25 New Social Articles on Business 2 Community |
- 7 Must Have Social Media Business Tools for Influence, Authority and Time Management
- Key Aspects of On-Page Website Optimization for SEO
- Can Julian Fellowes Repeat the Success of “Downton Abbey” on NBC?
- The Art of Social Intelligence
- Cellular Jerks: Where Are Your Mobile Manners? (Infographic)
- 3 Ways to Create a Personal Connection With Your Customers via Social Media
- 6 Quick Instagram Tips for Brands
- The Importance of Setting Social Media Goals
- Ask An SEO Expert – Rich Snippets & CTR
- The Black Friday Breakdown
- Global vs Local SEO: The Challenges of Getting Results Locally, Nationally, and Globally
- Behind Every Good Survivor is a Team of Qualified Medical Staff [Infographic]
- How I Built a Website and Ranked #1 on Google in 90 Days
- Why Are Community Managers Terrible Community Members?
- Are Hashtags Actually a Useful Social Media Engagement Tool?
- 4 Ways to Increase Employee Adoption with Intranet Designs
- Understanding Post Reach on Facebook
- Why SEO Should be a Fundamental Element of Your Lead Generation Strategy
- Industy Analyst Extraordinaire Jeremiah Owyang Discusses Social and the Changing Consumer
- Does Anyone Even Know What a Healthy Link Profile is?
- 8 Reasons to Love HubSpot’s Social Media Tool
- Social Media is More Than Just Setting up a Facebook Page
- LinkedIn Introduces Power Profiles 2012
- Understanding Facebook Privacy When Commenting On Friends’ Stuff
- Three Reasons Why LinkedIn Just Got a Lot More Interesting
| 7 Must Have Social Media Business Tools for Influence, Authority and Time Management Posted: 29 Nov 2012 02:55 PM PST You're in social business. Among the many things on your busy agenda, you need to research relevant influencers in social media. From them, you can learn, connect, utilize their communities, and engage in conversation. You are also expected to advocate your brand, through storytelling and the publication of your professional/niche knowledge. To make your efforts in influencer research and content creation worthwhile, you then have to distribute your ideas and content. Unless you want to spend all day, every day consumed in social networks – here are seven tools to help you efficiently engage in the processes of social business. 1. TopsyIn every network that can be used for social business, identifying relevant influencers and their topics of discussion is essential to assert your own industry authority and be "in the know." Topsy is an app that helps you locate influencers by keyword, company name, person or category.
You can see the degree to which people are influential within a keyword and have access to what they have written on Twitter, Google+ and other portals online. You can also view what others have published about these influencers and what is being said about them in independent, online conversations. All of this information is coded in a user-friendly, efficient and sophisticated way – making it highly effective for the speedy researcher. 2. exploreB2BFinding a network where you standout as an expert is difficult in today's world of social 2.0. exploreB2B is a publishing platform for professionals in which you can assert thought leadership by writing articles about your industry knowledge and connecting to relevant influencers.
Besides establishing authority by writing about industry findings, producing case studies, and how-to articles that reflect the message of your company – you produce the effect of branding your knowledge. If enough people find your content useful and offer their endorsement, you can even earn an, 'expert' badge. Articles themselves receive traffic on the platform and serve as good material for other social media networks (Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora). 3. ScoopItBeing a leader in your industry doesn't just mean creating and distributing your own content. It also means finding a way to curate content in a way that shows the breadth of your interest and knowledge.
Are you a valuable resource for industry information if you only promote your own ideas? Maybe. But if you also make available the insight of others who have influenced you (alongside your own), your content suddenly promises more credibility. ScoopIt allows you to curate articles from all online sources and categorize them based on topic or theme. (Think Pinterest for written content.) As content creation becomes more widespread, the ability to curate excellent material also matters for proving your expertise and enhancing your industry reputation. 4. TweetDeckOnce you have chosen to invest in consistent Twitter engagement, you need to find a way to monitor your interaction. Responding to people who have engaged with you in conversation, re-tweeting influencers who post useful information for your followers, and answering direct is made easier by TweetDeck.
While Tweet Deck could be misconstrued as "Twitter in a different layout" – it's clean usability saves precious time throughout your workday. There's no need to spend four hours/day on Twitter, when TweetDeck can help you manage important messages and updates within a medium that makes all forms of interaction more efficient. 5. TweepiTweepi is the Twitter tool that helps turn accounts from a cute attempt of being influential to toting a powerful amount of followers who are both relevant and willing to promote what you have to say.
Tweepi works by entering the Twitter handle of any influencer that is relevant to your profession. A list of their followers appears (ie people who have already chosen to follow tweets about your same or similar industry topics). You can choose whom to follow by ticking the box next to their name. While this system is not fail-proof and there are no guarantees the person will follow you back, there is no doubt the number of followers you acquire and activity your account sees, will sky rocket by exposing yourself and engaging with a high-volume of relevant Twitter users. It's up to you to decide whether or not you consider the followers gained from Tweepi as "organic." If that's important to you, mull it over. Just ask yourself if at the end of the day you can really tell who would or wouldn't have followed you if you were engaging in relevant Twitter conversations. To many, Tweepi is just a faster way to get where you want to be. 6. BufferBuffer is a healthy social business automation tool that can take time spent ensuring that you have enough content spreading throughout Twitter, to a minimal time investment. Fill in the buffer queue with links, quotes, pictures, comments and set the times are which you want your content to go out to Twitter, Facebook or both. (You can use SocialBro, another useful Twitter tool to find when are your optimal times to share by regional demographic and time zone.)
Should you find something you wish to share throughout the day, it is simple to add to the queue. Buffer provides automatic shortened links, which critical for those 140 character tweets. Besides freeing yourself from time-consuming manual habits, Buffer gives you a clear sense of what your "social language" sounds like. When you look at the entirety of your buffer queue for the day, you can tell if you sound like someone to whom you would want to listen. 7. Social OomphSocialOomph is the broadsword for Twitter and social automation. Timed status updates are available on almost any social platform, queues of status updates, automatic follow back, scheduled blog posts, and statistics on clicks and downloads. It seems like, if social automation is possible, the app has the feature. Probably the most useful feature of SocialOomph is automated direct messages for new followers on Twitter. While this tactic isn't for everyone, sending out a direct message to new followers is a good way to introduce yourself and what you are doing. As soon as your account has reached a certain amount of influence, you will not be able to send everyone a direct message. (SocialOomph comes to the rescue.) As a word of warning: it is easy to get "lost in automation" using this tool. The sheer amount of features can be more time consuming than tweeting on your own. Also, keep in mind that a lot of these features can be used for spamming innocent people – it is up to the user to refrain from doing so. Get Started!Social media tools are evolving at a blinding pace. Choose them, and choose them wisely, but be sure you do in fact commit to these networks and their automation/organizational tools, to maximize your social business influence, interaction and speed at which you distribute content and connect. Think in terms of both time – and money – management. |
| Key Aspects of On-Page Website Optimization for SEO Posted: 29 Nov 2012 02:45 PM PST
On-Page Title TagsSometimes a business will overlook the small things and miss out on a big opportunity to rank higher on search engines. Fortunately, there's a simple fix by adding your important keywords to your title at the top of your website. Titles normally explain the current page the user is on and integrating one of your major keywords will help with keyword rank. It is also one of the most important things for website optimization. Some things to include in the title can be:
Meta DescriptionsAnother very important, though often overlooked, area to focus your keywords in is the meta description of all your pages. You know those little snippets of information underneath a link on search engines that explain the website? That's the meta description. Use it to entice your target audiences. The idea is to immediately sell the reader so that they click-through to your website. Website HeadingsWhen it comes to building your pages, headings are normally seen as H1, H2, and H3 tags. Did you know that headings are given higher rank on search engines than your actual website content your keywords put in? Other important aspects of headings include:
CSS Optimization and Domain InformationEven websites can have bloat that make them harder to crawl for bots and rank on search engines, but there are ways to make sure your website optimization fixes that. Here are some ways to do so:
Domain information is also very important for a website. Make sure your information is all up to date, constantly updated, and try to fill out everything for Alexa Rank, mozRank, and other website information. Don't forget to include information for the search engines Don't forget about images! When you save images and place them into your HTML, remember to add keywords to the picture's name. Don't forget about the ALT text (that blip of info when a mouse hovers over an image), image title in HTML, and of course the file name of the image. LinksFinally, there are your URL's structure. Yes, even keywords need to be included in your anchor text when linking out from other websites, a very streamlined link structure among your website that can be easily found by crawlers and utilize keywords, and there is the potential of permalinks. Content Management Systems allow you to make the headings of your posts and content permalinks, allowing for crawlers to put higher priority on your pages. |
| Can Julian Fellowes Repeat the Success of “Downton Abbey” on NBC? Posted: 29 Nov 2012 02:35 PM PST Social Media Lessons for "The Gilded Age"Julian Fellowes, creator of the popular period drama "Downton Abbey," which airs on PBS as part of the Masterpiece series in the United States, will develop a new show for NBC. "The Gilded Age" promises to reimagine the popular British show in an American context by following the lives of extraordinarily wealthy New Yorkers in the late 19th century.
Crimson Hexagon proposes that Julian Fellowes can learn what made his show such a success by analyzing fans' (and detractors') opinions on social media. We used the ForSight™ social listening platform to investigate which aspects of the show – plot, characters, setting, writing, and historical portrayal – audiences talk about on social media. Analyzing 567,000 posts about "Downton Abbey" on Twitter since the show debuted in the United States almost two years ago, we find that tweets expressing enthusiasm for the show and anticipation of the next season represent the largest segment of conversation (28%). Of the specific facets of the shows, the characters represent the largest segment of conversation (23%). Another substantial share of the conversation regards the lush setting (13%), including the castle, the costumes, and the aesthetic design elements of the show.
In addition, we see that a sizable share of the conversation (12%) includes various creative interpretations of the show, including sharing fan fiction, spoofs, and mashups via Twitter. Even the spoofs, lightly making fun of the characters and the plot of the show, seemed to come from fans, rather than from detractors of the show. In fact, criticisms of the show rated very low overall, at a mere 3% of the conversation. Why do fans watch and love Downton Abbey? Of course fans respond to a mix of variables, but it seems that the characters are a huge driver of fan devotion. The Dowager Countess, played by Maggie Smith, is a fan favorite. The Dowager Countess's witty and memorable quotes, captured in the writing category (5)%, are a major appeal of her character. Mr. Bates, Lady Sybil, and, of course, Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley, are all frequently mentioned as well. The moral compass and courage displayed by Mr. Bates is a major driver of connection to his character, and to other characters as well, including Sybil. Many fans express that they are very excited for Shirley MacLaine to join the cast as the maternal grandmother of Lady Mary and her sisters. If we focus the analysis on January and February 2012, when the second season aired in the United States, we see weekly spikes in the conversation.
Even though many people time-shift television viewing, they are attracted to Downton as a weekly event. During the first airing of season two, the share of the conversation about characters represents the largest segment of conversation, at 38%. The Sunday that the season finale aired shows the largest spike in volume, with 20,513 posts on Twitter captured by our analysis. Of the conversation during and immediately after the finale aired, 76% of the conversation discussed the characters. Fans watching new episodes each week talk about standout individuals even more than the general time-shifting audience. At Downton Abbey, the castle is less important than its inhabitants in the show's success.
Our analysis indicates that in order for Fellowes to recreate "Downton Abbey" with "The Gilded Age," he must develop compelling, witty characters with strong moral convictions. And Fellowes must work to secure formidable actors of the caliber of Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine for the cast. Which actors do you think would play great characters in "The Gilded Age"? Which seasoned actor might be the "Knickerbocker" equivalent to Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess? Tweet us your thoughts @CrimsonHexagon or comment below. If you want to learn more about how you can use Crimson Hexagon's ForSight to analyze the nuance of the online conversation and discover actionable insights for your creative project or organization, sign up to receive a live online demo. |
| The Art of Social Intelligence Posted: 29 Nov 2012 02:30 PM PST Thatcher MCS has recently begun recruiting for Social Intelligence Consulting and as it is a relatively new area, we have noticed there is not a lot of information out there on the subject. We know it is very important for businesses to get involved with Social Intelligence and the market is going to amplify – we are so excited about Social Intelligence. Social MediaSocial media is an exceptionally powerful tool for companies, with most companies now having a social media presence, they now need to measure the data and use the results to implement relevant and effective business strategies. The speed in which technology is growing and improving can be daunting and increases pressure within the business, but look at it from the other perspective – it creates many opportunities. Social media can provide businesses with new insights into the way consumers, markets and competitors behave, you just need to use the data from Social media to your advantage. What is social intelligence?So, what exactly is Social Intelligence? Social Intelligence offers a vast amount of social consulting through the data analysis of social media, presenting businesses with strategies for moving forward and gaining commercial advantage within their market. Social Intelligence is a relatively straight-forward concept but one that is not currently being used by many companies. The three main steps to Social Intelligence are:
The need for social intelligenceWhy should we be sitting up and taking note of Social Intelligence? Well, we all know that the way our businesses are perceived through social media is highly important but what many businesses still have not caught onto is that the way we are perceived by our social audience can be tracked, reported and then implemented into commercial and strategic decisions, helping our businesses to move forward and improve. Using this type of information is nothing new, for years businesses have been presented this information and data through market research, surveys and their own data, but now, with such a heavy reliance on social media, this is changing and Social Intelligence has the ability to provide the answers more accurately and more efficiently. The activity analysed through social media can help businesses to better understand what is happening in their marketplace – this is not as easy as it sounds. Due to the high volume of interaction through social media platforms and the vast amount of data, it is difficult – wading through all this data and reporting on the most significant parts needs to be done by an expert. How does Social Intelligence help your business?The use of social media in order to help business strategies is invaluable. In this day and age customers openly share information through several social media platforms, this is essentially free market research for a business's products or services, competitor analysis and customer feedback – it is a goldmine for businesses. Social Intelligence allows businesses to:
Social Intelligence can also provide companies with early insight into market trends which they can then use to develop a strategic approach. For example, Social Intelligence could be used to notify companies to an emerging trend among their competitors allowing them time to implement a pricing advantage. A business can use the results provided by Social Intelligence to enforce smarter marketing decisions and develop a better understanding of how to respond to their customers and prospects. In turn, these results can be used for their business forecasting, helping the business to predict future requirements which will save them money and also to assess current or prospective future requirements. By analysing the conversations through social media and finding out exactly what customers and clients are saying about the company and/or its brand, it can help to form a better understanding of likely future service they could provide. Companies may be worried about this but they can use Social Intelligence to analyse negative comments from customers – things they didn't deliver, and turn this negativity into an opportunity to plan new services and offers to increase sales. Hypothetical Example
To sum up the advantages that Social Intelligence can bring to a company let's look at a hypothetical example. Take a big toothpaste brand – for the purpose of this exercise this is a fictitious example and brand name, purely to relay how great Social Intelligence is. Imagine the toothpaste is a household brand named Sparkle! The toothpaste market is a very competitive place and brands must work very hard on their marketing and advertising to stay on top of the game. Sparkle has been the nation's favourite toothpaste brand for generations but has seen a drop in sales over the last few years. They are at a loss of what to do but have a rough idea that they want to use their social media platforms to help drive sales. They bring in a Social Intelligence consultant to help them; the consultant monitors their brand, collecting data of the trends in the market place, what customers are saying about the Sparkle brand – positive and negative, and what people are saying about the competitors. Once all the data has been collected the consultant presents his/her findings to Sparkle and puts forward a strategic plan for boosting sales. Market trends: It was found that in the past year sales of toothpaste for sensitive teeth have tripled. Competitor Analysis: Sparkles main competitor brought out a sensitive range which customers loved, however felt it was overpriced in comparison to the original range. Sparkles brand reputation: The main comment which came back was that their toothpaste was fantastic and adored by many, but customers wanted to see a new sensitive range. Through these findings a strategic plan was put in place to develop a new sensitive range, with a lower retail cost than what their competitors were offering. This example is quite a simple concept but provides you with an idea of how successful Social Intelligence can be to implementing strategic business plans. Listening to the needs and feedback from customers and clients through Social Media has really taken off with many businesses. We predict that many more businesses will begin implementing Social Intelligence into their strategies and look forward to this concept flourishing and making a difference too many market places. |
| Cellular Jerks: Where Are Your Mobile Manners? (Infographic) Posted: 29 Nov 2012 01:25 PM PST At Jugnoo, we like to think we're pretty adept with the latest smartphones and mobile technology. From iPhones to Androids, tablets and more, there's a veritable mini-turf war going on at Jugnoo HQ as to which is the best platform. All that aside, however, there's another big question at stake – do we lose our manners when a smartphone comes out? According to this infographic below, that would be a resounding YES! It's scary to think how many of these we're guilty of – how about you?
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| 3 Ways to Create a Personal Connection With Your Customers via Social Media Posted: 29 Nov 2012 01:10 PM PST The most efficient and cost effective way to connect directly with your customers and grow your business is with social media marketing. With just a click of a button, you can share your products and services to millions of existing and prospective customers in an instant. Personal connections have never been more important in business as they are today and that is in large part to the dynamics that make up social media. Here are 3 ways to create a personal connection with your customers:1. Use words like "you" "we" and "us" to engage customers and make them feel like they are a part of something special. For example, try softening your content like this, "We are proud to share this exclusive new offer with you: Receive 20% off the next time you shop online." instead of a non-personal "Visit the XYZ Store online this week for 20% off." And, post these personal messages on your Facebook and Twitter pages for your fans to enjoy.
3. Write a weekly blog and build trust with your prospective customers as a thought leader in your industry. Writing a blog takes time and patience but the results are astounding if you research the topics your audience is interested in and keep the content simple for people to understand. Share your personal story as it relates to how you got involved in the business, industry trends, how to articles, company news and address any common questions or issues that your customers often ask about. Create your own blog on WordPress or Blogger and every time you post be sure to share it with your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn followers. Would you like help executing and managing your social media? Our team can help you build your social media marketing presence from conception to implementation and management. Contact SHIFTdigitalmedia.com for more information. |
| 6 Quick Instagram Tips for Brands Posted: 29 Nov 2012 01:05 PM PST
It's not breaking news but something I thought about as I was going to bed last night. I was about to fall asleep when I realized I hadn't checked my Instagram feed. I reached from my bed, grabbed my phone and scrolled through the square, filtered photos of people, buildings, foliage, workouts, posters and, of course, food. I commented, Liked and even searched through a few hashtags to find fellow Instagrammers who share my passions. For the better part of the last decade, I haven't checked a social media platform not named Facebook or Twitter daily until now. Instagram has quickly become one of the top three social networks, and since photos are more personal than a 140-character statement, it has the potential to connect brands with fans on a deeper level than Twitter. Instagram is a channel that brands soon won't be able to ignore, and innovative brands are already making waves on the platform. Here are a few tips for steering your brand's journey on Instagram: 1. Employ user-generated content
If you can motivate your fans to submit photos of their own, like pictures of them using your product or just living your brand story, add them to your Instagram stream. Sharpie does this well, often featuring works of art created with its pens and markers. 2. Offer a glimpse into your humanity
While Instagram can be a place to feature your products in action, consider using it exclusively as a place where your brand's fans can get a glimpse behind the scenes. Feature photos of faces and places they never get to see. Show them that your brand is more than just the product or service you sell. The Boston Bruins have done a great job of this, especially while the league is in a lockout. The team often shares photos of their fans, the players, and the organization's philanthropic endeavors. 3. Product in action
There's no hard data to back this up, but I'd bet that Instagram features more photos of food than any other subject. Outback Steakhouse and other restaurants have used Instagram as a place to find photos of all their dishes in their filtered glory. There's a thin line between sharing great content and being overly promotional, so be considerate when sharing photos of your product in action. 4. Consider using text, but not to brand or copyright
Overgram and other apps allow you to add text to your Instagram photos. Add a hashtag, give credit for user-generated content, or just add creative copy that will resonate. But use it for good, not evil, and not on every photo. It's not a place to stamp your brand mark or try to copyright your images. In fact, doing this will make it very unlikely that the photo will be shared with your audience's audiences. 5. Dedicate design resources
Instagram has challenges that other social channels do not. The app is purely mobile, so the photos have to be at least published, if not taken, from a phone. Make sure your Instagram community manager knows the brand's tone of voice well enough and has an eye for photography so he or she can capture the right kinds of photos. 6. Hashtags
The best way to find users with a common interest is through hashtags. This is a feature that quickly caught on because of its popularity on Twitter. Are you a sneaker brand? Check out #kicksoftheday. Instagram will even help you with similar suggestions and sort them by popularity. Create your own hashtag, like Tiffany's did with #TrueLovePictures, to activate fans on Instagram. Remember, there's a risk and reward here. Instagram isn't the best social network to help you drive traffic to your site or be a conduit for e-commerce as well as Twitter or even Facebook will. It's this inability to "sell," however, that allows Instagram users lower their guard and embrace the brands that use the platform well. |
| The Importance of Setting Social Media Goals Posted: 29 Nov 2012 01:05 PM PST Social media is always evolving and there is a lot of noise out there in the market. For an internet retailer, things can quickly get confusing and overwhelming as they are constantly bombarded with new information, best practices, and vendors pitching new social tools/platforms. This makes setting clear social media goals and objectives all the more important. Goals help you navigate through all the noise, help you stay focused and help you choose the right social media strategies, tools, and platforms. Some of your goals may include:
Not all strategies, tools, and platforms are created equal. Some are better suited to help with one goal but not another. Setting clear goals before hand will save you a lot of time and money when it comes time to choose the social tools tools you need because you will know exactly what tools you need to help you accomplish your goals. This will also help both you and the various vendors you are talking to determine if there is a right fit between your needs and what they are offering. Just like with personal goals, social media goals need to be measurable. Measure metrics around engagement, reach and influence in order to determine if your social initiatives are successful or not. In short, the questions every retailer needs to ask themselves before devoting a significant amount of time and resources into social are:
Once an online retailer has a good understanding of what they want to accomplish with social, they only thing left to do is to find the right tools and platforms that will pave the way to social success. Source: Social Annex & Social Commerce Blog |
| Ask An SEO Expert – Rich Snippets & CTR Posted: 29 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST Rich snippets are used to summarize the content they represent in order to make it easier for the user to understand what the piece is about. When you perform a search on Google, rich snippets are the small images and reviews that show up in your results. In this week's Ask An SEO Expert feature, Bradley Smith, SEO Consultant at Slingshot SEO, explains how to implement rich snippets and why utilizing them can help increase click-through-rates in the search engines. Do you have an SEO question that you would like to have answered? Simply submit your question on our website or via Twitter by using the hashtag #AskAnSEOExpert. Transcript:
So, back in June 2011, Google announced on Google Webmaster Central that they are now recognizing Schema.org rich snippet, and they also said that along with Bing and Yahoo!, they are collectively recognizing rich snippets. Now, they will recognize other rich snippets besides Schema.org, but Schema.org was their agreed upon standard. So there are a couple of rich snippets, especially that play a role in the search engine result pages right now. There are authorship markups, there are reviews, there are audio clips, video clips that all play a role right now, in the search engine results pages. So when you see a rich snippet right now, as it shows on the search engine results page, it may look something like this. So you would have your regular page title, and underneath this you would have multiple other listings, but this would just be one listing. You would have the page title. You would have an object that is part of the rich snippet, and you would also have additional information, usually found from content on the page, or a meta descriptions. So, this right here could represent any number of the rich snippets that are online, and recognized by scema.org. As I mentioned, it could be a review, this could represent an author, this could represent a video clip. If its a recipe, there are some other things that might show up. You might see a set of stars right here that show 4 out of 5 stars, out of how many ratings, but basically the big benefit to rich snippets as we see it now, is that it can entice a user to click on this search engine listing. And a lot of times these listings, just because they have rich snippets don't necessarily show up at the top. They'll show up further down in the listings on the page, but that can entice a user to click further down in the listing. So that's how it helps now. How it's going to help in the future is it's working towards the whole idea of a web of objects. Instead of a 2D landscape of the web, it's more of a 3D landscape. And that's partially what Google is trying to accomplish with their recent roll out of the Knowledge Graph. Basically what that does, is it helps move a user further down the funnel to the final destination of the product that they're looking for and it helps do that faster. So these can not only play a role right now in search engine results pages, but these could also play a role in the Knowledge Graph, and product listings, etc. in the future. And right now, even if you put a rich snippet on your page and it doesn't show up in the search result page, it may show up later as a different kind of object, or star, or review. So look forward to that in the future. Just keep an eye to to see how they're going to use rich snippets in the future in their search engine result pages. |
| Posted: 29 Nov 2012 12:54 PM PST Online sales hit an all-time high this year when it comes to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping spree. But is this any surprise? A couple months ago the big story in the tech world was Facebook topping 1Billion active users. Now the big story in the tech world is the strength in the outcome seen from Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers. Yet, these two categories continue to stay separated in most companies E-Commerce strategies. This year, for the first time in the history of Black Friday, online sales topped $1Billion. It seems like more and more shoppers are adjusting to the trends and choosing to avoid the congested parking structures and crowded department stores that once made Black Friday so exciting. News Flash: Shopping online is not only more exciting but it is less stressful and about 1/4th the effort as the traditional technique. It is no surprise that because of this shift to online shopping the 2012 Black Friday event saw a 26% lift in online orders from the numbers captured in 2011. It was recorded that this year's Black Friday saw sales that jumped from last year's $816 Million to $1.04 Billion. But wait there's more good news! We haven't even heard the release of the real numbers from Cyber Monday. So far, it has been reported that Ebay and Amazon's numbers are only continuing to rise after a very strong start as we head into the Cyber Monday evening. With the growth in sales and traffic Black Friday and Cyber Monday have seen it is even more important that E-Commerce sites are up to par with the trends of the modern age. Here is where we connect the numbers! $1 Billion in sales (in one day) + 1 Billion Facebook users + 500 Million Twitter users = a great opportunity to take full advantage of Social Commerce and your audience. There is no better time than now when it comes to rethinking your social strategy in terms of On-Site Social. With the growing amount of people who are engaging in online shopping as well as these various social networks there is no better time than now to let them become those brand ambassadors. Let them share, enter contest, refer their friends, and login through the social network of their choice! If you do, you will not only see a rise in conversion rates and a lift in traffic but you will make the next year in sales the biggest you have ever seen. Sources: Social Annex & Social Commerce Blog |
| Global vs Local SEO: The Challenges of Getting Results Locally, Nationally, and Globally Posted: 29 Nov 2012 12:54 PM PST Part of planning your SEO campaign is recognizing the scope of the project. While the scope entails a number of different things, one thing it should include is a recognition of the reach of the company the campaign is for – local, national, or global, and where in that reach the SEO campaign will target its efforts. There are different challenges associated with each kind of campaign, and of there are benefits to each as well. So, let's take a look at what you should expect when endeavoring to increase your online presence within a given space. Local SEOPlanning a Local SEO campaign offers some benefits and, of course, challenges. On the plus side you're dealing with a smaller pool of competition (typically speaking of course). While there may be some national players in your market, you generally don't have as much competition to deal with and can achieve results at a faster pace. The challenges of local SEO, however, can be those national chains with a local presence. Local business, naturally, have a smaller pool of customers to draw from, and if a national chain with brand recognition is trying to grab from that same pool of customers, it can be a daunting task to overcome them. So what is a local business supposed to do? Focus on local, and possibly even super-local. For example, you may be a business in New York City, which qualifies as a local area. However, it's a large city with a lot of business competing for the same market share, so by focusing on the small area your business is located in, say the Upper West Side, you can eliminate some of your competition and make sure to focus on those customers most likely to visit your business or use your services anyways. Also, make sure that you have accurate, verified local listings in all of the search engines. Google, Yahoo, and Bing use these as indicators of where your business is and it can influence how you show up in searches done by local residents. By letting the search engine know that you're located in the Upper West End, you increase your chances of being found by somebody searching for your services in the Upper West End. National SEOThe most obvious challenge with a national campaign is that you're competing against other national companies, as well as local companies. While there is a larger pool of potential customers when you're dealing nationally, you have a larger pool of competitors trying to eat up market share as well. So, what are your options? First of all, be patient. Everybody knows that SEO doesn't happen overnight, but national campaigns can take time to find their footing and to find the right combination of techniques to give you an edge over the competition. While nobody likes to admit it, trial and error is a part of SEO, but so long as your SEO company is keeping you abreast of their efforts, there's nothing wrong with that. Also, think local, even if you are national. Major retailers use this approach by running both national campaigns that target a wide audience in general, but also smaller campaigns aimed as a certain area of the country. You don't see Macy's running many sweater adds in Florida no matter what time of year it is. You can create targeted campaigns for specific areas of the country where specific products or services that you offer are better received. Global SEOCreating a global SEO campaign is particularly challenging because different countries must be approached differently, not just from a marketing standpoint, but from a technology one as well. For example, while we take for granted being able to get a .com URL here in the United States, getting a .ca domain (one for Canada) requires being able to prove that your business is either located or does business in the country. This can be an extended process that can slow your campaign. One approach to the global campaign is the same as the national campaign – think local. Obviously the difference here is that the "local" is a country instead of a state or city. Many companies build separate websites for each country that targets the specific needs and desires of that country. This obviously takes more time, and money, but it allows you to create a tailored experience for each country that increases the chances that the customers there can find you, and, more importantly, will interact with your business. Find the Right SEO CompanyFinding the right SEO company that can manage the needs of your SEO campaign is critical to ensuring your online success. Be sure to lay out the needs of your company with any potential SEO's that you work with so that they are aware of potential challenges and so that you can be sure that they're up to the task. Ask them what approaches they would take for your particular needs, and beware of cookie-cutter answers – your business isn't like anybody elses and the needs you have, be they local, national, or global, will be unique to your business. |
| Behind Every Good Survivor is a Team of Qualified Medical Staff [Infographic] Posted: 29 Nov 2012 11:22 AM PST The hit TV show Survivor is a reality game show that is produced in many countries around the world. The show consists of contestants who are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show eliminates contestants by allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe members. Survivor is just what the name states, contestants must survive on their own, so, how do they cope with their health while on the show? Over the last 25 seasons there have been 37,500 medical consultations from the on-set medical team. The show’s on-site medical team consists of 3 paramedics, 3 nurses, and 3 doctors who are on call and on site 24/7 while the show is filmed. Dr. Adrian Cohen leads the medical team and is the physician who has been at the scene of every edition of Survivor since the show debuted in 2000. Dr. Cohen and his Survivor team have no power except what is supplied by generators, and only the supplies they carry into the field. No over the counter pain medications or minor dressings are allowed for “comfort”. Contestants are only allowed to receive medical care to keep them healthy. The medical team is on set with the contestants whenever they are gathered together in one place and when they are not with the contestants, they can be summoned by any crew member. Most complaints are of coughs, colds, aches, and sprains. Travel illnesses like gastroenteritis are also common. More than 99% of issues are handled on the location where they are able to treat everything from major trauma, head or spinal injuries, heart attack and allergic shock. In case of an evacuation, prior arrangements are made with hospitals, both local and distant. The transport could last between 1-6 hours. Throughout the show there have been multiple cases where contestants have had to leave the show for medical attention. Michael Skupin fell into a fire after being overcome by smoke in Australia during Season 2. Paschal English had cardiac problems during season 4 and was evacuated back to Los Angeles at the end of filming. While there are health issues that contestants deal with on the show, the hit reality series keeps people wanting more. Check out the infographic below presented by NursingDegree.org to learn more about the medical staff of the beloved reality show Survivor.
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| How I Built a Website and Ranked #1 on Google in 90 Days Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:55 AM PST A few months back, I set out with an important goal. I had just been let go from a good marketing role, and I knew it would be an uphill battle to find another one in this economy, especially with limited experience. Since video games and unemployment weren't my thing, I decided to take my domain name off the back-burner and do something about my dilemma. I wanted my name out there and I wanted to prove that this 22 year old knows a thing or two about inbound marketing. I tried solving problems that I had never considered before. At first, I made a few rookie mistakes like not realizing the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. I obsessed over things like the site loading time, usability and social networks integration and I found solutions-all within my total budget of less than $100. Though I enjoyed that search and destroy problem-solving, it wasn't all fun and games. I saw firsthand how one misplaced comma can crash a website, and in a flurry I learned how to use an FTP to fix it. There was a quick learning curve for the dedicated and thankfully my efforts were well spent. I wanted to own my site, I wanted it to be fast, and wanted Google to like it (or plus one if you will). I'm happy to say that over the past three months, my strategy has prevailed. To get my name out there, I decided to focus on two keywords- my brand name MrRyanConnors and my name Ryan Connors. I knew the clever folks at Google use hundreds of factors to determine relevancy for searches and simply using the URL www.mrryanconnors.com was not enough. I was up against established sites like my own LinkedIn and Twitter, and even a longtime photographer named Ryan Connors and an adult entertainer. While I wasn't exactly trying to rank for "World's Greatest Marketer," no SEO trickery or meta tag was going to make or break my efforts. My strategy has been simple and it is has three pillars: 1) Content – without provided good information, there is simply no reason for anyone to visit or link to your website. 2) Promotion – if people don't see your content, the will never know they want to visit or link to your site. 3) Consistency – it doesn't happen overnight. People will only become regu Whenever I create a new post, I make sure to ping Google to let it know to crawl my site, and I submit a new sitemaps for good measure. Additionally, I added the author rich snippets a while back to ensure my photogenic smile would also show up in the search results. Though I'm not personally a fan of Google Plus, I make an effort to +1 everything I create because I considered the crazy idea that Google might value its own social network for its own search engine. Not too farfetched right? I also tweet, like and add the content my LinkedIn profile and groups. Slowly but surely, I've built my daily website visitors up from zero. Another great tactic I've used is reposting the articles onto relevant and established websites like www.socialmediatoday.com and www.business2community.com. Granted they don't have to publish everyone, but if you provide great content, you should get some traction and get your name out there. It's a win-win relationship with the publishers because they get free content for their visitors and advertisers for a return of credibility and name recognition. While it's cause for concern, it's good to know the duplicate content shouldn't hurt your original source if everything is set up properly. At the early stages, the exposure to greater networks and well-placed back links are tremendously helpful. From what I've learned, it doesn't take gimmick and trickery to get to the top. You can buy back links and hope that Google doesn't blacklist you, or you can give the customers the quality information that they want. Focus on the customers and the keywords you're aiming for and work a strategy based on the successes of those before you- it's worked for me and it will be just as valid for those who start today. Forge relationships, track your results, and keep the momentum alive from the 10th page all the way to the front.
Three of the first four results out of over 4 million on Google for Ryan Connors are about me, and not surprisingly, all 10 results for MrRyanConnors are too. My mission has been accomplished but now I have greater goals that continue the momentum. While it may take you longer than a few months to get your desired results, you simply can't afford digital irrelevancy in the age of information. It's true that most keywords will be harder to rank for, but the simple concepts of SEO still apply. Start owning your keywords today. Original Post at MrRyanConnors.com |
| Why Are Community Managers Terrible Community Members? Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:50 AM PST Us community managers are, by our very nature, sociable beings. It's a fair assumption to make that anyone working in community management is 'social media savvy', likes engaging with others and, probably, enjoys writing. So why is it that so many communities for community managers fail to 'take off'?
So many Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups and so on dedicated to community management exist, and yet the majority seem to consist entirely of self-promotional links and spam, with little real engagement or value. Why? What makes community managers so reluctant to participate in these groups? Of course, firstly, it depends what you consider a 'successful' community. Is it based on the number of members? The percentage of lurkers? The number of discussions or threads? The number of views? This was a topic recently discussed in one of the few community management groups that is successful, e-mint. Many of the community's answers mirrored my own opinion; that community managers spend so much time and effort managing their own communities, that they have little energy left to contribute to another.
As I said in a recent guest post for Yomego: "Many community managers are themselves lurkers in the communities they manage – a sort of omnipresent entity, usually only dipping in when it is necessary to help, thank or advise members." Of course, it depends what type of community you are managing. The above does not apply to, say, Twitter, but might to a forum that you are moderating. But, generally, whatever form their communities take, community managers are busy all day engaging with others, finding and sharing interesting content, and creating content themselves. This means they are unlikely to have the time during the working day to participate in a CM-specific community, and when they get home, well, they might just want to 'switch off' from communities for a bit!
One of the e-mint members bemoaned the pervasive feeling that if you are not participating in communities or social media every waking hour, then you aren't a 'real' or 'good' community manager. Of course, this is not true; whilst most of us are passionate about what we do, everyone needs a break at times. Plus, there's always a feeling of 'more can always be done' when it comes to our own communities and content, so perhaps this is why we are lax at contributing to others – if we're going to spend more time online, we might as well do it to benefit our own communities. But, by not contributing and participating in other groups, we are missing a valuable opportunity to share our knowledge and experience, to help each other and those new to the profession. But don't despair, there are some good, and active, communities for CMs out there that can be a fountain of knowledge, as it were. Some ones worth taking a look at are:
Do you run or belong to any communities for community managers? Are you active in them? If we've missed a community that you think is useful, please let us know in the comments! |
| Are Hashtags Actually a Useful Social Media Engagement Tool? Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:45 AM PST
The hashtags have escaped Twitter, and now they are littered throughout social media engagement across every channel. They've taken on a life of their own and some reports today suggest they've taken a dark turn. The birth of little Hashtag Jameson this week has take things too far. The hashtag has grown beyond the social media engagement tool it was designed to be and now is the time to discuss it. Because, when you think about it, it has never really fulfilled the marketing role that many got excited about a few years ago. Creating a HashtagMost hashtags these days are invented on the spot. They've become a way to summarize a post. This is handy for one-liner gags or making a point, but not a for social media marketing. In theory, the functionality of hashtags makes them ideal for social media engagement. They should allow you to create and track a keyword and give users a simple way to talk about and promote your product. Pre-planned hashtags rarely work though. The problem with the hashtag is that they are totally public and available to anyone. You can create one but you can't control what people use it for. All you can do is encourage them to use it the way you wanted. McDonalds tried this earlier in the year with their #McDStories hashtag. Instead of nice brand appropriate anecdotes, they got urban myths about unpleasant ingredients and tales of unsanitary washrooms. They created the hashtag, but clicking on a hashtag just gives you search results, results totally out of McDonalds' control. Hijacks like that, and this week's Republican hijack of Barrack Obama's #My2k campaign, show that hashtag campaigns are a risk. A risk that frustrates most marketers; because the hashtag itself has had huge penetration. Look at the recent disaster on the East Coast. The official name for the storm was Sandy, but you'd forgiven if you thought it was called #Sandy. The word Sandy actually looks unfamiliar without a hashtag. The public understands them and connects with them. But so far, they have not become a measurably useful social media engagement tool. Making Hashtags WorkThink about how you use hashtags. In content marketing, there are certain hashtags that are used to get content into a particular conversation. Tags like #b2b and #socialmedia are ones we use a lot. They are really useful for finding content you want to read. The thing is, all the # adds is the ability to click on the term. If you tweet something #b2b and I just mention the phrase in a tweet, we both appear in the search results. You could argue that the # in that instance is just a waste of one of your precious 140 characters. For marketers, the question is, what can hashtags do for you? There must be some value available. They've spawned the name for a historic event and even named a tiny human. Hashtags account for a significant portion of social media engagement, but they don't seem to drive it. Based on recent experiences, campaigns based on hashtags could create PR disasters while they offer little value as a content marketing tactic. So what are they for? Hashtags have become a big part of the modern lexicon. It's hard to go through 24 hours without encountering one. But they don't drive traffic to your website. There is no concrete evidence that posts with hashtags affect conversation any more than engaging posts that are hashtag free. They've created a strange social media engagement paradox. A massively popular element of social conversation that has no natural use in social media marketing. Please let us know what you think in the comments. #ItsAConundrum Download Now ‘The Definitive Guide to B2B Social Media’ whitepaper and get ahead of your competitors and stay there with the help of social media marketing! |
| 4 Ways to Increase Employee Adoption with Intranet Designs Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:35 AM PST First impressions. They influence our perception about everything we interact with. For better or worse we pass judgment daily. When I think about creating something new or rebuilding for improvement, the first thing I do is try to imagine the visual aspect – what my ideal result would be. The Importance of Intranet DesignIntranet designs deserve careful consideration. A lot of time is dedicated to carefully choosing what features are required, who is going to be involved, how it will be managed, where the necessary resources are sourced from, getting executive sign off. What we often forget is how important the look and feel of the intranet can be. We all appreciate the aesthetics but often somewhere along the way we discount the value of intranet designs. A word of caution, we are all guilty of judging a book by its cover, but don't let an ugly cover ruin your intranet's chance at success! Good Intranet Designs Can Improve Employee AdoptionThe first stage to employee adoption on your social intranet is to make the software look worthy of your employees time to learn, use and explore. If I walk into a store and it looks disorganized and chaotic, the paint is peeling and the floors are scuffed, I generally walk back out or get in and out as fast as possible. Your intranet is no different, if it looks old and outdated, disheveled or in disarray, what are you telling your users about the kind of experience they should expect from it? I am not a graphics designer by any means, but I definitely know that visual appearance can have a direct affect on perception of value. Simple Themes for Intranet DesignsOne of the advantages of working within Intranet Connections plug-and-play environment is that you don't have to have any knowledge of how to customize CSS or require a 3rd party plug-in to create a great looking design. In just a couple of clicks of a mouse (within our Simple Theme Builder) you can completely transform your intranet. Why it is so easy is because we do a lot of the work for you. Upload your logo to Simple Theme Builder and we take it from there, offering you a color palette of options that are complimentary to your logo. Once you select the colors you like, we cascade them throughout the site for you. If you are a more advanced designer, our Advanced Theme Builder gives you granular control over detailed intranet designs, but still in a plug-and-play interface that is super easy to use.
Intranet Designs Influence Usability & Ease of UseInvesting in your intranet's overall esthetic is going to have an immediate impact in its effectiveness. The visual doesn't end at appeal; it also has a direct influence on your employee's perception of usability and ease of use. Visual intuitiveness gives users inviting and familiar visual cues throughout your site. These may be in the form of icon's which you use to highlight commonly accessed resources or to draw attention to particular content within a page on the intranet. Another means of increasing adoption while contributing to your overall look and feel would be incorporating different types of content, such as video and images.
Fresh Coat of PaintIf you are considering launching a new intranet or planning a relaunch, don't lose sight of what a fresh design can do for the value of your new intranet and its effectiveness. Proud of your intranet designs? We'd love to see it! Send us a screenshot to: connection@intranetconnections.com To find out how Simple Theme Builder can revolutionize your intranet design – request a demo and we'll show you how. |
| Understanding Post Reach on Facebook Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:10 AM PST If you are running a local business and want to maximise the reach and engagement of your communications on Facebook, it can be tempting to spend money on Facebook advertising with the promise of higher reach and visibility. However, this is not always the case and it is first important to understand the types of reach, how they differ and which is the most effective. Facebook identifies three ways of categorising post reach, these are: organic, paid and viral. Organic Organic reach is essentially the number of unique users that see the post in either their news feed or on your page; this includes fans and non-fans. Organic reach is very important to consider as there is a high chance that these impressions were made by users who already hold some interest in your brand. This is because, to see the message, they would either have to be visiting your page or a fan of it. Reaching people in an organic way is free, but the problem is that due to Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm the amount of people that can see the post on their news feed has reportedly been reduced. This means that not all of your fans will be presented with the opportunity to respond to or engage with your posts. Paid This accounts for all the unique users who saw the post as part of a paid campaign. These posts can appear either as 'sponsored' posts or Facebook ads. Paid posts are a great way to extend the reach of communications in a highly targeted manner, meaning that not only will more people see your posts, but more of the right people will see your posts. However, while paid for posts will definitely result in a larger reach, they can't guarantee conversion and herein lays the problem with this approach. After all, what's the point in reaching thousands of people if it doesn't affect your bottom line? It's also true that Facebook advertising can become expensive, so any small company thinking about implementing a paid campaign should be sure that they will receive a good return on investment, before purchasing advertising. Viral Viral reach is simply the number of unique users that see the post as a result of one of their friends engaging with the content, whether through sharing, liking or commenting on it. Therefore, in order to increase viral reach companies need to make sure they are creating and posting content that is likely to receive attention and generate buzz. While it is important to consider the reach of your posts when measuring how effective your social media communications are, it isn't the only metric to monitor. Reach is simply a sum of how many unique users have seen your post, not how many care that they have seen your post and not how many have remembered your brand. Ultimately, engagement is the key and higher reach doesn't necessarily mean higher engagement. Thus, for smaller businesses with smaller budgets, it's advisable to take an organic approach to digital PR via social networking, concentrating on quality content rather than how many impressions a post can create. |
| Why SEO Should be a Fundamental Element of Your Lead Generation Strategy Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST Many businesses realise the hard way after investing in a website that traffic, leads and sales do not magically appear on the internet. Businesses are competing with millions of websites to be seen, and this is where search engine optimisation comes in. It is no longer good enough to just have a website, you need to make sure it can be found through the major search engines and this is why SEO is so important. A website that is not optimised is as successful at attracting new clients to your business as the sign above your business. It is only visible to those that are standing directly in front of it or who already know your business is there. People in the next street, the next town, the next city will have no idea you even exist.
That's why SEO needs to be high on your list of imperatives. If you are not continually working on your online presence to boost and maintain your search engine rankings, your company will likely experience a poor return on investment for its online marketing efforts. Without a search engine optimisation strategy, your organisation could be losing countless potential prospects and new business to competitors who are focusing on SEO. While many business owners believe that SEO can be a "set it and forget it" exercise it is more evident than ever that it requires constant vigilance and adjustment. Major shifts in the area of search have been taking place over the last few years and businesses that don't adjust will see their listings sink to the bottom of the results pages. Search Engine Optimisation is still new to many businesses and because of that it can be hard for department heads or business owners to justify investing in SEO. Here are some facts that might help your decision: Top 10 Reasons Why SEO is Worth the InvestmentClose Rate – According to HubSpot's 2012 State of Inbound Marketing, SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, which are 8 times more likely to close into customers than outbound leads. People Search for a Reason – Search engines are one of the most popular ways that people find information and make purchasing decisions. According to info please, 81% of internet users say they use the internet to do research on a product before buying.
Real time, All the time – The internet is alive and speaking to your potential clients 24/7/365. So while your business is closed and there is no one manning the phone lines a perfectly optimised website can be providing useful and valid information about your products and services, helping them conduct their research and putting you in the prime position when they are ready to buy. Branding – SEO helps improve brand awareness. People are more likely to move forward with a company if they have an online presence that fills the searcher with trust. By showing up where users expect you to be and having a great online reputation you can earn that trust. Relevance – Search engine marketing enables brands to reach the audience that is most likely to be interested in their products or services. This can be contextually, where results are based on what the searcher is particularly looking for or location based, where your audience is at the moment of time. Both of which add to why SEO is so important for business. Reach – According to UKOM in September 2012, over 42 million individuals in the UK where online, that is 69.4% of the total population and on average people spent 25:44hrs online.
Creativity – Search engine optimisation offers businesses and marketing teams a limitless creative canvas to attract and captivate their target audience through multimedia: video, audio, imagery, text, all of which can be used to drive customer engagement. Long Term Benefits – A print advert, a direct mail campaign, a radio advert once delivered is gone and if your target audience miss the advert there is little chance of them finding t again. If you have a website that is optimised for targeted keywords that drive traffic on a daily basis you will have the opportunity to engage potential clients on a day by day basis for years to come. Competition – in most cases doing something because everybody else is doing it is not necessarily a strong argument. However if a business is serious about generating a healthy supply of leads then not being optimised while others in the niche have adopted a local seo strategy, will mean that those leads, prospects and sales will be going straight to those that have made the investment. Organic – In a recent report conducted by GroupM carried out with Nielsen, Evaluating the Search Marketing Landscape, it was found that only 6% of clicks were from paid search while a massive 94% were from searches in the organic listings. This in itself highlights why SEO, and having your business listed for key terms related to your business and niche in the organic listings, is so important for business.
Accountability – Unique to the internet is the ability to show the entire customer journey: the number of sales, newsletter sign ups, the number of times people click on your listing in the search engines, where they go, what they interact with and much, much more. All of this information can then be used to work out where to target your efforts to increase conversions. Although it can be difficult to justify spending money on something that doesn't yield immediate results and comes with few guarantees, it's important to realise that SEO is a lasting investment and can be a fundamental part of your lead generation strategy moving forward. Consumers are using the internet for everything, as the demand for information about products and services continues to increase and the numbers of ways people can access the information evolve, search engine optimisation is not going away. In fact the need is only going to get stronger. So instead of asking why SEO is a good investment, maybe you should be asking yourself why didn't we invest in SEO sooner? |
| Industy Analyst Extraordinaire Jeremiah Owyang Discusses Social and the Changing Consumer Posted: 29 Nov 2012 09:34 AM PST Jeremiah Owyang is an Industry Analyst on Customer Strategy and a Partner at Altimeter Group. He is the author of the top blog Web Strategist and is an expert on how companies can connect with their consumers using a variety of online tactics. I was lucky enough to be able to catch up with Jeremiah at a recent conference and he took the time to answer some very important questions facing B2B marketing professionals on a daily basis. One big topic of discussion during our interview was the changing customer. Jeremiah points out that today's consumer is more dynamic then ever before and the amount of information continues to explode. He gives the example of him and his wife sitting at home surrounded by the TV, laptops, cell phones, and tablets. So much stimulus! And how do brands keep up? You have to do brand monitoring, survey your customers and determine their social behavior. Another interesting topic we discussed was how to optimize your time in social when there is so much to do. For Jeremiah, he "pays himself first"–before he gets into his email in he morning he spends time going through blogs and reading up on relevant industry subjects. He is constantly gathering information and keeping draft blog posts ready to go. In fact, he says that he as written 2,600 blogs over the course of his career. Very impressive. Check out the video to hear more of Jeremiah's wisdom. |
| Does Anyone Even Know What a Healthy Link Profile is? Posted: 29 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PST  Link Building Goods Trying to describe what constitutes a healthy link profile can touch off some very lively discussions. Regardless, since we're all entitled to our opinions, I'm going to lay out what I feel are some very "safe" guidelines. You can push the limits as much as you feel comfortable with. In reality, there are so many variables, it's impossible to identify what might be considered the best possible profile. How about "any profile that doesn't attract undue attention is the best kind to have"? There are a couple of things that I think must be present in any link profile: relevance and diversity. Relevance
Ideally, there should always be clear relevance between the linking site (or at leastthe page), the content on the linking page, the anchor text and the page being linked to. If you decide to deviate from that, that's your call. Wait! No, it isn't! It's the search engine's call, at least in terms of the value that link will pass, or in some cases, the penalty it could cause.  Diversity Rocks Diversity
i) Links in forum signatures, for a number of reasons, are of little value. Little isn't none, however, and if you're active on a forum or two, there's no harm in letting folks there know what you do and where they can find out more about you; ii) Blog comment links are believed by some to be of lesser value than contextual links (I agree), but again, less doesn't equal none. I just suggest that if you intend to link to your site from your comment login, you should be sure that you're putting that link on a site that won't do you more harm than good; iii) And of course, any social media profiles are nofollow links anyway, but not all. iv) Reciprocal links have been said by many to be a no-no. In my opinion, the idea of two site owners that appreciate each others' content linking to each other is totally natural. But I can understand how the search engines would see that a ripe for abuse. I don't think that a few reciprocal links will hurt any site, provided they're only a small portion of the overall profile. Even so, I'd definitely suggest you apply all the other criteria here when deciding whether or not to allow them. The point is, you want to be diverse in the type of inbound links you have. if 75% of your links are from forum signatures, you probably have a problem (or may soon). I'm not saying that if you have four different types of inbound links, they should necessarily be equally distributed at 25% each. But the more you find one to be overpowering the others, the closer you may be to the edge.
Keep an eye on the balance between different link sources, and if you notice that one is getting more than a fair share, either step it back a bit, or work on some of the others.
While I haven't seen any formal testing done, there seems to be a lot of anecdotal evidence that suggests that the following may be safe: i) Naked links (no anchor text at all); ii) Anchor text that is identical to the target page's meta title; iii) Generic anchor text, like "more", "blog post", "article" or "read it". If you're building links, I'd suggest that you mix these up, as that probably gives the most natural impression to your profile. And of course, as always, the anchor text you use should always be found on the target page.
Another aspect of a healthy link profile is link velocity – how fast the profile grows. Google, for instance, has already stated that a sudden increase in the number of links in a given period of time can signal unnatural link acquisition. A lot of things can enter into that equation – your site's link history, your specific niche, the linking patterns of competitors in your niche. The bottom line is, a dramatic increase in the number of links to your site over a short period of time can definitely flag you for unwanted attention. If you're building links, staying under the radar should be always on the top of your list. Sometimes it's hard to know where the radar is, so I prefer to fly as low as possible when it comes to my link profile. |
| 8 Reasons to Love HubSpot’s Social Media Tool Posted: 29 Nov 2012 07:15 AM PST
There are solutions for that. If you research Social Media Marketing management platforms, you'll find there are quite a few out there. They each offer a variety of functionality to streamline and scale your social media efforts. For enterprise-level marketers in particular, the value of this can't be overstated. The challenge with these platforms is that they focus solely on social media, and you might also be utilizing e-mail marketing, a blog, advanced content downloads and a contacts database. Wouldn't it be great if all of these could be integrated under one software umbrella? With HubSpot's recently released Social Media Tool, they can. Here are 8 reasons I love HubSpot's social media tool:
Are you also loving the HubSpot Social Media tool? Tell us about your experience with it or other social media management platforms in a comment! photo credit: Rosaura Ochoa |
| Social Media is More Than Just Setting up a Facebook Page Posted: 29 Nov 2012 07:00 AM PST Social media – it's all the buzz, some people love it, some people hate it, some are addicted, some are scared to death of it. Some say that is has made people anti-social (especially when someone is tweeting during a dinner outing). It has also allowed for an extra level of communication and engagement with people that didn't exist before. Let's first look at social media from a business perspective, and as a communication tool.
The bottom line is that like it or not, social media has fundamentally changed how people communicate and is continuing to do so. As a business owner how do you respond?
Some things to consider when incorporating social media into your business:What is your business goal; what do you want to achieve? -Brand recognition All of these business directives and more can be achieved and enhanced through proper execution of social media platforms. Do you have a monitoring system in place? Are you monitoring for mentions of your brand or executives online? What is the 'sentiment' about your brand? Positive, neutral, negative? How do you then respond? Do you have a social media policy? Should your staff be allowed to Facebook, Tweet, and Pin and have LinkedIn discussions throughout the day? How much time should be spent on that? Who can, what can they say? What happens if they make a mistake? How do you balance the transparency expected in social media, trusting others to represent your brand online, knowing that whatever is posted will be out there forever (deleted or not). What else can social media be used for?
Selecting the Right Platforms To use social media in your business effectively takes an understanding and preparation of all the above points and more. After that you can figure out which social media channels to use and how. Typically there is one, maybe 2 obvious platforms that are going to provide your company the best benefit, and that's where you should focus your resources. You can touch on the others, but it's better to do one really well than do all of them not so well. It is a lot of information to take in, so at WSI Milton we decided to train our clients via a weekly training session that lasts approximately 6 months. It delves into each topic above in detail, plus many more, and explores each social platform so that there is a solid understanding of how to use them from a business perspective. We've also added a webinar / conference phone system so that people who can't make it in person can attend virtually. Social Networking is No Different Than Traditional Networking The most important component of social media is to simply engage people. Well, it's sometimes not that 'simple', and takes months to figure out and gain traction. Social networking is the same as real world networking, it doesn't provide overnight success. It's like what they preach at BNI, one of the top networking groups in the world: Visibility, Credibility, Profitability. You first need to be constantly visible, eventually you will build trust and credibility and at some point you will get leads, sales and profitability from it if you've done it right. The last key point is that Google (ok, and the rest of the search engines) are paying more attention to social signals. Google's goal has always been to rank the most relevant websites the highest. It measure relevancy by websites that have great content, and if that content is so great, people are talking about it and sharing it. Sharing is the name of the game in the social world. In summary, social media is becoming as necessary as having an email address. It takes time and effort to use it properly, but when you do it will help you achieve your business goals, enhance communication with your stakeholders and give you bonus points with your search engine rankings. If you want to learn more about internet marketing, download your free Guide to Capturing Better Sales Leads Online.
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| LinkedIn Introduces Power Profiles 2012 Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:35 AM PST A month more and we will bid adieu to 2012. This also means that the web as well all other forms of media from now on will be clogged with content about the best and the worst of 2012, who made news and who failed, etc. LinkedIn has thought of doing something smart or have pulled off a smart promotional strategy for its newly launched LinkedIn Profile. LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network with 187 million users worldwide and 17 million from India, for the first time has launched Power Profiles of 2012. Power Profiles are the celebrities of LinkedIn, since they are the most viewed profiles of 2012 on the platform. According to LinkedIn, these profiles have invested in building their professional identity on LinkedIn to become the most viewed profiles in their respective fields. LinkedIn has a dedicated site where you can check out the LinkedIn Power Profile of 2012 based on the various industries. So let's say if you click on "Advertising Industry" then you would find a list of profiles who have been the selected as the "Power Profile of 2012." You can view their detailed profiles, connect to them. In addition to this, the page also provides some helpful tips to build an effective profile, videos, demo of the new LinkedIn profile and building one right away. I must say this is a great motivator to induce someone to try out the new LinkedIn profile.
How cool is the move from LinkedIn?Today LinkedIn is synonymous to a professional network and it is more than about just finding jobs. It's about presenting yourself professionally online, connecting to like-minded professionals and also sharing your knowledge which all ads up to your professional growth. For all this to happen, the start has to be good and that is from having an effective and complete LinkedIn profile. However, the sad part is that most of us ignore the profile or have a half filled profile. Now with LinkedIn having an attractive new LinkedIn Profile, the launch of Power Profiles of 2012 really works like a carrot. I think it is a real smart move. Are you still having an incomplete and old LinkedIn profile and missing out on the required business connections or career opportunities? |
| Understanding Facebook Privacy When Commenting On Friends’ Stuff Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:05 AM PST Is My Privacy Protected?Facebook Post privacy is one of the most asked about questions here on Just-Ask-Kim.com This however, raised a really important question by an insightful reader named Jodi: "So here's my question…right now, I'm posting with a "custom" setting as I'm "hiding" stuff from my family. If a friend of mine (not theirs) posts something, and I make a comment, will my family (the ones that are restricted from seeing my posts) be able to see that comment in their ticker? Also, will they be able to see things that are posted on MY wall?" Great question Jodi… The privacy setting that is "in play" is always the one that belongs to the owner of the profile it is posted on. So if you (yourself) post on your own profile (or at the top of your newsfeed, which is the same thing), your custom privacy settings work as you would expect. If John makes a post on his profile or in his newsfeed, that you see, his own custom filter is in play (or public filter if that's his choice). You can hover over the icon near the top of the message to see. So if you comment on it, and it's public or "friends of friends), there's a chance it could be seen by the people you are hiding content from, yes.
If John comes over to visit you and writes a message on your profile (like happy birthday), then because it's on your profile, your settings are the governing rule. Now, lets assume that when John made his post, on his own profile/feed, that he used the "Friends of Friends" filter (or public). When you comment on that, all of your friends will see a little blurb about you leaving a comment somewhere, in their right hand ticker. If however, he uses the "Friends" (which means friends-only) or any custom list within allow, then when you comment, no one but his own friends will be able to see that you have commented (or the original post in general). Keep in mind that if John is friends (directly) with the individuals you are hiding from, that this can still grant them visibility. Are there any special noteworthy exceptions? Yes… the case of tags.
In the image above, we see that Joanna has tagged Nancy in a text/name tag. This causes the privacy of the status to be the original privacy option (Joanna's friends) PLUS the friends of the person tagged! So, above we see Joanna's friends (because the "Friends" privacy option was what Joanna was using) AND Nancy's friends (because Nancy was tagged). Tagging is some very powerful stuff and we need to use the tag-approval option to keep unsavory tagged items from displaying on our profile. That option however does NOT prevent our friends from seeing them. To control who can see posts you're tagged in, there is a second security feature for that. The act of friending someone *is* the act of giving them the right to tag you – and so you have to think long and hard about whether THEM having the ability to show some stuff to your friends is a power you want them to have (before you click "accept" on that friend request). In summary – the privacy status of an item is always controlled by the individual who's wall it is on – except in the case of tagging which can cause a broader (combined) privacy option to be used. Hope that helps! |
| Three Reasons Why LinkedIn Just Got a Lot More Interesting Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:00 AM PST
Here's a confession: for a while there, I was really bored with LinkedIn. It hadn't really evolved much since the launch; most people seemed to be sticking a glorified CV up and leaving it, apart from the dedicated Group spammers which we've written about before. Most importantly, compared to the other big social media sites, the opportunities for "natural" exposure to a wider audience were really limited. Getting seen without shoutingBy natural exposure, I mean the ability to come to the attention of your contacts' wider network without sending the equivalent of a cold calling email. That works for some, but many people are uncomfortable with being on either end of it, and it's artificial compared to, say, your content being shared on Facebook. LinkedIn should be a goldmineThat said, LinkedIn is the single biggest gathering of professionals on the planet. Over 187 million members, of which in the UK, almost 60% are management level or above. They just needed to learn some lessons from the other social networks to really liberate the potential of that gathering – and I think that's what we're now starting to see. A LinkedIn revolutionOver the last few months, LinkedIn have introduced a handful of new features which are nothing short of a revolution in how effective the site will be. The opportunities for exposure, and the value provided by LinkedIn, is now really exciting. If you've not checked it out lately, here's a rundown of the features which have made the difference. 1) Re-vamped Company pagesLinkedIn's Company pages used to be minimal, to say the least. Now, they've got a new look, the opportunity to include richer content especially around your products and services, and improved analytics. It's been possible to send out status updates from a Company for a while, but they're being used more and more, supporting a Company-specific audience of followers. For our Wish List, it would be great if there was some way to integrate Company and personal audiences. For example, if everyone in an individual's network could opt in or out of receiving their employers' updates as well as their own. That would remove the challenge of building a separate Company audience, and would be great for smaller businesses. But for now, and certainly for larger organisations, the additional functionality is a great start. New Personal profiles are coming soon, too, with a lot less emphasis on the CV and a lot more emphasis on social connection. You can see a preview, and register for the new format here. 2) Interactive Home pagesYour personal Home page now has a Facebook-style activity ticker, highlighting what other people in your network have been doing on LinkedIn – including when they've commented on articles posted by others. You can also add your own comments to those discussions directly from the home page, for the first time allowing you to converse easily with your network. Quick tip – We all have people in our networks who overshare, and can't let a moment go by without posting yet another link, or whose area of expertise you're just not that interested in. You can tailor what you see on your Homepage simply by hovering over one of the offending articles and clicking "hide", and Shazam! you'll not see any other posts by that person. 3) LinkedIn TodayAnother huge change is the launch of LinkedIn Today. This is a combination of two areas: a more traditional publishing model with content from "Thought Leaders" – experts in their field who've been selected by LinkedIn's publishing team – and community generated content. It's still evolving as more people get active, but has clear potential to become a real go-to source for any given industry. You can fine-tune the topics which are presented to you, as well as keeping up with the business "big guns" like Harvard Business Review and the Economist. From a marketing and visibility perspective, both of these are big news. A handful of our professional services clients are eminent enough in their field to have applied for Thought Leader status. As well as the enhanced profile, this allows individuals to build up a Twitter-like "Follower" audience, but without connecting at the network level. For everyone else, the community-driven content is a massive opportunity. It's selected according to a number of factors, but mainly by the level of activity surrounding posted content. So if you post up a link to free materials, a blog post, a webinar invite or anything else on LinkedIn and it's widely shared over a short period of time, it's very likely to be featured on LinkedIn Today. That means huge exposure to everyone interested in your industry sector. There's also a section for articles trending in your network, so you can easily see what's interesting and engaging to your contacts. And this adds up to…The way that both the home page activity feed, and the LinkedIn Today sections in particular are working, is much greater than the sum of their parts. It's starting to liberate the real power of individual's Networks. It also enables industry-based conversations of a much higher quality than are found in many LinkedIn Groups – because content is filtered by activity level, all those spammy "look at me!" posts which nobody's interested in, automatically drop out of sight. As a result, we've seen a huge increase in relevant activity for both our own profile and our clients': a big increase in opportunities to interact, leading to greatly increased profile views and responses to posted contant. These recent changes amount to a massive shift in the utility of LinkedIn for B2B marketing. So if you've not reviewed your LinkedIn presence for a while, or aren't using the new features to benefit your business, we'd recommend that you spend some quality time with it – or get some training to help you. |
Not only is keyword optimization ideal for landing pages and all of your distributed written content, but it is also very important to make sure your entire on-page website is fully optimized and working together to bring you more leads and sales. However, there are particular aspects of a website that all businesses need to focus on in their website optimization for seo to achieve the best results.
Can Julian Fellowes repeat the runaway success of "Downton Abbey"? In order to recreate "Downton," Fellowes needs to know the reasons and sources of fans' devotion to the show.
2. Add videos or photos to make a personal connection with your customers and let them see that you are a part of the community and are someone that they can relate to. Try posting a range of images or videos from various community and business events you and your company are involved in. For example, record video or take photos at your next awards dinner, group outing, charity event, product demonstration or speaking engagement and post them on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and/or Facebook.
Stop me if you've heard this one before: 
So today's question is about how to implement rich snippets and raise CTR. 
lars after a few visits and in order to make that happen they need a reason. See #1
We need to talk about hashtags. They used to be an interesting online quirk. They were a cool little addition to online communication, something marketers could throw into a post in order to feel relevant. They helped to build a social media community too, most early adopters found huge success in making hashtags a part of their Twitter conversations. But they've gotten a little out of hand.
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Balance & Different
One of the first concerns when embarking on a social media marketing campaign is finding the time to do it well. So many platforms, so much content, so little time, so few resources. It's true—if you spend time on each social media platform every day, hopping from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn, it can take up a good chunk of your day.
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