Over the past couple of months, Facebook has been rolling out Facebook Cover Video for pages. Do you want to make a cover video for your Facebook page? In this blog post, we’ll show you how to make your video and post it to your Facebook page.

Do you have access to Facebook Cover Videos?

To see if you have access to Facebook Cover Videos, you’ll need to login to your Facebook profile and go to your company page. From there, hover over the cover image and click on the Change Cover button. The drop-down menu should have the option to Choose from Videos or Upload Photo/Videos. If you don’t have access yet, you should soon.

How do you make a Facebook Cover Video?

You will need to keep these things in mind when creating your video:

  • The video must be between 20 and 90 seconds
  • The video resolution must be 1080p in order to upload it
  • Part of the height of the video will end up cropped, so be sure to position important photos or text centrally
  • Cover videos are only available for pages and not for personal profiles at this time

How do you add your video to your Facebook page?

Now that your video is perfect, it’s time to add it to your Facebook page. You will need to login to your Facebook profile from a desktop computer, as the feature is currently not available to add from Facebook’s mobile app.

Once logged in, go to your Facebook page. Click on Change Cover and select Upload Photo/Video from the drop-down menu. Then, select your video file from your computer and upload it. It might take a few minutes to encode.

Great, you’ve uploaded your video. Now, you will want to reposition it so that the part of the video you intended to be in the center, sits in the center. You can simply drag and drop to reposition the video. When you’re finished repositioning it, click Next.

Before you publish your new Facebook Cover Video, remember to choose a thumbnail. You can click on the arrows on the left and right to choose from a selection of frames from the video. Once you’ve selected the perfect cover image, click Publish and you’re all finished!

If this sounds like something you would rather leave up to a Social Media Expert, contact Longevity Graphics today!

Guide to Instagram for Business

Instagram is a highly visual experience. For businesses, it is a great way to tell your story through captivating photos, videos, and captions. It is also one of the most exciting social media platforms right now! Currently, it is ranked as the second most active social media platform by number of users (just behind Facebook) with over 600 million monthly users.

If you thought that was impressive, take a look at these other statistics:

Latest Instagram Statistics

  • 600 million monthly users
  • 300 million daily active users
  • 20% of internet users, use the app
  • Average monthly follower growth for users is 16%
  • Average engagement rate for posts is 11%

If you’re interested in joining Instagram for Business, but you’re unsure how to harness the true potential of the platform, continue reading below.

Tips for Using Instagram for Business

Visual Appeal – Instagram is a highly visual experience, so make sure you are posting high-resolution, good quality images that best represent your business.

Use #Hashtags – If you want to grow your following and expand your reach, use hashtags. Hashtags allow like-minded users to find content that is interesting to them.

Don’t Over Post – There is nothing worse than opening your newsfeed to one account spamming you with their content. Even if you appreciate the content, the high-frequency can result in an unfollow.

Utilize Instagram’s Editing Tools – Even if you don’t have access to Photoshop or other professional photo editing software, that doesn’t mean you can’t post professional looking photos. Take advantage of the editing tools that are available on Instagram.

Utilize Instagram Business Tools – Instagram introduced Business Profiles and Business tools in the summer of 2016. With an Instagram Business profile, you can:

  • Get real-time metrics on how your promoted posts perform
  • Get insights into your followers and how they interact with your posts
  • Add information about your company like business hours, location, and phone number

Interact with Other Accounts – If you want people to engage with your content, try engaging with other users’ content. Don’t be shy, make the first move!

Share your Instagram content on other Social Channels – If you’re active on other social media channels, why not send your Instagram posts there as well? You’ll be able to reach an additional audience, plus you’ll be able to promote your Instagram account.

If you can see the advantage of Instagram for Business, then start an account today!

Instagram Business Profile Set Up

If you are looking for a social media expert to help you with your Instagram account set up and optimization, then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for you. 

We offer a FREE 1-Hour consultation on all of the services we provide. Contact us today!

Facebook Pixel for Conversion Tracking

A Facebook Pixel is a piece of JavaScript code that you add to your website in order to measure, optimize and build audiences for your Facebook Advertising campaigns. By utilizing the Facebook Pixel, you can better understand the actions people take as they make their way from Facebook to your website.

As Instagram Advertising is connected to your Facebook Ad Manager Account, the Pixel you create for your Ad Account can also be used to track Instagram Conversions.

Facebook Pixel Implementation

  • Go to your Facebook Ad Manager Account or your Facebook Business Manager Account
  • Click Tools then click Pixels
  • Click Create a Pixel
  • Enter the name of your Pixel (One Pixel per ad account)
  • Click Create Pixel
    • If you work on your website yourself, click Install Pixel Now and copy the Base Code that appears in the box on the screen to each page on your website between the <head> and </head> tags
    • If someone else works on your website, press Email Pixel Code. Type in the person’s email and press Send

Standard Conversion Events

Standard Conversion Events allow you to track conversions, optimize for conversions and build audiences. See the Standard Conversion Events listed below:

View Content – Track key page views
Search – Track searches on your website
Add to Cart – Track when items are added to a shopping cart
Add to Wishlist – Track when items are added to a wish list
Initiate Checkout – Track when people enter the checkout flow
Add Payment Info – Track when payment information is added in the checkout flow
Make Purchase – Track purchases or checkout flow completions
Lead – Track when someone expresses interest in your offering
Complete Registration – Track when a registration form is completed

Standard Conversion Events Implementation

  • Add the Standard Event Code that corresponds to the events listed above
  • Add the Standard Event Code below the Base Code

Custom Conversion Events

You can use Custom Conversions Events if you are unable to add Standard Conversion Events to your website. If you’ve added the Base Code across your website, leave the code as is and create Custom Conversion Events using URL rules.

Custom Conversion Events Implementation

  • Go to the Custom Conversions section
  • Click Create Custom Conversion
  • Add the URL or part of the URL that represents your custom conversion (ex. URL contains /thankyou.php for a Thank You page after a purchase).
  • Select a category and click Next
  • Give your custom conversion a name and description
  • Add a conversion value $$ if applicable
  • Click Create and Done

If this sounds like something you would rather leave up to a professional web developer, contact Longevity Graphics today! Our web development team can add the Base Code to each page on your website, add Standard Conversion Events and add Custom Conversion Events. Not only that, our Marketing Department can manage your Facebook Advertising campaigns and provide you with detailed monthly reports outlining your conversion results.

Instagram Stories

If you’re a regular Instagram user, then you’re aware of the platform’s latest feature – Instagram Stories.

So, what is Instagram Stories? It is a Snapchat-inspired feature built into the photo sharing app. It appears at the top of your newsfeed screen and allows you to upload photos in a stream that will expire and disappear after 24 hours. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Instagram’s CEO, Kevin Systrom agrees that the feature is very similar to Snapchat.

How do you use Instagram Stories?

  1. Go to your Instagram newsfeed.
  2. Click on the + in the top left corner of your feed to start a new story.
  3. Tap on the circle button at the bottom of the screen to take a photo or hold it down to record a video.
  4. To edit and add text or drawings to your photo or video, use the buttons in the top right corner.
  5. If you want to add a filter, simply swipe left or right. Currently, there are 7 different options.
  6. Finally, tap the check mark at the bottom of the screen to add it to your story.

More information:

  • To save a photo or video from your story to your phone’s camera roll, hit the download button on the right of your story.
  • As this is an Instagram feature, you can utilize Boomerangs and Hyperlapses with your story.
  • To monitor who can view your story, click on the three dots in the bottom right corner. Then click Story Settings to select any users you wish to block from viewing your stories.
  • Yes, as with Snapchat, you are able to see who has viewed your story. Open your story and swipe on the screen. On the bottom of the screen, there will be a view counter and the names of people who have viewed your story. Only you will be able to see this information.

So now the debate begins; which platform is better?

Many reviewers are saying that Instagram took Snapchat’s confusing interface and made it more simplistic to use. Each step of the process is clearly labelled with buttons, instead of swipes. For example, instead of swiping on a Snapchat photo to send a reply, Instagram has a clearly labelled Send Message button. This is something that many struggle with when trying to learn how to use Snapchat.

Another thing Instagram has going for it, is that it has an existing community of active users. These people use the app to connect with friends, follower new people and discover new parts of the world all through images and video. This sense of community is something that Snapchat is lacking. How many times have you seen an online personality encouraging their audience to add them on Snapchat? Now, Instagram followers will be able to access your stories from right in the app. There is no need to direct and build a new audience in a different app.

Instagram has always been seen as a place where people can upload the highlights of their life. With the introduction of Instagram Stories, you will be able to see the unfiltered, everyday parts  of people’s lives, between the picture perfect photos. With that being said, at one point in time we have all followed that one person who posts way too much. Now, these people will have a place where they can post without overwhelming their followers’ feeds.

So, what do you think? Comment or Tweet us and let us know.

If you are looking for an expert in the ever-changing landscape of Social Media then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for you and your business. Contact us today to get a no-obligation quote. We offer a Free 1-Hour Consultation on all social media, SEO, web design and web development services

Guide to LinkedIn Advertising

So you’ve been taking advantage of Facebook and Twitter advertising, but have you thought about LinkedIn advertising?

LinkedIn is a professional platform where users can connect and network with other business professionals. People connecting, making referrals and recommendations are nothing new in the world of business. The difference is, people are now able to perform these tasks online, through one social platform. In the year 2016, if you want to engage in the professional community, you must have a LinkedIn profile.

A LinkedIn profile is a page containing elements of a person’s resume, website, Facebook profile and blog posts. Ultimately, it is a presentation of who you are professionally.

Advertising on LinkedIn is a great way for businesses and professionals to reach highly targeted groups of like-minded people.

Creating an Advertising Campaign

To get started, go to your business page. If you’re currently viewing your personal LinkedIn account, look at the top tabs and scroll over Interests. Go to company and then your business page. Again near the top of the page, look for Business Services. If you scroll over this tab, it will open and the Advertise option will appear.

You will now be welcomed to the LinkedIn Campaign Manager. This is the main area to view all your campaigns. There are two types of ads you can create on LinkedIn; sponsored updates and text ads.

Sponsored Updates

  • These ads appear in the LinkedIn feed.
  • These ads give viewers the option to follow the advertisers LinkedIn company page, click through to the advertiser’s LinkedIn company page or click through to the advertiser’s website using the link and the image in the update.

Text Ads

  • These ads appear on the right side of the page.
  • These ads are a great way to drive targeted leads across multiple LinkedIn pages.
  • These ads only give viewers the option to click through to the advertiser’s website.

Once you have decided which ad is best suited for your advertising campaign, then you will open an account. You will create an account name, choose the currency you wish to pay in, and link the company page that you will be advertising. Name your campaign and decide what language you will be targeting. Next, you will decide where you want to direct users when they click on your ad. As mentioned, you can direct them to your LinkedIn page or your company website.

Now, you will create your ad.  Add a catchy headline, image and content. Your headline should be engaging and include a call to action. After, you will configure your target audience and budget. Finally, you will commence your LinkedIn advertising campaign.

Are you interested in advertising your business on LinkedIn, but you’re not familiar with the platform? We can help! Get in touch with us today. We offer a FREE 1-hour consultation.

10797544894_c14c97cb1dAre you thinking about starting a business in Port Coquitlam? We’ve gathered some resources to help you get started.

Visit the City of Port Coquitlam Website

The City of Port Coquitlam  website is a great place to begin when thinking about starting a business in Port Coquitlam. The website has many resources that will help you, prior to ‘opening your doors’.  Click here to visit the City of Port Coquitlam’s Starting a Business page.

Get to know the area… and your competition

If you don’t already live in Port Coquitlam or the Tri-Cities area, it is a good idea to spend some time in the city. This will allow you to get a sense of the successful businesses that are currently operating in the area – including businesses that you will be in competition with. If your business is going to have a store front, you can use this time to search out potential areas for your business to operate.

Create a Website and Social Media Pages

If you’re thinking about starting a business in 2016 – you MUST have a website and social media pages. There is a vast amount of competing businesses in Port Coquitlam and the surrounding areas.

In order to be discovered by potential customers online, you must have an experienced, knowledgeable online marketing company who will be able to optimize your website and social media pages for optimal rankings.

Your online marketing company should be able to:

  • Help your website gain top position in search result lists
  • Perform keyword research to discover vital search combinations for your business
  • Perform meta and title tag development
  • Establish HTML code optimization
  • Perform inbound link building

If this sounds like something that you will need help with, contact Longevity Graphics for a FREE 1-Hour Consultation. We specialize in working with local clients and helping them rank for their industry specific keywords.

Are you considering outsourcing your website design?

Below are some Pro’s and Con’s of hiring a local web designer vs. outsourcing your web design.

Pro’s of hiring a local web designer:

  • Personalized, one-on-one service
  • It’s easy to get in contact with your web designer if you have any questions
  • You know exactly who will be working on the design of your website and social media pages

Con’s of hiring a local web designer:

  • Well, we sure can’t think of any con’s!

Additional Resources

  • Sign up your business on the Shop PoCo BIZ Directory; Click Here
  • Join the Port Coquitlam Business Improvement Association (BIA); Click Here
  • Join the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce; Click Here
  • Contact Longevity Graphics for a FREE 1-Hour Consultation to learn about the online marketing services they offer; Click Here

In the four years since its acquisition by Facebook, Instagram has done a lot of evolving. Users have seen various interface modifications, the newsfeed algorithm change and of course, the logo transformation. Earlier this month, Instagram made an announcement that new Instagram Business profiles and tools will be rolling out in the US, Australia and New Zealand in the coming months, and will be available in all countries by the end of the year.

In the announcement, Instagram highlights three new features for business users.

These new features for business owners

  • Instagram Business Profile
  • Insight
  • Promote

Instagram Business Profile

The Instagram Business Profile is a free feature for accounts wanting to be recognized as a business on Instagram. In order to upgrade your Instagram account to a business profile, you will need to have a Business page on Facebook. Once you have linked your Instagram to your Business page on Facebook, you will then see three new tools: a contact button, insights and promote.

Previously, if a customer wanted to get in contact with you on Instagram, they would either click on the website link in your bio, or more often than not, they would leave a comment on one of your posts. If you have a lot of engagement on your content, you know how easily comments can be buried and lost. Using the new contact button, you can decide how you would like your customers to reach you.

They can contact you by:

  • Calling
  • Texting
  • Emailing

The contact button will appear in your bio, to the left of your follow button. This new tool will streamline the process of communicating. Now, customers will have no question as to how to reach you.

Insights

As a business producing content online, you need to know who your audience is and you need to know the best way to reach them. Without knowing this, it is hard to deliver relevant content. Insights on Instagram will provide business users information about their content. You will be able to see who your followers are and what posts are more effective than others. This information will all be available from within the mobile app.

Promote

Using the new promote tool, business users will be able to easily turn a well-performing post into an ad – right from within the app.

You will:

  1. Choose an already shared post
  2. Add a button with a call to action
  3. Decide on a target audience

Once your ad is set up, you will decide what length of time you would like the ad to run. If you want to advertise on Instagram currently, you have to create an ad campaign in Facebook. This new tool is a great addition and welcome change!

If you are looking for an expert in the ever-changing landscape of Social Media then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for you and your business. Contact us today to get a no-obligation quote. We offer a Free 1-Hour Consultation on all social media, SEO, web design and web development services.

Social Media Marketing Summer Promotion from Longevity Graphics

social media marketing

Receive a FREE Social Media Audit and learn more about our Summer Social Media Marketing promotion.

Choose 5 Social Media Marketing Platforms and we will:

  • Setup
  • Optimize
  • Manage 

your account.

$1250   $995/month

ACT NOW! Limited Availability

CALL: 604-505-8552 or EMAIL: [email protected]

Platform options: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Google+, YELP, Trip Advisor, Just Eat, Zomato (Formally Urban Spoon)

Social Media Marketing Services:

Social Media Marketing Setup

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We will setup and optimize 5 social media platforms of your choice. By implementing engaging visuals and optimizing all the tools available through the platforms, we will achieve results. A strategy will be developed to ensure a consistent follower growth and engagement with your audience.

Social Media Marketing Content Management

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First and foremost, we will perform an analysis of your industry, competition and clientele base. From there, we will make recommendations for the best content, visuals, and times to reach your audience. We will implement these recommendations, which will maximize your influence and generate relevant leads.

Social Media Marketing Reporting

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On an ongoing basis, our team will analyze the results and provide a report on a monthly basis. Upon analysis, we will create a summary of our findings, make necessary adjustments and recommendations to ensure optimal results on all platforms.

Don’t delay, take advantage of our social media marketing summer promotion and get started right away. Our team of local experts will work with you and help you deliver your message loud and clear. Get your FREE social media marketing audit today.

Longevity Graphics is located in Coquitlam, BC. We specialize in online marketing services as well as web design and web development. For a list of our services or customer testimonials, visit our website today. We offer a FREE one hour consultation.

Part One: How to find bloggers & Online Media

If you have a product-based business or brand, getting a blogger or online influencer to feature your product is one of the best ways to get low cost promotion online.

Public relations agencies rely on online media relationships almost as much as their traditional media relationships. Social media, newsletters and contest giveaways provide the ROI and SEO to prove that increasing your online presence on blogs automatically upgrades your brand online. As part of your marketing communication plan,  you can choose to use an outside agency or in-house PR team. There are positive and negatives to each option.

In a perfect world and with the right budget and manpower, you can have an in-house team working on local media, bloggers and spokespeople or brand ambassador pitching. to compliment this, a PR agency can handle the major media- more traditional for TV spots, print media and product placement.

If you choose to bring PR in-house, researching online influencers is the first step. use the old cloud brand brainstorm.Write your brand and circle it in the middle of a page. Next, draw stems and list all the top categories your brand is related to.

  • What type of blogger would you want to promote you?
  • What type of blogger would be interested in your product?

Start by keeping the net wide; use the basic categories such as: Food, Health, Sport, Fashion, and Music etc. Now, let’s move to using your categories to find relevant online influencers.

Depending on your product, you can really find a huge number of like-minded bloggers on various social sites.

How do I Find Bloggers?

Searching is easy, but time consuming. Start with an excel sheet. Name the tabs per pitch. (If you are starting your pitch from scratch, then name your initial search ‘Master List’ and categorize each blogger in their respective areas researched above.)

Twitter Search

Twitter search is one of the better ways to find influencers. Why?

  1. Basic- if they are on Twitter, they are socially aware.
  2. Users that are active on Twitter, are usually active on their blogs.
  3. The larger their followers, the easier it is to weed out who you want/don’t want to work with.

Searching on Twitter used to be easier. There was a section when you landed on another Twitter profile that would say, ‘Similar to Profile’, but now it just says ‘Who to Follow’. ‘Similar to Profile’: This tells you people that are similar to the profile you are on. This was great for finding more bloggers similar to the one you found. You could keep right-clicking and opening up profiles as you find them. ‘Who to Follow’: Is just a list of people you should follow, based you your own profile. Nothing to do with the profile you are on.

What are you left with now? Searching using hashtags! (You can also use basic words, but that could get crazy. So stick to hashtags. )

Start making a list of ‘Related Hashtags’. To make it easier, you can call it: ‘brand relevant keywords’. You’d use them for SEO, Google search marketing or tagging for articles or blog posts on your own websiteKeep these handy for your whole team- pull them from your mission statement. These keywords are your brand in a bubble, they are the various descriptions of what your brand is about.

Once you’ve added a hashtag into the Twitter Search, a few filter options will appear on the left hand side:

Tweets> Anyone that has used that hashtag in a recent tweet. Depending on the tweet- open their profiles, follow them if they are relevant and open their website url to see if who they are.

People> Any people who regularly use that hashtag- relates to their profile. Use this for your main search. Open their profiles, follow them if they are relevant and open their website url to see if who they are.

Additionally:

  • Top Photos>Photos with that hashtag
  • Top Videos> Videos with that hashtag

Things to keep in mind when researching on Twitter:

  • Use a range for followers. Stick to a minimum you think is acceptable for you.
  • Sometimes they can have a ton of followers and a non-relevant site, so look further than the #’s.
  • The above, but vice-versa.

Google Blog Search

Researching usually starts on Google. Start off with using Google blog search to see if anyone has ever blogger about your product before.

  1. Bring up the Google search bar- click on the filter of Blogs.
  2. Google will then search within any relevant blogs to your brand/product.
  3. Start your research of anyone talking about you here

Note: Google alerts are key for any yammering about your brand online. Make sure you have a good group of alerts emailed to you ‘when they happen’ so you know what’s being said about you online.

Happy Researching!

Next up:

Part 2: How to Search Within Blogs and Sending the first blog pitch.

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Written by: Cristina Pagnucco, Social Media Specialist, Longevity Graphics

Questions about this article? Email me [email protected]

Like us on Facebook  & Follow us on Twitter

Facebook advertising has grown exponentially in the last few years, with the opening of several new offices to provide support staff to their brand/business pages. There are more options on how you promote on a Facebook page than ever before and even still being constantly changed, updated and upgraded.

If you are a company that is using a relatively low Facebook ad budget, a great option to grow your fans on Facebook is to connect with a Facebook account representative directly. Usually you would have to spend a higher amount, around $2000 to have access to this representative, but it is worth it in the long run. Here’s an outline of the main Facebook ads used by brands today.

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There are 4 main types of Facebook Ads:

1. Sponsored Likes:  Shows on friends of BRAND fans feed who don’t like BRAND: ‘Jennifer Like Brand’.

  • User has the option click on the brand profile picture- which takes them directly to the brand fanpage
  • Another option to ‘Like’ the page from the ad itself
  • CPC (Cost Per Click) on a simple sponsored ad is low and manageable. (Can go as low as $.30+)

Main Gain: It’s used to gain a large amount of likes over a shorter period of time.

2. Brand Promotion:  Promote a contest/giveaway through a Facebook application advertisement.

  •  User has the option click on the promotion picture- which takes them directly to the brand fanpage
  • Another option to ‘Like’ the page from the ad itself
  • CPC (Cost Per Click) is higher ($.95-1.6+)

Main Gain: Increase engagement and interaction for your Facebook promotion. Goal should be to get more clicks to the Facebook application- promotion/contest. Get the like, but get an entry etc..

3. Promote a Specific post on your page:   Promote a post through default of last posted or a specific post.

  • User has the option click on the post/picture– which takes them directly to the post
  • Another option to ‘Like’ the page from the ad itself
  • CPC (Cost Per Click) on a specific post ad is the low-medium. (Can go as low as $.37+)

Main Gain: Increase commenting, sharing, liking on a particular post. Get the like, but also get engagement.

Another way to promote a specific post with the goal of engagement is to promote them right on your fanpage.

4. Promote a Specific post- NewsFeed -promote a post directly onto fans newsfeed.

To set this up, go to a post on your Facebook page. Underneath the post on the bottom right-hand side you will see ‘Promote’- which drops down into a Facebook Ad promotion.

Choose between audiences:

  1. People who like your page
  2. People who like your page and their friends

– Duration is set: 3 days from when first posted

– Cost Options: $51 – $2.01K

– Estimated Reach: 9K – 646K

*Note: It will say ‘Sponsored Post’ at the bottom (Fans/Friends of fans will know it’s a paid for post)

Main Gain: Increase commenting, sharing, liking on a particular post from your existing fans.

Extra FYI: Facebook also shares success stories of brands that have had ‘success’ with a Facebook promotion. Yes, they are usually larger brands who have spent larger dollars on Facebook advertising and the like, but what you can do is take these ideas and scale them into a promotional option that suites your budget. Good luck!

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Written by: Cristina Pagnucco, Social Media Specialist, Longevity Graphics

Questions about this article? Email me [email protected]

Like us on Facebook  & Follow us on Twitter