5 Free Content Tools to Enhance Your Social Media Marketing

 Are you looking for new ways to grab your fans’ attention?
When was the last time you changed the way you share news and updates?
When you present your content in new, engaging and interactive ways, it stands out in a constant stream of competing information.
In this article you’ll discover five free tools to help you avoid the same tired ways of sharing content.

#1: Make Your Images Interactive

ThingLink‘s fun, dynamic, visual format draws attention to your updates.
You can add text or multimedia overlays to any of your photos or images, but what makes this tool more interesting than others is that the results are interactive.
Viewers hover over icons to watch a video, listen to an audio file, link externally, complete a poll and more.
Home Depot uses ThingLink images to share room and home décor DIY suggestions and tutorials. For example, they overlaid this photo of a DIY Sawhorse Table with the prices of all the pieces you’d need to make it and links to a blog detailing the process. The links become visible when you hover over the image.

10 Ways to Grow Your Facebook Page and Followiing

Has your Facebook Page growth stalled?
Now is a good time to examine your Facebook activities, cutting out what isn’t working and expanding what works.

Here are ten tips to help grow your Facebook community.

#1: Connect With Other Page Managers

This is a powerful tactic to a make a live connection with other Page admins who have a similar demographic to yours and cross-promote each other.

So if you are an ice cream store with a Facebook Page, make a live connection with the pizza parlor in your neighborhood that draws the same clientele (you may already know the owner of the pizza parlor). Then talk to him or her about doing a little Facebook cross-promotion and share each others posts with your audiences every once in a while.

US Certifies 22 Nigerian Seaports

The United States Government has certified 22 Nigerian seaports to have full compliance with the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code and has therefore exempted them from a list of seaports on which it yesterday imposed “Conditions of Entry” for vessels originating or calling from them.

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL; Turning Text Into Gold With Photoshop

Turning Text Into Gold With Photoshop

Written by Steve Patterson. In this Text Effects tutorial, we’ll learn how to easily turn type into gold with Photoshop using a few simple layer styles and our own custom gradient. Once the main effect is complete, we’ll add sparkles with the help of one of Photoshop’s brushes to make our gold letters really shine.

I’ll be using Photoshop CS6 here, but this tutorial is also fully compatible with Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud). For earlier versions of Photoshop, you’ll want to check out our original Gold Plated Text Effect tutorial.

Download our tutorials as print-ready PDFs! Learning Photoshop has never been easier!
For Complete Video Tutorial DVD, call 08183522900

Here’s what the gold text effect will look like when we’re done:

The final result.

Let’s get started!

LETS TOUCH LIVES INTERNATION is BORN... New Birth To Great Deal!

 LETS TOUCH LIVES INTERNATIONAL is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and was born out of innermost passion to create an enabling environment for the less privileged ones, the poor and the financial disabilities to live a normal life. LTLi was found in the first month of the last quarter of 2010 and is purely non-governmental organization targeted at reforming lives and give hope of good living to its members and special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.

We are so much interested in human capacity building, empowerment, entrepreneurship and creating avenues to wealth for all. We are not concerned about us but others who find it so difficult to survive or live as expected. Our program has been confirmed by several organization and we were proven to be the best among others. LTLi has received lots of Awards and recognition worldwide and we are still expecting the best.

The 15 habits of supremely happy people

It seems a grandiose notion to define happiness with research, doesn’t it?
Fear not, that’s not what I’ll be addressing here—instead, I simply feel that research is a great place to start when observing the patterns of happy people.
By looking at proven ways that have increased happiness for many people, we can begin with a gameplan to change or evaluate our own lives.
As Bruce Lee would say:

Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.

Below I’d like to go over some of my favorite studies on happiness in an attempt to showcase some things that might be useful to you!
by Gregory Ciotti...

A Note on Positive Psychology

I’ve been critical of some aspects of positive psychology in the past, because it’s a field that’s rife with a lot of hokum.
In all seriousness though, not all positive psychology is created equal.
Research has shown that there is a measurable effect on many of the techniques I’ll discuss below (of course, I only pick the good ones).
As usual, that means that these findings are reliable, but you need to understand that every person is different, so what research says will generally work for one, may not work for all.
With that disclaimer in place, let’s get crackin’.

The best way to change your habits? Control your environment

There’s just one way to radically change your behavior: radically change your environment.
—Dr. B.J. Fogg, Director of Stanford Persuasive Lab

Most of us would like to think that our habits follow our intentions.
The truth is that one of the mind’s chief functions is to spot and utilize patterns as shortcuts, in order to process the multitude of information we observe each day.

We are more reliant on environmental triggers than we’d like to think.

In one study conducted on “habits vs. intentions,” researchers found that students who transferred to another university were the most likely to change their daily habits. They also found those habits easier to change than the control group because they weren’t exposed to familiar external cues.
This mirrors research on the stimulus control theory, or the effect of a stimulus on behavior. Techniques involving stimulus control have even been successfully used to help people with insomnia.

How to Manage Multiple WordPress sites with MainWP

The most challenging part about running multiple WordPress sites is updating themes, plugins, and making backups of all your WordPress sites. We are often asked by our users for the best way to manage multiple WordPress sites from a single location. Previously we showed you how to manage multiple sites using ManageWP and InfiniteWP. In this article, we will show you how to manage multiple WordPress sites with MainWP.

What is MainWP

MainWP is a self-hosted WordPress maintenance suite. It contains tools and plugins that allow you to effectively and efficiently manage multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard.
You can update themes and plugins on all your sites, update WordPress core, write posts on any of your sites from one single dashboard. It also allows you to switch between sites with just a single click and perform any administrative tasks without logging into multiple sites.

How to Install MainWP

To install MainWP, you will need two plugins. First plugin will be installed on your main website which will be used as your central dashboard. Then you will need to install child plugin on all sites that you want to add to your MainWP dashboard.

5 Ways To Make Money With Your Website

How To Make Money Using Your Blog

Blogging as a full time job can be incredibly rewarding both financially and emotionally. Being able to work autonomously is one of the key elements of achieving mastery but writing good content and attracting people with Adsense ads is not the only way to make money with your blog. We have listed the 6 TOP ways to make money using the traffic on your blog using Affiliates.
So without any more ado, here are the Top 6 Affiliate Sites To Help You Make Money Online:

How To Get Loan In Nigeria Without Collateral

Hi, My name is Mr. Chukwubueze Michael Obinna (Achiever).. I'm a notable business consultant and business opportunity coach and the Director CMO Digital Network Nig. (duely registered with CAC). I spend large chunk of my time researching opportunities that will be helpful to Nigerians. As a result, I have uncovered several hot and proven business opportunities one can run from home and generate good monthly income.

Right now I wish to show you (for free) a new secret I just discovered on how you can get loan of up to N1 Million without collateral right here in Nigeria and repay within two to three years and also contact phone number and address of Top Nigeria Philanthropist that are looking for creative Nigerians with good business proposal and Idea.
It's an amazing opportunity for those who eagerly need money to expand or start their businesses but are hindered by insufficient capital.

Tips on How to Run Your Social Media Efforts

So many brands, businesses and individuals have turned to social media in recent years as a way to improve interaction with customers, build brand awareness and increase their revenues. Unfortunately, social media is still relatively new and there are plenty of misconceptions out there that can spell disaster for any budding social media enterprise. How do we know what advice works and what advice does not? In the following article, we will outline a few simple strategies that any social media effort should utilize in order to foster accountability, accuracy and broad effect on major social media websites.

Create a Team

Even small social networking endeavors need more than one person to be involved in the effort. When social media falls under the purview of just one person, it is often more prone to mistakes and failure as a result of the lack of diversity, opinions and perspectives. No two people will see any concept or action the same way: when you are pinging networks with status updates, promotions and events, you need at least one additional perspective to ensure that everything is worded properly and has broad appeal to your audience. This is also a great way in which to create accountability, as a one-person team has no effective checks and balances in place.

Try These Simple Tips to Boost Social Media Engagement

If you have been using social media as a platform to promote your brand, business or cause, then you may have some success stories to share. Just as common, however, are the lackluster and otherwise ineffective efforts and results from people who initially expected much better. Social media is a constant series of experiments, requiring an active presence from the webmaster or administrator in order to sustain activity. Engagement does not automatically appear or grow – it has to be fostered over time. If the level of engagement on your social media pages are next to none or could be improved, then continue reading to find out how you can boost social media engagement with minimal effort.

 

Use an Educational Angle

Depending on the nature of your social media presence and niche, you may have a loyal fan base that has a lot of questions to be answered. If you are not stimulating conversation by pinging users with information, then they will resort to using search engines to find the answers they need – don’t expect them to initiate a dialog for you! When you use educational elements such as infographics and videos, or even simply ask a question to your audience, you provoke an augmented amount of curiosity and discussion among your followers. When you post a simple image or make a statement, you do not create the conditions for the same level of engagement as you can through providing legitimate and relevant information.

Things You Should Do Before Your Business Goes Online

Starting a new web-based business is an exciting prospect and one of the main ways individuals all over the world are achieving financial independence. Likewise, expanding an existing business to the web can be a great way to expand your audience and garner customers in markets you might not otherwise find. Sometimes, we get so excited about building our new online businesses that we can forget to cover all the bases before launch. If you want your web-based business to be successful, then there are a few steps you must take before deploying it – outlined below are these actions and why they are important.

How to Boost Blog Engagement and Readers

Anyone who operates a blog for income, attention or as a bit of fun knows that success depends on how many people see, read and share your content. The age-old art of discussion revolves around a healthy flow of ideas and consideration of others’ thoughts, but all too many people seem to have forgotten about that in the age of instant and impersonal communication. If you want to increase the likelihood that people will comment, share and engage the way you want them to, then you need to be more proactive in a few areas. In the following article, we’ll outline some ways to do this, and in the process, boost blog engagement.

How to Legally Protect Your Online Business

Starting a new business, especially an online business, can certainly be an exciting time. But many business owners, in their rush of enthusiasm to get their companies up and running, forget that there are many steps that need to be taken care of in order to protect their businesses from lawsuits and to ensure that their hard work is protected. Continue reading for a few tips that will help guide you in legally protecting your online business.

Enter Into a Contract with Website Developers

Entering into a contract with other professionals, such as website designers and developers, is always a good idea because it protects you while also protecting them. When it comes to running an online business, a professionally designed website is of utmost importance, so you definitely want to take the time to seek out a designer or developer who is reliable and who has a solid reputation. Before starting any work, however, have him or her sign a contract that states exactly what you have agreed upon, including what the final deliverable will be, what the schedule for the project will be, and what you will pay for the work that is completed. Your contract should also state that you, and only you, will have full ownership and rights over the site and its code.

Five Things to do After Writing a New Blog Post

After you have finished pouring your heart and soul into your latest blog post, you may think that you are finished with it and can leave it to propagate on its own. Unfortunately, the internet is much more complex these days and you cannot reasonably expect your latest blog addition to pop up on the screens of countless viewers without something hard work and a consistent routine. For those who have been publishing content for some time and have yet to reap true results in the form of steady viewership, we have compiled a list of five must-do things to be completed after every blog posting.

Optimize Your Post Title
Once you have written the post, it is a good idea to read it back and isolate the main topics and recurring words in the post. Using a tool such as Google Adwords keyword selection tool (free), you can then generate a list of the most popular search queries that revolve around those words. After you have this information, return to your post and consider optimizing the title to go hand-in-hand with those results – while maintaining your own creative element. By pinging to Google phrases that match popular terms, you are sure to get more exposure.

5 Strategies to Help You Sell More Products Online

The great thing about living and working in the digital age is the ability to connect directly with your customers online. And social media sites are one of the most effective ways to access potential customers. As long as you know how to make your status updates, tweets, and Instagram or Pinterest photos stand out from the rest, you can lure in potential new clients and generate more sales for your online business.

Be Consistent in Terms of How Often You Post Updates

If you plan on using social media to target new customers, the key is consistency. You need to have a schedule that you can follow easily for posting new updates. If you are only posting sporadically on the other hand, you will not be able to generate enough of a buzz to get people interested in what you are doing, and you will not be able to reach the audience that you need to target in order to get more people to buy your products or services.

Four Ways Social Media Can Help You Sell

With more competition than ever before in the world of internet marketing and business, it is obvious that the most successful entrepreneurs and brands have to use a variety of tools to succeed. In days past, it was easy enough to throw together a website quickly and earn a hefty amount of revenue through basic search engine optimisation, but those days have long passed. In the modern age of e-commerce, you must connect the dots across the World Wide Web to enjoy success on a truly remarkable level. If your online business could stand to improve its bottom line or you have just begun providing products and services, then continue reading to find out about four ways that social media can help you sell.

Fake It Until You Make It

Call for Applications for TEST for Ghana Scholarships for Undergraduate 2014/2015

Brief description
The Tertiary Education Scholarship Trust –TEST is offering undergraduate scholarships for Ghanaian students to study at KNUST – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana 2014/2015

Accepted Subject Areas?
Undergraduate courses offered at the University

About Scholarship
The Tertiary Education Scholarship Trust –TEST – provides four year Full or Partial Scholarships to Needy but Bright Students to undertake new and/ or continuing Tertiary Education studies at Ghanaian Public Universities and Polytechnics in their own country. The scholarship is currently open for current and new students to study at KNUST – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.

  

BET – Building Entrepreneurs Today COMPETITION

BET – Building Entrepreneurs Today – 4 marks another great opportunity for entrepreneurs all over Nigeria in the following industries (Agro allied, Renewable Energy & Information Technology) to present their businesses and innovation and have the opportunity of being selected as one of the top 50 businesses that will be provided with extensive training, mentoring and advisory by the Enterprise Development Centre with the top 5 businesses winning3 Million naira each. 






The first phase of the BET programme commenced in 2010 with Diamond Bank empowered 5 entrepreneur with growth capital of N3 million each after they emerged top 5 from rigorous business training at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan African University.

The programme focus on 3 Core areas
1. Agro allied- Businesses in the agriculture sector
2. Information Technology- Technology based businesses
3. Renewable Energy- Businesses focused on improving and providing renewable energy

Selection Criteria
Applicant must have a fully functional business (at least 3months in operations)

Applicant MUST not have attended any entrepreneurial Management program at EDC.

The business must have high growth potential.

How to Apply:
You can apply for this programme online at Diamond Bank BET 4 application form at www.diamondbet4.com/apply-now/

Capacity Building Phase:
EDC will be responsible for selecting the best 50 entrepreneurs that will partake in the 3 months Capacity Building
Program at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan African University. These 50 participants will enjoy the
following;

EDC networking meeting
Business advisory and counseling session

Business Development Phase:

From the 50 entrepreneurs, 15 will be selected as Top Breed Students and they will be further engaged in an Intensive
Business Development Support Service for another period of 6 months. This set of 15 students shall be provided with
the following services;

A quarterly consulting session to be provided by experts in various fields

Provide monthly monitoring contacts with mentors for participants

Provide a mentor for each participant who shall be a second year MBA student at the Lagos Business School.

Organize a platform for participant’s review of their plans with the University.

Next Level Award:

From the 15 Top students entrepreneurs, EDC will select 5 outstanding entrepreneurs that will be given the “Next Level Award”. Diamond Bank will reward the 5 outstanding entrepreneurs with a sum of N3 million Naira each as their growth capital for their businesses.

An Award / Prize Presentation ceremony will be organized by the Bank to showcase the 5 outstanding entrepreneurs to the general public

MTN New BBM Data Plans: Enjoy BBM for as Low as N25

MTN introduced three new BBM data plans some few days ago.  This newly introduced cost efficient BBM data plans let subscribers enjoy BBM for as low as N25.  :-)



If you are the type that love chatting on the Blackberry Messenger, but don’t have enough cash to subscribe for the complete BIS package, these data plans are ok for you.

Airtel was the first to introduce data plans that only work for BBM, but MTN’s package is more cheaper. MTN BBM data plans cost N350, N100 and N25 for 100MB, 25MB and 5MB respectively.

Turning Text Into Gold With Photoshop

Written by Steve Patterson. In this Text Effects tutorial, we’ll learn how to easily turn type into gold with Photoshop using a few simple layer styles and our own custom gradient. Once the main effect is complete, we’ll add sparkles with the help of one of Photoshop’s brushes to make our gold letters really shine.

I’ll be using Photoshop CS6 here, but this tutorial is also fully compatible with Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud). For earlier versions of Photoshop, you’ll want to check out our original Gold Plated Text Effect tutorial.

Download our tutorials as print-ready PDFs! Learning Photoshop has never been easier!

Here’s what the gold text effect will look like when we’re done:

The final result.

Let’s get started!

Call on MTN Zone for as High as 8 Kobo per Second

MTN Zone, a MTN Nigeria prepaid plan that gives up to 100% discounts. According to MTN Nigeria ‘ MTN Zone is a prepaid price plan that offers MTN Prepaid customers discounts for as low as from 1 kobo per second on their MTN-to-MTN calls depending on the area and time of the day’. It all works on a simple premise: when you’re on the MTN Zone Per Second price plan, you stand the chance to receive an instant discount on your next phone call.



To be frank, MTN Zone sucks. Some months ago, MTN charges 40k per seconds on calls I make on MTN-to-MTN. So I migrated to MTN Pulse where am being charged 15kobo per second after a charge of 58kobo per second for the first minute in the day.