then go check out your page, and start sharing the love with your community.
We are still using Statigram on our site, which is awesome too. We have also claimed our Webstagram page, also awesome.
Running Instagram Contests on Statigram
On a total side note, if you are interested in running a Photo Contest on Instagram, Statigram has a super easy Toolkit to help you run contests, which can increase the fun and engagement of your community. Go to Statigram to learn more.
We will most likely switch to the official Instagram Badge as we expect Instagram Web Profiles to ultimately be more engaging then some of the other platforms. But only time will tell, as is with everything in this wild and wonderful social evolution.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas, Nina + Gordon)
PS: You can follow us on Instagram @passionsquared
“More contact means more sharing of information, gossiping, exchanging, engaging – in short more word of mouth.”
Gary Vaynerchuk
Facebook for business is more than collecting likes and fans, it’s the “talking about this” number that is the true measure of how many people are truly interacting with your page. This number is made up of fans liking posts, commenting, sharing, RSVP’ing for events, etc. Those actions show how engaged your community is, and the social web is all about engagement.
How To Keep Fans More Engaged
Step One
Ask your Fans to go to your Page. Hover over the “Liked” button. A box will pop up. Then simply click “Show in News Feed” and “Get Notifications”.
One Step. Ta-Da!
We all know how crowded News Feeds can be and how it totally depends on several factors whether your posts will show up, so its really the “Get Notifications” that can make a HUGE difference in ensuring Fans are aware of your posts and engaging with your Page.
If your fans select “Get Notifications”, this is what it will look like when you post something to your Page.
Feel free to make your own How-To image for your Fans. (We are using a MAC for this example, if you have a PC, we suggested Google’ing it for instructions.)
How To Make An Image with Arrows
Simply go to your Page, and take a “screen grab” (command + shift+4) hovering over the “Liked” button. Then go to Preview, choose Tools, select Annotate, then Add Arrow, then click on the Arrow, and “draw” it on the image.
Step One
Step Two Step Three Step Four Now that you have made your own, you can post it to your Page, nicely ask your Fans to take these actions & show them how to do it with the super cool image you made. Awesome!
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.”
Albert Einstein
We love TEDTalks, as many of you who read Passion Squared know, and this one may be our all time faves! In about 3 minutes, this video illustrates how to start a movement, powerful stuff!
Many of us have seen this awesome video before, but what may be new to you, as it was to us, is how Derek Sivers breaks it down into a powerful lesson on leadership. Whether you are a leader, want to be a leader, or the very important follower, this is something you will not want to miss.
Now add the power of the social + digital web to the equation, and the sky’s the limit.
So jump off this blog, and go start one! We cannot wait to see you dance.
(discovered on Mashable and shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“We are completely underestimating the value of thank you and you’re welcome.”
Gary Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy
Thank you. Two simple words that may possibly be the most important to your business. And in this week of giving thanks, we all need a little reminder about the power of thank you.
A Passion for Caring
If you have spent any time on PassionSquaredTV, you have seen his highly charged, passionate videos on the future of business, about caring, about giving a sh*t. If you have not watched his videos, we recommend you do, they are thought provoking & loaded with awesome insights into the social + digital revolution and what it’s really all about. We heart him, f-bombs and all!
As Our World Goes All Jetsons
In The Thank You Economy, Gary speaks directly to how businesses must get into a mindset of gratitude, of caring, of coming from a place of thanks, just like the good old days. He speaks to how consumers are demanding more connection, value and relationships from the people they choose to do business with. Gary says, “As our world goes all “Jetsons” the opportunity for people and businesses is to go all “flintstones.” And since many of us either grew up watching both, or have seen re-runs, we know exactly what that means.
Quotes from The Thank You Economy
“It’s not about the budget, it’s about the creativity and the caring.”
“Be driven by gratitude.”
“It’s not the number of followers… , it’s the strength of your bond with your followers that indicates how much anyone cares about what you have to say.”
The Thank You Economyis all about the power of caring, engaging, giving a sh*t and how businesses and brands that get it will thrive in the new social economy! Awesome. We heart and highly recommend.
You can find Gary on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and by visiting his website here Gary Vaynerchuk.
(shared with LOVE + GRATITUDE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“The artist lives to have stories to tell and to learn to tell them well.”
Criss Jami
One thing we can always count on in the social + digital world is change. For those of you who are addicted to Pinterest and are using it for your business, you will be happy to know that Pinterest just launched Business Pages.Here is a super easy step-by-step for you.
Step One
Go to business.pinterest.com. If you want to change your existing page, select “Convert Existing Account”. If you want to start a new business page, select “Join As A Business”.
Step Two
Fill in all of your business information. If you are converting an account, it will look different. We will get to that in the next step.
Step Three
If you are converting an existing account, this is what it will look like. First, you select your business type, for salons, choose local business. For session stylists, beauty bloggers, etc choose professional. You now have an opportunity to edit your profile, change your business name, About section, user name etc. HINT: User names are your unique URL, so we suggest if possible, it be the exact name of your business. This helps with becoming more discoverable on the web, big time!
Step Four
We now have the opportunity to “verify” our websites. This allows for your actual website URL to be featured on your page. HINT: We highly recommend you have a super smart person do this, or what some people call the “IT” guy or girl. For those of us with WordPress blog sites, there is a way to verify, but again, its takes a IT person. We have our IT friends doing ours this week.
Step Five
While you have your super smart IT guy or girl, have them add the “widgets” you want to your website. Pinterest has added some cool new ones. All of these widgets are designed to increase engagement and connections. Super cool.
Step Six
Celebrate and keep pinning your passions! And be sure to thank your super smart IT friend for the help.
If you want to learn more about Pinterest, check out our webinar posted on PassionSquaredTV.
We also offer one-on-one mentoring in the world of social, digital, marketing and branding. If that sounds like your thing, click here to connect with us.
