GUEST BLOGGER: How to Leverage Social Media to Help your SEO Strategy

November 22, 2019 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Instagram, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

Website owners and marketers know the power of social media in generating positive results, but they don’t realize that it can also be used to complement their SEO strategy. So, they focus their resources in SEO services such as link building and growth hacking techniques to get a higher domain authority and page ranking.

However, it’s getting harder and harder to build links. Some websites are stingy about linking out to other sites, while others block them to prevent spam. A lot of websites will link back to yours, but they can be no-follow links. To top it all off, search engines are implementing stricter protocols that make it more complicated to increase page rankings. Enter social media.

For most businesses, the main goal of their SEO strategies is to get on the first page of Google and other search engines like Bing and Yahoo!. So, how does social media help your website get closer to that coveted #1 spot? Here are the things you can do.

Reach Out Through Social Media

Email outreach is one of the tactics used for link building. But, social media can be used the same way. For example, instead of emailing the prospects, we can use Twitter to tweet or DM them the link. It’s a great way to earn links through outreach.

Think about it. Big brands and well-known bloggers most likely use social media to share their content and engage with their followers. Connecting with them through social media lets them know that you’re doing your homework. You didn’t just go to their website and clicked their ‘contact us’ button. You engaged with them on another platform, which means that you do follow their content. You’re not just one of those trolls asking for a backlink.

Influence Social Shares and Engagement

Social shares and engagement can help search engines determine how valuable and relevant your content or website is. It’ll send a ranking signal to Google if a lot of people are commenting, sharing, and liking your content. Chances are, you’ll get a higher ranking on Google because of this.

Think of social shares and customer engagement as part of your online public relations strategy or online reputation management. When people engage with your brand, they are encouraged to go to your website and find out more about you. In turn, this increases your website traffic.

High engagement rates also encourage external inbound links to your site, giving you more opportunities for link building. The more diverse your external links are, the higher authority search engines will associate with your website.

Manage your Online Reputation

People talk about their experience and post their opinions on social media. Since no brand or website is protected from criticism in this digital era, it’s important to make sure that you’re managing your online reputation well.

If someone googles your brand and a negative review comes up on page one or two of search engines, then you need to devise a search marketing strategy that pushes down the negative content in exchange for positive content.

Note that social profiles rank higher on Google, so if you’re planning to start an Online Reputation Management strategy for your name or your business, make sure that you have all the necessary social profiles that are relevant to your industry. These include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, IMDB (for the film and TV industry), Quora, and more.

Grow your Fans and Followers

Having a horde of followers interacting with your brand can indirectly contribute to your search engine ranking.

Recently, Search Engine Journal conducted a quick analysis of the fashion website FashionNova, after it significantly increased their search ranking to 88,000 keywords on SEMrush in just one year. According to their findings, the only positive SEO ranking factors it exhibited were its very low bounce rate and 6.3 million Instagram followers.

Growing your fans and followers can increase brand awareness and encourage more people to talk about your brand. People were hopping on Google and looking up their brand and products.

Increase Brand Awareness

This may seem more like a marketing strategy than an SEO strategy, but social media can help with brand awareness (as illustrated by FashionNova) and ultimately, your SEO ranking.

When you improve your online presence and increase brand awareness, people will remember your brand. They will search for you on Google and talk about you. Chances are, the buzz they create will prompt other users to look you up as well. It’s a chain reaction that can go on and on.

The more brand searches your brand receives, the higher the likelihood of getting more qualified leads and conversions.

Optimize Business Listings on Yelp

Remember how your grandparents used the yellow pages to find services they needed? Well, it’s all online now. Placements on sites like Yelp (yes, it’s a social networking site) and the like can help boost local SEO for your website.

Not only are you helping users and potential customers find you on the platform that they trust, but you’re also placing your website (with its relevant keywords) on Google.

As long as your site is getting great reviews from these business listing sites, Google and other search engines will take notice of your website. The more positive reviews you’re getting, the more signals search engines receive that will help them track and rank your website for the relevant keywords.

Use Hashtags

What started on Twitter is now being widely used on major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Hashtags help social media users discover the latest trending topics.

On social media, words that start with a hash or pound symbol becomes a searchable link. When users click on the hashtag or search the platform using it, they’re led to social media posts that use the same hashtag. In short, hashtags are to social media as keywords are to search engines.

If you want to be searchable on social media or join a specific topic exchange, then you better use hashtags. They also help increase shares and engagement.

Articles posted on social media that get very high social engagement rates tend to result in better organic rankings. According to a Twitter report, brands that use hashtags get a 50% increase in engagement. Additionally, tweets with more than 1 hashtag are 55% more likely to be retweeted than those without.

On the other hand, the same isn’t true for Facebook. An Edgerank Checker research discovered that hashtags don’t have any effect on the reach and engagement of Facebook posts. In fact, posts that don’t include any hashtag outperform posts that use hashtags. So, be mindful of using hashtags.

Use Social Media Listening Tools

Use social media listening tools such as Google Alerts, Mention, and Social Mention. These tools crawl blogs and social media pages for brand name mentions and related keywords. You can use it to identify and track unlinked brand mentions so that you can reach out to these websites and ask them to link your site to their content.

Website owners or bloggers tend to mention your brand on their site, and there’s a chance that they don’t link to you. This is where you reach out to them to get that link. This link building strategy works perfectly for well-known brands, as they get mentioned a lot on different sites.

Social media listening can also help you determine what’s trending within your industry or niche. If you know what your target market is talking about and what keywords they’re using on social media, then you can also determine the top keywords to rank for when creating content.

Again, this does not directly affect your SEO, but it can enhance and complement your link building, keyword research strategy, and content ideation. Get insight into the content that’s currently going viral so that you can choose the content topic, format, and type accordingly.

Final Advice

Google remains highly private about their algorithms, but search strategies can get you up there on the first page. If you know someone working in Google who didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement, then lucky you. But chances are, your SEO strategists, no matter how awesome they are, are left to their own resources and experiences to create the best tactics that can increase ranking and authority.

Nonetheless, social media is now part of the overall online experience that can contribute to your SEO strategies in the long run. Google and other search engines may (or may not) include social media as part of their algorithms, but one thing’s for sure, your social media efforts contribute to your website’s SEO success, whether directly or indirectly.

Nina Pineda

Nina is part of Spiralytics’ SEO Team. She launched her career as a web copywriter but eventually jumped into SEO and Online Marketing out of curiosity. This curious cat may be easily amused by Tumblr memes, funny YouTube clips, and foreign TV series but she is keen and driven in achieving results when it comes to work. Don’t let the petite physique fool you; She has a big heart wherein her other half, family and friends fit in.

Follow Nina on Twitter HERE

Working Facebook for your Business

August 11, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

If you have decided that you are only going to use Facebook to build your business, then it is important to invest the time into it.

When I first started using Facebook, over 10 years ago, I would be on there 6 hours a day, YES, 6 hours per day. It wasn’t just about popping in and doing a post, then logging off, it was about having a plan and working it. I also recommend that you use your desktop/laptop to do the work as the Facebook App isn’t as user friendly plus it will save you time than working off of a phone.

The Daily Plan

Work your personal timeline/profile to get your messages out there.
- Post a status telling people what you are up to, what your tasks are, what you want to accomplish, what your successes are, BUT don’t sell to them.
- Share some personal elements that you are comfortable about sharing.
- What you don’t want to do is push your family and friends away by having them hide you in their news feeds.
Go through your news feed and interact on other people’s posts, either by liking or commenting. You will want to do this numerous times throughout the day.
Go to the “pages feed” tab (found on your ‘home’ tab, then down the left under the ‘explore’ tab) and scroll through and interact on other Business Pages’ posts. I like to do this once in the morning and once in the evening.
Find 3-5 groups that have more of a networking element to them, and interact DAILY within these groups.
- Ask questions, post inspiration, share ideas, share tips, post humour, promote your products/services.
- Take the time to scroll through the Group wall and interact on other people’s post with a like and/or comment.
- Participate in any online events the group offers, like Dance Cards, Coffee Dates, Split Lives, as this is an opportunity for you to meet more people.
- Check the same groups at the end of the day and do more interactions.
Post on your Business Page
- There are many different opinions on how often you should post on your Business Page in one day. For me, personally, I only post once per day, at 8 am. I have found that this works very, very well for me, as it allows my post to be seen throughout the day.
- If you want to post more than once per day, then I recommend you space out the posts, don’t do a whole bunch at once as you will drive your audience away. Think about posting between 8-9 am, between 4-5 pm and after 9 pm.
- Mix up your posts so you are not always trying to sell to people. Post questions, inspiration, some personal elements that reflect your business, tips, humour, ideas on how to use your products/services, and of course promote.
- Use pictures of yourself where you can, people love pictures of us.
- Do videos to get more visibility as Facebook is a huge supporter of the video platform.
- Keep on top of your Business Page notifications and make sure to either like/comment when people interact with your stuff.
- You want to make sure you are also checking your messages regularly and quickly, as Facebook tracks how quick we are to answer messages and actually posts this on our pages to let the public know what our response rate is.
- Share your posts into a variety of groups and randomly (but strategically) on your personal timeline. Facebook considers ‘shares’ as interaction, so you can help push up your reach. Don’t do more than 7-8 shares per post as Facebook will consider it as spam and you could end up in Facebook jail for 7-10 days.

I hope this helps in giving you a daily plan to work Facebook and build your business. Again, it is important that if you are only going to use online to build, that you work it.

I do have a free ‘daily checklist’ that you can print off that will help keep you organized, download it HERE.

Are you committed to Social Media?

June 24, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

Having structure, being organized, is key to keeping on top of your Social Media work. In order to build a presence, to being consistent, you need to put together an actual plan of how you are going to work your Social Media on a daily basis.

I wish I could tell you that you can just “pop” in and out but it is not going to bring you the return you are looking for. With competition being so high in Social Media, people need to see you, hear from you, learn from you, talk to you, on a daily basis. I am not saying you have to bombard them, but you need to be present daily.

For me, personally, we know that I am very active, and I am sure that people unfollow me, but I have reached a point in my presence and building my business, that I am okay with that. It is a mental thing that you have to get past.

When you are starting to make this list, you need to understand what your end game is. Are you looking to build a following, looking to get new customers, looking to build a referral based business? What is your ultimate goal?

Are you looking to work all Social Media sites or just focusing on one/two?

Where is your target market sitting?

What information will benefit them?

What are the reasons why someone would want to use/buy your product/services?

Answering these questions will start to help you formulate your Social Media plan. It will guide you as to where your focus needs to be as well as what parts of specific Social Media you need to focus on (for example: Facebook Business Pages, Videos whether recorded or live, Groups, etc.)

Once you decide on which Social Media sites answer all your questions, you then need to do some research to find out what works best in each of these sites. What time of day is best to work it? Where do you need to focus for that site? How often do you need to post? (For example: Twitter you would need to tweet at least 5-7 times per day). What are some of the key elements you can take advantage of that is popular in that site?

The research is important for you to understand how you are going to move forward and how much time you need to commit, on a daily basis, to build the presence you are looking for. Once you have established this, you NEED to commit, you NEED to schedule the time on your calendar, and you need to STICK with it!!

Building a presence, getting attention, is work. Remember way back when, people walked hours and hours, going door to door to sell their products/services, because they were determined to make a living, build a successful business. Well, we are fortunate that we are able to do this from the comfort of our homes, in a relaxed environment and behind a computer. It doesn’t get any easier than that 😉

P.S. If you decide that Facebook is one of the sites you are going to be focusing on, download my FREE Daily Checklist HERE!!

When you finally do it……..

May 28, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Social Media

Have you ever had something that you wanted to do and you kept putting it off? Then you finally buckled down and did it?

I am EXCITED to announce that I have finally launched my Creating Your Presence Academy!!! This was something that I wanted to do for the last year and kept putting it off as I didn’t know if business owners were ready for it, BUT they are!!!

I have created a 6 month online program that will teach MORE than Facebook! Facebook has become very competitive and we, as business owners, need to do more than just posting on our Business Pages.

Based on my own work and what I have been teaching through my consultations, I have developed a program that will cover different areas that will compliment each other BUT also bring MORE to your target market.

Branding
Facebook (2 month module)
Blogging
Opt-Ins/Newsletters
Networking

I have provided detailed training through written, video and exercises. You also get an one hour Zoom call with me, each month of the program. What is even better, you get to work this program at your own pace, not based on how the others are progressing or not progressing. We all learn at different rates and some things will be easy, some harder. I have allowed you a month for each (with exception to the Facebook module) however, you may finish the module quicker.

The program is housed on Facebook with their new groups, Social Learning. The group has everything done through Units, allowing you to mark as complete when done. This group will also be a support system for you as you work through each module and an opportunity for me to continue to teach you.

Another element that has been incorporated is other Businesses are providing FREE learning material for you. These learning materials will enhance what you are already learning, you are going to LOVE it!!

Sooooooo, now the question is “how much is it?”

ONLY $625!!!!!!! Just think…..I charge $75 for an one Zoom call with me, so this means that you are getting all the learning elements and freebies for ONLY $175!!!

The $625 can be paid in 5 monthly installments of $125 OR if you want to pay in full, you will receive a discount of $100, costing you ONLY $525!!!

Ready to get started? Send me an email at tammy@tammyhudgin.com so that you can arrange your payment method and I will get you added into the Group to get started!!

Are you as EXCITED as me??

Creating Your Presence Academy

Do you take responsibility?

March 24, 2018March 24, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Social Media, Technology

I feel there is a need to write this blog BUT I know that some may be offended by what I have to say.

The day the internet was created, we were ALL opening up ourselves to releasing any privacy we thought we could keep. There is much scandal going on right now with the world of Facebook in regards to the Russians having a hand in the Trump election and people are upset that Facebook would have it set up that people could get access to our information.

HERE IS THE REALITY!! We ALL need to take some responsibility for this as well. WE all need to understand that when you sign up for any social media platforms, when we play games, when we do quizzes, when we use Google (this is just a very small portion of what I am talking about, this goes so much bigger), WE open ourselves up to releasing our information.

YES, you need to read the terms, the policies! YES, you need to check in the background settings of Apps and see what you have allowed them to take from you! YES, you need to take responsibility for what YOU are doing in the internet world.

Did you know that if you use Google Maps on your phone, you accept the option for them to access your location? Once you have done this, did you know that if you go to Google Maps on the computer, you will see a list of all the places you have visited? Most people don’t realize this BUT you have to take the responsibility and find out. For me, I do Google Reviews, so I have my location turned on BUT I do this for more visibility to my Google Account for my business.

For the games and quizzes you do on Facebook, do you check the information that you are releasing to that specific App?

When you get a Friend request on Facebook, are you taking the time to go through their profile and determine if it is a real person or a fake account?

Have you gone through your privacy settings on each of your Social Media platforms and made sure to set it up for what works for you? P.S. Get my FREE Privacy Settings for Facebook HERE

Do you believe those contests that are giving away something that is too good to be true? Entering those contests are opening you up to hackers, spyware, releasing of your information to a 3rd party.

Are you falling for the “click bait” type posts that shock you when you see the headline? Read this article to understand fake news, HERE.

I think you are getting my message here. Even though platforms, like Facebook, need to take responsibility for the information they are gathering about us, WE also need to take ownership. WE need to check everything, read all the terms, understand what information we are releasing.

For me, personally, I am aware of what I am releasing and accept it. I know that there are elements that are not in my control BUT that is a risk I have to take if I choose to use the internet, to turn on my locations, to use platforms like Facebook. I accept that I have opened myself up to a world that I ultimately can’t control BUT use because I choose to use it.

How are you “creating your presence”?

March 18, 2018March 18, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

My tagline is “Creating your Presence” and what this means is that YOU need to be seen on Social Media, YOU need to sell YOU!

When we have made the decision to start using Social Media to build our business, there are many aspects that you need to consider:

How do I want to be seen?
How do I want my business to be seen?
What are my values?
Who am I?
Who are my potential clients?
Which Social Media platforms are they using?
What is my marketing strategy?
What message am I sending?

You need to take the time and answer these questions, in great detail, so that you can determine which Social Media sites you are going to focus on, what is the content you will be providing and how much time do you need to dedicate to it.

The mistake that many people make is that they believe they need to be working ALL Social Media sites and it is leading to being very time consuming. Which in turn, causes people to give up or not get the growth they expected.

I encourage you to find your primary and secondary Social Media sites to focus on (based on where your target market is sitting) and make a marketing plan for both based on the above questions you answered. From there, you need to schedule time on your calendar to focus on these platforms DAILY. You can’t build a presence, you can’t build a business, without committing to it every single day. Popping in and out will not help you to reach the goals you have set out to obtain. It is a HUGE commitment and don’t let anyone tell you that it isn’t.

There are more elements that need to be considered when building your online presence. You need to look at blogging, free opt-ins, networking on and off the computer, doing speaking engagements. We live in a very competitive online world and you have to stand out above the rest. This is why it is important to understand the value of selling yourself. People buy/support because of the like/know/trust factor. It is NOT going to happen overnight, I wish I could tell you that, BUT the reality is that it will take time, lots of time, to build your presence and see a return in your hard work.

When thinking about your marketing plan, I want you to go beyond your business. I want you to look at the other elements that are available on these platforms and take advantage of them. Look at groups, look at your personal profiles, how can you use them to create your presence? Schedule the time needed to focus on the other elements that are available to you and go a step beyond in creating your presence.

When you commit the time to creating your presence, you will see a growth in your business BUT it takes time, don’t expect it to happen overnight and don’t fall into the trap of the “get rich quick schemes”.

Go out there and “sell you”!

Finding Facebook Groups

January 21, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook

As we all prepare for the upcoming Facebook changes and knowing we need to focus on groups, I thought this would be a good article to write to guide you.

Moving forward, Groups will become a HUGE part of your Facebook marketing plan. You will need to find at least 5 groups that you will make part of your daily routine to go into and network (these are groups where the members actually talk to each, where they share ideas, ask questions, NOT just posting Business posts). You will also need additional groups that you can utilize to get your “shared” Business Page posts into, in order to keep your reach growing and not decreasing because of the new changes.

To find groups:

FIRST you want to make a list of all the KEY words that you want to use to find groups
- Where do you want to do business in, which:
  - Cities (search by specific City)
  - Provinces (search by specific Province)
  - Worldwide
- What are the key words for your target market?
  - Moms
  - Brides
  - Men
  - Cooking
  - Hobbies
  - Business Owners
  - Travel
  - Music
  - Technology
- Are you looking for?
  - Communities
  - Buy and Sell Groups
  - Residence

Once you have your very detailed list, you can start searching Facebook to see if any of these groups exist.

Type the key word in the Search Bar at the top of Facebook
Hit “enter”, don’t select anything, just hit “enter” once you have typed the key word
The next box that opens, has a variety of tabs listed across the top, click on “Groups”
Then scroll through the list and determine which ones you want to request to join

Once the Admin of the group has accepted you into the Group, you will receive a notification.

Click on the notification to take you into the Group
READ the “about” section of the group (found down the left hand side) so you understand what the rules are for each group
Add this Group to your list
- Will this be a group you will network in
- Will this be a group you will share your business page posts into
Then you will want to make sure to turn off your “notifications” for these groups so that you don’t get bombarded
- Under the Group cover photo, click on the “notifications” tab and turn off there

Now, start working the groups!!

GUEST BLOGGER: How Technology Will Change Digital Marketing In 2018

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Technology

Digital marketing – pay-per-click, effective landing pages; These are not new anymore. However, as technology develops, it is taking more and more for users to feel engaged with products being advertised. Loading speed and engagement rates are more important than ever with the current consumer base. Below, we review some of the more recent technologies to aid with digital marketing which are gaining popularity, slowly but surely.

Video Walls

Featuring a group of monitors on a wall to play a large video advertisement or display several images to form one large cohesive image at once, video walls are the new frontiers of billboard advertising. You can view an example of the video wall in action in Las Vegas, when it was first featured in 2013. While the cost may be sky high as it is still a relatively new technology, you can be sure that your advertisement will be more attention-grabbing than any other advertising methods you have seen in your entire lifetime. By placing these video walls in a strategic high-traffic location and drawing users to engage with your display in high-end video walls, you are advertising your products with a very high engagement rate, welcoming more visitors to your brand and product as this new technology in action gets shared on social media worldwide.

Chatbot Instant Replies

Can’t be replying messages all the time? Facebook has an instant replies feature which allows you to set up some simple pre-set replies to help you answer your potential clients’ frequently asked questions. You can use this feature to set a welcome greeting, and inform them that their inquiries have been received. The chat bots can also be programmed to help you engage with your clients without actually doing so – one of the best examples would be the chatbot set up by RedBull. All you have to do to try this feature is to go to their Facebook page and click message. The bot has been programmed to provide you with their newest events and news so that you feel more connected to their products.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

With the majority of business users being on mobile nowadays instead using their personal computers these days, loading time becomes extremely important to market your products digitally. A 3-second delay can cause up to 60% of users abandoning the page, which is where these AMPs come in. By converting your current business website to an AMP, you will be accelerating the loading speed of your page while still maintaining the aesthetic values and high performance that your website has be it for e-commerce, product pages, date-booking or just a simple blog. An e-commerce site built on this platform will help you to market your products more efficiently while increasing your customer base!

There is still plenty of new technology on the way in 2018, and we can’t wait to unmask them all. While AMPs, as an example, have already been used by several high-ranking websites such as Huffington Post and the chatbot instant replies utilized by various big businesses nowadays, there are still space for improvement for these features and they are continuously adding more and more benefits to help you market your products effectively. Meanwhile, just hang on to these three features and see if you can find a way to integrate them into your business!

—

Mia Clarke is part of the content and community team at Userful.com, experts in all things video wall and display solutions. When Mia is not spreading the word about video walls she is often found discovering the great outdoors, walking or cycling.

GUEST BLOGGER: Finding the work/life balance when starting a business

January 8, 2018January 6, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Uncategorized

Creating a business from scratch is not easy. It takes a lot of drive, goal-setting and most importantly: TIME. When you’re seeing your business grow from the ground up, it makes you want to say yes to everything. Soon, however, all the hours in the day disappear, and you lose precious family time or even just personal leisure time.

At first, it might feel like you have unlimited stores of energy that you can dedicate to your business (the excitement is real!) but if you’re not careful, too much work will start to wear on you.

Here are some important tips to keep in mind while creating a work/life balance:

Know When The Work Day is Over

We are so connected to our devices! If you’re starting a new business, it’s seems natural to be your own 24-hour network. But shutting things off for the night is essential. In order to be more productive in the future, it’s best to set a time where you switch off business and focus on winding down. Not only will this help you sleep better, it will give you an opportunity to build discipline in finding the work/life balance we all crave.

What are Your Time-Wasters?

What do you do in the day that is productive towards your goals? It can be little things, like posting a brand-relevant message on Facebook, or sending out a few introductory emails. Social media is PIVOTAL for business (I know a thing or two about that…), but are you using it for too much leisure time? How much time do you spend scrolling down your Facebook feed during your precious “working hours”? Sometimes old habits die hard!

We all need to re-evaluate what is important in order to make sure our time is used to grow the business and spend quality time with people we love.

Social Self Care is Very Important

Speaking of people we love: when you’re running a business, you often forget to take care of yourself! Simple things like diet and exercise are obvious – but what about social health? Don’t abandon your friends! Try your best to make plans and stick to them. It will help you stop focusing on work 24/7, and actually leave your office every now and then. Friends can be great supporters of your vision, by the way, and that support comes from building strong bonds.

Make Small Achievable Steps

A brand new business is like having a new baby! You have to nurture it and give it plenty of attention. But you can’t do everything all at once and expect it to run smoothly. Are you spending 12 hours a day glued to the screen when you’re only aiming for 4? Quitting cold turkey will backfire. Try weaning yourself off, hour by hour, until you find the right workflow that fits for your blossoming company. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Work smarter, not harder.” Keep an eye out for efficient solutions that help you get your business off the ground without taking up all your time to do it.

There isn’t a formula for the perfect work/life balance. Everyone has different lifestyles, workflows and circumstances that create their own unique challenges. However, once you find that golden balance that works for you, your new business and your home life will thrive!

This is a guest post by Josh Elkin, founder of Best Coast Marketing a marketing agency that helps increase our clients’ traffic through organic link building. Josh enjoys writing about entrepreneurship, marketing, productivity and self-improvement.

Connect via email: josh@bestcoastmarketing.com

Safety for your children

October 2, 2017September 28, 2017 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Uncategorized

The world of Social Media is only going to get bigger and when it comes to our children, we need to take some extra precautions on how they are using these different sites.

I know many parents don’t even realize their children are using different sites and were not involved when their accounts were being set up. I believe, as parents, we need to make sure that our children are protected BUT also help to make their privacy settings safe for them.

I am going to focus on Facebook BUT I want you to take the same concept for any other Social Media sites your child is using. I will make some additional points, further down, in regards to other sites.

Facebook

P.S. My suggestions are based on the computer version of Facebook, not the App, however, these changes will affect the App version.

The great thing about Facebook, is they do have privacy settings that you can go through with your children and set them properly. I find the best way to understand what is being seen by the public is to view our profiles in that same environment.

Go to your personal profile/timeline
Click on the 3 dots just under the cover photo
Choose the option “view as”
This view will show you how your profile is shown in the public eye
You want to go through/scroll and determine what needs to be fixed in regards to what you do NOT want the public to see

Your next step will be to go through all the “settings” that Facebook has put into place for. When you are your “home” tab, click the drop down arrow and go to “settings”. Take the time to go through each tab and read to see what the option is and determine how you want it applied to your account.

Another KEY point to take note of, is that when new profile pictures are uploaded, they are automatically set to “public” therefore, you need to make sure to change that privacy to “friends” after you have uploaded it. The reason being, is that when you change that picture again, the old ones will remain public and available for people to steal (this can lead to fake profiles).

If you find that when you are viewing your profile in the public view and there are elements you are not sure how to fix, just send me a message and I will help you.

I would also like to encourage you to remind your children that if they receive a friend request from someone they don’t know (even if it is a person of the same age or close to), to have you check that person’s profile before accepting. Use your judgment on what you see on that profile, click on the different tabs you see visible, scroll through their timeline, and go with your gut.

Other Social Media sites:

Instagram and Twitter have privacy settings available to you, so you can take the steps and go through these with your children and make sure they are set up properly
The majority of the kids are using Snapchat, so I found this great article that can teach you about the privacy side of things. CLICK HERE!

It is so IMPORTANT that we make sure our children are safe as this world is only going to get bigger. Take the extra time to go through all the sites they are using and educate yourself on the security side of things. There are tons of articles available in Google that can help you, embrace them.