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Social Media

Facebook’s New Algorithms Aren’t Really Algorithms at All

February 15, 2016 By Jen Kehl

 

Facebook?s Big Announcement Last Week New?Algorithms?

We all know that Facebook’s top-secret algorithms effect who get’s to see our content on Facebook, and for bloggers and content marketer’s it is no small frustration.

Most of the time, we are convinced that Facebook won’t work for us, because we can’t unlock the great mystery.

And then Facebook up and changes their algorithm, just when you thought you might have a handle on it, ?and you are left wondering how that effects you.

Lucky for us, Facebook actually announced it’s change, publicly, and was kind enough to break it down for us.

 

What hasn’t changed?

What hasn’t changed is Facebook using its algorithms to make assumptions about what you?want to see in your news-feed based on engagement. (Likes, clicks, shares, and comments.)

What they are doing is giving the engaging behavior even more weight. And based on the behavior, it is deciding what to show you on the top of your news feed.

If a post, that is like other posts you have liked, seems to be like other posts you have liked, you are more likely to see it at the top of your feed. (wow, that’s a lot of likes!)

And if a post is getting a lot of engagement, Facebook is going to assume even more people want to see it, and push it out to more Facebook users. This is how your engagement numbers can be so much higher than your followers.

If you live up to Facebook’s expectations, you may?see your engagement go up. If you don’t get the clicks and like’s that Facebook assumes you will get, you may see your engagement go down.

 

What has changed? It’s not really an algorithm!

Facebook is using real users to determine what people really like. They are no longer assuming that just because you “liked” a post, you actually liked it.

They have enlisted over a thousand Facebook users to rate their experience on Facebook, and share what content they actually like and what they don’t like.

How many times have you clicked like because you wanted to be nice, but that you didn’t actually like like it?

On the flip side, how many times have you read something, enjoyed the content, but didn’t engage?

So Facebook is having actual users give their feedback about what they want to see and what they don’t. Instead of only little algorithm bots deciding the fate of your Facebook posts, real people are going to have a go!

 

Here’s why you shouldn’t care.

Facebook’s intention is not to crack down on bloggers trying to share genuine content, ?they want to cut-down on clickbait.

Facebook has?been actively cutting down on the use of click-bait. You know:
10 Things Entrepeneurs Must Know
Big Businesses Hate Him
What We Found Was Shocking!

However, people just got better at writing click-bait because it worked!

Facebook upped their game.

Now, Facebook is going to use the input of real people to help determine if people are being baited to click, or if there is genuinely valuable content coming from that page.
What does this mean for you?

If you create quality content, you are already winning.

Assuming you are already writing quality content, even without huge engagement, if you are posting content your followers actually like, you should see an increase in engagement.

More than ever, the new Facebook algorithms will benefit bloggers,?it’s time to do the happy dance!

via GIPHY

 

We are winning. And those who seek to manipulate you are losing.

What could be better? Now you can spend more time creating and sharing good content, and less time worrying about what Facebook is going to do about it.

Facebook said that most pages won’t see a drastic change, but?if your content is valuable, you may see an uptick. And let me tell you, one week later, I can tell you that I have seen a drastic change.

I have under 1000 followers, and this is my reach for this week. I didn’t even post on a trending topic.

Screen Shot 2016-02-14 at 4.38.08 PM

 

 

Give them what they want!

I think I know what kind of content my readers want to see, and although I felt I was sharing that, I wasn’t seeing the numbers line up.

Since the change I have seen a drastic change, and have shared as much in Facebook groups. Many other Facebook page owners have mentioned seeing the same kind of statistics.

This is good stuff people!

[bctt tweet=”Facebook’s new changes?are a winner for bloggers! #SocialMedia “]

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Facebook, Social Media

The Best Image Sizes for Social Media

January 25, 2016 By Jen Kehl

social_right_size_facebook

Bookmark this page!

You probably already know that social media is the best way to promote your site.

But did you know that each social network has a size it prefers for its images?

Of course they would never make it easy by making sizes universal, so you have to keep a cheat sheet, like I do, of all of the preferred sizes for each site.

You may also wonder how you can use different sized graphics for each post.

Here are some tricks.

  • Facebook and Twitter’s images are very close in size, so you could really use one for both.
  • You can use the Yoast plugin to upload a Facebook and or Twitter specific image.
  • If you have uploaded your Facebook and Twitter image to your Yoast,?in your post, you can choose the featured image as your Pinterest.

Use these tips and all of the relevant images for your blog post will be covered.

Social_sizes_Pinterest

 

Here is a screen cast showing how to use?PicMonkey to create social media images.

As of January 2016, these are the preferred sizes. (Remember they do change!)

  • Facebook ? 1,200 x 628

  • Twitter ? 1,024 x 512

  • LinkedIn ? 800 x 800

  • Google+ ? 800 x 1,200

  • Pinterest ? 735 x 1,102

  • Instagram ? 1,080 x 1,080

Some Resources

  • Omnicore’s Social Media Cheatsheet
  • Visually’s Social Media Cheatsheet

 

I’d love to hear from you! Let me know what other tutorials you’d like to see!

Filed Under: Tips and Hacks, Tutorials Tagged With: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Sizes, Social Media, Tutorials, Twitter

8 WordPress Plugins Every Blogger Should Know About

January 19, 2015 By Jen Kehl

 

wordpress plugins

What is a plugin?

A plugin is a bunch of code, that, when added (plugged in) to your WordPress site, gives it?a ton of functionality it did not have before. The great thing about WordPress plugins, is that they take an already amazing site, that you created, and make it better without you having to know any code.

People are often concerned that there is a “too many plugins” threshold. The truth is, what matters is what plugins you have. This article by Austin Gunter over at WP Engine called, Plugins and Fast WordPress Sites – It’s Not the Number of Plugins, It’s the Quality?explains why you can be running 80 plugins and still have a safe, fast site!?So, whether you have 2 or 20 plugins (or 80!), these are WordPress plugins you should know about.

Screen Shot 2015-01-17 at 1.56.09 PM

Jetpack by WordPress

Jetpack is an amazing WordPress plugin built by the folks at Automattic (the people behind WordPress). The great thing about Jetpack is it offers you a ton of functions that used to only be available in individual plugins. Some notables are Social Media share buttons, blog follow widget, easy blog icon (favicon), custom CSS module, simple contact forms, related posts, even grammar and spell check and so so much more. Use Jetpack and only activate the modules you use.

 

akismet WordPress plugin

Akismet

Akismet is the single most effective spam reducing plugin. On my personal blog Akismet catches 500 spam messages a day.

 

Screen Shot 2015-01-17 at 5.49.20 PM

WordPress SEO by Yoast

WordPress SEO by Yoast has surpassed all other plugins as the definitive SEO plugin. As a matter of fact, this plugin also eliminates the need to have a plugin that generates XML sitemaps because it generates new ones every time you write a new post and submits them for you!
One of the best features of this plugin is that it has a simple red light, green light system alerting you when you’re SEO is not good. You scroll to the bottom of your page and can see a live page analysis. Just click on the Page Analysis tab and get an explanation of how to improve the SEO on your post.

 

wordpress plugin w3 total cache

W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache?What is cache? Caching is when your data is stored in a way that is easier for your site to access then to go to your server and request it. It makes your site run much faster with fewer errors. It is really important for page load time. All hosts recommend you use one, most recommend you use this one.

 

wordfence wordpress plugins

Wordfence Security

As far as free security goes, Wordfence Security is probably the best. With over 4 million downloads and an almost perfect rating of 4.9 you can’t go wrong. If you choose to go with Wordfence, you won’t need a caching plugin – Wordfence takes care of that. It has a firewall that blocks common forms of?attacks and has a unique way of blocking known attacks. If any other WordPress site is being attacked it blocks that same attack on every site that uses it, simultaneously!

 

simple social icon plugin

Simple Social Icons

It doesn’t get any easier than Simple Social Icons, this plugin allows you to drop clean-looking social icons into any widget. And you can customize the color and size.

 

 

better click to tweet plugin

Better Click to Tweet

Better Click to Tweet?is a plugin that everyone who wants more twitter shares needs. It places a little twitter icon in your tool bar, so while you are creating a page or post, you just click the icon and a window pops up. Enter your tweet and it shows up as a nice bit of pop out text in your post. It makes it really easy for your readers to click on it to tweet your personalized tweet.

 

Social Media Sharing Plugin

When I originally wrote this post, #8 was Shareaholic. Since then, I have had to fix more sites with that plugin than any other. And so, it lost it’s spot. In my quest to find a replacement, I have come up with these options.

You can use the built in functionality of Jetpack.? If you don’t want floating buttons in your sidebar, Jetpack is a great choice that is guaranteed not to effect how your site functions.

SumoMe?This comes with a HUGE caveat. I have never used SumoMe. That being said I have tons of clients who use it, and no one has ever needed me to fix their site. So that’s saying a lot.

Social Warfare premium plugin.?This plugin is going to get it’s own post soon. It is by far the most amazing social media plugin I have ever used. I have been using it on the blog I publish, Break the Parenting Mold, and it is so amazing that I can’t imagine how I ever lived without it. Here are some functions:

  • Choose specific Facebook Images, titles and descriptions. (I know you can do that with Yoast, but wait)
  • Choose specific PINTEREST Images and DESCRIPTIONS! Yes I am yelling. This way when someone clicks Pin, the image YOU want is pulled, it doesn’t even have to be in your post!! And it pulls YOUR description which you can load with SEO. This plugin has increased our Pinterest traffic!
  • Click to Tweet (this would eliminate your need for click to tweet) and you can choose from multiple styles.
  • Customizable sharing buttons.
  • Many sharing platforms not available everywhere.
  • Customizable counts. For instance, if you don’t want people to see a post has only been shared twice, you tell the plugin, only show share counts after x amount of shares.

Yes that link is an affiliate link, but I would NEVER recommend something I didn’t love. The customer service is very responsive, since it is a new plugin there have been a few hiccups, but they have fixed them very fast. I have been thrilled with the amount of customization I can do, and attribute our rapid growth in part to that plugin.

My Thoughts

In my opinion, WordPress plugins are part of what makes WordPress fun. Plugins are the tools you need to make your blog do the things you always wished it could do! Read the post I mentioned above, get over your fear of plugins and start looking at how plugins can make your blog more unique.

 

 

[bctt tweet=”8 #WordPress plugins you need. From SEO to Social Media and Security, this has you covered. #plugins #SEO”]

 

Filed Under: Blog Design, WordPress Tagged With: Plugins, Security, SEO, Social Media, WordPress

 

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