The online landscape changes so quickly - you have to commit to it every day to stay on top.
Links for the week...
1. 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business
This is an article by Chris Brogan - a business communications blogger. He is an expert and you should subscribe to his blog. This article in particular gives some great tips on how businesses can use twitter. He not only gives tips but also links to companies doing these things well. Some of my favorites are:
- Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn't sell more widgets, but it shows us you're human.
- Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
- Instead of answering the question, "What are you doing?", answer the question, "What has your attention?"
2. The Internet Is Finally, Primarily A Content Platform
We "preach" this to our clients all the time. Without a strong content asset - your online efforts will never become much of anything. What are you putting out there for people to consume?
3. 10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Blogging
I think most people can agree on these 10 truths. Having a blog or website will not magically bring people to your company. You must be providing valuable information that people can use and learn from. This is a MUST READ for everyone. My favorite truth is:
#7 You need to show the warts and all - If you are a marketeer this may all sound a little scary. Its hard to control "the message" when you are blogging. You have multiple bloggers from across your organization who are effectively becoming corporate spokespeople, and you are allowing users to publicly criticize you on your own blog. This is a long way from traditional marketing.Read More
4. How to Go Beyond Your Small Business Blog and Create a Social Media Footprint
At LoudClick - we always have people begin with building a content asset. Our next recommendation is to engage your existing network and then we talk about how to attract new people. This article does a great job of addressing the attracting new people through social media. If you are at the "attract" stage - you should read this! It is time to get out there.
5. 20 Tips for Creating an Effective Email Signature
This one has little to do with your website or blog but has everything to do with engaging your network and attracting new people. Email still is probably the largest social network. Make sure that you are getting your information out to your email network in the right way.
As always, I hope you find these Links to Learn From helpful.
As LoudClick has evolved, we've recognized how difficult it is to market online - particularly if you have a national brand and would like to market locally. Since coming to this conclusion, we have been in development of a unique new product; an automated solution we've named ClickWrite. Read More
For a long time now we have been talking about the virtues of having an online marketing strategy. At the core of our idea is the concept of Content Marketing - but what exactly does that mean? Read More
Sticking A Toe In Social
Media Waters Series - Part 4 In this final post in the "Sticking a
Toe" series we will discuss what didn't worked in our experiment and
why. Read More
Sticking A Toe In Social Media Waters
Series - Part 3 Engagement without purpose is a recipe for frustration. Just being there is not enough - you need to add value to the conversation or you will end up being that person at a party that sits in the corner alone. Read More
Sticking A Toe In Social Media Waters Series - Part 2
OK, last week I started this experiment by signing up for a Twitter
account and built a Facebook Fanpage. Here are week one's results: Read More
I was chatting it up with my partners here at LoudClick about a new blog
post and we battered back and forth as usual. This time, however, we
came up with an idea that I'm going to pursue - something based upon an
off-handed comment of "Not a lot of people are understanding social
media so I'm going to write about my left big toe." Absurd, yes, but
there is something here.....you'll see. Read More
Much has been said of the importance of two way conversations online -
the very core of social media offering the ability to build genuine
relationships with potential friends and customers. Yet some continue to see this as a one way street... Read More
Just take a stroll down memory lane for the last 15 years......
Look
at where the recording industry was 15 years ago. Rolling along,
getting over 80's rock and not a competitor on the horizon as far as
the eye could see...
You likely are already implementing some elements of social media. But what's missing? In my view the biggest missing piece is implementing social media into the very fiber of your company. And we can help you do that. Read More
Social Media Rites of Passage signifies steps in a process. In this
case the process is gaining expertise and comfort in using online
communication, social media, etc. Some specific milestones can be
identified and are a good way to gauge a person's ability to interact
online. These milestones include: Read More
In this weeks edition: Blogging Rules, Twit Tip 2009 recap article, The Best of Pro Blogger, Small Business Becoming More Social and The Best of CopyBlogger 2009. Read More
When you complete this list you will find you have better search engine
results, your site will become more interactive and you will be able to
engage people in the social media age. Read More
The skills necessary to be successful with social media are not necessarily technical skills - they are more people skills. What? People skills? When using social media to market your company or product - a huge
component of content marketing - the need to be socially adept is even
more critical. Read More
Google search is undergoing change in upcoming months. Just the thought
of it makes some people upset; particularly website owners concerned
they may not get the same search ranking as before the change. Is this
concern justified? What should you do about it? Read More
Facebook's deal to allow Bing to index public statuses has some
relevance to businesses with Facebook fan pages. This is the first time
Facebook has allowed a search engine to index pages to this degree. So, what does this mean and what should you do about it? Well, as a
business, it may be a good time to get yourself a fan page on Facebook.
Just keep in mind the following before jumping in: Read More
Knowing how valuable the concept has become is the proverbial
carrot to dig in and learn what you can. There are a few
basic themes that apply to most social networks and provide a roadmap
of what you can expect as you begin to use them. Read More
In this week's edition: tips for business using twitter, the internet as a content platform, truths about corporate blogging, creating a social media footprint, and creating a successful email signature. Read More
Every day I set aside some time to comb through my twitter account, RSS
Reader and social networking sites. I believe that when you run a
website/blog it is important to stay on top of it, get involved in
social networks, attract new readers through social media and just
generally stay informed. The online landscape changes so quickly - you
have to commit to it day to say on top. Read More
As we've previously discussed, the most effective search engine friendly content is text. This is because images, video and audio are
not easily scanned by search bots. However, there are ways you can add to your site's search engine effectiveness. Read More
One thing I love about Social Media is the good stuff gets promoted.
Articles and blog posts that are helpful and informative get passed
around. So here I am doing my part - passing on the good stuff to you. Read More
BMW's scheme points out a very important axiom regarding social media: Try. It really is that
simple. I've run into several people who are not yet convinced that
social media is important. I can't decide if it's because they are not
willing to try or not willing to fail. In either event, they miss the
opportunity that comes from expanding your box and learning something
new. Read More
Whenever I hear content is king I smile. Despite the fact that
this phrase is overly used it remains true. However, not all content is
king when trying to develop successful content. Read More
This overview allows you to see how your traffic is getting to your website. There are 4 main traffic sources tracked by Google Analytics Direct, Referring, Search Engines and Other. Read More
The map overlay allows you to see where your traffic is coming from.
This is done by displaying a map of the world and highlighting the
countries that have provided traffic to your website. Read More
Think of your website as a garden and content is the water that feeds
it. You need to create content on a regular basis or your website will
wilt and die.
Content is your best marketing asset. Sometimes it is easy to write -
sometimes it is downright painful. When those days arise that are
painful, look to some resources. Read More
The Google Analytics Visitor Overview tells you if your traffic is coming from a few people visiting you many times or several people visiting once. It also allows you to see how sticky your website is and what technical issues may be impacting your traffic. Read More
RSS stand for Really Simple Syndication. It provides a way for you to distribute your frequently updated content - often called an RSS feed (or just feed). Read More
Google Analytics is one way to determine how people are using you website. Many people use this free service yet do not know exactly what they are looking at. Google Analytics is a very powerful tool with lots of features. Consequently, this series of posts will concentrate not on every detail but on the features you will interact with frequently and those that provide you a basis to know how it can make your website successful. Read More
Social Mention is a social media search engine that searches user-generated content such as blogs, comments, bookmarks, events, news, videos, and microblogging services.
It allows you to easily track what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Read More
When talking about SEO, Google should be your first stop. They have many tools to help you optimize your website and get the best possbile search engine results. Read More
