Greg Trim, Author at Social Media Explorer https://socialmediaexplorer.com/author/gregt/ Exploring the World of Social Media from the Inside Out Fri, 06 Nov 2020 17:25:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 The Necessity Of Choosing The Best VPN Server Locations https://socialmediaexplorer.com/mobile-2/the-necessity-of-choosing-the-best-vpn-server-locations/ Fri, 02 Oct 2020 20:48:43 +0000 https://socialmediaexplorer.com/?p=37805 When it comes to the internet, some people are already considering it as a need....

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When it comes to the internet, some people are already considering it as a need. With so many people using it, there is no point in avoiding it anymore. You need it for a lot of reasons, but mainly for communication with the rest of the world. Social media has been a key feature in many industries all over the globe, and you need to have the connections to make it work. Fortunately for the modern world, it is rather easy to have those connections as we are moving to a new age.

However, one of the main concerns of many users is security as this article says: https://www.cpomagazine.com/blogs/privacy-intelligence/12-reasons-why-data-privacy-protection-brings-business-value/. There was a time when this was not taken as seriously as many people think so. Everyone can just log on and give everything about them to the public. No one thought of being taken advantage of in this scenario, which is where everything started to unravel. Viruses became more rampant, and the developers of these programs took advantage of the ignorance of the general public. 

This is why most internet users these days are more vigilant than those people twenty years ago. Most of us now know what the World Wide Web is capable of even if we already know how to use it. There are so many loopholes that anybody can exploit, and it can be alarming for anyone. Some people even take it to the next level, and they are doing a lot of things that can be attributed to paranoia. However, with the state of the world these days, everything must be a guarantee.

Looking For Other Options

With these issues related to security, many users are trying to see if they can improve their own. This is where some of the inventions come in as a way to improve with all of that. Anti-virus programs were all the rage at the beginning of this century. Tons of versions became available, both free, freemium, and paid ones as well. It became apparent that they are already needed and should be added for all of the devices that we have.

Unfortunately, these anti-virus programs may not be enough anymore. Some of them do work perfectly, establishing a security system that can help you protect your identity and field. However, some companies took advantage and made a necessity out of nothing. It is said by some experts that these anti-virus programmers created the viruses themselves so that they can sell their applications. This is still speculation in some circles, but there must be some truth behind all of them.

With these issues surrounding such products, people have decided that they need something more than that. Most of us also need something that can still protect our identities and personal files on the web. The development of a VPN may not be due to the perceived downfall of anti-virus programs. However, it seems that there are so many people who are now more interested in VPN than ever before.

What is VPN?

VPN stands for the virtual private network, and it already seems self-explanatory. It is a service that deals with the security of your devices that are connected to the internet. A VPN service can hide your location and identity by creating a separate pathway for you to use the World Wide Web (read more). Think of it as a separate cable wire that still does the same thing except it is more protected than the public option. 

When you use a VPN, you can now access a lot of information online that might not be available to you. There might be some restrictions in the place that you are living in, so having this service is great so that you can still access them. There are a lot of ways that you can use a VPN, from education, business, and event entertainment. Most users these days use it to view shows that are not available in their home area.

Now, one of the main services that virtual private networks provide is changing your location. You see, your internet service provider can track your general location. This means that the information that comes your way when you search for it is only relevant to where you are right now. VPN can change that, creating more opportunities for you to explore other domains that may be blocked wherever you are. This way, you can still view and use what you want without that much restriction.

For most virtual private network providers, giving the locations wherein they can serve you is important. Typically, they will give you a lists of locations that are possible. However, some of them might not be the best due to network connectivity, stricter laws, and other issues. Below are some of the best ones available, you just need to make sure that your VPN can provide them.

  • Switzerland

Some people might be confused as you might think that Switzerland is a part of the EU, as the union is known to be strict. They are not a part of the European Union, and they do have a lot of privacy laws that do not comply with such. Thus, they are a prime location for people to connect VPN with because of these more lax approaches. You can easily view their websites and see the content, but you should know how to speak the local languages.

  • Spain

On the other hand, Spain is a part of the European Union. However, they do have their laws when it comes to privacy and data protection. It is already well-known that they are one of the few countries that have a dedicated law just for this aspect of the internet. Another great thing about the country is they also protect the local businesses with this act which is great for those who are just starting with their businesses online. Read more here: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/online-privacy-law/2012/spain.php

  • Iceland

This is another safe place for people to connect to, sometimes even better than Switzerland in some aspects. They do not join in many international alliances when it comes to privacy and protection, so they have their laws surrounding it. This way, you can also access other websites because they are not necessarily banned in the country. You can explore some of their laws on the country’s website, but it would be better if you know Icelandic first.

  • Romania

Romania is an EU country, but they also make their own rules when it comes to this aspect of the internet. It is said that copyright infringement is rather rampant in the country, but their police force and other authorities do not care much about it. This is why you can easily access some of the content that they have even if the EU laws are shadowing them from time to time. 

  • Malaysia

One of the few countries in Asia that has these protection laws, Malaysia is protecting even those who access their data. This is because of their Personal Data Protection Act published in 2010, and it has been made even better throughout the years. You can enter their domains without the fear and worry of being tracked because of the rules that they have given for the internet. 

When It Comes To The Choice

When you use a virtual private network, there is one thing that you need to keep in mind first: distance. It will affect the connectivity of your website if you are too far from where you are connecting. For example, you want to access a Swiss website but you are in Australia. The physical distance is already a factor, and you need to add the time needed to render everything on that website.

The locations we’ve listed might be the best for your security, but you still have other options to explore. You just need to be careful as many government units are already aware of what VPN can do. Look for the best ones that can provide you with the utmost security, not just with location options. 

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Instarabbit Review: Does it really boost your Instagram engagement? https://socialmediaexplorer.com/content-sections/news-and-noise/feature/instarabbit-review-does-it-really-boost-your-instagram-engagement/ Sun, 16 Feb 2020 14:30:16 +0000 https://socialmediaexplorer.com/?p=36508 Today I am going to talk about Instarabbit, the Instagram growth service that recently made...

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Today I am going to talk about Instarabbit, the Instagram growth service that recently made a grand entrance to the market. Instarabbit claims to be the only service which still works after so many Instagram automated growth services became obsolete due Instagram’s major algorithm updates in 2019. 

The main feature Instarabbit focuses on is boosting Instagram engagement by providing automated Instagram pods. It helps communities of Instagram users to join engagement groups and when in they have joined, they will automatically like each other’s posts.

I have been using InstaRabbit for three months now, and I will share my experience with it. In this review I’ll go over the features, the pricing structures, its strengths and weaknesses, so that you could form your own opinion about this growth service. 

So let’s dive in. 

  • InstaRabbit: First glance

InstaRabbit claims to give customers a dedicated assistant for managing and growing their accounts: 

“Grow your Instagram organically with a dedicated account manager by your side and get more and more followers and engagement.”

When you look a little more into how it actually works, it’s very clear that Instarabbit performs four services:

  1. Follower growth
  2. Increasing your reach
  3. Increasing engagement (focus on Instagram likes) in a short time period after sharing a post (Golden hour)
  4. Schedules posts tool (free)

In the next topic we’ll delve into Instarabbit’s features. 

  • InstaRabbit  features
  • Instagram pods: Instagram pods are engagement groups which businesses and influencers join and within them they engage with each other’s posts. The power of pods is to gather a community in your niche to get effective likes and comments.

Instarabbit provides an automated version of pods. You will be put in engagement pods with other real users who will like your posts in a short time after sharing them. These golden hour likes will increase engagement on your post, in turn signaling the Instagram algorithm that it is an interesting post and eventually it would lead to your post going viral and hitting the explore page. I will explain my experience of going viral in the next sections.

  • Follower growth: 

You will be assigned a personal account manager that helps you grow your Instagram. The account manager follows or unfollows users in your niche, likes your targeted audience’s posts, views stories and practically interacts with other users on your behalf. This helps you get more reach and followers in return.

  • Free schedule post:

In this service you also have the option of scheduling your post for some time in the future. This feature is actually available for free for all customers. 

  • Repost feature:

Instarabbit provides another feature for posting on your IG which can be very useful for finding inspiration and also finding the best feeds in your niche. You enter the username or hashtag you want to repost from and a list of feeds came up to choose. You can repost these posts or edit them and then post to your feed.

The cool thing is that both schedule and repost features are totally free.

Instarabbit schedule post
  • Pricing

The cool thing about InstaRabbit is that you may only pay for the parts of their service that you want to use.

It has four subscription models; weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. And there are three packages for all subscription models: follower growth, engagement growth, or the VIP growth. 

I have subscribed for the monthly service and I bought the VIP package. The key feature of the VIP package is having access to the expertise of a social media specialist. You will have an account manager if you choose the follower growth package too. But in the VIP plan the manager will analyze your target audience behavior, your competitors’ followers and your accounts insights, and will provide you with useful strategies to improve your content and adjust your schedule, so you get the most engagement from your followers. 

As usual, longer plans have lower prices per month and will be more economic. 

Instarabbit pricing

Start working with InstaRabbit

  • Easy sign up

To get started on InstaRabbit all you need to do is to click “login” or “try for free” at the top right corner of the website. Then you need to enter an Email and choose a password for your account. Your email address needs to be verified and after that you will be all set.

  • Add your IG account

It is really easy. All you have to do is click on the big “” button to add your Instagram account. Then you need to write a brief description of your account. Things like what’s your account about? What do you offer to your audience? In which niche do you categorize yourself? 

The items you need to fill in are:

  • The category of your profile
  • Your sub category
  • Relevant hashtags to your business or brand,
  • Similar users in your niche who have a similar audience
  • Your target location

I didn’t put that much thought into adding a description or the hashtags. I just wrote whatever came to mind at the first try. Later me and my account manager would add things, and if they turned out not to be effective, we would remove them. 

After all it is an ongoing and dynamic effort and your account manager will help you optimize the process during your subscription period.

The video that is attached in the email, will be inserted here.

  • The result I achieved from InstaRabbit after 3 months

I tried InstaRabbit on one of my accounts which is for a small business I own. I had this account for years, but since I hadn’t been very active in that account, its followers were limited to my friends and family. 

So I went with the VIP plan right off the bat. Because I wanted both the engagement and the follower growth and also the guidance of someone who knows what they are doing. 

When I started I had 294 followers, and as I mentioned I wasn’t that active in making posts and creating content. I was posting every other week or every month, whenever I felt like it, and I would get around 80-90 likes on each post. 

After setting up the InstaRabbit account, I posted on a daily basis and everyday around the same time, because my account manager had tested and figured out the best times for optimal engagement. And I was getting about 300 likes for the post after one to two hours from posting.

But after a few times I had drawn so much attention to my account that after a month I gained more than 500 followers, which was the number I had been promised by InstaRabbit. 

After three months of using this service, and listening to my account manager’s advices on my content strategy and making some changes and improvements, I now have over 2300 followers and more orders than I can handle and now I’m actually thinking of hiring an account manager!  

Here I present some statistics of what was my experience before and after using this service. The graphs come from my dashboard in the Instarabbit panel: 


Before InstaRabbitAfter 3 months of InstaRabbit 
Frequency of postsEvery other weekdaily
Timing of postsWhenever I felt like itSame time everyday
Followers count2942363
Likes count80-90More than 300

Follower growth count

Follower growth statics, Instarabbit

Engagement growth report

Engagement growth statics, Instarabbit
  • InstaRabbit’s support service is what sets it apart

In the course of these three months, I barely had any difficulties regarding InstaRabbit’s service. However, the one time I had question about how to target my audience more effectively, my account manager, Cludette guided me very patiently and thoroughly.

Generally, I was happy with the customer service, although it might only be the case for the VIP package users. I’m not sure on that.

  • Is InstaRabbit safe?

After hearing and reading so many reports about Instagram growth services not being safe and getting your account blocked or banned, I was curious to see if my account was going to get action banned or not. 

In my three months using this service, I experienced being action blocked one time but I believe temporary bans are normal because of the Instagram algorithm. I didn’t face a long period of being action blocked and it never took more than couple of hours.

And in terms of using a third party tool to act on your behalf, InstaRabbit uses proxies to manage your account, so it wouldn’t seem like bot behavior, as they clearly state in their website that they “are not a bot, to be clear”!

Comparing my before and after numbers, and because of my account manager using proxies for more safety, I can confidently tell you that the service is safe. Their platform is compliant with Instagram Terms of Service but remember anyway that they are a third party so you have to take some risks when using these growth services.

  • InstaRabbit: pros and cons
ProsCons
Having the expertise of a social media specialist by your sideGiving out your account credentials to a third party
Various subscription optionsNot offering a free trial (you can only try the powerlike pods for free for just one post)
Steady organic growth
Likes on the golden hour and having the chance of getting viral
Topnotch customer service
Favorable costs compared to doing the work yourself or hiring a VA
  • Our Rating for InstaRabbit (from 1 to five)                                                            

InstaRabbit is among a new wave of services that are compatible with the Instagram’s Terms of Service. They offer a steady organic growth with real accounts, not an overnight inflation, and also using InstaRabbit you get to delegate the time consuming process of growing followers to a human account manager. 

Support – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Growth – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Experience – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ease of Use -⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall – 

Considering these points, plus my own experience during these three months which gave me a very satisfying result, I can confidently give 4.5 stars to Instarabbit.

It goes without saying that the 4.5 star ranking applies to all the aspects of this program, from the most robust features to their awesome customer service. 

  • You can start with a free trial or a weekly plan

For those who are still not sure if they should choose this program or not, InstaRabbit offers a free trial with 30 free likes from real active accounts for your new post, so you could get a sense of how it works. 

Furthermore, signing up for the weekly plan is also a good place to start. I think a week is a fair amount of time to test if you are comfortable working with their team or not. You could monitor your growth over the course of one week, and then make your final decision.  

Conclusion

Well, this was my experience with InstaRabbit. I had my doubts at first, but after seeing the difference that it made in my account (followers growth from 293 to 2363 and like counts from 80-90 to more than 400 per post) I believe it worth it to spend money on. 

I didn’t put much time and effort on my account before, mostly because I didn’t know where to start, or how to create engaging content and bring value to my followers. Now that I’m using InstaRabbit I spend more time on creating content upon my account manager’s advice, because I have seen that it’s going to pay off and it worth to renew subscription.

All in all, given my experience, I recommend this service to anyone who is serious about growing their account on Instagram as a new effective growth service that works effectively to get more exposure and even going viral. But at the end of the day the choice is yours. I hope you found this review helpful.

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The top three marketing strategies for online firms https://socialmediaexplorer.com/advertising/the-top-three-marketing-strategies-for-online-firms/ Tue, 19 Nov 2019 15:29:11 +0000 https://socialmediaexplorer.com/?p=35826 Those who are new to the world of online marketing often misunderstand the nature of...

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Those who are new to the world of online marketing often misunderstand the nature of promoting an Internet business. There’s a widespread misconception that setting up an advert on Facebook or stuffing your website full of keywords can lead to the customers rolling in and the bank balance becoming inflated. But that’s usually not the case. 

In reality, the sheer number of advertisers actually present on the Internet these days means that you have to be strategic and go above and beyond if you want to get your message out there and be successful in reaching new customers. This article will share three top tips for those Internet-based businesses looking to promote their messages far and wide on the web. 

Rely on search engines

Search engine optimization – or SEO – was for a long time the strategy of choice for social media marketers. But Google is mysterious about how it ranks (or prioritizes) websites in its search results – and the result is that relying too heavily on SEO can lead to big problems if the ranking rules change and you suddenly lose your position – and your customers. In general, though, it’s still possible to develop a site with good SEO. Ensuring that you top up your site regularly with unique, readable and quality content – both text and multimedia – is one way to do it. Hiring organizations including Wolverine Solutions Group is possible if you want to outsource it, or you could do it yourself – although that may require a time and research investment.

Another option is to pay Google for advertising – or, basically, to appear at the top of search results on some occasions, depending on the wider advertising market and competition for whatever keyword you choose. You’ll have to ensure, of course, that the value of the time you spend researching the best advert and the cash you put behind it does not exceed the revenue you make back – but if you can do that, you could be on to a winner.

Promote on social media 

The rise of Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter has been crazy – and for those who want to promote their online business, tapping into the millions of potential customers who are on these sites is something of a no-brainer. The downside, perhaps, of incorporating social media into your promotional strategy is that there is sometimes a general perception that online business opportunities which are promoted through Facebook or similar are of low quality. 

That’s why you need to ensure that your social media marketing strategy is high-quality and targeted. In order to avoid being flagged as spam (either mentally by users, or literally by algorithms) you need to work hard on creating testimonials and other verification signals which will cause users to build trust. But if you can do that, it really makes sense to build social into your promotional strategy, and it could end up being a goldmine for you. 

Go offline

Finally, one “thinking outside of the box” option for a marketer of an online business to consider is the possibility of heading offline in order to bring people back online. The reason this is an option lies in the fact that the Internet is now so pervasive that it’s starting to become fashionable to head offline. 

As a marketer of an online business, this supposed challenge – the moving of potential users away from devices and mediums where they might find your business – can actually be turned into an opportunity. If your client base is now more likely to go out for a walk in the local neighborhood than switch on their laptop, for example, why not stick up posters on trees or even invest in billboard advertising? If you’re targeting a particular geographic area, why not print out leaflets directing people to your online product or service? It may seem counterintuitive at first and it’s not necessarily the only strategy you can follow, but it’s certainly one that could supplement other, more technologically-minded options.

For the online marketer, the “game” has got harder in recent years. Gone are the days when rising up the ranks of Google search results was possible with just a tiny amount of work. Now, it’s difficult to get traction in most areas of the Internet – and given the amount of noise generated by other marketers, it can sometimes feel a little like screaming into the void. But the good news is this: there are still some ways in which it can be done. From opting for a strategic Google plan to actually heading offline and thinking up some creative tricks and tips to get people back online and straight to your site, there are many ways to do it.

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