Blog Category Archives: Social Media

Meta’s New AI Assistant: Integrating Google and Bing Searches 

Recently Meta has launched a new feature, an AI assistant that works seamlessly across all its applications to deliver better search results. But what does this mean for users and SEO specialists? In this blog we'll explore what Meta's AI Assistant means for the future of SEO, PPC, social media marketing and it's ability to search across platforms. 

This new feature means that users are able search seamlessly within Meta’s apps and they only need to search in one platform. This query will follow them across their applications, but this now means that SEO specialists will need to optimize on both Bing and Google, if they aren’t already. Users can access this feature on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Meta’s newest addition Meta.ai. 

Google, Bing and Meta: What Does This Look Like 

Meta AI allows you to get more results that aren’t just from training results. According to the article by Search Engine Journal, “Instead of relying solely on training data or a single search engine, Meta’s AI assistant intelligently selects and displays results from either Google or Bing, depending on the query.” 

This feature also allows you to access information without having to switch between apps. Meta has made it possible to ensure that this feature is a “consistent presence across its family of apps.” Here’s a breakdown of Meta AI: 

• Can be found in the search boxes in Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger
• Appears in Facebook’s main feed
• Introduction of the new website Meta.ai 
• Real-time image creation using AI 
• AI access in the new Facebook VR technology

SEO: What Does This Mean for Optimization?

Now that we have this new technology working for us across the most popular social media platforms, what will this mean for optimizing websites? SEO Strategists will most likely need to start adapting throughout each search engine (Google and Bing). This will be to ensure that information is searchable when users are accessing Meta’s AI. 

According to the article posted in Search Engine Journal, “As AI chatbots become increasingly popular for finding information, visibility in the integrated search results will become more valuable for publishers. SEO strategies may need to evolve to accommodate traditional search engines and AI assistants. This could involve a greater focus on satisfying conversational queries that mirror how users interact with chatbots.

Since the introduction of Meta’s AI assistance we can really see the traditional search and AI now in competition. It’s smart to stay relevant and ahead of the technology as best you can, this way you’re steering the ship. The article also stated that. “With the release of the powerful Llama 3 model and incorporating search results from leading search engines, Meta is positioning itself as a top contender in the AI chatbot market.” 

We are aware that this is the nature of technology and that it grows and evolves over time. Naturally that means that SEO’s and Social Media Specialists also need to adapt and grow with the ever changing technology. Something that at i2bGlobal we strongly believe in, making sure that our specialists are ahead of the curve. Which is another reason why our clients continue to work with us to not only build custom websites, but by taking it to the next level. 

Contact i2bGlobal’s SEO and Social Media Specialists 

i2bGlobal has been working with companies, both in Canada and abroad for over two decades creating custom websites and driving customer engagement. Through this work we have also developed a team of social media specialists, SEO specialists and digital marketing strategists. Our teams work with companies to expand their business through social media marketing and original content creation. 

If you’re interested in learning more about our social media marketing, AI editing, website development, digital marketing, SEO specialists, blogging and more please contact us today. We have a team of dedicated professionals that are ready and eager to help your business and brand grow in this ever changing digital landscape. Please feel free to contact us by phone at 1-888-422-9322 or by email at sales@i2bglobal.com. 

Social Media Strategy for Your Business

Mastering social media has become an indispensable aspect of any successful business or brand. Social media platforms have evolved beyond just networking tools to powerful marketing, enabling businesses to connect, engage and convert their audience like never before. 

Crafting a robust social media strategy isn't just about posting content; it's also about understanding your audience. Then taking that knowledge and leveraging the data and strategically utilizing various platforms to achieve your business goals. There are many platforms that a business can take advantage of, some make more sense than others. It’s part of the social media strategy to figure out what platforms will make the most sense for your audience. 

In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the key components and actionable steps involved in developing a successful social media strategy. From defining clear objectives to understanding audience behavior, choosing the right platforms, creating compelling content. and analyzing metrics. 

This blog will try to provide you with a roadmap to help navigate this ever-changing social media landscape. Whether you're just starting your business's social media journey or have been at it for a while, we hope that these insights and tips will help you build a solid foundation for an effective social media strategy that drives meaningful results.

A Comprehensive Guide for Social Media Strategies

This is where we’ll define what a social media strategy should look like, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure you’re reaching your audience and objectives. At i2B Global our goal is to customize your social media strategy and work with you to develop the best plan possible. We do this so that our customers get the most effective and creative content. Since every business is different and unique, it’s important to work closely with our clients. Take a look at the different components for an effective social media strategy below. 

• Define Clear Objectives: We do this by outlining your goals, are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, boost sales, or improve customer engagement? Once these goals are clearly defined your objectives will help guide your strategy.
• Know Your Audience: This is a pretty major one, understanding your target audience is crucial. Research their demographics, interests, online behavior and preferred social platforms. Then we can tailor your content to resonate with their needs and preferences.
• Choosing the Right Platforms: Not all social media platforms are the same and not all make sense for every brand and business. We work with you to choose the platforms where your target audience is most active. 
• Create Valuable Content: We want to develop high-quality content that adds value to your audience. This could be informative blog posts, engaging videos, eye-catching images, or interactive polls. Posting to your social media platforms should also be consistent, posting a few times a week is great. However, some of our clients need to have posts daily, every business is different, so we customize your strategy accordingly.
• Consistent Branding: Maintain a cohesive brand image across all social channels. This is accomplished by using consistent logos, color schemes, tone of voice and messaging. This builds recognition and reinforces your brand identity.
• Engagement is Key: Social media is about being social, having engagement with your audience by responding to comments, messages and mentions promptly. This is why we monitor your social media platforms daily and respond accordingly, leaving it to us so you can go about building your brand and business. 
• Utilize Data and Analytics: We want to regularly analyze your social media metrics. Checking on insights to help us understand what content performs best, when your audience is most active and how to refine your strategy for better results.
• Incorporate Visuals and Multimedia: Visual content tends to perform better. Experiment with videos, infographics, GIFs, and other multimedia formats to capture attention and convey your message effectively.
• Strategic Use of Hashtags: Research and use relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your content. However, avoid overusing them and try to incorporate industry-specific, trending and branded hashtags strategically.
• Evaluate and Adapt: Social media trends and algorithms constantly evolve. Regularly assess your strategy's performance, adapt to changes and experiment with new approaches. Flexibility and willingness to adjust are crucial for long-term success.

It’s important to remember that a successful social media strategy takes time, consistent effort and continuous refinement based on analytics and audience feedback. These tips can help to bring specific business goals and audience together for the best results. But it’s also important to be responsive to direct messages and keep the content fresh, relevant and engaging. 

i2b Global’s Social Media and Digital Marketing – For Your Business

We hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration into building a robust social media strategy. It's clear that the digital world continues to evolve, presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Crafting a successful social media strategy is not a one-size-fits-all approach and it requires continuous adaptation, creativity and a deep understanding of your audience's preferences.

It’s important to remember that an effective social media strategy is more than just accumulating followers or posting content. Social media strategy is also about fostering genuine connections, providing value and engaging with your audience authentically. By defining clear your brand's objectives, understanding your audience, creating valuable content, and leveraging analytics, you can refine your strategy and stay ahead in the dynamic world of social media.

Now you’re ready to get started on your social media journey or refine your existing strategy, apply the insights and tips shared in this guide. Remember to stay adaptable, experiment with new ideas and always keep your audience at the forefront of your strategy. Our goal at i2b Global is to work with businesses to optimize their social media, so have a presence in the digital world. Contact us by phone at 1-888-422-9322 or email at sales@i2bglobal.com and let’s get started!

Social Media Trends to Look our for in 2024

Social Media is a forever changing medium that we have to constantly evolve with as there are new platforms and trends that appear every year. Just like with the changing technologies, and updates to our iPhones, we must adapt and evolve with it. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the social media trends for 2024 and why they are important to consider for your social media strategy. Brands and companies need to constantly evolve with these changing technologies as well and social media platforms. The next section will list some of these trends for 2024 and explain briefly why they are of importance. 

Social Media Trends To Help With Your 2024 Strategy 

As we dive into a curated list of social media trends for 2024 that are reshaping the way we connect, engage, and communicate in the digital world we have to consider their importance. From emerging platforms to transformative content formats, let's now explore these trends that are not only shaping today but also paving the path for the future of social interaction online. Thus helping your social media presence and helping us to craft a social strategy that will elevate your brand awareness. 

• Text-Only Posts 
• This form of social media isn’t going anywhere, so it’s important to make sure that your brand has a presence on platforms such as Threads, LinkedIn, Mastodon, and Bluesky.
• Social Media platforms are the new search engines. 
• TikTok has recently integrated in-app Google search results and it’s become the second most popular search engine for Gen Z users.
• Engagement will move toward DMs
• It’s true that this form of engagement is more difficult for social media listening tools and for tracking analytics – but it doesn’t mean that it’s not still great for gaining business results. Often this is the preferred way to communicate with a brand for many users.  
• Likes, comments or follows will be replaced with shares
• It’s true that likes, comments and follows can be faked and we don’t want that for our brands. That’s why we want to focus on shares in 2024, we can do this by using our analytics. Most platforms provide access to this and it’s a great tool to track social media success and engagement. 
• AI will become our new best friend 
• For some AI might be a scary new experience, but it’s really more valuable than you think – it’s able to help create captions faster, help brainstorm ideas, help create testing posts and more. However, our social media managers are the ones steering the ship! We now have more time to think, interact with our audience and so much more.
• Long-form videos will become more important 
• Don’t panic, we’re just talking about two to five minute videos! Platforms such as TikTok are always testing long-form videos and to some success. Facebook and Instagram have always welcomed these longer-form video formats. It can be a great way to create videos for brand awareness and they offer a great opportunity for engagement. It’s also an excellent way to answer questions for potential new customers and for those searching for more information about your brand. 
• LinkedIn will not prioritize personal content 
• Over COVID this platform went through some changes in terms of what people were using it for. While it started off as a professional platform and almost a living resume – it turned into something different during the height of the pandemic. We started to see a lot more personal posts and even some selfies. In 2024 it looks like LinkedIn will return to its original purpose – a place for professionals, and now Gen Z, to showcase their work history, skills, involvement in their industry and more. 

Each of these trends will become something that we need to consider for your brand’s social media strategy. Staying informed and on trend is so important for a brand's success. So where do we go from here? i2bGlobal is able to help curate successful social media campaigns and build brand awareness with social media management. Our team is able to develop these social media marketing strategies that work alongside your business goals. 

Social Media Marketing with i2bGlobal 

It's evident that these ever-evolving platforms are more than just digital landscapes—they're vibrant ecosystems constantly shifting and shaping the way we communicate and engage with the world. The trends we've covered merely scratch the surface of an ever-expanding realm where innovation thrives and user preferences steer the course.

In this time of rapid technological advancement and evolving consumer behaviors, staying ahead in the digital sphere is imperative. Businesses striving to make an impactful mark and build a robust online presence must adapt and leverage these trends effectively.

At i2bGlobal we specialize in navigating this dynamic world of social media and we are able to harness these trends to drive engagement. We work hard to foster brand awareness and propel businesses towards success. Our dedicated team excels in crafting tailored strategies that align with these emerging trends, ensuring that your brand not only keeps up but thrives in the ever-shifting landscape of social media.

All of us at i2Global are excited to collaborate with you and curate a social media strategy to help guide your business to success. We’ll work hard to harness the power of these trends, optimizing your social media presence and maximizing your brand's potential. Contact us today to explore how our social media marketing and management services can elevate your brand's story in the captivating narrative of social media. You can reach us by phone at 1-888-422-9322 or by email at sales@i2bglobal.com. 

The Differences Between Paid and Organic Social Media 

Social media can be a fantastic tool when it comes to promoting your business and help to showcase it to the world. Of course there are two different types of social media, paid and organic – both have their benefits and can greatly help your business grow. 

Having an online presence is one of the most important things you can do for your business. This is due to the fact that one of the first things a potential customer will do is search for your business on social media. So what are the differences between paid and organic social media marketing? At i2bGlobal we’re able to help work with businesses to understand the benefits of social media marketing. Learn about the benefits and differences of both paid and organic social media marketing and how they are vital to the success of every business. We’ll do our best to explain these differences and how we can help you grow your reach. 

Organic Vs. Paid Social Media 

The obvious difference is that one is paid, meaning you have established a budget and are running online advertising and social media advertising campaigns. The other one is unpaid and is relying on traffic and leads through unpaid social media posts. Some of these posts can be organic content such as sharing blog posts, services, etc. 

There are four types of organic social media strategy according to Search Engine Journal, content creation, reach, engagement and long-term relationship building. When thinking about budgeting this might be a great place to start for some companies. According to Search Engine Journal we would want to focus on the following for paid social media; content promotion, reach, cost, engagement and conversions and short-term results and Scalability. 

We can clearly see that both paid and organic social media strategies have their similarities and distinct differences. These are two different approaches and they can have vastly different results. Organic social media tends to be a mix between text posts, blog posts, images, videos and more. It’s also the job of the social media manager to respond to comments and direct messages – furthering the engagement goals and helping to give your brand a voice. It’s also an important step for all businesses to show that they have good customer service. Today many potential customers and returning customers will go to social media before they do anything else. 

Paid social media uses more of a budget in order to run ads across social media platforms. Your brand is now showing up on potential customers Facebook newsfeed, Instagram newsfeed and now Threads (this is still a new platform, we’ll save that for another blog). By using paid social media you’re allowing your brand to target new customers and this is always a great benefit to any business. 

Getting to Know Paid Social Media 

There are truly some great benefits to using paid social media, as we stated in the previous section. But what if we went a little further and learned about these benefits and aspects of what it means to use paid social media? I think you’ll find that the benefits outweigh the risks. 

According to Search Engine Journal, “unlike organic social media, which only reaches existing followers, paid social media allows content to be targeted to specific audiences.” So we want to make sure that we’re targeting your audience that you desire to reach the very most. That might come in the form of an ad or a boosted Facebook or Instagram post. 

There can also be content created on your website that targets a specific audience. This can be achieved by using blog posts or certain website pages designed specifically for that service or audience. At i2bGlobal we also use search engine optimization to help target potential customers to your website through Google searches. Paid social media is used for short-term goals that can help create lead generation or the purchase of a product or service.

These paid social media campaigns can be done by using video ads, image ads, carousel ads and text only ads. Facebook and Instagram allow us to target the age and area in which you wish to advertise your company. The next step is really when you’re ready to have a conversation with your social media team and work out a strategy. This will involve setting goals and budgets and figuring out the message you want to get across in this particular campaign. 

i2bGlobal and Social Media Management & Marketing 

i2bGlobal has been working with companies for over two decades creating stunning websites and driving customer engagement. Through this work we have also developed a team of social media specialists and digital marketing strategists. Working with companies to expand their business through social media management, marketing and original content creation. 

If you’re interested in learning more about our social media marketing, AI editing, website development, digital marketing, blogging and more please reach out. We have a team of dedicated professionals that are ready and eager to help your business and brand grow in this ever changing digital landscape. Please feel free to contact us by phone at 1-888-422-9322 or by email at sales@i2bglobal.com. 

Meta Has Introduced a Verification Program

It was recently announced that Meta would be introducing a verification program for creators on all of their apps; Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. What does this mean for users? Basically you can pay to play, more so even, not just for Meta paid ads but now to verify yourself and your business pages. 

Meta has offered some options for packages, these prices are all in USD, so for our Canadian clients we will need to do some conversions. For Businesses it’ll cost $21.99USD per month when purchased on the website and $27.99USD per month when purchased via the app. There are also combined packages available for both Instagram and Facebook, the cost will be $34.99USD. Individuals also have the option to be verified at a cost of $19.99USD per month, this is also for a combined package. 

Benefits of Being Verified 

When you choose to verify yourself or your business, or both, there will be some added benefits. Not only will potential customers know that you are truly you and not an impostor, but they’ll have added faith in your company. 

Verified users on all Meta platforms will have proactive account protection, direct account support, verification and exclusive features. This is a new feature and we’ll have to see how this will benefit businesses in the long run, but it seems to be a great idea and might be worth the extra cost. 

• Proactive Account Protection
• Get protection against someone trying to be you (or your business) through account monitoring and secure your account with two factor authentication.
• Direct account support
• Speak to a real person about any issues you’re experiencing with your account. 
• Verification
• Helps your community know that it’s you (or your business) with a verification badge.
• Exclusive Features
• Use exclusive stickers for your Instagram and Facebook stories and more. 

We would recommend to all of our clients to consider this as something that might work within their social media monthly budget. This is a feature that we can explore together and learn about as it becomes more important and popular during this launch. 

Should You or Your Business Get Verified?

This is entirely up to you and we encourage you to contact us today to discuss the benefits further. With our comprehensive social media management and results driven services, i2bGlobal always strives to provide the best to our clients. 

Other platforms have introduced verification services as well such as X (formally Twitter) and LinkedIn. We’re still learning what this might look like for the future for our clients and we’re excited to see where it goes. 

If you’re interested in our social media management services please contact us today. We also offer social media strategy, account setup, content creation and curation, online reputation management, social media advertising and performance analytics and reporting. 

To contact us at i2bGlobal please feel free to call us directly at 1-888-422-9322 or email us at sales@i2bglobal.com.