Verify your Facebook: getting the grey tick

Verify your Facebook: getting the grey tick

Verify Your Facebook: Getting The Grey Tick

it’s just as cool as the blue tick… honest!

A blue tick on any social media platform is a sought after form of verification, but for now, why not just verify your Facebook with a grey one?

Launched in 2013, the Facebook Verification allows for people and local businesses to showcase their authenticity to the rest of the Facebook universe. But getting a blue tick can be a bit of a challenge and is mostly limited to public figures, celebs, media companies, and big boy brands. So, the grey tick was introduced too, making it easier than ever for local business pages to be part of the ticky crew.

It’s really simple to do, so let’s go in 5 steps:

1.) On your Facebook business page, click on Settings at the top of the Page
2.) Click General and then Page Verification
3.) Click Verify this Page and then get started
4.) Enter a publically listed phone number for your business, your country, and language
5.) Now choose to confirm by allowing Facebook to call you with a verification code or choose to verify with documents instead

It can take anywhere from 48 hours to a week to receive a response from Facebook regarding your grey tick, so sit back and wait patiently. It can take a lot longer to hear back about a blue one, so you’re already winning really… maybe.

Are there any benefits or is it all just for show?

The clue’s in the name really… it verifies you. Proves to others that you’re the real deal, a trusted source, a cool kid. So the first benefit is the trust levels potential customers will have when finding your profile, will excel ever so slightly.

It brings you a bit of a ‘proud face’ moment when you see it, so that’s worth it…

No, but really, it boosts the credibility of your business and clients are going to know you take your social media game seriously. We host social media themed workshops, so it would be awkward if we weren’t verified (we are btw).

And lastly, if those points and the general appeal of a shiny(ish) badge haven’t appealed to your social senses, verified pages do rank higher on Facebook’s Graph Search and Google search results.

I’ve been rejected, my life sucks…

If Facebook rejected your verification there could be a number of reasons, but most likely a quick revamp of your Page will help. You want to ensure it’s as full and fleshed-out as it can be; hosting as much information as possible to make you seem credible. For example, add publications/important links to your “Impressum” section, encourage users to leave reviews and feedback and, if none of that helps, try reaching out to Facebook’s support for more information on your rejection.

Go forth and tick!

So, we wish you luck on your adventure into the land of the Grey tick, we hope you’re successful. If you’d like to learn more about social media then we recommend the following blog and workshop:

Amber Vellacott

Amber Vellacott

Content Marketing Lead

Follow us on social media for blog updates and more kick-ass learning content to grow your digital skills!

Digital Marketing for Startups

Digital Marketing for Startups

Startups Getting Digital

How digital marketing can help startups succeed!

So, you’ve made the big leap and have created your own startup. Congrats! Let’s be real for a second though – getting your business off the ground can take a lot of investment, both in terms of time and money. We should know – even Giant Campus was a startyup at one point!

There are some aspects which are vital for an effective startup. Well managed finances and a product/service that meets people’s demands are a given when you want to get your brand out there. However, you’ll be glad to hear there are ways to help make the whole process easier, thanks to the magic of digital marketing.

“Digital marketing? Doesn’t that just mean creating a website and having one of those Facebook thingies?” we hear you cry. But oh no – it’s so much more, and it can do a whole lot more for your startup.

Take our hand as we guide you through the wonders of digital marketing, and how they can help your startup hit the ground running.

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Ever wondered how search engines like Google seem to show you the best websites for what you’re looking for? It’s not magic, it’s algorithms. Lots and lots of complicated algorithms that help Google and the like decide if your website is a good fit for what a user Is looking for.

You don’t need to understand the technical aspects of how these algorithms work (phew), but you do need to know what they look for when deciding what makes a good website. That’s because having this knowledge can help get your startup’s own site to rank on that all-important front page of Google.

Why is the first page so important? Well, think about it – when was the last time you looked beyond the first page of Google for something? Research shows the first page of search results receive almost 95% of web traffic, meaning if your startup isn’t sitting there, the majority of people are simply not going to see what you’re offering.

SEO for startups

Unfortunately, the exact intricacies of search engine algorithms are a closely guarded secret. On the flip side, digital marketers have done enough research over the years to have a pretty good idea of what search engines look for when deciding if a website is a suitable match or not.

The keywords used, meta descriptions, the layout of your website, how fast your website loads and the number of high-quality backlinks are just a few of the things that can impact your startup’s ranking in search engines. It can take a bit of work, but it’s a surefire way to get people looking at your website.

Pay per click (PPC)

Ever noticed those links to sites on Google that sit above the normal search results on the page? Those are PPC ads, and they’re a great way to get your startup noticed and drive traffic to your site.

Unlike SEO, PPC does require a bit of money to work. You set a budget, and everytime someone clicks on your ad you pay the host a set amount for the click – hence the name pay per click.

The higher your budget, and the more you’re willing to pay per click can help ensure your ad sits at the top instead of your competitors. But don’t think you can win everything just by throwing money around. PPC ads are also ranked depending on how relevant the ad actually is to its audience. In Google, for example, each ad is given a rating between 1-10, known as a Quality Score. You can put as much money behind an ad as you want, but if it has a poor Quality Score it will almost certainly rank lower than a competitor with a higher score.

Google Display Network

“But what about all those ads I see on websites, how do I get my own ads to appear there?” Good question! Ads displayed on websites can appear through what is known as the Google Display Network; a collection of millions of websites that businesses can use to place their ads.

This form of PPC is also a great way to drive traffic because you can place your ads on specific websites that are related to what you’re trying to sell. For example, if you run a website that sells coffee, you could place an ad for your shop on a coffee blog, to be sure that people who see your ad are likely coffee enthusiasts themselves.

What’s more, if you owned a physical coffee shop as well, you could make your ad only appear to people who live in the area, to entice them to come and visit. How cool is that?

Social media

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn… they likely need no introduction. The current kings of social media aren’t going anywhere, which is good news for businesses looking to use them to help promote their startup.

There’s no excuse not to be on social media these days. They’re easy to set up and provide access to an audience in their billions. That’s a lot of people. But that also means there’s a lot of competition too.

To get your startup to stand out on social media, you need to be putting out relevant and interesting posts that people are going to want to see.

That means more than just shoving your newest product or service down people’s throats at any given chance. Promoting conversations, sharing helpful original content, and interacting with users can help establish your startup as a brand that cares for its customers, rather than one simply looking to make a quick sale.

Content marketing

In the digital marketing world, content really is king. If you’re able to put out great original content on your site, you can not only bring people to your site – but keep them coming back for more.

Crafting content can be difficult at times, and there’s certainly an art to it, but don’t let that discourage you from giving it a shot. One thing to bear in mind is that you want to try and write something that will help solve a problem faced by a potential customer, giving them valuable information that can make their life easier. If you can help solve someone’s issue, they will be more likely to trust you and your brand – which in turn can help secure that all important sale.

A quick bit of advice, if you’re looking to make content that’ll help customers and drive traffic to your site, then why not use Answer The Public, a tool that will suggest content ideas based on what people are searching for themed to your product or service.

You can do it!

So yes, there’s a lot of things to think about and get stuck into within the digital world, but you’re not alone. Doing it for yourself as a startup is a great way to get things off the ground, and then one day you’ll be able to afford an agency to do it for you if that’s what you want. But for now, upskill yourself and your team.

Our digital marketing courses and workshops are a great way to get started, as well as providing ongoing support after your session so you never have to be stuck on something technical.

All of those things mentioned above, we’ve got a course for. And if you want something super tailored to your business goals and objectives, then we’re happy to build a course around you in a bespoke kinda way.

Check out our digital marketing workshops or get in touch to see what we can do for you to help your startup make the most of digital marketing.

Amber Vellacott

Amber Vellacott

Content Marketing Lead

Follow us on social media for blog updates and more kick-ass learning content to grow your digital skills!

Top 7 ways to optimise your Instagram account

Top 7 ways to optimise your Instagram account

Top 7 Ways To Optimise Your Instagram Account

don’t struggle to get the engagement you deserve

So, you’ve got yourself a fancy Instagram account. But are you still struggling to get the engagement you want from it?

You might think you’re doing everything right, but like all social media platforms, there are lots of little things you may not be doing that could end up making a big difference. If you’re looking to optimise your Instagram account to boost engagement, here are a few top tips that are sure to help.

Make sure you’re using an Instagram Business account

If you’re a business on Instagram and you’re not using a business account, then why on earth not? An Instagram business account not only allows you to boost your posts to reach more people, but it allows you to tap into the platform’s analytics tool, to see just how well each of your posts is doing.

There’s no point putting content out there if you can’t tell who’s engaging with it, and how. Sure, you can see likes and comments without analytics, but these metrics only tell half the story. Having an Instagram Business account will allow you to see how many people saw your post, how many interacted with it, aside from likes and comments, as well as the types of people interacting with your posts.

To turn your Instagram account into a business account, you need to go into your profile settings and select “switch to business profile”. Note that you will need to have a Facebook Business page to do this, but the app will help you create one if you don’t already own one.

 

Make sure images are the right size

You probably don’t need us to tell you that Instagram is a very visual form of social media – its focus on imagery is far greater than that of Facebook or Twitter.

What you might not know is that Instagram uses different image dimensions than other forms of social media. Your amazing photo may look great in its original form – but it might not fit correctly when posted to Instagram.

Luckily enough, the platform now features three different image formats: square, landscape, and portrait. Depending on your picture’s size, it will likely fit better in one of these three layouts, so it’s worth experimenting to see which fits best.

Remember that not every post needs to be an original photo. You can get creative with infographics, pop art, GIFs etc, but again you’ll need to make sure these are the correct sizes. For reference, the ideal image sizes for Instagram are:

Square posts: 1080px x 1080px

Landscape posts: 1080px wide

Portrait posts: 1080px x 1350px

 

Have a Theme

In this day and age you can’t escape the modern clutches of business and branding, it is everywhere, and on Instagram, it’s no different.

Many businesses will have a visual theme that runs through their grid. Whether that be a specific filter, or overlay or even subject matter. This use of theme allows your audience to recognise your content easier and as a consequence improve the brand awareness for your brand.

No need to get all photoshop on this, Instagram has a great array of filters to choose from. And what filter gets the most engagement on Instagram, well currently, it’s Clarendon!

 

 

Use relevant and trending hashtags

Instagram loves hashtags, so if you aren’t using them – you should be. TrackMaven found that while Facebook and Twitter should only use one or two to ensure maximum engagement, Instagram posts with more hashtags actually perform much better, with 9 hashtags seeing the best results overall.

There’s an art to using hashtags though, and it helps to stay on top of what’s trending to make sure you’re using the hashtags that people are searching for. However, don’t trade popularity for relevancy. Use trending hashtags where possible, but don’t include them if they have nothing to do with your brand and business.

How do you find what’s trending? Hashtagify allows you to see the most popular hashtags used in a month, as well as see how popular individual hashtags are. There are also hashtags that are a pretty safe bet no matter the time of year. These are typically based around the days of the week, like #MondayMotivation or #TBT, giving you suitable hashtags no matter the day. You can find out more about them in this article from Vision Creative Group.

 

 

Be mobile orientated

Mobile is Instagram’s true home. With a desktop, you can only view posts on Instagram, and those with tablets don’t even have a dedicated app yet!

If almost everyone is accessing Instagram from their phone, then it makes sense that any links you include in your profile are mobile friendly. Your first port of call is making sure your own business’s website is mobile friendly – as your Instagram profile should at least include a link to your site.

What if you want to direct people to more than one link though? Not a problem – with platforms such as LNK.BIO, you can set up multiple links in your bio description. Handy for campaigns and one-off promotions!

From there, make it a habit to check that all links you include go to a website that’s mobile friendly. If you offer up links that aren’t optimised for mobile, users will be unlikely to click on them in the future, so it’s well worth it in the long run.

 

Have an easy to find handle

Your Instagram handle is essentially your username – it’s what people search for to find your business on the platform. And if it doesn’t match your brand, it could make it difficult for potential customers to find you.

Fortunately, it’s easy enough to change. Say you run a website called ‘Rock N Roll Clothing’, and that’s how it’s spelt on your logo and your website. If your Instagram handle is ‘rockandrollclothing’ people may not find you, because you’re using ‘and’ instead of the letter ‘N’. Make sure your handle reflects the spelling and grammar of your business accurately to ensure you’re as easy to find as possible.

 

Use Instagram Stories

Launched back in August 2016, Instagram stories allows users to post pictures and videos that are separate from their posts. What’s the point you ask? With the ability to use stickers, music, GIFs, ask questions, and a whole lot more, it opened a whole new way for businesses to creatively interact with their audience.

If you’re looking for additional ways to drive traffic and boost engagement on your profile, Instagram stories is a great way to do this. Get creative with the tools available and give your audience a reason to check out what you have to offer!

Want help making your Instagram account the best it can be? Check out our Social Animal courseto make sure your social media is up to scratch, or pay a visit to one of our creative content workshops to see how you can be generating awesome content for all of your platforms.

Daniel Otway

Daniel Otway

Digital Creative

Follow us on social media for blog updates and more kick-ass learning content to grow your digital skills!