A long time ago, we wrote about SEO fast food (I’ll Take #1 Ranking with That, but Hold the Fries).  The idea of SEO fast food is that everyone wants fast online marketing; they want fast results.  They want to attract and retain customers, they want to change and enhance behaviors.  They want miracles to happen with their content marketing.

Beyond the Buzz

But content marketing is more than words.  It’s more than creating copy and posting it online.  It’s more than blog posts, articles, videos, press releases and traffic generating buzz.

Beyond the Buzz

Your business is a living entity.  Like any living entity, it feeds and grows.  It can be nourished or starve.  If your business lives and breathes, why should your marketing be any different?

Now, people assume that content is content is content, and that words are what does the selling.  But it’s not the words.  It’s the story; it’s the conscience; it’s the emotions.  Superman wouldn’t have been quite so super if he hadn’t had Clark Kent’s alter ego and loved Lois Lane.  That’s part of the story – part of the emotions.

Beyond the buzz of “Superman saves the day” is the story of Clark Kent, a normal guy who’s love didn’t know he existed.

What’s your story?  Are you telling it?  And, are you telling it in a way that makes sense?

Consistent Marketing

Part of any strong marketing campaign is consistency.  Not only is a consistent tone important, but also a consistent brand message.  As we wrote in Dear, Sweet Internet Marketer – Connect the Stinkin’ Dots Already that consistency is important across the board from point, to point, to point.

This means your logo needs to be the same across all social networks.  It means if Bob is your content creator on ABC site then Bob needs to be your content person on XYZ site.  It also means that in every piece of writing in which your company is mentioned, the spelling, capitalization, and spacing needs to be the same.

Why is this important?

Understanding brand development

A company brand is developed from several points of interest.  For example, the positive aspects of a brand can develop through personal interaction with products, brand perception based on media ads, and brand perception based on the word of mouth activity from advocates (among others).  As the brand develops so does positive or negative emotion toward that brand.

Valuable Marketing

How Valuable Are You?

With everything that you market, with every point where you meet the customer, you have to be consistent.  But consistent with what?  The answer is value.

When your potential customers meet you, when they come across your company, the very first question they’re going to want to answer is “What’s in it for me?” You’d better have that answer ready.

Focus on customer pain. “This is your problem.  We understand your problem.  We can help you with your problem.” In other words, the world may be dealing with serious issues, but there’s a new way to do things -and that’s your way.

You see, beyond the buzz there has to be answers.  Who.  What.  When.  Where.  Why.  How.

• Who are you?
• What are you offering me?
• How will it help me?
• Why should I buy from you?
• Where can I use this?
• When will I see returns?

How you choose to answer these questions, whether you do it with individual articles or a 5-second video, is up to you.  However, the answers have to be there.  Show your value.

Compelling Marketing

You see examples of compelling marketing everywhere you go.  You see them on billboard ads, television ads, print ads…  Everywhere you see various examples of marketing meant to extol the virtues of products. –Or, more correctly, your own virtues if you simply own this product.

This dress will make you look smaller.  This car will make you more successful.  This hair will make you beautiful.  No matter what the ad is selling, it’s created specifically to compel the target market into buying.  The way you do that is to understand customers need, what they want – their points of pain.  Then you create offers that directly address those pain points.

6 Steps to Compelling Content

1. Define your target audience: Who are they? What problems will you solve for them? What type of information will they be interested in? Compelling content solves (or promises to solve) problems, shares information, or provides them with updates.
2. Identify social networks:  Where is your target market found? Some of the more popular are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SlideShare and LinkedIn. However, your market may be more active on the less popular. Don’t just assume they’re found on the above; do your research.
3. Establish preferred media:  How does your target market prefer to ingest information? They have multiple options: video, podcasts, presentations, infographics, images, and e books are just a few. Publishing through the various forms of media gives them more options.
4. Brainstorm content ideas: Have you ever seen the Never-ending Story? Well, you’re writing the never-ending story for your company. As you brainstorm, break the huge, overwhelming story into bite-sized pieces. The whole story is told, but in bits small enough for a person to consume and understand in one sitting.
5. Create the content: Write, record, create!
6. Optimize your content: Make sure your content, no matter where you upload it, has strong headlines. Double check that you’ve put it in a bite-sized structure (headings and bullet points, for example). Make sure it’s on topic, and – last but not least – that it’s social friendly!

Beyond the Buzz

You’ll read a lot about creating copy that builds buzz. However, “buzz” is just another “buzz word”. What all the content marketers are saying is, “Create copy that compels.” We say, “Create,” because it very seldom just happens. Ask any copywriter out there.

You can use link bait (we have); you can use info graphics (we have). You can use videos and other forms of moving, inviting content. However, if your content isn’t consistent, if it doesn’t show value, if it doesn’t compel, it’s still just…. Content.

-And content alone is just words on a page with no meaning.

I have yet to see Meryl Streep’s movie The Iron Lady, but I noticed a poster as I was walking Lucy (Level343′s official mascot!) this morning. “Never Compromise” jumped out of the poster at me. Isn’t that the truth; it’s something I’ve been struggling with for the past year as I continue to run and grow my business.

I can honestly say I enjoy working with people who stand by their convictions. I enjoy working with people who never compromise their business or personal ethics – no, not even for money. Some may find it hard to believe there are still people like that, but there are.

How can you run a business without walking a fine line of compromise? Especially when that business is online in B2B services and you’re aiming for long term clients?

Case in point: look at what’s happening with search. In April alone, there were 52 highlights to Google’s latest algorithm changes. That in itself has given way to a plethora of news feeds regarding all the compromises businesses have made in order to rank for their keywords.

We have warnings to tighten the reins on questionable SEO methods going out in light of the latest updates, such as this one from Search Engine Land, written by Kerry Dean of PMG:

“If you are managing SEO and link building for a big brand, I recommend ceasing all paid link building campaigns. I’m sure I’ll take some heat for that recommendation, but I just can’t recommend paid link building to big brands right now. It’s just too risky at this point in time.”

Businesses have to be warned to pull it in? Maybe it’s not exactly “bad business practices” so much as it is “bad ranking practices”, but why does there need to be a warning at all?

How Much Are You Willing to Bend for Success?

Level343 is kind of a strange cat when it comes to our industry peers. Our new headquarters are in San Francisco. We have a satellite office in Kansas City. We have less than ten full time employees, one full time doggy mascot and have yet to find an actual office in San Fran. Though small, we’re an international marketing company; I speak five languages fluently, and have partners in every corner of the world.

We could be bigger.

We could have more people on staff.

We could have satellite offices in other parts of the world instead of business partners.

We could be a lot of things we’re not.

But –

I’m not willing to bend. I’m not willing to cut corners. Although I’ve sometimes walked the line, I don’t believe I’ve ever crossed it. My team feels the same way.

No Comment

It’s cost us some potential clients. We’ve had potentials come to us who wanted us to do (choose your questionable technique here). We turned them down with a “We’re sorry. We don’t do that, here. We can (insert other technique), however, and here’s why.” Sometimes, offering a viable replacement keeps them with us. Sometimes it doesn’t.

It’s cost us some potentially excellent team members. We’ve been accused of “doing too much” or “giving too much” by previous partners on jobs. We’ve been accused of being too fussy with the work we provide our clients. We’ve been laughed at for tweaking our reporting because 1) Jahnelle’s a data freak and loves Excel sheets and 2) we want to give actionable reports. We want the client to see, in one report (and preferably one page), what’s happening with their web presence.

These things are important to us, because our clients’ online successes often depend on them.

Square Peg in a Round Hole? Maybe…

Sometimes I feel like a square peg in a round hole. It’s not like staying on the “up and up” comes natural. CYA is born into everyone. But see, that’s what makes us different from the animals – the fact that we have a choice to do, or not.

It’s hard sticking to our guns sometimes, especially when money is tight and a potential walks up with a questionable 10k/month project. On the rare occasion that we aren’t quite as meticulous with our accounts receivables as we should be and a client decides they don’t have to pay for delivered work  – well, it’s hard not to go hacker ninja on them and drop their site into the shredders. Maybe 301 some porn wheels their way and other not-quite-proper actions to “help” them rank for triple X terms.

Point is, even though our actions may not be the gut reaction variety – even though the ethical thought is the second thought -, we haven’t compromised.

Pandas, Penguins… Poodles…?

I may regret saying this, but – we’ve watched the Google updates pass, and rode them out with little difficulty. We’ve babysat our clients’ sites and patted their URLs as the traffic meandered in much like it did before the updates. Although the updates have brought us new clients looking for help to fix their crashing traffic, they’ve yet to lose us a client to someone else.

The Rise Of The Penguins

I think – and feel free to chime in on this – we’ve ridden these things out because we’ve never compromised. We’ve never compromised on our link building practices, choosing viral and organic above paid linking strategies. We’ve never compromised on content development, choosing high quality articles over spun or $1 per 2,000 word articles. We’ve never compromised where it comes to proudly displaying our clients’ brands, choosing to make sure everything we do in their name provides a positive example.

Have You Compromised?

Many business owners are staring at their analytics and traffic data right now. Many are watching their rank drop and wondering what to do. Some of the less informed may actually be wondering what happened. What may have happened is too much compromise.

Because, let’s face facts: when Google’s Penguin update creates mass unemployment in India because people have been paying for cheap labor and cheaper tactics rather than actually doing the work necessary for long lasting results….

Then a lot of businesses have compromised…

How many times have you read or heard about how to generate more traffic? It always sounds easy, doesn’t it? Very seldom does someone actually tell you it’s difficult; they brush it over with, “well, you have to have a great marketing campaign, followers and so on.” They then continue with their diatribe of how wonderful their suggestions are, and how you should be sure to try them out.

The Rolling Stone of SEO

How many of you have a plan, I wonder? I mean, how many actually pencil and paper one down and then follow through? I can’t tell you how many times we’ve given clients a content outline with suggested headlines and topics, samples of descriptions, link building strategies, social outreach programs, global marketing do’s and don’ts… and we go back later and they’ve done nothing.

These are major clients paying us major money to tell them what needs to be done. We tell them, they pay us, and then they blow it off. C’est la vie!

At any rate, getting traffic to your site isn’t easy. –And yet, once they’re there, are they going to buy automatically? Of course not.

Today, I’m going to skip over the traffic part. I’m even going to skip over the landing page part. Today, I want to discuss human behavior. You can’t get any of these actions accomplished if you don’t understand how people act.

Human Behavior, Buyer Psychology

Eons ago, a merchant had to show their wares from the back of their wagon, then from their storefront and, most recently, from their landing pages. Now, we can discuss colors, layout, content… we can even discuss A/B testing (which is more in line of how to achieve ultimate converting potential). At the end of the day, however, these things just aren’t cookie cutter.

Depending on the industry, location, target market… there are so many different factors to creating a site that converts, no single silver bullet is going to do the trick. You have to ask yourself…

What Will Make My Buyers Buy?

C'est la vie

People, this is the ultimate question. Lucky for you, there’s a whole slew of marketing research available, from case studies, surveys and more. Here are a few sites that gather marketing case studies to get you started:

• Fast Company’s Marketing Case Studies: Learn from Guinness, Procter & Gamble, GM and other brand names.
• Marketing Profs: Case Studies: How does thought-leadership content drive business? How can you build excitement for a new product line? How can business get their landing pages to boost conversions? These case studies provide the examples to follow.
• U Talking Marketing: Case Studies: Find out how a horse boosted on-trade sales. Read about the charity that encouraged people to leave donations in their wills, and how MSN helped a campaign reach five million people. Several case studies are here for your reading, enjoyment and education.

Recommendations

Recommendations are huge pluses. I don’t mean how many people +1 your product or give you Likes on Facebook, though. I’m talking about people that actually take the time to write a review, whether negative or positive. I’m talking about people who communicate with you on Facebook (Ooo, hey, I really like your product. It helped me… yadda, yadda, yadda), post tweets on Twitter (@company has excellent customer service! Thanks!), or a review on your Google Places account.

In short, recommendations reach the buyer on an emotional level. They give buyers something to connect with that translates into enthusiasm… or not. This is where the gold lies.

These things show your potential customers how strong a business you have.  They also give the company the ability to better its products. Finally, it shows your current and future customers how you will interact/solve/react to them. How sweet is that?

Pricing

It really is amazing how the psychology of that $0.99 (1 cent off!) can make or break a sale. Of course, it probably doesn’t work as well as it used to – consumers are getting inundated with .99 and .95, but that doesn’t mean pricing points don’t still work. It may just be a matter of finding the next magic numbers.

Now, granted, when you’re selling a service like ours, you can’t do a fixed price. Why? Because no client should be treated like a cookie cutter client. Each one is different, and the sooner they realize you see them as individuals, the better you’re going to be in establishing trust. You can even show them a comparative pricing structure with your competitors. If they cost less, show your potential customer/client why you cost more.

What are you doing in order to have a baseline for your product or services? For example, in a product-based business, you might have a “low” number. In other words, no matter what promotions or coupons you offer, you’ll never go lower than “this”.

At Level343 we have a cheat sheet. We write what our bottom dollar is internally. We even have a partner-pricing sheet, because we want our partners to make money as well (otherwise, they won’t share their business with us). They know we want them to make money on top of our fees, which is why they’re more apt to share clients with us.

Whether you’re selling products or services, you have to have the baseline. In simple terms your baseline is the answer to the question: What’s the least I can reasonably afford to charge and still make a profit?

Usability

How easy is it to buy from your site? Do you know how many steps it will take to go from any landing page to paying? This is a very important answer you must have. Many people abandon a shopping cart because they get frustrated due to lack of clarity and/or too many steps.

Trust

Building Trust

This is a tough one. Don’t put your nose on the line just because you know a bunch of people trust you. Whether you are a small company or a large company, your name or brand should invoke a strong emotional presence that speaks of professional ethics, strong leadership, and the ability to listen. All it takes is for you to screw up one time to throw it all away. The best, easiest way to develop trust, however, is to betrustworthy.

It’s All On Their Terms

What sounds valuable to you in terms of “worth the price” will not necessarily translate to the consumer. Neither will “usable” or “methods of trust”. All the above are based on the viewpoints of the consumers. The customer’s viewpoint doesn’t just matter; it’s the whole of the matter.

As a truly global company, we’re often confronted with differences between cultures. Marketing lingo that works in one country will not, necessarily, work in another. There are different dialects, cultures, different favorite social networks (or none at all), different words to mean different things. Therefore if you’re truly looking to embrace the global market, then you must understand the various nuances and trigger points of that culture.

For example, content developed for the United States may not perform as well in Canada. Content developed in Canada may not perform as well in the U.K. Although it’s all English (supposedly), you have to take into account the different cultures, uses of the language, dialects, slang and so on. If you don’t take the time to get down and dirty in understanding your market, you’re not going to do as well.

Next week, we’ll delve deeper into the topic of buyer psychology, discussing different behaviors. We’ll share some pointers on how you can identify those behaviors, and what to do with them once you know what they are. For now, the most important thing to remember is that your clients are not you. Stop thinking you know what they want based on what you’d want. They aren’t the same (read “Repeat After Me: ‘Target. Market.’“).

Until then, take a few hours and delve into your website. Try to answer the question: “Am I really speaking to my visitors?”

Recent truth. A client came to us with a business strategy; their biggest concern was finding a copywriter familiar with the language usage of their target country. While English is a common language, the usage can change drastically from place to place, and copy written without this in mind is very noticeable.

Target. Market.

They went through the business plan with us, who they’re targeting, and their goals. “We worked with another copywriter and they just didn’t get the right tone. I think it was because they were American.”

Got it. We understand that – we get many good writers we can’t hire because American English isn’t a first language (and the majority of our clients are American businesses). Our use of grammar is strange to the rest of the world. For this particular client, the concern is that American English is our main language. No surprise there.

No – the surprise came when we looked over the material we were given to work with.

“Hey, who did they say they were targeting again?”

“Agencies.”

“That’s what I thought. This isn’t agency language. This is end-user language.”

Page after page after page of material targeted the wrong market. The problem wasn’t the language; it was the language.

You Can’t Sell a Horse to a Horse

A horse needs many things, but another horse is not one of them. On the other hand, a farmer might actually have use for the animal, or a breeder or… It may be a strange analogy, but it seems just as strange to write marketing material for the wrong user. There’s a huge difference between business-to-consumer and business-to-business relationships; it’s even more important to use the right language.

When you’re targeting the business, you may not use as much information. For example, when we offer our services to other SEO agencies, we’re not going to get into near as much information about the why as we are the what. We’ll use the term SERPs without adding (search engine results pages). To do otherwise could be misconstrued as talking down to the agency.

When you’re targeting the end-user, the consumer, you’re going to use a lot more information about the why. The consumer, not buried in the day-to-day work of an SEO specialist, has a much higher chance of not knowing the why or the what. To do otherwise has a high potential of leaving the client confused and unable to find the value in what we offer.

It’s a fine line, and one that has to be walked carefully.

Good Content, Bad Aim

Good content doesn’t mean much if you’re not writing to your target market. You can write quality content until the cows come home, but if it doesn’t address your clients’ and customers’ needs, it might as well be spam. Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but still…

Consider this. When you receive emails to your inbox from companies, how do you define whether to delete, spam or read? It’s all sales, right? The difference is whether you are, or are not, their target market. In other words, whether their product is interesting or not… to you.

Have you ever wondered why businesses continue to stuff the same emails down your throat? Online Pharmacy, Viagra, The truth between meds and quality price… Because they work. Because somewhere out there is someone who wants to know about Viagra, or is looking for an online pharmacy, etc. Because somewhere out there is their target market. They’ve just lumped you in with it; they didn’t focus.

Focus, Focus, Focus

Having a defined target market is extremely important, if nothing else, because you can’t afford to target everybody. That’s too broad of an audience. The dangers of too broad an audience are many, including:

• Consumers will end up looking at price as the highest importance; if you aren’t the cheapest option, you lose.
• There’s a lot of marketing “noise” out there; if you’re shouting to a huge, uninterested group, you’re just adding to the noise. You aren’t actually talking to anyone.

The tighter your focus, the better chance you have of increasing your conversion rate, as well as the ROI of your marketing efforts.

Focus on your current customer base.
Who are they? Men? Women? Moms? Dads? Are the majority in a specific age group with a college education? The highest commonalities in your current customer base are the ones who respond most to your products.

Focus on your customers

Focus on your customers’ personal brands.
A single mom with three kids might pride herself on being smart with her money. A couple living a life of luxury may pride themselves on the quality of their possessions. The way you brand your product becomes an extension of the image they have of themselves – their personal brand.

Focus on your customers’ language.
Look. Listen. Learn. Because your target market may not be speaking the same language. For example, a web developer’s target market may be using words like “thingamabob” to describe a function of their website. Of course, you aren’t going to use this same terminology in your copy, but this should create awareness that your customer base isn’t as well versed in industry lingo as you are.

Focus on your customers’ needs and wants.
Why are these people buying from you? You are not a unique snowflake; your product is not one of a kind (usually). So what is it about your product that makes it stand out from the rest? How does it address the needs and wants of your customers? How does it ease their lives?

This is what it’s all about, you see – making their lives easier, better, more fulfilling. To the single working Dad pinching pennies and time, an inexpensive bathroom product that makes cleaning a breeze is a win. To the hard working real estate agent, constantly on the go, a cell-phone holder on their car’s dashboard helps them communicate faster, while not inhibiting their hand-to-wheel motions.

You Are Not Your Target Market

One last thing. Your target market? It isn’t you. What you like, what you want, what you need, has no bearing on your market, and it has no bearing on how you market. Don’t let your own biases, likes and dislikes color how you reach out to your customers.

Now that we’ve covered all this marketing goodness, repeat after me: “Target. Market.” Ready! Aim! Fire!

Occasionally, Wikipedia has spot-on information. On this occasion, it’s their definition of online reputation management: “Online reputation management (or monitoring) is the practice of monitoring the Internet reputation of a person, brand or business, with the goal of suppressing negative mentions entirely, or pushing them lower on search engine results pages to decrease their visibility. [It's] the act of monitoring, addressing or mitigating SERPs (search engine result pages) or mentions in online media and Web sphere content.”

Not bad. Not bad at all. –But is that all ORM is? Suppressing negative mentions? We don’t think so.

Reputation Is All Inclusive, and It Starts With You

You don’t build your online reputation in the SERPs alone, as many would have you believe. Word of mouth marketing, for example, is a huge asset – or a huge obstacle – for any business. While WOM may translate to your search rankings eventually, it translates to the consumer first. –And, while you want positive rankings in the SERPs, the search results should never be seen as the end all, be all of your marketing or reputation management concerns.

It starts with you:

Your website. It starts with how visitors perceive your business, based on the information you provide. For example, if you shout “Transparency!” while hiding your privacy policy or (for ecommerce) shipping information, your claims of transparency won’t mesh with your actions.

Other examples are the sites that offer you a “free trial” loud and clear. Once you order the free trial, you find out that you also signed up for a membership. Oh, yes, the membership was mentioned, but in print so tiny you’d need a telescope to see it.

Your customer service and promises kept. It continues with how you deal with your customers’ problems – or don’t deal, as the case may be. For instance:

• Do you provide more than one way for your customers to reach you, such as a phone number and a dedicated customer email address?
• Is the phone manned, or do they have to leave a message for you to call back?
• Do you clearly outline on your website what the customer should expect from your service team?
• Do you actively watch social networks for positive/negative mentions?

Red Alert

In social media, you should always keep an eye out for mentions of your company and social accounts. Of course, you don’t have to respond to every comment (although it helps), but certain types of comments should definitely be addressed and not left to float away.

For example, the following hashtags, along with your company name or Twitter account:

• Alert – Comments with #sucks
• Yellow Alert – Comments with #fail
• Orange Alert – Comments with #epicfail
• Red Alert – Comments with #scam

On Facebook, you might see comments like this: “I went to the [company name] event where I was promised a fancy, four-course meal freshly prepared, and all I got was this T-Shirt. No, really – all I got was the T-Shirt.”

Of course, the truth is that you probably won’t see this comment, because it was posted on their wall instead of yours. Therefore, it’d be hidden for you, but not, unfortunately, to their 500+ friends, family and fans. You can’t fight what you can’t see.

However, keeping your promises and providing excellent customer service really aren’t that important… that is, if your reputation doesn’t mean anything to you.

How you deal with publicity. When you’re publicly lauded, do you brag about it? When you’re publicly criticized, do you whine and moan (or worse, ignore/delete the criticism)? Think about this; you’re online. It’s one of the most public venues the world has ever known. You can’t silence the critics, and you can only cheapen the compliments. Think carefully before you respond to comments for, or against, your company.

How you extend your business. Comment spam, anyone? No? How about article spamming? Many business owners look at tactics like these as the quickest ways to grow their business. However, we have to ask – what does comment spam actually achieve in terms of reputation, other than creating disgust in the spammed bloggers?

True, not all bloggers moderate, their comments. However, what about readers who come across spammy comments with your company name and website in them? How can you not see that it reeks of desperation, when it appears that the only way you can get publicity is to fake it? Enough said, we think.

Bad Stuff Can and Does Happen, BUT…

Bad things happen...

Yes, your competition can get online and post fake, horrible reviews about you. –And yes, it’s true that not every customer will be a happy one. This is when Wikipedia’s definition comes in to play.

-BUT –

Online, you are your own worst enemy. To be more exact, you are your company’s worst enemy. Everything you say and do, as we have said multiple times before, is visible online. It can be passed from person to person, and often is.

Online reputation management is more than just dealing with bad publicity. It starts with you, doing your best to make sure the publicity never goes bad.

I’ve been boiling all morning long – and what does someone who blogs do, but kick out a rant? All morning, I’ve been researching marketing agencies, digging into sites, news articles and various sources to find out about them. –And that’s the whole damn point. Why, if you’re advertising yourself as any type of internet marketing agency, should I have to go digging?

Connect The Dots

Maybe it’s Gabriella’s influence. “Connect the dots, Jahnelle,” she keeps saying. “You always have to connect the dots.” However, I also think my expectations of someone claiming to be an internet marketer come from the years’ of experience in connecting those dots, and understanding why that connection is important.

Case in point:

I visited a site for an agency. They market themselves as a “digital agency” on the “cutting edge” of technology. You know what I found? A blog – with this cute little calendar that shows the number of posts per month. Two here, three there, a couple there… Whatever – so maybe they aren’t as strict about regularly posting as we are.

Then, I read their latest post. Even though it’s a month outdated, I think, “I like the way this company thinks.”

Now, if you follow the SEO Article Archive, you probably already know Gabriella is the more social of us. Me, I use it because that’s where you connect with people on line. –And damn it if that isn’t another point. It’s where you connect!

So, I’m interested in this company, and I look for their social links. Contact us? Nothing social, just an address and a phone number.

They have a Facebook and a LinkedIn profile button on the sidebar. I’m not too fond of Facebook for anything other than the dubious pleasure of saying the occasional “hello” to friends that no longer live in my area, so I click on LinkedIn. It takes me to their company page, which shows me a list of employees (most without pictures).

Those employee links, in turn, take me to the individuals’ pages, where I can then, and only then, see that at least two have Twitter accounts. To connect with these people through LinkedIn, I have to send an email stating that I’ve worked with them or known them in some way. I’m faced with a decision of how to class these people I don’t know and just want to see what they’re saying – rather than the one-click “follow” of Twitter. Talk about a waste of “being social”.

To be blunt, it ticked me off to the point that I tossed my headset down and stalked outside for a breath of fresh air.

Social isn’t everything, just like SEO isn’t everything; it isn’t the end all, be all of marketing mediums. I know this. Twitter isn’t everything; there are plenty of platforms out there. –But you call yourself an internet marketer!

Maybe it wouldn’t have upset me if I hadn’t just poured through over 10 sites of so-called digital, internet, social, etc. marketing firms with dead blogs, dead social accounts and dead ends.

Connect the Friggin Dots, Already!

I’m trying very hard to keep my language fit for public consumption. I really am, but how are we supposed to teach our clients to connect the dots if we aren’t at least making more than a half-hearted attempt to lead by example?

Connect the dots

That stupid “What We’re Saying” section in the sidebar? I don’t care what you’re saying, if you were saying it five months ago! We live and work in a fast-paced, constantly changing world. What you said five months ago may be completely wrong today!

“Thanks for the fantastic holiday event!” by marketingtwitteruser was posted December 19^th of last year…. What, was it so fantastic that you had to take two months off to recover?

It just absolutely blows my mind. If you’re an Internet marketer of any type (i.e. you market your client’s brand, business, and online presence to the public) there should be some proof that you know what you’re doing on your own site. There should be some sign that you are actually trying, instead of doing what a lot of business owners do and throwing noodles at the wall to see if they’ll stick.

 Business owners have an excuse. It’s not their job. Their job is to use their past experiences and know-how to grow their business. You don’t have an excuse. It’s your job. This is what you do to make a living, and as far as I’m concerned, you are the weakest link. Good bye.

Deep Breath and a Note to Business Owners

Please, don’t visit these types of Internet marketing sites and think, “Well, if they aren’t doing it…” Connecting the dots online is important; much like connecting the dots in the physical world. For example, if you have a logo, that logo will be visible on your business cards. It will also be visible on your business letterheads and your store front.

Online dot connection works the same way. It’s called consistency:

• Your logo should be on your website, connecting your physical storefront with your online presence
• Your logo should be able to be converted in a favicon, to be used on the site
• If you have a coder or developer on hand, you can have a widget created for other sites to use
• Your company name should be consistent across all platforms, websites, articles and so on – anything you put it on, it needs to be the same
• Your business phone number should be easy to find throughout the site
• If your company is participating in social media:
  • All social accounts with the business name should have the business logo
  • All social accounts for individual team members should have their pictures
  • Your Twitter accounts, depending on how big your business is, should be a mix of company and team member names:
    • Your main company account (example: @level343), which resembles your actual company name
    • Your team members’ accounts (examples: @SEOCopy and @jrpittman), which is how followers get to know your company personally
    • Your department accounts (examples: @companysales @companyservice, @company Q&A, etc.), which (in a large corporation) give customers direct access to the necessary department
• Your Facebook page should include links to your website, your company email, and other social accounts
• Every social account should have some kind of congruity with your business site
• Provide ways on your site in the contact area for people to connect with the various social accounts
• If you decide to start a blog:
  • Set a minimum amount of blogs posts per month and stick to it
  • Set a regular schedule of days you’ll post (example: we post every Monday and Thursday) and stick to it
  • Allow people to share across social networks – and don’t just limit it to the networks you’re on; that’s selective thinking, and it won’t serve you well
  • Provide ways on the blog for visitors to connect with your company’s social accounts
  • Link your site to your blog and your blog to your site – provide two-way traffic flow
  • If you decide to do content curation or guest blogging, like we do on Scoop.it, Tumblr, and Paper.li:
    • Schedule your posts on these content curation sites or guest posting sites to be on days that you aren’t posting on your blog
    • Put your name out there every day in some way or another – give the search engines a reason to crawl your site

At some point in time once the Internet started, we got this idea that everything had to be in a box. Don’t link out – that’s bad. Don’t let people share outside of your social circles – that’s bad. Don’t let the blog and the business mix, because, wouldn’t you know it, that’s bad, too.

It's a Fine Day To Walk The Walk

Times are changing, my friends. History is a cycle, and we’re cycling back to open borders – only this time, the open borders are the ones we allow online.

Walk the Walk

Look. I have no idea whether these marketers are any good at what they do. However, if they aren’t doing what they tell their readers to do, or what they plan for their clients, they don’t believe it. Why would you ignore something that you know works to grow a business?

There are many online marketers, SEOs, copywriters and so on that walk the walk. They do what they say you should do – because they honestly believe it works. Any time you decide to follow a marketing company through their blogs or their social accounts, keep your eyes open. If they don’t practice what they preach, at least to a reasonable degree, they’re just blowing smoke to look good. What they say may make perfect sense, but they don’t believe it.

A confession: I don’t know much about branding. Oh, sure – I know words, but branding? That’s Gabriella’s bailiwick.

I know more now than I did six or seven years ago, but that’s because she’s been my mentor for several years (and you can’t have a client-centered conversation with Gabriella without branding coming in to it). So, when Level343 posts blogs about branding, that information comes either from Gabriella or information I’ve gleaned from her through the years.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ve come across several articles here about brand building and social media. We talk a lot about social media and using it as a way to “build the story of your brand”. Whenever Gabriella talks about it, I’ve always just nodded my head, thinking I sort of got it, but figuring I never really would.

Today, I’m feverishly typing up this post for your consumption because I’m excited. I finally got it. And in case you haven’t, I want to share this concept with you, so you, trying to follow advice and build your brand story, can get a better grip on what it means.

The Story of a Company…

At the time of this writing, I’ve just finished researching for an article. The topic (not the client) is Volkswagen ads. If you ever have some free time in the middle of your busy company building day, I highly suggest reading about the history of Volkswagen and its advertising campaigns. It’s fascinating, to say the least.

In 1959, Volkswagen had just started growing in the U.S. They contracted with an advertising agency to create ads focused on building brand advocates. Because, you see, brand advocates will do for a company what an ad never can – add a positive reputation. They talk about a brand, share it, tweet it, like it… they become the cheerleaders for a brand. And unless that brand does something really bad, they’ll always be the brand’s cheerleaders.

Now, I learned a few things about Volkswagen that I didn’t know (not being a big car enthusiast – if you are, you might already know these things). Check this out, and tell me if it isn’t wild…

It was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, an Austrian, for Adolf Hitler, a German dictator. During World War II, the manufacturing plant was turned into a forced labor camp for Germany. After the war, the British took it over, who then tried to pass it off to several places that turned it down flat, including Ford, Fiat and the French government. Americans didn’t want it, because it was too small and wasn’t “hip”. That is, until the mid 1950s, when college kids decided it was a good trendsetter.

After reading the history of the company (admittedly, the facts weren’t summed up in quite so few words) up until they started using ads, I turned to the ads themselves. The advertising agency had to reinvent the Volkswagen for the U.S. market, because we still had a lot of hard feelings after the war. And they did. They took a German made car and turned it into a U.S. quality brand.

How? With stories. The really fascinating thing about the Volkswagen ads is the stories they create.

The first ad alone, “Think Small”, is a study in building a brand story. Each succeeding ad only builds on the entire story, like “33 years later, he got the bug”. Increasing technology has only made them better, while still continuing the story, as seen in the Super Bowl commercial, “The Force”.

The Thunderbolt of Wisdom Strikes: Every Brand Has a Story

This stuff was fascinating to me (witness the fact that I’ve used that word several times already in this post). What was more fascinating was my reaction.

Up until this point, my only run in with the VW was Herby the Love Bug. I knew squat and cared less. Right after I finished researching, I was discussing all this new found information with a friend and it hit me: I liked the Volkswagen! Not only did I like the stories the ads told, but I felt warm and fuzzy towards the car and company!

I stopped in mid-sentence, because the thunderbolt of wisdom slammed into my head. “Oh!” I even said it out loud. “So that’s what she meant by brand story!” I get it! I really get it!

Here’s the deal:

Every brand has a story. Every brand, company and hobby business. The thing is there is someone out there who can relate to your story! The owner of a mom and pop store is out there right now, reading this article and thinking, “Yeah, but who’d be interested in ours?”

Listen. I doubt that there’s a single adult person out there who hasn’t visited a mom and pop store at least once in their lifetime. As well, I bet a lot of people know someone who runs one. Some would rather frequent a small, family-run store than a big brand store. So why aren’t you talking about it?

You just spent a half hour leaning against your countertop while you talked to Betty Lou about her son’s athlete’s foot and the best remedies. This is your life. To you, you may just be having a friendly conversation. To Betty Lou, you just provided fantastic customer service! So why aren’t you talking about it?

You run that parts store down on Main Street. Steve came in because he thought he needed a new alternator. While you’re helping him find the part to match his car, you two start talking about the problems. You think it’s probably something else, just by the way he describes it. After a 15 minute look at the engine in the parking lot, you show Steve that it’s not the alternator; it’s actually a frayed electrical system (which, by the way, is cheaper and easier to replace).

This isn’t in your job description. You run a parts store, not a mechanics shop. Yet, you like cars and enjoy helping people. To you, it was a fun, satisfying 15 minutes. To Steve, it was money saved, extraordinary customer service and the start of a good business to customer relationship. So why aren’t you talking about it?

Your Brand Story Doesn’t Have to Be Unique

That’s the real beauty of building a brand story, and the real lesson behind VW. The Volkswagen ad agency didn’t boost the brand by having a unique story. They boosted the brand by having a story people can relate to. If it’s unique, they can’t relate, can they?

With all this social media use – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. – you have the perfect platform for sharing your brand story. If you aren’t, then what are you doing? What on earth are you even using social media for?

By telling your story in the fashion of the example above, you’re actually sharing the story of a customer. Yet, the subtle undertone is about your quality service. You don’t have to be blatant about it; people will get the point without the pushy advertising.

If you’re not already putting your story out there, I urge you to really consider it. Your story is special by the very fact that it’s common. It’s something that reaches out to people who have been either in your position or your customer’s, or knows someone who has.

Look: the only way you’ll ever make friends is by letting them get to know you. The same goes for your company. Build that warm, fuzzy, friendly relationship with your market by giving them the story behind the brand!

For you, Mr. New Orleans Computer Repair Guy, also known as French Quarter Repair Services and iPhone or iPod Repairman:

You returned my Mac Airbook in worse condition than it was before. That’s bad business. You charged me more than the agreed upon amount and wouldn’t return my possessions until I paid for it. That’s extortion. You call yourself a certified technician; in my estimation, you’re nothing more than a scam artist. Then you advertise SEO on your site. Mister now you’ve really messed up.

Photo credit: Frank Benson

For our readers: You might say, after reading this article, “Wow, Gabriella, isn’t this a little vindictive?” To which I respond, “Yes, and no.” I dislike scam artists. It pisses me off when someone screws people out of their hard-earned money. It pisses me off even more when these people have my industry plastered on their site. Then, it becomes one more piece of coal to fire, fueling stories about bad optimizers. You can be sure this guy treats his SEO customers just as well as his computer repair customers.

I’m going to do my very best to make sure this one, at least, has an online reputation that reflects his lack of professionalism and honesty. –And my best is very good. Call it a lesson in reputation management.

French Quarter Repair Services? I Don’t Think So…

You’d reasonably think that someone like me, working online with computers, dealing with people all day long and buried in search, could figure out how to get their computer fixed. Right? That’s what I figured, anyway, but I was wrong.

Yes I'm happy :)

So, when I loaned it to my partner, who accidentally dropped coffee on the keyboard (a whole other point of irritation), we quickly searched for a certified Mac technician in New Orleans. My AirBook needed emergency care, and I was going to make sure it went to the best computer doctor around. There aren’t many of them; I think we found two.

My partner spoke to the man we chose, who quoted $100 for a diagnostic “and we’ll service it right away”. Not a problem. She drove the hour to New Orleans. While there, she asked to verify if he was an Apple certified technician, and was told that he was. This is important, because Apple says the Macs need to be taken care of by certified technicians.

She dropped it off, paid the $100 and then waited for the shop to call back. This is how the process is supposed to go, right? I mean… reasonable expectations being what they are?

Mr. New Orleans Computer Repair Guy Calls Back…

We’re told the $980 AirBook I bought will take $450 for a new motherboard and an additional $250 for labor. There’s no way, little cuteness be damned, that I’m going to spend almost as much for repair as it cost to buy it fresh out of the box. We told him “no, thank you,” and that one of us would pick it up Monday.

Everything happened like a normal business transaction should. In my mind, this means he just puts the computer back the way it was, closes it up and calls it a day. However, when my partner showed up to pick up the computer, the owner of the shop is out, and the salesman tells her he can’t release the computer to her until the shop owner gets back. Odd – we were told we could pick it up any time.

It Was Love At First Sight

He also told her he spoke with the owner, who said the computer was still opened, had special diagnostics equipment in it, and he needed to get the stuff out. She calls me and informs me she has to hang out in New Orleans until the shopkeeper comes back in the afternoon; she didn’t want to drive an extra two hours for a second trip.

“Tell the guy we want our computer back, and don’t want to wait for the owner,” I told her. After all, again, we were told we could pick it up any time.

There I was, listening to the conversation through the phone lines, and hearing it escalate into an argument. My partner threatened to call the police if the owner did not, at the very least, get on the phone with her to address why she had to wait during business hours. And here’s where it got really…messed… up…

What?

The salesman came from the back of the shop, with my Airbook still open, an hour later. He told her the owner was back (who she had yet to see), but she needed to pay an additional $50 in order to get the computer. When asked how he could charge more than Apple, he said, “I can charge a hundred thousand million dollars, if I want.” On hindsight, I’m glad I wasn’t there. Someone would have ended up calling 911 to report a whole series of violent crimes being committed.

Why were we being charged an additional $50? Apparently, there’s a policy stating that you owe a $50 fee (on top of the initial $100, mind you) if you decide not to use their services. There has to be that policy, because the salesman said there was, and that it was stated on their tech support page. It isn’t.

Seriously?

When I got my computer back, I have to tell you, it was a sad sight. My poor Airbook looked completely beaten. It still had big drops of coffee on the inside (so there’s no way he cleaned like he said), and there was a brand new dent on the corner.

The Reviews – Too Little, Too Late

A lesson, here; always check the online reviews. I know that – hell, I push having people review your products. I didn’t think about it. If I had, I’d most likely have my computer back, it’d be clean, and … oh yeah… working. Reviews for French Quarter Computer Services New Orleans on Yelp are plain nasty. One reviewer says, “This place changes names when their reviews get too bad. They have 7 BBB complaints and didn’t even bother to respond to 1 of them.  If it’s anywhere near the 1900 block of St. Claude DO NOT GO!!”

Evidently not cleaned

Digging even further finds the iPod Repair Man site, which claims to be a subsidiary of… drum roll please… New Orleans Computer Repair. ACD Computers in Covington? Yes, that’s him, too. I’m not absolutely positive, but Apple Repair New Orleans also appears to be the same guy, if you go by the footer links in this tech forum profile.

The fact that this guy advertises data recovery services makes me shudder…

Online Reputation Management – Lesson #1

This has been wiped with alcohol?

You know… this is what I do for a living. We help clients with their reputations, their online presence, website, branding, and optimization. With this article, I wavered on whether to expose him publicly on our company blog, because I don’t want people to get the idea that we’re anything other than professional.

However, while I must profess a tad bit of malicious glee, I’m also greatly concerned about this individual’s business practices. Why? Because:

• he “runs” at least four companies
• he advertises his services as covering at least six cities
• he advertises several different services under separate operational names (iPod Repair Man, ACD Computers, Apple Repair New Orleans, Devious Designs)
• New Orleans Computer Repair AKA French Quarter Computer Services is listed under at least three different addresses in various local directories
• he knows enough to at least “try” to bury bad reviews and could one day be successful

WTF did you use?

I’m going to call the BBB and add yet another negative mark against his “F” rating, but I know that’s not going to do much good. What does help – what will help, is social media.

I’m posting this article on our site, with our site’s authority pushing it. I’m going to share it across my social accounts. I’m going to ask everyone I know to retweet, Like, Share and otherwise forward to a friend. I’m going to do my best to get this page pushed so far up in the SERPs that it outranks his own site. I want people to see this page before they ever get to his site; just in case they forget to check for reviews.

Mr. New Orleans Computer Repair Guy, rule #1 of reputation management is: Don’t screw your customers over. They can get online and talk about it.

Have you ever looked at your ecommerce analytics and thought, “Why didn’t they finish with the sale?” It’s frustrating, isn’t it? If those darn customers would just finish with the buying process and quit abandoning their shopping carts, you’d be making a cool million this year.

Abandoned Shopping Cart

• The average website only has a 2% to 3% conversion rate
• 7 out of every 10 shopping carts never make it to checkout
• Approximately $18 billion is lost in sales every year
• Shopping cart abandonment is up to 75% (Listrak)
• 88% of online consumers have abandoned a shopping cart at least once (2010 Forrester Study)

Wait – Come Back! You Forgot to Pay for Your Stuff!

Before you can fix it, you have to understand the underlying cause (we’ll tie this in later in the article). Why do visitors drop products in their online cart and then leave without paying? Several reasons:

• Comparison shopping – many studies report that comparison shopping is one of the biggest reasons why carts are abandoned. “I just wanted to know how much it would all cost after shipping.” In fact, if you shop online, this is probably something you’ve done yourself.
• Ran out of time– Many consumers are in a hurry when they’re shopping online. Sometimes the buying process takes so long, they run out of time. They click the “x” to close the site down, leaving them with a full shopping cart and you without a completed payment.
  

  Ran Out Of Time

• Shipping costs – Have you ever been told you’re going to pay $12 in shipping for a small purchase? We have, and we didn’t finish the buy. Unexpectedly high shipping costs, especially for products shipped within the same country, will lose you those completed sales.
• Uncomfortable buying process – “It’s a download – why do you need my mailing address?” Often, consumers are inhibited by yet another registration process, requests for too much information and so on.
• Technical problems – Occasionally, the buying process can go terribly wrong. “We’re sorry for the technical difficulties, but your order didn’t go through. Please try again.” Um… not likely.
• Out of stock – Unless they’re loyal to your company for some reason, such as being a long term customer, few will wait until a product comes back into stock. If you have a “sold out” sign, it’s highly likely your visitors will find another site to buy from.

There are more reasons, such as a product costing too much, but most of them fall under the same type of issues. Now that you understand the reasoning, let’s get to the solution.

Getting Customers Back to the Buy

Often, e-commerce owners get the idea that once the cart is abandoned, there’s nothing left to do. Sure, it’s frustrating, but it’s not like you can go knocking on their doors, right? Wrong. Isn’t that sort of stalkerish? No, it’s just good business practice!

It’s called cart recovery (or remarketing).

Cart recovery emails

Recovery & Hope

A simple email marketing plan can recover as little as 6%, and as much as 50%, of abandoned shopping carts. Wow – sounds like something you might want to get in on, doesn’t it? Especially if you own one of the e-commerce sites enjoying 2% to 3% conversion rates? Depending on your average cart amount, that could translate into thousands of dollars in retained sales per year.

How does it work? It’s simple. When a customer abandons the shopping cart, you send them an email. It’s simply a gentle reminder that they’ve left their cart sitting in your online store.

Keys to successful cart recovery emails:

Timing – An interesting MIT study, How Much Time Do You Have Before Web-Generated Leads Go Cold, points out the importance of immediate response. Within an hour, 90% of online leads go cold. 90%! Of course, the study was based on B2B or B2C lead generation – not abandoned shopping carts. What this shows, however, is that timing is everything.

Test to see what timing works best for your industry and target market. Generally, it’ll be within 72 hours for the first email. Too soon can be pushy; too late can be a lost sale. As well, the most successful email remarketing campaigns often send out three to six emails, spread out over a period of time.

Why does this work? If your visitor has abandoned their shopping cart, they obviously aren’t ready to buy. A sequence of emails (not just one), has the ability to:

• Gently nudge them towards the buying point
• Catch them at a more convenient time
• Give them time to consider
• Remind them (if they have forgotten or can’t remember the site address)

Relevance – Rather than send a generic email that looks like you weren’t paying attention (because you really weren’t), make sure the email is relevant to the items left in the shopping cart. For example, a relevant email might include such things:

• The customer’s name
• A list of the items left in the cart
• Items similar to those left in the cart
• A link to their cart for easy check-out
• A way to reach sales and/or customer service in case they’d like to speak to a live (not robotic) person

At this point, remember it’s all about them, which brings us to…

Remember Your Shoppers List

Tone – This is gentle marketing, not brute force. Aggressive sales in a remarketing campaign can kill the sale altogether. What your visitors need is a legitimate reason to finish the sale. Hint: legitimate does not mean because we’re the best.

Think about why the possible reasons they abandoned the buying process, and address these issues in the email. Customer service and support are important at this point, which is why these links are included in the email. Let them know you company is there, and actively interested in answering any questions they may have.

Cart recovery phone calls

Some successful cart recovery campaigns use a phone call. If you have the budget, you can hire a company that specializes in recovery calls. They work a bit differently than emails, in that you obviously don’t want to call over and over again (test for the best timing). However, tone and relevance remain the same. It’s still the soft-sale approach, and it’s still all about them.

A mixture of email and phone

Some of the most impressive and successful remarketing campaigns have been a mixture of both. For example, a foray into Alpha Omega Publications’ abandonment recovery process is enlightening. We tested it, and this is what happened:

Step one. Within two hours, an email was sent that said, approximately, “Oops! Has there been a problem? You seem to have left some items sitting in your shopping cart.”

Step two. The next day, we received a follow up email that said, “This is a friendly reminder that you have items waiting. Would you like to empty your cart?”

Both emails included a phone number to call for customer service (not sales), a reminder of what we’d ordered, and a link to the cart.

Step three. Three days after the second email – five days all together – we received a phone call from a very nice, friendly woman from AOP customer care. She introduced herself and immediately told us why she was calling. “We noticed that you left some products in your shopping cart, and I’m calling to see if there’s something I can help you with.” At no point in time did she actually push the sale; the entire conversation was focused on helping us make a decision.

#1 Way to Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment

Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment

The caveat to cart recovery campaigns is that your shopping cart solution has to include some sort of information capture. Without that, you can’t very well contact them. If you have a “registration-free” option, however, your best option is to address the potential issue for abandonment before they leave the site (blog coming on this topic).

Of course, some leave because life gets in the way. For these, an email or a “send a cart reminder to my email” button comes in handy. For the others, remember – once they leave the site, it’s no longer about the sale; it’s about creating a long-term, repeat customer.

We read a lot of stories that talk about how companies are joining social media by the droves, but are they really? I mean, what are they doing? If all they’re doing is opening social accounts and sitting on their professional graveyards, is this really joining social media? I think not.

iPhone ROI... Really?

A recent YouTube video, Social Media ROI Hypocrisy, makes an excellent point. Many companies will spend thousands of dollars supplying their employees with iPhones, iPads, Blackberries and other smartphones, without once asking what the ROI is. Yet, let a marketer mention social media, and “What’s the return on investment, here?” is the question companies have to know.

Only 14% of Companies Get It

A recent InSites Consulting survey of 400 senior marketing managers delivered some interesting, and somewhat frustrating results:

• 68% of companies have a Facebook page
• 56% have a Twitter account
• 47% have a LinkedIn account
• Only 14% actually have integrated social media
• 20% aren’t doing anything at all

So, out of all the Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and LinkedIn accounts that companies have, only 14% combined are actually integrated into the companies’ various campaigns. Meh.

You know what the biggest barrier is to full social media integration? Return. On. Investment. InSites calls it “financial added values”, but it’s still ROI, no matter how fancy you dress it up.

Wake Up And Smell the Social

Having a company social account alone isn’t enough. Especially if you’re going to claim that “you got no ROI from social”. Social media marketing is like exercise; you don’t see results unless you actually do something.

Wake Up And Smell The Social

So, if integrated social marketing isn’t hopping on the most popular social sites and creating an account, what is it? First, let’s make sure you’re ready:

How to know if you’re ready for social media marketing

• If you feel like you’re being forced to integrate, you aren’t ready;
• If you’re still uncomfortable about the ROI, you aren’t ready;
• If you don’t know the reasons for integrating, you aren’t ready;
• If you don’t understand what you’re going to do once you get there, you aren’t ready for social media marketing.

If you have all those issues out of the way, let’s get started.

What Is Integrated Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a lot of things, and they all take work, as I think I’ve already been clear about in the first portion of this article. –But, what are those “things”?

Creating a strategy

Would you build a house without having blue prints? No. –And you shouldn’t use social for business without having a plan, either. However, you have to remember that social media isn’t a standalone marketing method. With this in mind, how are you going to incorporate it into your currently successful methods?

For example, if you use television advertising, this is an excellent opportunity to share your company with the world as a business that cares about the consumer. Most companies that succeed with social use it as a consumer platform, to connect, troubleshoot and otherwise communicate with their target market.

Once you’ve made the decision to set up your accounts, but before you actually do, have a well-outlined strategy of how you’re going to use social media. Your strategy should include the (realistic) goals you want to achieve. Split those goals into phases, such as “set up”, “communication” and “reputation management” – which brings us to the next point…

Seriously people...

Tracking your reputation

Unlike many other forms of internet marketing, social really opens your company up to feedback. Hopefully, it’s positive feedback, but you can’t please everyone all the time, as the old saying goes. You need to know how you’re going to watch, listen and learn what people are saying about you. For example:

• Google Alerts
• Trackur
• Icerocket
• Hootsuite
• Yahoo Pipes

After all, if tracking social media as a way to gather public sentiment is good enough for the government, it should be good enough for you.

Choosing your public voice

If everybody in the company hops on your social account, followers will become confused. Having one or two dedicated individuals running your social gives your company a personality, which is what you’re aiming for anyway. Who wants to speak to a building, when you can speak to a person? However, you want to choose your people wisely; a strong voice can make all the difference in the success of your social media marketing. Even if you have a large company, you at least want to have a social media “manifesto” outlining how your voice(s) are expected to communicate with the public so there are no surprises waiting in the wings.

Setting up your reputation management strategy

Hope for the best; most companies never see the dirty side of social media. Yet, prepare for negative comments. For smaller companies, this may mean you and your employee talking it over. For larger companies, make sure your marketing department is talking to the PR people, who are talking to the sales people, who are talking to… you get the idea. A chain of command has to be in place. How will your company respond if a customer bad-mouths you, or someone tells you to kiss off? How will you deal with hostility? Getting your reputation management strategy ready before a crisis strikes is the first step to avoiding – and managing – one.

Share your social accounts

Many… oh so many… businesses set up their accounts and then hide them in the basement. You don’t have to be embarrassed. When you set these accounts up, wear the badges proudly. Give your website visitors easy access to your company via these social sites. Put those easily-recognizable, linked icons on your site and on your blog where they’re visible!

Use Only A Few

Customize your accounts where possible

Twitter lets you customize your background. So do YouTube and Facebook. For that matter, although it’s limited, so does LinkedIn. These accounts are your online “face”; put some makeup on them! Add your logo, colors, information…  claim them as your own. Put a big ole’ “we are here” stamp on them!

Interact

Okay, so I left this one for last when it should be first. Let’s be clear, here. It does no good to go through all the setting up, strategizing and personalizing if you’re not going to listen and interact with people. Don’t use the excuse of “no one is talking to me”. It gets old. Get out there, already!

There are literally millions of people online, interacting on these social platforms. How many of them are you going to leave to your competitors, simply because they didn’t talk to you first? Find people of like interests. Share good information, even if it’s not your own. Do something without thinking “what’s the ROI” first.

I strongly encourage you to read The Marketing Nut’s 125 Ways to Integrate Social Media to Zoom Your Business. It’s a long list of possibilities any company can easily do to get their social going. Fulfilling even half this list will give you a strong start.

Change Your Thinking

You have to start thinking differently. You have to take the time to stop and study your market. Here’s a hint; social is growing. Only once you step outside the box of thought that says “ROI now” will you gain inspiration and growth. You can’t not go there simply because of fear of the unknown. Eventually, you have to ACT – or be lost behind the companies that do.

When I was a kid, I dreamed about flying through the air with the greatest of ease to rescue puppies, kittens and grannies. I ran around the house in pink fuzzy pajamas and a blanket tied around my neck, on a mission to save the world.  I was Super Girl, Wonder Woman and the GI Joes combined! Evil doers beware!

Super Hero. Mom

You remember how happy everyone was when the super hero saved the day? They clapped, waved their hands in the air, gushed their thank yous … and you thought, “Wow, that’d be so cool!” I always thought they were the cream of the crop, the crème de la crème, which excludes ordinary people, of course.

Funny thing is, when I grew up I found out that everyone can be a super hero. Even me. Even you.

The Case of the Website Bandit

Me, I’m a mom. I get up in the morning like every other parent and send my little loves off to school. Yet, once the home is empty, I slip into my super hero gear and fly off to save the world. Granted, it’s a small world, but the effects are the same.

Because, you see, I was able to join the Level343 Team. It’s like the Justice League for business! Everyday, we get to save companies from falling into oblivion. We get to help lift them up and make them shine brighter than they ever have before. We’re not just helping companies, though; we’re helping the people who make up those companies – the hard-working business owners and employees who are struggling to keep going. – And that’s awesome.

Got Hacked?

We beat down problems with the powers of our mind through creative brain storming with clients. Occasionally we work with other super heroes when the dark forces of competition are particularly strong and viral, like those shows where Batman and Superman team up. We even help some of our clients be heroes themselves when the case has something to do with reputation management.

Every once in a while it’s something big, like The Case of the Website Banditwhen a client’s website got hacked. Some foul fiend had fiendishly (of course) hidden diabolical links in the client’s site. With ruthless determination, we investigated the cause of erroneous outgoing links, leaving no stone unturned. We uncovered the culprit files and, although the fiend got away, we saved the site. The client was happy, the Team was happy – happy endings, high fives and cocktails all around.

Now, maybe you think this is all a lot of make-believe from a grown woman who needs to gain a little maturity. Or, maybe you’re already getting the idea…

Brand-Empowered Super Heroes: Customer Service That Excels

While doing research on how well brands are embracing social media, I came to a startling realization. When these brands address concerns for their customers, that’s just fancy marketing talk. What they’re really doing is saving the day – they’re coming to the rescue of the people who trust them.

These “brand-empowered” super hero stories are all over the Web:

In 2007, an American Airlines gate attendant became the heroine for an award-winning economist by saving his seat until the last second, allowing him to make his flight. A week later, a United Airlines employee went out of his way to make sure the economist had a seat on an earlier flight when the original one was delayed by several hours (read Outrageously Good Customer Service at Freakonomics).

In February 2010, an executive chef at the Ritz-Carltion, Bali did a good deed for a family whose son suffered from food allergies. When it was found that their specialized eggs and milk had gone south, he called his mother-in-law, who bought the products in Singapore and flew to Bali with them. The mother-in-law became a heroine.

The same year, an employee at Trader Joe’s became a family’s hero when a winter storm blew in and an 89-year-old grandfather was stuck in his house because of the snow. Trader Joe’s not only delivered a load of groceries to the man’s home, but also gave the food to him for free.

In August 2011, Morton’s Steak House exceeded the call of duty for a man who had too much flying and too many engagements he had to be at to have time to eat. He was really hungry after a busy day, knows he’s going to miss supper, too, and sends out a joking tweet to Morton’s corporate, “Can you meet me at the Newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks.” An employee from Morton’s drove 23.5 miles to the airport with supper. The man, a well-known PR and social media leader was blown away. Morton’s saved the day.

There are oh-so-many more examples available – all you have to do is search for “examples of customer service”. You’ll find things like An Extraordinary Customer Service Experience and What’s Your Best Customer Service Story?

How Can You Be a Super Hero?

In 3 Easy Steps...

You can be a super hero, too. Oh, maybe not like Superman or Captain America, but a super hero none-the-less. How? Well, let’s look at what the heroes, fiction and reality, have in common:

• They watch what’s happening. The Justice League had the Watchtower with the Monitor Womb, where they observed all the going ons of planet Earth. So does Morton’s, only they use social media. You have this power. Monitor your brand, your product names and company name on social sites. If you sell other people’s products, that’s okay. You can go that extra mile and respond to someone who’s having a problem, even if they didn’t buy the product from your particular store. You can start with something like, “Hey, I sell that product, too – I’ve found that if you…”
• They actively listen and look for the alarm. Batman had the Bat Signal. You, on the other hand, have the Internet. Actively look for negative comments that you can respond to. When you have the time, search for your brand citations. Any time you find a negative comment, where a customer/client is unhappy, get on your super hero gear! Being a hero doesn’t have to be about saving the world; for us ordinary mortals, it’s about saving the day one person at a time.
• They go out of their way to help. Superman, the Man of Steel, didn’t just fly around saving the world. He helped kittens out of trees, blew holes in mountains for passageways and saved grannies from having to walk across the street. No job was too big, or too small for his personal attention. The same can be said for the employees of American and United Airlines, Trader Joe’s and many others.

For the man racing to meet flights, what the employees did was no small thing. For the elderly gentleman who couldn’t leave his home, what Trader Joe’s did was fantastic. For the family at the Ritz-Carlton, the chef and his mother-in-law did something unexpected, caring and awesome. These businesses became heroes to their customers, and their customers became fans for life.

This kind of super human action is not beyond you. It may take a few hours of a day. It may take a few dollars out of your pocket. It may take some phone calls, a short walk or a long drive. Yet, for the relatively few hours you spend saving the day for your customer, you gain a lifetime fan. If that’s not enough motivation and you need something that ties into your business, you also gain a lifetime customer and a whole bunch of better PR than you’ll ever get from paying somebody to write it.

The point….

TRUE CUSTOMER SERVICE…

…is not about saving your brand or company’s behind. True customer service is about the people who trust you enough to invest their time and money into your brand. It’s about treating people like people – treating them like the backbone of your business that they are. It’s about being a super hero whenever the opportunity arises.

True customer service – great customer service – is about saving the day, one person, one problem, at a time.

Social marketing used to be just that thing you did; like politicians, business owners would scout the neighborhood, introduce their services, shake hands and kiss babies. You’d talk to people and get to know them; you’d share stories and maybe a cup of coffee.

What's Your Social Footprint?

It was traditional marketing, gorilla marketing, TV advertising, political campaigning, etc. It was getting your name out there or getting known. You made acquaintances, in other words. You were actively involved in marketing your business through your social circles.

Fast forward. Today, all of the above is called social networking and social marketing (depending on who’s talking – some would put a whole bunch more words into defining social marketing, like campaign creation, measuring data, R&D and so on). The difference is that your neighborhood, thanks to the Internet, has billions of people in it. You have a wider reach, and there’s a lot more hands to shake.

- But, you still have to be actively involved. 

Can You Hear Me Now?

Is there a right way to use social media? Far be it from me to say “yes” to that question. There are WAY too many variables – the “proper” usage depends on your brand, your target market, how much time you have… as with SEO, there’s no cookie cutter program here.

There are, however, certain approaches that span the industries, such as interaction. You have to interact for social marketing to work at all. You have to be involved. Once you’re involved, you start to care about how it all works out. Some watch numbers religiously, get upset when they’re unfollowed and see their Klout number as a personal reflection of their self-worth.

When you reach that point (almost everybody does), it’s often followed with a light bulb blinking in your head. It’s a personal Eureka moment, where you take a step back and ask yourself, “At the end of the day, why am I even bothering with social media?”

Too much information

Normally, you’re using it to connect with your customers and build your reputation, right? So you pour out all this good stuff and you wonder… are people really listening? Is this making any difference? Am I wasting my time?

Let’s address these things one at a time:

Is your good stuff their good stuff?

I’m often surprised by the things people in my social circles are reacting to. Through Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Scoop.it, I’ve sent out some amazing links I’ve found that really made me think or react in some way. As a very small example, The Tech Stuff You Use Everyday is Dirtier Than You Think is a great infographic – and it makes you want to wash every gadget you own with bleach. Reactions? Zero.

When I went digging, I found that the most reactions come from links about content marketing, social media and Google (Google is always big).

The point: Just because you think your content is good (and it very well may be), doesn’t mean it’s what your followers want to read. Look at your Hootsuite analytics, check your Google analytics – if you don’t have those, you can even look at the numbers of retweets on your site. Wherever you have to find the data, figure out what kind of links your followers are excited about!

Tool you can use: Social Mention is a good monitoring tool, but it has an added sentiment analyzer. Do people get excited about your content and links? Find out!

Are people really listening?

Is Anyone Listening?

Even I wonder occasionally, if I’m not posting things out into nothingness. Yet, just about the time I’ve decided that no one is listening, somebody pops up to remind me that they are. I get a DM or a comment on Facebook. A post on Scoop.it is re-scooped fifteen or twenty times. Our site gets 1,000 visits in a day. These things seem like flukes, but when they begin to happen often, it becomes a trend.

The point: Yes, people are listening. Even if you only have 10 followers and only 20 people visiting your blog a month, people are listening. If they’re listening, they’re “feelin’ you”, and they know other people that will get your message, too. Don’t give up.

Tool you can use: Social Pointer does a good job of helping you listen to what people are saying if they’re saying anything. A big plus for Social Pointer is that it also mentions citations, which means you don’t have to have a link going to your site for the program to pick it up. It’s still in beta, but you can already monitor brand, keyword and competitors across several platforms. It’s also free, so get to monitoring!

Is this making any difference?

Yes, yes, and yes. If you’re putting out links people want to read – and some of them are to your site -, it’s making a difference. It’s making a difference to those who follow you and to those who come to your blog to read your own links. It’s making a difference in how your brand is perceived online. It’s making a difference to your level of publicity, your perceived trust – even your standing in the SERPs (more on this later).

The point: We’re at a time and place in world history where one person really canmake a difference. Maybe you aren’t going to change the world; maybe you aren’t going to go down in history as “the person who…” Yet, every person you do reach (and, eventually, there will be many) will be affected in some way by your words of wisdom (or stupidity), informational links (or funny ones), and calm professionalism (or raving despotism).

I Dare You

How they are affected builds their perception of your brand as a brand to trust… or not.

Tool you can use: If you think people should be talking about you by now, BlogPulse is a good monitoring platform. You can search for a brand term and check to see if a specific URL is being talked about. Digging around can bring surprising results and point you towards interested followers you may have overlooked.

Is this a waste of time?

If it’s making a difference (see above section), it’s not a waste of time. Shaddup and go social already!

Don't Disconnect!

WAIT – What’s Your Story?

We have a client we’re excited about. They’re really well known and been around for over 100 years. Yet, as we were brainstorming about a content development strategy, we realized – they have no history. Odd, that something’s been around that long with no history attached to it.

This isn’t just a lack of history we’re talking about, though – it’s lack of story. There’s no story behind this client, which has greatly affected how they’re perceived. Sure, people talk about them, but it’s always in passing reference rather than with excitement. For this client, we get to be like Steve Jobs, who didn’t create Apple, but created the excitement for the people using Apple. We get to help people become excited about a product they’ve been using for years.

You have to do the same with your company, product and brand. Ultimately, where’s the magic? Where does “social networking” turn into “business”? If you remove all barriers and open your horizons, there is nothing you can’t accomplish. The magic is you; it’s the brand; it’s the story; it’s how you use the story.

For example, an artist promised to sketch the first 3,000 followers on his Twitter account. Not only was it a cool idea, but he now has over 5,000 followers, and is working on his second thousand (read about this and see four more examples of engaging social media).

Coca Cola Content is another example. The video describes how “the Coca Cola will evolve its approach to the creative agenda on its key brands”. It’s a good video to watch for anyone still wondering if additional content is the way to go.

Both of these are examples of using a story. For Gregg Burney, the story is an artist building relationships through social media and art. For Coca Cola, it’s the story of how a well-known brand grows through creative content use.

The point: a faceless brand is just that – a faceless brand. There’s nothing to touch, taste, feel, sense or connect to. Having a story of some kind – your reason for being there that incorporates the meaning behind your brand – allows people to connect, engage and have a part in that story.

Tell Your Story

Active Involvement, Active Storytelling… Active Social

As it turns out, today’s social marketing is just like yester-year’s; you get back what you put in. To have an active social network, you have to be active. You have to learn how to get people excited in your story and your brand. Instead of bragging about your products and/or services, share what people want to read about – pay attention and listen.

We’ve said it before, and maybe since we have a huge brand like Coca Cola backing us up, it’ll hold more weight. You have to have a plan. You have to have a campaign. You have to know what it is you want and how you’re getting there. You ARE the story – and in the end, it’s not always about the story you tell, but about how you tell the story.

Web design can be a pretty complicated process, especially for business owners with limited experience in the field. A design that works has to reflect the values of the organization, share appropriate information, and make sense—aesthetically and practically—to the user. Simply put, you want a website filled with quality content that can be easily navigated and looks good.

A Perfect Day

Think about how you perceive a website for the first time. When you click from a search result to the site, your first impression comes from…what? Your first impression is a visual one. The same is true for your visitors.

We infuse meaning into colors, shapes, and the placement of elements. Colors—or lack thereof—reach out to you and give you an idea of what to expect from that particular site. Your eyes scan over images, headings, logos, navigation, colors; your brain processes this information in milliseconds. You may not realize it, but in the space of those few seconds, your brain has weighed, measured, and pronounced judgment on the site. It’s really not something you can stop from doing.

So…what impression does your design give your visitors? Is it professional? Does it truly reflect your values? Is what you offer clearly visible and your information easy to find?

Is your website design giving a good impression?

You may think you have a great website design; it makes you feel good. It swells your heart with pride. Is what you envisioned doing the job? How do you find out? Fortunately, there are several tools to help you answer this question. We’ve listed some of them below, but this list is by no means the end all and be all of design testing tools.

Browser size. You know what your site looks like to you; do you know what it looks like to your visitors? One of the many things to take into consideration is the size of the browsers your visitors are using. Websites can look completely different in different browser sizes. View Like Us and Google Browser Labswill show you how much of your site can be seen.

Good Impressions Do Count

What sizes do my visitors use? Check your analytics. In Google Analytics, you can do this by clicking Visitors>Screen Resolutions. Once you know your visitors’ most commonly used browser size, you can optimize your website for that size.

Contrasting Colors. Color choice is incredibly important, especially when deciding font colors vs. the site background. Just because you think light blue looks good on dark blue doesn’t mean your visitors will. As well, you need to remember that some people are color blind or may have other visual issues that affect their ability to read your site (like macular degeneration that makes it difficult to read light letters on a dark background). Your design colors need to meet accessibility guidelines for this. Check My Colours can help you find some potential issues in terms of color contrast, while VisCheck (a work in progress) can give you an idea of what your site would look like to those with color blindness.

Is your color choice negatively affecting your visitors? The only way to know is to ask and/or test. Find the Perfect Colors for Your Websiteat Vandelay Design has a large list of color tools you can use to create other palettes for your site (or keep your main color and change the supporting colors). You can then offer visitors different options by:

Perception is 100% Reality

1. Using a website optimizer program for A/B/C/D testing.
2. Uploading to a place like Usabilla, which allows individuals to comment on your site design.
3. Uploading your color schemes as images and letting visitors vote on them.

Browser compatibility. Some people will tell you, “Technology is growing to the point that a site will look the same across all browsers with no problem. Worrying about browser compatibility is a waste of time now.” It’s B.S. The only way browser compatibility is no longer a concern is if you don’t care what the site looks like on a different browser.

Internet Explorer is famous for its inability to play well with others. However, sometimes it’s Firefox that acts up. Or Opera. Or Safari. To ensure a seamless experience across all modern browsers, it’s always best to check your site against browsers other than the one you’re using. Adobe Browser Labs, Browser Shots, and others allow you to see your site as your visitors might see it.

What browsers are my visitors using? Again, you can check this through your analytics program. With Google Analytics, click Visitors>Browsers. Pay attention to the most commonly used browsers and optimize your site for them. If you have a high number of mobile visits, you might consider crafting a mobile version of your site to support this.

Is Your Website Usable?

Website Usability

Usability is extremely important. Not only do your visitors need to understand what your site is about, but the site also needs to be intuitive—that is, easy to use. You can’t judge this yourself; you know how the pages are set up and what you expect people to do. You have to learn how others will view—and use—your website.

When a site is designed, the creator has to understand the difference between creativity and stupidity. One of our favorite examples of usability mistakes happens when the shopping car icon is placed in a spot that makes no sense to the user. If you put a shopping cart down in the left hand corner, it’s almost a guarantee that your visitors will be frustrated by the inability to find it without searching. A frustrated user will leave your site completely.

Is your website frustrating to use?

How do you find out if you’re having this problem? One of the things we really like about Google Analytics is the ability to find out where users go after landing on a page. For a number of sites we’ve come across, users landed on the home page—and then clicked on an image or link that, essentially, just reloaded the home page.

In Google Analytics, you can view user paths by clicking Content>Top Content>Entrance Sources and choosing the page you want to see. You’ll see the previous and post pages for the one you’re looking at. If the information you retrieve indicates user confusion (such as “started at home page, then viewed home page, and ended up on the home page”), you know you’re in trouble. If you see a lot of back and forth between pages (services>home>services>home), your visitors aren’t finding what they’re looking for. Then it’s time to rethink your page.

You can’t just jump in and start changing things, however. You have to have insight first. 10 Usability Testing Tools for Startups gives you several options for usability testing. Other options include:

• Loop 11
• SMT – Simple Mouse Tracking is a simple tool that lets you track your visitors’ mouse movements.
• Click Density
• NavFlow
• IntuitionHQ

Get The Right Tools

More Tools of the Trade

Google offers several tools to help you understand your audience. Google Analytics is a free tool that will show you where your visitors are coming from and the links they click. It’s rather simple to use and adequate for most users. Another great feedback tool from Google is Talk Chatback. This is a live chat device that lets you hear directly from your visitors. Your customer service staff can ask questions and get feedback on your site straight from the source. (This also gives you an opportunity to convert the visit to a sale!) You may also want to consider adding a Google internal search option to your site. This allows you the chance to track what your visitors are searching for and adjust your content accordingly.

Customer surveys are another excellent tool for getting feedback directly from your consumers. You can ask your visitors questions about their experiences on your site and find out what kind of content will be most useful for them. KISSInsights and Survey Monkey are free platforms for creating surveys on your site.

Web designers may create beautiful websites, but they have to understand your audience before that pretty site will do any good. You can do your part by using these tools to take an honest look at your site and how it is being perceived by the most important people—the end users.

While talking to a friend of mine the other day – small business owner trying to grow her business like anyone else -, I had that line going through my head. You know, the one from A Few Good Men – “You want the TRUTH? You can’t HANDLE the TRUTH!” You see, my friend has big dreams; she wants and expects big things from her website…

The TRUTH About Your Small Business, Brand and Marketing Power

Can You Handle The Truth?

There’s a lot to be said for drive and ambition. Drive and ambition can take you a long way towards whatever your idea of success is. BUT, there’s a lot to be said for “keeping it real”, too, and today I’m going to throw some realism your way.

You CAN’T compete with big business.

When you run a brick and mortar company, it’s easy to keep your head out of the clouds and your feet comfortably situated on the ground. However, there’s something about taking your business online that tells you, “I’ve made it! I can conquer the WORLD!” (insert mad laughter here)

You start dreaming about taking business from places like Wal-Mart, Overstock and JCPenny’s. You begin to think you’re bigger than the biggest dog on the block – until reality comes crashing down. Nothing worked the way you thought it would, and you’ve spent more money, time, or both to find this hard truth out.

Marketing Budget

That’s because you think you’re in competition with these mega corporations. You aren’t, because you don’t have:

•  their massive marketing budgets,
•  the millions of satisfied customers,
•  the years of brand name building,
•  their infinite (or close to) resources.

You simply can’t compete on their level! Don’t throw your arms in the air and give up, though, because there is something you can do.

Dream Big, In Small Doses: Branding & Inbound Marketing

You’re small, yes, but you’re not insignificant. You just have to tweak your thought processes a little. You have to learn how to dream big, but in small pieces. No matter how big your dream, remember the following:

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Your brand won’t be either. It takes time to build a brand. It takes customer satisfaction, authority, and the knowledge of who you are. People will have to learn what your business is all about, and you start with things like:

• A strong brand statement
• A plan for managing your reputation
• Content development strategies to increase your authority and brand recognition

You have to start somewhere. Rome started with some dirt…

Your website is just a business card.

If you’re new to the online world and your site barely has the bubble wrap off of it, it’s nothing more than an online business card at the moment. It has a chance to grow, but it takes time. You’re not going to get online and receive tons of traffic the first day – life isn’t that neat, nor is it that convenient. Just as you would with a brick and mortar store, you’re going to have to work to build up visitors.

• Create a blog, and decide how much time you have to put into it. How often will you be posting? Be conservative; once you start a schedule, people will very quickly learn to expect blog posts from you on those days.
• If you don’t have enough time for blogging, pinpoint a few places for posting occasional articles to share your particular expertise with others.
• Showcase your services or products, much like you would in a department store. How visible are they on the site? Did you just throw up a picture (or worse, a one-line description), or did you put thought into how the product looks on the page? The art of proper display is still everything!
• Make sure your site URL and social info is on everything you put out that pertains to your business: business cards, letter heads, emails, and any trade show products, for example. Don’t miss these great opportunities to turn offline meetings into potential customers and relationships.

Your business card needs to be passed to other establishments – online.

What does that mean? It means Google Places; it means Yahoo Local, Yelp and HotFrog. It also means getting to know your neighbors, potential coworkers and competition. Therefore, just as you might introduce yourself to the business owner next door in a physical mall, you’d do the same online:

• Make your social icons and accounts highly visible, giving individuals a chance to reach out and connect more closely with your brand
• Visit blogs in your niche or relative niches
• Introduce yourself and ask about them
• Add your business to local directories
• Treat Google Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp, HotFrog, Bing and other sites as if they were allowing you to put a business booth up – because they are:
• Videos
• Photos
• Maps
• Testimonials
• Phone number
• Address
• List of services

You can learn more about these topics by reading Local SEO: Are You Hitting Your Traffic Corridor and Local SEO Is Like Real Estate: Location, Location, Location.

Growth is Your Main Goal

Sales and growth are your main goals.

When you get online and start reading about all this SEO stuff, it’s easy to get stuck in the idea of traffic. You have to have traffic to your site if you’re going to succeed, right?

The reason why optimization has grown to encompass so many skill sets is because traffic, in and of itself, does you no good. Traffic gets you nowhere if your visitors don’t buy. Otherwise, they’re just putting wear and tear on your merchandise by handling it and putting it back on the shelf.

This is the number one reason why SEO is changing into inbound marketing (a whole other post by itself). Inbound marketing focuses on your main goals: sales and, through sales, growth. Yes, it’s done by traffic, but it’s targeted traffic – and that makes all the difference.

Don’t obsess over whether you get more sales from one of your search place pages than you do from your website. Pay attention, yes, but don’t obsess. If you implement the tips above and your sales are growing, you’re doing well!

Meet the standards of SEO first – then worry about the rest.

In this instance, we mean “standard” practices first, before getting into indepth SEO. What are some of these standard practices? A short list includes:

• Check your URLs. Are you being listed for www and non-www versions of your site? Are your URLs reader friendly or full of dynamic parameters? Are they easy to remember?
• Make sure your meta data is strong – relevant, readable, clickable titles and descriptions.
• Ensure your anchor links aren’t there just for SEO. Don’t add a link to increase optimization; add a link because it helps the user. Where should they best be placed?
• Check your content for proper, semantic, heading usage (h1, h2 tags, for example).

Just making sure these things on your site are correct, relevant and strong can make as much as a 50% difference in your traffic and conversions.

Your Budget Isn't A Suggestion

Your budget isn’t a suggestion.

You have set a budget, right? If not, set an annual, bi-annual and monthly budget. In this budget include your SEO, social and marketing. How much can you afford?

Then, ask yourself, “How can I work within my budget to achieve what I want to achieve?” Can you break your marketing into phases? How? Many inbound marketing companies will work within your bi-annually or yearly budget – IF you let them know you have one.

No matter how much you may want to spend tons of money on this product or that service, you have to face facts. The fact is that your budget is all you have to work with. When it comes to inbound marketing, it’s important to remember that it takes time. The less money you have the more time it takes, but it’s never instantaneous, no matter how much money you throw at it.

Don’t strain your budget on products or services, hoping they’ll skyrocket you to the next level. We get lots of people contacting us that know they don’t have the budget for a full campaign, but aren’t willing to go for anything within their constraints. Be realistic about what you can afford, and work within those confines until you can do more!

The Truth Hurts, But…

You own a small business. You aren’t Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or any other Mart. You’re just you. –And yet, it takes a special kind of person to take the steps needed to become a small business owner. It takes your drive, ambition, courage and dedication to keep it going. That all translates into your business, your marketing and your brand – and that’s a brand I can get behind!

Company blogging - should you? shouldn't you?

For many companies, blogs are either a major point of interest or they get little to no attention. So what happens if your company’s blog is, in fact, potentially damaging your company’s brand?

Do you pull it entirely? Do you rework it in order to improve the company brand? Or do you just leave things the way they are and deal with it later?

If your company’s blog is leaving you with a number of question marks, here are some factors to consider:

• Is the blog offering major benefits to our company or not? – In the event you’re having questions, list the pros and cons of the blog. If there are more negative aspects than positive reasons for keeping the blog, you may want to can it;
• Is the blog taking too much time away from staff responsibilities? – Measure the time and effort spent on the blog. Is it costing the people running it too much of one, or both? You may determine that their resources can be better spent elsewhere, instead of on the blog;
• Is the blog potentially damaging our credibility as a company? Another factor to look at is the credibility of your blog. Is it putting your company in a potentially negative light? Are you getting complaints about it? With negative information only taking seconds to whip around the Internet, just one slip up on the blog could be devastating for your business;
• Is it wise to simply up and remove the blog? To just abandon the blog without any explanation could be more damaging – from a PR sense – than continuing it. Take the time to decide if removing the blog presents more issues than solutions.

Faceless company blogging

While your company may be or may not be ready to answer some or all of those questions, keep in mind that a bad blog can do quite an amount of harm to your company’s branding efforts.

Among the signs your company’s blog could be causing you problems are:

• You spend excessive time on your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts and less time on cranking out useful blog material;
• You’re very intermittent when it comes to posting on the company blog site. To the reader, you’re pointing out that the blog is not a high priority with the company. Hence, what else may not be high on the priority list regarding your products and/or services? The dedication to the blog needs to be there from the start;

Confrontation Central

• You use the blog to confront customers. While some customers may take to your blog to comment in a negative manner on your products and/or services, it doesn’t behoove you to trash them in return. If you’re using the company blog to engage customers in a negative manner, it can certainly reflect badly on the business;
• You have a blog that isn’t search engine friendly. Make sure your company blog has solid headlines, keyword links and is updated regularly. The more you follow these rules, the better your blog will rank among the search engines.

A company blog is not rocket science, but it does take some solid planning and thought. Without both of those, your ability to profit from a company blog is slim to none.

Branding. Nothing strikes fear in the heart of marketers quite like this concept. For entrepreneurs with many interests, it’s difficult to think they can be summed up in a single construct. For others with a narrower focus, it’s frustrating to find just the right words to accurately represent what they stand for.

Announce Your Brand

Your brand is what represents the core values of your company—your mission statement, if you will. Your target market will likely never see the brand statement because it’s not for them. It is designed to guide you through product development, marketing strategy, and even customer service.

Successful branding is critical for your company, and it takes time to do it properly. In many cases, it goes against what seems like common sense. As you develop your brand, you may need to buck the traditional system and go against the conventional wisdom about people and their motivations.

Trick #1: Branding on Price.

Conventional wisdom says that if people buy the cheapest product available, you can increase sales by offering the lowest price. Then it points to Walmart as the perfect example of how price is the ultimate deciding factor for people. After all, Walmart has made a fortune following Sam Walton’s idea that it’s easier to get “100 people to buy an item for one dollar” than “1 person to spend $100.” Although the formula worked for them, it’s not a wise idea to create your brand around it.

What's your business brand say?

For one thing, Walmart is already the low price leader, and you don’t have their buying power to undercut them. It’s just not going to happen. However, all is not lost! People don’t make all their buying decisions based on price alone. They buy what they can afford, but the more important consideration for most is the value they get for their purchase.

Think about that for a minute. Do you really want your core value focused around money? Worse still, do you really want to be known for being cheap? I don’t care how you try to dress it up with words like thrift or value or conservation. The bottom line is that your brand should be built around the message you want to send to your customers. Cheap should not be the message.

Instead, consider who you really are and what motivates you to wake every day to connect with your world. Get your mind off the price and show customers how you can improve their lives through the value of what you offer.

Trick #2: Creating an overly general brand statement mantra.

Conventional wisdom says the more people you reach the more sales you can make. It seems like a logical idea, but it’s not a good idea—or even possible—to be all things to all people.

There’s a reason people despise politicians. One of them is their ability to speak and write with many words that don’t really say anything. Despite their abundance of words, most people walk away still wondering what there they stand. It works to the politicians’ advantage because when they’re finally elected and do the opposite of what the voters expected, their campaign words can easily be twisted into whatever is most convenient for the moment.

You’re a business owner—not a politician. You want your customers to know who you are, what you believe, and what you offer them to improve their lives. In fact, a customer who doesn’t get what you promised is a frustrated customer who can hurt your business.

To avoid this problem, you need a brand mantra to drive product development, production, and marketing. A mantra is supposed to be short, easy to remember, and repetitive. You want a brief statement that characterizes who you are—and how you want to be recognized.

Trick #3: Inconsistent messages.

Building Reputation: Mixed Messages

You have a target market. These people are those most likely to buy your products and services. They are a unique group of people with similar core values and needs that are met by your company. Your target market identifies with you for a reason, and they don’t like surprises.

In fact, people like familiarity. Your marketing materials, social media comments, and every other form of communication should be consistent. When you focus on your target market—what they want and what motivates them to buy—you are able to

Your brand should not change. As an individual, you know who you are. You have interests and skills that are specific to you. If you don’t like rollercoasters, you may not make it a priority to visit amusement parks. There’s nothing wrong with that—it’s just part of who you are. Your business should operate in a similar manner.

What do you offer your target market? Identify their needs and where those needs intersect with your values. Create your brand from there and stick with that message across all forms of marketing and media.

Guidelines for writing a brand statement.

Your Unique Brand

Let’s work with the following statement from a small t-shirt company. “Innovative, high-quality t-shirts for an urban culture with vision and style.” (Yes, this is a real statement from a real company.)

#1. Choose strong, descriptive words that express your intention—in five words or less. Anything longer than this dilutes the message you’re conveying to yourself, your employees, and your customers. Keeping your statement short forces you to really concentrate on what you have to offer and will help you stay focused. Remember, keep it simple!

I hope you immediately recognized the problem with the example’s length. I stopped paying attention after t-shirts, and those four words didn’t tell me anything about who the company is and what they can offer me. If I can’t determine what makes them different, chances are they can’t either. Changing the statement to “T-shirts with vision and style” still conveys the idea and tells me far more about what I can expect from their products.

#2. Use language that your customers will understand. Forget the buzz words. They’re cheap words that say nothing about who you are and what you believe.

One of the first problems with our example is the use of the buzz words, “innovative” and “high-quality.” Come on, t-shirts are fairly standard in design. What makes these t-shirts stand out from the rest? Including “high-quality” is insulting. If you expect your business to survive, you had better be providing high-quality merchandise. These words do nothing to help me understand this company.

A better statement might be, “t-shirts changing the world.” Yes, it’s still a general statement, but it conveys the important idea that the company desires to change the world. It may be through witty statements or clever logo designs that convey “world changing” ideas. Perhaps a portion of the proceeds are donated to organizations that feed the hungry or provide education opportunities for the less fortunate. Eliminating empty adjectives and incorporating verbs goes a long way toward creating a usable and effective brand statement.

#3. Create a brand statement that can be adapted for marketing purposes. Your brand statement is not an advertising tag line. The brand statement is for you. An advertising tag line is for your customers. This is a tricky concept for most business owners. If our example company’s goal is to “change the world” through t-shirt sales, every decision made by the company ties back to that goal.

When the company decides to support a charity that offers free medical services in third world countries, this decision is clearly in line with the desire to change the world. The brand statement then can be adapted for this particular undertaking. The company knows it’s trying to change the world (brand statement). The customer will see a line like, “This t-shirt protected a seven year old from a dangerous flu” (tag line).

What works in the world of business doesn’t always make sense in the light of conventional wisdom. Successful entrepreneurs understand this and aren’t afraid to do what works instead of what makes sense. Align yourself with this thinking and create a brand to guide you on your way to corporate victory.

If you do it right! And that’s what this article is about. Like death and taxes, some things in business are inevitable. Even if your product or service is the best on the market and your customer service is better than everyone else’s, you can’t make everyone happy all the time. At some point, you will deal with negative feedback and dissatisfied customers posting on social media platforms.

In The Know

Let’s face it. Many people online are unafraid to share the most intimate details of their lives, from what they ate for lunch that day to problems with their exes. What’s going to stop them from posting negative information about your company when they feel slighted?

Turning Negatives Into Positives Through Action

You don’t want your brand tarnished by these types of comments, but it certainly isn’t the end of the world if you come across someone with a bad experience or an axe to grind. Rather, it’s just a fact of life. How you respond to the negativity, though, is critical. You still have a business to run and a brand to protect. Look at it as a chance to improve your brand, and then take action to remedy the situation.

Find The Lesson

1. Check your systems. When you receive negative feedback, your first step should be a quick check of your systems. Let’s imagine for a moment that you sell informational books, CDs, and DVDs. What happens if a customer starts complaining in an online forum that he didn’t receive a book he ordered? Your first reaction should be, “How did this happen?” Then you need to start looking through the quality control structure you have in place to find out where the process failed (you do have some kind of checks and balances system, right?).

Was there a delay in shipping? It might be time to evaluate your shipping company, and—if necessary—find a new, more reliable one. Did your online order system fail? Find out what happened and take the steps to fix the glitch. Use this as an opportunity to make sure everything and everyone involved in your production process works effectively so this won’t happen in the future.

2. Offer a solution. Once you’ve investigated and found the source of the problem, you need to take steps to correct it with your customer. Initiate contact privately and explain what happened. Then offer some sort of compensation. Ask the customer, “What can I do to make this better?” You may be surprised to hear the answer.

Sometimes they won’t know what to say. In this case, you can offer to give a discount on a future purchase, a partial refund, or a complimentary product. Sometimes they may specifically request this. Regardless of the response, it is usually in your best interest to sacrifice a small profit to retain the client and rebuild your damaged (in their eyes) image.

3. Address the issue online. Once you’ve taken steps to correct the issue with your client, you can address the online comment. Be very careful about what you say, because you have potentially millions of eyes watching your response, and this has a direct effect on your brand. As you do so, you need to keep a few ideas in mind.

• Don’t wait. The longer the comment goes unaddressed, the longer your customer has to build negative feelings about you and your company. It also means that potential customers are seeing only the negative ideas about you. Make sure you take care of everything offline, but don’t put off responding to the comment longer than necessary. It can taint your brand to have such negativity posted without a response.
• Keep it impersonal. This issue is not about the dissatisfied customer as a person. It is about the interaction the person had with your company. For example, if you discovered that your customer didn’t enter the correct credit card number, say something like, “Thanks for letting me know there was a problem. Everything should be resolved now, and you should have your book soon.” You don’t want to point out something like, “I can’t process your order if you don’t enter your information correctly.”
• Stay calm. What you say will have an effect on your brand, and you always want to be seen in the most positive light possible. Even if the comment is a direct, dishonest attack on you, you must remain the ultimate professional. Refuse to respond in a derogatory manner and remind yourself that it’s not really about you.

4. Drop the rope. Sometimes you won’t be able to please certain people, and the best course of action is to move on and learn from it. You did the best you could. You checked to see if there was a problem on your end and corrected it. You offered a solution. You responded professionally and politely. A certain group of people will always see only the negative, and nothing you do will change that. Instead of concentrating all your energy on this small group of people, pay attention to those who are thrilled with your products and services.

Transactions with Transparency

Transparency | Gustavo Boaventura

So, not everybody likes your stuff. Get over it. Deal with it. Use it to grow and become a better business owner, develop a better brand and create a strong product. Negativity is only negative if you don’t use it.

Along with the tips above, it’s also worth mentioning one thing you don’t do. Don’t try to hide it. Some of the most successful marketing campaigns started because a customer/client posted a negative comment about a product. Rather than delete the comment or otherwise shove it under the rug, the companies embraced the negativity and turned it into a positive marketing campaign.

“You’ve said our products suck. We’ve listened. Welcome to the new…”

Don’t be afraid to deal with the commenter publicly, at first. AT&T is good at this. Someone posts on Twitter “Thanks AT&T, for dropping my business conference for the fifth time in a row.” AT&T customer service responds with, “Hey, we’re sorry to hear there was a problem. If you’ll follow us, we’ll get you on DM and get some information to help you solve the issues.”

Letting consumers see the negative comment and your positive reaction provides a much stronger example of how you’ll deal with potential clients. It says, “I care, and am willing to work with you to get the problem resolved.”

Negative Comments Happen, But a Damaged Reputation Doesn’t Have To

Although I certainly hope you never have to address online negative comments posted about your company, just be aware that it may happen. Remember that they don’t have to cause untold damage to your company or brand, and use the opportunity as a chance to show the world you are a professional with great respect for your customers.

Staying on Track

You’re a savvy business owner. You know the value of social media as a tool for marketing your company and connecting with clients. You’ve created a social media strategy. You’ve explored the possible outlets and chosen the ones that best fit with your goals. You have followers. Now what?

This is the moment when all your hard work can pay off. It’s also the moment when the real work begins. Social media is all about communicating with your clients, building and maintaining relationships with them. It’s also an excellent tool for building your brand because it gives your clients a chance to connect with your company on a regular (nearly daily) basis.

These connections are important. After all, where would you be without the people who support your company? You need to interact with them, but you also need to be aware of how you’re being perceived in the online world. So, how do you manage and keep your brand on track in the overwhelming world of social media?

Pay attention to the buzz.

There was a time in the world of business when the only way you could see into the minds of your customers was to set up a suggestion box. You would then wait to discover what everyone had to say about your products and services.

Well, social media is like an instant suggestion box. Here’s a real world example:

Keep an Ear To The Ground

A friend of mine runs a catering business from her home. Recently she received a Google alert that her company name was mentioned on a client’s blog. She immediately checked out the site and discovered very mixed reviews of a party she catered. Most of the guests raved about the quality of the food. Just as many commented on a new chicken recipe she debuted there. The verdict was in—the recipe was a disaster. She knew right then that she needed to adjust the recipe or cut it from her menu.

Like my friend, you have to pay attention to what others are saying about you. Social media is a great place to keep up with how your brand is perceived. Set a Google alert for your company name, links to your site, or specific phrases from your content. When you get an alert, check it and respond.

Keep personal views out of the picture.

Your company Facebook page isn’t the place to share your thoughts about an upcoming election or social issue that is currently in the news (unless your company is closely related to politics or social causes). In fact, sharing your personal opinions about controversial topics on a business fan page can harm your company. Your clients are likely from diverse backgrounds; you run the risk of offending people and losing customers (and money) if they discover you have different beliefs than they do.

People identify very closely with their core beliefs, and they like to associate with others of similar belief. For example, people looking for a web designer need someone who will be able to identify with their brands and be able to communicate with them through the website.

Even if you’re an award-winning web designer with years of experience and an impeccable talent for design, you can lose clients if they find out your core beliefs differ from theirs. They may feel that if you don’t share the same beliefs, you won’t be able to identify with them and convey who they are through your work.

Save the op-ed pieces for your personal social media accounts. Don’t mix business and pleasure, especially online.

Stay positive.

Sharing is Caring

You’ve heard the saying that it’s easier to attract flies with honey than vinegar. The phrase may be old and tired, but the philosophy is still true. People gravitate toward what makes them feel better about themselves. Social media outlets are certainly not the place to badmouth your competition or journal about your daily woes. It doesn’t send the message that you’re worth your customers’ time and money.

At the end of the day, you want your customers to choose your company because what you have to offer is superior to the competitor’s offerings. If your goods and services are superior, they will discover that on their own. Experience is far more powerful than your words, so you don’t need to point this out. Keep your brand focused on the positive aspects of who you are and what you offer. Everything else will fall into its rightful place.

Consistency.

Chain restaurants are successful—not because they serve better quality food than their family-owned counterparts—but because they offer consistency. Whether coasting along an interstate in theU.S.or wandering a city square inMadrid, weary travelers know what to expect when they see the golden arches of McDonald’s. It’s not that the mass-produced hamburgers and fries are tastier than the local establishment next door. (In fact, one might argue that the local establishment likely has better food than the chain.) Instead, the customers like knowing exactly what to order and how it will taste.

This is branding at work. Branding is successful because of the consistency. Your customers know what to expect from you, and they like to know just what you will offer them. Social media gives you another format for developing and promoting your brand. Yet, there are many different platforms available, and each platform has its own audience with varying needs and interests.

Regardless of how you interact in social media, your visual image and message should be consistent. For example, Facebook fans like the ability to interact and share with each other through status updates, photo sharing, and tagging friends. This creates a more informal atmosphere than LinkedIn, where people post resumes and network with others on similar career paths. The language you use may change. On Facebook, you can use more casual language than you would on LinkedIn, but the message remains the same: I care about your successes in life and how I can help you achieve more.

With this in mind, use the same contact information and taglines wherever you post. You also want to use the same profile picture across all platforms, so your clients recognize your face or logo no matter where you are.

Be personable and engaging.

Neutrality

In a retail world seemingly dominated by the big box stores, local mom and pop establishments still manage to survive—and thrive. This doesn’t necessarily make sense to those of us who look at the bottom line equation of “lowest prices=highest sales”. Why are people willing to spend more money—especially in a struggling economy—for the same goods and services they can get elsewhere? It’s all about relationships.

When you shop at a local store, you’re more than just another face on the other side of the cash register. The local shopkeeper eventually recognizes you and, over time, you develop a relationship. You talk about your lives. You share pictures of your family. There’s a world of difference between being greeted with “Is plastic okay?” and “How was your daughter’s dance recital?”

You return because you share part of your life with that person. When was the last time you walked into a big box store and saw the manager rush off to the stockroom to retrieve a new flavor of coffee set aside just for you to try? My guess is that it hasn’t happened. The nature of mass production and sales doesn’t allow that same level of connection to develop.

Social media is a way to replicate this relationship building. You may not be able to actually see your clients and customers on a regular basis, but you are able to connect with them. Take whatever amount of time you have available to read status updates and comment. You don’t have to engage in lengthy conversations. Just a simple “congrats” or “glad to hear this” can go a long way toward letting your clients know you care and are interested in them as people.

One on One with Social

Your social media strategy should include the amount of time you have available to read and respond to your clients’ comments. Set aside a few minutes each morning and peruse your status feeds while enjoying a cup of coffee. While watching your favorite TV shows, hop on your computer or phone during commercial breaks to catch up with your clients. Show your customers that you’re interested in more than just taking their money, and you can gain a customer for life. Let them associate your brand with your interest in them as people.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I don’t know about you, but I’m busy, very busy. While I was away, as we all know, Google decided to throw their hat into the social circle with Google +. Don’t worry; I promise this isn’t about G Plus, but about your social.

I don’t care if it’s a Facebook killer or if it will wipe Twitter out of the game; I don’t have any stock invested in any of these companies. What I’m invested in is the future of my clients and my business, no matter which corporate entity ends up on top.

Yet, many people are wrapped up in what’s going on with other things like Google Plus. The economy is another thing; quite simply, it’s tanking. Do I think there’ll be a revolution? No. I doubt the U.S. will shut down. Many dwell on these things and they lose focus…

You Can’t Lose Focus

Don't loose Focus

Today, however, you can’t afford to lose focus. You have to focus on your needs, your influence and your clients. You have to discover how to make things better in an ever-changing online world. Even you can make a difference, and that’s true whether you’re in SEO, branding or other area of online business.

Are You One of the Sheeple?

One of the things I want you to do today is to think about online influence. Who are your go-to people? Whom can you count on? Are you running after people you don’t know, or working to strengthen your current associations?

More importantly, are you one of the sheeple? Do you follow or use this platform or that because someone told you to? Or, instead, do you investigate before jumping into the game?

For example, if I listened to the majority on G Plus, I’d be jumping in with both feet and never looking back. My question is why do I have to choose one or the other? Why not both? Why can’t you just use the platforms you’re most comfortable on, or the ones you see the most action on, rather than follow what others say? Remember, you’re the only one that truly knows what you need.

What Makes a Brand?

What Makes a Brand

With social and most other things, it’s all about building a brand. – And what makes a brand is someone(s) who is willing to stick his or her neck out because it’s best for the success of the business and for their client.

For that business to grow, it has to be strong – more resilient. It has to endure the ups, downs and growing pains. All of this requires a high amount of commitment and consistency. For the clients it’s about building a long lasting partnership. I can guarantee if you treat your clients like partners they will be back when they have a bigger project, they will treat you with respect and they will send new clients your way.

May You Live In Interesting Times

Often, we – as online marketers – get caught up in social and marketing data. Our viewpoint is skewed, however. It’s hard to remember that not everyone knows about social platform this or social platform that. Not everyone is up-to-date on how to search the Internet and SEO practices. For that matter, not everyone uses a computer on a daily basis (shocking!).

What we do know, however, is that we are living in interesting times. There are tons of options and tons of opportunities; online marketers have to step away from the business side of things and view social from the eye of the consumer.

The consumer sees social as an important business strategy, but things like Google Plus can add to the feeling of networking burn out. Yes, everything is interesting and things are moving at break neck speed, but if all you do is run the rat race – react rather than act with a plan – you’ll end up one of the burnouts.

Be the One With the Plan

Connect the dots

It is essential to have a plan, and once you have that plan, it’s essential you have the steps written down that you need to take to achieve your goals. Almost like connecting the dots. For example, my formula for social networking goes something like this:

I have Google Alerts, Google Reader, Twitter and several RSS feeds of people I respect and follow. I don’t always use these posts, nor do I RT every post I see. God forbid I take the time to read each one; the day would be gone.

What I do is look at the title and quickly scan the post. Or I look at my mentions and see who gave me some love for the day. I will then take a look at their time line and find something that may be of interest to my readers. If it’s on topic or in the vein of what I’m discussing this week then BAM, it gets a RT. It’s a win win. You have some great posts to RT and share, and you’re establishing a nice network of like-minded people.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying start a RT circle, but you will eventually know when to hold them and when to fold them. Don’t be over eager and don’t be aloof. Almost like a Tango. You come in for a bit then you push out…flirting with content. Okay, maybe not, but you get the point right?

The trick is not to RT right away. Give yourself a few hours; post it for the afternoon. If it’s good, you can post it several times a day at different hours, with a different comment. By the time I’m done feeding and scheduling my Twitter account, I can get some real work done.

After a week, I will take what I RT’d the past week and post them on our FB page, re-opening the conversation. Then, I’ll place them on Tumblr, scheduled on the days we don’t have posts going out. As you can see I’m filling each day of the week with something from Level343. Spreading them out so I don’t bombard our readers with triple posts.

DO NOT post the same post during the same hour or on different networks. People don’t like it and feel violated.  lol Okay, maybe that’s over the top, but I know I personally want to contact the person and say STOP IT. All I’m saying is keep things fresh.

If you post it on Facebook don’t repost it on Twitter, at least not the same day. I figure with over 7K followers on one Twitter account and an additional 1400 + on our business account, I can afford to post something more than once on any given day. The chance of my readers seeing it twice in one day is rare, but it can happen.

Now, I know social networks take time, and I notice how our traffic suffers when I’m not around inputting this formula. Not everyone can create one, but I can assure you – if you want to save yourself hours of gazing at your monitor, start small. I don’t need to tell you that using Hootsuite has saved and cut my social networking time in half.

Create Your Business Future with the Help of Others

Create your network of people

Customer influence – the cheerleaders, the advocates, the unpaid marketers; embracing customer engagement through social is a fantastic way to shape your brand, business and products for the future.

This isn’t to say you embrace everyone. This doesn’t mean you follow everyone or answer every question that comes your way. You have to know what’s important. People are important, and how those people feel about what you’re promoting. Again, G+ is an excellent example; I don’t exactly have tons of trust in Google, which makes me less likely to jump on the G+ bandwagon. They need to work hard on their image and the trust wrapped up in their brand.

“Hanging out” on social isn’t enough. “Chatting” isn’t enough. Social media isn’t a cure-all for business issues; if it’s not done right, it’s just a Band-Aid.

In fact, social media and networking is just like the real world; you have to embrace the customer experience as a whole. You have to embody great service. You have to be able to empathize with the consumer, showing a high level of performance and value. In short, you have to be consistent with your delivery, and give them the best bang for their buck… even if that “buck” is just the time they spend following you.

Getting off the grid

There’s nothing like getting off the grid for three weeks. Funny thing is, I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would. Sure, I missed my morning routine: my home, Lucy and, of course, my social connections. That’s on a personal level, though.

I’ll admit I also missed working on projects, finding solutions and the focus of mind that comes when getting ready for the next conference call. We become such creatures of habit, don’t we? Especially, it seems, when working online.

While on hiatus, I was filled with great ideas and plans for the future of Level343. They were random thoughts of how I could do things better – all the while trying to disconnect from the grid. Some of these thoughts were along the lines of:

We’re growing.

I understand growth and success are the ultimate goals for anyone, no matter what dream, field, market or area. If you think these aren’t your goals, you’re fooling yourself. What I really discovered during my trip, however, is all the hard work and drive one pours into those goals always comes at a price.

That price can be something as confining as being chained to your work (in my case, with Level343 going on 6 years), or loss of sleep from working through the night, or less time with the family… the price you pay depends on your situation. The hard work isn’t the point, really, but the journey we’ve taken to get there. The good, the bad, and yes, some ugly, has made our team resilient and aware of our networks.

Are we “there” yet?

Far from it, but we’ve grown in leaps and bounds without really seeing or knowing it. If you work for yourself, you know there are always things to be done. It takes time management, including an understanding of what’s a priority and what isn’t. Even if you have a team of five to ten people, you still have to manage that team. What tools are you going to use? How are you going to schedule things? God forbid you’re deal with International clients like some crazy SEO companies do… oh yeah, like us!

It’s not easy working for yourself, although I’ve been doing so now for almost 20 years. I have no kids to worry about, but I do have personal priorities that need to be dealt with on a daily basis. There’ve been some good times, lean times, and times when I had to get a second job in order to keep food on the table. As a business owner, however, I know I wouldn’t have learned or built a strong business without those dead end and lean times.

Until I left for three weeks, I didn’t realize…

There’s still a wonderful world out there. Did you know there are people that get things done without a computer? They don’t live, breath, eat and shop on the Internet!

Have some fun

For example, while in Germany, I was expecting to see lots of mobile action going on, especially among the youth. So, imagine my surprise to see most of them out enjoying each other’s company. The cab drivers were completely connected, with GPS, mobile and some other hardware – all the bells and whistles – but other than that… Basically,Germany is hooked up, but not the way I thought it would be. That just goes to show you how much we think we know, just because we live and work on the Internet.

Everybody needs to unplug every once in awhile…

After this experience, I promote and encourage you to try unplugging for a week. Get completely off the grid. Take this break from the online world as a reason to look around at the world and the people in it. Smell the flowers. Watch the birds. Drink in the sunshine.

Getting out and looking at the world around you gives you a different perspective – to use all your senses: something you really can’t do when you’re stuck on the Internet. This is especially true if you work with international clients like we do. They want to know you’re the right company for them. What better way than to take them out to dinner and listen to their dreams and plans – without the interruption of other business?

Me, I was still trying to run a business 3,000 miles away. Was I successful? Honestly, I don’t think so. I felt a complete disconnect from my social circles, and the numbers now that I’m back are proof.

What could I have done better?

Well, a few things. I could have chosen to stay connected entirely (i.e. not left) and missed life, family and memories I will cherish forever. I could have completely disconnected, and taken a complete vacation without any involvement of work.

Enjoying Bologna

Instead, I chose to soak up the sun and people watch, listen to what the Italians were saying, enjoy the beauty of the Swiss Alps, and engageFrankfurtin what they do best – enjoy the outdoor cafes. In between times, when there was Internet, I got online and checked in, tried to make sure as much was running smoothly as possible, and that all was right with the business. I mean, sure it was a vacation, but as a die-hard businesswoman, I was still connecting the dots for Level343’s future.

Running social should be like the Mob runs… everything else…

While connecting the dots, I was doing so the only way I know how: meeting, talking and listening to people. When I found out we have a few mobsters in the Sannino clan I thought, “you know, that makes total sense… social, mob, mobsters…”

• It’s all networking, and networking is good business – Now, your computer taps you into the largest network in the world, but the Mafia was the first social network. You need something, so you reach out to this contact or that contact. They might hook you up with a friend of a friend, or know somebody in this country or that country; it’s all networking.

• Be straightforward – This isn’t a court of law; you don’t have to “tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. However, being discretionary isn’t the same as lying. Be precise and say things in clear, easy to understand ways (so, you know, Uncle Guido doesn’t come to your house for clarification).

• Don’t say something unless you can do it – Once trust is broken, it’s hard to get it back. In the Mob, breaking trust could get you killed; in business and networking, breaking trust can eventually equal destroying your business.

• Paying your debts and collecting on them are both important– Unpaid debts, whether they’re owed to you or you owe them, can bring serious consequences in the Mafia. “You owe Don Corleon $20,000, Lucas, and I’m here to collect…” (murder, mayhem and the obligatory torture ensues). The same goes for business. If you don’t pay your debts, you end up buried by it; if you don’t collect, you don’t make money and your business dies anyway.
  

  Have your people call my people...

• Choose your associates wisely – You don’t have to like or follow everyone. Return the favor if they come visiting your blog and see if they’re someone worth following. You know that time you spend doing things: looking through Google Alerts, RSS feeders, Twitter and all that? Take five minutes and read their blog. Interact – you never know when and what inspiration or work you will get from them. It’s almost like marrying your daughter off to a good and dear friend; that’s what nurturing relationships is all about.

Conclusion

It’s amazing what you learn when you take a few days or weeks off. Now I’m back home at my desk, enjoying and reading all the mentions I missed from new friends and old friends, or listening to the garbage truck picking up around our street. Some things never change on Monday mornings.

It’s up to you, if you want to feel the growth of yourself and your company, get away for awhile. Social will exist whether you’re on or not; it’s the connections you make that matter. Because I went off the grid, I can share a ton of new ideas!

Can you feel it?

After all the Google Plus hoopla (and a few posts of our own), it seemed only right, fair and equal to spend a little time on Facebook. Of course, it helps that we had a specific request for this article.  A  pro pos to this post, the request came from a Facebook fan – can’t beat that for on topic!

Before getting deep into lead generation facts here, I’d like to mention a fantastic Facebook page to inspire you and show you what’s possible. Facebook isn’t just about posting status updates; you can do that anywhere. In fact, some businesses use FB as their only place of online business.

The business page I’d like to direct your attention to is Livescribe’s. The Livescribe FB page is of particular interest here, because it shows exactly how much can be done in terms of lead generation. Go ahead, click around.

What Livescribe did right on Facebook…

Now, it helps the Livescribe is an interesting product. What could be more interesting than being able to write on a notebook and have it turned into a document? However, they did a lot of things right to turn their FB page into a lead generating machine.

1. Make it interesting.

I couldn't resist... :)

When you first come to the Livescribe page, you don’t see the Wall. You see, instead, three carefully targeted ads – yet, they don’t exactly look like ads. They look like information sections: perfect for the informavore. What they do is act like a “snack sized” bite of information. As well, each one has a specific call to action, and that CTA tells them what they’re going to do if they click.

2. Pre-qualify leads.

You might expect that clicking on one of these will send you to the website. It doesn’t. Each of the three links take you to another page – still on Facebook – to help you narrow down what you’re looking for. It isn’t until the third click that you’re taken to the site. In this way, the company begins lead pre-qualification; most visitors to the website who click through from Facebook will be truly interested in the product.

3. Give more.

Fanning on Facebook, which basically bookmarks the page for you, gives you access to features not available on the website. For example, Livescribe has a FB support group. As well, you have access to their YouTube channel from within their pages, rather than having to take that extra step. Actively moderated, you have access to a live person, responding to questions and comments.

Give More

4. A place to leave feedback.

One of the most positive things about G+ reactions has been the fact that they opened their product up to user feedback. Livescribe also does this, through the FB support forum, allowing individuals to submit ideas based on their experience, needs or wants. Due to the native FB features, other people can add that they’ve thought of it too, indicating one particular feature request is more wanted than another.

What you might be doing wrong on Facebook…

A while back, a blog came out on Outspoken Media entitled The #1 Reason Your Customers Hate You On Facebook. True to the name of the company, the article is straight up, nay, bluntly forward, about what the author considers the #1 reason FB isn’t working. To put it simply, the reason is lack of follow through or, in reality, lack of thought all together.

Facebook is a tool. That’s all it is. What you use that tool for, and how you use it, is what decides whether it’s a successful tool. For example, banging a hammer against something isn’t going to do much beside leave dents – but you put a nail under that hammer, a piece of wood and some plans, you might be in business.

Fixing your Facebook page for lead generation…

Now you’ve seen a company using Facebook like the tool it is, and you’ve read about what might be lacking… get to it!

Just kidding. Don’t hate me.

Here are a few tips (with example links) that can help you improve your fan page:

Make it harder to access – This completely goes against the grain of “ease of use” that we normally say, but stick with me here.

Lets' get picky

When people first started contacting us to guest blog, we turned them down. Not because they were bad writers, but because it wasn’t a direction we were looking at then. Having been closed off to guest writers for four years, when we opened up the blog to guest posters, we started receiving a lot of requests for guest spots.

The moral here is, when something seems inaccessible, the human condition is to want it more. The Creative Marketing and Acclaim page capitalizes on this concept, by starting with a game. Find the real “like” button to be taken to the official fan page.

Create a welcome page – Most business pages can be accessed at their walls. Quite simply, a wall can be bland, boring.. meh. Having your FB go to a specially created page, however, spices your FB area up. Where do you want them to go? What can they do after they click the Like button?

The Big Click Studios page, for example, does an excellent job of redirecting the user after the “Like”. Most people won’t be visiting your FB page every day. Big Click Studios prepares for that with links to the blog, a hint of what you’ll see by following them on Twitter, and – most importantly – that beautiful “Subscribe to our newsletter” section with a bit of random fact next to it. Finally, the FB page is it’s own shiny example of the quality of service they offer.

Give them the chance to share their contact details – Like Big Click Studios, the fan page of Tristan Richards (Internet Marketing Reggae Star, love that title) does just that.

Now, you don’t have to have a blatant sales page. You can do something as simple as Brand Sprout’s understated example, as immediate as Big Click’s, or as in your face as Tristan’s. You can even try something like Blue Sky Factory’s example. However, if you have a newsletter or other offers that require an email address, don’t leave this part out!

Offer something extra – Give them a worthwhile reason to become a fan. If you offer special sales, offer a few exclusively to FB fans. Maybe you have videos, pics or demos; you can offer them an early preview. In short, consider what you can give them that they won’t get elsewhere?

Lead them – Finally, don’t leave them dangling at Facebook with nothing to do. Lead them – guide them to do something interesting, whether it’s on FB with an app or on your site with a link. You have to show them some way to get to the buy/signup/conversion, whether it’s a tab, a link, an offer, or a product. – And, that offer has to be enticing enough that they are caught up in the process.

As a perfect example, I was surprised to find myself on Livescribe’s site. If I’d had the time, I’d have browsed it, and maybe bought something. Instead, I bookmarked it for later – a certified FB lead.

Further reading…

A little extra for you!

I know, you’re thinking that all this might take some serious programming and design skills. However, if you’re really interested in sprucing up your fan page, these links will get you started:

• Facebook Cheat Sheets, Sizes and Dimensions
• 4 Free Facebook Landing Page Creation Tools
• 20 Examples of Great Facebook Pages (HubSpot) 
• 25 Brilliant Examples of Facebook Brand Pages (eConsultancy)

Finally, read How Facebook Factors Into Lead Generation. Yes, you have to fill out a nosy “who are you” form to get it, but there’s a lot of good information in this PDF. For example, businesses with over 1,000 FB fans generate 12 times more leads.

Conclusion

Facebook is one of the highest lead generation and revenue generating platforms on the Internet. If you’re using it for business, it only makes sense that you use it right. No matter what you do, or what changes you make, just remember that it’s a tool. And a tool is only as good as the use it’s put to!

Sneeky Google Plus

So, Google comes up with this fancy “Plus” thing. Everybody rushed to take a look-see, only to be locked out as the big G slammed the doors on the masses to slow the flood to a trickle.

The first week was like a Black Friday rush on sales. For the first time, iPhone users frowned at their fancy gadgets and longed for an Android just so they could use the brand spankin’ new Google + app (Apple, by the way, allowed the iGoogle app to go through Tuesday). G+ invites were being sold on eBay for a paltry $25 – $100 (depending on the seller), guaranteed immediate delivery*.

*Most sales have dropped to a starting low, low price of $0.99.

In the First 24 Hours, Speculations, Facts and Fallacies Run Amuck

Psst.. Google Plus is a Facebook killer - Pass it on!

Over 18,000 pages showed up on the Internet in the first 24 hours that specifically spoke about Google’s new baby. Topics were varied:

The Wall Street Journal wrote a short piece about Google’s Facebook copycat, saying the company “appears to like crushing the dreams of soon-to-be-public tech companies.”

ReadWriteWeb offered up a piece after scoping out Google’s new social digs, calling Plus “really cool” and a “super ambitious effort”. The well-written initial Google Plus review by Marshall Kirkpatrick is a basic once-over. Interesting to this reader was the fact that he ended it with, “Can you imagine hundreds of millions of people leaving Facebook for this and sticking with it? That’s a very tall order.”

-And who wouldn’t expect Mashable to throw in their two cents? They did, with a piece called, “Google’s Latest Social Network – Google Launches Google + To Battle Facebook”. Again, it’s a great “once over”, with comments interspersed throughout from Vic Gundotra (G’s senior vice pres). Again, the most interesting thing is the mention of G+ as Google’s answer to Facebook.

In the Conclusion, author Ben Parr writes,

“No matter what Google says, Google+ is the company’s response to the rise of Facebook. The two companies are in heated competition for talent, page views and consumers. While Google controls the search market and has a strong presence on mobile with Android, it hasn’t been able to crack the social nut.“ [emphasis ours]

The Washington Post talks about it taking aim at Facebook. Gawker.com says G+ swears it’s more trustworthy (than FB, of course!), while Business Insider says it’s just like everything else and no big deal.

Google Plus Facebook, via Baby Banter

Now That Everyone Has Weighed In…

Everyone seems sure that Facebook’s death is Google’s goal in launching G +… or maybe it’s Twitter… or maybe Skype. It makes sense in a way, right? After all, social seems to be one of the few corporate pies Google consistently missed and had yet to get its proverbial fingers in, doesn’t it?

Well, now that everyone has weighed in with the “Facebook killer” theory, let me ask a question:

If G+ is only to kill Facebook, why make Google employees bonuses dependant on the success of this venture? Is it just about ad revenue percentages? eMarketer.com predicts FB ad revenues to reach 21.6%, while Google’s is expected to be at a paltry 12.6%. – But is this the only reason for Google Plus?

Google Plus One…

Google Plus One button

In an article discussing the ad revenue forecasts as well as the introduction of Google’s +1 button, Mashable’s Jolie O’Dell begins to open up a slightly different point of view. “Google’s +1 may pit the search giant against the social network in four key areas,” she writes. The top key area is “New User Acquisition”. Keep in mind – this is a full three months before Google Plus was announced:

“Making a Google Profile a requirement for those addictive little +1 buttons is a smart move on Google’s part. It may not match Facebook’s 500 million-strong membership when the feature rolls out to all users, but it has a good shot at vastly increasing levels of profile adoption.”

+1 rolls out and people (somewhat) just shrug and go on. Too similar to Facebook’s “Like” button, with nothing really attached to it. Oh – right, except that Google profile you have to have if you want to use the +1 button…

In a one-two punch, Google then lays out G+, which, incidentally, connects +1 buttons and Google profiles. Don’t forget that there are now more Google profiles than there had been, due to the +1 implementation. –And, for those that didn’t care enough about +1 to get a profile, there’s now G+, which also needs a profile to use.

…and a Slightly Different Point of View

At this point, more people have Google profiles, and more people are using their previously dusty profile, in order to participate on G+. Plus gathered 10 million users in 2 weeks, by the way, and is currently serving up more than 1 billion items per day.

Although this is a “never seen before” statistic, it isn’t the true success of Google Plus. So, what is? Feast your eyes on the following three comments plucked from the SERPs (on Google):

+Tom Anderson: “In the past, I’ve used Google Docs mainly because I wanted web access to files. I’ve never collaborated on it, and now I’m hooked on doing that. Google+ is making me use Google products that I formally only had a slight interest in. In the past week, I’ve started to toy with Blogger & Picasa. Why switch to Gmail, I used to think? Yahoo will do just fine. I’ve been using Gmail more and more.”

+Dominique Johnson: “This is pretty cool! I must say I have found myself using Google more & more since I got on my G+ platform.”

@orli : “Also I must say that Google Plus excites me because of the extensive options and its future connection to other Google services (Gmail, Calendar, Places, etc).”

Finally, let’s read a little of AllFacebook.com’s post, “The One Google Plus Feature Facebook Should Fear”. Author Nick O’Neil opens the post with, “I’ve found the one feature that could take away from Facebook where it’s most dominant: Time on the site.”

However, here’s the really important “take away” from Nick’s post:

“To be honest, my gut reaction after using Google Plus was initially, ‘Why on earth would anybody switch to this from Facebook?’

However, when I loaded up Google Finance as I do every morning, I suddenly realized that I was asking the wrong question. The reality is that users won’t have the option of not using Google Plus.

Google already has more users than Facebook, over one billion. They aren’t going to suddenly leave Facebook in droves, they’re just going to spend more time on all the sites in Google’s network. That big notifications box in the top right of all Google sites is the reason why.”

So What Is Google Really Aiming For?

Jus squeeeeze yer eyes

Humans are intrinsically lazy – as in, most of us will willing adapt if that adaptation is easy. With Google + and “ease of use” in mind, please follow this last thought trail:

From within G+ Hangouts, you can:

• have a private “face-to-face” business meeting
• watch videos together on YouTube (Google property)
• give a presentation and discuss
• co-produce a spreadsheet or document live (with Google Docs)

From within G+ Circles you can:

• Share sensitive documents to a private corporate “room”, or circle and lock down resharing (document control)

From within the G+ Mobile App, you can:

• Conduct meetings or continue private sharing (currently still only available on Android, a Google produced phone. It’s earmarked for Apple as well, which means snagging some of Apple’s market for Google’s products).

From within G+ Photos, you can:

• Create and share a presentation (using Picasa, a Google product)

In short, Google is swiftly integrating a large amount of its products into its new social networking productivity platform. It isn’t Facebook that needs to be watching its coat tails. It’s Microsoft. It’s Apple. It’s every productivity suite you’ve ever come across.

For those that need visual convincing (i.e. pictures), we came across this great presentation on, you guessed it, G+. By +Vincent Wong, It’s also a fantastic example of how a presentation can be created and shared.

The little black bar at the top of the screen takes you to your:

• Calendar
• News Reader
• Documents
• Spreadsheets
• Presentations
• PDFs
• Online photo albums
• YouTube
• Search

You can use it for shopping and quick checkout, for finding recipes, for finding sales and researching scholarly write ups. It’s a single click from your Blogger blog, or photo editing on Picnik. With Fusion Tables, you can create data maps and charts. In short, there’s a lot you can do with Google, and it’s all connected to G+.

Conclusion

Google Plus isn’t a Facebook, Twitter or other social network killer. Yes, they want to get into social, but as a means to bigger and better things. Google wants the cloud, and it wants to take you (and your friends, and your friends friends friends) with it.

– And you know what? By the time they’re done tinkering with G+ after all the feedback, you might not find that such a bad offer.

Fight! Fight!

In a day and age when companies are fighting fervently for each and every consumer dollar, it should come as no surprise that branding is more important than ever. Whether it is the AFLAC Duck, the Pep Boys’ bobble heads or the GEICO caveman, companies want you to remember them for one simple reason – branding.

While not all consumers make their purchasing decisions based on a character they see or hear in the media, some in fact do. That being the case, what are you doing to brand your small business so consumers remember your brand and services?

Make no mistake about it, it takes time and funds to construct a brand that is on the tips of tongues, but it can be done with even the smallest of businesses. While your small business does not have the funding of the major players, it can construct a branding campaign to make it stand out from the competition.

The key to any successful branding efforts is repetition.

Key to Success

Simply put, you need to remind consumers why they should use your brands and/or services and not the other guy. Sound difficult? Well, it really isn’t.

First, branding is not going to be successful if you’re not consistent with it, especially early on when you are looking to establish a name for yourself and construct your brand. Constantly changing the look and feel of your product does not allow the consumer time to get to know you, therefore likely leading them to search for a company who has a more stable feel to it.

Businesses should make a logo.

This is something that can be done either in-house or farmed out depending on your financial means and talent within the company.  The logo will be your identifying mark when communicating with consumers via company signage, business cards, emails and more. If your struggling with a concept for a logo, put it on the back burner so as to do it right the first time around.

Web sites are another important piece of the pie.

Many consumers now shop for goods and services online. Keep in mind that the Web site should be professional in nature and reflects your brand image. Lastly, the Web site needs attention, so plan on updating it regularly. If your Web site’s content is stale and unappealing looking, customers are more apt to go elsewhere.

When piecing the Web site together, be informative.

Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together

Make sure there is “About Us” information and “Contact” information. How many times have you been on a company’s site and felt frustrated because you had trouble locating the above-mentioned information? Don’t make readers go on a safari looking for pertinent details such as what your company does and how you can be contacted.

With your site in play and an identifiable logo to boot, networking becomes a key factor.

Whether you blog, use social media or do both, you need to network with individuals in order to spread the word regarding your brand.

Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. are great ways to push the word out regarding your brand. Social media can be a formidable tool to promote your business, discuss industry trends and happenings with others, offer deals on your company’s products and more.

Business cards are another important piece of the puzzle as you look to market your brand.

While you do not have to spend a ton of money on cards, do not try and make them yourself if you’ve never done it before. Having a tacky looking business card is not better than having no card at all. With both your identity and image making up your brand, take the time to do the cards right initially.

Lastly, track your company’s online reputation.

While you can’t be in two places at once, you need to stay abreast of your company’s online reputation.

If a customer has said something negative about your goods and/or services online, you need to present your side of the story. By setting the record straight, that doesn’t mean getting in an online shouting match with someone, but you should not let complaints, concerns, etc. go unchallenged.

Like they say, there are always two sides to a story. Present your side of the story in a professional manner so that your online reputation is not seriously harmed.

Conclusion

These are but a few of the numerous branding tips that one’s business should give strong consideration to in order to communicate with customers and inform them of your products. Branding, simply put, is the “face” of your business in a specific industry, so give yourself more reasons to smile by doing things right the first time around.

Growing your business

When a person becomes successful, it seems like suddenly they’re too busy dealing with the higher echelons to take time out for the “little people”. It’s something that’s always bugged us. It was all fine and dandy for you to respond to comments and whatnot when you were a little guy, but now that you’re big…

It’s something we’ve been thinking a lot about lately, because we’re growing. We’re taking on bigger jobs, bigger companies and more work. Along with this growth, come questions like:

• How can we continue to write our blogs personally?
• Will we still be able to moderate the blog at the same level of attention?
• How can we continue to build our relationships?
• What will fall by the wayside?

We’re facing the possibility that we may not be able to do all the things we’ve been doing: things that make a business more approachable, more human – friendlier.

Today, we’d like to discuss the idea of “remembering the little people”. Not just for your benefit, as your business continues to grow, but also as a reminder to us. Because one day, someone might be complaining about us – how we were cool with commenting and sharing while we were a small company, but now that we’re big…

You Didn’t Build the Business On Your Own

Wherever you are in your business goals right now, you didn’t do it all by your lonesome. Maybe you have friends and family that support you. Maybe you have good employees.

You didn't do this on your own!!

Maybe, the “little people” you need to remember are the old bosses you had. Those who, by their actions, forced you into a position of “I’m not going to take it anymore.” So, you packed up your professional bags and took them on the road. You hung out your freelancer or entrepreneur sign and settled into the business of running a business.

Or, maybe the “little people” are your clients and customers. They bought your product, contracted your services, or otherwise invested their trust and money in your brand. It’s a big leap of faith for them to do that – to complete that first order.

Or even you – yeah, you. Because you’re one of the little people, right now, at this time in your business. You’re working the long hours, struggling to figure out how to do it all, fighting that uphill battle. You’re wishing one of those “higher ups” would answer a question and give a helping hand.

Don’t ever forget where you are right now – no matter how far you go.

Why Remembering is So Important for You and Your Business

You didn’t think we’d write a blog without adding info for you to use, did you? Other than keeping you on solid ground sans swelled head, what good does remembering do?

• Friends and family – Believe it or not, a lot of successful business people aren’t so successful in life. They put so much energy into building a business, into their meaning of professional success, that there just isn’t much left over for anything – or anyone – else.

The Takeaway – Don’t neglect friends and family. If for no other reason, than that a business won’t keep you warm and laughing when you’re old. When you unplug for the day, really unplug. Put your business thoughts to bed. Turn off your phone; step away from the computer. You need the break, and they need your undivided attention.

• Employees and crappy bosses – Why remember a bad boss? Why dredge up old memories? Often, the motivating force behind people “becoming their own boss” has to do with their previous encounters with professional authority. A good employee is hard to find. Yet some business owners forget, and use sentences like, “You’re replaceable.” It’s true, but then, bosses are replaceable, too.

The Takeaway – Good employees help your business grow. They help you with the “grunt work”. They talk to clients, to customers, to potential partners – all to grow your business. Don’t forget what it was like when you were the employee. The more you treat your employees with respect, the more they’ll be willing to go that extra mile that is so often needed.

• Customers and clients – The people who buy your product or pay for your services are the backbone of your company’s growth. You can’t be successful without them.
  

  We love our clients!!

The Takeaway – Treat your customers like friends whenever possible. Thank them when they take that final step of payment, or the extra step of connecting with you. Although some businesses have NDAs, eCommerce sites might offer to connect using #newcustomer, for example. Let them feel like they’re an important part of the business, because they are!

• You – Listen. Without “you”, you can’t do any of it. Don’t ever forget that, although you’re a vital part of the company, you aren’t the company itself.

The Takeaway – Cut yourself some slack once in awhile. Accept that, darn it, you’re human, and you’re allowed to be human. You’re allowed to rest occasionally and enjoy the fruits of your hard labor. It’s not illegal to pause for a day!

Conclusion

All of the people above, all of the so-called “little” people, helped get you where you are. You didn’t do it on your own; remember that others helped you along the way, no matter who they are or how they did it. That’s why we say:

When all is going well with your business, when comments are pouring into your blog, when you no longer have to ask for retweets and your bank account is flush with greenie success – remember the “little people”.

Now’s your chance, and we’d love to hear your stories. Tell us about someone who has made a difference in your business or outlook on life!

Top SEO Women 2012

Level 343 is not only excited, but proud to present the final list of 2012 Top SEO Women. We had such a fantastic response for the nominees; thank you all for helping us create this wonderful list!

We have a whopping list of 30 SEO women to vote on. Polls close the last day of November 2011 (Wednesday November 30, 2011) to give us enough time to create an excellent write up. Each person only gets one vote, so make that vote count!

Sponsorship:
We’ve had a few people ask if we were accepting sponsors. If you would like to support the 2012 Top SEO Women Awards in terms of prizes, please contact seocopy@level343.com.

It’s easy to get stuck in the mental mud hole of names. For example, we market ourselves as Organic SEO copywriting and SEO specialists. With that in mind, you might look at our blog categories and think, “Well, it makes sense that SEOs would share information about optimization. – But, what would they know about branding?”

We get stuck on names, don’t we? I’ve never been a fan of titles since they really mean zero when you run your own company. We could have called ourselves the Branding, Content Development, Online Marketing, SEO, Social Media and Reputation Management Company, but it just doesn’t roll off the tongue. It has no flow. It’s hell to type… and can you image the business cards? Moving right along.

Well, today, we’re going to talk about how all this stuff ties together. After studying 4 years of communications and marketing I’m sure I can show what all these things have in common, and hopefully pass on some useful tips while we’re at it. Are you ready?

It’s All Marketing

Everything we talk about, including things like information architecture and site speed, has a part to play in marketing. Not only that, but your brand is the foundation – the starting point of it all.

The Base of the Marketing Pyramid – Your Brand

Think of it as a pyramid. Your brand is the base. It’s the base because, while all these things are what you do, your brand is what you are, in the business sense. It’s how your customers perceive your business. You can’t hire SEOs, copywriters, reputation managers, etc. and let them roam free without at least a little bit of guidance, because all these things affect your brand.

So the first layer of the marketing pyramid is your brand.

Second Layer of the Marketing Pyramid – Your Website

Your website is the second layer; a lot of things are involved in this:

• Design
• Structure
• Content
• SEO

All four can directly affect how your brand is perceived. They can directly influence the message your brand is sending out.

Alright, hold up. I was with you until the SEO. What does SEO have to do with branding?

Let’s look at all the places on page SEO touches your brand:

The Alt Attribute – To you, this may just be an SEO “trick” – a minor piece of code. For visitors with images turned off, however, this is an extra bit of information. How that information is shown -misspelled, repetitive, uninformative (for example) – can have a negative or positive impact on how people see your site, and thus, how they see your brand.

Page Titles and Descriptions – A real SEO, a hard core SEO, would know that page titles and descriptions have to be crafted. They aren’t written; they’re built. These two pieces have to:

• Carry enough relevance and key term weight to rank well
• Be written well enough to attract potential visitors’ eyes
• Entice the visitor to click through
• Carry through with the brand’s message

In short, you can’t have Key Term | Key Term | Key Term – Company Name. No matter how you write this formula, it all looks spammy. You need to incorporate other words, such as learn, read, find out – action words that cause them to act.

Anchor Text – When you have several links on a page and they all say the same thing, this can have a negative impact on how your brand is perceived. Like titles and descriptions, anchor text has to be chosen for both optimization and visitor usefulness.

These are just a few of the places on page SEO touches your brand; an in depth SEO campaign has to be carefully configured to compliment the message your brand is trying to convey.

Third Layer of the Marketing Pyramid – Content Development and Off Page SEO

The third layer isn’t so much about your site as it is about your marketing, and it includes content development and off page SEO.

Now, off page SEO has a lot to do with link building – although LB isn’t the end-all-be-all of it. With link building and content development, you still have to take in brand consideration. It’s not how many places link to you, or how many sites accept your guest posts; it’s who.

As an extreme example, don’t you think you’d gain more authority and link juice from an article on Oprah Winfrey’s site. Compare that to the questionable returns from an article marketing directory like eHow or Associated Content. In other words, whether it’s building back links or creating content, it’s not so much quantity as it is quality.

A good SEO – a true optimization specialist – may use low quality links for a massive push, but the goal are the high-quality authoritative links. They’ll work with a strong content developer to create quality articles for a hand-picked set of guest posting sites, as well.

Ummm… How does this work with branding?

The more authority these articles and links give you, the more authoritative your brand is perceived – by visitors and search engines. A bunch of crap articles on crap sites with crap links… well, crap rubs off on brands just as it does on people.

Top Layer of the Marketing Pyramid – Social and Reputation Management 

Reputation matters

If you aren’t involved in your social and reputation campaigns, shame on you. These two processes are almost synonymous, and can make or break a brand. This layer of the marketing pyramid is the absolutely public layer, where it all hangs out for the world to see.

Your social and reputation have to be managed with kid gloves. Your brand (not the SM firm or RM firm) will be interacting with the public.

Conclusion

At each point of the marketing pyramid, you should be there. This doesn’t mean watching every move; you have to trust your SEO providers, content developers, etc. to have your best interests in mind. However, you do need to check in.

It means asking, “Do you understand my brand’s message?” It means looking at the first few optimized pages and sending feedback, “Hey, I’d rather have that little arrow thing in the page title than the bar.” It means reading the articles provided by your content developer, because those articles will represent your brand. In short, it means being involved in your brand’s efforts – at least on the ground floor of each level.

If you have a small company, you’re probably doing most of this on your own. You can’t get more involved than that. So what it means for you is that, at each level, you have to check your campaigns and efforts to make sure you haven’t lost site of your brand’s message.

A company’s brand is one of the most important – if not the most – considerations, no matter what the campaign is. Once it’s tarnished, it’s really hard to get it to shine as brightly as it once did, with few exceptions. Treat yours with respect.

I’m sure some of you have ideas to share… is there something else you’d add to the marketing pyramid?

Maapu's Candles

Your web presence is up and running smoothly, the visitors are swarming, and even buying your products or services. The next step is to start a related blog.

Your blog might be a place for your customers to ask questions, to talk to other customers, or to find more detailed information about your company, services and products.  Whatever the purpose and intended goal for your blog, there are a few generally accepted rules, which apply to all company or business blogs, that will keep visitors coming back.

Don’t promise anything you don’t plan or aren’t able to deliver.

Blogging about your company is comparable to new parents talking about their child. The tendency to brag is natural and often hard to control. However, making claims about how early baby learned to read is a completely different level of “white lie” than claiming that your product can cure cancer.  No one is going to get hurt or sue you if baby hasn’t really learned to read yet.

Do post regularly and relevantly.

A blog that has useless, unrelated or outdated information is not going to keep readers coming back to find out more. Keep up with current industry trends, updates on your business and other things that might be interesting to your customers.

Don’t make accusations or complaints against the competition.

Your customers don’t want to know about what’s wrong with the other guy; they want to know what’s right about you. Cutting down the competition is petty, unprofessional and immature.  Even if the other guy is trashing you, don’t sink to his level. If you can’t ignore his bad mouthing, then find a way to reply that negates his accusations, but maintains your integrity and respectability.

Do read over, proof and edit all of your posts before you post them.

One of the best things about blogging, over face-to-face communications, is that we can completely avoid that trait – the one where we sometimes forget to check what came from our brain and out of our mouths.  We’ve all done it, opened our mouth so that something we’re going to regret for a long, long time can spew forth all over an unfortunate if not undeserving victim. Always rethinking a post before you post it can really help prevent that from ever happening on your blog.

What tips would you have added for blogging businesses? Share them with our readers!

0 - to - 100 in your social

After an intense week of social networking that ended with a conference, (Distilled in New Orleans) I think I finally have a better understanding of what I should be doing. It’s taken a long path to get me here; I thought I’d share it with you, our readers, in the hopes that you’ll gain some usefulness.

Sometimes, I think about hiring someone else to do my social networking – some social media guru who can turn each tweet into gold. According to the analytics, according to the numbers, I’m doing it wrong.

A WTF Moment…

For instance, when you’re unfollowed by over 300 people in a week, it’s a big hit to the ego. This happened, although I haven’t changed anything. I engage with my followers, share great links, and continue to add great people to my Twitter and Facebook lists.

Now, around Level343, everyone can attest social is a big topic for me. This is one reason we love to include various social networking blogs. Every so often, we even send them out as guest posts. I’ve been an avid troller of top Twitter analyzers, in fact.

Now, let me be really honest and quite opinionated; none of us get it. I don’t’ care if it’s a paid or free tool, not one of these things has been truly able to capture how well we’re doing with our social networks. How can I tell?

Signs of Movement, Authority and Influence…

• We often receive wonderful emails from our readers.
• We close new clients on a monthly basis.
• At conferences, people recognize me and talk about the impact we’ve had on their lives and work.
• In short, there’s been a lot of positive movement and recognition as authorities in certain areas of the online marketing industry.

And yet… and yet, I look at Klout, Twitalyzer, the top respected analytics (or at least the ones everyone says they use), and my accounts suck. Not only do they suck, but also they tell a tale of miserable failing.

To Hell With the Numbers

To hell with numbers

What I’ve noticed is the RT’s you get, how many new followers per week, how many FollowFridays you’re mentioned on – they don’t matter. I don’t care what the numbers show. Why?

The metrics by which they’re choosing to grade me are not of value to me.

Let’s take influence, as an example. What does it really mean for these programs? Not too much in the grand scheme of things. A better measure of influence for us seems to be things like:

• Amount of incoming traffic – Is it going up?
• Amount of visitors – Are there more return than new? If yes, good.
• Comments – Are readers commenting and engaging?
• Engagement – Are followers responding in conversation?
• Clients – Do we have any?
• Potential Clients – Are people contacting us for work?

See, we put out approximately 15 – 20 pieces of content a month. We get excellent returns for those pieces, especially when you consider how many writers work on our blog. Depending on where they’re posted, we get anywhere from 30 – 300 RTs, 40+ comments, lots of good link love and meet wonderful people who read and like them.

The Big Picture

This may not seem like a lot to some people, but we have to look at the big picture. The big picture is a 2000% growth or more in all areas of our site over the eight, nine months. It’s working with the type of clients we’re looking for – the ones who respect our opinions and expertise. It’s people coming to us for thoughts about XYZ or asking us how to do ABC.

This isn’t braggadocio; far from it. This is simply pointing out that, no matter what the Twitalyzers or Klouts or InfluenceXYZPrograms say, we’re doing something right. Could I buy followers off eBay? Could I manipulate or otherwise game these systems to artificially hike my scores? Could I fake these results? We all know the answer to these questions.

The Total Answer, Bright Light, Shining Lightbulb of Understanding

Thinking about all this, it hit me. I could fake those results and get the numbers I really want to see. Not only that, but nobody would know the difference! How can these signals continue to be as important as they’ve been knowing that?

So what’s the real answer, then, if it isn’t numbers?

Well, as much as we use social strategy as a way to get numbers, we need to change what we look at. We’re building a community, not just a way to funnel money to our site. If you really want to build a brand, as I wanted to do when I first started engaging through social media, you have to have a face.

People have to know who you are to be able to really like what you say.

Real influence is changing. For example, You’d think the New York Post is influential wouldn’t you? Yet, for every 45 articles they put out, they might get one link back (or one citation). Other places, you can post two articles to get a link. Some places, a single article can get tons of links, in the form of quotes, citations, or ongoing conversation about the article.

What’s Important to You?

What's important to you

As a CEO, brand strategist, etc, what’s important to you? Is it having high numbers? Do you want blind influence, or do you want people who actually engage with you, come to you for help, or merely to say hi? To me, this is more powerful than numbers can ever be.

So, it finally comes down to building a community instead of faking one. You can have a ton of fake storefronts to make something look like a huge town (metaphorically speaking), but a stiff wind can blow it over, right? Think about your favorite influence measurement tool – could it withstand a rough smack?

In other words, if you lost 300 people in one week, what would happen to your numbers? Would you freak out if your numbers dropped dramatically?

Conclusion

We need to find other ways to measure how we’re doing in social. How can you really measure if what you’re doing is working? Can you really trust these numbers – should you?

Let’s finish this article up with this: look for other ways to find out how you’re doing. Don’t forget about the people who follow, read, and learn to respect you. They aren’t just numbers. They’re your business cheerleaders.

What do you think? What signals should we really be using to measure our social standing?

Gloria's beautiful quilt: Photo by rsgranne

“Beautiful forms and compositions are not made by chance, nor can they ever, in any material, be made at small expense. A composition for cheapness and not excellence of workmanship is the most frequent and certain cause of the rapid decay and entire destruction of arts and manufactures.” ~ Josiah Wedgwood

Branding isn’t a new concept; it isn’t even a centennial concept. In fact, branding started back in the ancient days of Babylon, Greece and Rome, when men wore dresses (sure, they called them togas) and the term “Spartan” was coined.

Potters carved their initials, symbol or recognizable mark in their handiwork. Gold and silversmiths marked their work; papermakers left watermarks. Cattle and other livestock have worn literal brands since 2000 BC, if not before.

Why? What did a brand mean to our ancestors?

For cattle, it was a mark of ownership. Their unique brand made it easy to recognize a rancher’s livestock (because all cows look alike, you know) in the event that the livestock strayed or were stolen. If they sold good milking cows or healthy livestock for food, that unique symbol became a sign of trust. You always know you have a good milking cow if it wears the XYZ Ranch brand.

Marks made by the crafter of a product were used for the same thing plus some. For example, Josiah Wedgwood was a master potter who sold high quality work. British nobility bought from him, as did an Empress of Russia. Josiah’s pottery brought high acclaim and several reproductions. Many people tried to replicate both his work and his branding mark – because Wedgwood pottery meant high quality.

While there are many other examples, Josiah Wedgwood is also an excellent example because of another relevant creation of his: direct marketing. Credited as the inventor of modern marketing, Josiah set out to find new ways to get products sold after he lost his leg to a childhood disease. He couldn’t turn a potter’s wheel after that, but he sure could turn a phrase (pardon the pun).

So what does all this have to do with you? What does it have to do with modern day branding? What does it have to do with your products?

Brands Still Mean the Same Thing

In ancient days, that unique mark meant more than, “yeah, that’s my cow”. It also meant:

• “I made this product.”
• “I’m responsible for this product if something goes wrong.”
• “This product has passed my quality assurance test.”
• “You’ve used this product before, liked it, and now recognize my brand as one you can trust.”

Isn’t it amazing how brands have carried over the same ideas today? Brands are valued for exactly these reasons. A brand is more than your company logo; it incorporates everything you want consumers to feel about your business.

Lessons in Branding

Josiah Wedgwood taught more than how to make high quality pottery. He also taught life lessons that any marketer or business owner should pay attention, such as finding branding opportunities everywhere. Building on success, in other words.

After selling a set of pottery to the queen, he began calling himself the “Potter to Her Majesty”. He changed the product name from “creamware” to “Queen’s Ware”. What happened? People bought the Wedgwood Queen’s Ware because royalty bought it, never mind that it was also beautiful and utilitarian. The man was a marketing genius.

Here are a few more branding lessons you might want to keep in mind:

• “Branding” is interchangeable with “reputation”. When you say, “I’m building my brand”, what you really mean is you’re building your reputation. What does your reputation say about you?

• Branding happens whether you mean it to or not. Just by running a business and selling a service/product, you’re developing your brand. If you don’t plan and work towards building a positive one, you end up with whatever your buyer or – oh horrors! – your competition defines for you.

• Colors say something about your brand. Oh my, yes, it’s true. Rather than try to add more to the content mill about branding and colors, let me point you toward Your Brand’s True Colors. Even though it’s a few years old, the article’s information is still highly applicable.

• Get emotional. This doesn’t mean cry and blubber because your brand got a bad review or so-and-so said they don’t like you. This means create an emotional connection. Don’t just pretend to understand your consumers’ pains… really take the time to try and understand. Brainstorm:

“Okay, I’m the consumer. I step in my house and it reeks. My carpet is dingy, spotted and smells like dirty feet. I can’t get the smell out of my nose. I really need a carpet cleaner that will take care of the smell and bring back the brighter colors without the carpet matting up.”

Ad: Tired of smelling dirty feet when you walk in the house? Bring back brighter colors and a fresh home with Clear Colors Carpet Cleaner – guaranteed to have your carpet looking (and smelling) brand new.

• Mona Lisa your branding. I came across this very inspirational article while (gasp shock) looking for inspiration for this one. The article is about creating curiosity with your brand, process, product, etc. Any article that starts out with “Have you mistakenly trained your branding to fall over and play dead?” is a must read in my book.

Take time with your brand. Decide what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. Much like when branding cows, you’re pretty much stuck with the mark you make on the buying world. Taking the branding part of your business lightly is a good way to find yourself singing for your supper.

In conclusion, remember that your company brand is extremely important. It signifies to the consumer everything positive (or negative) about your company, product, service, etc. You can’t afford to treat it as an unimportant nonentity that just “happened” to come along.

I’ve been asked by several companies to speak to their PR/marketing department about their respective social media presences. As much as I’d love to take them up on the offers, though, I thought I’d at least take the time to figure out the tangible problems they’re having.

After talking to a few clients, and asking around social media circles I was certain about some of the fears CEO’s face when dealing with employees and social media. Of course, the next step after that is finding out how to address those problems.

Now, we already know the benefits of using social media in the work place, especially if you want to brand your company with “progressive thinking”. Social media is part of the wonderful evolution happening online, and you either get it or get left behind. Transparency is king and content development, relationship building and user engagement can happen in 140 characters or less.

The benefits of social media are pretty obvious: you have another channel to expand on market research. You can brand yourself; here’s a way to add the human touch factor, the human element, the personable finish. Let’s not forget the reputation you garner by writing excellent posts, responding to questions and having intelligent conversations.

Serious Thoughts by Serious CEOs on Social Media

So yeah, yeah, it all sounds good. 140 character conversations turn into 500 new customers, company advocates and so on… fantastic ROI. Yet, the CEOs have to think about other things as well. Questions come to mind like:

• What about employee productivity?
• What about issues with account hacking?
• What about security?
• What about unhappy ex-employees?

Of course, we’ve all heard of the havoc on intern can cause your reputation, legal liability and other customer relation nightmares…I get it, I really do.

Many businesses are faced with a gigantic dilemma. CEOs and other top-level bigwigs yearn to jump on the social media bandwagon for the good of their company. Yet, the concern over possible negative repercussions is legitimate. For instance, whether a company infrastructure is based on a Mac, PC or Linux system, every online minute is a possible exposure to security threats.

Whether you decide to ban social media is up to you. However, if you ban social networking due to security risks, you might as well ban the Internet as well. You can set limits and use restrictions – some companies have chosen this route – or allow unmonitored access.

Tips for Social Networking Sites and CEOs

Rather than block the Internet, information and intelligence are the best protection against security leaks and more. This is not to say your employees would give out sensitive information on purpose, but social networks push people to share everything about themselves. They may unwittingly give important information away.

#1: Give Set Times for Social Networking

Before your employees start work, after they’re finished with work, on breaks or during lunch, allow them access to social networking sites. With web filtering software, you can set time-based access to specific sites.

#2: Educate your Employees

Don’t let your employees stay in the dark; knowledge is too important. Let them know what can cause security issues. If need be, have a security systems expert come in. Make sure they know clicking on a link can cause malware to download on their machine. Some popups automatically download a virus – even if you click on the “x” to close it down. Keep your staff educated!

#3: Set Policies

What can your employees do during office hours? Can they talk about their personal life on Twitter? Do you expect them to stay focused on business even during lunch on social sites? Lay out your policies for online security and usage. Make sure your employees sign these policies and know what the disciplinary action will be if the policies aren’t followed.

While thousands, maybe millions, of business owners struggle to decide whether they should implement social media or not, millions of others have already done so. Why?

Take it from me Mr. CEO social media isn’t just a fad, as some seem to think. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are some of the fastest growing sites – ever. In fact, once you set your mind to finally joining the world of social media, you’ll find out just how much business growth is possible… in 140 characters or less.

Perfection - by Mohan M.

Life isn’t perfect or fair in any way, especially if you’re competing for your online market share. SEO isn’t a perfect science, only available to an exclusive set of business owners. To be perfectly blunt, I get tired of reading about the “perfect SEO solution”, how “perfect” life is and the plethora of positivity quotes flung around on social networks.What about brands – do they always have to be perfect? Well, I feel the same way about brands. Often, if not always, picking the perfect words, perfect image, perfect blog – everyone tries to – is futile.

What does brand have to do with SEO? Hear me out. Consumers have more of an opportunity today than ever before to become businesses. Not only can they create their own runaway brand, but some even strike it rich as well– IF it’s the right brand at the right time. How are they doing this? They sell themselves, their product and their services online, driven to visibility through SEO.

Now, seldom does a brand reach the point of “personality” and real person. A few examples include Jacqueline Smith and Martha Stuart – the brand is synonymous with the person. However, the more we associate a brand with human components, the stronger that brand typically.

How does a brand show humanity? I can’t think of a better example than when you call a customer service center. Most of the time, you can’t tell if a human or a machine has answered the call. Occasionally, however, you get those warm, genuine people who really want to help. They take the time to listen; you can tell they sympathize and are happy to help you solve the issue.

You hang up the phone feeling the brand cares about you. Not Jamal, Amy, Steve, Karen or whoever answered the phone, but the brand. Because, after all, the brand cares enough to hire real, helpful, friendly people, right?

Online, you have the opportunity to express your personality through words, which then reflect the human factor back to your brand. You create your overall brand in the keywords you choose, the copy you write and the style with which you write. In short, you solidify your brand with words.

Back to perfectionism and the perfect brand. Here’s the problem as I see it. If your brand is human and not a mindless corporation… well, humans make mistakes. You can’t be an automaton and still be human. While I don’t mean make intentional errors, I do mean that your behavior should be realistic. A brand perceived to be “perfect” (corporate black suits, huge logos, glass skyscrapers) is a brand distanced from their consumers.

As well, the more perfect your brand seems, the more perfect consumers expect you to be. Think of the disdain you feel when you read in the news that some large corporation has made a mistake. Why do you feel that disdain? Think about it.

Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and try to come up with the perfect words for the perfect campaign and the perfect brand image, discuss your ideas with a professional. Whatever you come up with, you have to be able to maintain what you build. Even if you could build perfection, could you maintain it?

Total Douche

It’s not everyday I actually get to write about something I want to discuss. Most of my writing consists of work – whether for clients or my business, it’s still work. Every once in a while, though, you have moments in between the 9 to 5 when you’re compelled, no, forced to purge and rant. You want to scream in horror, to shout from every mountaintop. Why not to you, dear readers? Grab a beer or a glass of wine and settle in.

Now, I’ve been told (and believe for the most part), that you should never post anything negative about someone. It’s bad for business; it’s unprofessional. It could be professional suicide. Therefore, I’m going to turn what may sound like a negative rant into something we can all learn from – especially moi.

Fame does weird things to people, whether they’re politicians, rock stars, movie stars or Internet stars. I don’t know this personally (I’m not famous), but I can share what it’s like from the perspective of one who knows a famous person. I can only imagine how the change happens when you wake up one morning and your life is completely different. I’ve seen it happen time and again, even in my lil’ old life.

Let me tell you about someone I know. When I first met her she was just a normal person, funny as all get out, important to her friends and family, and has become so famous I dare not mention her name. This was over 30 years ago. She was a dear friend; I supported her any time I could. I’m so proud of her and I think she deserves all the success she’s received. She’s a true super star…. But I cannot seem to re-connect with her.

In her defense (Super Star) and mine, (Not a Super Star) I left the country and lost touch. When I came back, however, I wasn’t able to connect with her. I sent letters the first couple of years, recently tried emails and I think I tried once on Twitter. After trying to contact her, I finally understand we’ll probably never talk again… And that’s okay but she gets being in social media. If nothing else, you can imagine how many people I’d have to get through to see her again. I regress.

Now, let’s take this to where it belongs: Twitter. Twitter, the golden child, the most amazing social networking site ever created in the 21^st century, is well on its way to becoming a household name. Think about it; the future of micro-blogging, texting sexting, tweeting ad nauseam is all about making rock stars out of you and me.

I was to discuss the Twitter Marketing gurus online: how my love, admiration and respect falls a degree lower with almost every post I read. You know the ones; they’re well respected, followed by many (including me), RT’d by thousands. Who knows, you may have moments like this, too.

Now, in order to “make it”, everyone know you either

a) get an awesome viral video to shoot into the Twittersphere or

b) you build your following with smart strategies that work for your niche. Either way, the posts should be mainly focused on your followers. Even the gurus say this!

However, for the past six months or more, I’ve noticed a definite change in the strategies of some of my favorite Twitter rock stars. Either they’re so self consumed they don’t care, or they think they’re still connected and they aren’t. I don’t know them personally, so I’m not sure which.

Self-proclaimed boasting – “me me me.. mememe” – is coming out of some of my most favorite people to follow. It sounds like they’re warming up for a vocal concert. To be honest, some have become pompous asswipes. What a shame; I liked these people. It’s almost sickening to watch them self promote day in and day out. “Enough about me, what do you think about me?” All they’re really doing is… well, jerking themselves off for the world to see.

Self-proclaiming tweeters, catch a clue. I can understand getting touched by the Twitter gods into rethinking the way you position yourself. However, if you were an ass before you got on Twitter, guess what – you’re still an ass. Twitter doesn’t make you different from what you were.

What it does is give you the ability to connect in 140 characters. When you first came on, you actually spoke to people, not because you had a deal with them or were promoting your product, but because you actually cared. Now you’re a big star and guess what? The person you really are shows and it ain’t purty.

Maybe you can set up one day a week to stay connected. If you must use automated responses, at least send something like, “I’d love to answer your question, but I’m only available on Tuesday. Please join me here [link].” Then, on Tuesday, you could spend a couple of hours taking to your fans via webinar or something. As, a matter of fact this “famous” x-friend I know does something very similar but it’s on TV. She connects with her fans.

What I’ve seen coming from your feed has been horrible. You sound like a freaking spam bot. Every time I think you might have put out a great link to follow, I find out you’re associated with the person and want me to spend money. Shame on you, self-proclaiming tweeters. Without your followers, you’re nothing.

Respond to emails, will you? Oh, here’s a thought: respond to tweets! Do something besides “memememe”.

Here’s my promise to the world. If I ever become famous, I promise to answer my emails. I promise not to have someone else use my Twitter account. I promise only to promote things I truly believe in, and I promise not to disconnect… what are your promises?

Online reputation By: Miklos Teknos

“Any press is good press”, right? Not necessarily. Bad press – negative publicity – is becoming a prevalent problem for online companies. Anybody can write something about your company, from anywhere, about anything. They don’t have to have a name; “Anonymous” is a very popular identity for posting on forums, sites and blogs.

Is Bad Press a Problem for you?

It may be time for reverse SEO. With the Internet and social media, bad press can turn into a public relations nightmare. How do you control the damage?

A while back, I had a run-in with a potential client. He didn’t like my prices and, although we had no contract, he somehow felt he’d been gypped. He chose a well-known complaint site and posted a complaint against me for “how poorly I treated clients”. For a month, anytime someone searched for my name, one of the first things they saw was the complaint. Now, granted, some of my actual clients came to bat for me, but the damage was done.

In this case, reputation management was easy – sort of. I contacted the complaint site, showed them the correspondence and they took the complaint down. However, it took another month for the complaint to disappear from the SERPs; it was listed, but when you clicked on the link it redirected to the home page of the complaint site.

For those two months, there’s no telling how many potential clients I may have lost from that one untrue complaint.

Controlling Negative Publicity

Reverse SEO pushes the bad press from the front page of the SERPs, lowering its exposure to the general populace and cutting down on the potential impact to your business. It might take everything from creating social media profiles to optimized press releases to high-quality link building, but suppressing negative publicity can be done.

It’s very seldom that a company manages to go through the business cycle of life untouched and pristine. It happens to everyone, whether the claims are legitimate or not: resentful employees, competitors, etc. can quickly destroy your online reputation. Because these complaints are easy to make anonymously, they’re hard to control, and harder to take care of in a private setting.

So tell me readers have you been in a similar situation? Maybe you can share with us how you handled it or what you would suggest… If you have a suspicion that negative publicity may be coming, don’t hesitate to take on reverse SEO. A little bit of preparation goes a long way!

Does Your Brand Matter

I was driving into New Orleans the other day, thinking about brands. How can a small business compete with the bigger brands? You’re probably thinking your brand sucks or is awesome… Traffic was steady as I watched various billboards pass me by driving down I10 to a meeting. That’s when it hit me, what if your brand is nowhere close to what you want?

If you are like me you probably always wanted to do an independent study on all these famous brands. Some brands are so old and so well known that their importance is passed down from one generation to the other – almost like genes. Since the ideas ingrained during formative years are indelible, many people stick to using the information passed on to them when thinking of business brands without even being conscious of it. However, the increasing social networks phenomenon and new techniques of social branding have made it possible for smaller brands and newer brands to capture an effective market share.

The first step to social branding is effectively done by merging yourself into the various social networks. Remember, a brand is not just a logo; a brand is so much more than a picture. It can be emotional, it can be an experience – however you want to describe it or define it, you must find yours. One of my favorite authors said, “Brands are defined by the customer. They exist as a feeling that extends beyond the product itself.”(T. Scott Gross – Microbranding)

With social networks like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. being the rage of the times, creating a strong online presence will get an organization – or even a person – lots of friends and visitors to whom they can communicate and spread their information. Be it the latest new tool or a new service, to make a satisfactory online presence, the brand promoter should ideally stick to a few rules.

The content that is offered on the Internet for branding should not be of a soliciting nature, especially in the beginning. The first stage here is connecting and establishing relationships. For example, if you have a good video that could attract people you can upload it on YouTube, even if it is not directly connected with your brand. Contacting, connecting and engaging are all part of the first level of the social media “job”; all types of wholesome and entertaining content can be the first step to get started.

As our technologies get more advanced, I have noticed we are using advanced tools for communications, information sharing in order to reshape the very fabric of our marketplace concepts and relations. So how does a little business or a one-man show position themselves with the “established” brands? If you consider, positioning really has little to do with quality or price and everything to do with perception.

Emotional triggers are what sell - things that can emotionally connect you with the buyer. The entertaining aspect of connecting can then graduate into informing and advising to set the ball rolling in the path of branding. Instead of jumping into the fray of all social networks, you can start with just a few. Find out where your niche market is.

There really is no way around that. Not everyone wants your product and not everyone will like your brand. However, once you have established your groundwork in the social arena, you can steadily increase your presence to make sure that you’re being noted. As you establish a solid base in these social networks, it is important that you are absolutely transparent. Your name, profession, arenas of interest and things that you have to offer should become clear to the others.

Everything you are is branding. When many entrepreneurs start out, they might spend months trying to separate business from family or “work” from “life”. They then spend the rest of their life understanding that, as an entrepreneur or small business owner, you are your business, from the way you behave to the words you use, down to the business card you hand out. Whether you like it or not, it’s the culmination of all you are that makes the brand.

Consistency is important. Everything you do, show or promote becomes part of your “brand”. For instance, a business cannot afford to change their profile every month or so, so that there are two incarnations of the same business at different stages. For effective social branding, the profile projected should be the same across all the social networks you frequent. When someone has seen or used your product, they should be able to recognize you instantly.

Social branding is a low budget scenario. It may not be an easy process, and you will have to spend some time on it, but you will not need advertising staff that you may have to pay through the nose. Nor will you need airtime or newspaper space for which too you need to pay. Many social networks are free.

For example, at a site like Ning, users can create a personalized network that can be shared with any number of users with a common interest. It is free (if you can grin and bear it when ads pop up), but you’ll have to pay if you prefer to operate in ad-free, sanctified ambiance.

When doing social branding, it is important to live up to the promises and not try to survive on hype. Of course, this is a golden rule in the world of advertising, and not one that is a must only for branding through social networks. Nevertheless, it is one that people often tend to forget. In fact, living up to promises is one way in which smaller entrepreneurs can outwit business brands that sport glossy ads and prime time commercials.

Social branding is very helpful in promoting unknown brands in the case of niche marketing. In niche marketing, the marketer essentially concentrates on smaller pockets as the target market. These pockets will be places dominated by people of certain physical characteristics, race, age, language, nationality, or profession where most people will be in need of a certain product. Spreading brand information through social networks and thereby creating new business brands works well in such setups.

When we say social networks, we understand only online networks today. These are surely far more vibrant than local word of mouth networks, but in creating business brands, even face-to-face networks have their role to play. Remember Social media is not going away anytime soon, but it is evolving… what are you doing to make your brand matter?

by muammerokumus

“Dear Google, you are the granddaddy of all search engines… Can you please make sure my http://mysite.com is found on page 1 as my Christmas gift this year? I promise I will promote and use all your latest bells and whistles added to the already oh, so useful tools. I promise to gasp every time you come out with a tool I don’t use or have no reason to ever use. Last but not least, I promise I won’t ever tell people you are a bully.”

No matter which way you look at Google, it’s a popular search engine. Whether it’s the best is a topic for debate, since there are new ones (we all know who they are) claiming to be the best. However, there’s no doubt that Google tops the list where users are concerned – perhaps because of its online keyword tools, Adsense program and AdWords campaigns. People prefer to stick with the engine that offers all these services under one roof.

Take a look at the latest from Google. Regardless of whether you use them or not, Google has been busy and we should pay attention.

Google Swirl
Google Swirl is an image search interface. This is similar to the image search launched by Google in 2001, but with a difference. For instance, if you searched for an image of Washington, DC, you would get thousands of images tagged with the word “Washington”. However, with Google Swirl, you can type in “Washington” and not only will you get a map of Washington, a picture of President Washington and the White House, but also the Washington Monument.

The difference here is that each image is a category. If you click on the Picture of President Washington, you will be presented with images of important people in Washington. The Monument Image is a link to images of all monuments in Washington and so on. So Google swirl is an improvement on Google Images… Giving you more for your search.

Google Wave
Google Wave is a new tool that allows live conversation, over the air, with a number of participants. This is a great way to conduct a conversation, share documents and show pictures. Participants can enter the conversation and comment anywhere; they can even rewind and playback the Wave for later review.

Google Wave can be used in a number of ways. For instance, you can brainstorm between people even if they are on different continents, join group projects, keep meeting notes, and even play interactive games. The key here, however, is to find like-minded people to start your Wave with. Something I have yet had time to do but useful, nonetheless. Bravo Google.

Google Trends
Now, I love this tool. Google Trends is an online tool that posts the latest trend in a particular online niche. One can even use this tool to find out the new emerging trends and optimize accordingly. With Google Trends, one can find out how many times a search term is used in a calendar year or from different demographic regions.

Google Trends is really a tool that can give you an in-depth analysis of the type of traffic your keyword has been creating over the last three years. You can even scale down your search to a year or month using Google Trends. Although the number of searches for the given keyword is not mentioned, you can get a lot of information from the report created. This is just a trailer of what you can do with Google Trends.

IGoogle Gadget
The iGoogle gadget is for the iPhone. This gadget allows users of Google Hot Trends to have a peek into the latest searches and sites experiencing a very large surge of traffic within the last couple of hours. Why would you need something like this? This tool can allow people to cash in on traffic generated from certain keywords. Given that this is the holiday season, ‘how to roast a turkey is’ is one of the top searched keywords on Google. Similarly, you can see a hundred top searched keywords – again, in the past few hours. Now that is what I call an interactive real time tool.

Google Ad Planner
This tool was launched in the latter half of 2008 and is a tool for online marketers. Irrespective of what they’re marketing, web masters can use this tool to pinpoint certain market segments and reach out to a highly targeted market. The Google Ad Planner is actually a research tool that can be used to connect advertisers and publishers of niche markets.

This tool requires the user to enter sites related to the product or service they’re promoting, and then enter the demographics of the audience they want to target. The tool creates a list of web sites that people are likely to visit. Using this information, a web master can then further research the statistics – like what keywords those sites are using and where their traffic is coming from (such as search engines, forums or whatever) – then channel some of the traffic to his or her own site.

So, what can we expect Google to come up with next? Given that Google goes with the traffic search words generate and then tries to develop a product to cater to that niche, we believe that Google will come up with a product for the automotive segment or music segment or both. What do you think Google will do next? Will it be useful or will you have it because Google stuffed it in the search engine stocking?

With television commercials validating the importance of online social media portals like Twitter and Facebook, the battle for domination in the social media marketing arena is leaving many feeling confused and dazed.  After all, as the language of the Tweet-osphere cuts communications to 140 characters or less, it also add a unique brand of instant marketing spoken only by the Tweeple of Twitter.

Realistically, there are as many reasons to invest in a good social media marketing campaign as there is website, but the top five reasons that you should be joining the social marketing and networking revolution include:

• Increased SEO and Rankings—Participating in online marketing efforts like Twitter, Digg, and Facebook add dimensions to your effort.  Moreover, when others in your online communities link to your posts or your blog content is Tweeted by members of your social media groups, you ranking increase with every single link.  Further, as search engines love new content, blogs are highly prized by search engines for fresh material.

• Exposure Equals Traffic on Steroids—Marketing is all about going where the people meet to share information about your products or services.  In this case, more people meet online in social media groups each week than pass through the New York subway system.  Imagine gaining exposure to every one of those people.  With social media marketing, that goal is obtainable with less cost than a billboard or an advertisement.  At this point, an important side note is to make sure you measure social media time as part of your ROI cost because time still equals money…even on the internet!

• Voice of the Customer Connection—Many business owners pass up the opportunity to find out what their customers (or potential customers) think about their products.  Through contests or online surveys, you can poll your market audience on subjects including pricing, features, or benefits of your products.

• Fluid Flexibility of Marketing Message—In traditional marketing, the expenditure of A/B Split testing is enough to stop most businesses from deploying several marketing efforts to see which one works best.   In fact, social media marketing is the best place to do A/B Split testing because your marketing message can be quickly changed to meet the reaction of your audience.  One of my favorite case studies about A/B testing is Geiko, from the Gecko to the Caveman to the stack on bills with all seeing eyes; Geiko is testing three different marketing campaigns for audience response.

It is easy to stand back and wait for the electronic dust to clear instead of stepping into the social media  fight; however, denying the existence and usefulness of social media marketing will put you in the same category as the person who thought the internet was just a “passing fade!”  With a minimal investment of time and attention to the creation of a good social marketing plan, you can boost your exposure, gain potential customers, and instill an efficiency in your marketing efforts that traditional marketing  cannot meet.

The first rule of any good marketing campaign is “go where the people gather!”  Although this marketing strategy is certainly not an epiphany, the onset of the new frontier of marketing encompassing social media and networking has added confusing complexity to the old game of marketing.  With new social media networks virtually popping up on every street corner, every business owner realizes that time equals money in the game of social media marketing.

For now, these are the top social media gathering spots for marketing and networking to bring traffic banging at the door:

• Facebook :  Long considered a great spot to meet-and-greet with the friends and family, connecting through Facebook can give instant updates on the happenings of everyone in your group.  Through reaching out to others in the circle of your circle, joining fan sites, and publicizing facebook links to promote fans, Facebook is an easy way to personalize interaction between members.
• Twitter :  If you are ready to enter the tweet-iverse, then Twitter is waiting for you!  Although there is a learning curve in the language of Twitter that takes some extra investment in time, once you know how to promote using 140 characters or less, the niceties of Twitter will fall into place.
• LinkedIn :  For the more professional crowd, LinkedIn provides a robust social media and network platform to connect people with like interests based on the concept of 3 degrees of separation.  By connecting to all of your connections and everyone you know, your networking reach explodes with the power to share your message, find potential partners, and gain valuable marketing insight.
• Biznik :  As a powerful business networking resource, the potential in Biznik is the modern version of shaking hands with people at a local networking event.  Regionally divided by large cities, Biznik allows you to connect with people who can help grow your business and gain customer exposure all within your local area.
• Blogger / WordPress / :  If you are especially interested in promoting your business online to a global market or audience, then blogging is an excellent source of exposure and SEO recognition.  When the content changes over a short duration of time, search engines are drawn to the postings via categories, tags, and keyword optimized titles with content.

Admittedly, the goal is to gain as much exposure as possible to your target audience while decreasing cost.  In marketing, the cost per lead produced by each marketing effort is measured in the ROI or return on investment.  With social media marketing and networking, ROI must be measured in time against the leads recouped for the time invested to be sure cost expenditures are analyzed correctly; therefore, finding the hotspots of social media marketing that will both deliver interested leads as well as gain exposure for your products is vital.

In my experience, the most important thing to remember about social media marketing and networking is two-fold.  First, don’t seem too anxious.  Be yourself.  Second, be prepared to invest time in creating and maintaining your social media activities.  These should not be too hard.  After all, these are the same rules as any other social environment…you are just reaching out to millions of people instead of hundreds!

Every so often, under the guise of “keeping things fresh,” companies decide to commit marketing suicide by switching brands.  When examining the reality of why companies want to change their brand, it results in one of three answers:

• Not modern or sophisticated enough to draw the right audience
• Not representative of the products or services offered
• Not recognizable enough in the marketplace

In each case, the answer is not changing the brand.  In fact, quite the opposite; the real answer is dynamic branding.  Dynamic branding is the process in which companies build structures or layers of branding build around one recognizable brand.  Dynamic branding places one brand at the center of your product or services structure.  Then, like lines weaved into a spider’s web, the products or services are branded around the initial brand.

Although many companies struggle with the idea of dynamic branding, it is the most common successful form of branding on the market.  Consider these market case studies to illustrate the layout of a dynamic branding structure:

• Pepsi—in full ownership or partnership
  • Pepsi and Diet Pepsi (center of dynamic brand)
    • Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Aquafina, Mug Root beer, Lipton Ice Tea (partnership), Starbucks Iced Coffee (partnership), SoBe Life Water, Tropicana
  • Frito-Lay (also a PepsiCo Company)
    • Frito-Lay (center of dynamic brand)
      • Lay’s Potato Chips, Ruffles, Doritos, Tostitos, Fritos, Cheetos, Cracker Jack Popcorn
  • Progressive Insurance (dynamic brand)
    • Car and Trucks, Motorcycles, Home, Renters, Semis and Big Rigs, Extreme Sports Vehicles, Boats, RVs, Condos, Life, and Health

  In each case, there is a dynamic brand at the center of the web. The product / service construction reaches out to satisfy a niche market, address the needs of an identified audience, and provide recognition in the marketplace for their high level brand.  After all, if you pick up a bag of Cheetos, you will surely recognize the cheesy cheetah on the front.

  However, no matter which Frito-lay product you pick up at the chip aisle of your local grocery, you will find the Frito-Lay logo prominently displayed. It’s displayed on every bag, across market audiences ranging from children (Cracker Jack) to teens (Cheetos) and market segmentations such as dinner / snack food markets (Fritos, Lays, Ruffles, Doritos).

  Dynamic branding works on the theory that setting up a marketing foundation which distributes your brand on every product or service categorized by sub-levels according to market segmentation or audience.  By going back to the original discussion points, it is easy to see that a dynamic brand never addresses the audience or represents the products because it is not meant to handle those functions of marketing.  Those functions are handled at the lower level of product marketing.

  A dynamic brand is created to stand the test of time by sustaining recognition in the marketplace, in a high level manner, that does not change according to the products or services offered beneath the umbrella.  In truth, could Allstate have predicted the need for Identity Theft Protection when it started?  Probably not.  And, it did not need to because that is their dynamic brand.  Anything good or service they offer under that brand can fluctuate according to the will of the market.

Each year, many companies venture out into the business world without the most important piece of ammunition for their success:  market research.  While clouded by the dual belief that market research is needed for companies intending to earn business through cold calls or market research is too expensive for the average company, the failure to properly understand your market segmentation can lead to costly errors and loss of potential sales.  In many cases, companies proceed into deep level development of new products or services without knowing if the market will support their cost structure or pricing strategy.

Some of the best ways to conduct low-to-no cost market research to find out vital information about products and services are:

•    Online Groups and Networking—Often, professional gather in online groups and networking forums to gain contacts and exposure; however, an additional benefit to these aspects is that you can post a marketing question to the group and gain a variety of responses from people in every walk of life.  Because you pick the groups that you would most like to use as your market research group (or even create your own group for this purpose), you will be able to segment your responses.

•    VOC (Voice of the Customer)—Perhaps the most overlooked avenue for finding out about the market, most companies believe if their customers buy from them, then they must be happy with the product.  Nothing is farther from the truth.  Asking your customers about your product and services, potential benefits and pricing, or to rate satisfaction will give you valuable insight into how you can improve and what your competition is offering.

•    Contest and Surveys—Through social media marketing, email blasts, or coupons, give your customers the opportunity to rate and give feedback on important questions regarding the path of your company.  With a quick online survey, you can easily find out if feature XYZ is important to your customers when they think of paying $150 extra for your product.  If they say “no” and you realize that the addition will cost at least $150 to add to the feature list, then you have priceless information about the future development of your new product and the pricing structure as it relates to your customer perception of value.

In truth, good market research is like money in the bank, but it does not have to cost the proverbial arm and a leg!  Whether you are a new business or an established business with years of operation, market research gives you the ability to see the big picture of what your customers are seeking in product they purchase as well as predict where the market will go in the future.  Of course, there is one addition to market research…the X factor.  By research what is evolving in the market, you find out things about your products and services, competitors, and pricing that you never knew.  Cost:  Priceless!

I bet if I told you the headline of today’s news you not only could see it on television, but you could Google it.  Who would have thought you could say the word Google and automatically 98% of the world would know what you meant.

Nevertheless, here we are in the midst of a booming new business online frenzy… once again.  There is economic crisis, banks are folding like lawn chairs, houses are foreclosing daily, car giants are filing for bankruptcy and online social networks are growing at an alarming rate.

This is not earth shattering revelation I am giving up here, obviously, but what I want to share is a story about the Little Agency That Could.  A copywriting agency that has become a full service agency due to demand.  It has taken us some adjusting and re-adjusting but as a team of writers, we are confident with our results.  We have been getting steady work throughout the recession, but with that comes the good the bad and the ugly.

Inspiration happens at the oddest times in a writer’s life.  Some writers need to have complete silence in their working environment while others listen to music.  Then there are those of us who have the faint sound of the news in the background.  However, its days like these that give us a clear picture of why we are in business for ourselves.

As a writer that’s not a bad deal; as SEO copywriters that’s music to our ears.  What this means is more people are taking their business online and looking for great content.  The global market has finally caught up with re-inventing themselves.  Businesses that I have never heard of are contacting our agency looking for blogs, press releases, articles, web pages etc.  Some changes happened gradually as social media grew.  We have always been fans of blogs and bookmarking sites, but none really made me personally appreciate them until Twitter.  (that’s another article).

One of the major changes we have noticed is the quality of great clients versus the quantity of great clients.  Let me explain.

As part of the business development team at this agency, I’ve met some clients we have had to part with.  Actually, I shouldn’t call them clients, since they never made it that far.  They contact us with a specific project in mind.  After talking to them via email or phone, I’ve found that, more often than not, they have no idea what they are doing.  They have no direction or concept of what it takes to brand themselves and ultimately are wasting their time.  Spinning their wheels.  They know they need blogs, they need website copy and Oo, dear lord, they need SEO.

I spend time emailing, talking on the phone, sometimes I even offer a conference call when other writers or designers are involved.  That is all part of doing business, and for the Little Agency That Could, it does affect our bottom dollar.

Some of the clients try to squeeze you for every cent, from the ones that promise future work if you can give them a better rate to the ones that insult you by insinuating they expected fifteen articles for $40.  Sure, looking back, we have a great laugh and move on, but every so often you get the potential client that reveals their color from day one.  The ones that threaten to sue you over unfounded accusations.

Basically, my point is, regardless of what sort of business you are doing on the Internet, you need to know when to fold them and know when to walk away.

Writing or offering any service online is a delicate act that needs to have certain criteria.  Some call it the 80% 20% rule.  What that means is if you spend 80% of your time dealing with the client and only get a 20% return, then you know to walk away.  You shouldn’t have to spend more than 20% of your time dealing with the client.

Don’t get me wrong; we talk to our clients any time they want to discuss their project, but when all we do is talk and don’t get any work done due to their inability to have a plan then it’s apparent you are not dealing with a professional.  And in today’s market there are lots of people that really should not get into business; running or starting a business takes more than a great idea.  You have to have a vision, then a strong plan and, ultimately, you have to know how to deal with people.  My business partner said it clearly: “The vision for any online marketing business is so colorful, but the mission is always black and white.”  Can I get an Amen.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Digg, Technorati – social media tools are swarming the net, becoming the main way to get in touch, keep in touch, socialize and monetize.

On places like Twitter, individuals and businesses alike have begun posting links to their blogs, sites and articles.  LinkedIn has a way to plug into your blog so once you post, it shows on your LinkedIn profile.  With Digg you can have a link back to an article on your site, or on an article directory, etc.  In other words, you can have a website, a blog and ten social media accounts, and have them all leading to each other.

The question arises, however: does all this do any good for search engine optimization?  And if it does, how much good does it do?

In reality, social media is just another part of marketing.  One of the reasons why so many businesses use the social media tools is because they realized very quickly that these tools give them the ability to talk to their customers.  In addition, these tools allow business individuals to reach likeminded professionals, make business contacts and any other kind of socializing you can imagine.

All this socializing does have some benefits for optimization, but perhaps not in the way you think it does.  Thousands of people post links on Twitter, for example, thinking that these posts will link back to their site, and raise PageRank and search engine results positioning.  However, Twitter specifically has a “no follow” for your links, which means that the search engine crawlers won’t follow the link back to your site; in other words, the links themselves have no optimization value.

Now, people are selling eBooks on how to gain followers and whatnot, pushing all the benefits and making the buyers think this book will grow their business, but how does social media work for site optimization, PageRank and SERPs?

1.    You post your links.
2.    People (not search engines) follow those links and read what you’ve written/posted.
3.    Of those people who liked your post/article/idea, some will talk about it and add a link to your site where the information is.
4.    The new links will generally have a “follow all” tag, telling the crawlers to follow them.
5.    Those inbound links will bring in organic traffic and add authority to your site, which, in turn, will raise your search engine result positioning and PageRank.

All in all, social media is like MLM (multi-level marketing):

You post ten links with no results on PageRank, placement or anything else; you may as well have thrown them into the wide unknown.  However, five people read your links and re-post (or link back) to those ten posts, and you now have fifty (free!) back links (not reciprocal!) leading to your site.  Five other people find those re-posts and re-post again – 250 back links, plus the original 50, adds up to a whopping 300 links leading back to your site.

All those links will normally be posted on sites relevant to your site, which gives your site authority, which raises your PageRank.  All that traffic and the resulting commentary can raise your positioning in the SERPS.

So – while social media in and of itself isn’t that helpful with SEO, the resulting links are.  How do you get people to repost, comment and write about your site, article, blog, etc?  That’s another blog entirely!

You are probably saying, “oh no, not another article on how to use Twitter”.  No, since I personally think Twitter is all about individual user experience.  What this article is about are the basics of using twitter, not why you should use it or how you should use it.

I won’t lie; it’s not like I won’t give you my two cents worth on why you should do certain thing or not.  For the sake of this article, however, this will be a fundamental how to use Twitter as an individual or a business.  It doesn’t hurt that clients have asked me on several occasions; I felt it prudent to write this and send them the link. I would also urge you take a look at this visual.
Now that you have read the introduction, let’s get down to the basics:

Below you will see our Twitter page.  Since our account is also using the Power Twitter plugin for Firefox you will notice we have several other buttons not available to a regular twitter account. I would suggest you download the plugin for Power Twitter if you are using Firefox as your browser.

I will get to why later in this article, but suffice it to say, it gives you more options and management.

As you can see, we have ours custom made with all the social media buttons over to the side. With a platform like Twitter, you can use all the ones in your social media arsenal.  I am not suggesting you have to customize your page, but since we have ours customized, I can describe why and how to use your brand within Twitter.

Let me add the first reason a small business could use Twitter: to add onto their arsenal of tools.  While different people use Twitter for different reasons, I’m suggesting that you use it as an extension of who you are online.

Signing up to Twitter

This is a no brainer, other than making sure you have your strategy in place.  The basic navigation buttons will be the following: Home, Profile, Find People, Settings, Help, Sign Out buttons.  Each one of those is self-explanatory and I suggest you fill out the information with your vision and motivation in mind. What I mean by that is if you are using it for your business, then make sure you include your url in the “profile” page.  You will notice there’s only one place where this is allowed, so use it wisely.

Finding who you want to follow

There are some buttons that seem self-explanatory, but aren’t.  Find People, for example.  Now, obviously you can search the names of your friends or businesses.  However, what I am suggesting you do is, rather than search for names of people you know, search for keywords in your industry, or search for words that interest you.

If you are in real estate, for example, you can plug in “real estate” and see a list of people that have that in their bio or name.  You will notice a direct link to their Twitter page including a short bio, number of followers and a “follow” button.

You are probably wondering why would you want to follow those people if they are not in your industry? I say diversify. Don’t follow only the people you think can use your service.

Basically, throw your net wide.  Start following at least fifteen to twenty people a day.  Eventually, they will follow you back. Keep in mind that if they don’t, that’s okay.  Once you become better versed with using Twitter you can always use a tool to find out who is following you or not and remove them if you want. The goal here is to fill your Twitter feeds with posts that you can engage in. Engage your readers with valuable information.

When should you Re-Twitter a message?

RT, or re-twitting, simply means to repost someone else’s post, because it could add value to your followers.  My suggestion is to sit back and observe for the first week.  Spend at least thirty minutes to an hour on Twitter.  Read and explore some of the links.  Eventually you will get the hang of it. And please do not RT without look at what it is.  You never want to get caught promoting or pushing something you do not agree with.

RT looks like this:

You can see the RT is for the user @dlevanphotos and it merely sends out her questions to all of your readers. That’s another way things can go viral, but that is another topic and we are not there yet.

What should you post?

The posts will initially look like a bunch of useless information, but once you get settled and start watching the feed, you will see some things that interest you.  Again, this is merely a suggestion and not the ultimate word.  You don’t have to post every five minutes, nor should you post things like, “eating a peanut butter sandwich” when you’re using Twitter as a form of business communication.  You see, the “what are you doing” box above the text is misleading.

Things I have been suggesting are to post relevant information of the day to start with. Some places to get some great feeds are Alltop or Popular urls. Here you can find information that varies from technical to gardening.

Eventually ,once you are comfortable with your “group” of followers you will notice people will start to RT your posts. Keep in mind you want to show your readers who will ultimately become your clients that you are diverse and you are not pushing your products in their face.

When to use DM

A DM is a direct message you can send to a particular user, where only that user can see it.  You can accomplish this in two ways. You can click on their name, which will take you to a page that will have three options: message them, block them and nudge them.  If you choose to message them directly from this page, they will get your message and their response will show up in your DM in turn (like an inbox for email).

Things to remember

When you first start on Twitter make sure you use @ before the user’s name.  If you wanted to talk directly to me you would type “@SEOCopy” then your micro-bloging message in 140 characters or less.  This becomes a daunting task, since we are used to emails or IM, but you will learn the acronyms and even make some up for yourself.

Remember – you don’t have to be a rock star, nor do you have to follow all the big accounts.  In my case, I firmly urge anyone using Twitter to use it as his or her own brand.  Start the buzz; don’t follow leaders.

That is not to say you shouldn’t, though I personally don’t since things are already so muddled and regurgitated by thousand of followers in my line of work.  You will pick up your own “mentors” – your own “leaders” – just don’t be surprised if they don’t follow you back.  The most important aspect of Twitter is that there is no right way or wrong way.  You have to use it as another social networking tool that will encompass all your marketing efforts for your online presence.

When it comes to marketing strategy, there are many aspects to take into consideration, and social media is one of them. As we all know, social media has become the latest challenge any successful business has to face, but with experience, you’ll find that it does have its benefits. For example, I truly believe that microblogging has made me a better writer and a better listener.

As a small copywriting agency, we have made our mark. We have a brand, from our excellent service to our creative thinking, which ultimately is passed on to the client.

It is a constant process, though; we have to move, change and adapt to our clients needs. Without the wonderful team I have, I am confident I would not have come to this realization. With that said, here is my opinion on how and what is needed for any business to succeed.

You obviously need a brand. That in itself breaks down to several components: a vision, motivation, then the strategy. In order to come to this realization, you will need to use your vision. Once you have the vision, it can motivate you and your company, becoming the driving force for the next step the strategy. This is where the fun begins; you have to be creative.

Use your creative thinking skills: how you approach the individual project is the vision (in this case it’s how to brand yourself). How do you describe the business, as you want it to be? The answer involves seeing the optimal future for your business, and then describing that vision with your motivation.

Once you have grasped your motivation, then your desire to solve and exploit an opportunity are forthcoming. This, of course, will fall in the right place and is part of the process when “creating” your brand. Lastly the strategy, which we call your expertise: knowledge and understanding (technical, procedural, and intellectual) of what you do.

When you can break it down to easy terms and go as far as writing these components out on a sheet of paper, clarity becomes a beautiful thing.

What is a brand?

If you come from the old school of thinking, a brand takes a lot of money and time to create. With today’s online business, however, it can be attained with the right combination.

Take, for example, using SEO/SEM/SM as part of your online marketing. I would venture to say that anyone with a solid plan could create his or her brand. Branding yourself and standing out from your competitors is one of the easiest, yet most time consuming, exercise I advise my clients to focus on. Keep in mind that a brand is not built through effective communications or appealing logos only – that’s the expensive way; look at all the TV ads, magazines and newspaper fees. No, a brand is built through the total experience that it offers.

You are probably saying (rightly so) that different people have different perceptions of a product or service… so how is that information going to help me? Well, that gives you a nice place to find out about the different points on the loyalty ladder. Not all good strategies rely on super tactics, a huge budget and star power. The basis of a good strategy is to win your audience without having to rely on a tactical brilliance team with bloated salaries that will regurgitate what every social media guru tells them to.

When approached correctly, strategy becomes a long-term response to the changing environment. This involves making a fundamental decision about how to match resources to the ever-changing environment. “Doing the right thing is far more important than doing things right.” Although I can’t remember who said this, it’s oh so true when it comes to branding strategies.

Your online marketing becomes a dialogue. This dialogue is developed over time with specific groups of customers whose needs you understand, and for whom you develop an offer. It has to give and create a different advantage and perception over the offer your competitors give.

A strong brand is valuable because it ultimately changes the behavior of your market. This, as we all know, will lead them to buy more frequently, be willing to pay more and in some cases your clients and users will recommend the brand (you) to friends.

Contrarian Thinking

I always motivate my copywriters by recommending they go against the grain; don’t copy what the competitor is doing. In the marketing world, it’s called contrarian thinking. Granted, contrarian thinking is used more in the financial sector, but it serves as an integral part of the process.

Webster’s dictionary describes “a person who takes a contrary position or attitude; specifically: an investor who buys shares of stock when most others are selling and sells when others are buying.” The way I see it, you have to make your own path. Once you can engage in contrarian thinking it will create the opportunity for brands.

Anyone who knows me is well versed on my approach. I always do the opposite of what I am told as the acceptable way of doing things. Sure, many times I fall flat on my face, but once I dust myself off I realize and am struck by how malleable I have become when it comes to thinking out of the box.

No brand is going to achieve success by copying the rest of the pack. In fact, why would you want to? Yes, it’s lonely, and sometimes you won’t get the results you expect. However, patience is a virtue – even more true when it comes to branding yourself and online marketing.

When faced with the sight of yet another online message board, you might ask – Do we really need another one?  Well, sure.  What is the Internet, if not the best place to communicate with people from all walks of life, in every corner of the globe?  What is the Internet without them? The more the merrier and it isn’t exactly like we’re going to run out of cyber space the way we run out of land. If we could find a way to build a home in cyber space we’d be in good shape. So what exactly is it about HYPick.com that makes it stand out from the crowd of nearly dormant message boards that float unvisited in the clouds?
Diversity
HYPick.com gets a thumbs up for diversity. One of the problems of some message boards is that they are too focused which means only a certain group of people are going to bother with them. If that group of people isn’t big enough to support an active community, or if there are too many forums dedicated to that subject, and that do it better, then those boards are dead space—we’ve all seen them, forums with tons of topics that only the forum owner bothers to update, and if any respond there are perhaps one or two regular posters, or boards that have had no posts in months or years.

HYPicks.com has forums on a wide variety of subjects and some very up-to-date topics such as “The Top 10 Mistakes of Google” (not that I personally agree with that article’s assertion that Google Chrome is a failure, but that’s the idea behind a good forum, different opinions and a place to debate them). There is a “Geek Speak” forum (that I am a little afraid to enter), a “Politics” forum, one for “Pics and Vids”—yours or those found on the web of popular subjects, of course the requisite “Showbiz” forum where you can debate Michael Jackson’s comeback and Britney Spears return to the highlight. There is a forum for “Sports and Health” and several others along with just a “Random” forum where you will find anything and everything that doesn’t have a place in the other spots on the board.

Members
One of the most important aspects of any online community is large and active membership. It gives messages boards their life. I’d give HYPicks.com a knock for not having many active members as evidenced by the relatively few posts even though it boasts a relatively populated membership list but it’s a baby in the cyber world so I’ll cut it a break there. It has such a good concept I can only hope it will catch on.

Workability
There are several aspects that come into play when considering how well a message board works. HYPicks.com gets a thumbs up on most of them.

•    Registration: Fast, easy, free—every criterion you could possibly want from a message board sign up.

•    Functionality: No hiccups that I could find. Everything works well.

•    Maneuverability: Everything is laid out simply and easy to find. The HYPicks.com site loads quickly and with no perceived problems.

•    User Controls: Thumbs up. Easy to use, and there are all the requisite message board requirements such as signature lines, avatars, and the rest.

•    Picks and Hits: A value based algorithm allows for topics featured on the home page of the site for quick view to be determined by response so that viewers get a quick view of the freshest content with the most traffic and responses. This excellent feature shows the value of each thread due to popularity rather than the numbers game sites such as Digg provide. HYPicks.com is about the Hype that surrounds each topic not rigging numbers.

•    Statistical Information: One area I find the HYPicks.com board lacking is the complete absence of easy to view board statistics showing who is on, who is viewing each thread, how many overall members the board has. While not completely necessary many forums have such statistics readily available on the bottom of each page and while serving no ‘real’ purpose those facts help to strengthen the feel of community and can boost activity. Plus it’s just nice.

•    Unusual: A blog, that’s not something you normally see in association with a message board but HYPick.com has a blog to keep you updated on activities, current trends and topics, and probably any possible hiccups the site might endure as it grows.

What Can HYPicks.com Do For You?
Just like any message board you can do a lot to promote yourself, your ideas, or your website with a forum if you do it right. The nice thing about HYPicks.com for exposure is that it is so diverse you are not locked into a click or niche.  Some of the ways you can use HYPicks.com are:

•    If you have an opinion you can voice it.

•    If you have a website put a link to it in your signature line.

•    Add your Twitter name and all the common messenger info for further networking.

•    Start a topic on your own blog posts, website info, or products.

Final Thoughts
HYPick.com is a clean and easy to navigate message board with some unique qualities to set it apart from the crowd of forums online. With a little advertising, some extra word-of-mouth, and maybe a few more months it could easily become ‘the’ place to be online.

With all the listings on a search engine, the millions of websites and billions of pages, it’s not about strategy but about survival when I say that small businesses hoping to gain some notice online absolutely need SEO. It’s just a matter of fact. Small businesses with small visibility need all the help that they can get, and SEO is just the help they need.

Here’s an illustration from my own life. I was at a wedding recently, and it came time at the reception for the garter toss. Now the dance floor was full of eligible bachelors, each vying for the front row position so they could catch the good luck charm. One bachelor in particular was comparatively shorter than the others, and I knew from first sight that he had no shot.

It was true. There was no way he could jump higher, out-wrestle or out-will the other men to get that garter. The only chance he had was if the wind just happened to pick the garter up like the leaf in Forest Gump and gently land it in his waiting arms. Needless to say, neither he nor I were holding our breath.

Now, if you’re an eligible small business, waiting on the market dance floor to grab the searching user so you can have more success in the future, you don’t want to rely on happenstance. You need to have a strategy. You need help, and that help is SEO.

Why SEO?

SEO helps you compete with the “big boys” by boosting your page higher on the search engine lists than theirs. The size of a company doesn’t matter to search engines, and it doesn’t matter to users.  Users care about two things: where you are on the results page (because most absolutely will not go past the second or third page, if those) and how trustworthy your site appears.  Through SEO you can earn the coveted front row position.

SEO also costs much less than traditional advertising, which works well for a smaller budget. You can utilize many of the tools on your own without talking with a SEO specialist. As long as you have a little know-how and little more patience, you can begin optimizing your webpage with relevant content and media.

Yet, even when you use an SEO specialist to help run your optimization campaign (highly recommended), your budget can remain much less than trying to market on your own, and a little money goes a long way. By investing just a little into an SEO campaign, you can receive a lot of new and promising traffic.

Don’t be caught at the back of the line waiting for chance to choose you. Take hold of your own future and compete with all the businesses, whether large or small. SEO is what you need.

Editors note – updated information

This post has been updated with some cool tools to clean up your follow and no follow ride on Twitter.

The more I am on Twitter the more I love it and hate it. I have become very active with this new toy, or should I say Tool, and interested in how to best use it in this social online phenomenon. I have been doing a lot of reading and testing out new tools, which has caused me to change the way I Twitter.

A few have noticed and commented on it. Some days I am so busy I don’t even have time to go to the bathroom, let alone check my Twitter updates, but I did promise those people that I would write about my Follow or no Follow rules. So here it is…

For those of you on Twitter, I am sure you each have a certain criteria by which you use the program. There are tons of articles out there on how they got tons of followers and they all live happily ever after. Some articles are great, like “11 Ways to Lose Friends and Followers Online” by Brett Borders.

Needless to say, I was surprised at some of the examples. Surely, people aren’t that naïve, ignorant, and, yes, downright idiotic. However, he responded to my question with: “All of these were real updates taken from my Tweetdeck. In some cases, the names or the avatars were changed to protect privacy but the updates were for realz.” Well, that took me by surprise. It goes to show you, never doubt the ability to make a fool of yourself in large crowds.

Another article I enjoyed, “Twitter & the Law of Reciprocity” written by Kristi Colvin, was another spot on description of this very topic. She goes so far as to post diagrams to illustrate her point. What it boils down to is this: we are not going to agree with everyone’s suggestions, but everyone is arguably right.

A site I happened upon that also touched on the follow to no follow examples was a cute video that shatters the honeymoon, but allows you as the viewer to engage and really appreciate the comic side of Twitter. The message is clear: don’t engage by posting noise, but engage by posting valuable information. With that said, let me also say that not everyone is going to like you; it’s just a fact of life.

Therefore, whom do you follow and how can you make a difference with your followers? There are several tools for following people in your niche market. Here are some ideas for “Managing Your Twitter Followers and the People You Follow”.

In my humble opinion, following people is simple; it’s about building quality versus quantity. The best way I can describe my follow to no follow rule is with this break down

• Following friends is the first rule of thumb
• Follow your competitors
• Searching keywords that you are interested in
• Follow people that come across your feed that have something interesting to say
• Sometimes I peruse followers from others profiles and have made some good contacts
• Follow people that RT

Don’t follow

• People that make a lot of noise (i.e.; I am bored, I am in my car, I am sexy etc.)
• Spammers (they are easy to spot either a bulbous blond or they have no history on their posts basically spam)
• Those who post nothing but their own stuff. (check out my blog; check out my article; check out how many followers I have)
• People with automatic “Thank you for following” sales messages (unfollow!)
• People who consistently post dead links. Generally, these are wanna be spammers. However, even if they’re not, if the links are always dead and they’re always posting links instead of anything else mixed in, they’re not doing anything for you anyway.

You’ll build your own follow and no follow rules as time goes by, but if you break them down you’ll find that most no follows are due to boredom, irritation or disgust.

Boredom – those that are monotonous. They never have anything to say.
Irritation – what they have to say is not worth it or sales.
Disgust – those that auto post. You can tell – they post fifteen messages in a row.

Here are some tools that will help you clean your Twitter noise.

Buzzom’s : Grow, Flush, Reciprocate, Cross follow. Pretty cool actually I have been cleaning up some dead weight!

Manage Twitter: This is a real easy way to see who’s been missing from Twitter which I love. Including mass unfollow! After all it’s one of the way’s I can add “real” valuable followers.

What are your no follow and follow rules?

For some time, SEO has been expanding into the global marketplace, targeting multiple countries in order to gain more international traffic and a larger link base. Firms have desired to gain the attention of foreign searchers, not only for their business but also for higher rankings. Yet, many have fallen short in one critical area as far as I’m concerned: local content.

For those firms, localized content has been seen as a non-essential when doing SEO in the global marketplace. But why is this? Why would it not be one of the top-priorities? If Geo-targeting is so important for SEO here in the US, then why it would not be the same for an international target?

The fact of the matter is that it should be the same. Reading local content will not only cause more satisfied searchers, but it will also bring more users and raise your authority status and your trust/relevance levels. More searchers will turn to you for information because you’re speaking and presenting information to them personally.

What do I mean by local content?
Well, first the content must be in at least the country’s language and at best in the region’s dialect. For example, if the country you’re targeting is Germany, then you should be offering content in German. If the country is Austria where German is spoken, however, you should use Austrian German, since they use that more than Germany’s German (High German, Shwabish, etc.)

I’m not talking about settling for a word-for-word translation like you can find on Google. If you’ve ever read one of those translations, then you know they just don’t cut it. In fact, it turns you off from using that website and makes you want to find a site or article that’s easier to understand and sounds more fluid.

Next, the content should be relevant to the target country and interesting to them. Just like you wouldn’t talk to people in the desert about the benefits of having a heated pool in their backyard, so, too, you shouldn’t write content that means absolutely nothing to your target country. Instead, localize the information presented.

How do I provide local content?

This isn’t as hard as it may seem. You might not know all the languages you should utilize and chances are great that you don’t have in-house access to fluent speakers/writers. They’re not far away, however. A quick search can find you writers that can easily prepare localized content for you, or translate pre-written content.

Spending the money to get the right content is worth it. It doesn’t take much, but it will go a long way. As you already know, a satisfied audience means more audiences in the future. The only way to sufficiently achieve this is localized SEO content.

Can I help it that I am smiling from ear to ear? I have been floating on air for the last 24 hours. Let me explain. I have been telling our clients and writers alike to engage with our readers for quite sometime. Of course, their response is “yes” then they never do anything about it, or should I say their response is “I never get anything out of it”. Quite honestly, I wonder if people know what “Engage with your readers” really means.

I asked one of our clients to join every Social network they thought would have their target market and start engaging them in NON-sales copy. If you are into online marketing, you can see the blank looks on their face. You see, we are entering a second Internet phase; businesses are downsizing and trying to stretch every dollar looking for efficiency. They’re shifting their budget from PPC, while using SEO for organic traffic.

What does that mean? In simple terms, great content with a mix of social media. The new era of marketing, which created the foundations of marketing on the web, made its way to a new buzz in the industry – Inbound Marketing.

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound Marketing focuses on bringing the customer to the business, instead of the business searching for the customer

In outbound marketing, the “traditional” way, companies use poorly targeted techniques to bring in customers. They use radio and T.V. advertising, spam, cold-calling, print advertising, junk mail and more. In other words, they use every method that most people get irritated about.

These techniques are long out-dated, less effective and more expensive, thanks to technology. TiVo, spam filters, caller ID that blocks cold calls and tools like RSS render print and visual advertising almost useless. While these methods of advertising still work to some extent, it’s much more expensive.

Inbound Marketing flips outbound marketing on its head.

The Internet opened up whole new avenues and marketing possibilities. Instead of television ads that scream at potential customers to “buy, buy, buy”, or junk mail that gets thrown away, inbound marketing has a gentler, more persuasive technique. Entertaining, informative videos, interesting blogs, useful content and tools – inbound marketing is a soft, inviting whisper rather than a pounding sledgehammer. With these tools and techniques, highly qualified customers are attracted to the business through a combination of curiosity, confidence and trust.

The Three Components of a Successful Inbound Marketing Campaign

1. Content: Every Inbound Marketer knows that content is king. Information and persuasive writing, helpful tips and tools help attract potential customers to the company’s website or business.

2. Search Engine Optimization: Potential customers find this informative content much easier through SEO. Building your site, and building up inbound links to your site, through optimization and website design “best practices” maximizes your search engine rankings. SEO brings your product, website or company into the public’s eye, so they can begin the buying process.

3. Social Media: When the content is truly helpful, informative and interesting, people tend to discuss it with their friends, family, co-workers etc. Distributed across several networks, it gains credibility and authenticity, making it more likely to draw people to your website.

You’re wondering what any of that has to do with the smile on my face? In one day I was able to prove that using inbound marketing can not only save you money by getting free targeted traffic, but you learn that investing in your company’s future sometimes has it’s rewards without trying.

I was featured in Business week.com for engaging in Social media. That alone has sent our website a nice boost of traffic. I know I may not get all that‘s out there the way I see it nobody does, but the new business I do get can result in a higher base of happy customers, more referrals, and ultimately more sales.

(Editors update: on some of the Twitter tools I did not want to list… they now seem as important as ever. We wrote 5 posts on over 160 Twitter tools)

Since I have been on Twitter I have seen the oddest widgets and gadgets popping up. Sure – give me more bookmarks and reasons to have a long list!  Not.

Look – you have to be conscientious and proactive when dealing with a new Social networking outlet.  I should know; I work on the Internet.  We try, and sometimes are quite successful, at new software, gadgets and media.  With that said, I have only been using Twitter for about one month and it wasn’t until a nice Canadian @orenoque asked me to look at some of the tools he uses.  So I am thinking this is a hot tool if you can dice and trim all of the fat.

Let me explain.

Everyday I get anywhere from three to six new links that I find interesting.  Most are focused on how to use your Twitter to maximum capacity. I can see how one might imagine strapping goggles and a flight hat on before sitting down to use this turbo tool.  I am not going to bore you and give you another list of all these tools.  Suffice it to say, you can Google Twitter tools and see hundreds of pages on the subject.

For example, some Twitter tools deal with how to mass DM (direct message) your followers.  One is about managing the whole experience named Tweetdeck. While I am still trying to figure out what the whole experience is, I tighten my goggles, tuck my hair in and move forward.  Yes, Twitter is hot, but I have to be honest: sometimes it’s boring, yet watching your followers grow is a feat and enjoyment in itself.

Maybe saying “boring” is a bit unfair, but I really do get bored when the people I am following are merely spewing links that really are of no interest to me.  The ones that really bug me are the ones that constantly promote their own agenda.  I am not saying don’t do it, but give us all a break (and you know who you are, @’s).

Granted, I am a newbie, but I have seen my followers grow to over 300 in less than a month.  I truly believe it is due to paying attention to what works and how to maximize your Twitter-ability.

Then I happened on this tool, Tweet Effect. Well, let me tell you, if you took marketing 101 in college, you would have loved this gadget.  Can you imagine how many papers you could have aced if you only had a tool that could quantify and qualify your results?  The only problem is they do not save or generate reports on their results. Therefore, your best bet is to copy your numbers.

Another great tool that I recently find is Qwitter. It’s a great marketing tool, because it lets you know someone quit following you, and on what post.  Between Tweet Effect and Qwitter, you have a strong chance of finding out what interests your target audience and what doesn’t.

Maybe I am putting too much emphasis on the quality of my followers and I should be happy I have any followers at all. The way I see it is even if you have hundred of followers, remember we want to hear about a variety of things – not just how wonderful you are and what a great tool you have created.  Give me ideas of how to harness my creativity, give me snippets about people in your life, and yes, a “good morning, how are you” is always welcome.

In conclusion, I would love to hear what your favorite Twitter tool is and how it has helped you grow your business.  If you can muddle through all the tools out there and find just a few to can harness the power of Twitter, then strap your goggles on and get ready to become a Twitter expert.

Internet competition

As most SEO service providers know, your competitors are rarely the companies you think they are.  With businesses that aren’t Web based, the competition is easier to find; if you sell medical supplies other companies that sell them are your competitors.  It’s not so clear-cut with internet marketing, however.

If you’re starting at the bottom as a new website owner, it’s an unrealistic outlook to consider the head dogs – who have been in place for years – as your competition; good SEO service providers will tell you this.  When building a web-based business, the competition isn’t necessarily those that sell what you sell.

Instead, you’re competing for placement, with SEO as a main way to wrestle your way to the top of the Google SERP (search engine results page) dog pile; and SEO means keywords.  Those keywords are the first step to finding your direct competition.

Finding Your Competition

Although SEO service providers each have their own methods for competitive benchmarking, you can take some basic steps on your own to get an idea whom your competitors are.

1. Put the keyword or phrase in the search bar and see how many results come up.
2. Write down (or copy/paste into Word) the number one site for each search phrase you use.
3. Use the same keyword search with the “intitle:” command and “inanchor:” command.
4. Write down the sites that come up in these results.

The sites in the number one positions and those that come up for the “intitle:” and “inanchor:” searches are your most likely competition.  Although there are other things SEO service providers can do to narrow down the list, you now have a broad idea of who you’re fighting for the top position in your field.

Researching the Competition

Now that you know who they are, find out what they’re doing that makes their site more visible.  To do this, first look over their content.

Is it informative, interesting and high quality?
Does it stand out?
How is it different from yours?

If content is an issue and writing isn’t your forte, most reputable providers offer SEO copywriting services as well.

Look at their navigation and take in the details.  If yours is more complicated, perhaps that’s an issue.  You want your navigation to be as uncomplicated as possible, but set up in such a way as to guide your visitors to interesting places on your site.

A word to the wise:  While you’re looking over the competitors’ sites, don’t make the mistake of some SEO service providers.  Don’t get so stuck on the idea of “I can do better” that you forget the bottom line, which is taking the best of all their sites and forging a top of the line site of your own.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to take notes!  That way, when you’re ready to hire your own SEO service providers you’ll actually understand a little bit more of what they talk about and how they do it. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to pull my hair out trying to explain to clients the value of writing SEO copy.

As a matter of fact, you can see successful bloggers Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, and Michael Martine for examples; these guys are on the top of the Social Marketing ladder. They are rock stars in social marketing media. Who do you think are their competitors? When it comes to the Internet – anyone who wants to strive for the top!

Links are a good way to raise your Google rankings, bringing clicks to your website.  How many links you need depends on your key phrase competition (the number of sites using the same key phrase) and the quality of those links.

To get an idea of how many links your website requires to raise your rankings, look at the top 10 ranking sites on Google and record how many links Yahoo notes for each; Google doesn’t display all the links a site has.  The average link count will give you a good indication of many you will need.

The number one rule of link building is to keep them relevant.  Topical relevance is an important part, allowing your inbound links to give your site the most value; if the entire site linking to you is relevant, so much the better.

Grabbing Links

There are many ways to get links and a higher amount of clicks to your website.  Below are just a few:

Paid Links
Google frowns on paid links, but they do work.  You can find highly reputable and relevant websites offering paid advertising spots.  In many cases, if these links are coded to link directly to your website without passing through any tracking redirects, you’ll see value in both direct traffic and increased link densities and rankings.

Articles, Press Releases, Blogs
Distributing industry specific articles is a great way to boost both your link counts and clicks to your website.  Be sure to include a link to your landing page somewhere in the article, or at least in your bio.  Try using a key phrase as part of the anchor text for additional value.

Press Releases and blogs are also good ways to generate clicks to your website.  The key here, however, is to use low competition, high search keywords, along with good, informative content.  The other part, for any content, is update, update, update!

Forum Posts
While these are helpful in link building, they come with a warning sign.  Only add a link to your site in your signature if the forum allows it, and if you’re a respected member.  If you’re a solid contributor with well-written posts, the link may give you some good traffic.  If not, and you post randomly, it may come back as negative marketing.

Inbound links play a significant role in successful Google rankings, which, in turn, brings more clicks to your website.  By focusing on relevant links and diversifying where you get them from, you can build a solid foundation for your search rankings today and into the future.

Dear Readers... I made a cake today...

Everybody and their dog seems to have a blog these days. I even know someone who set up a blog for his cat, I kid you not. Blogs seem to be the new way for the immense populace of the Internet to tell us things about themselves nobody ever wanted to know. In the vast majority of cases, nobody ever will, either. There are so many blogs out there, the odds of one blog being found, read and liked are astronomical! So, why should you even have one, and if you do, what good can it do you?

Well, first off, blogs give you the opportunity to try things out before jumping out there into the public sphere. If you have friends on your blog, you can give them the opportunity to read a website topic before making a fool out of yourself. Most blogs come with options for the level of public access you want any given post to have.

Second, blogger communities are usually pretty large and inclusive. If you provide decent quality content and participate in the community at all, you’ll generally be able to find a readership in fairly short order. The key words there are “decent quality content” and “participate”. If you don’t want to provide those two things, you probably shouldn’t waste your time. You don’t even have to do all the writing yourself, plenty of SEO copywriters can write decent blog posts for you. Regardless of the method you choose, you have to give pleasant, easy to read information. The other half, participation, can also be done either by you or by someone you hire.

Participation means that comments on your blog get answered as they come in, and relevant comments happen to other people’s blogs under your username. Comments should not be cheap excuses to post your links. Instead, you or your writer should only comment if you actually have something to say in response to another blogger’s post.

Once you get your blog up and going, and you have some people reading it, your blog gives you an unparalleled way to communicate with your customers. You can post teasers for upcoming product releases, you can post solutions to problems you’ve heard about, the possibilities are endless. You can even occasionally use your blog to sound off about something that annoys you related to your business. If you do this last, remember to keep it civil and relevant. Blogs also let you do easy customer polling, give your consumer base a way to connect with you, and make you look more “real”.

When used badly, blogs are a serious waste of time. However, if you’re committed to doing them well, a good blog is an invaluable asset to any online business.

As a writer of SEO articles, I’ve been asked several times what keywords are and what SEO means. The meaning is easy: Search Engine Optimization. The explanation is difficult; there are so many SEO tools for on-page optimization, the information would fill a thick book. However, I can give a brief explanation of how the articles are done and how they work.

When building a web presence, the main consideration is how to bring quality views, known as clicks, to your website. One of the ways to do this is by creating optimized articles using key words and phrases. Why would you want to do this? Because it’s also one of the top ways to get Google Ranking.

Briefly, here’s how it works:
Keyword Research – Keywords are words or phrases that users search for. Though any word or phrase can be used for this purpose, you want to ensure that those you choose would be used in a search. You may want to use professional SEO service providers for this. They will provide you with a Keywords analysis and a competitors analysis. These vary in prices, but are well worth the time and money spent.

The Articles – When writing SEO articles, the main element is how the keywords are used and how often. Those knowledgeable in writing SEO articles recommend that you choose two or three keywords, or one key phrase, and use them in strategic places.

The Finished Product – Once you have your SEO articles, it’s time to do your own internet search. What you’re looking for are places that allow article submission or directory submission.

Article and directory submission sites allow you to submit your article along with a Meta tag description – which, by the way, will also hold your keywords. Once your article is submitted, anyone who types in that search term will now see your article, which has links to your website.

A tip: Ensure that your keywords won’t stand out in the copy. Most Internet users understand they’re being manipulated; they don’t want to see the actual manipulation. This could be detrimental to what you’re trying to achieve – clicks to your website.

Finally, do your research, stay informed, and good luck on your future SEO articles!

Are you looking for ways to create an effective SEO campaign with good copywriting skills? Then make sure to use some of the smart and powerful tips for on page optimization techniques given below.

Top 5 ways to improve your site visibility

- Use rich keywords and high quality content
SEO service providers constantly need to focus on improving the quality of the website content. They do this by using search engine friendly mechanisms while writing SEO articles. It pays to do good research on the most popular keywords; those keywords that have high rank and relevance among top search engines.

-Title tags can be more descriptive
One of the common mistakes which SEO service providers often commit is to ignore the importance of title tags. Title tags should be relevant to your business needs, and must be appealing enough to evoke the interest of the audience at the same time. There are more chances of your site being indexed high by the search engines as well.

-Focus on specifics using Meta tags
Descriptions that are more generic may not help in marketing your online business, so make sure to use Meta tags that give specific information to the audience. You can highlight the special features, advantages and any other vital information on your product using interesting descriptions.

-Make the HTML tags more effective
If you want to lay emphasis on certain sections of the written text, then the best way is to use HTML tags to highlight them. They help in clearly defining the vital sections of your webpage, and search engines attach a high level of importance to these elements.

-Use different methods of link optimization
SEO service providers must remember to include some of the vital elements of link optimization for better search engine optimization results. The use of anchor text and internal and external outbounds links can be quite helpful in this process.

On Page optimization methods can make a huge difference to online marketing, and maximize the chances of ensuring higher success. It is in the best interest of the SEO service providers to realize this and act quickly.

For all those aware of the various online marketing techniques, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not an alien term.  For the uninitiated, SEO is a procedure that involves using various techniques to increase the online visibility of your website, especially concerning search engines.  The main job of any SEO procedure is to increase the number of clicks, or hits, to your website.  This is achieved by directing online traffic towards your website with a few simple tools.

Many SEO tools will guide you towards an SEO optimized website.  However, the most commonly used SEO tools are: keyword research, keyword optimization and link building. The first step towards SEO is selecting the few words and phrases most relevant to the main business of your website.

The second step involves optimizing these keywords effectively in the text of the pages of your website.  Usually, including the keywords in the form of Meta tag descriptions (i.e. those that describe your website to the users in search engines) is the best way.  Building inbound links on your website, which will also improve your search engine rating, is next.

The two ways to increase the number of inbound links are “article submissions” and “directory submissions”.  Article submissions come in the form of links on other websites and build up further traffic to yours, helping your online marketing campaign.  Directory submissions help by bringing you a number of inbound links and therefore, automatically increasing the ranking of your page in the search engines.

With the increase in online business and marketing strategies, almost everyone is making use of SEO as their marketing strategy.  What can be done in order to make a difference, then?  The answer comes in the form of the integration of SEO with PPC (Pay-Per-Click) marketing.  These are sponsored links and greatly improve the website visibility.  Going via the PPC route ensures that your website comes up amongst the top results in any of the search engines.

For those not interested in Integrated SEO with PPC, ensuring your website gets top ranking in any search engine will require further checkpoints.  Google ranking, for example: Google has its own pointers to base a website’s ranking on.  Some of the top ways to get Google ranking are listed below:

The more inbound links that a website has, the better its page ranking will be, depending on the nature of the inbound links.  The better the PR value of your website (i.e. inbound links), the higher the page ranking.  To increase the Google page ranking more, ensure that the Anchor text – or the text in Meta tags – contains proper keywords that match the text of the site or page.

With the above tools and pointers, the Search Engine Optimization along with the Pay-Per-Click marketing, your website will surely start facing a swarm of clicks and hits.  In turn, you will be flooded with business, fulfilling the motive behind the marketing campaign.

There are about a zillion companies promising to get you more traffic. They’ll take your money and, indeed, you’ll find your traffic spiking through the roof. There are a variety of tactics these companies use to drive this traffic to your site, but the question for any Internet business is not how many visitors you get, but how many sales.

The traffic provided by these companies is usually not the sort that will earn you many sales at all, because the visitors you get weren’t looking for your product or information on their own. These companies use tactics just to get high numbers you have to pay for, not to get quality visitors who are searching for information or better yet, ready to purchase.

The way you get the kind of quality traffic you want is first, build a cracking good, properly search engine optimized website. Any decent website ought to offer at least thirty pages of quality information and no, your catalog doesn’t count. Each and every subject that might make a sale has information associated with it.

The job of the Internet entrepreneur is to offer a lot of that information for free. By over providing and giving the people who are looking for you more than their money’s worth, you build something much more powerful and profitable than a sale. You create a customer that will come back for more.

The second thing you can do in order to get traffic is to apply some basic Internet common sense. Don’t put all manner of flashy media up on your site. They’re hard for search engine spiders to read and they take a long time to load for people with less than optimal connections. If a door-to-door salesman hemmed and hawed at your door for three minutes, you’d slam the door in their face. Slamming doors on the Internet equal a fast click on the “back” button, and no entrepreneur can afford that. If you absolutely must include the flashy stuff, offer it in a simpler format for people who choose, and don’t put it on your landing page.

Get involved in your online communities. No matter what your business is about, somewhere there is an online forum about it. Don’t go on there just to get your links up, make a point of providing real, quality content and participation. However, don’t pass up the opportunity to put your website link in unobtrusive places like your signature and profile, either. If you post a message that looks like “Hey, come to <this website> you’ll see stuff you like!” you’ll probably get your post deleted and yourself banned quicker than you can say IP address. On the other hand, if you’re a decent, active and participating member of the community who provides real information and input, you’ll build repeat loyal visitors.

Create a blog. Again, don’t do it to be stupid. If the only purpose of your blog is to hawk your wares, skip it. You’ll be better off by not wrecking your reputation that way. Again, provide quality, relevant information and make a point of answering people’s commentary. On the same note, publish knowledgeable SEO articles with your website link in the signature. These two will drive high quality traffic to your site and will help establish you as a professional in your field. If you can’t write yourself, hire a decent SEO copywriter who can.

You’ve probably heard all of these suggestions before. There’s a reason they keep getting repeated, and the reason is because they work. There is no shortcut to building an online business, but there are plenty of people who will rob you blind if they can.

Let’s clear up a few misconceptions that your professional SEO services may not have explained about PageRank (PR):

#1:  PageRank is the ranking on Google’s search engine.
It isn’t. Simply put, PR is an indication of how important one page is to the Web.  Google decides this by calculating the quality and relevance of the links to and from your page.

Before you go yelling to the company that provided your professional SEO services, understand that this doesn’t mean that PageRank isn’t important.  It is – just not in the way you may have thought.  PR is one of the main tools Google uses to decide your page ranking on the search engine; with the creation and use of Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), PageRank may become even more important.

#2:  PageRank provides ranking for your whole website.
It doesn’t. For that matter, the Google search engine doesn’t rank your entire website, either – one of the many reasons landing pages and site maps are such good tools to use.  While some professional SEO services proclaim that they can raise your website’s ranking, in reality, PageRank and Google’s search engine both deal with only one page at a time.

#3:  The more links you have, the higher your PageRank.
This isn’t necessarily true. Professional SEO services aren’t lying to you; it’s possible to raise your PR with a large number of links.  However, a high amount won’t mean anything if the sites you’re linking to have low PR values.  This is pointed out especially well in the case of websites that only have a few links, but the linked pages are relevant, high quality and have a high PR value.

#4:  Any link is a good link.
Not true and believing this can actually damage your PR. Google decides PR by “votes”.  When someone links to your page, it’s a positive vote.  However, Google also takes into account that page’s PR; the higher the PR, the more that page’s vote counts.

That goes for pages you link to, also.  Some professional SEO services don’t pay attention to the PR of those pages, when they most definitely should.  An outgoing link from your page to a PR0 page can very well get you penalized.  Link farms are a bad idea because of this; Google either ignores the links or penalizes you for them.

If this system seems unfair, look at it this way: If a hospital were trying to decide the best way to perform a surgery procedure, whose opinion should count more – the surgeon’s or the janitor’s?  Would you have that surgery if you knew a janitor decided how it was done?

While PageRank is important, be wary of the SEO providers that shout it.  Ask the companies how they would raise your PR.  Make sure their professional SEO services include a comprehensive layout of the campaign strategy, and keep in mind that the bottom line isn’t, “How do I raise my PR?“, but “How do I get more conversions?“

SEO was unknown not too long ago. It used to be that when you wanted to earn via the Internet, all you had to do was create and publish a website, whether a real site or a blog. Oh, at its inception, blogging was not common, and sites on the Internet usually contained advertisements for goods for sale as well as articles for general knowledge. .

As the Net grew, the methods by which one could earn grew proportionately. One current method is direct advertising, much like that done on radio and television. Here, articles directly refer to websites, or there are banners of advertisements in a website. The sites are paid by counting clicks on the website ad or link, or via the number of people who open the site itself or read the article.

The invention and use of search engines to look for topics and subjects on the Internet also changed the way articles are written. Since links in the articles can be used to bring the prospective customer to a site, search engine optimization (SEO) tools were refined to give the sites that contain those links a high rank in the search engine results.

Among the methods to attain top rankings is the Meta tag description. These are snippets of information in HTML code written just below the article title (though sometimes the location is not important), describing the contents and including the article’s keywords. Keywords are those words that are considered to be the topics or subjects the searcher may wish to know about. Meta tags are those word or phrases appended to the end of the article or blog to help search engines find the topics.

At first the website content writers or website creators were encouraged to attach Meta tags and Meta tag descriptions to their works. However, it turned out that search engines ignore them for the most part, or pay them very little attention. The engines will include the words and phrases in the search results as long as the words are in the articles, except that ranking may be low. In conclusion using keywords in your meta tags will insure you get higher ranking in the Search Engines.

The basic detail that any website owner looks for is how to effectively increase traffic to their website. New web pages are uploaded almost every minute, and on the Internet it’s all about where your page ranks on Google or the other major search engines.

Due to this competition, your efforts require intensive planning, research and development. The traffic on any web page is motivated mainly by the content of the page, back links from other web sites and how much information you provide on a certain topic. One of the best ways to advertise the page is by making sure it comes up in the first few pages of the popular search engines. How is that done? Read on.

The search engines check the webpage content for the presence of keywords. The page is rated based on the total number of keywords it contains that pertain to the search query, and then awarded certain placement. However, it takes more than just one page; it takes a minimum of 5 to 10 pages. I say “minimum” loosely since the competition has become fierce. Obviously, more relative content on your blogs, press releases and articles will give you an edge over your competitors.

The web page placement, therefore, is based on this in the final search result page. For a page to rank at the top of any Search Engines, the page should be optimized with search queries in mind. Optimizing the content of web pages for a search engine is no layman’s task. It requires the skilled guidance of professionals.

Professional SEO consultants provide SEO services that aim at optimizing the content for search engines. Their fees depend on the size and content of the webpage; they may offer various monthly packages, since this doesn’t happen overnight. The finished articles, entered on a client’s dynamic webpage, are keyword rich. They’re termed as SEO articles, where SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization. The consultants who provide these services are referred to, in turn, as SEO consultants.

As copywriters, we provide services by promoting the client’s goals via optimized, keyword-rich content. SEO copywriters usually work as freelancers, but may be associated with a SEO firm. They charge an amount proportional to the number of words and the time spent on the article, ultimately helping promote the site and increase traffic. This is not the only way, but it’s a start.

Since the major search engines are continuously looking at content, don’t be surprised if your page ranks #1 on Google one day then disappears the next. That’s another topic all together, though. Effectively increase more traffic to your website by being proactive in your content, make sure you are constantly uploading fresh material, and use your web-based relationships to get back links.

A. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a marketing tool used worldwide on the Internet in order to get higher ranking. Simple enough right? Afraid it’s not that easy, in this discipline one has to look at various attributes of their website. From content to links, link backs and last but not least their structure. Once you have had a good look at your website content you have to remove any impediments that are preventing your site from achieving it’s rightful place in the search rankings on the Internet. Therefore the question is why do we need SEO?

B. Since we are still in the SEO infancy stage there are a lot of changes happening. The major understanding everyone is finally catching up on is that users searching have what they coin as “local intent”. Basically the user is looking for someone close to them especially if you are a retailer or a local hardware store.

C. Did you know that 63% of all search made by users are made with the desire for someone locally? That is why you will notice a lot of search engines are adapting the zip code feed in the searches. I am sure you have seen this, especially if you are looking for a doctor. This new attribution is more prevalent and will hone the searches specifically to the users local area and not across the globe to china.

D. Search Mobile is a new addition to your of local search -Think about this ingenious idea now with GPS installed in all mobile phones it will automatically give you your criteria search locally since it already knows where your location is by your phone.

E. Who needs SEO is anyone who is on the Internet. More than 80% of users will start with a search. Therefore any business that wants to get more clients or more users on their sites needs to understand and ultimately use SEO properly.

F. SEO is also beneficial to your business regardless of whether you are brand oriented or not. It’s comes from the old school of marketing and advertising basically, keep your name and brand out there. Regardless of whether you are Pepsi, Ford, or a local TV station.

G. Therefore the question is should SEO be written for search engines or for the user? This is a common misconception that if you write SEO style then your users will come. NOT! The consideration is you have 2 things to deal with:

1. People using the search.

2. The robots crawling your pages.

Now the question you should ask yourself is who is going to buy from you? Regardless of whether you are selling a local product or are going for an International market will be people. Therefore make sure your content is written for people with flow and information. The search robots will pick those keywords up don’t worry.

H. The common mistake is that when you have someone writing your SEO they will offer all the tricks and shortcuts in order to get you higher ranking. They ain’t cheap either. Therefore stay away from those companies. They may very well get you a higher ranking but Google will catch up and tear you down like the cheap tawdry hustler you are.

All kidding aside get a professional to do this for you. If they tell you they can do this for thousands of dollars in 30 days then step away and don’t look back. It’s not easy nor is it legal. Any SEO writer worth their salt will be lying if they did not warn you that this is a long process, and a step by step of why you need SEO. Not because they cannot write fast enough or give you enough articles in order to get a higher ranking, but it takes time and we cannot change that.

The basic detail that any website owner looks for is how to effectively increase more traffic to their website. There are new web pages uploaded almost every minute. And on the Internet it’s all about where your page ranks on Google or the other major search engines.

Due to this competition your efforts require intensive planning, research and development. The traffic on any web page is motivated mainly by the content of the page, back links from other web sites and how much information you provide on a certain topic. One of the best ways to advertise the page is by making sure the page comes up in the first few pages of the popular search engines. How is that done? Read on.

The search engines check the webpage content for the presence of keywords and then the page is rated based on the total number of keyword it contains pertaining to the search query and awards certain placement. However it takes more than just one page, it takes a minimum of 5 to 10 pages. I say minimum loosely since the competition has become fierce. Obviously the more information you have from blogs, press releases, articles to relevant content will give you the edge over your competitors.

The webpage placement therefore is based on this in the final search result page. For a page to be ranked on the top of the Google page or any Search Engines the page should be optimized with search queries in mind. Optimizing the content of web pages with regards to search engine is no layman’s task. It requires the skilled guidance of professionals.
Professional SEO consultants that aim at optimizing the content for search engines provide SEO services. Their fees are based on the size and content of the webpage or they may offer various monthly packages since this does not happen overnight. The articles entered on their dynamic webpage are thus made keyword rich and are termed as SEO articles where SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization. These consultants who provide these services are in turn referred to as SEO consultants.

As copywriters at Level 343 we provide services by promoting the client’s goals via content that are then optimized by enriching them with strategic keywords. SEO copywriters usually work as freelancers or could be associated with a SEO firm. They charge an amount proportional to the number of words and the time they spent on the article. Ultimately helping promote the site and increasing traffic. This is not the only way but it’s a start. Since the major search engines are continuously looking at content don’t be surprised if one day your page is ranked #1 on Google then disappears the next day. But that’s another topic all together. Effectively increase more traffic to your website by being proactive in your content, making sure you are constantly uploading new fresh material, and using your web based relationships to get back links.

Well, most people often get confused when they read these terms. Web 3.0 and SEO are interrelated and to understand them in a better way, let us learn both these terms separately.

Web 3.0 or the semantic web is a web revolution. Here, the contents of web are in an easy expressive form. Software professionals and even SEO specialists can then interpret, understand as well as use these contents to find, share and integrate information easily and more conveniently than ever.

The features of web 3.0 include tagging, taxonomies, social networks. These features give better interactivity to individuals. Web 3.0 technologies are used in professional SEO services, interoperability, open technologies, open APTs, protocols, open software platforms, and mobile Internet.

The evolution of Web 3.0 has tremendously improved programmed database searches, thereby helping people to select different types of data such as picking vital information, relevant details or choosing vacation destinations.

Now, that you have some idea as what web 3.0 is, let us understand what SEO is.

What is SEO?

SEO is an acronym of Search Engine Optimization. It is a method to make your blog or web site, attain top ranks in major search engines. Here, you need to make proper use of keywords that relate to your products or services and position them in HTML. This increases the traffic flow to your web sites and helps you earn more profits.

In simple words, SEO is a sort of marketing strategy for web sites. Professionals such as SEO writers, SEO specialists, and professional SEO consultants are familiar with the working of search algorithms, mentality of Internet users, what such users look for. They create SEO rich web pages, web sites and SEO articles, so that people can easily locate those web sites.

Therefore, if you are an Internet marketer or have a blog to post and are planning to hire an SEO consultant, you need to choose the SEO services, which have enough experience and are efficient in WEB 3.0.

Be wary of doorway pages because some deceptive SEO specialists may mislead your content to some other sites. If this happens, then search engines will remove your site from their index. Since it is ultimately you hiring a company, you need to be sure to select a credible SEO company.

Thus, WEB 3.0 and SEO are very competitive endeavors, which require intense concentration and a thorough in-depth understanding of web features, search engine algorithms and mechanisms. The revolution is coming!

Recently, Live Search has updated their set of rules that includes

1. The Live search recently asked sites owners to have their keywords mainly in domain as well as sub-domain names. According to some SEO consultants, this is very useful for site owners to get a high PR for their web sites. However, the only drawback is that spammers can misuse this tactic.

2. Live search says that small text content is strong enough to get good page rank. As this contradicts with Microsoft’s intention to offer related search results, many people believe that authoritative and relevant sites have lots of content. Hence, this remains to be assured whether this tactic will work better or not.

3. The spam filters of Microsoft are highly susceptible to high keyword densities of web content pages than any other search engines. Hence, MSN supposed that erring with care and adhering to low keyword density would provide better results for their search engine results.

4. Currently, Live search engine places more emphasis on the newsworthy relevance of web site content for rating those web sites. Hence, web site owners need to ensure themselves that their content is highly pertinent to their web site and that their web site in the top list.

5. Simple code applies for all search engines, but Live search seems to reply far better than any other search engines, if the web site code is well written with a clear structure.

6. Live search presently is not very perceptive with respect to the quality of inward links to a web site. This implies that there are numerous cases of web site ratings being improved by huge number of low quality inward links. In addition, this appears to favor for those spammy search results and hence, this rule may not continue for a long time.

Overview

As compared to Yahoo and Google, the Live search is slightly immature that means that people can expect more changes in the algorithm of Live in the years to come. Hence, there is no need to worry about the present changes in the algorithm of Live search. Instead, SEO specialists and SEO service providers state that it is wise to use common sense when it comes to search engine optimization

Google Guidelines

I have been thinking lately that if part of you’re strategy is submitting your web site to directories for better exposure to masses, then you need to weigh the various advantages and disadvantages of directory submissions for your respective web site. Below are some pros and cons of directory submissions in my humble opinion.

One consideration is to have a solid plan regarding the frequency of your submissions and that you are not using duplicate content. A major advantage of directory submission is that it is an easy and rapid way to create link dispersion on search engines without needing to spend too much. Other advantages of directory submissions are:

1. For Permanent Listings: Many SEO specialists and professional SEO consultants consider that older links are of huge importance to search engines and they supplement not only the ranking value of your domain, but also amplify the resale price.

2. Anchor Text: You need to select skilled SEO writers to write good SEO articles for your content to ensure that your keywords rank top in search engines.

3. Screenshots: Quality web site directories and SEO service providers offer automatic screenshots for your web site to help you provide referral visits to your web site.

4. Deep Links: They are exceedingly helpful, if obtained from certain professional SEO services. Web sites with deep links are likely to perform much better than other web sites lacking them.

Disadvantages of Directory Submissions

Of the comparatively few disadvantages of directory submissions, one common disadvantage is that directory submissions are lingering and tiresome. Hence, do some additional work to optimize your web pages or content according to SEO editorial and SEO copy writing guidelines and then select the proper directories for submission.

As search engines adore web sites, which have appropriate inbound one-way links also known as backlinks, these web sites get special treatment during assortment. Hence, when you submit your web site to directories, it is vital for you to select the most appropriate category for your web site.

Next, avoid bulky submission services, as it is very difficult to check the quality of such directories. In addition, there is no assurance that your web site will rank among these services.

Remember that directory submissions are a long-term SEO strategy and not a link strategy. Hence, do not expect extreme inbound traffic from your directory submissions, but instead like everything else in organic SEO… have patience.

There are several advantages of directory submissions but it is a time consuming task. However, software may help to quicken the process, but you still need to supervise the process.

Overall, there are more advantages than disadvantages to directory submissions, and your web site can gain quality traffic from a well-studied plan of submission.

As a do-it-yourself SEO content developer, I hope to give you useful information from my own experience about how you should and should not use SEO for your website. Whether you have an SEO team working with you or are doing this by yourself, here are some more tips on how to promote your website during your spare time.

1.    Create search engine friendly pieces.

I have said over and over again that people want to read valuable information, not a barrage of useless nonsense. You need sites that search engines can read so people can find you. Do you know if your site is being crawled by search engines? Plug in your keywords to a search engine and see if your site appears. If it’s not there, you need to make your site search engine friendly.
Search engines will not read text embedded in your images. You have to use important keywords, hyperlinks in text, and use CSS as your “buttons” or image for your navigation link. This creates great anchor text that helps the search engine find you easier and faster. You also want to use some repetition (just don’t overdo it).

2.    Choose keywords wisely.
The right keywords make your SEO effort much more remarkable. Don’t just use random words. People search online the same way they think, which means they are likely to use a sentence. (Think about that, isn’t that the way you search online?) For example, if someone is searching for a hummus recipe, they are likely to type something in a search engine like, “how to make hummus” or “where can I buy hummus home made.”
I’ve already shared with you several online keywords tools that are available. Programs like Wordtracker can help with keyword and phrase variation. Go to my SEO tools, bookmark them, and USE THE TOOLS.

3.    Link to other businesses.
Business is all about relationships with your clients and other businesses. Do your homework, and find relevant sites that will link back to you. They’re out there. Just this past weekend I have found several sites where I added my link, and they reciprocated the link. Make sure the sites pertain to what you’re doing. Look for quality over quantity. You don’t want to turn off your readers with irrelevant information.

Here are some ways to get a link back to your site:
•    Press releases with relevance to your website.
•    Submission to good directories like Yahoo, Google, or (as Dave states) ALEXA.
•    Ask previous clients to use your link as a potential link back. This is important if you want to move up the PageRank ladder because Google and other search engines look to see how many links to your site are available.
•    Post comments and include links to forums, chat spaces, and logs that are relevant to what you’re doing.
•    Write articles that pertain to your business.
•    Become a member of a social media group. Join online neighborhoods like Facebook and YouTube.

Most of all, keep working at this. I know it can be frustrating, and you may not see immediate results. With some persistence, determination, and commitment, it will happen. I look forward to hearing from you.

Speaking of hearing from you, I’ve seen some of your comment about how helpful my articles have been. There are still a lot of you keeping quiet out there. Don’t be shy. I want to see a dialogue here to help everyone and would love to see you share helpful websites. We all learn together when we share our information.

Level343 has experienced a significant growth spurt, as well as increased recognition attributing this directly to the implementation of a proven 12 step SEO campaign.

Businesses thrive or shrivel based on marketing savvy. In the Internet world PageRank is key! So its paramount to utilize a strategy that will get your product or services ranked high on Google. They offer advice to their clients on how to market their business with their 12-step SEO campaign.

Gabriella Sannino, a 25-year veteran marketing analyst who also happens to be the CEO, leads the team of writers, MBA marketing analysts and SEO specialist at level 343. She has added an additional 3 writers to her team and has taken Level 343 to a new level of success.

With a diverse clientele from International company’s to smaller business owners Level 343 has honed their marketing plan to include a proven strategy that works “We have built an amazing website why aren’t the users coming? Is one of the questions I am asked daily by clients” said Gabriella Sannino. When asked to expound on her statement she said, “Some clients are busy with their daily objectives, or they don’t have the financial resources to hire an in house SEO specialist. From meetings, business development, to deadlines the last thing they understand is the importance of a full package online marketing campaign. Whether it’s keeping an eye on their daily PageRank with Google, Yahoo, MSN, or Alexa respectively, to writing press release, SEO web content including articles and blogs.”

Giving customers what they want 24 hours a day 7 days a week is one of the many facets Level 343 offers their diverse client base. From articles on how to write rich SEO content to free SEO tools anyone can use.

Since there are millions of SEO marketing companies online competition is fierce but Level 343 welcomes the competition and is ready to stand by their methods. The articles provided on their website are easy to read filled with pertinent information, uploaded daily. They have made it easier than ever by supplying their clientele with an RSS feed in order to update them.

Level 343 has a simple solution without hiding their methods. Their new 12-step Search engines optimization campaign is a comprehensive step-by-step method available online. Their white hat methods have garnered many new loyal customers. From Real Estate companies worldwide to small boutique agencies that have turned to Level 343 for their online marketing.

It is paramount to any successful business that their strategies include this 12-step SEO campaign. Implementing this strategy along with other services they offer is what has made Level 343 a successful business on the Internet today.

About level343: They are a team of professional SEO copywriters that can deliver high quality copy that will address all search behaviors including web site usability. Their staff consists of experienced content developers, translators, content developers, writers, along with friendly staff ready to make your web site experience as easy and successful as it can be.
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Web Site: Level 343
Contact Details: Level 343
6328 Bambo Street
Diamondhead, MS 39525
Phone: 1-228.586.6360
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For information on questions one may have you can go to the following link

When writing SEO copy for yourself or a client understanding their market is very important. It takes certain keywords from the client and certain creativity from the copywriter to blend the two. SEO is becoming a very specialized field. Like the dot.com era soon we will be saturated with SEO experts and basically no one will know who is good and who isn’t.

I stated in the dot.com era and I lived in the thick of it all. I was in San Francisco and let me tell you those were the days. We had a lot of young Internet cowboys that didn’t know what they were doing but they had the capital and the ideas to hire people like me to do it for them.

The importance of continuity in all your copy is like air water and bread in your life.
If you are a good writer than you are a stickler for good continuity. You never allow yourself to write a sentence that is not manifestly connected to the ones immediately preceding and following it. You want your prose to flow you want words to sprinkle on your lips like morning dew. Okay maybe I am getting too creative with my visualization but the point is simple. This is the only way to achieve great content.

How these connections are made is the key. The better the writer the less need she has for mechanical means of connecting ideas, sometimes too many which tend to clutter an argument. Instead you rely chiefly on a coherent understanding f what you want to say, a simple style, the occasional repetition of key words, and the careful use of pronouns such as this and that. Basically you can envision a master furniture craftsman who uses interlocking tongues ad grooves to do the work of nails and screws.

Sometimes, though, a situation will require more explicit connective- such as when the direction of the argument is turning or when an idea is to be paralleled or contrasted with an earlier idea. This is when we can use a conjunctive adverb or brief transitional phase to signal the kind of thought that is coming next. The following lists are ones that as a copywriter will come easily but if you are not a copywriter then they are handy to keep around.

Above all
Accordingly
Admittedly
Again
Also
Besides
But
Certainly
Consequently (and so)
Finally
First
For example
For instance
Furthermore
Hence
However
In addition (besides, also)
In conclusion
Indeed (in fact
In particular
Instead
In summary
Likewise (and)
Moreover
More specifically
Nevertheless (but)
Nonetheless
On the other hand
Rather (however, instead)
Second
Similarly
So
Still
Then
Therefore
Through
Thus (therefore, so)
To sum up
Yet

It’s a rather large list but I have many more but this is a good starting point. But the sheer number of transitional words indicates among other things how important continuity an argument really is. Continuity doesn’t magically happen; it is created. Great SEO copy doesn’t just happen it has to be created. The surest way your reader is going to stick by you is to know that your ideas connect. I suggest you keep this list close by next time you are writing copy for your website or your press release or any content you may be thinking of uploading to your site. Writing articulate copy is what will keep your reader interested making sure it’s comprehensive and has flow will make them come back. Now that I have given you a sample of  the importance of SEO come back and I will divulge the secrets of SEO copywriting.

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a marketing tool used worldwide on the Internet in order to get higher ranking. Simple enough right? Afraid it’s not that easy, in this discipline one has to look at various attributes of their website. From content to links, link backs and last but not least their structure. Once you have had a good look at your website content you have to remove any impediments that are preventing your site from achieving it’s rightful place in the search rankings on the Internet.

Therefore the question is why do we need SEO?

• Since we are still in the SEO infancy stage there are a lot of changes happening. The major understanding everyone is finally catching up on is that users searching have what they coin as “local intent”. Basically the user is looking for someone close to them especially if you are a retailer or a local hardware store.

• Did you know that 63% of all search made by users are made with the desire for someone locally? That is why you will notice a lot of search engines are adapting the zip code feed in the searches. I am sure you have seen this, especially if you are looking for a doctor. This new attribution is more prevalent and will hone the searches specifically to the users local area and not across the globe to china.

• Search Mobile is a new addition to your of local search -Think about this ingenious idea now with GPS installed in all mobile phones it will automatically give you your criteria search locally since it already knows where your location is by your phone.

Who needs SEO is anyone who is on the Internet. More than 80% of users will start with a search. Therefore any business that wants to get more clients or more users on their sites needs to understand and ultimately use SEO properly. SEO is also beneficial to your business regardless of whether you are brand oriented or not. It’s comes from the old school of marketing and advertising basically, keep your name and brand out there. Regardless of whether you are Pepsi, Ford, or a local TV station.

Therefore the question is should SEO be written for search engines or for the user? This is a common misconception that if you write SEO style then your users will come. NOT! The consideration is you have 2 things to deal with:

1. People using the search and
2. The robots crawling your pages. Now the question you should ask yourself is who is going to buy from you?

Regardless of whether you are selling a local product or are going for an International market will be people. Therefore make sure your content is written for people with flow and information. The search robots will pick those keywords up don’t worry.

The common mistake is that when you have someone writing your SEO they will offer all the tricks and shortcuts in order to get you a higher ranking. They ain’t cheap either. Therefore stay away from those companies. They may very well get you a higher ranking but Google will catch up and tear you down like the cheap tawdry hustler you are.

All kidding aside get a professional to do this for you. If they tell you they can do this for thousands of dollars in 30 days then step away and don’t look back. It’s not easy nor is it legal. Any SEO writer worth their salt will be lying if they did not warn you that this is a long process, and a step by step of why you need SEO. Not because they cannot write fast enough or give you enough articles in order to get a higher ranking, but it takes time and we cannot change that.

SEO Copywriters are a recent class of expert writers, who are fluent and prolific writers. SEO Copywriters have the talent to influence words in a way, which makes them seamless with both search engines and web readers alike.

SEO Copywriters will usually bid high since more often than not they will double the clients money. If expert writers or firms tend to show boosted Return on Investment (ROI) then that copywriter can write their own ticket. Several disciplines in SEO copy writing are available in recent times, but the eminence varies from one copywriter to the other.

Below listed are certain sectors, wherein SEO copywriting is essential and has become specialized:

• Newsletter Writing and Editing.
• Development of Tag lines both online as well as off-line to advance call to action.
• Press Release writing and optimization.
• Article writing.
• Web site Content Development.
• Blog posting.

Search engines and web readers adore new distinctive and superior content. Recently, search engines are advancing their techniques to determine quality content. SEO Copywriters provide the most vital factor in the SEO strategy. Hence, it would be wise to devote time researching for the right SEO specialist in the particular area for your Internet marketing needs.

Importance For Business:

It is true that; search engine optimization in combination with SEM including Copy writing is key to your Internet presence and success. But what most don’t know is, this is a vital feature to creating a successful a web site.

Almost every SEO Copywriter now days come from a background of direct advertising, marketing, copy writing techniques and web site marketing. SEO Copywriters, who are skilled view the merits of products or services from the consumer’s point of view and accordingly create the marketing content. I am sure you have heard me mention in the past SEO that is created with style, is king. Basically, if you can write with flow or without keyword stuffing, you will have plenty of work.

Professional SEO copy writers effortlessly merge vital key phrases into the marketing content without overlooking a translation flow. They also plan on organizing the page in order to contain maximum key phrase dispersion.

Therefore, appointing a professional SEO copywriter, particularly in the sectors of time-taxing marketing agencies or individual entrepreneurs may instantly help boost the Return on Investment (ROI) and status of a web site.

Below are some points, which companies or executives need to confirm before appointing SEO Copywriters:

• The SEO Copywriter under consideration needs to possess a minimum of one year of intensive SEO Copy writing experience with knowledge of basic HTML.
• It is also good to confirm the copywriter’s work experience in a search marketing company to gauge his/her Copy writing skills.
• To hire a professional SEO Copywriter is equally as important as making a valuable business decision.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals, or take a look at how their clients rank.
• I personally insist on looking at all my writer’s capabilities. If their page isn’t ranking high that’s fine but if their clients page isn’t ranking high then I gently but firmly tell them to come back when they can prove their worth.
• Correct words, selected by proven methods combined with the correct level of search engine optimizations are some of the top qualities found in an SEO Copywriters. They will certainly boost the effectiveness of the existing web design.
• Some SEO specialist will ask for $250 an hour… take it from me, send them packing. There is a lot of talent out there that can do the job for approximately $40 per hour.

In conclusion, it’s not the end all. When you find a great writer, don’t worry if they are not an SEO Guru. I say you are not born with SEO talents it’s something you learn and acquire with practice. If they are willing to learn the business they will take the initiative to read and educate themselves. Sure it helps if they know the basics but, the basics change daily therefore someone with drive and commitment is far more important than some “know it all” Guru. Well that’s my humble opinion.

12 SEO Steps

In simple and straightforward English, a SEO consultant is a person who can provide certified and expert search engine optimization services and advice to people. A fully qualified and official SEO consultant should advise people on all facets of their search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. Marketing SEO consultants are a rare breed.

A professional SEO consultant can help a person with every feature of online endorsement including but not restricted to:
1. Modifying the currently owned web site for the online search engines depending on their new keywords
2. Looking for the appropriate keywords that are commonly searched for in the Internet for a specific business
3. Rectifying and adding significant title, meta and alt tags
4. Carrying out advanced visitor behavior study and web analytics to develop conversation
5. Form and manage pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns to begin the business
6. Alleviating the site structure and usability to guarantee excellent search engine rankings

When a person undertakes a fresh project, a SEO consultant will make the person aware of all the details including the time scales and costs. This will ultimately create a honest and strong relationship between the customers and the SEO consultant. The problem is proving yourself as an SEO consultant, and not getting caught up in giving $40,000 worth of advice on a $300 budget.

Selecting A SEO Consultant:
There are unfortunately several SEO consultants around, who will cheerfully take a person’s money and will then never deliver the appropriate results. Sometimes there are certain SEO consultants who will optimize a person’s owned web site and secure the available top positions for a specific search term. However, a problem will arise since the person will not receive any additional revenue or traffic for all the expenses. Thus, the resulting search engine optimization will be a total waste of money and time. With that said my suggestion is you have an SEO campaign. Make sure it encompasses your whole online strategy. From your  vision, to your action, to ultimately branding yourself. These things should be well thought out.

The Ugly SEO
This appalling SEO consultant actually targets keywords that people do not commonly search for. Hence, no real competition exists and the top ranks are easily available since no one looks for it. This is not how a decent SEO consultant works.

A person can ensure by asking six specific questions before hiring a particular SEO consultant to carry out a search engine optimization.

1. What methods does the SEO consultant employ while executing a search engine optimization?
2. How long will the optimization process take?
3. What qualifies the consultant to provide expert SEO consultation service to a person?
4. How much will the optimization process cost?
5. What other web sites has the consultant carried out search engine optimization on and is there any way to contact them
6. What are the guarantees available?

The golden rule is that if you believe the SEO consultant then you can afford to carry out the optimization process. However if you are in a doubt then do not risk anything. In conclusion take the time and do some research. My best advise is have a relationship with your SEO consultant, then the sky is the limit. I cannot tell you how many times I have given clients freebies because I genuinely like them. It’s amazing what relationships can do.

Today I will explain what are some features and what is an Optimization analyst. Basically an SEO Analyst is a person who has a thorough understanding of SEO intricacies. Such expert works individually or as part of a team and looks after the optimizing search engine rankings, traffic flow and delivers the technical jargon per the requirement of the client.

Therefore, if you are running an online affiliate business or any other online marketing venture, you need to hire an optimization analyst to look after the SEO of the web site. Optimization analyst studies your online business, locates the target keywords and uses it as primary tags and secondary tags while promoting the web site.

Apart from this, the analyst formulates then creates keywords for the entire structure of web site. Some of the important tasks also include developing Meta tags, producing the linkage system for the web site, creating changes and applying it through FTP.

Optimization analyst communicates with the project leader or directly with the clients, and presents the benefits, then implements the changes on their web pages. Sounds simple enough right? Nope slow down partner, the basic talent and fact remains that the analyst still needs to figure out what the keywords are. You see people are paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars on the PPC campaign and not seeing results. Therefore it sounds easy enough but this takes certain SkillSets that require years of on the job training.

The Need for Optimization Analyst

When people hire an optimization analyst, they hope for the best results. There are numerous SEO optimization tools and procedures available so it becomes virtually impossible for an ordinary expert to single out the best approach for the company. Hence, one needs to hire a professional optimization analyst to get the job done.

Apart from this, if individuals are trying to target very popular keywords on their own, they may be able to enter few spots only. The reason is there are numerous search engines and each one of them has their own set of rules. What applies for one search engine may not necessarily apply for the other. Therefore, if people want to achieve better rankings for their web sites on all the major search engines, they need to hire professional optimization specialists.

These optimization specialists are expert in their fields and they have sufficient experience and proven strategies. They have adequate tools to monitor and study the competitors’ web sites and include best features in the web sites of their clients. Thus, they have the skill to help the online entrepreneurs to reach their desired goals.

Even the search engine advertising efforts become multi-level, if individuals take the help of the optimization analyst. They will assist you to obtain the desired conversion rates.

Some entrepreneurs do have enticing web sites but their search engine performance is nowhere. Like wise, some have good search engine standing but their sales are not up to the expected levels and their customers do not go beyond the landing page. In such cases, the optimization analyst can become a rock star.

In conclusion in order to achieve higher rankings and to boost sales, take the time and do your research.
• Invest money in your marketing strategy
• Research your competitors
• Test your landing pages and the keywords used on mini sites
• Lastly remember Rome was not built in one day, or one week, or one month
• Commit to at least a 3-6 month strategy

Nothing worst than starting a business without a vision or a plan. Look the ultimate goal here is to use all the tools at your disposal. The best one is in your mind, your vision, you.

Doing Business on the Internet is not like it used to be 10 years ago. Not sure if it’s just prevalent locally, or worldwide. But the quest and desire for anonymity provided by the Internet has thrown the “Freelance World” into a tailspin. When faced with clients in today’s market it should become an inspiration to turn the experience into a lesson to be shared rather than a Divine Discontent. After all Divine Discontent is the grit in the oyster before the pearl.

As a Freelance writer one of the goals is to cultivate long term working relationships with clients, which can afford the luxury of doing what you love, writing. It could be said that aspiration has always been to live and work artistically. From the onset any artist should be a great listener. With listening comes experiences that need to be shared with others. Since we are all afforded a place to post these artistic behaviors then allow me to share with you one of these pearls.

An artist has to access creative energy, concepts and inspiration in order to generate, create, and write the idea that wasn’t there before. Committed to the idea that they alone could provide, to leave a mark on the world. Being receptive to something new while honing their craft. It is only then they become more inspired. Priorities become an important factor in this field.

As an independent writer one has to respect their craft. Whether it means responding to emails immediately or using the phone, a door should always be open to communication. With that said, neither experience is profitable nor does it make business sense. Spending an average of 15 hours a week from sending out R.F.P.’s and submitting bids on potential projects can cut into a writer’s profitability. Adjusting to and accepting certain responsibilities will eventually become easier to balance.

This is part of doing business, therefore automating that process in the beginning of your freelance career is highly advised. Yet more times than not when competing in this industry, inevitably writers will face the ugly reality that outsourcing has given rise to and accomplished. Whether you are a buyer or a service provider the competition is fierce or maybe I should say farce. One has to compete with third world countries where they pack a room full of writers churning out copy for $1.50. Is it a smart decision then to invest that much time in “maybe clients?” It can be, if you are bidding on your area of expertise. First rule don’t bid on projects because you want to build an online or monthly portfolio. You will spend a lot of wasted time in the process. Focus on who you are dealing with, are they a legitimate company. This cloak and dagger most buyers play on the Internet is almost comical. Here are some basic things to do at the beginning of your quest for that particular project.

• Engage the potential client with email or a phone call in order to assess what sort of client they are.
• Are they emailing you back a response in an acceptable time frame?
• Do they respect your time?
• Do they keep telling you to call them back at another time?
• Are they clear about their expectations?

Let me assure you if you don’t answer yes to those questions then move on. You will be dealing with more of a headache than a happy experience. After all the reason I work as a freelancer is simple. I want to generate an income from my home. I want to spend time with my family and friends. I do not want to work for Corporate America, been there done that. People who know me will tell you, I don’t belong in Corporate America. I am too creative and my assertive personality to be a yes sir or yes m’am employee is just not going to go over well. The key to loving how you live is knowing what you truly love. It should be straightforward, this knowing what we love. But it seldom is. After decades of letting other people influence us—the media, the magazines, our mothers, and our friends—we’re going to have to go cold turkey. The only opinion that counts from now on is your own.

Once you have secured the project protect yourself. I cannot stress enough how this can either make the experience enjoyable or a complete and utter nightmare. Protecting yourself is going to add value to your time. Have a contract and have a time frame. Write it all down, including something as simple as how many revisions. Have the client fax you a copy after they have signed it. This will not only prove you as a professional but it will also make it VERY CLEAR to the client when they start to hum and haw’ing about what they expect. Getting a generic contract is easy, you can Google a search that will provide you with a plethora of “free contracts”. Add your logo to the template and always include a phone number and an easy way to contact you if there are any questions.

In this country business are popping up all over the Internet. Unless you are familiar with the business or have worked with them in the past I can assure you most are far from ethical, polite, or professional. Most hide behind email and big websites. They are nothing more than weasels, little rats flying at the speed of sound trying to sell their books or fast talk. Most will boast about how many employees they have and how many years they have been in business. Like I am impressed. If you have that many people on board and you are such a big shot why in the world are you dealing with a writer? I am sure they have better things to do like managing their multi billion dollar dream. Maybe it’s too much Viagra, and it has made the wrong head hard. Most who say they are CEO’s or have a snappy email signature are nothing more than want to be CEO’s. They have illusions of grandeur and live in a dream world of who they truly are. Listen, maybe they should have better Administrative Assistants or maybe they should mention from the onset that they lack certain business qualities.

You may be wondering what I am gripping about let me clear. If you are a writer and reading this let me make a suggestion spend as little time with flaky potential clients as possible. The way one can usually tell when this may be a flaky client is when they don’t respond to your email after they made a big deal out of their needs. The second reason is to help and inform the writers out there with information that is readily available to you. Private investigators are writers best friends. It’s not going to come cheap, however if you contracted a huge project and your clients has gone in communicato then contact an investigator and they will find them. These are some things you should do.

• Contact your local Better Business Bureau.
• Get as much information on this client as you can
• Send them a demand letter for payment or outline all the people you will involve.
• Send all documentation to you Attorney General.
• Always upload your work online to your web server.
• Leave it online until you are paid.
• Unless you sign a W.F.H. (work for hire) contract it’s yours to resell if you want. (I would suggest re-writing it just so you are not cheap and tawdry.)
• Don’t ever short change yourself.

As a freelance writer I find security and serenity in what I do. With that said the simpler we make our lives, the more abundant they become. I hope this information helped. Keep in mind that the outside world whether the Internet or the unknown darkness closes in. Inside is where you can find your own light. Be true to yourself and write excellent copy. Use each day as a canvass with 24 hours available to put brush to paint.