youtube Archives - Passion Squared

Awesome Cheat Sheet for Social Platforms

December 23, 2013Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”

Walt Disney Company

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy.

As the year comes to a close, I reflect on all the opportunities there are for small businesses when it comes to branding, storytelling, and marketing both online and off. One of the biggest areas I continue to see is how we present our images on social platforms.

Image matters. Both online and off. Cut off logos, blurry pictures, cut off pictures, etc are not helping our image. But there is a solution. Finding a designer that can help size your images can make a big difference in how your brand is seen in the eyes of the customer.

While there are always exceptions and variables and the platforms seem to be changing almost by the day, these templates are a great place to start.

Facebook Profile Art (and almost every other social platform profile pic)
If you are using Facebook for business, your logo goes here. Not a promotion or fancy image. Save that for the Cover Image or a post.

Facebook Cover Art
This is an awesome place to show your business, your work, a feature program or promotion. Make the space count and change it up just like you change-up your marketing calendar. When creating this image, be sure to leave space for the Profile pic in the lower left hand side.

Facebook Event Art
If you are big on posting events such as fundraisers, girls nights, grand openings, etc, this can be a highly engaging part of your Facebook biz page.

Facebook Post Art (also Instagram)
When creating art for Facebook and Instagram posts, this is a good template to follow. When you post images taken from your phone or tablet, Facebook and Instagram almost always “re-size” it for you when uploading.

YouTube Channel Art
If you have not noticed, YouTube changed their channel layout, and thus, the need for creating new art. It’s a tricky one, but important none the less if you have a presence on YouTube.

Pinterest Pin Art
Image is everything on Pinterest. Be sure to invest the time, money and energy to present compelling and powerful images if Pinterest is part of your social strategy.

When in doubt, always go to the HELP section of any social platform. There is almost always help available on sizing, dimensions, etc. Are there any platforms you would like to see a cheat sheet for? Share your thoughts in the comments below or reach out directly to me, I’m listening.

As 2013 comes to a close and plans are being made for 2014, it may be a good idea to add a review of all your social pages. Do they reflect your image, message and brand? Are all the links updated and working? Is your About section current and relevant. Those are just some of the questions to ask yourself as you do your year end review.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

Passionista Profile: Danielle Valiente

October 8, 2012Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW, PASSIONISTA PROFILE

“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”

Napoleon Hill

Meet Danielle Valiente, a super passionate salon owner, stylist, Paul Mitchell educator and blogger taking the social space by storm to get closer to her goals and dreams. Danielle is such a great example of delivering value through engaging content on social platforms and as she adds value, she is getting the attention of the likes of eHow and Lucky Magazine. Danielle took some time out of her super busy schedule to share her thoughts on how she is using the social web to empower herself and her community. Enjoy.

Nina: What are your current goals as a salon owner/session stylist, etc?

Danielle: My current goals as a salon owner are to continue building our brand and salon team. I set goals every year and work hard to reach them. As a session stylist, my goals are to continue to grow my portfolio, my contributions to Lucky Magazine and my video blogging.

Nina: Which social platform are you focusing on to reach that goal?

Danielle: Do I have to pick 1? Currently I use: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube as my main platforms. They each offer a little something different for reaching my audience.

Nina: Why those platforms?

Danielle: I’m focusing right now on building my YouTube presence. I love sharing education and information with people, so I’m using YouTube to bring my blogging education to life.

Nina: How did those platforms help you get closer to your goal?

Danielle: Currently I am one of Demand Media and eHows video talent. Every few months I create a series of how to videos that help hair stylists and the general public learn to do specific techniques related to hair styling.

Nina: What have the results been?

Danielle: eHow just added me to their YouTube page and within that day I already had hundreds of views.

Connect with Danielle on the social web and see all the cool stuff she is doing to build her brand.

Danielle on Facebook

Danielle on Twitter

Atmosphere Salon on Facebook

Danielle on Viewbook

Danielle on LuckyMag.com

Danielle on eHow

Danielle on Instagram
@daniellevaliente

A big shout out of passionista love to Danielle for sharing her story with us, you rock sister!

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

Find + Love + Share = Curation

May 30, 2012Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“There is no delight in owning anything unshared”

Seneca

Curate: to pull together, sift through and select for presentation, as music or Web site content. Dictionary.com

Before there was the social and digital web, most of what we saw as news and inspiration was the result of choices made by a limited number of professional “editors”. Today, that number has increased exponentially as platforms like Facebook have given us all the ability to become “editors” by simply curating (sharing the content that we find and love) for our online friends and fans.

A great example of this shift can be found on YouTube -a social platform featuring “gazillions” (48 hours of content uploaded every minute) of videos that run the gamut from impossibly amateur and uninteresting to highly polished productions (and everything in between).

One of our recent fave video finds is “1950’s Womens Beauty Salon” from Glamour Daze, a YouTube channel with 2.5 million views! We found it while searching beauty salons on YouTube, were hooked from the opening line, “To women, a beauty salon is more than a feminine barber shop”, and immediately knew we to had to share…curation at its best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfFvJVRcVaE&feature=youtu.be

We also found this super juicy video on “curation” from devour.com (awesome video curation site) that simply and beautifully describes what curation really means and why it’s important.

PS: This blog was inspired by our passion of curating; finding engaging and empowering content that we love and feel compelled share.

(shared with LOVE from your curating passionistas Nina + Gordon)

Never Say Never

April 5, 2012Nina KovnerGROW

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Howard Thurman

Justin Bieber “came alive” on YouTube, the ultimate video platform to share and engage (and engage he did!). We are blown away by his historic rise to fame – and the important role that YouTube and Twitter played in making “Bieber Fever” part of pop music history.

The documentary “Never Say Never” is a powerful lesson in the power of the social web with a huge serving of inspiration on top. Gordon has seen it once and Nina seven times (are you laughing right about now?) Is it because we are big Bieber fans? Maybe…well Nina is for sure, but more importantly we are fans of YouTube which has forever changed the way we consume and share video.

Second only to Google in number of daily searches, here’s a few stats that show the power of this social platform:
· Over 4 billion videos are viewed a day
· Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month
· Over 3 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
· More video is uploaded to YouTube in one month than the 3 major US networks created in 60 years
· 500 years of YouTube video are watched every day on Facebook, and over 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter each minute
· 100 million people take a social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc) every week

In 2008, Justin Bieber was discovered by Scooter Braun, who found him on YouTube. As of today, Justin Bieber has over 2.3 BILLION views and over 1.3 MILLION subscribers on YouTube alone.

Now that you understand our love of Justin Bieber, we hope you will watch Never Say Never. We highly recommend it as an inspiring social web lesson we can all learn from.

Most importantly, we believe in the creativity of our community – and view YouTube as the new PLATFORM from which artists can share, engage and empower with a 24/7 audience of fellow professionals and consumers. Ask what makes you come alive, go do it, and remember, never say never.

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Tag Archives: youtube

“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”

Walt Disney Company

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy. //passionsquared.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Awesome-Cheat-Sheet-for-Social-Platforms.mp3

As the year comes to a close, I reflect on all the opportunities there are for small businesses when it comes to branding, storytelling, and marketing both online and off. One of the biggest areas I continue to see is how we present our images on social platforms.

Image matters. Both online and off. Cut off logos, blurry pictures, cut off pictures, etc are not helping our image. But there is a solution. Finding a designer that can help size your images can make a big difference in how your brand is seen in the eyes of the customer.

While there are always exceptions and variables and the platforms seem to be changing almost by the day, these templates are a great place to start.

Facebook Profile Art (and almost every other social platform profile pic) If you are using Facebook for business, your logo goes here. Not a promotion or fancy image. Save that for the Cover Image or a post.

Facebook Cover Art This is an awesome place to show your business, your work, a feature program or promotion. Make the space count and change it up just like you change-up your marketing calendar. When creating this image, be sure to leave space for the Profile pic in the lower left hand side.

Facebook Event Art If you are big on posting events such as fundraisers, girls nights, grand openings, etc, this can be a highly engaging part of your Facebook biz page.

Facebook Post Art (also Instagram) When creating art for Facebook and Instagram posts, this is a good template to follow. When you post images taken from your phone or tablet, Facebook and Instagram almost always “re-size” it for you when uploading.

YouTube Channel Art If you have not noticed, YouTube changed their channel layout, and thus, the need for creating new art. It’s a tricky one, but important none the less if you have a presence on YouTube.

Pinterest Pin Art Image is everything on Pinterest. Be sure to invest the time, money and energy to present compelling and powerful images if Pinterest is part of your social strategy.

When in doubt, always go to the HELP section of any social platform. There is almost always help available on sizing, dimensions, etc. Are there any platforms you would like to see a cheat sheet for? Share your thoughts in the comments below or reach out directly to me, I’m listening.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

“Life without you is like; Facebook without friends, YouTube without videos, and Google with no results…”

Unknown

If you have a YouTube channel for your brand or salon, there is one really important step you must take to ensure all of your social channels are connected, which is a big part of discovery on the social + digital web. Meaning, where else can people engage with you.

Here is a simple How-To. Enjoy.

Step One Log onto your YouTube channel, go to your “home page” and click Edit on the right hand side of the screen.

Step Two A box will appear at the bottom of this area. Type in the social or digital platform name you want to add. Then type in the URL (web address) where you want the link to take people. (be sure it’s your unique URL address i.e. www.facebook.com/passionsquared, not just www.facebook.com)

Step Three Once you have added the Name and URL, simply click Apply. It’s always good to test the links just to be sure you are connecting everything to the right place. And if it got messed up, no biggie, just click on Edit, delete it and begin again.

Congratulations! You now are officially more connected. It’s time to get busy liking, favoriting, and creating video content for your fans & followers.

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”

Napoleon Hill

Nina: What are your current goals as a salon owner/session stylist, etc?

Danielle: My current goals as a salon owner are to continue building our brand and salon team. I set goals every year and work hard to reach them. As a session stylist, my goals are to continue to grow my portfolio, my contributions to Lucky Magazine and my video blogging.

Nina: Which social platform are you focusing on to reach that goal?

Danielle: Do I have to pick 1? Currently I use: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube as my main platforms. They each offer a little something different for reaching my audience.

Nina: Why those platforms?

Danielle: I’m focusing right now on building my YouTube presence. I love sharing education and information with people, so I’m using YouTube to bring my blogging education to life.

Nina: How did those platforms help you get closer to your goal?

Danielle: Currently I am one of Demand Media and eHows video talent. Every few months I create a series of how to videos that help hair stylists and the general public learn to do specific techniques related to hair styling.

Nina: What have the results been?

Danielle: eHow just added me to their YouTube page and within that day I already had hundreds of views.

Connect with Danielle on the social web and see all the cool stuff she is doing to build her brand.

Danielle on Instagram @daniellevaliente

A big shout out of passionista love to Danielle for sharing her story with us, you rock sister!

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

“There is no delight in owning anything unshared”

Seneca

Curate: to pull together, sift through and select for presentation, as music or Web site content. Dictionary.com

A great example of this shift can be found on YouTube -a social platform featuring “gazillions” (48 hours of content uploaded every minute) of videos that run the gamut from impossibly amateur and uninteresting to highly polished productions (and everything in between).

We also found this super juicy video on “curation” from devour.com (awesome video curation site) that simply and beautifully describes what curation really means and why it’s important.

PS: This blog was inspired by our passion of curating; finding engaging and empowering content that we love and feel compelled share.

(shared with LOVE from your curating passionistas Nina + Gordon)

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Howard Thurman

Justin Bieber “came alive” on YouTube, the ultimate video platform to share and engage (and engage he did!). We are blown away by his historic rise to fame – and the important role that YouTube and Twitter played in making “Bieber Fever” part of pop music history.

In 2008, Justin Bieber was discovered by Scooter Braun, who found him on YouTube. As of today, Justin Bieber has over 2.3 BILLION views and over 1.3 MILLION subscribers on YouTube alone.

Now that you understand our love of Justin Bieber, we hope you will watch Never Say Never. We highly recommend it as an inspiring social web lesson we can all learn from.

Most importantly, we believe in the creativity of our community – and view YouTube as the new PLATFORM from which artists can share, engage and empower with a 24/7 audience of fellow professionals and consumers. Ask what makes you come alive, go do it, and remember, never say never.

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy.

Facebook Profile Art (and almost every other social platform profile pic)
If you are using Facebook for business, your logo goes here. Not a promotion or fancy image. Save that for the Cover Image or a post.

Facebook Cover Art
This is an awesome place to show your business, your work, a feature program or promotion. Make the space count and change it up just like you change-up your marketing calendar. When creating this image, be sure to leave space for the Profile pic in the lower left hand side.

Facebook Event Art
If you are big on posting events such as fundraisers, girls nights, grand openings, etc, this can be a highly engaging part of your Facebook biz page.

Facebook Post Art (also Instagram)
When creating art for Facebook and Instagram posts, this is a good template to follow. When you post images taken from your phone or tablet, Facebook and Instagram almost always “re-size” it for you when uploading.

YouTube Channel Art
If you have not noticed, YouTube changed their channel layout, and thus, the need for creating new art. It’s a tricky one, but important none the less if you have a presence on YouTube.

Pinterest Pin Art
Image is everything on Pinterest. Be sure to invest the time, money and energy to present compelling and powerful images if Pinterest is part of your social strategy.

Step One
Log onto your YouTube channel, go to your “home page” and click Edit on the right hand side of the screen.

Step Two
A box will appear at the bottom of this area. Type in the social or digital platform name you want to add. Then type in the URL (web address) where you want the link to take people. (be sure it’s your unique URL address i.e. www.facebook.com/passionsquared, not just www.facebook.com)

Step Three
Once you have added the Name and URL, simply click Apply. It’s always good to test the links just to be sure you are connecting everything to the right place. And if it got messed up, no biggie, just click on Edit, delete it and begin again.

Danielle on Instagram
@daniellevaliente