Skyscanner

I’m sure you have all heard of Skyscanner, or use a similar service like expedia.com to search across all airlines for the cheapest available flights on the dates in mind. Although there’re a couple of features that I find particularly helpful when planning an upcoming vacation.

Whole Month

This feature allows you to view the costs of flights on every day of the month, so you can easily find the cheapest dates to travel.


 

Cheapest Month

If you only have a destination in mind you can easily use the “cheapest month” feature to check the cheapest time to travel to your destination throughout the whole year.

Airbnb

Airbnb is a fantastic international service that allows you to rent out properties directly with the owner instead of booking a hotel. Its 100% safe – your money goes to the Airbnb platform so you never pay the owner directly and most of the time you don’t even meet the owner of the property. Unless it’s to collect the keys at the beginning of your stay and give them back at the end (Although sometimes not even then, I stayed in one place in Canada that just had a keypad to let you in).
Airbnb has completely changed the way I travel, I can’t remember the last time I stayed in a hotel in the past 4+ years, excluding 1 month in Morocco last year, and I have used it all over the world. Plus, if you like to cook or are on a budget it’s great because you have cooking facilities to make your own food, saving you the money of eating out 3 meals a day that you would spend at a hotel. Even if it’s just breakfast at home, every bit counts towards your budget!

House Sitting

The basic idea of House Sitting is free accommodation in exchange for taking care of their house, and usually their animals or gardens as well. The part I particularly like about housesitting is being able to assimilate with other cultures. You are very much lead by where the availability of the house sit is – so you end up travelling to areas in countries that you may never have thought of going to.
The requirements are also so varied so if you keep your eye on the availabilities you could find a week long stay in NYC, a weekend in London, or 1 month in a beautiful house on the southern coast of Turkey with 6 dogs & 4 cats.

House Sit in Kas, Turkey (4 weeks)

View from the back veranda of our house near Granada, Spain (6 weeks)

Woofing

If you’re up for a little more of an adventure, love the outdoors and aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty then Woofing is a great option. Another international service that will help prolong your budget by giving you free food and accommodation in exchange for work (the arrangement varies per agreement, although ours was 3-4 hours of work per day Mon – Fri). Of course, there are some horror stories floating around so do your research, but everyone I have spoken to has had a similar great experience to me, met some fantastic people and learned a lot of new skills – I now know how to heard 40 odd sheep.

Lonely Planet Guidebooks

Never leave home without one, they’re completely invaluable. With their suggestions for accommodation, restaurants and itineraries this can help you save so much time and money. Plus, after travelling for 18 hours on a bus and finally arriving at your accommodation the last thing you want to do is sort through rubbish Tripadvisor reviews to find a terribly overpriced restaurant.

Happy Travels!

The post Your cost-effective traveller’s guide appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

“Today is the first blank page of a 366 page book. Write a good one.”

Do you know what I love about that quote? The word ‘blank’ in all its clean, refreshing glory. Because after the well-needed rest over Christmas shut down, I couldn’t wait to get back to the office, clear out my workspace (which looked like a bomb hit) and get my work-life in order to set the tone for a fresh and tidy start to the new quarter.
I figured I can’t be the only one who does this, so I’m sharing the 5 tips I keep in mind whenever I’m getting myself organised:

1. The one year rule

If you haven’t used it since January 2015, chuck it or donate it. This goes for the clutter on your desk, those drawers full of expired biscuits and that one closet in every office where 90s keyboards go to die. If nobody needed it in the past 12 months, I’m willing to bet that they’ll still be there in 2017.
Sub-tip: If you come across a note or business card that you think you may need for reference some day, take a photo of it. Store it in the cloud or send yourself an email – you’ll be able to find it quicker, and you’ll have one less item cluttering your space.

2. Tame your inbox

Once your physical workspace is clear, it’s time to tackle the digital one. Email inboxes are a super personal space and everyone’s got their own system, but there are a few things which could help you keep things under control week after week.
You can reduce the number of emails you get each day by unsubscribing from newsletters you no longer read, or create specific folders and labels (with filters to match) to have non-essential emails sorted automatically without interrupting your daily flow.

3. Just say no… To irresistible freebies

I added this to my list a few months ago when we returned from yet another conference with bags full of freebies. Piles of magnets, stickers and pens that don’t write the way you like them to. They never survive the January purge, so next time, just say no.

4. Schedule calendar time for your own work

This is a new one for me, and I’m hooked. If you and the rest of the office use Google Calendar, you probably know that colleagues can add meetings to your schedule depending on whether you’re free at that time or not. That’s great, except for when you sit down to work on a Monday morning and find that you’re booked solid for meetings until Friday afternoon, leaving no time to get your own work done.
Problem solved – Set aside time for the work by actually scheduling it into your calendar. This way, your colleagues will know that you’re busy that morning and pick a later date for the meeting. Your calendar will still look pretty full, but this way you’ll know that everything that needs doing will get done.
(PS: Thanks Mel for the tip!)

5. Create 2 work zones

There’s computer work which, well, needs a computer. But then there’s other work that will probably happen a lot more efficiently if you’re not in front of a screen. Think time, sketching or poring over the latest reports for instance. Whether in another room or on the same desk, allocate a space where you can move away from the screen and let your mind work without constant interruptions.
It’s not a fool proof guide and it might not be for everyone, but taking a few minutes to clear up with these 5 steps has helped me keep sane on even the busiest of days at the office. If you have anything to add to the list, I’d love to hear it – drop me a line in the comments!

The post Getting Organised For The New Year in 5 Steps appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

Stop. Take a minute and think.

Like my old man always said ‘if you really want to, you can do it – having no time is just an excuse!’
As we grow we start to understand that multitasking and time management can help us juggle a million things at one go – it’s okay boys, you wouldn’t understand the multitasking part – don’t worry, with all our nagging you’ll get there eventually 😛
The trick to it all is planning ahead and being positive! The worst thing you could do to yourself is to fall into a monotonous routine and regret the decisions you have made in the past. Every second you spend is  an experience to learn from and a memory to treasure!
Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier to make time for breakfast and kick start your day on a positive note!
Have a positive can do attitude and you find that any task you need to complete is done in a shorter time because you didn’t spend half of it complaining about how busy you are or about how impossible it is to get the job done.
Spare five minutes and call your parents, an old friend, or an ex colleague. If you think you have no time for that – do it while you’re in the bathroom, just make sure to flush after you hang up and not while you’re on the phone; having to reply to the question ‘what’s that noise?’ can be a little embarrassing – true story!

Spend 30 minutes cooking some healthy chicken and yummy salad for dinner instead of queuing up at a fast food restaurant. Do your grocery shopping once during the week instead of having to go to the store everyday – draw up a shopping list and plan your meals in advance, it’s not rocket science!
Find a hobby, pick a sport, go out for a short walk and stay active instead of dumping yourself on the sofa watching useless TV programs.
With all that’s been going on over the past few days you stop and realise that you’re here today and gone tomorrow.
What I am trying to say is that we all have the same amount of hours at our disposal – what we do with this time is what makes us happier or angrier, what keeps us sane or stresses the living hell out of us.
Can’t believe I found the time to write this in my busy schedule – and no, I’m not on the loo – or am I? 😉
Until next time! (ha ha)

The post Make Time for Time appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

How do I keep myself organised?

With a list of responsibilities and deadlines to meet, things sometimes get a bit crazy. In a position like mine it’s important to keep on top of everything and never let the work get overwhelming.
Over the years I developed a system of work which helps me keep things organised.

My 6 Time Management Tips to Increase Productivity and Improve your Organisational Skills at work

1. Prepare in advance – especially when there’s a tight deadline or a client’s meeting. It’s better to be prepared and plan things carefully. If you’re attending a meeting, create an Agenda so all the line items on the Agenda are discussed and looked into whilst at the meeting.
2. Schedule your time and your day – The workload can be split. No need to hassle and stress. Create a priority list.
3. Start early and don’t waste time :p
4. Be organised – Use a filing system both at home and at the office. If you need to find something and you’re in a rush, it will be easily found.
5. Create a detailed handover for when you’re away of the office – This will help others know what’s going on with your on-going projects while you’re away. Clients would still be happy to receive any jobs that are due while you’re away.
6. Have a to do list or reminders – This way you will never leave something out.

What’s the benefit to all this?

Being more organised means being more time efficient. You lose time looking for lost files and documents or fishing through old emails to track down missing information. You waste time switching between devices to get different information from separate places.
Be conscious of this and keep files and things you will need later organised and easily accessible to make your life easier in the future.
With a few simple changes and adjustments you can save hours during the week and significantly increase your productivity and decrease your stress levels. Of course don’t forget to have some fun and get away every once in a while.
Just remember: you’re the master of your work, not the other way around!

The post Mastering your work appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

1. Ignore your emails

Most of us in the office get pop up notifications whenever we receive an e-mail. This means that we’re constantly stopping whatever task we’re doing to check an e-mail. This can interrupt your work flow and it can be hard to get back into the zone. So sometimes we just turn the pop ups off! We don’t suggest you do this for a long time because you might eventually get back to your inbox to find ” IMPORTANT URGENT ANSWER ASAP” casually sitting there from 4 hours ago. But turning off notifications for an hour or two won’t hurt!

2. Track your time

Plan how much time something should take and then do your best to stick to that slot. We use Paymo to track how much time we spend on projects – eventually we figured out more or less how long something should take us which makes planning our day so much easier!

3. Keep things close at hand

Working on a variety of projects means a variety of specifications and needs. Create lists of the different things clients need and keep these close at hand. Some of us tape lists to the wall, others write them on a big sheet of paper stuck to their desk, and two of us have turned their work area into a post-it-note hangout! Call us old school, but it works!

4. Plan, plan, plan!

Busy days don’t just drop out of the sky (okay, sometimes they do!). Plan your week and make sure you make time for everything you need to do. If you’ve got a relaxed day use it to do some behind the scenes work which would simplify things for you in the future. Whether it’s stock image hunting or creating titles for future blog posts make sure that you use those quieter days to their full potential.

5. Have resources

Speaking of stock imagery, we’re always working to improve our database of beautiful royalty free images. But whenever we’re really stuck in a jam we like to use one of the many sites on this great post over at BeeWits. It’s been a lifesaver more than once!

6. Set reminders

Schedule in reminders to remind you about things at intervals (1 week before, 2 days before, on the day). We’ve got a weekly reminder for our 10 Before 10:00 posts, and other reminders for our newsletters. This combined with numerous post-it-notes, and verbal reminders from members of staff ensures we never miss anything!

7. Hold regular meetings

You can’t spend 8 hours a day staring at your monitor isolated in the digital world! Sure you can communicate on Skype, but nothing beats sitting down at a table with a mug of coffee and a notepad. Having regular meetings not only helps you plan work strategies- it also increases team dynamics. So if you can’t remember the last time you had a team meeting it’s about time you have one!

8. Get yourself a whiteboard

We’ve got a white board at the end of the room and we’re proud to say it’s quite a beast! It’s got our marketing strategy fully laid out and whenever we’re in need of some inspiration we go through the (never-ending) list. It provides us with a great visual on the aims and motives behind our work. (Plus who doesn’t love a whiteboard?) If you really can’t get a whiteboard go ahead and write on the glass. Just make sure you don’t use a permanent marker and wipe off any joke comments before client meetings!

9. Lose yourself in background sounds

While we’ve got a very sociable office environment each one of us has a pair of headphones. Sure most of the times we can still hear what’s going on in the room but the music does drown out the office sounds. If music doesn’t work for you why not try rainymood or coffitivity? Sometimes a thunderstorm combined with coffee shop murmurs is just what you need!

10. Feed your brain

We’re massive foodies and over time we’ve learnt that you can’t focus on low fuel. While we advise you to stay away from a giant plate of carbonara, we do recommend that you stop for lunch and have something yummy to recharge your bodies and keep you going. There are many great recipes out there dedicated entirely to feeding your brain so why not carry out a quick google search?
All in all how you work depends on your own personality – are there any tools you find indispensable, or do you have some sort of secret which helps you get through things quickly? Let us know!

The post 10 things to do to maximise work efficiency appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

Instagram for Business tutorial

Instagram started off way back in 2010, however it was only over the past few years that it really became huge. Huge enough for even marketers to start using it!
Originally a social media platform where users could share polaroid-style snaps, Instagram has grown to a state where companies use it to reach out to particular audiences. Of course, it’s up to you to know whether Instagram is right for you, but if you think that there’s even a slight possibility that it is, then read on to find out how to make the most of it.

1. Know your audience

You’ve got to know who you’re communicating with. Instagram is generally used mainly by a younger crowd, with most users’ ages ranging from early teens to late twenties. Moreover, most Instagram users are female, which explains why big brands like TopShop make it a point to invest time in creating great content for their Instagram followers.

2. Refine your brand strategy

If you’re doing your marketing well, then you probably have a brand strategy. (If you don’t, last week’s article will help you get started). It’s important that when setting up an account on a different social media platform you keep the same brand identity. Use the same colours, logo, and tone of voice for a consistent, recognisable feel.

3. Separate your content

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram all have similar things in common, but at the end of the day they are successful social media platforms because they’re not replicas of each other. So if these social media platforms aren’t exactly the same, then neither should your content be a copy + paste from one platform to the next. Learn what works and what doesn’t and adapt your style in order to pitch the same information to different demographics.
After all, the same people could be following you on different social platforms – if all they see is repeated content, they’ll lose interest. If you keep things interesting by offering different content for each platform, you’ll keep them checking in again and again.

4. Follow sparingly

Ideally once you’ve created your account you’ll announce it on other social media platforms, inviting people to follow you on Instagram. Once people do start engaging with your brand, keep calm. Don’t follow everyone back.
Be nice, but don’t be desperate. If an Instagram account has 200 followers but is following 600 then something is clearly wrong in the marketing department. Keep your follower to following ratio at a stable level, where you’ve got a majority of followers. You’re not expected to follow everyone back, you’re a business… not an attention-seeking teenager. Remember that it’s quality over quantity. (Check out the discrepancy on Intel’s Instagram account! That’s right, with a little creativity, any brand can be an Instagram hit.)

5. Social Media flirting

Flirting? Yes!
While we’ve just explained that you shouldn’t go crazy and follow everyone back, you are allowed to flirt. Find companies with similar interests and keep an eye on their posts, like the ones related to your work, and even comment if you feel it’s the right thing to do! Don’t be shy to do the same with fans. Look up trending topics and like posts by people with similar interests. They might get curious to see who you are, and they might even follow you back. Just remember to be subtle and play it cool – just like flirting in the real world.

6. Engagement

This one’s a no brainer, but we’ll say it just to make sure it’s clear. Engage your audience. Keep in mind that they’re human beings and like to be treated that way. Be friendly, informative, and witty. Reply to comments, even if it’s just a simple “thanks, have a great weekend”. People like to feel appreciated and are always flattered when brands respond.

7. Show your fun side

First of all, if you’ve read this point and find yourself desperately trying to figure out what your fun side is, you might want to rethink your marketing strategy. If you’ve got a fun side don’t be afraid to show it. Whether it’s a costume party at the office, or a funny quote about the business you’re in, don’t be shy!

8. Faces, faces, faces

Imagine if you’re scrolling down a feed, faces automatically catch your eye. Throwing in a slightly different post every once in a while and instead of uploading a picture of your product, upload a picture of the staff, or a happy customer!

9. Good visuals

Speaking of visuals, when uploading photos be sure that they’re good quality. Don’t go crazy with filters, (sometimes they’re not even necessary), and try to include an artistic flair to your photos. Whether it’s stacking products in an eye catching way, or placing them in a different location (try a pair of sunglasses on a dazzling beach), be creative, giving your followers something different to look at each day.
Oreo excel at this. They have 1 product: A classic cookie. The cookie has looked the same for years and years, but they always manage to show it in a different light through great images that keep fans hooked day in, day out:

10. The special club

Make your followers feel as though they’re part of a special, elite club. Create competitions just for them, or have special giveaways targeted to Instagram followers only. It will boost brand loyalty, attract more people to follow you on Instagram, and make your followers feel appreciated. And we all know that a happy customer is a loyal customer!
If you feel you’re now confident enough to join Instagram and start marketing, why not check out this handy post on GrowthHacking your way to the top by using the platform?

The post Instagram for business in 10 easy steps appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

1. Setting it up

The set up is actually really simple. Just go into Twitter and sign up. The step by step feature will walk you through the process, even suggesting people you should follow. Be sure to use a great profile picture and header image so that everything looks sharp, attracting people’s attention. Oh, and don’t forget filling in your bio with something catchy and a link to your website!

2. Tweet Tweet

Now that everything is set up it’s time to get tweeting. Why not try something friendly as your first one? Perhaps a shout out or announcement about having joined the world of Twitter!

3. Hash Tags

# <—- This little thing is going to become your friend, but first you have to learn how to use it! Hash tagging is a way of categorising a post. So if you write #AwesomeBlogPost then anyone who searches using that hashtag will find your post. Great right? So when writing your post consider including a ‘#’ before particular words. Twitter helps you out by suggesting other tags people are using. For example #SocialMediaMarketing could also be #SMM (which saves you characters).
We can’t help but remind you that while hash tagging is great, it should be used sparingly. You’re representing a company, not an overactive teenager, so #writing #a #post #like #this will get you #nowhere. Think it through, picking out 2-3 keywords related to your brand and leaving it at that!

4. @… ?

What’s the deal with the ‘@’ sign is what you might think. That’s a very simple way of tagging, or mentioning, someone. However, there are variations to it.
If you want to speak to someone directly (though still publicly) you can simply start off with @switchmalta……….[your tweet]…..
This means that @switchmalta (which is us by the way!) will get a notification with your message. This isn’t a private message – everyone can see it, the only difference is that it won’t turn up in your follower’s feed like normal tweets.
If you want it to turn up in your feed for all your followers to see then there must be text preceding the ‘@’ sign.
You could try “We love your blog @weareSWD keep up the great work!” or, for something subtle simply put a fullstop. “.@weareSWD keep up the great work!”
This allows those following you to see what’s going on, and perhaps follow the discussion.

5. Retweets

A Retweet is, quite simply, when a follower ‘forwards’ your message to his own followers. This gets your message out there, so retweets are great for your company. Create content which people will want to share in order to boost your engagement.
Don’t forget to reply someone who retweeted you with a simple “hey, thanks for the retweet!” to let them know you appreciate it.

6. Keeping it simple

Brevity is an important part of twitter. Take time to compose your posts, including a call to action at the start, 2-3 hashtagged keywords, and allow for a few unused characters at the end incase anyone retweets you and wants to add something on. Remember to shorten your links with Bitly to save on space!

7. Use Images

We’ve said it enough times for you to have learnt by heart that images will always attract attention. However, they do take up some of your character count, so plan your posts properly.

8. Schedule them in

Using something like TweetDeck allows you to schedule in twitter posts. This means that you won’t ever be caught off guard and will always have your next tweet ready to go up.

9. Frequency

Unlike Facebook, on Twitter you can post quite often, even 4-5 times a day. So while we recommend posting to Facebook once a day, we also recommend that you go ahead and tweet to your heart’s content. Just don’t over do it and always make sure your tweets are interesting and relevant to your brand.

10. Be friendly!

We cannot stress this enough. If you want people to follow you you’ve got to be friendly. Retweet, reply, and favorite posts by followers and fans. Show your human side and show you care, people will respond to it with great enthusiasm and become more loyal to you.
We hope this helped you out in your quest to improve your social media presence. Don’t forget to drop us a line if you’re ready to find out more about what we can do for you!

The post Improving your Business with Twitter appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

Everyone wants to “do social”, when in reality, the secret is to be social

Let’s backtrack a bit and think about this for a second. Social media is called social for a reason. Nowadays, everyone is always online, always accessible and always sharing things that strike them as valuable – including their favourite brands. Now, more than ever, people turn to social media as a way to stay connected and up-to-date with the brands they love. This makes authenticity, transparency and real-time engagement for brands a must.

Think about the time you spend on networks: you scroll through posts from friends and colleagues telling you about their last meal, trip or shopping spree. Chances are, you click through to the people or organisations tagged in the post to find out more. Within seconds of landing on that page, you make a decision to stay and engage with the page or to jump ship altogether. That split-second decision is based on your immediate perception of the page. Does that sound about right to you?
First impressions are everything. Being open, genuine and authentic on the digital landscape means a great deal to the audience that wants to genuinely engage with your brand on social. Many brands struggle with this, probably because they find words like ‘genuine’ and ‘authentic’ rather… vague. But it’s important to find your own, personal voice to have an even bigger impact on the social sphere. This is not a new concept: Forbes mentioned in 2011 that the battle for social media authenticity is about showcasing the human side of your business to make your audience truly feel a part of your brand. Authenticity builds credibility – be real, be genuine and above all, make sure that your motivations aren’t manipulative (fans will sniff that out in a second).
It’s not that alien a concept, if you think about it. Just look at your personal relationships: they’re built on trust and communication, and it’s safe to say that transparency and engagement are two key priorities. The question is, how do you make it work with your brand?

That’s easy – start with the humans

It really is that simple. People like people, and the easiest way to connect with an audience is to show that your brand is made up of people just like them. After all, if it wasn’t for the people on your team, there wouldn’t be much of a brand, would there? Embrace their individual values and leverage them – everyone, from the top of the ladder all the way to the bottom rung. Write about them, give your audience a peek at the behind-the-scenes and be the leader of the conversations taking place about you and your brand by giving your audience something to talk about!
Now, before you roll your eyes, let’s quickly bring this back to you: the business owner. That’s right, there is business-sense in all of this. We are living in the age of the consumer: the key driver of your product or service and the person behind the all-important purchase decisions you’re looking to influence. Those consumers are the reason behind being social.
In short, treat your customers like insiders. Remember that sharing is caring and give your brand advocates something positive to share with the world. Talk with them, not at them, and build a dialogue that encourages your customers to interact and support your brand. We’re positive that with enough effort, this will lead to social media success.
Want to know more about improving your social media marketing strategy? This might be what you’re looking for. 

The post Be Human: Why brand authenticity reigns in social media appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

1. Your Company Profile

Of course, the first thing you need is a Company Profile. Create it by going onto your own LinkedIn account, then going to the “Interests” tab > Companies > Create Company Page. From there you can begin setting up your page. Include any relevant information, a company logo, and a banner.
Be sure to update the page with any relevant information. Your page is a reflection of your company and its work ethic so make it the best it can be!

2. Connect

The next step is to start setting up connections. Connect with employees, clients, and other companies with the same interests. This keeps you informed about what’s going on around you and also allows people to see what your company is up to. Connections on LinkedIn are highly useful and could lead to potential clients.

 3. Keep the ball rolling

Don’t take the business card approach when managing your LinkedIn account. Update the page frequently so as to have it constantly turning up in your connections’ feeds. This could benefit your relationships with followers because they become familiar with your brand, as well as the content you upload and produce.

4. The funnel effect

If you produce amazing content you could easily generate leads back to your website. Much like a funnel, use LinkedIn (along with other social media) to direct people to your website. A clear call to action would be perfect for this.

5. Job postings

One of the great features of LinkedIn is that it allows you to post vacancies. You have two levels of vacancy advertisement to choose from: first off, you can start with a listing in the ‘Jobs’ section on the network, which is similar to the ‘Classified’ section of a newspaper. Potential applicants can browse the page and choose to apply once they come across your posting. You can then take this to the next level and spend a little bit of budget to promote your listing. In this case, your post will pop up in the right hand column of LinkedIn’s homepage, and you can even select the job type to only target advertising towards relevant candidates. This is yet another reason to maintain an attractive and frequently updated page – the better your page, the better the candidates that will choose to work with you.

6. Different audience – different style

Clearly, LinkedIn isn’t like Facebook or Twitter. It’s more serious, catering for people who know exactly what they want out of their connections. Adapt your style for a LinkedIn audience so as to maximise the power of your content. However, just because it’s slightly more serious, it doesn’t mean it’s not a social platform. So while keeping it professional, don’t forget to have a bit of fun and keep a human element.
L’Oréal do this by asking their followers questions so as to engage and interact with them.

7. Group up

LinkedIn allows you to create groups, bringing together people with similar interest and opinions. Used well, this could easily boost your connections and relationships with others, acting as a goldmine of information. Plus, posting relevant and informative articles in groups will help you establish your position as a thought leader in the industry.

8. It’s about who you know

Sometimes, it’s the small relationships formed online that could make all the difference. By following people, looking at their connections and following those connections in turn, you could easily build up your network and get in touch with the right people.

9. Visuals stand out

It’s very obvious that LinkedIn is quite plain. That’s why having great visuals in your content is important. Visuals will attract a person’s attention and draw them in. Even something as simple as a recurring colour could make a difference.
Evernote do this with their sneaky addition of green in their images.

10. Trust

Above all, LinkedIn gives off a sense of trust and reliability. Recommendations, followers, and endorsements all serve to build a brand’s reputation, making it look more human. Add this to brilliant content and management and you’ve got yourself a winning recipe.
And that’s a wrap, you can now go ahead and create your company profile and start working on getting your brand noticed!

The post LinkedIn for Beginners appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

It’s all about the timing

Schedule your emails, tweets, updates and blog posts to go live at a time that’s suitable for your audience.
When’s that? Well, that depends on three things:

– The platform you’re using: Twitter is usually buzzing around lunchtime, while LinkedIn is always a ghost town on Fridays. Think about the network you’re using before scheduling posts.

– The audience you’re targeting: If your audience works from 9 to 5, for instance, try to publish Facebook posts during the afternoon slump, as most people won’t check social media during the morning rush.

– The type of engagement you’re after: Looking to build awareness about a promotion? That’s great material for early mornings posts, when people sneak a quick peek at their phones over coffee. Do you want people to read your blog posts? Save it for late afternoons, when people will have more time to spend.

While these guides are a safe start, we would definitely recommend running your own tests before deciding on a time – every brand is different, after all.

Respond to direct interactions from followers

One of the most important things you can do within your profiles is to respond to any direct messages or comments you’ve received from followers or fans. Remember that these interactions represent people who have made the effort to engage with your brand on a higher level than simply viewing your content.
Whether the interaction is good or bad (in the case of possible negative reviews) it’s imperative that you respond to them as quickly as possible to return the effort in making that connection. Not only will you create a connection with a potential client, but it will also humanise your company profile and make it more accessible for future visitors to contact you directly.

Add a call to action

Do you want people to click? Ask them to. Want them to comment? Let them know.
Social followers are often so overloaded with information on their news feeds that it takes a clearly defined request to encourage them to take action. According to the Buddy Media report, Facebook posts with questions generate 92% higher comment rates than posts without questions, so a clear call to action could make all the difference to your post engagement.
As for Twitter, well, see for yourself:

A word of caution – please, please do not ask questions on every single one of your posts. Moderation is key, and overdoing it could make your posts less engaging and more annoying in the long run.

Use images

It’s about a lot more than a pretty picture: Kissmetrics finds that posts that include photos attract 53% more ‘likes’, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs than posts that are purely text-based.
It makes sense, if you think about it: As humans, it’s in our nature to communicate visually, and most people process images a lot quicker than text.
Here’s the caveat, though: Posting a stock image of a pretty face won’t do much. Ideally, your chosen pictures should be self-explanatory. The most obvious example of these are graphs or infographics, images that don’t need a caption to be understood. All in all however, the use of good visuals in your posts will make them more sharable and engaging. And bang on cue, here’s an impressive little graph to demonstrate the effectiveness of images in tweets, courtesy of Buffer:
 There you have it – 4 tips to improve your social media marketing effectiveness. Making small improvements like these could get you to know your audience better and interact with them on their terms. By making it easy and attractive for them to engage with you, you can elevate your brand and continue to drive revenue through your efforts. Not bad for 140 characters or less.
Want to know more about improving your social media marketing strategy? This might be what you’re looking for. 

The post Be Effective: 4 Tips to improve your social media marketing strategy appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.