id33b1: 25 New Social Articles on Business 2 Community

joi, 13 decembrie 2012

25 New Social Articles on Business 2 Community

25 New Social Articles on Business 2 Community


Facebook Image Quality: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Characters

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST

Thanks in large part to the succinct nature of social media platforms today, attention spans are waning at an exorbitant speed. When it comes to capturing the attention of consumers, images reign – even over slight 140-character briefs.

On Facebook especially – a typically more text-heavy site – optimized images are crucial to stand out and increase engagement. Along with profile pictures and cover photos, page posts should include images as often as possible.

44% of users are more likely to engage with brands on Facebook if they post pictures. More specifically, high-quality and high-resolution images further raise engagement.

Professional-quality photo content generated the most feedback in a marketing survey, with 121% more Facebook shares – an average of 90.64 shares per post. Semi-professional images garnered an average of 40.91 shares per post, and picture-less posts only generated 8.73 shares.

The following two images from the Microsoft Store Facebook page demonstrate the increased engagement that comes with clear images.

Brands on Facebook have an elevated opportunity when it comes to cross-promotion with other image-based platforms. For instance, sharing Instagram photos gives more room for creativity, as well as the possibility of arranging multiple images in one. Pinterest also allows the sharing of pins on Facebook, further diversifying the type of images you're posting.

Other captivating alternatives to text include memes and personal "ecards." Facebook enables brands to present a less formal side than on their official business site, and inserting products or services into a funny "meme of the moment" – based on current events, etc. – will increase engagement.

Facebook image optimization should be incorporated into your larger social media optimization (SMO) strategy to increase sales and ROI along with customer engagement. For more information on "Increasing the Value of Your Facebook Community," download our complimentary report here.

Contact ZOG Digital for an SMO audit.

25 Marketing Predictions for 2013 from Exact Target [Infographic]

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 02:35 PM PST

While it may not be possible to accurately predict the future, examining marketing's past and present helps us shape and inspire what's yet to come. That's why we've collected the predictions of the industry's top interactive marketing experts—bringing you exclusive insight into marketing trends that will be relevant to your brand in 2013.

In this year's annual guide, Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013, you'll encounter predictions about the future of email, mobile, social media, marketing automation, and cross-channel marketing from industry thought leaders, including:

  • Matt Fleckenstein, Microsoft
  • Jay Baer, Convince and Convert
  • Jeff Eden, DEG Digital
  • Brent Hieggelke, Urban Airship
  • Marcus Nelson, Addvocate
  • Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute
  • David Berkowitz, 360i

social media marketing

How Sales Messaging Affects Conversion Rates (Infographic)

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 02:25 PM PST

This infographic shows how sales messaging affects conversion rates on e-commerce websites. It demonstrates how the choice of words, colours and graphics used in calls to action, add to cart buttons and even the dimensions of graphics can make a huge difference to conversion rates.

conversion rate infographic
Brought to you by ZippyCart: Shopping Cart Reviews and Designed by Killer Infographics

A Great Way to Network Using Social Media

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 02:00 PM PST

Connecting with great people

Social Media – The Next Web – See yesterday's post.

Today's post builds on this topic.

This is imperative, if you want to be successful in business. I would even challenge you to stretch your network even more. I have been fortunate to get acquainted and work with some great people. This is one of the benefits of being active on Social Media. (Learning from Others)

I have been able to connect with some great people on social media sites like Linkedin and Twitter.

Here is the process I go through in establishing relationships relationships with "Great People" on social media sites.

Listen First

As I have said many times, I only want to connect with great people. I like to connect with people who have more experience in areas that I may not work with on a regular basis: technology, press releases, copywriting. Follow and get to know these people.

Learn more about Them

Don't just read their profile or daily tweets or posts, but find out more about them. Do they own their own business? Who do they associate with? Are they reachable? Can they be trusted? Is there an opportunity to meet them in person? This is a crucial step in this process.

Validate their information

Determine which information is valid and decipher information that may be misleading or self-promoting. Spend some time getting to understand the person and if he or she has hidden agendas

Connect with them

Contact the person online, through email or over the phone. Acknowledge the content they share and ask for their advice on a particular subject. Everyone likes to feel important from time to time.

Thank Them

Send them a note thanking them for taking time to share their thoughts online. We are in a "sharing" culture and it is up to us, as readers to continue to thank people for providing good, helpful information to us that we can build-on.

Everyone has been given these set of tools. We are in a social age like never before.

Question for you

Are you taking advantage of these opportunities to their fullest?

photo credit: kylesteed via photopin cc

How to Create Pinterest Images that People Will Share

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:50 PM PST

It's has been quite the year for the visual social media site, Pinterest. Whether you're a lifestyle company, a shopping site, or an individual trying to develop your own personal brand, we all know that Pinterest is a great vehicle to help you achieve your goals. But simply having a presence on the site and getting the most of it are two entirely different animals. Posting a great image can increase traffic, get you more pins and repins, as well as improve your overall presence on the platform. Fortunately for all of us, we don't have to spend our time experimenting with what works and what doesn't. In a recent post off of Social Media Explorer author, Mitt Ray, outlines some excellent advice on creating Pinterest images that people will love to share.

1. Use Relevant Labels on Your Images

Great Pinterest marketing really beings with the images you publish on your blog or website. Ray recommends one of the first things that you need to do is to come up with relevant labels for the images that you publish. When someone pins an image from your website or blog post, a label is automatically generated in that image's description. "When you give your image a good name, it'll automatically have a good description when someone pins it," says Ray. I realize that this may be time consuming, but Ray believes that this is the minimum you should do when posting images on your site.

2. Write a Test Message on top of Your Images

Take advantage of the entire image. Because so much real estate on the site is dedicated to images, it's important for individuals to take full advantage of it. The best way to maximize this is to be sure to add text to the top of your images. Ray points out that "If you visit the popular section on Pinterest, you'll notice that most of the images have a description in the description box, directly on the image itself or on both." He advises out that often a plain image alone may not make the most sense. If you take advantage of some of that empty space inside by placing a text description, people will not only see a cool image, but also immediately understand what the image is about. Take a look at the example below.

Wong Ching Ya wrote 19+ Facebook Timeline Features and Resources You Should Know! on the cover image of the article. Now, when you come across the pin on Pinterest you won't have to look at the description to know what the image is about. Two great tools to accomplish this are Snagit from TechSmith and Gimp.

3. Brand Your Image

"When you add your business name, website or logo, you're also making your images more effective," says Ray. It's always a good idea to try and brand your image in some sort of way. Whether it's by incorporating your company's logo, some form of type (like a Twitter handle), or in some other way, it's always a good idea to try and tie your images back to your organization. This way you're not only exposing your branding to immediate fans, but to others as well when they view the repins.

4. A Little Encouragement Can Go a Long Way

"Some people decide to use Pinterest cautiously to avoid possible copyright issues," says Ray. While there is certainly a bit of a gray area surrounding the copyrights of images uploaded to Pinterest, there are some things you can do to help spur the sharing of your images. For example, adding a simple message like "Feel free to pin" or "Feel free to share on Pinterest" is a good way to help get people to overcome their concerns and start sharing your images. Additionally, studies have shown that when you place a strong call to action in posts on social media platforms like Facebook, it actually increases the number of likes or shares you get. So, it's not a stretch to think that trying this tactic on Pinterest will have similar results.

5. Keep Descriptions Short

Creating beautiful images is only half the battle. It's also important to pin your images with a description. That said, a big, long description doesn't do you any good. In fact, it's proven that if you keep your image descriptions somewhere between the 200-300 character range you'll have the best chance of getting a repin. Not a whole lot of space, I know. This makes it even more important to write a good description. According to Ray, "A good description that tells the story behind the image can capture followers and make your pins more shareable."

So there you have it, five good tips to help you get the most out of your Pinterest images. Have any good tips of your own? I'd love to hear them. Share them with me below.

10 Blog Commenting Tips to Build Brand Awareness and Generate Traffic

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:25 PM PST

04-17-2007 026-72

Commenting is a great way to build brand awareness, generate traffic and boost credibility, especially during the early days of your blog. It is also a great way to get to know people in your niche and for people to get to know you.

You might think this method of self-promotion is a little spammy, but as long as you go about it with respect for the blog you're commenting on, it is perfectly acceptable.

The ultimate aim is to have your comment approved by site owners, with perhaps one eye on the chance of developing a working relationship that may be mutually beneficial in the future. As long as you follow a few simple 'rules', refrain from swearing and add to the conversation, you can't really go wrong.

Don't be rude

People are quite rightly precious about their blogs. They work hard on them. They spend hours putting together blog posts and don't like spammers coming along and taking advantage of their hard work. Be aware of this when you are looking for blog posts to comment on and act as you would if you were in a stranger's home; with respect and courtesy.

Three generalities:

  • Be friendly, polite and add to the conversation and your comments generally get approved and published
  • Be argumentative and state the case for the opposition and your comments will (probably) be accepted too (everyone likes a debate)
  • Be rude, aggressive and spammy and your comments will (probably) get deleted before they see the light of day

Here are the 10 main tips to help you make the most of commenting on other blogs.

1. Read before commenting

Sounds like a no-brainer, but you might be surprised by the amount of people who don't do this, or at least appear not to do it because the comment is totally off-topic or too generalised. If you haven't got the time to read a full post, at least skim through it so you get the gist.

2. Say something interesting

When you comment on a blog you are promoting yourself, your blog and your brand. People read comments; they are not ignored. Grab their attention by saying something more than "great post". Try adding another point-of-view or pulling an anecdote from your own experiences.

3. Use your real name and not keywords

This is a funny one. Some blog owners don't mind keywords in a signature, whilst others loathe it. For the most part, I tend to fall on the don't mind side. But I don't do it when I am commenting on other blogs. It just seems too rude and as if I am only there to generate a link back to my blog. If you are not sure, see what others are doing or err on the side of caution and use your name.

5. Sell yourself

Recognition in your niche is important, therefore, what you say and how you present yourself when commenting is also important. Use every one of your comments to sell yourself in an attraction marketing kind of way.

6. Don't add links to your comment

If you include a link in your comment that doesn't add value to the post or is self promoting it could be seen by the blog owner as disrespectful. Some remove the link and approve the comment, others don't publish the comment at all Again, see what others are doing and err on the side of caution if you are not sure what to do.

7. A pat on the back

Everyone likes to receive comments. It is encouraging for the blog owner to know that people are reading what they are publishing and getting something from it.

8. Open doors

You may never know who reads your comments. Sharing your knowledge and experience could lead to long-term friendships and profitable business relationships.

9. Speak your mind

Don't feel as though you should only ever compliment another blogger, especially if you disagree with him/her. If you disagree, say so.

10. A link and traffic?

Most blogs turn a signature into a link. Many of these links will not pass link juice or directly boost search engine rankings as they have the NOFOLLOW attribute attached, but if you make comments that interest people or offer value in other ways, you are likely to get traffic to your blog as people want to see what else you have to say.

Don't waffle

Short and concise comments work best. Unless the post requires a lengthy response.

I hope this information gives you some ideas on how to promote your blog by commenting on other blogs. It is a great way to get yourself known and to generate traffic.

Photo – Joesph Nicolia

A Guide to Integrated Digital Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:20 PM PST

Marketing is evolving to meet the needs of the consumer in this tech-reliant world. The Internet and the rise of mobile have created an environment in which consmers demand personalization and immediate access to information. To stay competitive, brands must adopt a marketing strategy that is both integrated and digital. This infographic details the 6 key components that make up an effective integrated digital marketing strategy.

Should SEO Change It’s Name? Matt Cutts Of Google Thinks…

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:10 PM PST

Matt Cuts, Google's resident Search Engine Optimization expert and one of the original Google employees, has a chance to talk about the philosophy of the SEO term.

Let's examine the common language around getting your site seen on Google and other major Search Engines:

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Pros:

It's probably the most direct and simple way to explain what most people want, which is to organically rank high in Search Engines by optimizing your website based on what Google's algorhythm values for you to rank high for the terms you want.

Cons:

The term "SEO" for some has a shady reputation for being limited to link building, buying links, spamming and even hacking.

SEM – Search Engine Marketing

Pros:

Search Engine Marketing is a broader term that can encompasses many Marketing strategies focused on Search including PPC (Google Adwords) AND Optimizing your site for Organic high visibility.

Cons:

Some may view SEM as being closer to the Advertising department than part of your Web Development. Traditionally this term has not necessarily encompassed Search Engine Optimization techniques and has focused more on Paid strategies such as Google Adwords and other PPC programs.

SXP – Search Experience Optimization

Matt Cutts offers a new term.

Pros:

A much "softer" term that focuses on the user rather than the goal. This term allows people to consider many aspects of the Search Engine experience and can encompass an expanding number of ways relevant customers can be led to you.

Cons:

Marketers may have trouble marketing their services to people who are focused on the bottom line and will want to use a term that is bit more focused on the Business value rather than Consumer value .

Ironically, the Acronym just isn't SEO friendly in the relevant way.

Conclusion

Matt Cutts concludes that he believes SEO will probably stick around as the predominant term for Marketing Search visibility strategies. The key is to identify and educate the public that there are both "White hat" and "Black hat" SEO strategies and like anything else there is always a gray area to be aware of.

So do you think SEO should change it's name? If so, to what?

Now This is What Social Media Marketing Should Look Like!

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST

People enjoy spending time on social media platforms because they love the interaction and conversations they find there. Brands love social media platforms because they can tap into those conversations for everything from market research and engagement to selling and loyalty building.

Sounds like a win-win situation, right?

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Definitely—but with one challenge: Brands need to find a way to be a part of the conversation without sounding the same as they do everywhere else. Nobody wants to read an advertising jingle smack-dab in the middle of their Facebook thread or Twitter chat.

When brands strike the right tone with their customers and prospects, social media can be amazingly effective. But how can your brand find the "right" voice? Is it okay to let your hair down and have a little fun?

Some companies are getting it right.

For example, when this tweet from the UK's @AmazingPhil revealed he was "cheating" on Domino's Pizza with delivery from rival Pizza Hut, both companies responded by delivering humor instead of a pitch:

Pizza Hut Delivery UK: "Hope you're enjoying it! ;-) "

Domino's Pizza UK: "Sounds like a momentary lapse. Please don't do it again. ;P"

And it only got funnier from there. Here's another recent witty exchange between Oreo and AMC Theaters:

Oreo: "Ever bring your own Oreo cookies to the theater? #slicksnacker"

AMC Theaters: "NOT COOL, COOKIE."

Oreo: "Fair enough, @AMCTheaters, but don't hate the player, hate the game."

AMC Theaters: "GAME ON."

Every back-and-forth was gleefully re-tweeted by fans of both brands and then covered by social media and advertising blogs who loved the playful tone adopted throughout the conversation.

As Shane Adams, the Interactive Marketing Manager for AMC explained in a post on his own blog, the key behind the success of the Oreo/AMC exchange was that both brands gave their social media pros the freedom to create and inhabit a voice that would appeal to their fans in a unique way.

What else can we learn from social media marketers who are using winning brand personalities to connect with online audiences?

  • Don't get mad. Get funny. When your brand catches a bit of criticism or snark, it might be tempting to ignore it—or to strike back. But what if you had a sense of humor about yourself instead? It's difficult to make someone the brunt of the joke when they're in on it!
  • Create a unique social media voice. Your brand's style is unique. Its look is unique. Its advertising messages are unique . . . and its social voice should follow suit. Social media platforms offer you a fantastic opportunity to add personality to your brand. Just be sure it's the kind of personality that builds a stronger connection with your customers and fans.
  • Put your fans in the spotlight. User-generated content in social media campaigns can be fantastic for building buzz, but proceed with caution. Campaigns like these can also fall flat in a very public way. The key is to make it easy for your followers to participate (as with the Doritos Super Bowl user-generated content campaign), but not so easy that you end up with a Skittles-style free-for-all.

The smartest "socially active" companies are successful because they understand that social media platforms call for a unique approach and because they understand that sometimes, a smile matters as much as a sale.

How to Quickly and Easily Remove Pages From Google

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:25 PM PST

Google Remove URLs Search String and Result

Googlebot is the name given to the software Google uses to crawl and index the web. The software is more commonly known as a spider. These spiders crawl web pages looking for keywords and other relevant indicators so they can store the pages in Google's search database for later retrieval in the search results.

They also look for links so they can find and index yet more pages.

As a website owner or blogger you usually want Google to find your pages and add them to its index. But there are times when you don't want this to happen. When you want Google to totally ignore your pages.

For example:

  • Landing pages for a PPC or other marketing campaign
  • Pages used for in-house communications
  • Test pages
  • Pages which contain sensitive information

And sometimes we want Google to remove old pages from its index, or pages that should never have been indexed in the first place.

But how difficult is it to remove these pages from Google, and how do you go about it?

The answer to both questions is that it's actually quite a simple process and the pages are usually removed in a matter of hours (at least in my experience).

Which pages do you want removing?

You may already have an idea which pages you want removing from Google's index. Whether you do or you don't, it's worth doing a thorough check to see if Google has indexed any pages you perhaps don't know about or have forgotten.

The easiest way to do this is to perform a simple search on Google using the following search string:

site:http://yourdomain.com/

Obviously replace yourdomain.com with the actual domain you want to check. If your site uses www at the start of the URL, add it to the search string:

site:http://www.yourdomain.com/

Google shows all the pages in its index for the given URL. It also shows sub-domains, if you use them.

At the top of the page it shows the total number of pages from the site in its index (indicated by the blue arrow in the image above), but you will have to navigate through the results to see them all.

As you go through search results make a note of the pages you want removing.

Removal request

The next stage is requesting the removal of the pages, but before you do that you must make sure the pages are correctly set-up or deleted from your site.

This is what Google says you must do before submitting a removal request:

Once you have done this head over to Google Webmaster Tools. If you have multiple sites in the account, find the site you want to work on. If you don't already have an account, create one and verify your site.

Then do the following:

  • Navigate to the Optimization section
  • Click on Remove URLs
  • Click on Create new removal request
  • Enter the URL you want to remove and click continue
  • Select the best option from the drop-down menu (Remove page from search results and cache, Remove page from cache only or Remove directory)
  • Click on submit request

Your removal request is now underway and is usually completed very quickly, sometimes within a few hours.

The directory removal request is very useful if you want to remove a number of pages in one category. If you are running a WordPress site you might want to remove everything in the following directories – tags, categories or pages. In this scenario, just enter the web address of your site and the name of the directory:

http://yourdomain.com/tag/

It should be said that any pages returning a 404 error (page not found, ie deleted from your site) will eventually and naturally drop out of Google's index. But if you don't want to wait for it to happen, you can move this method to hurry things along. I last used it a couple of days ago when I noticed a test sub-domain was fully indexed – in just a few hours all the pages were removed from Google's index.

The 7 Dysfunctional Blog Types: Is Your Company Blog Suffering?

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:23 PM PST

The 7 Dysfunctional Blog Types: Is Your Company Blog Suffering?In my line of work I run into a lot of businesses who have bought into the need for blog content to engage their customers, to have something to share in social media, and for the SEO benefits. I'm glad to see they've seen the light!

The only problem is….the content. A lot of the content I see out there from startups, small businesses, and even corporations leaves a lot to be desired. It could even be called "dysfunctional" because it's such a mismatch with their target market's needs as well as with their company strategy.

Here are the 7 dysfunctional blog types

Here are the 7 dysfunctional blog types that I run into regularly. I'm sure there are others, so leave your ideas in the comments!

1) The Scrapbook

A random assortment of posts, generally not focused around any central theme. Some posts may be interesting for the target customer, but there's not enough critical mass on any given topic to bring them back to read again.

2) The Sale Pitch

Imagine a sales presentation cut up, turned into text and divided into several blog posts. Everyone ending with, "So that's why you need to hire an XYZ. Contact us here".

3) The Press Release Distributor

Basically press releases posing as blog posts.

4) Out of Left Field

A company founder or employee who takes the angle of an online journal and blogs about whatever strikes them – current events, a recent trip, a minor rant. Sometimes interesting, but not really focused on what potential customers would be interested in reading.

5) The Bare Minimum

Posts on topics that may be of interest to your readers but so poorly researched and written that you can tell that each post is just quickly written effort to have something up.

6) It's All About Us (and our products)

Just an extension of the website with more detail about products – specs, models, launch dates, features and benefits.

7) The Non-Local Local Blog

A very local business that makes no mention of any local topics (or any local keywords). For more on that issue, you can listen to me on Ryan Hanley's podcast here where I explain my perspective near the end.

Have you seen this as well?

I'm not trying to pick on anyone or any company. The fact is, we all started with a pretty horrible blog (don't lie). I know I did. You have to crawl before you can walk, if you know what I mean. I think some of us have just deleted that first blog or those old posts. Or they're buried so deeply that no one finds them.

So what can a company do about this?

This short post is not the place to lay out a complete content strategy, but here are some key questions to get you started in the right direction:

  • Who are you writing for? Which target customers, partners or industry influencers?
  • What interests do those people have? Let's call these "interest clusters".
    • Brides like wedding tips, wedding resources, pricing guides, wedding photo scrapbooks (for ideas) and so on.
    • IT managers care about server performance, server costs, software, management tips, hiring tips, etc.
    • You don't have to write just about your product. You can write about anything within that "interest cluster" and your target audience will be happy!
  • What content would they find valuable? Not just kind of valuable, but very valuable? (hint, it doesn't have to exactly relate to your product)
  • Based on this, what's the theme of your blog? What kind of topics will you cover? What are the main categories? Will you do any content curation? Will you do interviews or allow guest bloggers?
  • Do you narrow your search competition appropriately? If you only do business in the Niagara Falls region, do you write articles that include your top services and specific cities or towns in that area (possibly case studies)? How else will Google figure out that you want to be found for "Niagara plumber"?
  • Are you creating your best content?
  • Do you map out what topics you'll talk about in your blog? Do you regularly collect and brainstorm new ideas?
  • Do you have at least a basic editorial calendar?
  • Is someone in charge of the overall blog – making sure there's regular content and editing it as needed?

So getting the content right is key.

Your blog can do so much for your company in terms of engaging readers, engendering trust in your company, getting more social media shares (and traffic back to your site) as well as SEO. But if your blog is not aligned with your customers' interests and your company strategy, you may be wasting that valuable time you're putting into content generation. Feel free to contact me if you want to strategize on the direction of the blog for your startup or company. If you're on track with the direction but need help with regular content, consider getting this blogging course for your content creation team.

What dysfunctional blog types do you run into?

Let me know in the comments if you run into the seven blog types above, or if you see other types of business blogs that drive you crazy!

Do You Have the Entrepreneurial Spirit? [Infographic]

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:18 PM PST

So you think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? The Kauffman Foundation (2011) reports that only 320 out of every 100,000 adults set up new businesses in the United States. For most people, stepping outside the safety net of employment is an uncomfortable and unfamiliar notion. It's no small feat to organize, manage, and assume the risks and responsibility of a business; do you have the education and background that could help you to succeed?

For those of you who relish the thought of breaking out of your comfort zone and making success truly your own, the question is – how are you going to get started?

Do You Have the Entrepreneurial Spirit?
Courtesy of: MBA Programs

Qyuki, A Crowdsourcing Network For Creative Minds

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:00 PM PST

Qyuki, a social network for stories which was quite talked about during the beginning of 2012 has been launched successfully. The AR Rahman & Shekhar Kapur joint venture has a web and an Android app available for fans right now. I gave the web version a try to find more about the platform, that has its base in Bangalore.

How does Qyuki work?

Qyuki is open to all and you can log in via your Facebook profile or normal email login. Once the login process is over (it is bit tedious even though I used a Facebook login), you land up on Qyuki with the first thought being – 'another Pinterest!' I reserved my views since today every web network is opting the visual way. The platform is broadly divided into three sections as elaborated below:

1. Creations: The creations tab, as the name suggests is a collection of images, videos and audio. This section is also further sub-divided into Following, Handpicked and Premiere. All the content that is available on the platform can be filtered by various categories, emotions, location, noteworthy and experts. However, the filtering could be made much more efficient in the further upgrades. As a user you can perform two major actions – either you can create your own content or appreciate and engage with other users content.

The platform accepts original content either from your computer or already stored in your profile for all the forms of media such as text, audio, image, video. While you upload a new content, you can associate it with respective categories and also add the reactions that provoked your creations.

Similarly if you want to engage with an existing content shared by other users then you need to express your reaction, following which you can leave a comment on it. The platform also provides a quick analysis in the form of number of views for the relative content.

Along with this you can follow experts or top creators by clicking on the Following section. The Handpicked section is the most interesting section for me since it was a collection created by Qyuki. An incentive for creative people to submit interesting creations and wish to get the "Handpicked" badge from Qyuki.

Qyuki_Handpicked

Premiere, the last tab is also another very interesting tab from revenue point of view. Right now the tab is showing some exclusive content of Shekhar Kapoor and A.R. Rehman. But I am sure that in future this could be used as an exclusive section and looked at from a monitory point of view.

2. Community: The entire network is being referred to as the community. This section has two sub-divisions such as Everyone and Experts. Everyone as the name goes, shows the entire list of people but it was not clear what is the rationality of showing the selected ones when there are no filters applied.

One of the highlights of the platform is getting Experts on the network such as Imtiaz Ali, Ranjit Barot, Chetan Bhagat, etc. These mentors here are not only showing their talent in their loved forms of art but also giving you the opportunity to impress them. Another interesting aspect of the platform where at some point these experts could scout and nurture fresh talent. And another revenue making source going further.

Qyuki_Experts

3. Inspirations: At present there are amazing challenges thrown by experts and by the network to the users so that the level of interactivity and excitement increases. One such challenge that is going on is create stories in 140 characters. This could be another source of revenue generation by becoming a sponsored section where brands can run contests and get the best via crowdsourced methodology.

4. My Profile: This is the personal section of the user and you can also see the entire snapshot of the activities that you have performed on the platform such as list of Following (people you follow), Followers (who are following you) and Inspirations (experts you are following). In addition to this, you have the facility of messaging, search and a notification icon to keep you abreast of updates in your network.

How cool is Qyuki?

Qyuki for sure works without a glitch at present. However, the list of content that the platform is showing to me under the section – All Categories is bit irritating to me. Let the user decide what she wants to see in the network. You can show it in a section called suggestions or show it in the Community section.

One of the challenges of user generated platforms is that the platform needs to be regulated otherwise it would turn into spam. For example, I saw a content that was objectionable and I don't follow the person but I am still seeing it on the "All Creations" section. I guess this could be resolved to an extent if the user is allowed to select his own content stream.

Apart from this Qyuki could be exciting for creative people, looking at the elite league of experts joining and being part of the platform.

Ending Thoughts

I had initially shared that Qyuki could very well be moulded into a crowdsourced platform of creative work. Right now Qyuki is very well poised to be the same and stand in direct competition with platforms like Tumbhi, Talenthouse, etc.

Additionally, questions about monetization, regional content, copyright issues and becoming a market place – that I had shared in my earlier post – have now been answered by Poonacha Machaiah, who is now heading Qyuki.

I am happy to see that Qyuki has not tried to be another Facebook or Twitter. Qyuki looks interesting and the success would be on how the platform is monitored and how well the experts show their support too. Seeing the growing love of Bollywood for crowdsourcing, I am sure it is going to keep all stakeholders interested.

10 Ways to Thank and Recognize Your Donors Using Social Media

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:48 AM PST

10 Ways to Thank and Recognize Your Donors Using Social MediaIn 2013, nonprofit digital marketing efforts will continue to focus on using social media tools to raise awareness for organizations and causes, to promote events and to fundraise.

However, from what I have been observing of late, the purpose of most social media marketing campaigns seems to be collecting the most Likes on Facebook, the most Twitter followers, the most connections on LinkedIn, the most rePins on Pinterest, etc.

More, more, more seems to continue to be the way to go.

This is an incorrect strategy.

In my experience, quality beats quantity any day of the week, in any contest.

Yes, you can pay special online services to gain 10,000 followers on Twitter. You can hold exciting online contests to lure people into clicking "Like" on your Facebook Page.

Purchased followers and fans may boost your numbers and look impressive to your boss, but they do nothing for your bottom line.

At the end of the contest or the purchase, how many of these fans will ever look at your website, read your blog, make a donation or purchase your product?

My guess is – very, very few if any.

Instead of focusing on growing your social media numbers, how about focusing on retaining and engaging the fans/followers that you do have?

recent study showed donor retention in the last few years has been an abysmal. 7 out of 10 donors are leaving our organizations and not donating again!

Yes, you read that right. That's an attrition rate of 7 out of 10 donors. What if we lost Facebook fans at that rate? Or Twitter followers? We would certainly sit up and pay attention.

My suggestion – Focus on donor recognition and rewards for 2013! Nonprofits need to shift our focus. Instead of always thinking about the information we want to relay and making all our marketing campaigns about US, why not make it about our donors – the ones who sustain us, the ones who we rely on to keep our lights on.

This year of "Thank You" applies to all donors, stakeholders, volunteers, staff members, members, and the like.

After all, current and past supporters form the best foundation from which to grow and sustain your organization in 2013. Make sure the loyal know that they are appreciated!

Social media happens to be a fantastic way to publicly recognize and thank donors. Here are 10 ideas about recognizing and rewarding your donors using these tools.

 Plan

1. Schedule the time. Like any other task on your To Do list, you need to schedule adequate time to get it accomplished. Will it be 15 minutes at the start of each day? Will it be every Thursday (Thankful Thursdays)?

2. Organize resources. Will you have a specific budget for thanking donors? You don't need to make elaborate, expensive print materials or tchotchkes, but you could explore paid advertising on social media platforms. Read John Haydon's postabout targeting donors with Facebook Ads.

3. Assign staff and volunteers. Who will be responsible for carrying out the work? I suggest forming a specific Recognition Committee of Board members, staff and volunteers, supervised by the Executive Director or Development Director.

Acknowledge

4. Show the love. When was the last time you posted "We have the absolute best Facebook fans on the planet"? Try it! Even something simple like this should get interaction. Try posting it on all your social networks and see the love grow!

5. Respond and reply promptly. Answer all questions and Wall Posts, mentions on Twitter and all public blog comments in a very timely fashion (within 3-4 hours). This shows that your organization is responsive and that you are paying attention to what your fans are saying.

6. Say The Words – Thank You! Organize a "Thank You" campaign and promote it everywhere.

  • Heather Mansfield of the blog Nonprofit Tech 2.0 lays out ideas for creating "Thank You" videos for your 2012 fundraising campaigns.
  • Participate in Diane Darling's "The Thank You Project", where you hand write at least four personalized thank you notes per week.
  • Blog about your Thank You campaign, post on Facebook and Twitter, share your Thank You process on LinkedIn.

Reward

7. Exclusive Discounts and Offers. Nonprofits can team up with local or national businesses to offer exclusive discounts – for example, when the local business hits 500 fans on Facebook, they will donate a certain amount to the nonprofit and offer a discount of 15% to all of the nonprofit's Facebook fans. This way, the nonprofit and business will mutually benefit through cooperative marketing, and the fans will benefit by being able to help give back in a fairly effortless way.

8. Pick a Fan of the Week. This is a simple, easy-to-use Facebook application to add to your nonprofit's Page. It automatically highlights the person who interacts with your Page the most within a given week. Make this honor extra special and offer to highlight that Fan's business or favorite cause for one week on your page, create a gallery of Fans of the Week on your website or make a special phone call to the Fan of the Week (if you have their information) to thank them for their engagement. You can also send them items such as a t-shirt, pen, coffee mug or other memento (with your logo on it of course)!

9. Help Fans Give Back. Many companies reward Facebook Fans by helping them give back, tying charitable donations to the growth of their fan base. Hosiery and leg wear company No Nonsense recently kicked off a program in which it is donating one million pairs of socks to needy children and families across the country. The campaign, called "Socks for America," allows consumers to donate a pair of socks in their name to a person in need simply by becoming a fan on No Nonsense'sFacebook Page.

10. Showcase Them! With their permission of course, showcase your donors using social media – their photos, why they give, a brief interview, a quote, a testimonial. So simple and yet so powerful. They are individuals after all. If you receive funding from a corporation or foundation showcase the program officer or person responsible for managing the donation.

photo credit: comedy nose via photopin cc

This post originally appeared on the GiftWorks Guest Blog.

Providing Care to the Underserved Through SMS

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:45 AM PST

As the use of mobile technology changes, so does the way we go about our everyday lives.  We are able to access many different forms of healthcare via our mobile units, but are some people being left behind?  We currently live in a society where the smartphone will do all the heavy lifting.  What's that bump on your arm?  Snap a picture, send it off to a doctor via an app, and get an expert opinion in return.  Oh darn, you forgot to get medication details before you left your doctor's office, don't fret.  Type the name of your medication into Google and get medication information via the Google Knowledge Graph (which is populated by the FDA).  But how do individuals without smartphones access important healthcare related information?   How can we help the underserved become informed?

Identifying who the underserved are and recognizing what access they have to different forms of mobile should be the first step in addressing the dilemma.  The world's population is over 7 billion and there is no stop in sight.  Peppered throughout the world's 7 billion inhabitants are over 4 billion mobile phones.  Of those 4 billion mobile devices, a little more than 1 billion are smartphone devices and over 3 billion are SMS (text message) enabled!  This statistic should help paint a picture that shows SMS being an extremely effective way to deliver healthcare related information to a large percentage of the population that doesn't have access to smartphones.

Text-based systems have been utilized in metropolitan cities for years now and have done a relatively efficient job at delivering information for city wide alerts.  Although one of the main criticism of the SMS alert system is a lack of usership.  Raising the public's awareness of SMS based alerts is crucial to serving the community which includes the underserved.   If you have a wonderful and effective tool like SMS healthcare alerts, but little to no engagement, is it still useful tool?  Services like text4baby and Homeless SMS in the UK are both services utilizing SMS based campaigns that offer healthcare and wellness related information for free (cost of message) to the end user.

Reaching out and identifying individuals who would benefit from mobile notifications would also be an integral part in the delivery of healthcare related information.  Being proactive in registering individuals for SMS alerts could include teaming up with homeless shelters, welfare centers, free/low cost clinics, etc.  Spreading the word will help to bolster a user base and create an effective alert system.

While a SMS based alert system that focuses on the underserved may only be one way of delivering information, it looks to be a very efficient one.  What are some other ways of reaching a group of people that are often shunned by society?  How else can we keep people engaged and informed of services that are available should they need to want it?

Social Media Engagement, The Pope and Lipstick on a Pig

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:40 AM PST

describe the imageYesterday was a big day in social media. Mayan predictions and opportune weddings created the majority of buzz, but a single account caused a stir of its own. The Pope, the actual leader of the Catholic Church, started using his own Twitter account to delight of devout Catholics and lazy journalists everywhere. How this new journey into social media engagement will affect the Catholic Church is for others to discuss. But his first few tweets did make an interesting point for marketers.

The first group of tweets from the pontiff were notable for a number of reasons. Firstly, not a hashtag or link in sight; which is understandable considering he is 85 years old. And the aids designated to actually write the tweets are probably no more than twenty years younger. Can't imagine social media savvy is high on the list of Catholic virtues. The main point of interest was the content of the tweets.

They all just felt so… church-ey. It's natural to expect a sermon from God's representative on earth. But it made me think. This enterprise, no matter what spin is placed upon it, is a marketing effort by the church. It is designed to reach the people, and generate more 'brand' awareness. Papal social media engagement is designed to make the church more accessible to social media users. Otherwise known as young people.

Social Media is not a Billboard

So after all that effort, why use this new channel to broadcast the same old messages? Social media is a brand new form of communication; it needs to be used in that way. But, so far, the church hasn't really done that. They've just taken snippets of sermon and posted them on social media. It's a mistake that isn't confined to octogenarians on their first foray into social media engagement.

Too many businesses do the same thing. They create social media accounts and they ask people to connect with them in this new arena. Then they just fill it with the same old sales patter and advertising slogans they used to flog through mailshots and radio ads. They failed to remember a common phrase that's even older than the pontiff. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

What these businesses fail to realize, is that social media is not a billboard. It's not an advertising opportunity. It offers that, but when it's used effectively it's so much more than that. Your social media strategy shouldn't just be to get a message out there. It should be to engage with your market. You need to spread brand awareness and drive sales by being a part of a community.

The Social Media Party

That means changing the message, or saving it for the right part of the conversation. Social media is an invitation to a party with all of your prospective clients. Who would you rather talk to at a party? The friendly, insightful mingler? Or the guy standing in the middle of the room shouting into a megaphone?

Social media engagement is about drawing prospects to you. That means asking genuine questions, and waiting for genuine answers. It means offering more than platitudes or veiled sales pitches. It means creating value. Social media users are picky. They can afford to be, because they are a part of everyone's target market. You need to respect that fickly nature and offer them something different, something new.

The Pope's arrival on Twitter may well be successful. Adapting to a whole new form of communication takes time. After all he's coming from the brand that turned water into wine. Businesses don't need miracles to turn a social media pigs into a princesses. It just takes more than lipstick.

Get ahead of your competitors and stay there with the help of social media marketing! Download Now our free whitepaper ‘The Definitive Guide to B2B Social Media’. 

Should Your Business be on Pinterest? (Infographic)

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:25 AM PST

Pinterest is the fastest growing website in the US.

It drives more sales than Facebook.

If you haven't yet come across Pinterest, let me tell you a little bit about it.

It's a social netwroking site mainly used by women (at the current time). Users "pin" images from web pages to "boards" they create and categorise, much like bookmarking. Boards are visible to other users who can repin any image to one of their own boards, they can also leave comments. Like other social networking sites, users can follow other users, or can they follow specific boards.

Pinterest is an ideal promotional platform for certain types of business, particularly those that rely heavily on images and presentation; fashion, jewellery, recipes, beauty.

This infographic will help you decide if you should be using Pinterest to promote your business. If the answer is no, create a personal account, Pinterest is a lot of fun.

Should Your Business Be on Pinterest? Find Out [INFOGRAPHIC]
via: Should Your Business Be on Pinterest? Find Out [INFOGRAPHIC]

5 Rules for Successful Social Media

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:09 AM PST

As the social media industry expands and improves, there are more possibilities for businesses to creatively and effectively connect to their consumers. However there are still a number of mistakes that some businesses and brands continue to make. Although digital mishaps have a longer shelf life than other real life slip ups, when they are handled quickly and efficiently there are fixable and can even bring positive attention to a brand.

5 Rules for successful social media marketingSocial networks and the tools available to use with them are constantly evolving and the potential for organizations to succeed evolves with them. By keeping these 5 rules in mind business can easily avoid mistakes.

  1. Create Standout Content: One of the biggest changes in the social media industry as 2013 approaches is the focus on content marketing. Basic social updates and interaction are no longer receiving interest among users. Certain social networks are even taking actions to ensure brands have to put more creativity into their efforts. On Facebook, posts including a photo album, a picture or a video generate about 180%, 120%, and 100% more engagement than the average post, respectively. Creative and interesting content can educate new audiences about a business with the possibility of going viral.
  2. Optimize and Integrate Content: This is a hugely important aspect of all social media execution. Including the right tags and keyword rich descriptions when possible are not only necessary for proper indexing by search engines, but help consumers more easily find a businesses information. Furthermore, integrating social media efforts and content across all platforms is crucial. As a recent study found “by 2013, lead management campaigns integrating 4 or more digital channels are expected to outperform single- or dual-channel campaigns by 300%.” Great content is the first step and proper optimization and integration means more potential consumers view it.
  3. Don't Over Sell: Social media is social first and foremost. Yes, social networks are a powerful source for businesses to connect with their audience, but it needs to be done in an inherently social way. Constantly pushing sales material on users will drive them away from a brand's content. That's not to say sales are not part of the equation – not having easy access for users to purchase is a huge social media transgression. However social media is about connecting the product and business to a larger moral and story.
  4. Always Listen and Respond: No one likes to be ignored and making negative opinions known has never been easier than it is today. With the wealth of information available, reaching out to speak directly to a business or brand has become a last resort in many cases. This makes especially important for brands to be aware of these conversations and engage. Engagement is a two way street and organizations that address the concerns of their consumers increase brand loyalty.
  5. Be Genuine: One of the most effective yet overlooked aspects of social media marketing. Unless a business is using social media only as a way to distribute content (which is not a great idea for most businesses) there should be a human aspect to the account. This includes listening to users and taking their opinions into account. As Rob Faris explained, “”If businesses can be transparent, be authentic — in the right context — then the brand and the brand story can be conversational and influential.” Social media is about collaboration and co-creation and using social networks as an avenue to achieve this is the best practice for businesses and brands.

There are always issues that can arise in business and social media allows the word to spread faster. The best way to avoid these problems is to do proper research and planning in order to develop a universal tone and strategy that integrates all traditional marketing methods.

Sources: ForbesDSX Group

Contact Wild Frog Studio to begin planning your social media strategy.

13 Nonprofit Social Media New Year’s Resolutions for 2013

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:35 AM PST

13 Nonprofit Social Media New Year's Resolutions for 2013The end of the year is a time for reflection, for relaxation and for introspection.

In the fast-paced, minute-to-minute, rapidly-changing world of social media, taking the time to see the bigger picture becomes especially important.

Nonprofit professionals should take a moment to take stock of their social media marketing efforts in 2012 and ask themselves the following questions:

  • How did we succeed in the past year?
  • What channels did we use effectively?
  • What were the challenges?
  • What could we have done differently?
  • What changes could we make going into 2013?

Another one of my favorite year-end aspects is planning for the New Year. I use the New Year as an opportunity to start fresh, to try new things, to take risks, and to get renewed energy and motivation.

In the spirit of planning for next year, I wrote down 13 Nonprofit Social Media New Year's Resolutions for 2013. I hope you find them helpful as you create your kick-butt social media strategy for 2013.

13 Nonprofit Social Media New Year's Resolutions for 2013

  1. I will participate. Resolve to participate to the fullest extent possible. Remember, social media is just like exercise – you get the results out based on the effort that you put in.
  2. I will be helpful. Stop only pushing out information and asking for things. Be helpful, courteous, resourceful and valuable to your online community.
  3. I will ask questions. That's what social media is all about right? The give and take – asking for feedback, advice, opinions from your community is important.
  4. I will get training. Acquiring the skills necessary to effectively use all the social media tools at your disposal is crucial. Don't think this can be done overnight. Any social media expert you know has spent countless hours reading (and writing) blogs, taking webinars and attending conferences and trainings.
  5. I will read. A lot. This goes with #5. Find a few blogs to follow on a regular basis (here are somegreat ones) but do not let yourself get overwhelmed. Read a book a month on social media and nonprofits (there are a ton out there). Take notes.
  6. I will be accessible. Answer questions, acknowledge comments and likes, engage with your fans and followers. Address blog comments. Show that there is a person behind the Facebook page, Twitter account and Pinterest board.
  7. I will invest in good visuals. Visuals are one of the most important weapons in your emotional arsenal – show your impact through pictures! They really are worth a 1000 words. Invest in great eye-catching graphics, develop interesting infographics and take compelling photos of your nonprofit in action. With the staggering rise of Pinterest and Instagram, the photo is king, and the power of the visual is only increasing.
  8. I will allow creative freedom. If your nonprofit needs a cohesive social media policy for employees and volunteers (and what nonprofit doesn't need this?), establish one. But don't stifle people's freedom to express themselves on social media sites – simply establish guidelines, provide training and support and answer questions. You cannot prevent your employees and volunteers and clients and donors from using social media. But you can assist them in making good decisions that will benefit your organization.
  9. I will plan. That includes making a calendar of posts, a spread sheet for blog post ideas, a folder of potential images to pin on Pinterest, a task list with important events, deadlines and tasks. It also includes delegating the work if you do not have a full time social media person.
  10. I will measure. Determine the goals, establish benchmarks, and then measure. For more on measuring the results gained from your social media campaigns, check out Beth Kanter's blog.
  11. I will celebrate. Celebrate accomplishments, benchmarks, funds raised, successes. Celebrate your volunteers and your donors who give of their time, expertise and money. Most of all, celebrate the impact that you are having on the world.
  12. I will not get discouraged. It is easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged. There is always a new social media site to discover and read about. There is always a new blog to post, a new tweet to send, and new video to post to YouTube. Social media work cannot be crossed off the To Do list – it's not something to finish and walk away from. Look at it like a garden – cultivate, weed, shed light, water – and watch it grow!
  13. I will have fun. Nuff said!

You have my sincere best wishes for a happy, healthy and productive 2013!

What are your resolutions for using social media in 2013? Please leave me your thoughts in the Comments section or on my Facebook page. Thanks for reading! 

photo credit: Lenabem-Anna via photopin cc

Part 3: How to Increase Blog Traffic Like a Boss

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:30 AM PST

This is the final installment in my three-part blogging series. By no means is this the end but hopefully after reading the first two articles, (Reasons to Blog: A 3-Part Series from a Pro and How to Start a Blog and Not Be Overwhelmed) you feel more comfortable with blogging and some of you have even started your own blogs. For those of you who are now blogging — congratulations!

Once your site is up and running and you are consistently posting articles to your blog, there will come a time when you want more. More traffic, better search rankings, and the ability to generate business leads, etc. The good news is that there are a variety of things you can do to increase blog traffic and get the readers you deserve!

If you're ready to learn how to increase blog traffic like a boss, check out my tried-and-true tips below:

Set Your Blogging Goals

Getting started is the first hurdle, now it's time to get real about your blogging goals. Whenever I speak at conferences, I try to simplify blogging and the goals of websites to three goal sets. The three goals of any site can only be: Content, Community, and Conversion.

Are you blogging to publish content to help position yourself as a subject matter expert or increase your search visibility? Are you trying to develop a community around your product, service, or brand? Or are you looking at conversion points by trying to get your readers to take a specific measurable action? (Hint: almost every onsite action is measurable.) And a measurable action means it will be the most beneficial to your business.

Strategize and Analyze

As you begin to strategize, keep in mind that search may be the VERY first point of contact for a new customer to your company. If you make a good impression in search, you'll get the click, which may lead the person doing the search down the road toward becoming a client.

Whatever the goal you have in mind, there needs to be an associated metric of success with it. A typical goal for content may be search rankings. A common goal of community is an increase in social network followers and people sharing and re-distributing your content. Conversion may be measured by the number of leads you are receiving from your site or your click-through rate (CTR.) Remember, success looks different to every blogger and every site owner, so these metrics are your own.

Develop Your Content Strategy

No matter the goals and metrics you decide upon, a strong content strategy needs to be put in place. Read other blogs in your vertical and see what other bloggers are writing about. I swear, I get almost half of my ideas from articles by reading other blogs. Bloggers I like such as Jay Baer, Brian Gardner, and Matt Cutts have always inspired thought and made me want to write. [Blogging Tip: The more you read, the more you will write.]

Keywords and SEO

Once you've decided on a topic or issue to write about, it's time to do your research. I like to use the Google AdWords tool to see what keywords are relevant to my topic. Once I discover how my topic is being searched for, I can construct a strategic outline for my post. [Blogging Tip: Use my Content Construction Worksheet to organize your thoughts and ideas. If this worksheet doesn't work for your process, make your own.]

Carefully constructed strategic content is the name of the game. The better your content is, the more your articles will be read and shared — thus increasing your site's traffic. When writing articles I try to do as much research as possible and respect the search engines, but in the end I write for people not for search robots.

Speaking of search, SEO will always play an integral part in your blog's success. Make sure your post titles are optimized using your main keyword or search phrase. Stay away from punctuation in titles and make sure you don't have underscores (_) in your links. Instead of underscores, make sure your post link uses dashes in between words.

Select an Image

Every article should have a relevant image posted in it. This helps the reader gauge what the post is about, but it also helps the search engines rank your site. All images should be name appropriately. A posted image with the name wddcgyfd.jpg will not help your SEO efforts, but an image named relevant-title.jpg will help your search visibility. Since search engines only recognize text, a properly named image will help get your post ranked.

When it comes to blogging and site development, everything works hand in hand and once you get used to taking the proper steps to include SEO into your posts — over time you will increase blog traffic.

Add Your Call to Action

I suggest at the end of every article you have a call to action to help stimulate conversation. A call to action may be as simple as, "What do you think? Leave a comment and tell us!!!" or another call to action could be, "Need more information on XYZ? Send us an email or fill out this simple contact form and one of our experts will get back to you shortly."

Telling people what you want them to do is the first step in maximizing conversion. That's why so many large companies spend money and time A/B testing concepts, colors, and messaging. It's a science of trial, error, and testing or what I like to call review, refine, and repeat.

Practice Makes Perfect

Now you know why I saved this for post three in the series. Things are getting a little more strategic and tactical. Don't worry if you aren't ready to dive into the SEO of your new blog or the content strategy just yet. But at some point, to make things really work for the marketing blogger, you will have to ease into this at some point if you want to increase blog traffic.

We've covered a lot in the last three posts. Blogging is a marathon and not a sprint. Getting traction and gaining leads for your business through your blog is a long tail strategy — it will take time. What may be incredibly difficult for you today will become easier over time. Please keep at it and don't quit.

If you've read my last three posts and have any questions, please feel free to comment and I will do my best to address your issue. Thanks for reading, stay calm, and blog on!

Tell us: What is your best tip to increase blog traffic?

The Importance of Business Blogging

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:25 AM PST

handshakeBlogging plays a major role in generating new business.

As I write these words business bloggers around the world are busy creating amazing content.

Some of these people are in coffee shops, others are in bed or sitting at a kitchen table, but they all have a common goal – to generate income for their clients or for their themselves.

And search engines love it.

They gobble up the new content each and every second of the day.

Regular blog updates help with search rankings

A regularly updated blog is more likely to get traffic than one which is updated once every three months.

It's easy to neglect a blog. The reality of blogging is that it is slow, laborious and time consuming. It's the main reason why people start a blog then quickly put it on the back-burner. They have other things to do. The small business owner has money to make, the stay-at-home mom has children to look after.

Whatever the reason, blogs, by the bucketload, are neglected.

And that's sad.

Why? Because you, the small business owner, could be missing out on traffic that could ultimately lead to a sale.

The power of the internet

The internet really is the most powerful marketing tool available. It's the first place people turn to when researching ANYTHING, including the services you offer.

And if they can't find you, they will use somebody they can find; a competitor.

Business blogging at all levels

Running a business blog enables you to engage with your clients, and more interaction usually leads to more sales.

However, the mistake a lot of business owners make is they they blog about their business, as opposed to their industry or niche, which is the wrong thing to do. People don't want to know about nights-out or office re-designs, they want to tap into your expertise and pick up on your opinion.

A business blog offers potential customers a great insight into the nature of your company. They get to know you without speaking directly to you, as your company blog extends the personality of your business.

It's a digital first impression. A digital salesman.

A scruffy or disorganised blog gives the perception of a scruffy and disorganised business. On the other hand, a blog that is regularly updated, pleasant to look at and full of insightful and useful information gives quite a different, and altogether more positive impression.

Place these two imaginary business blogs side-by-side and which business do you think most people are likely to contact first?

Business blog revamp

If you've tried business blogging and the pages you created are still online, there is a possibility that they could actually have a negative effect on your business. Poor grammar, out of date information, staid design – if your blog is guilty of any of these, and your potential customers come across them as they research your company, they could go somewhere else instead.

Large deals lost because of spelling mistakes or a lack of updates.

It's quite scary isn't it? But, it's also true. Think about your own surfing habits.

If you have a business blog and you don't have the time or inclination to update it, try outsourcing its management. It may become your top salesperson.

Picture – buddawiggi

Congress Is On Instagram – Why Isn’t Your Nonprofit?

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:05 AM PST

What was once a bastion for teens and the tech-savvy to share photos of their feet at the beachfood porn and tall buildings shot from interesting angles, Instagram has now attracted a new set of users – politicians.

According to The Hill's Twitter Room, Congressmen and women are now jumping on the Instagram bandwagon.

Instagram_Screen_Shot_Rep_Steny_Hoyer

Instagram account for Rep. Steny Hoyer, Maryland

Since being acquired by Facebook in April, the popular photo-sharing site has grown in leaps and bounds.

According to a September comScore report, Instagram now has more active daily visitors on mobile than Twitter!

Many nonprofit organizations that have a visual element (i.e., all of them) still have not heard of Instagram, which is a shame.

The site remains popular due to the absence of ads (but no lack of spam unfortunately) and the pure quality of the site.

Members of Congress use Instagram to:

  • Connect directly with their constituents
  • Show their personality
  • Photographing interesting meetings – for example, House Speaker John Boehner showing Myanmar's opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi the view from his balcony
  • Post photos of Washington DC and Capital Hill
  • Showcase photos and events from the Congress person's home district

Couldn't your nonprofit use Instagram to do many of these things?

Worth thinking about!

Does your nonprofit use Instagram? If not, why not? If so, post your link in the Comments or on myFacebook Page and we'll check you out. Thanks for reading! 

Guest Blogging and How it Works

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 08:54 AM PST

Guest Parking 2

Guest blogging is one of the best ways to get good quality backlinks, which, in turn, help boost search engine rankings for the pages the backlinks are pointing to.

But there is more to guest blogging than that.

As well as acquiring a backlink, the author is tapping into the world of the publisher. A site with an active community who find a guest post engaging could send lots of traffic to the guest bloggers site. Some of those visitors will stick around and read more content, or look at the services offered, others, unfortunately, will leave and never return.

How guest blogging works

Guest blogging works like this – Person A has a website (it doesn't matter how old or busy it is, even sites with high traffic are looking for more links), he/she writes a post, or has a post written for them, on a topic related to their business. In this post there is at least one link pointing to a page on Person A's website (sometimes it's the home page, sometimes it isn't). The anchor text of the link usually contains keywords relevant to the page – dog beds, leather sofa, ladies shoes*.

Upon completion, the article is offered to the owner, Person B, of another website, which Person A has no control over.

If Person B likes the article and thinks it is a good fit for his/her website, and feels it will resonate with its audience, Person B publishes the post and Person A gains at least a backlink, and possibly some traffic.

It's a win win situation.

That's not the end of the story

All too often Person A submits a guest post to a site and after publication does very little to promote it. They may tweet it and Like it on Facebook, but that's it.

If Person A or B has lots of Twitter followers or Facebook fans, they may pick up on the article and share it with their networks, but if the article isn't shared by many other people, it could drop out of Google's index and the backlink that was so hard to achieve disappears, forever.

How to make sure your guest post stays in Google

First of all, make sure it is great! Mediocre doesn't cut it any more. Articles must be well written, informative, engaging, shareable. If you are not creating content that people can use or want to share, you may as well pack up your laptop. Ultimately, Google decides if a page is worthy of staying in its index. Nobody outside of Google knows exactly what factors it uses to determine the quality of a page, but sharing is certainly one of them, so too, probably, is the length of time a person stays on the page.

If a high number of people click through to a page from the search results, before quickly leaving again, Google determines that page as irrelevant to people searching for the phrase they entered. All of these decisions are made by Google's very complicated search algorithm.

Second, publish guest posts on sites with a good reputation. By doing so there is a better chance of the page containing your article being indexed and staying indexed. There are easy ways to check the authority of a domain, PageRank is one factor, but there are others too. When you first start looking for guest posting opportunities it's best to avoid new sites. Look for sites that are at least a couple of years old, perhaps sites you already use.

Third, once published, promote your article through as many social media channels as possible and try to find ways to link to it. Ultimately, the goal is for people to link to it because they find it useful and not because they were asked to.

Finding Guest Blogging Opportunities

As we have been guest blogging for a while, we already have lots of connections to good quality websites and blogs. However, in the beginning, we spent a lot of time searching on Google and reading sites specifically catering for guest writers.

We actually still do this, but believe me, it's a slow and sometimes painfully boring process, with many dead-ends.

There are a lot of low-quality sites with owners who are looking for free content. We avoid these and look for higher quality sites with a good reputation and good people behind the scenes.

A lot of bloggers have cottoned onto the fact that guest bloggers are mostly after one thing and one thing only; a link. In the past they have wasted time with online marketers offering up articles that were obviously written by someone from a foreign country, and who have little or no respect for the site owner, the site's readers' or who care little about quality control.

We don't like wasting our time or anyone else's. We only create content we are proud of and we offer it to people we respect and like doing business with. Mostly it's other small business owners who take their business seriously and who don't publish articles just because it's more content.

Getting a Guest Post Published

Most site owners who accept guest posts publish a page on their site detailing their requirements and how to approach them, which is usually by email or through a contact form. If the site owner is unknown to us, we follow their requirements and compose our pitch.

More often than not, we receive positive feedback and enter into dialogue with the site owner. Typically, our guest post is published a day or two later.

If we have an article to place and we know of a good site already in our network, we send an email to the owner asking if they would like to use it.

Some of our connections accept every article we send, so we attach it to the initial email.

*Keyword relevant anchor text is currently an even hotter topic than guest blogging. Google recently released a change to its search algorithm that penalises pages that are "over optimised", this includes pages that have an unnatural (man-made) link profile or too many links that have exactly the same anchor text pointing to it. The jury is out on this one.

Picture – ScottieT812

The Fallacy of “Declaring Your Personal Copyright” on Facebook

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 08:33 AM PST

The fallacy of declaring your personal copyright on FacebookHave you seen this cut-and-paste status update in your News Feed today?

In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention).

For commercial use of the above, my written consent is needed at all times!

(Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws.) By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook's direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute).

Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates.

According to Snopes, it's a myth and doesn't mean anything.

Even a quick Google shows that the "Berner Convention" isn't real (it's the Berne Convention), and that the "Rome Statute" is international law and has to do with the International Criminal Court's ability "to prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity in situations when the sovereign states themselves are unable or unwilling to prosecute said crimes". (What that has to do with Facebook, I still don't understand.)

There is no way to get around Facebook's privacy policies (which have changed recently) other than to read them, understand them and accept them.

The other option is to delete your account and sever ties with Facebook. But no one really wants to do that, do they?

What do you think of this post and others like it? Anything I missed? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments section and on my Facebook page. Thanks for reading! 

photo credit: MoneyBlogNewz via photopin cc

Consumer Insights Show #DumpTrump Steals Bieber Fever from Macy’s 2012 Holiday Campaign

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 08:27 AM PST

A Social Media Analysis of Consumer Insights and Brand Affinity Generated by Holiday Ads

When the holiday season comes around, social media analysis around consumer insights shows that brands spend millions producing creative advertising in an attempt to stay at the top of consumers' minds during the season's spending frenzy. Some creative strategies do exactly that, driving sales throughout November and December. But some ad campaigns are not so great, and can leave brands in their competitors' dust. Last year, Macy's holiday advertising stood out as an effective campaign.

With the help of its go-to creative agency JWT New York, the department store produced a series of holiday spots featuring Justin Bieber that were wildly successful.

Consumer Insights on 2012 Macy's What's In Store Holiday CampaignThis year, Macy's holiday campaign, "What's in Store," held on to Bieber, but gave the strategy a twist. The sitcom-style video campaign focuses on the adventures of Harold, a newly hired manager at the retailer's Herald Square store in New York, whose colleagues include Bieber, Camila Alves, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Marcus Samuelsson, Carlos Santana, Martha Stewart, Taylor Swift, Donald Trump, and Florence Henderson.

Considering the success of Macy's campaign last holiday season, Crimson Hexagon wondered if this change in ad strategy benefited the department store, or if JWT should have said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Using Crimson Hexagon's ForSight™ social media analysis platform, we looked at the conversations on Twitter and Facebook relevant to Macy's campaigns, comparing this year's "What's in Store" strategy to last year's Bieber-centric one and discovered some interesting consumer insights.

Last year, Macy's "Screamer" ads garnered an overwhelmingly positive conversation. Among the 18,161 relevant opinions between November 1st and December 10th of last year, 95 percent of the conversation was favorable towards the ad. ForSight reveals that the ads' emotional appeal, specifically an appeal to humor, helped elicit this positive majority, accounting for 53 percent of the overall conversation. In addition, praise for Macy's character choice in Justin Bieber was the second largest driver of sentiment at 25 percent.

Consumer Insights Summary on 2011 Macy's Holiday Campaign

With this year's change of strategy, however, the Twitter and Facebook conversation took a different turn. Though 74 percent of the conversation expressed favorable sentiment towards the campaign, this figure is a whopping 21 percent lower than last year. Additionally, while negative sentiment accounted for a mere 6 percent of the conversation around last year's "Screamer" commercials, this figure jumped to 25 percent for this year's campaign. So, what drove this change in sentiment?

Bieber's return to Macy's advertising this year drove positive sentiment again, with 38 percent finding the campaign emotionally appealing, noting especially that ads featuring the pop star were cute and funny. Additionally, 15 percent of the overall conversation applauded Macy's character choices, with a large emphasis on Justin Bieber.

Consumer Insights Summary on 2012 Macy's What's In Store Holiday Campaign

But not all the celebrities featured in the new spots received the same acclaim. In contrast to the praise of character choices for last year's campaign, criticism of Macy's character choices drove negative sentiment about this year's ads, constituting 19 percent of the overall conversation. Looking further into this part of the discussion using the ForSight Word Cluster function, we find that Donald Trump's presence in the commercials was the source of much of this criticism.

Consumer Insights Summary on 2012 Macy's What's In Store Holiday CampaignIn fact, opponents of Trump even created a SignOn.org campaign petitioning Macy's to stop running commercials featuring the real estate mogul. The online petition has nearly 700,000 signatures. Critics especially point to Macy's and JWT's recent "Another Miracle on 34th Street" spot, in which Trump tugs on Santa Claus' beard, questioning the legitimacy of his identity. To many, this scene seemed a little too familiar, reminding them of Trump's persistent questioning of President Barack Obama's citizenship. Clearly, many viewers did not appreciate Trump's presence in the new holiday ads. But what does this mean for the department store's sales?

ForSight shows that for six days in a row, only days after "Another Miracle on 34th Street" aired, over 96% of the conversation disapproved of Donald Trump's character choice. This caused a revolt on social media. On November 18th, 36% of the conversation expressed a desire to disengage from Macy's–five days before Black Friday.

Consumer Insights on Macy's Holiday Campaign

Last year, the Macy's holiday campaign featuring Justin Bieber coincided with a 4.8 percent rise in sales for the department store. Though sentiment towards the "What's in Store" campaign is largely positive, we will be interested to see if Trump will cause problems for Macy's holiday sales goals; in November alone, the department store saw a 0.7 percent drop in same-store sales.

If you want to learn more about insight into consumer insights, brand affinity, brand loyalty and consumer migration, Crimson Hexagon recently published an in-depth study on the "showrooming" phenomenon, which explores consumer expectations of in-store vs. online shopping. Click here to download our complimentary Showrooming and Consumer Migration ebook. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter to stay in touch: @crimsonhexagon.

Niciun comentariu:

Trimiteți un comentariu