Facebook has not had a good year.
The aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal rumbles on, and the recent “improvements” that restricts the amount of company message shown has not pleased businesses.
Small wonder then that Instagram has seen rapid growth in membership, eager for its more direct, personal approach with the emphasis on fun, not politics or opinionated rants.
So, is it time to say farewell to Facebook and get into Instagram? Yes and no…
In their never-ending quest to keep the world of SEO on their toes, (or so it seems) Google have made some major changes to Google + pages.
Google + (Google Plus) has always been a bit of a minefield, but the main reason businesses used it was to ensure their place in local search results.
Your Google Local profile gave you the ability to add crucial information about any bricks and mortar business, such as the correct address, telephone number and company information. The fact that you also got a dedicated Google+ page, a sort of “Facebook light” profile page was a bonus.
But now it's all change again at Google+...
At this time of year, most stores have already set up their Christmas window displays, reminding us that it’s time to buy those special presents for friends and family.
We’re also decorating our homes and putting up the flashing reindeer and icicle lighting on the front porch (or is that just us?!). It reminds us that Christmas is coming and we still haven’t bought the darn turkey.
At the same time, across the world, sci-fi fans are getting very, very excited about the new Star Wars film which opens on December 18th. Wherever you look, there is Star Wars stuff, from toys to t shirts, mini figures to dog costumes (yes, really - see left).
So, three top trending topics this month are #Christmasgifts, #xmaslights and #StarWarstoys. By clever use of blogs and hashtags, your business can become part of the online conversations these trending topics create.
You've got the website, you've got the social media accounts, so - what you do post about?
It's a question many business people struggle with, and with good reason. Many of us started our careers in an era of corporate discretion and formality.
Now we're being asked to engage with customers we haven't met on an almost daily basis.
The general maxim for all social media posts is to only post what you would be happy to see again with your grandmother, company CEO and six year old nephew sitting beside you - and a shareholder or two.
Which still leaves the question of what customers would want to read on your posts, and what they would actively click and Like...
At Akira, we invest considerable time in learning about new trends, techniques and technologies to make our websites the best possible.
While we spend many hours following leading lights in website design and development online, nothing beats hearing these people speak live at a conference - and being able to quiz them in person!
Our SEO and copywriter Kirsty recently attended BrightonSEO, a cutting edge conference bringing together top SEO and social media practitioners from the UK, US and Europe to discuss what they do, why they do it, and most usefully, exactly how they do it.
Sometimes, it's hard to see the business benefits of social media, especially for small businesses. There's always that nagging question in your mind; is anybody actually reading this?
However, a new announcement from Google changes the landscape completely.
In a new deal with Twitter, tweets will appear in Google search results page (SERPs). What's more, tweets will appear in real time as they are posted, making search results for tweets almost instantaneous.