It’s always fascinating to scroll through my Google analytics and see which posts I’ve written that interest you. The one’s that get you clicking through and reading. 2015 was the year I finally took the plunge and used Instagram for business, it’s also the year I decided to delve into LinkedIn in more detail and launch a podcast.
The posts that you read the most fall into three key topics. 2015 was the year I finally took the plunge and used Instagram for business, it’s also the year I decided to delve into LinkedIn in more detail and launch a podcast. Unsurprisingly LinkedIn and Instagram feature heavily in the top 10 as do Facebook competitions. Hopefully next year some of my Podcasts will make an appearance.
Here are the top 10 posts in reverse order, enjoy the read and here’s to blogging (and podcasting) in 2016.
#10 How Pet Sitters Ireland Reached Their Ideal Customers – Facebook Competition Case Study
It’s been a privilege to work with Pet Sitters Ireland on their ‘Nose of Tralee’ contest for the last two years. This case study including stats on their achievements has always been a hit with readers. Their 2015 contest was an even bigger and better and I’m looking forward to seeing where the contest will take them in 2016.
#9 A 3 Step Method To Measure Your Instagram Web Traffic
It’s really annoying that when I look at my Google analytics I’ve no way of tracking visitors from Instagram. Anyone who clicks that link in my profile just gets bundled in with ‘Direct traffic’. Measurement has been on my agenda for a big chunk of this year so I devised a system for measuring Instagram success. Find out how I did it here.
#8 How to Upload to Instagram Without Cropping – Instasize Cool Tool
At the end of August, Instagram started letting us upload landscape and portrait images to the site. Before then, you had no choice but to crop photos or use a tool like Instasize to square up your photos before uploading.
You may not need to use Instasize anymore but it has lots of other useful features including text overlay and filters that still make it a good app for your Instagram toolkit.
#7 How To Stop, Delete And Manage LinkedIn Endorsements
I spent a month this year touring the Wild Atlantic Way, working with local tourism businesses on using LinkedIn. If there is one thing I learned it is that people still hate LinkedIn endorsements. Worse, they don’t understand them.
There are benefits to using and having endorsements on your profile. I discuss them in this post and show you how to edit, delete and manage their appearance on your profile.
#6 LinkedIn Profile Tips – A Quick Guide To Reviewing Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn was a popular topic on my blog this year taking four spots in the top 10. This post is designed for anyone who knows their profile isn’t in good shape but doesn’t know where to start improving it.
I always love writing posts like these as it helps me get my own house in order. Reading this again makes me think it’s time for another review of my own profile.
#5 9 Simple Instagram Post Ideas For Your Business
When I talk to business owners one of the top reasons they give for not using Instagram is not knowing what to post. It’s understandable, we are used to using text first networks like Facebook and Instagram, networks where the written word is accompanied by a photo. On Instagram the photo comes first and is accompanied by a caption.
Thinking visually first can be a challenge so I created this post to help inspire business owners to take the plunge.
#4 A Quick Guide To LinkedIn Company Pages
LinkedIn is essentially a person to person networking site. It’s a place where business owners can forge business relationships with potential customers and partners. LinkedIn does however offer a business page, similar to a Facebook business page. This allows you to post, but not network, as a business.
This post includes one of the most popular YouTube videos I’ve ever uploaded and takes you step by step through the process of setting up a page.
#3 Get More Entries – Supercharge Your Facebook Competition Promotion
I’ve written a lot about Facebook competitions over the years and they are always popular posts. It’s always in the run up to Christmas that they get the most traffic. Businesses are keen to draw attention to their holiday deals and offers and a competition can be a great way to draw new and existing Facebook users in.
Promoting your competition can make all the difference between a few and a lot of relevant entries. In this post I shared some techniques you can use to gain traction for your contest.
#2 How To Hide Your LinkedIn Profile Views
The final LinkedIn post in the top ten looks at your privacy settings. LinkedIn has a nice feature that allows you to see who has been viewing your profile. The downside is that it’s reciprocal, people can see when you’ve been viewing their profile too. This is great for relationship building but what if you want to do some snooping on your competitors? You don’t always want to alert them that you’ve been looking.
In this post I show you how to go anonymous on LinkedIn.
#1 A Quick Guide To Writing Facebook Competition Rules
It both surprises and pleases me that this is the most popular post I wrote in 2015. It shows that businesses are taking their competitions more seriously. If you are running a contest it’s crucial to set some rules. It will make things easier in the future if a contestant has queries.
I cover everything in this post including the mandatory Facebook disclaimer, a template for your rules and examples of businesses doing it well.
Looking at this list it’s obvious they all have one thing in common. They are all tutorials or learning resources. My blog has taken a new direction recently and I’ve been creating less tutorial posts but there will still be plenty more in 2016. One of the things I enjoy the most about blogging is passing on the tricks and tips I learn along the way.
Thanks for joining me in 2015, I’ll look forward to seeing you back here in 2016.
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