25 New Social Articles on Business 2 Community

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• How Flickr and Google Help Us Remember
• The Intranet & Enterprise Collaboration
• Instagram, Social Media and the Opt-Out Economy
• Instagram Does the Two Step – And Steps In It
• Facebook is the New Word of Mouth Marketing
• Leaking Profits, Up To 60% of Customers Are Typically Unprofitable
• Google Image Search Size Options [Video Tip]
• Profile Mute – A Handy Muzzle For G+ Users That Abuse Email Notifications
• 5 Ways to Spoil a Good SEO Strategy
• 5 Steps to the Art of Social Selling
• 7 Reasons Why Keyword Density in Article Content is SO 2008
• 7 Tips on How to Get Your Blog Read, Now
• Is Twitter a Gold Mine for Character-Based Brand Storytelling?
• Facebook Changes To Instagram Image Usage Rules Upset Many Users
• Generating Leads on Social Media
• Perfecting Your Social Media Timing
• Will Facebook Nearby Hurt Yelp or Foursquare?
• Business Social Media: A Celebrity-Free Zone
• The 10 Commandments of Pinterest Blog Promotion [Infographic]
• Why Google Hangouts On Air Should Be Part of Your 2013 Marketing Strategy
• An Argument for Social Media Scheduling
• 2013 Digital and Social Marketing Emerging Trends
• Tweeting On The John [Infographic]
• Integrating Social Strategy for SEO Benefits
• A New Way To Market With Pinterest: Secret Boards

How Flickr and Google Help Us Remember Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:40 PM PST The Library of Congress did not know the names of French brothers Michel, age 4, and Edmond, age 2, when the institution uploaded this photograph to Flickr in the summer of 2008. They knew the duo were Titanic orphans. They didn't know anything else. The LOC now has that data. They know the kids' father and why he changed his name when boarding Titanic. They know the name of the woman who took in the kids and raised them. Through Flickr's users who viewed, commented, liked, and shared that photo, the LOC can now tell a story for what was once a story-less photograph. The Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, the National Library of Ireland, the NYC Center for Jewish History, and the Stockholm Transport Museum are among worldwide cultural institutions that make up The Commons — a repository of photographs enabling anyone to visit and learn the culture of who we are. The past is a click away. Whereas Flickr's Commons is restricted to photos, the Google Cultural Institute encompasses videos and interviews to revisit the past. At a time when the world mourns the tragic loss of life in a small town called Newtown, it's important to remember the past — because remembering the past helps us reconnect with our future.

The Intranet & Enterprise Collaboration Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:30 PM PST When prospects comes to us looking for an intranet software with social features, one of the main motivators for doing so is the desire to increase collaboration in their workplace. But is software or technology the answer? Is it fair to expect your intranet platform to magically get staff working together more effectively? It depends on how we understand collaboration, what factors help or hinder it, and what particular challenges you're currently experiencing. Back to Basics: What Is Collaboration? Collaboration is simply people working together towards a common goal. In the workplace, collaboration can be mandated. Supervisors can put staff together in teams, give them a list of deliverables, and wait for the results. They can even facilitate team meetings and retreats, provide a budget, and set the stage for effective collaboration to take place. But collaboration can also be informal and unstructured. Perhaps an employee converses with another at the pantry, and they agree to help each other. They set up a time to meet over lunch, or stay after hours. Emails are exchanged, and the end-result is achieved even if some employees' contributions are not in their job descriptions. Either way, collaboration is desirable because it often produces an outcome that is greater than the sum of its parts. That is, two or more people working together most often do better than an individual staff member working alone. Collaboration allows enterprise to bring together a variety of expertise and experience, for a business benefit. Collaboration is good for the individuals involved, too. The process usually becomes a learning experience, because co-workers learn from each other. And when results are good, those who contributed have earned another feather on their caps. If collaboration is so great, why are we not seeing more of it in the enterprise? Obstacles to Collaboration There are many reasons why collaboration may break down, such as: Physical distance People are less likely to collaborate with each other when they are not physically together. Add to this differences in time zones and you've got an even bigger problem getting people to work together on a project. This is a problem especially for organizations whose staff are geographically dispersed over different areas and time zones. Emotional dissonance We're more likely to cooperate and collaborate with people we like and trust. If you hardly know somebody, have heard terrible things about them, or fear they're out to get your job, then you cannot be expected to contribute optimally. Same thing happens when we've been assigned to a task we dislike or don't have the skills to carry out. People need to feel "safe" to contribute, be assured they will be taken seriously, and even be able to make mistakes. In an environment where fear and distrust prevail, collaboration cannot take place. Disengaged employees Employees who are merely going through the motions necessary to collect their pay checks, are not enthusiastic about their jobs and their employers, and don't care how well the organization does are not going to be star collaborators. They aren't emotionally attached enough to contribute their best ideas and work. In fact, actively disengaged employees may even sabotage your collaboration efforts. These are only some of the factors that cause collaboration to break down. Now let's take a look at how your intranet can help you overcome these obstacles. Enterprise Collaboration and the Intranet Overcoming space and time barriers A social intranet provides a shared workspace that can encourage collaboration. For example, information sharing spaces such as document folders, wikis, and blogs keep relevant documents and knowledge in one place, accessible to project members even if they're in disparate locations. These spaces are available 24/7, so time is less of an issue. Collaborators can access the files and send their inputs when and where they're able. They don't have to be face-to-face, or in close physical proximity. An intranet calendar keeps everybody in the loop on deadlines, milestones and key activities. Staff can get updates at a glance and record their own milestones for everyone to refer to. The intranet also serves as a kind of group memory. It documents changes, agreements, decisions, etc., in a central location. Collaborators don't need to chase emails to figure out the latest version of key documents, or to go refresh their memory on what was agreed upon. Increasing trust and interpersonal relationships As mentioned in an earlier post, a social intranet increases ambient awareness in the enterprise. Intranet activity streams, in particular, are what contribute to ambient awareness. This, in turn, helps increase empathy, trust, and positive interpersonal relationships in the workplace. This means people will be more willing to help each other, even with things that are beyond their job descriptions and assigned tasks. Spontaneous crowd sourcing occurs more frequently in organizations where employees generally like each other and feel free and safe to contribute. Other features like information-rich user profiles, employee spotlights, blogs, and commenting on each other's posts further helps build rapport in the workplace. No doubt this helps to grease the wheels of collaboration. Re-engaging employees Intranets can also play a key role in re-engaging employees, and keeping engaged employees motivated and enthusiastic. The intranet, for example, can be a tool to provide recognition to staff. I'll talk about the role of the intranet in employee engagement in a future post. For now, suffice it to say the intranet helps in this area as well. What About You? What obstacles prevent collaboration from flourishing in your organization? Could a social intranet in some way help you overcome them? Share your experiences and thoughts below.

Instagram, Social Media and the Opt-Out Economy Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:25 PM PST If you follow any kind of tech or social media news, you'll know about the announcement from mobile photo app Instagram and its new Terms of Service that come into play on January 16. If you haven't seen any of the stories, the main gist of it is this: Instagram's owners, Facebook, will have the perpetual right to license all public Instagram photos to companies or any other organization, including for advertising purposes. Ads may or may not be disclosed to the user. A business may take your uploaded photo, use it in an ad, and not have to compensate you. If you continue to upload images after January 16 and then decide to delete your account, your images can still be sold by Facebook as their property. While there are some questionable inclusions on these new terms – I'd love to hear what the FTC has to say about non-disclosure of ads, which completely contradicts their edicts – it's the last one that is the most concerning, since it enforces my view that we're now part of the opt-out economy. Whatever Happened to Permission Marketing? In 1999, author and marketer Seth Godin published the seminal Permission Marketing. While the ideas in the book weren't completely new, it was a wake-up call to marketers and businesses everywhere. Instead of spamming people with crappy marketing messages they didn't want, and invading email inboxes with newsletters they weren't subscribed to, a new best practice emerged – let the people choose what they subscribe to, and what messages they received. Since then, various laws have come into place to protect consumers – the CAN-SPAM Act covers all commercial messages, while the U.K. introduced the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) in 2003, requiring opt-in for all email marketing campaigns. So far so good, right? Except in today's digital landscape, where it seems we're moving more towards the opt-out economy versus the opt-in one we fought so hard to create and support. Social Scoring and Signing In Before You Can Leave For most social networks – Facebook, Twitter, etc., – you still use the opt-in process. So, I need to physically sign up to use Twitter's platform if I want to tweet. For the most part, this is how social platforms work. Then social scoring arrived and opt-out seemed to be the new opt-in. The most well-known of the social scoring platforms, Klout, created a profile for you whether you liked it or not. If you had a public Twitter account, you had a Klout account. If you didn't want to partake in Klout's promotion of you to their advertising partners, you actually had to create an account with Klout just to delete it, completely going against the idea of permission marketing and consumer wishes. Klout's reasoning is that they're only accessing information that is publicly available, and that's true. The main problem is your Klout score can impact how you're perceived by companies and other online users – and you have no say in that, unless you sign up to try and play that system. However, the bigger picture here is the question of opt-out versus opt-in, and Klout's successes (millions of users and supporters and thousands of partners) seems to indicate opt-out can be a workable process. The Instagram Question Which brings us back to Instagram's recent policy announcement. While it could be argued that unless you pay for the product you are the product, Instagram's wording goes way beyond that. Consider this: When you share photographs on Instagram that include other people, and that photo is then sold or used by an Instagram partner in a promotional campaign that goes against the beliefs of your friend in the picture (she supports PETA and Instagram use your image in a fur coat promotion), your friend can't do anything about it because it's your photo. If Instagram has the right to access your friends' details on Facebook during the sign-in process, you've essentially sold their details to Instagram's partners and they may never know that until they start getting bombarded with partner ads. These are just two areas that the new policy could potentially be used. Not only can you not opt-out of this happening if you stick around after January 16, your friends (who may not even be on Instagram) have even less of a chance to opt-out of their likeness being used for promotional gain. Understanding this, and seeing what could potentially happen, is the reason Facebook posts and news article comments are alight with concern from current Instagram users, many of who have said they will be deleting their accounts. You could argue that we give up the right to any true privacy when we open up an account with these apps and, for the most part, you'd be right. When you use something for free that costs money to maintain, there needs to be some revenue option that kicks in. The problem with the Instagram change, though, is that Facebook are essentially saying "You're our new freelance photographer but we're not paying you" as well as curtailing your basic right to hold on to your property when you leave a platform. And it's that last point that could well be the straw that breaks the Instagram camel's back. Time will tell. image: Casey Neistat

Instagram Does the Two Step – And Steps In It Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:23 PM PST And just like that, the photo sharing app market is up for grabs. It didn’t seem possible just eight short months ago when Facebook announced that it was acquiring the fledgling hipster photo sharing app for $1 billion. Instagram was all the rage, and I’ve even heard from a number of sources that it is now one of the definitive social networks for the teen and tween demographic. But with yesterday’s announcement of pending changes in its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, Instagram is quickly falling from grace. So what happened? It’s not too long ago (okay, in social media terms, it was eons ago) that Flickr was one of the major social networks. It was the photo sharing site of choice. Backed by Yahoo!, there seemed to be a bright future for this repository of images. But the rise of Instagram as a deft and light app that allowed seamless integration into sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and more made some wonder if there was a future for Flickr. A Timeline of Events But with Marissa Mayer at the helm, it was clear that she was making Flickr a strategic priority (along with mobile and a a renewed focus on products). This happened in mid to late August. Meanwhile, Instagram announced on November 5 that it was allowing web-based profiles of users and their photos, marking the first time outside of the app that user information and photos could be seen in one place. Clearly, Instagram was looking to expand beyond the confines of its app-based world. Then on December 5, the photo sharing world changed significantly when Instagram cut off its support for Twitter cards. That meant that no longer would Twitter users be able to see Instagram images shown in the their Twitter stream; if you want to see the image your friend shared from Instagram, you now have to click on the “instagr.am” link in the tweet. Could this have been in retribution for Twitter removing the “find your friends on Twitter” function from Instagram as far back as June 27? This was misstep #1. In the ongoing three-way war, Twitter announced on December 10 that it was adding filters to its native app. This news was greeted with a collective yawn, The Verge went one further, noting that Twitter missed the point: “Instagram is winning because of the photo-centric community it has built.” Remember that. Continuing with its push to revitalize itself and remain relevant, on December 12 Flickr launched an update to its mobile app, complete with – wait for it – filters. But to many, the app was more than just filters. It was a more comprehensive way to connect with the community (see above), better integration with other social networks, robust discovery and an easy to use app. Misstep #2: These are the major players and some of the events that have been percolating in the public’s mind when, on December 17, Instagram made an announcement that one publication is now calling its “suicide note“: its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service will be changing on January 16, 2013 and among those changes, was the notion that Instagram can use your images whenever it wants for advertising and does not have to compensate you: Some will argue that these Terms are familiar to other social networks’ Terms – particularly Facebook’s, as they are the parent company of Instagram. Now, I’m not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV), but it seems that these terms are slightly different from Facebook, as Facebook’s Terms specify: Our goal is to deliver ads and commercial content that are valuable to our users and advertisers. In order to help us do that, you agree to the following: You can use your privacy settings to limit how your name and profile picture may be associated with commercial, sponsored, or related content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us. You give us permission to use your name and profile picture in connection with that content, subject to the limits you place. We do not give your content or information to advertisers without your consent. So right there, users can see that they have control over their content and that Facebook seeks consent. The same isn’t clear on the Instagram ToS, if that’s the case. Looking at Twitter, they provide an interesting tip under the Rights section of their Terms of Service, put very plainly: Twitter has an evolving set of rules for how ecosystem partners can interact with your Content. These rules exist to enable an open ecosystem with your rights in mind. But what's yours is yours – you own your Content (and your photos are part of that Content). But it’s important to note that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many social networks also contain a clause that notes that by using their services and displaying content on their platforms, you grant them “a world-wide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licensing (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).” [Taken from Twitter's ToS] Whew! Did you know that? Does it change your opinion about what you share on these networks? What are my options? There has been no lack of uproar over the publicized change at Instagram. CNET wasted no time in divulging “How to back up your Instagram photos and delete your account.” There are already a few publications that are looking out for you, giving you alternatives to Instagram, should you choose to leave. CBS actually asks the question, “Should you be concerned about Instagram’s new privacy policy?” and in doing so raises an interesting point about one of the items in the “Rights” section – and this is identical in both Facebook’s and Instagram’s terms: “You understand that we may not always identify paid services and communications as such.” In my personal view, this is extremely dangerous and irresponsible, particularly when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires disclosure of a paid sponsorship or endorsement. Again, I’m not a lawyer, but it would seem to me that not being transparent as to what is an ad and what is not, it not only puts the platform provider at risk, but could potentially risk getting the brand yanked into some kind of litigation. And yet, through all of this, the Dude abides Flickr remains. You see, in the end, it’s not about filters. It’s a matter of giving users choices about how they control their own data and how they can create new and interesting content. And it’s about creating that community around the user base – as noted above. Well, the new Flickr app has created an easier way to connect with and identify others. I’ve personally noticed a rise in the number of contact requests I’m getting in Flickr as a result. So that ability to claim “community” as a defensible strategy for Instagram is showing some cracks. Still, one has to admit that being part of the billion-strong network of Facebook probably is helpful. When you consider that Flickr gives you the ability to determine the level of rights and sharing on your own content – right down to being able to change the setting for each individual image – it’s clearly heads and shoulders above the rest. Not to mention that for posts such as these, Flickr provides a handy embed code that tracks back to the original photo owner. We’ve discussed image usage, rights and the number of alternatives out there previously (“Picture This,” August 29, 2010) and with Flickr’s recent app changes, it’s probably a good idea to give them another look. Instagram is in the middle of a firestorm right now. We’ll see how they choose to respond to the ongoing furor, whether users will leave for other services, or even if this will make Instagram (Facebook?) re-think their Terms of Service, thanks to user backlash. Image credit: Wiertz Sébastien (Flickr)

Facebook is the New Word of Mouth Marketing Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:07 PM PST “How do you generate most of your business?” says Joe Smith. “Word of mouth seems to bring in a lot of our business.” Jane Doe responds. This dialogue has been going on for years and years and has been an excellent way to generate business. The ‘word of mouth‘ approach works well as its a first person testimonial on the product or services being offered. Social media has revolutionized ‘word of mouth’. You probably experienced this first hand and may not even noticed it. I’ll use my recent live example from this past year of how this works. While at the chiropractor, my doc recommended I consider acupuncture therapy. Having never done this before, I posted on Facebook to my friends asking who’s done it and what was their experience. Within 24 hours, I had 6 comments on that post, 1 post directly on my wall, and 1 private message from friends, not only describing their experience, but giving me referrals to the places they went. One person actually included a link to a recommended facility’s Facebook page in their message to me. In the past, I would not have received this many referrals and feedback in the old ‘word of mouth’, I would have to pick up the phone and call everyone I knew, asking them individually. Social media has made this process very easy now. This real-life experience is a perfect example to small business owners on the importance and the power of social media. I’m more likely to click on the link that takes me to the Facebook page, than go to Google and start searching for random places based on recommendations, so kudos to my friend who shared that link! And now, I’ve already liked their page to start getting a feel for who they are and what they have to say. If I do make the decision to pursue acupuncture therapy, this company now has my attention. I witnessed a similar act on Facebook (did not actually participate). A few months ago, a friend posted about which apple orchard to visit with her kids. She received an overwhelming response within one day of feedback regarding which orchards to visit and not visit, many of her local friends chimed in on the conversation. Still not a believer in the power of social media for your small business? Don’t believe that social media is the new ‘Word of Mouth’ marketing? Try the experiment yourself (of course you need to have an established social media presence, Facebook or Twitter). Next time you are looking for a great Italian restaurant or need to find a new place to get a haircut or are looking for a landscaper or photographer, ask your followers and see how many first person recommendations you receive in such a short amount of time. Word of Mouth really works for any industry, B-2-B, B-2-C and non-profit. It always has. The shift that’s taking place is that Word of Mouth is now Word of Mouth via Social Media. The actions that you need to take as a small business owner are to create and maintain a positive social media presence. Create posts that are adding value and targeting your audience. Make sure that you are not left in the dust because your competition has a social media presence and you don’t.

Leaking Profits, Up To 60% of Customers Are Typically Unprofitable Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:26 PM PST As mentioned in the latest Vendavo infographic, profits are the lifeblood of a company’s business. They boost shareholder value, make the lives of employees better and allows a company to continue to invest in areas that will foster the growth of the organization as a whole. With all this in mind, there are still many areas where a business’ profit margins can fall flat, and they may often go unnoticed. There are some striking findings to consider in this regard, like as many as 20% of customers create a negative profit for a business, while up to 60% of customers are typically unprofitable. It may also be helpful to note that often just 5% to 15% of a company’s customers may generate nearly 100% of their profits. Here’s a complete look at other areas where profits may fall flat, and then of course some general processes that should help you recover profit: Infographic by Vendavo

Google Image Search Size Options [Video Tip] Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:05 PM PST Back in November, Google changed the default user interface for image searches. In doing so, they hid the ability to filter image search results by specific sizes. While the result of this change is a simpler search experience, it's now harder for users — like art teachers who like to flex their "fair use" powers and give lectures with high-resolution images — to quickly find a desired image size in their favorite search engine. Luckily, the image size filter functionality still exists and searchers can use it by scrolling to the bottom of the default image search view and clicking a link at the very bottom called "Switch to basic version." Here's what it looks like: And here's a video of the "Switch to basic version" link in action: For super-sophisticated power users, there's still the ability to tell Google exactly what size you want by adding the following code with the appropriate dimensions to the end of an image search: SECRET URL CODE: &tbs=islt:2mp,isz:ex,iszw:1920,iszh:1080 In this example, we're telling Google to find us images with dimensions in the 1920×1080 pixel range. Once this extra code is being used, a wider range of sizing options become available. Here's what the Google image search interface looks like once the extra code is added: Google is constantly testing out new interfaces to speed up the search experience for users. The changes to image search are supposed to aid in that. So, while I hope this information will be accurate forever, don't be surprised if I'm back later with an update for one of Google's updates.

Profile Mute – A Handy Muzzle For G+ Users That Abuse Email Notifications Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:55 PM PST Some Users Simply Need Kept On A Leash If you've used Google+ for any length of time, you're probably intimately familiar with the healthy blend of both on-site and email based notifications, as well as the ability to control those notifications. But one notification type sometimes evades the general ease-of-use of the site… email notifications from those who have circled you and shared a post with you by email! Fortunately, there's an easy way to put a halt to misbehaviors! If someone is repeatedly sharing posts with you by email (that are not appropriate for email delivery), the first thing you should also do is simply ask them nicely to remove you from their email notification circle. This may or may not get you a snarky reply, but about 3/4 of the time it's all that's needed to put a halt to unwelcome emails. If the situation continues however, you thankfully have the ability to HALT someone's ability to generate notifications for you… as an intermediate avenue that is less severe than blocking them. Mute User is a wonderful thing! (When you need it) Located on the user's profile page, the "mute" link generates these educational/confirmation popups to ensure you know what you're doing. It also allows you to easily unmute someone. As with Post Mute, Profile mute allows the individual to still continue sharing items into your stream, but puts an end to email notifications and on-site notifications from that user. Again, always ask nicely first where possible. However, sometimes this tool is a handy solution for a user that can't keep their content on a short leash by themselves. Keep in mind that just because Google+ OFFERS you the ability to send the post to a particularly circle by email… does not always mean that's a good idea! Email notifications break one of the fundamental rules of the social platform by allowing people who are not in your circle to easily reach you by email. On the surface this sounds useful – and sometimes it IS – but it also leads to a lot of email notification spam due to over-use of the feature. So now, you have a ball-gag for those users that just can't play nice ;)

5 Ways to Spoil a Good SEO Strategy Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:45 PM PST If you haven't developed a search engine optimization strategy, then you're either talking about it or learning more about it. Search engine optimization strategies have ingrained themselves within the internet and the digital marketing world. It is almost necessary to work on boosting SEO especially if you're a small start-up with little leverage in your niche. While a lot of the people who have websites work on their SEO as well, there are many easy ways that your SEO strategy can go wrong.  Below are a few pointers that can lead you in the wrong direction, with some tips to that provide a solution. 1) Don't Have A Game Plan. After all, it's only SEO. If you do not plan your SEO strategy, plan for it to fail. Which keywords will you be analyzing? How does the competition look? How many backlinks will you build for each keyword? What anchor text variations will you use? Cover all your bases before delving into SEO. Make sure you have a plan that will help you and your business succeed! Any wrong turn and your site can be banned. 2) Dominate a single keyword. Focus on a natural link profile. JCPenny learned this lesson the very hard and expensive way.  The clothing giant built backlinks for their highly searched keywords and just kept building them with no variations. This worked out great for them in the beginning. They ranked #1 for Samsonite luggage leaving the Samsonite main site a few results below. Sure enough Google caught up with them and they descended to result #70 for almost all their keywords. For regular people like us, I feel like Google wouldn't be as hesitant to ban our sites. Be very wary of your keyword usage and backlink acquisition. 3) Keyword stuff till your heart is content. It is pretty clear that your website sells fancy cat leashes, so let's not mention 'fancy cat leashes' in every sentence. If you're working on optimizing your pages try using keyword variations to make everything sound smooth and natural. Google has made updates in the past that condemn keyword stuffing and unnatural and odd-looking posts. 4) Take every guest blog opportunity. Creating high quality content with a link through blogs is a great way to boost PR and search engine rankings. It also works a little quicker than building links through other means. However, you need to be very careful because poor research can get very bad results. Make sure you are using outside tools like Majestic SEO or Open Site Explorer to view the legitimacy of the site. Also look at PR and guest post on sites with varying PR. Don't just choose PR 6 sites, add some diversity. 5) Build your strategy quickly to get results now. If you do not build a strategy that is conscious of time, then the only result you are going to get is a banned site. If you are actively trying to boost your SEO then you already are at a higher risk of getting a red flag from Google, which could mean 'game over' for your business. Be mindful of how you are boosting your SEO and how fast. The key is timeliness, as well as the other contributing factors mentioned above.

5 Steps to the Art of Social Selling Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:35 PM PST Introduction In this day and age there is little doubt about the impact of social media on the way we do business, and sales is no exception. Given the staggering number of people active on social media platforms it is impossible to believe otherwise. According to AdAge, LinkedIn contains over 64 million North American users while Facebook accounts for 20% of all page views on the Internet. Considering that in this same article, AdAge reported that 34% of marketers claimed to have generated serious leads using Twitter, such statistics represent an unprecedented opportunity for sales professionals to connect individually with potential customers while also overcoming the time constraints and geographical limitations through the communication efficiencies afford by social media. The problem, however, for many sales organizations is that they are missing out on the opportunity to gain prospects and ultimately sales via social media platforms.  As a result, sales people are less productive and efficient and in some cases project a negative image to their customers. What are the causes for this? Among the reasons are a general lack of understanding about how social media platforms function, leading to a misperception that "social selling" is somehow a new concept requiring new methods of selling. The solution to this problem is educating sales organizations to understand that social selling is not new selling but rather traditional selling conducted through a new channel of technology.  By effectively using these new tools, sales organizations can take advantage of new opportunities through a pool of potential leads that transcends obstacles such as geography and grants access directly to decision makers. Social selling also allows sales organizations to gather information and get to know prospects before even making contact. And what will this yield? The results from applying the concepts outlined here will be an increase in the number of qualified prospects, a boost in the sales team's productivity and efficiency, and growth in your organization's revenue all while projecting a better image of the sales professional to prospects and customers. What is Social Selling? Before we can discuss the steps to selling in a social world, it is first necessary to demystify the concept of social selling. As stated earlier, the concept is nothing new, but in order to illustrate this further let us examine the story of a small business owner and salesman who used these social selling principles to survive the against Wal-Mart. In the years prior to the retail giant arrival in the rural Pennsylvania town, this salesman grew his agri-business one customer at a time. When a farmer would come into the storeroom, the salesman didn't wait to see if that farmer would show up at the register; instead, he would walk over and initiate a conversation with the farmer. On many occasions, the salesman did not even wait for a farmer to show up in his store as he would make it a point to stop at a few farms to talk with farmers on the way home from work in the evening. And what did they talk about? Mostly the farmer. If he knew the farmer then he would mention some bit of common news or story; if the farmer was new, the salesman would strike up a conversation hoping to hit on some area of mutual interest. In either case, however, the salesman never started off with a pitch about some product or service. He would simply get the dialogue started and then sit back and listen. Farming is a difficult business to be in, and it carries many frustrations, so the farmers appreciated a chance to share their thoughts and opinions which often resulted in the building of a relationship between to the two parties. Furthermore, these exchanges almost always lead to the farmer mentioning some need that the salesman could help with. Often the farmers would flat-out ask for a product without the salesman ever having to mention it. Once a sincere relationship was established, the salesman didn't stop there. The next chance he had to talk with a farmer, the salesman would make sure to pass along some form of free advice or product sample. "The label doesn't say this, but if use that pesticide it in the morning, it will be more effective," he might advise one farmer who bought the product a few weeks earlier. To another he might hand a brush for combing a horses mane. "Here, this is on me," he would say, and the value of a one dollar brush would turn into a $200 sale twenty minutes later. Then one day the local paper reported that Wal-Mart intended to open up a store in town which caused a great deal of concern for the business owners. Yet even though the salesman's agri-business would be in direct competition with Wal-Mart, he was not worried. Why? The salesman had faith in the strength of the relationships he had built in the years before.  When Wal-Mart opened many competitors closed their doors, but the salesman was not among them. His faith in the relationships of trust proved and the reputation he gained as a result kept his business thriving, and it is still in operation today. The Five Steps The secret to this salesman's success was that he followed a series of steps that comprise the basics of social selling. What are these steps? There are five. Seek out your customers, both current and new Listen and learn from what they have to say Engage them to build a sincere relationship Bring value to the relationship to establish trust Service your customers to build your reputation What this story also illustrates is that the steps in social selling are timeless. As the salesman's son, I took what I learned from watching my father and trained sales teams to employ these same principles in their day-to-day contact with buyers. "Don't sell anything," I would say. "Make a friend instead." This fundamental of social selling proved successful time and time again as my sales teams consistently outperformed the competition while also earning top buyer satisfaction scores. Technologies may change but the sales process remains the same because people remain the same.  Like a beeper or a phone, new methods of communication such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, will forever evolve but for the sale professional, the steps of social selling we are about to examine further will not. Master them and the mystery of selling through social media will be no mystery at all.

7 Reasons Why Keyword Density in Article Content is SO 2008 Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST Sorry, but worrying about keyword density is the least of your concerns. For starters, there's some really compelling evidence that an optimal density doesn't exist. According to SEOMoz, major search engines update their algorithms 500-600 times a year. While many of these changes are minor, it's clear that you can't base your content marketing strategy on gaming search engines, because what small business-owner has the time to tweak their inbound marketing strategy twice a day?  Here are 7 more compelling reasons, facts and figures about why keyword density is so four years ago: 1. Because Matt Cutts Says So Ever heard of Matt Cutts? If you're blogging for better search rankings, he's a good guy to know. As the head of the web spam team at Google, his job is to make it harder and harder each day to game search engines for a better ranking. His thoughts on optimal keyword density for blog content? "Density is not important…make writing sound natural." 2. Because Logic Says So How does Google stay in business and make an estimated $39.7 billion a year? By providing relevant, high-quality search results to people. 74% of plugged-in consumers go to the search engine first to pull information on products and services, instead of choosing to use YouTube, Bing or Yahoo. Sure, it provides a nice, clean-looking interface and a really simple user experience; but the main draw is that the engine is really good at pulling relevant information in response to search queries. Google has a reputation to uphold, and it understands that people don't want thin content stuffed with keywords. The engine has no incentive for rewarding a high keyword density, so logic says it just won't. 3. Because Data Says So The really smart people behind Open Algorithm, a collaboration of braniacs dedicated to applying science to SEO, completed a study on 12,000 keywords across 1.2 million web pages. Using Spearman's Rank correlation coefficient, a nerdy way to measure how related two factors are, they looked at how keyword density, Google +1s, inbound links, and the overall rank of the homepages affected where each page landed in search: image credit: Open Algorithm For the unitiated or rusty, negative numbers in the graph above indicate a negative relationship. If Sam's energy levels had a negative relationship with chamomile tea, each additional cup he drank would decrease his feelings of vitality. Turns out, a higher keyword density might actually drive lower search rankings, while +1s, good home page ranking and inbound links have a benefit. And that's science! 4. Context is Okay Google is actually sharper than you think, and it's continually getting more adept at the concepts of context and semantics. If your HubSpot keyword grader recommendations tool says you should try and work with "8 Tips SEO," you don't have to stuff it into a title. In fact, you shouldn't because it sounds really awkward and no one will ReTweet it. You can modify that to "8 Bomb Tips on SEO for 2013," and still have shot at ranking, thanks to the fact Google is becoming a context engine. 5. You May Be Missing the Point Entirely Have you ever been writing a piece of blog content and decided to cite a source because they included a long tail keyword 13 times in 600 words? Highly unlikely. People link to content that's valuable, filled with fresh statistics, and written by well-regarded authors. Social media users ReTweet content with powerful blog titles. Your primary concern should be creating a high velocity of content that answers the questions of your real-life buyer personas, not fitting the world's most awkward keyword into the body 19 times. 6. There is No Optimal Density I dare you to try and find content written by a recognized white hat SEO expert (like Rand Fishkin or Adam Torkildson) in the last several months about the optimal keyword density of blog content. You're going to have a really hard time. If you extend that time period to 2008, you'll likely get an expert telling you to shoot for 6%. That approach may or may not get you dinged by Google, but it's more likely to ensure you won't win any social media shares, RSS subscribers or inbound links. 7. Keywords Work Themselves Out Possibly the most compelling reason you don't need to worry about keyword density is that, well, keywords tend to work themselves out. Suppose you're writing blog content around "how to adopt the fluffiest kitten from the humane society." If you include a close variation of the keyword in your title and twice more in your body and hit publish when you reach 600 words, you've hit a keyword density of 0.5%, all while writing naturally. And even Matt Cutts is bound to approve! image credit: SEO Journalist

7 Tips on How to Get Your Blog Read, Now Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:27 PM PST Blogging, as part of your inbound marketing plan, has the potential to increase web traffic and give potential buyers a way to see that you know what you're talking about. But, there's blogging—and then there's exceptional blogging.  What's the difference?  Well, in our experience it's the little things that add up to big success.  Anyone can blog, but to really do it well you to know the importance of blogging to inbound marketing, and commit to doing the little things it takes to get good results. Here are 7 tips for  ensuring that your blog gets read and shared: 1. Craft attention-grabbing headlines Why do some blogs get read and others don't?  The answer may be as simple as the title.  Your headlines are the reader's first clue about the content, and if yours don't hook them with an intriguing question, actionable solution or otherwise clever intro, odds are good that people won't read further. 2. Incorporate links Internal and external links are “value-adds”.  Link to product pages on your site from your blog, and vice versa.  Link to your blog from other webpages using keyword-rich anchor text.  Links make navigation to product pages, resource articles and landing pages easier which, in turn, encourages readers to stay and buy. 3. Add visual content According to SEOMoz, posts with videos embedded in them bring 3x more inbound links than those without.  And, adding compelling images can actually drive traffic in two ways: 1.) searchers who find your images during search will be taken to your blog; 2.) your visual content can be shared with others via social media.  Add keyword-rich “alt tags” (descriptions of the image you used.  Remember that Search Engines can’t “read” photos…yet.) to your pictures, and SEO meta descriptions to videos and infographics, and searchers in your niche have another avenue for finding you. 4. Solicit guest posts Your customers, colleagues and other industry experts can offer valuable information, insight and perspective to your readers.  Solicit them for guest posts to expand your blog's reach.  Not only will other authors bring a fresh voice to your company's blog—they will bring with them their own audiences.  And, if they are active on social media, they will most likely link to their post from these accounts.  Free content and free exposure for you! 5. Include a Call-to-Action The most effective blogs not only inform and engage—they also tell readers what to do next.  It's not being pushy. Actually, if people like your content, they will want you to give them some direction about what they can do with it.  Did you post information about how to use social media to drive traffic to your site?  Follow up with a call-to-action that asks readers to tweet about it, or click the link for a special offer. 6. Develop a comment strategy Subscribe to blogs in your niche and comment on them regularly.  Include links back to your blog or site.  And, take the time to respond to all comments left on your blog.  It's a networking strategy that pays off in increased backlinks and new connections. 7. Share on social media Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Pinterest are ideal vehicles for distributing blog content.  If you have any or all of these accounts for your business, set them up so that every time you publish new content, your social media accounts will automatically post them for readers to see them and click on them. What are your best tips for inbound marketing pros?  Which strategies for business blogging are working for you?  Share them here!

Is Twitter a Gold Mine for Character-Based Brand Storytelling? Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:25 PM PST My wife has never seen the movie Goonies, released in 1985. That's a shame. So many classic lines, and one of the most well known yet practically silent characters, Lotney Fratelli, better known to the masses as Sloth. The strong, silent type, Sloth had only three audible lines, but anyone who has seen the movie can recite his most famous one, "Sloth love Chunk!" For the more than two decades since the movie's release, the only words Sloth muttered were those in his three lines. That is, until he joined Twitter. In August 2009, Sloth tweeted "Hey you guys!" His handle: @SlothGoonies. His location: In a basement. His run on Twitter lasted only two months and garnered only 20 followers, but they were a glorious two months for those of us who love Goonies. Twitter gave a voice to all, in 140 or fewer characters. But what may not have been expected was who (or sometimes what) would manifest themselves/itself on Twitter. Characters from our favorite movies, television shows and commercials came to life on the social platform. Some of these were created by forward-thinking brands or media outlets, but most of them, like @SlothGoonies, were created by superfans, who cared about a character and show. When these characters find success on Twitter, it can create a wealth of earned media for the brand. Mad Men's Success It's not surprising that with the success of Mad Men, a drama depicting life in advertising in the 1960s, came a number of fan-based Twitter accounts for the show's characters. Helen Klein Ross, a social storyteller and advertiser, brought @BettyDraper, Don Draper's ex-wife, to life. A cursory look at @BettyDraper's "Rolodex" (a Twitter list) reveals 91 Mad Men–related Twitter accounts, including a half dozen Don Drapers and one for Don's daughter, @sally_draper, a fainting couch and the copy machine. These accounts, often working together, extend the story line beyond just what's seen on film, including @sally_draper's live tweeting of the Beatles' concert at Shea Stadium, which was briefly mentioned on the show (Don called Sally to tell her the good news that they were going to attend). Mad Men is the common case study for character-based Twitter success, but just having a Twitter account doesn't mean that positive earned media will follow. The endeavor, whether created by the brand or by its fans, has the potential to create more questions and anxiety than social-media momentum. Does every brand character, like Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam and the Green Giant, need a Twitter account? What if a fan creates the account first, as in the case of Mad Men? Should a brand seek out and quell these accounts, particularly if there is no brand oversight, or is it more authentic if the account is fan run? When Fans Take the Wheel While Mad Men is an early success story, one popular fan-driven character is the Twitter manifestation of Kenny Powers, the not politically correct protagonist of the short-lived HBO show Eastbound & Down. His handle, @KFUCKINGP (his language, not mine), boasts nearly half a million followers. As there's a dedicated author behind the account who's perfectly in tune with the character's tone of voice and humor, one would imagine that this is a huge win for HBO. I mean, who doesn't love earned media and free labor? While the account does offer classic one-liners that are not safe for work and constantly promotes the show's upcoming episodes and seasons, a closer look finds the author of the account using the audience for his own benefit. In various tweets, he asks vendors for swag, promotes questionable contests and even gets paid to tweet (or at least appears to be being paid, because he uses the #ad hashtag). The popularity of the account implies that HBO's not creating its own Twitter account based on the Kenny Powers character was a missed opportunity for the network. In an age when brand real estate is claimed on a first-come, first-served basis, however, the larger incentive for HBO to support a character-based account would be to avoid the pitfalls that come with an unpoliced, fan-run account. The popularity and exposure are nice, but credibility is paramount ensuring that an accurate brand story is told. When Brands Take the Wheel Should a brand decide to extend its character's persona into the social sphere, a unique world in which fans can actually interact with their beloved character awaits. But unlike standard branded Twitter accounts, it's not a ticket to one-way self-promotionville. Progressive found success on TV with its bubbly insurance salesperson, Flo. If you can't get enough of her enthusiasm in Progressive's commercials, you can hop over to Twitter and read her daily musings. On a social platform designed for short, witty comments, Flo is primed to succeed. But @ItsFlo follows only 43 people, and of her 1,422 tweets, zero of them are @ replies. The tone of voice is spot-on, and the content is split evenly between self-promotion and witty banter, but the lack of fan interaction limits the brand's ability to endear itself to fans. On the flip side, it is a slippery slope when a fictional character tries to engage with the real world. What would the character say? How would they interact? Is that really the point of view that character would take? Six characters from Fox's Glee are on Twitter (Kurt, Quinn, Rachel, Brittany, Sue and Will), but none of them engage with the audience. Homer Simpson, who has nearly a million followers, doesn't reply either. It's a clear attempt to avoid any possible fan interaction snafus. Out on a Ledge There's no question that Twitter offers a unique opportunity for brands to engage audiences through their characters, but it seems that it's difficult to protect a character's authenticity while engaging with a real-world audience. Character accounts started by superfans seem to drive the most engagement and get all the press, as in the cases of Mad Men and Eastbound & Down, but come with risks (what if the fan uses the audience for self-serving purposes? What if the fan simply quits or writes something that's completely out of character?). Character accounts started by brands maintain the character's authentic persona and tone of voice and even garner considerable audiences (as measured by number of followers) but rarely create far-reaching earned media, since there's little to no two-way engagement with the audience. For a brand, whether it's a television show or a buttery spread, to find success in this space, it is going to have to extend itself beyond its comfort zone. Here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. Keep to a regular content-publishing schedule It doesn't have to be every day, but manage the audience's expectations and adhere to what you promised. 2. Content matters The character can promote, but most of the content should be shareable and/or engaging. 3. Keep brand and character separate Don't mix up roles and responsibilities. In the case of Progressive, @ItsFlo should be engaging but direct all customer complaints to the appropriate Twitter handle. 4. Model best practices There's no broadcaster or agency that could create a Twitter handle for every single character and inanimate object on a show. Instead, work together with fan-created accounts to be a best-practice example. 5. Attract audiences with exclusive content Use Twitter as a place to extend the story, playing out storylines that simply couldn't be expanded during the show. This can be especially useful for 30-second advertisements as well. There's no clear blueprint for how brands should proceed, and there's always a risk that fans will taking the wheel when brands hesitate. But there's enough potential for earned media that brands should take a very serious look at bringing their characters to life. What characters do you follow? Image via IMDB

Facebook Changes To Instagram Image Usage Rules Upset Many Users Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:10 PM PST A License To Use Or Abuse? Many Instagram users are having a fit today. In proper Facebook-style, the Instagram terms of service have been updated to grant Facebook the right to use a copy of photos upload, in it's advertising promotions for Instagram and partner products. Facebook has obviously began the move to monetize their BILLION dollar investment in Instagram using the same methods it uses on Facebook. "Now Facebook claims it owns the rights to ALL your Instagram pictures and can do what it wants to make money out of them Instagram's new terms of service and privacy policy bring it into line with those of parent company Facebook Comes after standoff between Instagram and Twitter over photo apps Company claims the right to use any uploaded photos or user data to promote its partners' products It adds that it may not always identify when these recommendations are merely adverts or genuine user actions via DailyMail.co.uk" I am not personally concerned about this as I generally believe that most websites either do or will operate under this sort of licensing arrangement. Items that I do not wish to grant usage rights to the site, I simply do not upload. I'm aware that this only allows the site to make use of my image but not to do something such as sell it or stop me from using it as I please. Of course, it's probably helpful to my opinion on the matter, that I'm really not at risk of taking such amazing photos that Instagram would want to use them and would be of a quality that would be high enough I could otherwise sell them. The situation is different for commercial/professional photographers who must take care to watermark their images. Are you an Instagram user? Are any of your clients? How do you and they feel about this? PS: This does not mean that FB "owns" your photos, it simply grants them a usage license. This is the same type of license used on many sites throughout the web that are free or freemium. Another example of a similar license is DropBox.

Generating Leads on Social Media Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:03 PM PST What is the most effective way to generate leads using social media? The best platform is a blog site that you own. You control the content. You control the experience! Most tweets, and shared posts on Linkedin, Facebook and Google+ do not list ways for people to contact you. Why not put your contact information on your blog page and have the information available to people who want to get a hold of you with respect to their questions. Make yourself available. Generating leads on Twitter is possible – but this information must be posted on your profile page. Same is true of Linkedin, Google+ and Facebook What are some ways to measure leads? See if your phone call volume is increasing. Are you receiving more inquiries on your website? Make sure you keep a list of the names that are inquiring about your services? These people have already taken the first step to learn more about you. Are you just answering their questions or are you taking the next step to bring them in as a client. There is a difference. When you are face-to-face with people you meet on social media networks, make sure you acknowledge their presence on social media. As I talked to a person at a recent event, we both agreed that a lot of us are reading about the lives of others on different social media sites, but we don't always comment. We both came to the conclusion that it is really ok not to comment. Be active on social media You have to have a presence on social media sites if you want leads. You do not need to spend every hour. My advice connect with the best people and always acknowledge people who mention your information. Create a reason for people to follow you People don't just follow people to build their numbers. Well, some people still do this. Be someone who stands for something. Remember news on social media sites travels fast Create information that is searchable and meaningful. People will find you if you are sharing quality information. Start with a blog if you want leads I know I am repeating myself, but content sells more than general conversation When content is at the forefront, then conversation is taken to a new level. Don't measure your leads by counts. Track by the names of people who get in contact with you. When should you start? If you haven't started this process, then you have a lot of catching up to do. Get started today and see if you can improve the way you generate leads on social media. photo credit: waferbaby via photopin cc

Perfecting Your Social Media Timing Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:00 PM PST The precise moment I pulled up to the gas pump this morning, my car chimed and the “Need Fuel” icon light came on. I thought about how great it would be if I could achieve similar perfect timing with my social media to maximize results and reach. To have posts, emails, texts, them appear precisely at the moment they are needed or desired. One of the first things I learned about being a social media professional was that before you spend time on the metrics of perfect timing, it’s better to spend more time tweeting and Facebook posting more often. The number one reason social media campaigns fail in my opinion is because businesses get discouraged by a lack of results and stop posting. Or they run out of ideas. Or they just don’t keep up with a regular schedule. Instead, first think about your intent. Why do you want your posts to be read? What are your expected results? Is it just to be retweeted or reposted? That’s good for the ego but doesn’t much help the bottom line.  Is it to drive sales or drive visitors to another site? Don’t worry about repeating yourself particularly when you are just getting started with your social media.  Like learning tennis, don’t worry about hitting winners or even hitting the ball over the net. Concentrate on form.  No one follower will ever read all your tweets so they don’t have to all be gems. Perfect timing for your social media will vary industry to industry. Sometimes the first week of the month will garner the most attention other industries it’s the last. Once you’ve got a better idea on why and what, the when will become easier to determine.  I can tell you that certain days to post are better than others. For blogging, Monday sees the most posts while Friday seems to be the day when most are read. Studies show the best time to Tweet and/or post on Facebook is between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Yet most of the readers who will retweet this article will likely do so first thing in the morning. We all tend to believe that real news happens when we were sleeping. Lesson? Vary times and track when you see the best results. Then stick to a schedule. But even when you think you’ve got it all figured out, social media success really comes down to luck of the draw. That next customer may read all my tweets in the afternoon but the one that catches their eye might be the one they read while waiting for my appointment at the dentist tomorrow morning. So in other words don’t worry about how fast your going and lose site that you’re in fact, running on empty.

Will Facebook Nearby Hurt Yelp or Foursquare? Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:54 AM PST Yesterday, Facebook announced an expansion of its mobile local search functionality in Nearby. With Facebook being the #1 social network online, is this a bad sign for other SoLoMo (Social Local Mobile) players like Yelp and Foursquare? Until now, Facebook's location based features were pretty limited. Businesses normally had their Place or Brand Page (or eventually merged Places), but users were limited to really just "likes" or check-ins with that business. There were no ratings or recommendations, although users could post one on the business's Timeline. The previous Nearby function was limited to see which friends had checked-in near you. Facebook recently began testing ratings for local business, but only if they had checked into them previously. With over 250 million Facebook users checking-in or tagging posts with their location, it was only a matter of time before Facebook updated its offering. The New Facebook Nearby The new version of Facebook Nearby was brought to you by the former team of Gowalla, which Facebook had previously bought (speaking of talent acquisition, what Facebook does with Instagram still remains to be seen). TechCrunch has a great hands-on of the new features, but it basically it includes: Find New Places: when you open up the app, you won't see just where your friends have checked-in. Now you'll see categories of business and a highlight of places around you. These recommendations are curated from data including your friends' likes, check-ins, short recommendations or star ratings. Share Places with Friends: You can also share your ratings or recommendations with your friends, which makes their app experience more personalized. While features are limited for now, Facebook has hinted at more to come in the future. What About Yelp and Foursquare? If you look at the number of users and time spent wasting away on these platforms, Yelp and Foursquare should be concerned with this news. People tend to trust the opinions of their friends and if those people are on Facebook too, then that's where they will get their local recommendations. Foursquare and Yelp still have some things going for them though. Facebook Nearby does not have the ability to show you which friends are near you at the moment you're using the app, or the ability to offer check-in deals which Foursquare does. However, most users paired Foursquare with Facebook and it's total user base is only about 25 million users. Yelp should be concerned as well, but it's consistently been the top source for the most rich, detailed local reviews and ratings. Both mobile and desktop users continue to grow and it's been one of the standouts in tech-IPOs. Yelp is more likely to withstand this move from Facebook than Foursquare is. Have you had a chance to use the new Facebook Nearby? Will it pull you away from Yelp or Foursquare?

Business Social Media: A Celebrity-Free Zone Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:45 AM PST There’s a new list out this week that ranks the most popular celebrities on social media based on fans and followers on the largest social networks with Justin Bieber edging out Lady Gaga for the top spot.  And we’re talking about millions of followers and billions of page views. (Insert your own Mayan Calendar joke here.) The real lesson here for those of us over the age of 13 is that if you’re promoting a company or brand on Facebook and Twitter you’re probably envious, frustrated and wasting your time on the wrong things. Pop stars in fact dominate social media holding eight of the Top 10 spots most with 30 million plus Facebook fans and Twitter followers. And that’s because they are using the medium the way it was designed.  Though I am the father of a teenager who has hundreds of teenage friends, I have yet to meet a Justin Bieber fan — but he seems like a nice kid and see no reason to begrudge him. His handlers know who his target market is and where and how to reach them through social media. Goofy hairstyles, bubble gum lyrics, and a multinational successes; the pop stars have gotten social media figured out. I’m not suggesting businesses stop using social media to promote their brand; I’m asking they stop using it incorrectly. As the mad rush to get more followers and fans travels through the business world these statistics on social media leaders should act more as a wake up call to companies to change the way they look at the purpose of social media. It’s businesses that are using it wrong, mistaking popularity for brand loyalty. You see not only are your social media efforts never going to achieve that kind of success. Let me bottom line it for you: you’re not going to get millions or even thousands of fans or followers, nor should you try.  Use it instead to prod and prompt purchases, cultivate loyalty, and stay top in mind. Period. I think of a recent incident in a crowded Starbucks near my home where I was on line with the Mayor of my city, and one of the greatest Major League Baseball pitchers of all time. More people said hello to me than the two “celebrities.” That’s because “celebrity” is relative and my offline social media is done through genuine interest in my surroundings and interacting within my community. Social media is perfect for celebrities just the way it is and the usage is pretty straightforward. For businesses, the road to success will take significantly more work and ingenuity to make inroads. You need to learn how your customers and prospects want to interact with you — both online and off. Do so correctly and consistently, and you may just become a star in their eyes. Article first published as Social Media for Business: No Celebrities Allowed on Technorati.

The 10 Commandments of Pinterest Blog Promotion [Infographic] Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:40 AM PST Since the news broke December 8, 2012 that the White House had started an official Twitter account (though they had to settle for the user handle WhiteHouse44), it seems there's no better time to get started on the network than now. Pinterest users spend more money than users of any other major social media network, and the network has grown 145% since January 2012. Research also indicates that 81% of US consumers trust pins as a source for information. Who wouldn't want to use it as a tool for blog promotion? Feeling inspired to get pinning? We’ve compiled 7 tips on how you can improve your traffic or ROI on the network: 1. Optimize for Business If you were a member of Pinterest prior to mid-November, it's time to convert your page to a business account. It's easy – just head to http://business.pinterest.com/, add some contact information and accept the terms of services for corporate users. Corey Eridon has covered converting existing Pinterest pages to business accounts in-depth on the HubSpot blog. Why should you care? Well, it only takes about 90 seconds. Second, the social media network has recognized that the site is kind of a cash cow for retailers, and they've started releasing resources on original research to optimize your presence just for small business owners. Finally, realize that business accounts on Pinterest are in the beginning stages, and there's sure to be a host of features coming in the next year. Can we expect better advertising, analytics or even a "buy now" button? All of those options seem like distinct possibilities! 2. Source Your Images Ensure you're not pinning images with a copyright! I'll admit, I’m not qualified to give any small business owner or blogger advice on intellectual property laws. However, I get my images from a safe source like Free Digital Photos or Creative Commons Search and give credit where credit is due. 3. Be Social Even though it may seem more like a really appealing collage, you can be a social pinner. Pinning the work of someone on the network? Let them know by using their handle like "@User" in the text description. Jeff Bullas recommends taking the time to say "Thank you" for every repin you receive. 4. Be Pinnable Have you ever seen a Pinterest user curate a board of stock photography? If you have, it was probably an elaborate joke or work samples. The point is, Pinterest is an inherently visual network, and even the most intelligent blog content will be overlooked if the images aren't shareable. There are a few ways to make your visual content more appealing. Pin memes, or add personalized or descriptive tag lines to your images. Use infographics or video to increase your chances of being shared virally on the network. 5. Don't Forget to Pin! You never want to be in a position where you fail to pin the world's best infographic. Make sure you've added the "Pin It" button to the bookmarks bar of your favorite browser, so the social network will be just one click away, wherever you go. 6. Curate Away One easy way to enhance your company's Pinterest boards to gain more attention and engagement is to curate other people's visual content. After all, the network is centered around content curation. See an infographic or video your followers would love? Don't hesitate to share. 7. Optimize for Search Pinterest drives a whole bunch of search traffic. Make sure your content is optimized to be found by prospects by optimizing your profile and pins. Hashtags, links, board categories and buyer persona-optimized keywords will all increase the chances of being found. image credit: Served Fresh

Why Google Hangouts On Air Should Be Part of Your 2013 Marketing Strategy Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:35 AM PST Google Hangouts and Hangouts on Air may be the best kept secret in social media. Yes, they've been around for awhile and yes the Obama campaign has used them. So have the Muppets - to promote their new movie last holiday season. But are you using them yet? Do you know what a Google Plus Hangout on Air can do for your marketing strategy? Here's the nutshell version. What is a Google Plus Hangout? A Google Hangout is a 10 person, 9 participants and the host, video chat room that lives inside the Google Plus network. Google hangouts offer access to YouTube videos, screen sharing, text chat and added special effects, live and for free. A regular hangout is visible only to the 10 people included, and is an invite only function. For a business application Hangouts could be great for meetings, product demonstrations, sales pitches, PowerPoint presentations, document editing sessions – anything for which you need live collaboration. Hangouts are available from profiles, from pages and On Air. The features are pretty much the same for a profile hangout and for a page hangout. If you are hosting an internal company meeting or hanging out with friends, your personal profile is adequate. If you are representing a brand through your hangout you'll want to use the feature from your brand page. The difference between these two options really boils down to who you want to be during the hangout – a brand representative or an unbranded person. Hangouts on Air are different. What is a Google Hangout on Air? Hangouts on Air is a tool for creating live, public video chats. These are publicly broadcast videos that stream from your Google Plus account to your YouTube channel, where they are saved and able to be viewed later. You can share your YouTube URL with anyone who wants to watch your broadcast live. With the built in screenshare ability you also have the functionality of hosting your own webinar. No software needed. Hangouts on Air are basically a free television station that broadcasts to your Google Plus page and to YouTube. What Can you Do with a Hangout On Air? Like regular hangouts you can chat face to face with up to nine other people, share your screen and collaborate on documents. Since Hangouts On Air automatically become a YouTube video, there are plenty of other ways to use them. Here are a few: 1. Host virtual meetings that are recorded and stored for later viewing. 2. Broadcast a tutorial or demonstration on your product or service. If you run a hair salon, use a Hangout On Air to demonstrate braiding or coloring techniques for example. If your business is beekeeping, use a Hangout on Air to show how to smoke the bees, or how to extract honey from the hives. Anything you can think of that would make a good video is a potential Hangout On Air topic. 3. Interview an SME. Find a subject matter expert in your field and conduct a live question and answer session, then broadcast that conversation to your Google Plus page stream and your YouTube channel 4. Conduct a 'behind the scenes' interview to give your fan base additional access to your brand. There are plenty of ways to use this tool, but I hope these ideas get you started. I'll give step by step instructions on using these tools in a future blog post, but you can also view my Google Plus for Business Slideshare presentation to learn more. With a free video production tool like Google Plus Hangouts on Air there's no reason not to use it in your marketing strategy for the year. Are you using Google Plus Hangouts or Hangouts on Air? Share your ideas with me in the comments.

An Argument for Social Media Scheduling Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:05 AM PST To schedule or not to schedule? For business social media managers, that is the question. According to a recent Vocus blog, the jury on social media scheduling is still out among industry experts. Scheduling is A-Okay with Strategix One Consulting CEO Chris Voss, but HARO founder Peter Shankman is anti-scheduling, saying "Automation does not understand breaking news or life changes. Automation means that you're locked in, with no way to change when something happens. Do you really want to offer 10 percent off after a major world tragedy occurs?" To be fair, Shankman has a valid point. I was in the unfortunate position of scrambling to edit or remove posts as details from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre unfolded last Friday. However, in general, I'm pro-scheduling. Here's why: Convenience I'm certainly not one to shirk my responsibilities, and I'm not the type to choose a tactic for a client just because it's easier on me, but honestly, we're all extremely busy. It's easy for a Facebook post to be forgotten in a morning filled with meetings, internal training sessions and more. Next thing you know, it's lunchtime, and the best time for you to post on behalf of the client was three hours ago. It looks like reach is going to suffer today! Increased/Consistent Activity My personal Twitter feed is a great example of how scheduling can benefit a social media profile overall. Before I scheduled tweets, I would squeeze two, maybe three tweets in during normal business hours, and I'd send them all around lunch time. Then I'd bombard my stream at night with hilarious thoughts I'd have while watching TV at the gym and adorable pictures of my cat, neither of which were actually hilarious or adorable. (No offense to my cat.) This sporadic activity reflected poorly on my personal brand, and I consistently lost followers. Since I began scheduling Twitter posts more than a month ago, I've enjoyed a slow, yet steady increase of followers and increased interaction (retweets and @ mentions). Ability to Post During "Non-Busy Hours" Recent data shows the best times for brand pages to post on Facebook are not during normal business hours, but on weekends and during "non-busy hours" (8 p.m.-7 a.m.). And while large businesses can afford to have someone monitoring all social platforms all hours of the day, small businesses don't have as deep of pockets. Social media scheduling gives small businesses the impression that their people are available 24/7 without actually paying someone to sit in front of a computer through the wee hours of the morning. Ability to Double-Check Before Sending The ability to double-check a post before sending is probably my favorite benefit of social media scheduling. Let's say I wanted to increase engagement on Kuno Creative's Facebook page by asking those who "Like" us to caption a photo. When posting a photo to Facebook, you can't actually see the photo you uploaded in the post until after it's posted…unless you schedule it and view it in the Activity Log. What happens if I uploaded the wrong photo? It's probably not a big deal for me to quickly remove it from our page, but it could be a huge headache for a big business to do the same. Social media scheduling gives the scheduler (or a second manager) the opportunity to read through posts or tweets for spelling or other silly errors and incorrect content. Now, before those anti-scheduling activists get up in arms, please allow me to clarify that I don't believe a business' entire social presence should be scheduled 100 percent of the time. Brands are people-powered, therefore, a human should be accessible and active, especially for large companies that are increasingly using social media for customer service. In fact, I've discovered some of my most popular content just by perusing News Feeds and Twitter streams once every hour. And, yes, there are those who use social media scheduling poorly. You can't schedule tweets via a tool like Hootsuite and expect your following to grow exponentially, especially if you have highly annoying habits like scheduling a block of tweets for one time. The point is, I believe the pros of social media scheduling far outweigh the cons. If you, like me, think scheduling is a useful trick of the social media trade, check out "The Quick & Easy Guide To Social Media Scheduling" on Simply Zesty for a rundown of popular scheduling tools. If you're anti-scheduling, let me know your reasons in the comment section. photo credit: flik

2013 Digital and Social Marketing Emerging Trends Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:25 AM PST Digital Marketing Trend Projections for 2013 Change is constant and in the digital marketing arena this is only accelerated.  As we approach 2013, it's worthwhile for businesses to look ahead and consider emerging tech trends that could benefit their business. Here's a roundup on some key emerging trends: Social Media Marketing Goes Mainstream Social media marketing gained an exceptional amount of steam in 2012, as parties ranging in size from international brands to local businesses jockeyed to start (or grow) their efforts and social presence.  As 2013 looms, social media marketing is set to become a top priority marketing tactic. Businesses recognize that social networks are where their targeted customers are spending huge amounts of time.  With this knowledge, prepare to see marketers shift their dollars to the social arena, in order to best reach new customers and grow existing customer loyalty. Consumers Become the Marketer With changes in search engine ranking algorithms by Google, and the rise of social media, the shift from SEO link building to online content marketing will grow. Digital marketers have said that “content is king” for what seems like ages, but a new trend is emerging where both king and queen tango — and the queen is consumer engagement multiplication.  Great content is always necessary, but the need and potential of engaging consumer messengers moves to the forefront in the year ahead. Consumer messengers are influencers who have the ability through their social sharing to take content messages to their own networks and to the masses, greatly extending the reach of brand marketing efforts. Gaming Goes Mainstream The rise of gamification, rewards as part of participating, will become more mainstream. Gaming isn't new, of course, and it's been an end in itself where in-game purchases are made of marketed products.  In 2013, though, game strategies will extend further into the everyday marketing sector as a significant strategy, not just within the online game industry. Tools for social networks that have a game component – and that incentivize social sharing as part of the promotions – will be on the rise as research shows consumers respond to them. Cross-Social Network Promotions Social marketing promotions will reach across platforms, bringing two or more social networks into play during a promotion. Instead of relying just on Facebook, promotions will grow by incorporating additional social networks intertwined in a promotion.  We're already seeing promotions that are based on a Facebook page, but require a Pinterest, Twitter, or Instagram-integrated component as part of the entry and participation process. Rise of SoLoMo Opportunities SoLoMo, the intersection of social, local, and mobile marketing efforts, will hit the mainstream.  Tools to offer location-based specials will be widely available.  While in-store, businesses can utilize QR codes and signage to drive users to their social sites for further connection. The evolution of digital marketing continues, and the savviest marketers have already benefited from recognizing consumers' eagerness to share content on social media; interact with their preferred brands; and receive rewards for sharing marketing messages. The trends outlined here are no longer experimental — they are gaining steam so plan ahead to get your business in the mix!

Tweeting On The John [Infographic] Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:16 AM PST Admit it, if you’re involved in social networking sites, you’ve checked your Facebook or Twitter while on the toilet doing your business. Both males and females between the ages of 18-24 make up 33% of those who have used their mobile devices to check their social page while on the john. Out of the 18-24 age group, about 21 hours a month is spent on social networking sites. Mobile applications are on the rise and 63% of the growth in overall time spent using social media is due to mobile apps and mobile web usage. Out of all the smartphone users, 46% of social media users use their phones to access social media and 30% of all time spent on mobile devices is spent on social. These social apps aren’t just for your smartphone, but 16% of people use their tablet to access social media. With all the usage of your cellphone throughout the day, including time spent on your mobile device on the toilet, your phone has to have attracted some bacteria. According to a study by Queen Mary, University of London, 1 in 6 cell phones have fecal matter on them. There is also more contamination on a cell phone than on the bottom of your shoe, on a toilet, on a doorknob, and 18 times more bacteria than a toilet flush handle. There are tens of thousands of germs on each square inch of your cellphone that can easily be killed with an antibacterial wipe, or a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. Bacteria can live on your phone for up to a week and should be cleaned every few days. It’s important to clean your phone because some mobile devices have 500 times the amount of germs than a toilet seat and 30% of viruses can make it to your finger tips just by touching the screen of someone else’s phone. Social media has never been so disposable, and Twitter’s got a "roll" to play in it. Get Shitter is a roll of white cotton toilet paper that includes the entire contents of your Twitter feed. There have already been over 1,500 tweets containing #shitter. So, there it is: not only is Shitter fun and Twitter approved, it’s also soft and sensitive where it counts. The toilet paper is $35 and currently out of stock. So, before Tweeting on the toilet, be aware of the germs and clean your phone! Check out the infographic below presented by emergencyplumber.uk.com to learn more about people’s social habits while on the loo.

Integrating Social Strategy for SEO Benefits Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:00 AM PST If you manage or maintain a website, then you know how vital SEO can be in driving up your web traffic. This year saw some big changes to Google's search algorithms, calling for an updated and more involved approach to SEO. Google now incorporates social media rankings as well as regularly updated, relevant content into its search algorithm. This means that if a website hopes to rank highly in search results, it should incorporate social media efforts as well as new content creation (such as an up to date blog) into its SEO strategy. Social Media Pages Rise in Search Results Social media pages, such as Google+ and Facebook, can now rank much higher in search results, so it's more important than ever for businesses to maintain profiles on these sites. The more popular these pages are on the social network, the higher their search rankings will be. Encouraging adds, likes, and followers will all help your page profile, and companies that understand how to engage and involve social networks gain the additional benefits of better search results. Social media pages should be optimized with relevant keywords, and they should be updated regularly with content relevant to your industry. On top of increasing SERP listings, building a social media presence can help spread the word about your company, and it makes it easy for others to spread the word for you by sharing or liking relevant links and posts. Build Link Citations Building link citations can also help drive more users to your site, and the more that these links are clicked, the higher the site will rank. Google is a spider-driven search engine, which means that a search starts with a handful of relevant and popular sites, then 'spider-webs' out from links on those sites, analyzing content and keywords to bring what Google determines to be the most relevant results. The popularity of the linked pages, as well as the number of link clicks, will both affect the search rankings for that link. You can build link citations in forums and on directories around the web. Content-driven websites often build link citations by encouraging and sharing links with other content creators around the web. Links in social media page posts will also be considered by spider-driven search engines like Google, so you should link to your site and to blog posts on these pages. Be wary of duplicate content, though – you don't want to repeat content from posts on your site and your blog/social media posts as this will hurt your SERP rankings. Establish and implement Keywords Strong, relevant keywords are still important to bringing traffic to your site. These key words or phrases should also be incorporated into your social media pages. These pages are a good place to build both link and keyword citations. Business contact citations and keyword citations on a popular and active social media page will help increase the value of these citations for your site. Keep in mind that keywords have more weight when they are in Titles, Subtitles, and metadata. You can find more tips for keyword placement in this helpful article. Create a Business Blog Due to an increased focus on current, updated content, it is more important than ever for a business to maintain a blog on their site. A blog is a good platform to create regularly updated content, which will keep your page ranking high in search results, so it can help drive more traffic onto your landing page. A blog will allow you to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, and a well written and relevant post might even have a chance to go viral, which can give your traffic a huge boost! A social approach to blogging will help build more industry connections. An updated blog can provide many benefits on top of increased SERP performance. Connecting and sharing links with others in your industry can help generate a lot more links to your business around the web. You can use your social media pages to connect readers to your blog posts, which makes it easy for them to share these posts with their contacts. A New SEO Strategy In light of these changes to Google's search algorithms, your business needs a new, more social kind of SEO strategy to keep up with the competition. Your strategy should incorporate regularly updated content, and establish an active social media presence. While this will require more time and effort than you probably spent before on SEO, it can also help establish a stronger online presence and industry standing. Google made these changes to encourage current and updated web content, and to help define and direct more relevant traffic onto the right web pages. Understanding and embracing the changes to search engine mechanics can help your business stay ahead of the competition and high in your SERP rankings. How has social strategy influenced your SEO efforts?

A New Way To Market With Pinterest: Secret Boards Posted: 18 Dec 2012 09:20 AM PST Pinterest exploded onto the social networking scene earlier this year, and it quickly became a goldmine for business owners and marketers. Pinterest lets users create and share their own inspiration boards that cover everything from event planning to home decorating. Marketers love how content spreads virally on the network, with users "repinning" images and ideas to their own boards. Now there's another reason for marketers and business owners to love Pinterest: secret boards. Pinterest is rolling out the option to create private boards that only you – or people you specify – can see. So what's the big deal? Shhhh! It's A Secret! Until now, everything posted to Pinterest was public. If you wanted to collect gift ideas, plan a surprise party or even just save articles for personal reading later, it all got shared publicly across the network. Thanks to secret boards, you can now keep a private stash of ideas for whatever you need. Secret boards are obviously handy for personal use – holiday gift lists coming to mind first. But They Can Also Help Your Marketing Here are some ways your business can take advantage of Pinterest's new secret boards: Planning A Campaign Before It Goes Public Pinterest is an excellent way to collect inspiration all in one place and save images to use later in your campaigns. And with a secret board, you can plan an entire marketing campaign while keeping the details under wraps until you launch it. As you come across brilliant marketing ideas and inspirational images across the web, you can pin them to your secret board using Pinterest's special Pin It button. This will save the image – and its corresponding website link – to your board so you can reference it later. Pin design and copy ideas for a special email campaign, gather ideas for a redesign of your website, or just make sure your Pinterest board is perfect before sharing it with your community. You get the benefit of neatly organizing your ideas and marketing inspiration without anyone else seeing what you're up to. Sharing Ideas With Clients Secret boards don't have to be completely secret – Pinterest allows you to designate certain people who can also see your secret board. This can be an easy way to share ideas for your clients' eyes only. Some businesses that may find this most useful: Bakeries that design wedding cakes and confections for other special events. Create a secret board and invite your customers to pin their favorite cake ideas to it as you're working with them. You can both share your cake decorating visions to create something really special. Photographers can pin their best work along with other photos to suggest themes and poses for a photoshoot. Clients can also pin some poses they want to try. Designers might want to create a personalized "mood board" for their clients, whether it's a website overhaul or an interior redesign. Inspire your client with color schemes, furniture choices, textures and more. Event planners can use a secret board to brainstorm themes, color schemes, decorations, entertainment and more for their clients' events. Collaboratively Planning An Event Pinterest is the perfect place to gather ideas and inspiration for your next event. But if you're hosting a big event at your business, you don't want to get the word out too early, when it's still in a rough planning stage. Set up a secret board for your event, invite others you're planning with to view and pin to the secret board and collect your ideas in one convenient place without the risk of outside eyes seeing your plans too early. You can delete the secret board after your event, or keep it for the next time you have an event to plan. Keeping Tabs On Your Competition You may already monitor what your competitors are up to online. But sometimes you may come across a great idea you wish you had yourself. Or maybe you want a better way to visually organize the trends within your industry. Secret boards are the perfect place to store and track information about your competitors. Keep it to yourself or share it with others in your business who would find the information valuable. Cool! So How Do I Make One? Secret boards are housed under your regular boards in your Pinterest profile (don't have an account? Register for a free account here.): Hover over one of the boxes in the "Secret Board" section to create a new secret board. Give it a name, categorize it, and other viewers and pinners if you wish. For more help creating a secret board, check out Pinterest's FAQ. Want To Share A Secret? Will you try Pinterest's secret boards? How will you use them for your own business or email campaign? Share with us in the comments! And download our free guide for more ways to market your business and products on Pinterest. Download Guide

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