Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Now You Can Send iTunes Credit as a Facebook Gift



If you’ve ever wanted to give an iTunes song or movie to a friend on Facebook, you now can do it with Facebook Gifts. Starting today, Facebook users in the U.S. can send their friends iTunes digital gifts instantly through the service.

The digital gift amounts are set at $10, $15, $25 or $50. You can recommend specific songs and videos to your giftee, but they’re under no obligation to buy it with the credit, which can be used to purchase anything on iTunes. Giving an iTunes gift to someone on Facebook will appear like this on their Timeline:


iTunes Timeline

Facebook recently re-launched Gifts this fall after shuttering its original Gifts service in 2010. However, early statistics from IBM Benchmark indicate that just 0.2% of Cyber Monday online sales originate on social media. Perhaps today’s introduction of iTunes digital gifts to Facebook will change that.

Does giving iTunes credit via Facebook sound like something you’d use? How much do the recommendations matter? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Wordpress Now Accept Bitcoin Payment


Bitcoin_Large

Home to 57 million blogs worldwide, Wordpress are the latest company to begin utilising the digital currency, Bitcoin. As a way of paying for features on their site such as blog upgrades and custom designs, Bitcoin can help those unable to use other payment options.

Wordpress.com is a free blogging service built on Wordpress’ open source software. The currency will    provide a payment option in places and countries where more wordpress1mainstream methods of   payment may not be available.
 A news release from Wordpress.com said that due to many reasons, a lot of users have   restricted access to all of the site’s features.
 “We don’t think an individual blogger from Haiti, Ethiopia, or Kenya should have  diminished access to the blogosphere because of payment issues they can’t control. Our goal is to enable people, not block them.”

“Bitcoin is a digital currency that enables instant payments over the internet. Unlike credit cards and PayPal, Bitcoin has no central authority and no way to lock entire countries out of the network. Merchants who accept Bitcoin payments can do business with anyone.”



The legitimacy of Bitcoin has gathered momentum recently. In August, the co-founder of Bitcoin transfer service BitInstant, Charlie Shrem, announced plans to make a debit card that will work in all places that accept MasterCard. The cards will have your Bitcoin details on the front and back so that you can send coins directly to the card.

Social news website Reddit made news earlier this week by announcing that they are considering Bitcoin as a form of payment for Reddit Gold, a premium service filled with new features.

What do you make of Bitcoin as a source of alternative currency? Do you think this can help Wordpress as a business?

Thursday, 15 November 2012

5 Phenomenal Ways Instagram Can Boost Your Marketing Efforts


Instagram is a newly acquired tool by Facebook, available only on Androids and iPhones. It is a photo-sharing program and requires only the possession of relevant mobile apps. Although this holds maximum usage in personal relations, business enterprises are also using this tool to boost their marketing plan. Here are five keys:

1. The common method is by using the square photos for advertising. You can also try different type of affiliate marketing by presenting rebates and events of different companies on the snaps. You can first create relevant brochures or pamphlets and then snap them to make the process viral. It has a tremendous amount of footfall and thus you can entertain others through periodic photo contests. Holding prizes or random selection of viewers has a remarkable way of ennobling followers.

2. You can automatically broaden the horizon for your snaps by geo-tagging the photos and naming the locations. This way, it qualifies into diverse selection of photos privy to that location, and reaches more people. Lately, other web profiles have been engendered to connect to Instagram snaps to any way reach for the stars.

3. You have to be a party animal here. Spare some time to go through others' snaps and like those relevant to your niche. This builds camaraderie and exalts your stand in others' eyes. Apt titling of the photos is must, so that Google Spiders catch these. Bing has a great sense of valor with Instagram.

4. Instagram shouldn't only be about formal etiquettes. Encourage employees and customers to post some rare and shocking photos. The placement of bosses and subservient employees in a casual atmosphere would do well to showcase your love and bond to others. There are a few exceptional photographers and if you allow them their creative streaks, you allow a situation where new snapping ideas come into the fore. This builds enormous rapport with employees and helps impressively into your marketing plan.

5. You can also strengthen your SEO base by naming photos with apt titles. Keep space for viewer's comments. You can use tools like Textagram to pave way for exciting content for your snaps. Send alerts to potential customers about the snaps, and weave a fluent marketing system through your photos. You can tell a smart marketing story through connecting snaps; almost in line of a PPT presentation. You can also be inventive and show others how they can varyingly use your products. It is better to get some basic knowledge about photography before utilizing Instagram. It also allows hashtags to facilitate connection and update with Twitter, where you can be more specific about your plans. Yes, you cannot think your work done by working extensively over Instagram. There has to be a coherent and layered work done on Social Media Sites as well to draw a balance.

There is no question that Instagram and sharing of photos has exponentially helped businesses to thrive. In order to stay updated with viral changes, it is imperative that you stay with the times and accept these mores to your advantage.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7375663