15 New Social Articles on Business 2 Community |
- Basic Tips for the New Google+ User
- SEO: It’s Moving Fast; Keep Your Eyes on Google
- Should My Post Keywords Use Synonyms For Good SEO?
- Engagement Decisions that Matter on Social Media Platforms
- Social Media and Furniture Retailers (With Added Meatballs)
- How To Save Time With Message Scheduling For Social Media (Video)
- Europe’s Bankers Say Understanding Customer Social Media Data is Top 2013 Priority
- Experts Round Table: 10 Unusual Ideas for your Business Blog
- Will Jet Engines Ever Be Social?
- 7 Barriers to Landing Page Optimization (Infographic)
- Ask An SEO Expert – Duplicate Meta Tags
- How to Network with the Group Owner
- New Home Permits By State (Infographic)
- Groupon India Celebrates First Anniversary With Unlock TVC Campaign
- Google+ VP Picks Fight with Facebook
| Basic Tips for the New Google+ User Posted: 01 Dec 2012 02:00 PM PST I hear you. Another platform? I don't have time to learn it. Guess what, you do! It's not that complicated. Denis Labelle shared a fantastic list of Google resources to help out the new user or those who joined and didn't try it out. Using Denis' list, I am going to hit some of the basics to get you up and running on Google+. This is your kick-start! Why should you try Google+? Expand your horizons! Let's face it, Facebook is looking very vanilla and repetitive at this point. Create a personalized network of separate groups (circles on Google+) and make it exactly what interests you with the ability to tap into the circles in many unique ways. Sure, all your family and friends are on Facebook but with Google+ you can meet new people who share your interests. Circling people who like what you like, maybe knitting, photography or Star Trek which all have thriving communities on Google+, is what makes the difference. Ready, set, go! 1. Your Profile The first step to starting any new social media site is the bio and it is probably the most overlooked as well. The bio is the most important piece of real estate so take some time here. Chances are you have some decent bios on other sites such as LinkedIn or Twitter but the key is making sure that you tailor each one a bit. Google+ has the best profile real estate and, of course, using is properly gives you a Google boost in search. Check out my Google+ About section for some ideas. It's really helpful to add a section at the top with circles that you would fit into. What does this mean? What are you interested in? These are the things that you would want people to find you to discuss. Make sure you take advantage of the rich area to link your other profiles and links to other areas of interest such as your blog, Twylah page, Plus.es page or maybe Facebook pages you manage. Resource: Tips for a Fabulous Social Media Profile Add a great photo and don't ignore the new profile page. I am really surprised how many people still have this on default, the change was made in April 2012. What are you waiting for? Create something cool today. Resource: Welcome to the NEW Google+ Profile Page Make sure that you add your Google+ profile link on all your other profiles so that people can find you here as well. 2. Circles Circles are one the ways that you communicate with people on Google+. You can use circles to view content from certain groups of people or to share with certain groups of people. Creating circles, naming them wisely and organizing them so that you can share your content with those groups is very helpful. You can use your circles like Twitter lists to view only that stream in your circle. Circles are for talking to people, listening to people and can also help you find new people when people share circles. If you are looking for new people to circle, search for the hashtag #CircleShare. From here you will see circles that people have shared that you can add to your circles. Just click "add circle", name the circle and meet some new people. 3. Photos I love the Google+ iPhone app! All the great ways to connect are right at your finger tips while you are on the go. You can chat in hangouts with up to nine friends as well as add posts. Check out "nearby" to find out what is happening exactly where you are right now. There is the option to save every photo and video via Instant Upload into your own private album. Lose your phone? Your photos are still on your Google+ profile. So many ways to enjoy this app!
Once you are ready to start posting, follow these Five Easy Steps to Bake the Perfect Google+ Post. I hope you will try a few things here, starting with a great photo and profile, and get rocking on Google+. Circle me and get ready to meet a whole new community of friends. I suggest giving Google+ fifteen minutes in the morning and evening for two weeks to get a taste. Tag people when you post, share things to your circles and make connections with current users by commenting and sharing their content. Before you know it, you will have started a community of new friends who share your interests and hobbies. Are you on Google+ yet? What are your best tips for getting started? Let me know in the comments or on G+ if you have any questions. Google+: View post on Google+ Reshared post from +Denis Labelle Featured image courtesy of è·¯ä¸ |
| SEO: It’s Moving Fast; Keep Your Eyes on Google Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:52 PM PST The world of SEO has become a rather dynamic animal. It's become imperative for both business and individual site owners to stay on top of a fast moving SEO environment. If you don't, your website could quickly end up on the side of the road. Continuous ChangeSearch Engine Optimization professionals need to be aware of the constantly changing rules and guidelines that are put in place by Google. Site owners and blog owners have been surprised in recent months due to Google's strict policy of not tolerating "followed links" that distort the ranking information. You need to stay abreast of the ever changing SEO space. At least keep your eyes on key developments like: Panda, Penguin, EMD (Exact Match Domain), and the Disavow Tool. You are aware of these, right? What did penguin target again? Google generally updates their problem solving procedures (algorithms) without warning, but more recently there have been advisories. Take note. Panda – First released in February of 2011 by Google, with the goal of lowering the rank of thin sites to allow quality sites to rise in search. There have been several updates since, and Google provided 23 attributes of a high-quality site so you're not out in the dark. Penguin – Penguin hit in April of 2012, and was aimed to penalize sites using black-hat techniques including: cloaking, keyword stuffing, link schemes, and duplicate content. EMD (Exact Match Domain) – Google announced in September (2012) that low-quality EMD's would be reduced in search results. Prior to this, having an exact domain was quite beneficial to that search irregardless if the content inside was garbage. That has change. The algo affected less than 1% of US-English queries. Disavow Tool – This tool was released so website owners could remove links pointing to their site which were using techniques outside of Google's guidelines. Make sure you site is registered at Google's Webmaster Tools. Link Building & KeywordsLink Building is still very important to the overall SEO equation, but the Wild Wild West days have vanished. That's a good thing, it levels the playing field. The other important way to increase your page ranking is the use of appropriate "keywords". The key is to be natural in your writing. Going back after you completed your article and sticking a word or phrase in ten different places will be of no value moving forward. Excess keyword insertion may have worked before, but now appropriate and relevant keywords are required. Your post is not a Turkey, stop stuffing keywords. Choosing an SEO CompanyDue to the constant change in search engine optimization in ingenious ways, new updates can cause complications. As a business, you can't afford to take these hits. Stay away away from link schemes. You need to choose a reputed company that has an established track record to manage your SEO. This will ensure that your company will not face problems when other companies are struggling to regain their Google page ranking. A good SEO company can offer good advice on the number and frequency of links and keywords. If you're on a tight budget, or have no budget, you should be able to keep pace by following the 3 sites below. SEOmoz – One of the leading SEO sites out there with a fantastic blog that always provides valuable content. A must for anyone that wants to keep with pace with fast moving SEO world. Matt Cutts – Matt is head of Google's Webspam team. Matt provides key information on Google/SEO and has posted 542 articles on the topic. Be sure to follow him on Google + as well for further insight. Search Engine Land – Led by Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Land provides news, insight, and best practices for SEO, SEM, and Social Media.
Social Sharing OptimizationIt even has its own acronym (SSO). Whether you're a SMB or individual, you have to put yourself out there on the social network train. You need to pickup your activity and engagement levels on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the larger social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon. You need to dive into Google Plus head first. Google is hitting you over the head to use their social network. You need to listen. A shift is in progress, and traditional SEO could be headed to hospice sooner than you think. The Future of SEOGood search engine optimizers know that the SEO landscape is rapidly changing and is not the same as in previous years. Campaign planning must take into consideration the current realities when launching a new product or service. For successful campaigns, a multi pronged approach is required. This would ensure that the website does not incur penalties or lose visitor traffic .Today most customers like to control the decisions because they are aware of and more critical of marketing techniques. Now customers need the best options. With customers exercising such control, businesses now have to adopt effective SEO strategies. This requires producing a steady stream of content that appropriately addresses the needs of the customers. Create solid content and get it in front of your audience using social. Keep building relationships, and don't stop. The shares, likes, and comments will follow leading to better search results of your content. Goodbye November. Hello December. Make it a Great Month… Please share the post if you found it to be of value. Comments are always welcomed… |
| Should My Post Keywords Use Synonyms For Good SEO? Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:40 PM PST Are Synonym Keywords Important In On-Page SEO For Good Rankings?Google's SEO Guru, Matt Cutts, again takes the digital stage to address a common question Search Engine Optimization… "If two terms are used essentially interchangeably, does Google realize that the terms are interchangeable? Should you be trying to use both terms, or just focus on one term to get the best search engine traffic?" But it doesn't stop there! In fact, Karon Thackson of Marketing Words recently got a chance to interview Matt and ask some additional questions about a related topic. Matt went on to say, in the interview, that as long as it can be done in a non-spammy way, that you really SHOULD use your synonyms and your LSI keywords mixed in with your regular keywords. This allows Google to get a good idea of your content while at the same time making it more natural for the reader. You will often find that this enables you to continue to tell Google what your post is about while not forcing your main keyword to such a density that things sound mechanical. This is a win for everybody. The reader gets better content. You get to write less mechanically. Google gets better results. Yay! Want to learn more about keeping all of Google's Penguins and Pandas happy with your site? Check out this report. Do you use synonyms in your on-page SEO work? |
| Engagement Decisions that Matter on Social Media Platforms Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:36 PM PST The ability of businesses to "engage" customers and prospects is the first step along the road to making a sale. The length of time required to make the sale depends on the type of product or service the business offers. Sharing content with people on social media platforms is one very important way to extend the reach of your content marketing. However, few businesses – particularly small businesses – can afford to invest in
Just because I sniff around a plant, don't assume I am engaging it. content production and marketing and use social media to extend their reach without some measurement of effectiveness. It is, therefore, important to define "engagement decisions" that matter on social media platforms. In a previous post, we shared findings of a study of "engagement." One of the essential characteristics of engagement is a decision. Your business must decide what kind of decision will be considered indicative of engagement. What must a consumer do on a social media platform to interact with your content and make a decision that qualifies as "engagement?" Level 1: At the lowest level, engagement is measured in terms of the number of Facebook likes. It is also measured on various platforms as number of fans or followers. Before you decide to base your measure of engagement on this measurement level, consider the number of people who will "Like" a business to get a coupon or to enter a contest. Level 2: At the next level, engagement is measured by the number of re-tweets or +1s or shares with a friend. Level 3: At this level, engagement is measured by the number of people who read your content and share it on a bookmarking site (digg, delicious, reddit, stumbleupon) Level 4: At level 4 engagement is measured by the number of people who visit your site and remain to read at least two or more pages of the site content. Level 5: Engagement is defined and measured by the customer making the decision to provide personal contact information in order to access a report, white paper, or e-book. Subscribing to a newsletter, blog or RSS feed is often viewed as equivalent. Level 6: At level 6 engagement is defined and measured by the consumer requesting information about your products/services and/or your company. Level 6, thus, represents a higher-level decision to connect with your company or a further step toward a purchase. We believe engagement requires a one-to-one exchange of information or an actual conversation. Forwarding content, re-tweeting a post, following and liking are only marginally interactive. If your content drives a consumer to your website, you have a response to your content. However, until there is a substantive exchange of some kind, we do not believe "engagement" has occurred. Until the consumer requests something from your business, typically providing contact information in exchange, consuming your content does not necessarily indicate "engagement." We believe engagement occurs only when the consumer requests product-specific, problem-specific, or company-specific information from a business. This might be a request for spec sheets, for a call from a salesperson, or for customer testimonials or endorsements. The five preceding steps along the road to purchase absolutely should be measured and analyzed in order to understand the purchase path and produce appropriate content for other consumers. All of the steps leading up to specific requests for information from consumers should be considered touch points leading to engagement, but they should not be confused with meaningful engagement with your company. Measuring what leads to engagement is vital – it enables you to craft the specific content that will help others travel the road to purchase. Don't waste your time or energy on insignificant measurements like number of fans or followers. Instead, identify the touch points that move people closer to engagement, and measure them. Use the information to analyze the type of information that moves them to the next touch point. |
| Social Media and Furniture Retailers (With Added Meatballs) Posted: 01 Dec 2012 10:30 AM PST Furniture. Some of us are excited by it. Others are nonchalant about it. But whether it be antique, or modern, handbuilt or flatpack, we all need it. Ever wondered what the official description of furniture is? Neither had we, but here it is for your enlightenment: "the movable articles that are used to make a room or building suitable for living or working in".
The word is attributed to the early 16th century (denoting the action of furnishing), from the French fourniture, from fournir, from Old French furnir 'to furnish'. But if it's the history of furniture you're after, alas, we cannot help (though these folk might be able to). We are in the business of cutting edge technology, therefore this post is about combining analysis of the new (social media) with the age-old topic of furniture. See, not all furniture was created equal. To continue our theme of analysing online conversation about everyday products (did you see our awesome analysis of yoghurt? No? Well, have a read. After you've read about furniture, of course), we've done the hard work for you and explored which of the top furniture retailers are getting in the (tongue and) groove on social media. We analysed UK conversation throughout September about five popular furniture retailers – IKEA, John Lewis, Habitat, Homebase and Furniture Village. It seems that UK homemakers take a particular liking to flat-pack furniture from Sweden (or maybe it's the meatballs?), as IKEA was by far the most discussed furniture brand of the five analysed. Often, we find that Twitter dominates as the platform for conversation for most brands. But not so when it comes to furniture. Although IKEA was discussed predominantly on Twitter, other furniture brands saw much more discussion on news sites and forums. Tweets about IKEA were frequent on a daily basis throughout September, though a photo of a woman sleeping in a bed in an IKEA store resulted in a huge spike in mentions. Through this tweet, IKEA experienced an unexpected marketing boost from an incident that may otherwise have been frowned upon, and this is a great advert for the comfiness of their beds. It was shared organically and therefore may have had more of an impact than anything IKEA could have created themselves. We also took a look at the topics within conversation about two of the leading retailers, IKEA and John Lewis. This revealed that IKEA conversation tended to be far more product-oriented than John Lewis chat, which tended to be more about corporate news. John Lewis conversation was dominated during this period by chairman Charlie Mayfield's award of outstanding leadership at the World Retail Awards. So, there's some insight into chat about your favourite furniture retailers online. Life changing? Probably not. Interesting? We think so. Are there any sectors you'd particularly like us to cover? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet us @brandwatch and we'll see what we can do! |
| How To Save Time With Message Scheduling For Social Media (Video) Posted: 01 Dec 2012 09:21 AM PST
Using a social media dashboard such as HootSuite (see What Is HootSuite & Why Should I Give a Hoot?), you can schedule social media updates in bulk. You set the day, time, and message then HootSuite takes over and sends it at the designated time. Watch the tutorial below and learn how to use this advanced feauture to schedule bulk messages in HootSuite. Summary:
Tips: Spread your messages out over the day to make sure you don’t fatigue followers with an influx of messages. Plus, people check their accounts at varying times throughout the day. Follow up with retweets, mentions, replies, and comments. Although you save time by pre-scheduling posts, you still need to monitor your account and engage with followers. Thank people who retweet and reply to those who write a comment on any of your social networks. Check at least twice a day for comments and reply promptly. Full Disclosure: PROSAR Inbound is a certified HootSuite partner and our staff are Certified HootSuite Professionals. We use it for our own company and can train you in how to use the social media dashboard to get the most out of your social media efforts. Contact us today to start your free trial with HootSuite Pro! Have you tried bulk message scheduling? Share your experience in the comments!
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| Europe’s Bankers Say Understanding Customer Social Media Data is Top 2013 Priority Posted: 01 Dec 2012 08:30 AM PST  texting (Photo credit: meanmachine_ie) The ability to interrogate and make decisions based on consumer data from social media is a key 2013 priority for European bankers according to a survey from the European Financial Management Association (Efma) and the Fair Isaac Corporation (Fico). The survey of credit risk professionals from 27 European countries found that analysing these data to better understand consumer needs was a priority for 54% of respondents. The results show the growing importance of social data sets in the already data-rich world of financial services. The industry is currently in a very risk-averse period, meaning that companies are looking for credit growth primarily among those people that they have the most data on – their customers. However focusing just on your existing customers will not help you to win in the current market as customers are risk-averse too in the current economic climate – they will look for the best product for them and move banks to get what they see as a better offer. This is where the respondents see the role of social media. Analysing data from these sources can help them to better:
In the current market, the financial services brand that most effectively integrates these social data sources alongside their existing rich data sets has the potential for a real competitive advantage. The ability to predict and tailor products and services that will attract profitable consumers. Of course getting there will involve work, as with any activities looking to interrogate and learn from social data you first need to understand what data you have (from your own proprietary data-sets and from social and public sources) and then to explore what you can learn from these. Only then can you consider how your business might benefit and the kinds of decisions you can inform. That financial services firms rank understanding data as such a priority for 2013 shows the value that these firms are seeing from social media – not just as a means of communication but also to inform business and marketing strategies. |
| Experts Round Table: 10 Unusual Ideas for your Business Blog Posted: 01 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST As blogging gains ground and content marketing takes the flag position in the race to influence customers, writing posts that are valuable and entertaining to the reader is becoming increasingly difficult. In our earlier post, we talked about how information and entertainment are one of the most common reasons people read blogs. Then, it is only natural that all your posts either provide information or are entertaining. Coming up with a theme or topic to talk about is a daily chore, or perhaps weekly. Let us look at what inspiration we can take from some of the expert bloggers and keep our idea bucket full at all times.
We have compiled a list of ten winning techniques used by experts around the world. I am sure that reading these will help you generate many ideas and topics for your business blog. Carol Tice of Tice Writers Inc., a regular contributor to Entrepreneur, talks about how you can write about your industry and your experiences with your customers. 1. Customer Success Story: Did you solve a customer problem recently? Perhaps you got an encouraging testimonial from one of your customers. Ask your customer for permission to weave this testimonial into a blog post. Case studies take a long time to write, but you can create a small post that talks about how you solved a specific problem for the customer and the gains your customers made out of it. 2. Industry Trends: In our dynamic world, changes are a permanent feature. Changes in political and economic situations affect industry related policies and the way they do business. Technological changes often impact how customers interact with you and how they use your products. Talk about these trends and write about what you think of these changes. How will these changes impact your customers and your products? You could be serving other business or individual customers. No matter who your audience is, people have questions. Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends suggests that you could turn out posts from these questions. 3. Answer Industry related Questions: Industry specific Forums and Groups are often a fertile ground for questions from your consumers or other business stakeholders. New business owners also have a lot of questions about how to go about different things while setting up their business. Write a post about what problems you faced. You could also pick frequently asked questions and write a post on that. 4. How you do things: If you work in a B2B model, your customers will want to know about your processes and team members. Write posts that detail your office infrastructure and how work gets done at your office. Who does what? However, not every post you write must pitch something or be about convincing your customers. You can give your blog a personal touch and open up to your reader. Miranda Miller suggests these two great ideas for blog posts. 5. Inspiration: We are all inspired by someone at some time in our life. Talk about who you look up to. Past and present industry leaders you like and the business philosophy you believe in. You cannot meet each of your customers or business associates; talking about what you like and believe in can project a positive image to the people who read your blog. 6. Simplify: Is writer's block real? Well . . . I don't know. But you can counter that. Help your blog readers understand complicated subjects. Some blog posts, although information rich, are complicated or addressed to peer-level readers. Pick some technical posts and simplify the subject for your readers. Your readers might not be interested in technical reports, but they will surely like a simple summary of these reports. Ken Mueller makes an excellent point in his list of post ideas. 7. It's not all about you: Social responsibility need not be fulfilled only by giant corporations. You can contribute in a small way through your blog too. Take-up a local cause you believe in. It could be as simple as building a consensus for funding the local library or new land for a park. Tell people you care about the place where you live. 8. Tips and Tricks: This is never out of vogue. If you sell software or any other product, write posts about how to use them best. What are the things your users can do with them. How can they use them in combination with other products? These were some excellent ideas from expert bloggers. Reading about so many ideas helped us come up with a couple of our own. 9. Shadow the networks: All leading news networks and magazine blogs provide great content. Look at these networks and see what their experts are discussing. Look at the comments readers post at the end of the post. Do they all agree? What is it that they do not agree about? You can then write your own post on the post and what different opinions people have. 10. Talk about your company: How old is your company? If you have been in the business for long, you surely have a lot to talk about. Even if you are new, you can write about how you got into what you are doing now. What problems you faced and what worked. These are not the only ideas that can help generate blog posts. But these are some of the most valuable approaches to generate blog post ideas for a business blog. What do you generally blog about on your business blog? |
| Will Jet Engines Ever Be Social? Posted: 01 Dec 2012 06:40 AM PST
The CMO of GE talked about this in a video earlier this year at Dreamforce. Wow, what a question. To think, soon your refrigerator, car and, yes, jet engines may be part of your social network. But as devices join you on Facebook, Twitter or other social platforms, are they really becoming social?
Yes, these devices will deliver new conveniences and improve the way we work in both our personal and professional lives. But that doesn't make these devices social, just connected. Social media sites are now technology platforms that enable a structured flow of information between various endpoints. The various platforms we have today can be used for a wide range of purposes.
Today, I'm connected to social networks from my laptop at work, a second computer at home and from my phone. Every message is delivered to me, regardless of what device I'm on. The amazing advances I expect to see from companies like GE will not come about because devices become social, it will be because information can now flow between individuals or devices, the cost of development has plummeted and we are constantly connected. Just a few years ago, similar information flows required custom software that was installed at very few endpoints, required knowledge of acronyms like EDI and almost always identified a computer or terminal, not an individual. As more devices connect via social networks, we will see more innovation that leverage social media as a technology and communication platform for non-social uses. But it isn't about social media, it is about new platforms and new accessibility driving new innovation. Your TurnWhen you look at social media as a technology platform instead, what new uses become possible? Or do you see all of these applications as part of social media? Ok, my rant is over, the podium is now yours. Share your thoughts in the comments below or with me on Twitter (@wittlake). Photo Credit: A319 Engine by Luigi Rosa on Flickr |
| 7 Barriers to Landing Page Optimization (Infographic) Posted: 01 Dec 2012 06:35 AM PST Whether it's technology, infrastructure, or analysis – marketers continue to have challenges with landing page optimization. We partnered with TechValidate to conduct research with our customer base to determine why they came to ion. While this process proved extremely informative in delineating our key differentiators, it also provided great insight to the barriers marketers experience every day for creating an optimization program that delivers. Check out our most recent infographic The 7 Barriers to Landing Page Optimization and see if you agree. What will prevent you from creating more leads, more revenue, and more engagement in 2013?
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| Ask An SEO Expert – Duplicate Meta Tags Posted: 01 Dec 2012 05:10 AM PST When you perform a search on Google or any other search engine, the meta tag is the title of each post listed in the results, also known as the title tag. Meta tags play a role in how your site ranks. Can having the same meta tags for multiple pages hurt your site? Jesse Laffen explains in this week's Ask An SEO Expert feature. 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, there are lots of different kinds of meta tags that you can put on a web page. For example, one of the most popular ones that a lot of people in SEO know about is the title tag. That's the page title. It does a couple of things. First of all, this blue text that you see in a Google listing or a Bing listing, it's also at the very top of the browser or if you bookmark the page, you'll see that kind of tag pop up, and that's kind of like the name of the page, if you will. Others include things like you can put a language on a website. You can use a meta tag to tell a search engine robot to either index or not index, or follow or not follow a page. Lots of different things you can do with them. For strictly ranking type purposes like ranking algorithm factor purposes, the title tag is really what you're looking at. Keyword usage within the title tag still does make a little bit of difference in your rankings. Duplicating that tag can have kind of a bad result. It's not something you want to do. Similarly with the meta description, this is the black text that you sometimes see just below the listing in a Google search or Bing search. Having lots and lots of duplicate meta descriptions won't necessarily hurt your rankings but it does cause search engines to maybe to look for different texts. Maybe it will use some of the text from your actual web page. Sometimes they will borrow text from another source from the web, like either DMoz is something that they drew from like Yahoo directory way back in the day. They might look for other places where they can find better text to actually serve up here. Then you get your url that they move around sometimes too. In general, duplicating most meta tags won't really hurt. The reason for that is, for example, the language one, if all of your pages are written in German, it makes sense that you would specify that all your pages are written in German. That one is not really going to hurt you. With the titles and descriptions though, if you find yourself having to duplicate them across lots and lots of different pages, I would ask yourself why. People don't really like to experience duplicate content, see it's really really annoying. You don't want to do it. So basically if you need to title a bunch of pages the exact same thing or you need to have the same description for every single page, start to ask yourself if this is a page that I need to create over and over again. If you have to, there's somethings you can do with canonical tags and things like that, but really try to focus really good content, good titles, good descriptions for all of your users. That's gonna produce pages that not only rank well but that people want to see and that they understand are different. |
| How to Network with the Group Owner Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:30 PM PST Networking with the group leader, owner or manager can be a very useful way to accelerate your network. After all, the networking leader will know most if not all of the delegates and can probably introduce you to anyone you need an introduction to. However, you need to tread cautiously if you are looking to leverage these useful contacts and add them to your network. After all organising and running a successful experience is a stressful experience and people pestering are likely to get a short answer. So here are a few suggestions. Arrive early and help out. The host or owner is likely to appreciate some help. Handing out the coffee/tea or name badges is a small price to pay for a little extended chit-chat. Next, as people start to arrive, back off, slipping back into the pack for the duration of the event. (Failing to do this will probably get you labelled a "glory seeker" – someone who wants to limelight without necessarily doing all the work). Keep an eye on the organiser through out the event. Not a staring eye, just the kind of eye you would keep on a child out playing by themselves. Be on hand to help with a bit of lifting or carrying (if you are able) or helping newcomers find their feet. Your next chance for an "in" is to leave late. (You should be doing this anyway). Obviously this is because the organiser will be one of the last to leave. At the end of any event, be it a football match, a networking event or a school disco even, the organiser or main participants will always "flop." That is to mentally unwind by verbally summing up the events – to relieve the tension. If appropriate, offer to buy them a drink at the bar. Remember, avoid the hard sell or direct questions. Be a nice guy (or gal) and you will easily be able to tap into the network owners inner circle. This short article was originally published on the Networking University blog |
| New Home Permits By State (Infographic) Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:41 PM PST It wasn’t that long ago that we saw the housing market crashing. People were losing their homes or weren’t able to get approved for homes they had been counting on and the the number of new homes being built came to a screeching halt. Here we sit, four years later, and new home sales are starting to recover. How much? Year to date October 2012, new home permits in the United States are up 24% over the previous year. How’s the rest of the country looking?
Texas leads the way with the most new home permits, 67,680, though they don’t lead the way in year over year growth. Nevada saw the biggest growth for the year, with 61% more new homes permits being requested in through October 2012 than in the previous year, followed by Arizona and Idaho (+59% each). In the middle of the pack, new homes in Virginia were up by 13% year to date over the previous year, fitting in with Virginia’s status in the middle of the pack in terms of raw numbers – just shy of 15,000 new home permits through October. So what does this mean for the housing market? While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s fully recovered, there was year over year growth in every state and the District of Columbia, meaning that we’re certainly moving in the right direction. If you’re in the market for a new house it’s worth consulting with a local builder to find out what the market near you is like and whether or not you qualify for a new home loan. |
| Groupon India Celebrates First Anniversary With Unlock TVC Campaign Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:42 PM PST From launching as Crazeal in India to now being renamed as 'Groupon India' before completing a year in the country, the e-commerce brand has now come up with its first TVC that also marks its first anniversary in the country.(1). The four week campaign is aimed at promoting its crazy deals and offers, that is also reflected in the TVCs. The online brand plans to build a buzz and generate curiosity, using other media platforms starting with TV first.
Weaved around humour with solutions as crazy deals from Groupon, the four sets of TVCs are aimed towards a different set of consumers. Adequate buzz was created at the Groupon India Facebook page, which is now a community of more than 189K fans. The TVC also had an exclusive Facebook premiere which was executed through a fun Facebook contest called 'Unlock the Groupon ad' with an iPad2 as the grand prize. The Facebook contest was hosted as an app, where fans were invited to view the TVC and like, comment and share it with friends to be able to unlock the ad. The brand has also been creating a buzz on its Twitter page about the unlock TVC contest and asking for feedback too. The TVCs have been uploaded at the YouTube brand channel and these links are being shared at the social media networks. Exclusive Facebook premieres seem to be the recent norm. Prior to going on air of Australian TV show 'Packed to the Rafters', Star World India is offering an exclusive web premiere with a contest to boot and exciting prizes to be won. Many brands have shifted their focus onto their Facebook community with TVCs, movie trailers music launches and more being shared with the Facebook community before it is launched for the masses.
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| Google+ VP Picks Fight with Facebook Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:23 PM PST
It didn't take long for one company to enter the social networking world. Google released a contender in what would become a David-and-Goliath-like battle of the social networking field: Google+. Recently, Google+ Vice President Bradley Horowitz decided to liven this competition with trash talk of his main rival's service. What Horowitz Said about FacebookNow, no one really knows if David and Goliath did any trash talking, but in my modern version of the tale, Horowitz is the one casting David – err… Google+'s – first stone, so to speak. According to Shara Tibken at CNet, at a Business Insider conference, Bradley Horowitz called Facebook "the social network of the past," said its "advertising doesn't really work," and that Facebook simply "isn't set up in a way that's compatible with the real world." Them's fighting words if you ask me, but Horowitz didn't stop there. Ryan Tate at Wired writes about Horowitz's more damning criticisms of Facebook's recent monetization moves. He writes that Horowitz sees Google+ as an ideal social network because it does not have its "[users] most human moments interrupted by 'the monetization agenda' of profit-hungry social networks." By "profit-hungry social networks" Horowitz clearly means Facebook and recent changes in its advertising system. Horowitz was specific about certain aspects of Facebook's strategy and design while touting the Google+ platform as being clean, mostly ad-free, and focused on the conversations people have with each other. There is obviously a philosophical difference in the way Google and Facebook approach their social networks. Horowitz is a big picture kind of guy. Big Picture DifferencesAt the Business Insider conference, Horowitz spent a lot of time discussing the human aspect of social networking. He feels that Facebook is losing touch with its users due to its focus on monetization, while Google+ is still about the human element of social networking. This is a primary concern for users – if the platform doesn't relate or annoys people due to ads and other issues, people will stop using it. But for agencies, this is just one of many issues to consider when using these social networking platforms to benefit clients. It's hard to say no to a network with 1 billion users and close to that number in active users. Google+, on the other hand, has only 400 million members with 100 million monthly active users, according to Stan Schroeder for Mashable in September. Legitimate Criticism? MaybeTo Horowitz's credit, Facebook has been undergoing an aggressive monetization agenda since its stock went into freefall after going public in May. Months of changes have pleased Wall Street, the latest of which I wrote about on the CEM Blog. There hasn't been much user backlash from the changes either. I have seen more ads and posts from businesses popping up in my news feed lately. It's not annoying at the frequency it occurs now, but I do think Facebook needs to be careful about how much it lets monetization and Wall Street drive how it develops its platform. In the end, as Casey Newton at CNet suggests in a great opinion piece about this story, both of these social networks can co-exist. Neither David nor Goliath has to win. That means more opportunity and more ways to reach others. That's good for agencies and their clients, small businesses, and most of all, people. Do you think Horowitz has a legitimate criticism of Facebook? Will Google+ "win" in the end? |
Are you managing your small business’ social media accounts but finding it difficult having time to post updates throughout the day? I’m here with good news that there’s an easier way! Now before you get too excited, by no means am I advocating “set and forget”. It’s more “set and follow up”. I know, it’s not as catchy without the rhyme.
What would a jet engine say if it was on a social network?
So the question is, I heard that having the same meta tags for multiple pages can hurt my site. Is that true? If so, any suggestions on how to fix it? 
Facebook, the world's most adopted social networking platform was alone at the top for quite a few years. It crushed other platforms like MySpace and has reached over 1 billion users. People, corporations, small businesses, and agencies all use the social giant to communicate with friends, family, and customers, build brands, advertise, and share ideas.| You are subscribed to email updates from Social | Business 2 Community To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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