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Hi 

Here is your latest issue of Social Business Bites. 3 items this week:

• Skype's Group Video Calling Now Free on Key Platforms
• Social Media not a Direct Sales Machine - Think Social Engagement
• Twitter's New Profile Layout and How to Make the Best Use of It

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Skype Provides Free Group Video Calling on Windows, Mac and XBox One

Short link: http://tnw.co/R292fS

Good news this week for Skype users, especially in small business, with the announcement that Group Video Calling (GVC) will now be free for the Windows desktop, OS X and XBox One (and all other platforms in future). 

The company says that on the desktop Skype can support up to 10 PCs and Macs for GVC, and on the Xbox One up to 4 devices are supported.

Long term users of Skype (and other group video calling applications such as Google Hangouts) will know that this is a "proof of the pudding" promise. But for small group webinars, meetings or training sessions and - for example - business meetups between offices in different locations - this is good news.

Significantly, Skype have confirmed that screen sharing is included in the free service.

Brands Are Putting a Lot More Emphasis on Social Engagement

Short link: http://bit.ly/1fRSi0K

"Many brands are moving away from metrics that purport to measure social media as a direct sales driver."

Whether spoken or unspoken, a key question business owners seek to have answered about social media is "What's the return on investment (ROI)?" For a while, some social media evangelists said in effect that it was the wrong question, which when you think about it was more than somewhat presumptuous. 

Before long, tools and processes were developed or tweaked to provide ways of measuring effectiveness with dollar amounts against actual sales or contracts, to set against investment amounts.

Now it seems there is more emphasis being placed on the achievement of less tangible immediate/medium term outcomes, under the general heading of "social engagement".

Twitter's New Design: The Marketer's How To Guide

Short link: http://linkd.in/1n542lt

I realise I featured Twitter's new design in last week's Social Business Bites, but I felt I owed it to you to highlight also this article which for practicality and helpfulness tops anything else I have read so far. 

It's also worth reading the comment stream for some extra tips shared in the conversation between the author and commenters.

Just a couple of key items out of several valuable clues:

• make the most of the potential for using images and note the recommended dimensions
• design your main image so that any text is clearly readable on a smartphone, where the basic layout changes (for more on that check the comment stream for the article)

I've changed my layout to the new one, but have work to do to optimise it. If you have changed and would like to share, email me the link and I'll look at including it the next issue of Social Business Bites.

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Till next time

Be well, be social :)

Des

PS: If you are not on the list yet to receive Social Business Bites in your email inbox, and would like to try it, you can register for that at this link (there is an easy unsubscribe link in every update).

PPS: LinkedIn continues to be frustrating for many people and I love being able to show people how to navigate it intelligently. I guarantee you and your team (if you have one) will get value from one of my intensive, interactive LinkedIn workshops - live or virtual (for small groups we can use Skype Group Video Calling!). Call or email me - details below if you would like a no obligation chat about the possibilities. 

My contact details

Phone: International +61 413 089 355    Australia 0413 089 355

Skype: userid is deswalsh (if you want to connect with me there, just type in "Social Business Bites" - or email me and we can set it up).

Email: deswalsh@webartsco.com

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