<![CDATA[Erma Zurita - Tips and Tricks]]>Sun, 01 Mar 2026 10:56:42 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[USE WHAT YOU LOVE]]>Tue, 29 Aug 2017 22:55:59 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/use-what-you-love
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When starting something new and you want to document the journey on social media, the first advice I give is to 
USE WHAT YOU ALREADY LOVE!

Whether it's an epic trip, life change, a new endeavor, a new hobby, personal journey, business, etc. documenting it on social media preserves the record, gives you feedback you may or may not want, and can help to keep you motivated.

If you love Facebook, make a Facebook page for the journey. Every other social media you use can be shared/linked to that page. A page protects your personal profile from unwanted inquiries and can reach more people beyond your personal friends list. It also gives demographics, reach counts, busy times and a whole host of other info you may never need but will surprise you.

If you love Instagram, use Instagram. If you love Twitter, use Twitter. If you spend hours on YouTube and videos is the way you want to go, use YouTube.

USE WHAT YOU ALREADY USE AND LOVE.

If you want to expand to a blog or website or other social medias, consult one of your many friends for advice (and/or hire). Invite them to a home cooked meal, show them how much you love them, and remember to give them credit for the help... or hire me (no dinner needed; appreciated but not needed.)
]]><![CDATA[Professional Social Media Accounts]]>Fri, 12 May 2017 01:46:06 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/professional-social-media-accounts
Erma's Tips & Tricks - Professional Social Media Accounts
On more than one occasion, after having told a client to SHARE the premiere of their radio show on their personal Facebook page... the client balked; literally leaning back in their chair with an unconscious swinging of their head right and left; it was baffling. Why would you NOT want to share this new chapter in your life. Your family and friends are usually the most supportive. ​
So, instead, I directed them that they HAD TO make a Facebook page or separate account (Twitter/Instagram), just to market their show. I always recommend professional accounts for every type of business. Even if the business is just you. Being on social media today is an imperative... you have to go where the people are. With everyone online, including the old formats of communication (radio, television, newspapers), the people are on the web and the web is rife with social media choices. 
I'm a huge proponent of using what you already have. If you love twitter, make a new Twitter account. If photos and Instagram is your thing, make another Instagram account. If you can't stay off Facebook, make a professional Facebook page. Separate, but manageable. You Twitter phone app and Instagram allow for easy switching between multiple accounts and Facebook pages can be managed from your personal account.
I cannot recommend a professional page enough!! Convert your Instagram to a business account.  Make a PAGE rather than a profile on Facebook. Business pages are free and they give you insights. They give you demographics. They give you numbers. They can help you reach more people. Make a Google Plus page, because everyone uses Google to search. If you have a brick and mortar, claim your listing on Yelp and monitor what is being said. Set up Google alerts (or Yahoo alerts) for keywords in your industry or even, just for your name. 
Get professional. I can help.
Erma on Twitter - Erma on Facebook - Erma on Instagram - Erma on Google+
Erma's Social Media Pinterest board
]]><![CDATA[Erma's Top 7 Tips for Social Media]]>Thu, 04 May 2017 05:43:18 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/ermas-top-tips-for-social-media
Erma's Top 7 Tips for Social Media

1. Pick one or two social media platforms to use.

It's not necessary to have them all. Add more when you're more comfortable. Use what you already use; whether it's email newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Pinterest, Instagram or the multitude of others.

2. Engage anyone who engages you.

If people like your page or posts, thank them. If someone comments, either reply or thank them.

3. Try to ALWAYS include images. 

People will stop to read something 80% more if there is an image attached.

4. Keep your personal life posts separate from your brand posts....  

...unless, that's the kind of brand you have. Or, unless the personal life event is relative to the topic of your brands persona. 

5. Beat, beat, beating your followers over the head with sales pitches will get you tuned out faster than posting photos of your dinner every night. 

Honest. (I personally like food pictures, especially if it's homemade.)

6. Make your posts easy for your audience. 

If you say "Check out this link." There needs to be a link attached. If you say, "Find me on Facebook by searching my name." most will not put forth the effort.... just add the link.  

7. Grammar! 

​Check your spelling; correct your spelling, even afterwards, and by all things holy, DON'T USE ALL CAPS!
]]><![CDATA[Poke Poke Poke]]>Fri, 18 Jul 2014 21:41:35 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/poke-poke-poke
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Photo by Tom Newby
https://www.flickr.com/photos/noodle93/4166052978/
Quick question as a show host ran by my door today: What is a 'poke' on FB?

It's just small way of saying 'Hi' or 'I was thinking of you' - It could be someone's way of saying, "Hey baby, how're you doin'... wanna get together?"

What you do with it is up to you. send them a message, poke back, ignore it. Here is Facebook's information about 'pokes' http://ow.ly/zkCF2
Erma on Twitter
Erma on Facebook
Erma on Google+
Erma's Social Media Pinterest board
]]><![CDATA[Sensible Social Media Checklist]]>Tue, 24 Jun 2014 04:29:02 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/sensible-social-media-checklistOne of my favorite infographics:
so much so that I have printed copies for handing out to brand new radio shows at my office. If you are a new (or even old) anything; business, charity, project, radio show and are new (or old) to social media, this is a good checklist to get you started (or restarted.)

from www.thewholebraingroup.com
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Erma on Twitter
Erma on Facebook
Erma on Google+
Erma's Social Media Pinterest board
]]><![CDATA[Photo Collages]]>Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:23:51 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/photo-collages
I started looking for collage makers when I decided to post some of my art from start to finish. 

The first one was a download from iTunes called PicStitch. I still use it on occasion but it has longer boxes for a lot of the designs which tend to slice your photos up quite indelicately. 
So... since I spend so much time on the regular computer/laptop anyway, I decided to find something online and after some reviews from c|net and/or ZDNet - I always get reviews of computer related hardware and software before any purchases. - I found a spot called Collage.com - Love it!
Step One: Click on 'Start Your Collage'
Step Two: Click on: New Project
Step Three: Choose your pictures to put into the collage. 

If they're on your computer, use one of the 3 ways to upload them (in red).

Social Media choices are in blue.

Photos you uploaded before, come from the orange box. 
Step Four: Click on the 'Add' button
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Step Five: Click and drag pictures around as needed. The small red triangles and warning are for the default 20x30 poster and say that 'Some images may appear blurry on final product. Please add more photos to your collage." - I haven't had an issue so far. (See here. I did add more pictures but I still received the warning.)

Choose 'Photo Layout' - 'Photo Effects' - 'Background' and 'Text' if you want it. 
See below fro more detail.

Click the big 'Continue' button when finished.
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Click on any photo to get a larger view.
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Shapes
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Enhance
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Borders
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Backgrounds
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Text
Step Six: Save to your computer or share it or purchase your product. There's even a 'Send Free Postcard' feature.

I love this site. I hope you do as well.

Do you use another collage making site? There are dozens. What are your favorite features?
www.Collage.com
oh... and Collage.com worked on my iPhone, too! Yay!
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Hey.... quick note: I don't like re-posting other people's article's here but there are a lot of great websites that give great Social media tips. When I find them, I usually Tweet, Facebook, Pinterest or Google+ them. Follow any of the the following Social Media sites of mine and you'll get those great tips that I find and share.

Erma on Twitter
Erma on Facebook
Erma on Google+
Erma's Social Media Pinterest board
]]><![CDATA[Adding Share Buttons To Your Weebly Site]]>Sat, 15 Feb 2014 02:41:13 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/adding-share-buttons-to-your-weebly-sitePicture
I was teaching a website class and one of the things I covered was to MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS ON YOUR WEBSITE OR BLOG! 

What I forgot to cover was that you should also have sharing buttons on your site so people can share what you have written or posted. 

Looking at a recent photo post I saw that at the bottom of a blog post there were only share buttons for Facebook and Twitter. While I adore both social media sites, I wanted to also allow Pinterest and Google+ posting. (I wanted a Tumblr share link as well but at the site to get the share buttons, Tumblr was a website you could post share links on.)

A quick search on Google gave me a Weebly post by Jared Ward and within minutes I had the little floaty sidebar you see on the left. Yay!

If you have a Weebly site, comment on his post and tell him I sent you. If you don't, click on my link for Weebly in the sidebar and get one. 

http://wardtech.weebly.com/1/post/2012/12/how-to-add-social-sharing-buttons-on-your-weebly-website.html#sthash.yvmtTsyf.dpbs

Hey.... quick note: I don't like re-posting other people's article's here but there are a lot of great websites that give great Social media tips. When I find them, I usually Tweet, Facebook, Pinterest or Google+ them. Follow any of the the following Social Media sites of mine and you'll get those great tips that I find and share.

Erma on Twitter
Erma on Facebook
Erma on Google+
Erma's Social Media Pinterest board
]]><![CDATA[Website Class 02/15/14]]>Sat, 15 Feb 2014 00:38:45 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/website-class-021514
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Website Class 02/14/14

]]><![CDATA[Top Tip 2: Gathering Intel]]>Sun, 01 Dec 2013 08:01:52 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/top-tip-2-gathering-intelTop Tip 2: Gathering Intel
3/4 Page Working
No matter what I'm doing on the Internet, I always work with only 3/4 of my web page open and 1/4 of the page with a notepad open.  Notepad specifically for it's ability to strip the formatting (font size, color, linking, etc.) of anything I might copy and paste onto it.  (I have yet to find the MAC's equivalent. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.)
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Click on the picture for a closer view
I utilize a copy area for information gathering.  Whether I'm putting together an article, looking for web addresses, researching a client, harvesting art, quotes, or information for an upcoming guest... I take any information I need and paste it onto the notepad.  By research's end, I put things where they belong, share them if needed and then close the notepad or I save it as needed.
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Click on the picture for a closer view
When I am working for clients or for the show, there are times I need to access the intel that I've gathered from any device or location.  I use Evernote to save the information.  Just select everything on the notepad and then copy it into a new note... in a notebook.... so organized.  Love it!!

Any questions? Please ask. Thanks!

~Erma Z.
PS - Notepad is located in your accessories folder from the start menu.
Hey.... quick note: I don't like re-posting other people's article's here but there are a lot of great websites that give great Social media tips. When I find them, I usually Tweet, Facebook, Pinterest or Google+ them. Follow any of the the following Social Media sites of mine and you'll get those great tips that I find and share.

Erma on Twitter
Erma on Facebook
Erma on Google+
Erma's Pinterest - I have several boards dedicated to social media. They all start with "Technohow"
]]><![CDATA[Welcome To Social Media Marketing!]]>Wed, 28 Aug 2013 15:38:45 GMThttps://www.ermazurita.us/tips-and-tricks/welcome-to-social-media-marketingby Erma (originally posted Sunday, June 9, 2013)

I had several client meetings at work these last couple of weeks. These were social media meetings for the new Cancer Nation Radio, Josie's Talk Show, Vegas Ambassadors of Hospitality, and On Pit Road Racing.

Some take to the suggestions well and run with it... others, it takes a while for them to catch on. I keep tabs on all the clients I help to see how they're doing. If it doesn't seem to be working, we look for other things in the social media realm that they can use.

Use the media that works best for you. If you're a Facebook fanatic, use Facebook primarily and slowly branch out. If you like twitter better, use twitter and learn to share your posts onto Facebook. If you're a blogger or love the blogging platform for reporting about news and upcoming events (or specials), go that route. I love the blogging platform, because from there, you can share it everywhere!

The two I recommend the most are Facebook or an e-mail newsletter.

Facebook, because almost everyone has one. It's easy to make the move from maintaining a personal profile to creating and maintaining a page, as well.

An E-mail newsletter because many companies already have a database of email addresses they can market to. E-mail newsletters can just be adjusted to include information for a new radio show, podcast, or upcoming specials.

My main philosophy is "KISS" - Keep It Simple Sweetheart.

Use what you have, RIGHT NOW!

Worry about adding more on once you're comfortable with moving forward.
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Cancer Nation Radio - A show for anyone who's life has been touched by cancer. Shows purpose is so we can help one another. Fridays 9am PST on http://KLAV1230AM.COM
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Josie's Talk Show - Josie's Variety Show: An hour of fun with music, interviews, jokes, commentaries call-in contests, and giveaways. (FYI: Josie is Jo Koy's mom.) Sundays 5pm PST on http://KLAV1230AM.COM
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Vegas Ambassadors of Hospitality - Talking about entertainers, special events happening each week in Las Vegas, sports coverage of games, and live band interviews. Fridays 1pm PST on http://KLAV1230AM.COM
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On Pit Road Racing - Get all your racing updates weekly On Pit Road Racing - On Pit Road Racing is all about racing. From the National touring series to the local events. On Pit Road Racing will keep you up to date on all of this week’s events including news, driver and team member’s interviews along with some great prizes and live events. Saturdays 9am PST on http://KLAV1230AM.COM

Welcome To Social Media Marketing!

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