How Brands Can Connect With Teens Using Social Media

Every generation of teens always want to do things differently it seems. From setting trends both in fashion and technology to keeping their parents guessing their whereabouts, teens are always striving to be different in some capacity.

As marketers, teens force us to reach deep within the interwebs of our brains to keep delivering never been done before campaigns that capture and retain their interest.

A true mobile-first generation, 44 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds were smartphone users last year, according to eMarketer, and that number is expected to increase to almost 75 percent over the next three years.

Teens spend an average of 4.9 hours a day with mobile devices, including laptops, smartphone and tablets, where they watch the latest video parodies, play games, message friends, and update social profiles on Twitter, Facebook (yes, they are still on Facebook), and Instagram.

Social Media Marketing, Branding, Marketing, Social Media

A new year calls for a new look at the way businesses can use social media to leverage their marketing strategies. Keeping in mind the major trends that ruled 2013, let's look at four social media sites that will be the hottest in the coming year.

1.    Twitter 

Why? - More and more teens are shifting from Zukerberg's social network to the micro blogging site for want of “less drama”. 

2013 saw Twitter making its Initial Public Offering. With the micro blogging site now trading on stock exchanges, 2014 is projected to be huge for the site by several market analysts. According to the findings of a 2013 survey by Pew Internet and American Life Project, Twitter is – wait for it – the new Facebook.

Facebook has seen an increased presence of adults, leaving many unhappy teens to shift focus towards the next popular site – Twitter. Results from the report do not however mean teens are leaving Facebook, deactivating their profiles all together. But with their focus already shifted towards Twitter and 26% of them listing Twitter as their most important social media website – the trend is only going to get hotter in 2014.

 2.    Google + 

Why? - Google Authorship is going to play an important role in the search giant's website ranking algorithm and Google + is at the core of Google Author Rank and thus, Google Authorship. 

Google Authorship was introduced as a method of verifying an author's identity and also enabling search engines to find content written by the same author. 2013 saw Google merging several of its new and old products – business listings from Google Places are now on Google + and Google Docs have been upgraded to Google Drive to name a few. 

Content linked to verified authors will show higher on Google's search results page. Google Plus is thus no longer a social network. 2014 will see it evolve into an integral component of Google's page rank determination system.

 3.  Pinterest 

Why? - In consistency with the trend of sharing content via images and videos rather than only text, 2014 is going to be the year of photos, videos and infographics.

Pinterest will continue to shed its “cute and girly” reputation, only at a stronger pace in 2014. Consumers want visual content and embracing image centric  websites will be a smart move for businesses the coming year. Socialbakers collected data during April to May, 2013 revealed that 93 percent of the most popular and engaging posts on Facebook were photos.

Similarly, Instagram and Tumblr will continue to grow with the increasing use of visual content for content marketing, increasing brand presence and brand power.

4. Vine 

Why? - Micro videos are going to be hot in 2014.

Micro blogging alone is not the hottest trend of the coming year. While Twitter's Vine is going to be the shining star of the micro video skyline, other websites incorporating the same will see a similar rise. Six seconds on Vine and 3-15 seconds on Instagram's video app will be more important than ever for businesses looking to fortify their brand power through social media marketing.

Apart from these four, MySpace and the SnapChat mobile app are also going to be huge. MySpace went through several makeovers and with its new iPhone app that allows consumers to connect with others, share private messages and enjoy a customized and personalized radio station tailored to suit their taste – MySpace is ready to compete in 2014. And so is the SnapChat app.

Mobile phones and other smart devices have been at the center of businesses' social media marketing strategies and apps like SnapChat are only making the marketing game more interesting. SnapChat is used to send disappearing images that last less than ten seconds on the receivers phone. The app is gaining popularity by the minute but that is not the only reason for SnapChat's shining prospects.

Creators of the app turned down acquisition offers from major giants like Google and Facebook in 2013, indicating they have big plans for the eccentric app in 2014. 

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11 Ways to Promote Your Brand or Product Through Vine

Got six seconds? That’s enough to promote an idea, product, service or a brand. With Vine, the video-sharing app from Twitter, marketing and promotion has taken a faster route. The mobile video sharing service allows you to make short looping videos (up to 6 seconds) to share on Twitter and Facebook, and also on Vine network.

Believe it or not, it’s the shortest yet hottest thing in social media marketing.

Vine - A Marketing Tool

Businesses these days are open to use video or images as a marketing tool. The reason behind this is simple – they are much more compelling and engaging than plain old text (articles, blogs, etc.).

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against tried and tested marketing tactics like guest blogging or posting. They are great to read, good to share and are good for your site’s traffic. 

But that’s not the point. No matter how well you write, a visual is worth a thousand words. That’s the reason behind the rising popularity of Vine as a social media marketing tool.

Today most people access social media through their Smartphone. So, they are more likely to watch a video on the phone than read an article about a product or service.

You also need to keep the attention span of users in mind. Between an article and a six-second video, chances are people will watch the video more often. In the case of an article, they will probably read the first paragraph or two. In case of a six-second looped video, they will see the whole content. That makes it a perfect tool for a product or brand promotion (that is, if you have a creative team who can represent a brand in six seconds).

How to Use Vine for Product and Brand Promotion?

Representing a product or a brand in 6 seconds can be a daunting task. You need to use different tips and tricks. Just keep in mind that vines need to be -

• Short and to the point
• Creative
• Entertaining

Here are a few tried and tested methods that can be put to use while creating a Vine video.

#1 Time Lapse : Time lapse, if used correctly, can be a great way to showcase a product. GAP and ASOS have successfully used it in their social media marketing campaigns.

#2 How To : Using how-to videos related to your product can be a great way to show the use of your product. But don’t get too serious about it. For example, if your product is a food item, you can show different ways to use it. Time lapse videos of easy recipes are also a great ways to go.

#3 Showcase Brand Personality : Want to represent your company or brand as a fun brand? Then showcase a glimpse of fun office events or follow the example of Urban Outfitters.

#4 New Content : Give your followers something new and refreshing. USA Today uses this technique and offers its followers a glimpse of today’s newspaper.

#5 Share and Promote : Magazines, books, DVDs, games and any new products can be promoted this way. I personally like the example of Sephora’s pocket-size fragrances.

#6 Hashtags : Using hashtags is also a great way to spread your idea among people. How to use the hashtag in Vine? I hope this will help you. GE has done a successful campaign with #6secondscience and are arranging contests with user-created content. Here’s their latest for Halloween.

#7 Encourage Conversation : Engage your audience with fun, creative and interesting content. This will induce conversation and spread the word about your brand or product. Simon & Schuster’s stop-motion video allows followers to pick a random book by tapping on the screen.

#8 Sneak Peek : Give your audience a sneak peek of your upcoming product, give them a tour or a behind the scenes look. This will make them feel attached to your company or to your brand.

#9 Contest for Engagement : Arrange a contest or keep your audience guessing about your next offering. This will be a good way to engage your customers and create new interest in your brand or product.

#10 Promotion of the Brand Logo : Take a cue from GE and promote your brand logo through arts and crafts.

#11 Let the Influencers Talk : If all else fails, get influencers talking about your brand. Get the most popular Vine users and Vine stars to promote your brand, just like Virgin Mobile USA promotes Virgin Mobile Freefest 2013 through Brandon Calvillo.

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The Ultimate Social Strategy: Build Lasting Relationships

Most social strategies are mapped out with specific business objectives in mind such as brand awareness, customer care or sales. But regardless of specific business goals, there’s a central component to any successful social program: building relationships. 

Relationships are the motivation and driving force behind social media. Connecting with others and finding value in these relationships is why we as consumers use social networks in our daily lives. The companies who find valuable ways to build relationships win share of voice, loyalty and ultimately, new business. The catch is that these relationships aren’t built overnight. They must be nurtured over time by consistently creating great social experiences for your customers.

The shift in mindset for brands is this: social isn’t about “quick wins”, but rather approaching each social interaction as one step in an ongoing journey to building lasting relationships. Striving to make each social moment great is what creates likeable brands, and lays the foundation upon which to implement winning strategies and tactics.

10 Social Media Facts, Figures and Statistics

Social media facts, figures and statistics are a moving feast of metrics that can make your head spin.

The numbers are large and what is apparent is that the evolution of mobile platforms is impacting when, where and how often we access our social networks of choice.

Facebook’s big drive since going public last year was to increase its mobile advertising. It has achieved that goal with 41% of its revenue now coming from mobile. Google is lagging in this space and is in catchup mode.

Twitter continues to grow as it looks to float in the next 12 months. Twitter has been scrambling to monetize its platform and now has self service advertising that is accelerating its revenue.

It is predicted that in 2014 it will reach $1 billion in advertising income.

So here are some social media numbers to chew on.

1. Facebook

There are now over over 1.15 billion active Facebook users.That’s the main fact you need to know.

This is a 21 percent increase in 12 months. Facebook is still the social media network of choice and its numbers are huge no matter where you look.

2. Google+

Google+ has become the second biggest network during the last 6 months and continues to grow rapidly. It seems to have reached a tipping point in consciousness and people are curious about how to use it.

The latest statistics indicate that there are 343 million active monthly users

3. Twitter

Twitter is a platform that is bridging the mass media and social media gap. Television is using the social network to obtain feedback and comments. It’s power lies in its simplicity, real time feed and news breaking capabilities.

The latest numbers on Twitter indicate that it has  has over 288 million monthly active users. This is according to GlobalWebIndex Study

The number registered currently sits at over 500 million. So there are many registering but not inhaling.

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn has been working on making its platform more social and is social media’s quiet achiever. According to some reports it has now reached 238 million users.

Want more LinkedIn facts, figures and statistics? 

5. YouTube

YouTube is the giant of online video and this social media giant now has over 1 billion unique visitors every month. It’s big.

6. Instagram

Instagram was Facebook’s first major purchase (when it had 13 million users early in 2012) and despite paying top dollar it has helped Facebook move into mobile advertising and also is continuing to grow.

It has now reached 130 million users.

7. Pinterest

Pinterest captured many people’s imagination shortly after it launched. The online “pinboard” social media platform has had significant impact on web design (even seeming to have influenced the  new Google+ design)

It currently sits at 70 Million users.

8. Vine

When Instagram launched the video feature for Instagram there were many pundits predicting the demise of Vine  (Twitter’s new 6 second looping video social network).

Twitter has just announced (with a tweet )that it had 40 million users. That is significant growth considering it was only launched in January, 2013.

In June it only had a user base of 13 million. That is a growth of 27 million in just under 3 months! No wonder Twitter is a proud parent.

9. Tumblr

Tumblr was bought by Yahoo last year because it had broken into the top 10 sites in the USA and its audience was young tech and savvy. It is an easy to use blogging platform that is both visual and mobile. There are some statistics showing that is shrinking after being bought by Yahoo.

Currently it has 245 million monthly unique visitors according to Qantcast.

10. Foursquare

Foursquare has been with us for a while now after being established in 2009. Its attraction is that it is a mobile media channel.

Number of users now sits at 30 Million.

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How Your Company Should Use Vine

Here are some fun ways to utilize vine:

Office Tour – People enjoy seeing the office of their favorite brands. It gives a sort of sneak peak, behind the scenes feel, where customers and fans get the opportunity to see where the “magic” happens. 

Here is HubSpot showing a new addition to the office - https://vine.co/v/brqehHIu3EQ

Product Demo/Creation – Show your product being used or being created. Domino’s did a wonderful job using webcams to let you see their pizza making process, this could easily be made into a six second vine.

Domino’s Webcam

Show the Team ­- Use your vine to introduce your team. Each team member gets six seconds. Have fun with this; maybe everyone has their own catch-phrase.

Promotional ­– Promote a service! 

Contests – There is nothing that impacts social media than contests. Create a vine promoting the contest and have users create their own vine to enter.

These are just a few ways your business could and should be using Vine. It is quick, easy and best of all free. Remember to get creative!

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Social Media Helps Small Businesses Grow

As 2012 came to a close, there were more than one billion members on Facebook, nearly 500 million Twitter users, and approximately 200 million LinkedIn members. Developing an effective social media marketing strategy can allow small businesses to reach out and actively engage with prospective customers that they may not have been able to connect with using other marketing channels. Outlined below are several ways that social media can help small businesses to grow: 

1. Humanizes your brand. People prefer to do business with other people, not just brands themselves. Twitter’s new Vine video app provides businesses with the perfect opportunity to introduce key personnel or its quirky, laid-back culture by sharing a brief six second video clip with followers. If you’re not comfortable with creating and uploading a video, a blog is another way for a business to personalize its brand to better connect with customers.
2. Monitors your brand’s reputation.An infinite number of online conversations take place on a daily basis across social networking sites, and many of these discussions are about the public’s perception of various brands on the market, both good and bad. By utilizing online reputation management tools, you can monitor for mentions of your brand on the Internet to promptly engage in those active conversations. This can go a long way in helping to convert a prospect that has been researching your brand to a viable customer. In the event that negative feedback is being voiced, these monitoring tools allow you to take action quickly before your brand can be damaged.
3. Positions you as an industry expert. By using your various social media channels to share compelling, industry-specific content that your customer base will find valuable, you can be viewed as an expert in your industry. Earning this status will help you to become the “go to” person in your industry, creating additional opportunities to expand your brand’s presence on the Internet through guest blogging or webcasts.
4. Builds loyalty for your brand that could arguably be better than word-of-mouth referrals. Now more than ever, people are choosing to follow brands on social media sites, and businesses have the opportunity to turn these online visitors into lifelong customers by using social media to deliver five star customer service and share valuable content that will keep followers coming back for more. Also, since people are more likely to trust a brand that their friends “like” online, brands that are actively making an effort to expand their online fan bases will be more likely to earn new fans that were referred from existing customers.
5. Increases search engine optimization. There is no question that the current trend with social media marketing is to create more content more often. Recent updates to search engine algorithms will list newer content toward the top of search engine results pages, therefore increasing the likelihood that someone would stumble upon your brand when searching for a product or service online. It’s important to not just create content for the sake of creating content though. Search engines also take into consideration the quality of the content when ranking it on a search engine results page, with poor quality content earning a low page rank.

In closing, small businesses can not afford to not partake in a social media marketing strategy. It offers one of the most affordable ways to reach a wide span of prospective customers while helping to give your brand a voice to connect and engage with your online fans. Also, the more active you are on your various social media channels, the more likely your business will be found online.

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Instagram Video and What It Means For Your Business

Video marketing is definitely a hot topic. In fact, it always has been—but it might just be about to take off in a whole new way.  In the past there have been sites like Youtube (the giant for search and users), Vimeo (for the more professional user) and, more recently, Vine.

There's been quite a lot of buzz generated from the release of Vine earlier this year.  Vine is Twitter's attempt at making video easy to create and share.  The problem with Vine, for me, is that it requires a lot of creativity with little return. 

Facebook and Instagram might have a new solution for marketers to get into the video game.  Facebook unveiled that Instagram will now also allow users to take and share short videos.

Some Stats About Video Marketing

• About 46% of people say they’d be more likely to seek out information about a product or service after seeing it in an online video. (Source: Eloqua)
• The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video. (Source: Mist Media)
• Video and e-mail marketing can increase click-through rates by more than 90%.(Source: Mist Media)
• Video equals higher viewer retention. The information retained in one minute of online video is equal to about 1.8 million written words. (Source: Brainshark)
• Video attracts two to three times as many monthly visitors, doubles their time spent on the site and has a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines. (Source: MarketingSherpa)
• Of the 80% of internet users who watched a video ad, 46% took some sort of action after viewing the ad. (Source: Video Brewery)

Why Instagram Video Could Be Huge

As Vine was a brand new tool, users had to create their followings from the ground, up. Instagram's video platform might have the upper hand due to the previously existing Instagram networks in place.  If your brand is already on Instagram with a following, you'll be able to skip the part where you have to put a ton of effort into growing your network.  

Video provides an excellent way to share what's happening with your brand, not to mention it also gives more personality to your brand by projecting a moving image with the addition of sound, instead of just a basic photo.

Another benefit of using a service like Instagram, as opposed to Youtube, is that the users are a bit more forgiving.  They're used to the point-and-click format with little editing.  You don't have to produce something top quality in order to see results.  However, if you want to succeed on Youtube, you're better off having a professional or semi-professional video.

How You Could Use Instagram Video For Your Business

There are tons of things you can shoot video of.  Here are some examples:

* A message to your fans

* The announcement of a sale

* A new item your store just received

* A testimonial from a customer

* Your office in action

* A video of a fashion show

* A flash sale

* Just about anything, really!

As this is a brand new service, I'll be testing it out and - of course - keeping you posted.  Have you dabbled in video yet?

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3 Ways to Prepare for Video on Instagram

A source has leaked to TechCrunch that Facebook will soon unveil the addition of video to their popular and recently-acquired Instagram product. This comes on the heels of a publicized invitation to a June 20th event in which Facebook will launch a "new product." If you compare the growth of Vine to the flat-lined Instagram over the last 30-60 days, it's not surprising that Facebook would want to jump-start usage on their once darling photo-sharing service. Here are three ways marketers can prepare their strategy should video be added to Instagram:

1. Review Your Current Instagram and Vine Strategies

If you've been sleeping on either Instagram or Vine, this news won't be mean much to you. If you are using Instagram and realizing some success in the form of engagement, analyze what it is about your content that makes it successful. Once you understand what your community responds to, ideate on how new video content can also be ingrained with those qualities. If you've established a certain photographic voice or persona, your Instagram videos will need to adhere to it.

It's unlikely that video on Instagram will make use of the 6-second, start/stop format that Vine is bulit on. If you're using Vine, make sure you're taking full advantage of that functionality - rather than simply posting one-shot videos (videos without cuts). The most successful brands on Vine are able to tell entertaining stories through stop-motion, scene changes and lots of movement.

2. Avoid a Forced Channel Migration

If you're utilizing both Instagram and Vine, it's likely that you have two very different communities. Obviously your Vine followers are interested in seeing videos from you, but will your Instagram followers be? If Instagram does indeed add video, it's important not to simply transfer or duplicate your Vine activity to Instagram. You could alienate your Instagram followers and neglect those on Vine. Instead, keeping doing what you're doing on Vine and dip your toes into the "instavideogram" waters to test the response. Given the unique 6-second format on Vine, it's likely that you can manage two very different micro-video strategies at once.

3. Consider Assigning Dedicated Responsibility

Given the mobile nature of Instagram, consider delegating management to one trusted staffer - preferably someone with an artistic eye and who is in the thick of the action within your business or organization. This will allow you to produce and broadcast content quickly without the barriers and bottlenecks common among other video productions. Spontaneity tends to breed creativity!

Even if the June 20th announcement doesn't end up being the announcement of video on Instagram, it's likely that someone will step up to compete with Vine. Marketers who care about video on the web should be ready!

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5 Creative Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Blog Posts

Does this sound familiar? You write an amazing piece of content. You made sure to craft an attention-grabbing headline. You share the link on Twitter, Facebook, even Google+.

Then you wait in breathless anticipation for your share count to skyrocket. Except it doesn’t.

Never fear, in this article you’ll find fresh ideas to generate buzz and get your posts noticed.

Use a two-pronged approach with a variety of platforms and different types of media to get your post shared. Image source: iStockPhoto.

Promote Your Article Across a “Wider” Variety of Platforms

Everyone is using Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn to promote their content. It’s tempting to focus only on these four networks because they have popularity and community numbers on their side.

However, you get a competitive advantage when you share your content on smaller or less well-known networks. These sites often have active, focused audiences and offer less competition for attention, so your content will stand out.

Here are some examples of smaller networks:

• Quora.com—A question/answer-based website founded by two former Facebook employees. What makes Quora unique is that all content is created, edited and organized by its user community. The user base tends to be more business- and academic-oriented.
• Tumblr—A microblogging site that recently made headlines when Yahoo! acquired it. Its user base tends to be younger and more “hip,” making it the perfect platform to share edgier, niche-based content.
• Empire Avenue—Part social network, part social media marketing tool, Empire Avenue uses gamification to enable users to broadcast content across all of the other social networks. The primary members of EAv are small businesses, social media professionals and bloggers.
  

  Intel on Empire Avenue.

Grab Viewer Interest With Different Types of Media

Sharing a link to your post isn’t enough to guarantee that it gets read. You need togive users a compelling reason to click your link.

Use one or more of these outside-the-box, creative methods to promote your posts with images, audio and video.

#1: Use Dubbler to Give a Short Audio Introduction

Available for iPhone and Android devices, Dubbler offers a simple way to record up to 60 seconds of audio on your phone, and then share it with other Dubbler community members.

Dubbler brings the simplicity and fun of audio to the social world. Record your voice, add a filter or photo and share with your friends.

The app includes voice filters and lets you add a cover image.

Spark interest in your blog post and record an audio message that communicates your excitement and passion about the content in a way that text or static images can’t.

Add an image, enter your blog post URL in the description and you’ve got a ready-made sound bite that can be shared with the Dubbler community, as well as Facebook and Twitter.

Add a link to your blog post. Record your teaser audio and share.

#2: Create a 6-Second Preview of Your Post with Vine

Vine is an iPhone app that lets you create 6-second looping video shorts. A Vine video is a great way to give viewers a 6-second teaser about the blog post contents.

For example, this bicycle blog created a short Vine of one of their bikes and tweeted it with a link to their blog post about its features and availability.

Here is an example with the blog post URL in the video description:

Vine has an active and growing community to share with. Additionally, you can alsoshare to Twitter and Facebook.

Since Vine is owned by Twitter, your video will display automatically when you tweet it, as well as provide a link to the blog post and specific hashtags.

There’s another benefit of using Vine. Tweets with Vine videos are four times more likely to be shared than standard video, according to research by Unruly.

#3: Create a SlideShare Overview of Your Post

SlideShare is more than a just a content-sharing platform.

With 51.6 million monthly visitors, SlideShare is a thriving community with five times as much traffic from business owners than Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

A presentation by Pam Moore, the Marketing Nut, demonstrates the cross-promotional opportunities between SlideShare and her blog. In this example, Pam created an overview of her blog post with the slides and then included a link back to her post in one of the presentation slides.

At the end of her post, she embedded the presentation, which links back to SlideShare and more of her content.

Pam put her links at the end of her presentation on her closing slide.

Your finished presentation will be visible and searchable from within SlideShare and you can extend its reach and share it to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

#4: Pin Your Post to a Pinterest Group Board

Pinterest allows you to pin on individual boards and collaborate by pinning to contributor boards. The benefit of pinning to a contributor board is increased exposure. When you pin to a contributor board, your fellow contributors see the pin and so do their followers. The more members and followers a group board has, the more people will see your pin.

Here are some tips for pinning your post to Pinterest:

• Choose an interesting image from your blog post to pin
• Make sure the title of your blog post is visible on the image you choose
• Add keywords to the description
• Use hashtags, if they’re relevant
• If you mention someone in your blog post, you can @ mention them on Pinterest, too
• Pinterest will add the URL to your blog post
  

  A great way to increase exposure for your blog post.

#5: Instagram an Image From Your Post

Instagram has a constantly updating feed of images that is viewed by over 100 million monthly users. Sharing your main blog image, overlaid with the post title, is a great way to drive organic traffic to your blog. You can leverage the sheer volume of Instagram traffic by using the same blog post image that you shared to Pinterest. Instagram is also very hashtag-friendly! Here’s an easy way to post your picture to the Instagram community and beyond:

• Save your blog image to Dropbox
• Access Dropbox from your mobile device
• Upload the image to Instagram
• Add any relevant hashtags and the URL of your blog post to the caption, usingBitly to shorten and track click-throughs
• Be sure to @ mention anyone you referred to in your post
• Remember to share your Instagram image to Tumblr, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Foursquare

Pro Tip: Twitter no longer displays the actual Instagram. Instead, it links to the image. You can use IFTTT to circumvent this issue. Here’s the recipe and here’s what the tweet will look like using IFTTT.

Get Creative When Promoting Your Blog Posts

There are many other creative ways to promote your blog post. Don’t be afraid to try something new!

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