Sometimes we forget that not everyone is buried in online marketing like we are. In fact, most people aren’t… it boggles the mind. Did you know most people aren’t professional SEOs? Makes sense; if they were, we wouldn’t have jobs, but it’s that whole “circle of I” syndrome we keep talking about.

Buried in Marketing

Anyway, we recently received a reader question from a beginner in social marketing. For those of you who are inundated with the stuff, we’d love to see your additions in the comments.

Reader Steve wrote:

I’m new to marketing online and the social stuff seems overwhelming. I’ve read videos are a good way to go for marketing, and after I saw your video Managing & Monitoring Your Social Networks, I was wondering if you might have some insight and tips you could pass my way. Is YouTube really a good place to look at, and, if so, how do I get into videos? Any help you could give would be great.

That’s a great question Steve. We hope this answer helps.

Using YouTube As a Marketing Platform – Should You? Shouldn’t You?

There’s certainly value in using established strategies for online marketing – a fully optimized website, landing pages, PPC ads, and whatnot. However, marketing online is much like marketing in the physical world – it doesn’t do any good if you’re marketing to empty seats. You have to go where your target market is.

- And where can the target markets be found for most industries? On a number of social platforms.

Let’s face it – we’re in a social world. We want to communicate with each other, with businesses big and small, with friends, strangers and the world at large. Big brands and small businesses alike benefit from utilizing the social arena, as long as they’re wise in their efforts.

As we’ve said before in many posts, using social as a marketing tactic only works if you have the right social platform. The same goes for YouTube. Because of YouTube’s popularity, it’s possible to draw your audience to the videos you upload, but you have to plan your strategy out first. For example, before you ever post your first video, it’s a smart idea to draw an outline of your expected goals for using YouTube, as well as how you plan to get there:

• What will your videos be about? What specific topics will you cover?
• How will your videos help people to:
• Build a personal connection with you
• Fix their point of pain
• Learn, have a better life/job/business/family, or otherwise enjoy watching
• How do you plan to draw traffic to your YouTube account?
• Will you provide links from your site and/or blog?
• Will you be sharing your videos in your blog?

YouTube is far and above the most popular online video website today.  Harnessing its potential alone could boost your existing internet marketing strategies enough to greatly increase your bottom line. Use it carefully.

With that said, let’s cover four basics of video marketing:

1. Creating Professional Videos

Your videos can be you simply talking about the benefits and actions that pertain to your business.  Perhaps you could pick an interesting topic that leads people to become interested in what you do.  If you’re creating a video that has you talking, however, you’ll need a few things:

• A room with a nice look (your office will do)
• Proper lighting (a dark video will get less views)
• Quiet acoustics (to avoid abundant echo)
• HD quality web cam (these are quite affordable)
• Good quality microphone (also affordable)

If you’re not capable of doing so, ask a friend or colleague to help you set up, or hire someone to make videos on your behalf.  Remember that the content in your videos is more important than their quality – but quality matters, too, so do your best.  Compare your video against others in your industry to make sure it is bright enough and has clear sound before posting.

If you’re creating how-to videos and walkthroughs like the one mentioned in this article, you’ll need:

• Quality screen recording AND editing software (we used Screen Flow, for Mac). The ability to edit is important, obviously, but many screen casting products don’t offer this ability.
• Quiet acoustics
• Good quality microphone

Other tips for video creation:

• Add text pages into the video with attractive backgrounds for a nice touch, adding a little bit of “slideshow” feel
• Use annotations sparingly, if at all – if your voice and the few text pages won’t get the point across, neither will additional annotations
• Include links to your site and other videos in descriptions
• Include only relevant terms in your tags – don’t spam YouTube with non-relevant information
• Create video replies to other parties’ videos

Note: It might take several tries to get one video right. Don’t get discouraged. The first video we put out on YouTube took over 15 times before we got one we were (mostly… we’re perfectionists) happy with.

2. Create and Design Your Company’s YouTube Channel

Make sure your channel has a good background and picture. By clicking on “My Channel” and then “Edit Channel” (in the upper right corner), you can change how your page looks.

Connecting the dots:

Consider your YouTube channel to be an extension of your website. Where is your logo? Add the links to your site. Fill out the “About Me” section. Try to carry through with business colors throughout for continuity. Finally, make sure you include your other social networks (if any), so people can continue the conversation outside of YouTube if they wish.

3. Brainstorming on Ideas for Content

Talk to your staff and business partners about what might get attention on YouTube.  Also, look at the videos that get the most views and make sure your videos have content that can compete with those.

Here are 4 ideas that will help generate a buzz:

• “How To”: Explain to your audience how to do something.  You need not give away the farm; just share some basics about your industry.

• Humor: Anything that gets a laugh gets attention and may potentially “go viral.”

• Reviews:  Review other sites or technologies, or even speak about news events and give your opinion.

• Unique Content: Come up with something unique or an original angle on an existing trend.

 4. Be Active

To generate activity, you must first be active.  That is the only way to get more views and start a buzz about your YouTube channel.

• Comment on other related videos
• Message subscribers and friends of your page – keep the lines of communication open
• Be polite, and avoid shameless self-promotion
• Reply to messages and comments as often as possible
• Use your other social connections wisely to share uploaded videos – use unique comments (i.e. don’t use the same words with every social post)

Be Prepared and Be Patient – Video Marketing Isn’t Instantaneous

Learning Patience

Unless you hit the jackpot of video marketing, you aren’t going to become an Internet sensation over night. Be prepared to invest a lot of time until you get your viewership numbers up, and be patient with how long it takes.

Before you get upset and decide YouTube isn’t for you, look back at the videos you’ve done in the past and the number of views, likes, dislikes, etc. you’ve received. If some have far better results than others, try to do more that are similar. Finally, remember that building your business so you could worry about things like social marketing took time, too.

Steve, we hope this blog post helps answer some of your questions. –And again, if you’re a YouTube veteran, we encourage you to post your tips and links to in depth articles you’ve written or read, in case Steve and other readers would like to know more. If we get enough, we’ll update this post with a list of further reading.

Until next time, happy marketing!

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.

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!

Inbound Marketing

People say the darndest things. They really do. Some of these things come from individuals who think they know what inbound marketing is all about; some come from individuals who want to know what it’s all about. Some… well some are just letting words go from brain to mouth without any thought.

These sayings aren’t exclusively from clients, either. We’ve heard them from people applying for a job, others who supposedly knew inbound marketing, and still others who really do know what they’re talking about… but they didn’t think before they spoke.

Today, we decided to pull some of these sayings into a post. If you’ve said any of these things, we hope this post helps you get down to the truth of the matter. For the most part, we hope it’s just a good read!

Don’t Tell Your Inbound Marketing Client…

As an inbound marketer, you have a certain reputation to uphold. We’re still a growing industry, you know? The legitimate SEOs, SEMs and so on are shiny nuggets of gold in a huge bed of dirty, black coal. So, how’s about we don’t smudge the rare gold with acts of idiocy, m’kay?

1. I can guarantee you…
Hush your mouth. What happens if you do all your optimization and Google does an algo update that drops your client off the map? You can’t control the SERPs, Mr. SEO. -And quit snickering, Ms. SEM. Unless you plan on hunting down target markets and forcing them to pay at the point of a gun, you can’t control sales, either.

2. Meta data is for newbs.
Okay, so maybe you didn’t say it like that, but you said it. Metadata counts – to the consumer and for the click through. Try to broaden your horizons a bit, and realize that search engines come second, m’kay, honey? Thanks bunches.

3. Yes.
Yes is probably exactly what your client wants to hear. Good job on making them happy; here’s your cookie. –But, don’t say yesif you don’t know. You end up over promising and under delivering. It’s better to under promise and over deliver than the other way around.

Time for a reward

Don’t Tell Your Inbound Marketing Employer…

If you’re looking for a job in the inbound marketing industry, there are some things you just don’t say. A few of the biggest ones include:

4. I don’t have any experience; that’s why I’m here.
Of course you do, dahling… Since inbound marketing is still growing, many prospective employees seem to think all jobs are on the job training. This happens even when a job ad says 3-5 years experience needed. At the very least, do some reading on the subject before you walk in talking about the little green PageRank bar.

5. I right good, and can editor too.
Anytime someone applies to be a copywriter or editor, you can be sure grammar, punctuation and spelling will be looked at. We need strong writers; they’re awfully hard to find. That doesn’t mean we’re desperate enough to hire anybody who can put fingers to keyboard, though. Do yourself a favor and don’t rely on spell check (which, by the way, passed the heading of this section).

6. Your search is over. You’ve found your new…
No, the search isn’t over, and we haven’t found our new whatever. What we’ve found is an arrogant, overconfident douche who thinks they’re all that and a bag of Doritos. Show us your resume. Show us your portfolio. Show us what you’ve done. Let us decide whether our search is over, k? We know what we’re looking for, and we’ll tell you if we see it.

Thank you

Don’t Tell Your Inbound Marketing Firm…

An inbound marketing firm can be a joy to work with; by the time the project is finished, you’ve developed a profersonal (professional, personal) relationship with your project manager, at the very least. Yet, there are a few things you can say to really strain that relationship…

7. I hired you to do what I tell you to do.
No, you didn’t. You hired us because you weren’t getting the results you expected on your own. You expect us to provide you with these results. If we don’t, you’ll be all upset about it, and feel like we didn’t do our jobs. If you really want us to do what you say, alrighty, but we’ll take our cash upfront, please.

8. That shouldn’t be too hard.
This generally comes right after, “I want #1 ranking for that highly competitive term.“ Of course you do, and we’ll be more than happy to do that for you. –But, just so you know, we don’t do SEO fast food, here. That term is two-star, at least; it’ll take a lot of time, manpower, work and money.

9. I read somewhere that…
You can read a lot of stuff about inbound marketing; the fun thing is you can read a lot of dumb stuff about inbound marketing from people who don’t actually practice it. Don’t take everything you read and turn it into your marketing strategy. That line of thinking is a no-go for your business.

Crazy Sayings Span the Inbound Marketing Industry at All Levels

Crazy sayings like these span all levels of the industry: firms, clients and employees. These are just a few of the things we’ve heard, read and experienced for ourselves. If you’re involved in inbound marketing, we’d like to hear your “crazy sayings”. What have you heard, and how did you respond?

Your Social Network

For many, social media – in all its forms – is a steady diet of information, entertainment and interaction. It is the ultimate snack bar for informavores, serving up tasty bit-sized nuggets to tempt, tantalize, follow and consume. Therefore, it’s blatantly obvious when a part of the snack bar closes.

I don’t know about you, but I hate it when that happens. Little frustrates me more than stumbling upon a social media gravesite: the dead remnants of a poorly thought out social campaign. You’ve seen it, too, I’m sure.

You find a Facebook page with outdated information, or a blog that hasn’t been updated in weeks (or months). How about that YouTube account, with nothing more than the fantastic videos you watched last year? Or the worst part – they have liked their own post… I cringe, but move on.

You see, I’m not just a social media marketer; I’m also a consumer. As a consumer, I want to  use it efficiently, and I want my favorite companies to use it in ways that help.

Yet, many business owners – both big and small – embark upon this adventure without understanding how to use the platforms. This is a dangerous mistake. Your time and money are at stake here; you need to use them wisely. If you expect to use social media to your advantage—and not end up part of an online cemetery, you have to start with a well thought out strategy.

The Social Cemetery of Dead Campaigns

How does it happen – the death of a campaign, that is? Have you ever wondered what happened to the people behind the accounts you come across? Or, like many, did you just shrug and go on? This is an important question, because their stories teach lessons that could keep you from making the same mistakes if you only pay attention.

The average story goes something like this:

A day in the life of Joe & Tom

Joe heard from his friend Tom that Twitter was a good platform to bring in business. “How does it work?” he asks.

“You just go out there and talk to people.”

So Joe grabs himself a Twitter account, then tries to do what Tom suggests. He pours himself into trying to find people to connect with and talk to. He obsesses over follower numbers, finds out about Klout and obsesses some more. He posts religiously, checking back often to see if he got some kind of response.

Four months later, Joe is frustrated. He’s had few reaction, has less than 50 followers and little ROI for the time put in. He calls Tom back. “It’s not working.”

“Huh… Try Facebook.”

Joe lets his Twitter account die a painful death and turns to Facebook. He tries harder than before to connect and talk to people. Again, no ROI.

“Have you heard about Quora?”

…..

Joe is a quick, simple example. For many, however, it isn’t far off the mark. So what did Joe do wrong? If you’re a regular reader, you should be able to say the first part with me… He didn’t have a plan. Therefore, Joe is doing the well-trodden walk of shame, shuffling his feet into Never Should Have Socialed Land… but not so fast. How about asking things like:

What do you want social media to do for you?

You wouldn’t plan a vacation by boarding the next available Air France or Delta, would you? Your time and money are too valuable to throw away without an idea of where you want to go and what you plan to do. Incorporating social media into your marketing program is no different.

Thinking Beyond...

What results do you want to see from social media? Think beyond just driving traffic to your site:

• Do you want to build your brand recognition? What/how are you going to build your brand? Write your steps out; understand what it takes to promote and market that aspect of your campaign.
• Are you hoping to interact with your customers and colleagues on a more personal level? What platforms are you doing this in? Do you have a time line set aside to accomplish this? Think this down to the most mundane action in order to grasp the time it will take.
• Would you like to promote your products and services? Here is where the fun begins: how, why, where, to whom? Do you know? Have you really assessed your market and your product? Are people talking? Do you have recommendations? These are all things that will connect the dots when outlined from the onset of your campaign
• Is your goal to expand and educate your customer base? How will you do that? Is it data base driven? Does your hosting provider even accommodate your needs? Are you using social networks? How many hours and what tools will you use to automate? Will you automate?

You have to know the answer to the “results” question first, and every decision you make thereafter must be based on how it will help you reach your goal(s). Define one or two goals, as well as a length of time to reach them*.

*Hint: most goals will take at least 6 months to achieve with any type of strong ROI.

Where are you starting from?

At this point I’m not sure how much we like Joe. You see, he didn’t take the time to mark where he was at in terms of traffic, conversions and so on. We’ve said it before; you have to have baseline metrics.You have to set down your starting point, your zero if you will, before starting any campaign, so you have a data-based way of tracking results. You can use several metrics to track your social success once you know what your goals are*.

You Have To Start Somewhere

The metrics you track depend on the goals you set. For example, if your goal is to increase positive brand recognition, you might track:

• The number of times someone asks you a question
• Engagement on your blog or site once you start posting on social platforms
• Do you have recommendations readily available online.
• Are you active in social networks or do you simply have 24 Twitter followers and under 200 Facebook fans?
• Referrals (rather than gaining customers through normal marketing channels). For example, maybe you have a widget you are giving away.
• The number of mentions – but here, you have to pay attention to what they’re actually saying. Figure a ratio between positive/negative/neutral mentions. Do you know what tools are available out there?

Hint: Setting goals gives you a baseline to see what is working for you and what is not.

What social platform will best meet your needs?

For most people, the term social media conjures thoughts of Facebook and Twitter. Yet, the reality is that social media is more broadly defined, and encompasses outlets like blogs, video sharing, wikis, and much more. Some of these outlets will work for you, and some of them won’t.

Jump in the water's fine...

For example, if your goal is to build your brand, consider where that might best be accomplished. Depending on your writing manpower or what you are willing to invest in regards to a content driven campaign, blogging is one of the strongest and long lasting methods for achieving a recognizable brand. Write your own content and opening the blog up to readers’ comments. This also lets you interact with potential clients and customers. Get up close and personal to what people are actually saying.

Yet, you also need to consider the time necessary for such an endeavor. As I mentioned, creating a content-centric campaign around blogging is not easy – unless you’re an unusually prolific writer – takes a considerable amount of time. Keep in mind, you do have the option to  hire a full time writer, but that’s dependant on how committed you are to your business. As well, you have to stick to whatever schedule you start. If you start posting twice a week, keep posting twice a week.

If your goal is to promote special features and discounts, you might use venues such as:

• Twitter, to announce current company promotions. Make sure you schedule several posts in a day, write them differently, and make sure you can track them through one of the many Twitter analytic tools.
• eNewsletter, to share the latest company news. Use a service that allows you analytic access.
• Facebook, to share special, month-long discounts. Visit your Insights to see what’s happening and which posts receive the most feedback.
• YouTube, to showcase exciting new product lines. Allow your users to post video responses; get maximum participation.

Take the time to explore the world of social media, and choose what makes the most sense for your company and your goals*.

* Hint: If your goal is to increase authority only, you need to check your ego at the door and have a secondary goal. Why? If you are truly an authority (simply because you are good at what you do and know your industry), your knowledge will show. It’s especially a given when you are humble about your craft and your business.  It will show in your blogs, in your answers to questions and in how you deal with people about your topic on a whole. “Building authority” should never be a loan goal.

What goal /result is most important to your business?

Smooth Sailing

I’m sure you’ll agree, one of the top reasons most businesses fail with social media is trying to do too much without a focus. When this happens, you cannot offer your best to the world, the public doesn’t respond, and social media is written off as a failure. You don’t have to be one of these people.

Go back to your goals and decide what is most important*. Then determine what you can realistically do on your own. If you only have an hour each day to devote to reading and responding to comments, then that’s all you can do. -And you should certainly use that hour if it is an important part of reaching your goals.

If you can’t do it yourself, consider outsourcing tasks to qualified people. More on that in another blog, but you can start doing some preliminary work on your own. Use tools when you can, such as Hootsuite analytics, to get a good start on your campaign.

At the same time, don’t waste your energy on anything that does not move you in the direction of reaching your goals.

* Hint: Many start with the goal of “bringing traffic”. Not only is this goal a generic one, but it is also a waste of time. By redefining it as “bringing quality traffic”, you provide yourself with a stronger set of base metrics, as well as steps to reach that goal.

Ask yourself, “What is quality traffic?” For you, quality traffic could be individuals who subscribe to your blog. Quality traffic could be those who convert to customers, individuals who visit more than one or two pages and so on. I would even suggestion you become an observer of your followers and find the connection that matters to them. The point is, if your goal is to bring traffic to your site, you have to further define what you want that traffic to do once they get there and incorporate it into your campaign.

What are your goals?

In conclusion, no matter what your goals may be, you have to promote and engage your audience. In the world of social media, these are often the same concepts. The approach may be different in the various platforms, but the more you interact with your audience, the more you promote your work. As you promote your work, you open the doors for more interaction with your audience. Be the one the go to when they have a question.

As you develop your social marketing strategy, remember flexibility is important. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments as you experiment with what works for you and what doesn’t. No campaign, whether it’s a marketing, social media, SEO or content development campaign, is written in stone. That’s the beauty of working online today. It’s evolutionary, don’t you think? Go ahead, don’t be shy, tell me all about it…

Evaluating SEO and Marketing Software

Anyone who’s heard about the miraculous, site saving service known as SEO has eventually researched it online. Anyone who’s researched it and has had problems with their site has probably looked at SEO providers at least once. Anyone who’s had problems with their site, researched SEO providers and decided optimization didn’t fit into their budget has probably looked – at least once – at potential SEO and/or marketing software.

If this is you, did you look past the first results in the search engines?

You know, even most professional SEO specialists have some form of marketing or SEO software. – And, sometimes, we end up testing software that flops or doesn’t perform like we think it should (or as it’s marketed to perform). Overall, however, most of us do a good job of finding software that does what we need it to. Usually, we don’t find it in the #1 place for an “SEO software” query.

First-page ranking doesn’t always mean the best

This is true whether you’re looking for software, hardware, vacuum cleaners or laundromats. In fact, if a site shows up in the #1 spot for a high competition search result, this is more likely to be due to an excellent SEO instead of an excellent product. As you research for SEO and/or marketing software, keep this important point in mind.

Finding and Evaluating Marketing or SEO Software

Yes, look at the top results. However, before signing on the dotted line, you always want to look further than the SERPs. Here are a few tips to help you find the best software for your project.

Define what you need your software to do

As of yet, there isn’t a single piece of software that will perform all the tasks you’ll need for an SEO project, although some come close. Most SEOs have four or more tools in their toolbox. Before you actually start researching, you’ll need to lay out some basic guidelines. For example, “I need this piece of software to help me…”

• Track my key term rankings
• Research my competition
• Research key terms for competition and search volume
• Perform a site audit for errors
• Perform a page speed check
• Find other, related key terms

Now, you may end up with a long list. If so, pare it back to those you absolutely have to have a piece of software do. Remember, there is no complete SEO tool out there… yet (although many SEOs are working feverously to create one).

Let's Go Fishing

Go fishing

SEO software, or marketing software, doesn’t always go by these two terms. To get a complete picture of what’s available, you have to use other search terms as well, such as:

• SEO tools
• Marketing tools
• SEO platform
• SEO management tools (or software)
• market research tools

Use any search term you can come up with to find what you’re looking for. For search ideas, you can also look on the left side of your search engine. For Bing, “Related Searches” are shown right at the top. For Google, click “Related searches” under “All results”. Bookmark software offerings that look promising.

Research your potential SEO or marketing software

Once you have a list of potential software options, start clicking through them. Do searches on each product name. Read reviews and testimonials. You can also gain great information on these products by searching under the “Blog” or “Discussion” tabs available in Google.

Most software review sites are, unfortunately,<ahem> useless. If you use a software review site to gain information, read their review process and, always – always – look for backup reviews, no matter the review site.

Choosing between paid and free versions

Just as a #1 placement doesn’t mean it’s a good product, a price doesn’t mean it’s worth it. If you’re looking at a paid version and it offers a free trial, take it. You may end up trying several products before you find one that fits the bill, but the time will be worth it. For example, Raven Tools and SEOMoz (either of these tools is a great addition to your toolbox) both have free trials of their pro version. You’ll get full access to the tools available before you pay a dime.

Now, not all the good tools are paid. Some really good tools are free, just limited in what they can do. Professional SEOs often look for a tool that does as much as possible, and then use other tools to supplement where the big one is lacking. Conceivably, you can choose several free tools to take the place of one large one. Therefore, don’t choose based on price unless you have no budget. Choose based on what the software can do, versus what you need it to do.

SEO and Marketing Software – A Short List

Below are listed a few of the products (free, paid and trials) we’ve either used or heard great things about through the SEO grapevine. Listed in no particular order, with a variety of functions, the list includes:

• Raven Tools
• SEO Moz
• Web CEO
• Traffic Travis
• SEOBook Toolbar
• SEM Rush
• SpyFu
• Page Speed
• SEO Power Suite
• Authority Labs
• Index Checker
• Majestic SEO

Conclusion

Amazing amounts of people pay for products, services and software simply because they rank on the front page of the search results. – And sometimes, it works out okay. However, when you’re talking about SEO and marketing tools, you’re basically talking about the backbone of your site.

Don’t buy marketing and SEO software just because it ranks well. Do the research; take the time and test those product offerings with free trials. Find out what product will do the most for you!

Okay, it’s your turn. Do you have a favorite piece of software in your SEO or marketing toolbox? Give us the product, and don’t forget to include the link so we can check it out!

Spam vs Comments

Most SEO professionals have very definite ideas about the Internet. For example, many believe SEO is essential for any website to succeed – whether the business is limited to delivering three blocks or thirty makes no difference.

Some say the optimization techniques they use are the only techniques out there that work. Some will act with disdain if you even mention something outside of their “belief” system; SEO isn’t just an industry, it’s a religion.

Don’t believe me? Ask an SEO professional:

• If optimization is manipulating search (blasphemy)
• The difference between white hat, gray hat and black hat SEO (moral, average, immoral)
• How often you should check your SEO campaign (ritual)

The problem is devout SEOs only seem to see things in black and white…

Recently, the topic of comment spam came up – one of those “black and white” things. Out of curiosity, we looked at the information available online about the difference between comment spam and linking in the comments. Amazingly, no one really addresses links in the comments as anything other than spam. Although we may be called heretics, we’d like to take this opportunity to forward a different version of the story.

Comment Spam

Now, it’s easy to say, “There’s a fine line between comment spam and comment links.” However, once you sit and really think about it, the line isn’t so fine. The line is quite clearly defined, in fact.

Comment Spam in the Wild

This is from our own blog comment queue as an example of the truly crappy comment spam – all links with no attempt at all to look like a comment. However, Danny Sullivan wrote an article last year entitled Some Advice For Free Essay Writing Services – Write Better Comment Spam with several fantastic examples of comment spam in the wild.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is comment spam…

“… very weird comments appearing on your blog. The comments usually don’t make sense and they link to bizzare domain names. These comments are probably spam left by people (or automated spam bots) in an attempt to increase the target domains visibility on the search engines.” [WPDude, the WordPress Coach]

“It is done by automatically posting random comments or promoting commercial services to blogs, wikis, guestbooks, or other publicly accessible online discussion boards.” [Wikipedia: Spam in blogs]

“Comment spam is the term used to describe comments that people write as comments on blogs and forums that provide no content or comment of any value and are posted simply to provide links back to other sites.” [InsiderTactics: What is Comment Spam]

“Comment Spam refers to useless comments (or trackbacks, or pingbacks) to posts on a blog. These are often irrelevant to the context value of the post.” [WordPress.org: An Introduction to Blogging]

“…many of whom use scripts or other software to generate and post spam. If you’ve ever received a comment that looked like an advertisement or a random link to an unrelated site, then you’ve encountered comment spam.” [Google Webmaster Central]

So, from the above sampling (and you can be sure most descriptions of comment spam are similar), you start to see common denominators:

• Usually don’t make sense
• Random and/or unrelated
• Provide no value
• Useless
• Often irrelevant

In other words, the type of comment spam we all know and love to bitch about.

Comment Links

Now, the problem with links in the comments is that they’ve been so abused “commenting” has become a curse word in SEO. Through the years, this practice (as an SEO technique) has been beaten into the dirt. Therefore, many ethical optimizers now say, “If a link is in a comment, that comment is spam.”

SEOs, webmasters – pretty much anybody who comes in touch with SEO -, seem to have forgotten about people. If you use the word link for example, you must automatically mean link building for link juice to help raise the ranking of your website through this SEO tactic.

However, comment links are very different from comment spam, in that they:

• Are used to continue a conversation
• Make sense to the context of the article
• Provide value to others
• Are useful
• Are relevant
• Are on topic

Example, again from our own blog:

Comment Links in the Wild

Other, non-SEO related meanings for the word link:

• the means of connection between things linked in series
• a fastener that serves to join or connect
• connection: the state of being connected
• associate: make a logical or causal connection
• connect: connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces

A link is used to make a connection.

Your friend wrote an article about home repair; he mentions plumbing and a particularly touchy problem he’s having with the toilet flange. This reminds you of the time you had the same problem (or a similar one). You wrote a blog after that, describing your experience and how you solved the issue.

You post a comment in your friend’s blog “Hey, I know exactly what you’re going through. Solved this issue about 4 months ago – wrote a blog about to help others; it might help you. [link]”

Your friend would follow the link, read the blog and either a) return to their blog to reply to your comment or b) post a comment on your article page. Others visiting your friend’s blog would do the same – if they chose to comment.

They might write articles or otherwise mention your blog post about how to fix a toilet flange. They might find out they like your blog and bookmark it for future reading. They might even remember something they read or wrote and post that link in your friend’s (or your) blog, thus continuing the conversation and building a stronger community.

Now, here’s the question: why did you post that link? Did you post that link because you were greatly concerned with your SEO campaign and wanted to gain better ranking by posting your article? Or… did you post that link because you had something to share?

Ooo, ooo – Maybe, because the original article made a connection for you, or, a logical association!

Conclusion

As human beings it’s logical to want to share. When you read an article that moves you in some way (with humor, with anger, with sorrow), occasionally you are compelled to comment. Some of us are compelled to comment a lot, like the members of the Level343 team.

If, by the time you finish reading this piece, you’re still not sure about the difference between comment spam and comment links are, ask yourself this question: Did I come to the article to post a comment and build links?

If that’s the reason for you being on an article, you’re in danger of committing the SEO sin of comment spam. However, if you’re at an article to read it, are moved to comment, have written or read a piece that you want to share with others, and so post the link with your comment, this is not spam. This is communicating, engaging and building a community.

Hmm… Why is it that much of SEO keeps coming back to intent?

Now, let’s open up this conversation. What about you? Do you think, as some people (including SEO professionals) do, that links in a comment automatically make it comment spam? Is there ever a legitimate reason to share your own links on another’s site?

The F Word

I hate to say this, but I must; ideas are a dime a dozen and everyone has the latest innovation. What’s always missing, or missing most of the time, is a well thought out marketing plan. A marketing plan everyone in the organization can follow, believe in and understand. You see – in any successful vision there has to be a strategy spelling it out with specific benchmarks, time lines, campaigns and goals.

For the most part, people are so busy selling they don’t have a strong long-term plan with specific objections or goals. A solid plan has to involve everyone, though. It’s not possible to see or measure success if you don’t have the plan to look back on – and how else can you make viable changes in your marketplace? If you have everyone on board, your PR department can talk to your sales department, alerting them about a change of venue.

I don’t want to sound like Suzie cheerleader, but we live in an exciting time. Everything around us is constantly changing: for better, worse, or long-term. Software companies, advertising companies, designers and IT specialists are gathering around the world. They create these awesome companies only to find themselves drowning in a sea of competition rather than having a laser focused tactical strategy for the battlefield.

If you look around you can tell; within two years, five out of every 100 new companies will still be around. Most will be dazed, gun shy, suffering post traumatic stress syndrome and wondering what they could have done differently. Some new businesses grow stronger every day, while others get lost in the shuffle. Why?

They have the wrong focus.
I’ve thought about this. I even experience it when I was in corporate America. The higher ups assign authority and responsibilities to people without really looking at the potential or experience those people bring to the table. Being a great coder doesn’t mean you know how to talk to clients. Having good business sense doesn’t make you a great VP. Having an amazing way of talking doesn’t make you a great writer.

As well, have a good sense of sales doesn’t make you fantastic marketer. Sorry, but it doesn’t. Great marketers plan to double sales. Everything else – advertising, PR, selling – are outside of that plan. Those things are independent of the marketer: at least, in the marketer’s eyes.

They need seamless activities.
When you look at successful companies (if you ever get a look at their marketing campaigns that is) you’ll find an amazing thing. Somehow, some way, they manage to incorporate all their marketing activities into one giant plan. It’s seamless – literature flows into selling flows into advertising flows into promotion flows into…

Like a military campaign, you use every bit of ammunition available to you. I have to emphasize that your marketing plan should encompass data and facts relevant to potential obstacles. However, it should also encompass social networks, sales, support, advertising, emails, a website, newsletters, public relations, packaging, training and customer retention. If your plan doesn’t hold all of these things, you need to know why some of them are missing and plan to revisit the possibilities in the future.

They need to realize the battlefield.
Marketing isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s not the same as say, dancing with the daisies. It’s not eating ice cream in the park while pretty birds chirp in your ear.

When you create a marketing plan, you’re actually creating a battle plan. It’s not something for some academic thesis. Writing down a marketing plan gives you a reason – a direction for your ultimate goals of blowing the competition out of the water. You’ll have a better understanding of your marketing goals, reach, niche and how you should better structure your efforts so they’ll stand up to any marketing trends.

As well, it should give you an idea of other methods you could use to circumvent problems. What a strong marketing plan will really give you, though, is a unified front against the competition with everyone in position.

Conclusion
Focus – you can’t afford to do without it. In marketing, you’re on the front lines of the battle for Internet space. The first one to blink loses. So, look at your marketing plan and think about it; are you going to be here in two years? OR – are you going to be one of the businesses that blinked?

Inspiration happens at the oddest times…

It’s no secret I’m a Twitaholic; I’m not ashamed of it and I like it that way. It’s also no secret that the latest buzz can always be found in the ongoing stream of Twitter chatter. So, imagine my “non-surprise” when this comes across my screen.

“50 Women Bloggers You Should Be Reading” – oooh! In my excitement, I started reading down, grinning at names I recognized. It wasn’t until I read the post a second time, however, that I realized none of the women are in SEO. Oh sure, there’s social media, marketing and branding – even marketing to women -, but no mention of SEO. Are women not as interested in SEO as men? Are there so few women in SEO?

I’m not burning bras, people, but I do have to be curious. You know – search engine optimization has been around for just a tad bit longer than social media, people.

I Googled “Women in SEO” The #1 Google was SEO Fanguy with “You gotta love the women of SEO” as a tag line. Of course, I had to read; it sounded interesting. As I’m reading, this comes across the screen: “Could she truly be a sexy woman of SEO? That woman would definitely have to be smart, because she married the man of SEO and she knows SEO.” I can still feel the tea coming through my nose the first time I read this sentence.

Look, I’m not burning flags or waving red ones, I’m just surprised that women don’t seem to be recognized in the SEO community. For some reason, not very much is being said. Anytime a list is made of top women in the industry it’s usually social media, marketing and PR firms. Women in SEO…?

How about Judith Lewis (aka deCabbit) – Well known speaker on SEO and social media, SEO journalist, and regular writer for Technology Weekly. She started out training to be a lawyer with a specialized honours degree in Psychology – she became an SEO consultant instead; that should tell you something. Oh and she digs chocolate.

Dana Lookadoo, is another great example. She’s launched two web development firms, founded Pixel Position (SEO agency), and has now launched Yo! Yo! SEO, a company providing in-house SEO consulting and training. SEO isn’t easy, but if you catch up with Lookadoo and read her blog: Formula for Reaching the Top – Pain is Growth, you’ll see she’s definitely up for the hard climbs.

Have you heard of Ann Smarty, by any chance? Ann runs SEO Smarty, contributes to Search Engine Journal and is the Director of Media at Search & Social (recently merged with 10E20 to become BlueGlass Interactive). The SEO Smarty blog is #7 for June 2010 in the top Wikio SEO blogs… only 6 points below Matt Cutts. Enough said.

Let’s not leave out Donna Fontenot. Dazzlin’ Donna is the original founder of SEO Scoop. Lest you think a woman by the name of “dazzlin” anything has a fuzzy brain, Donna has been a ColdFusion Web Developer in her past life. She’s also been a contributor at Search Engine People and moderator at the Search Engine Roundtable Forums. She’s currently a busy ebusiness coach/consultant, SEO and an active moderator at Cre8asite Forums, among other things. That’s just the tip of the iceberg…

Then there is Bonnie Burns. She has been immersed in SEO for over 10 years. Anytime I call her she is available to answer any questions I may have. It’s women like Bonnie that make SEO fun. Thanks for all that you do woman you rock!

Alysson Fergison is another great woman in SEO. Have you seen her Twitter profile? Let me quote “Snarky, progressive & profane. Some say I’m funny. Who am I to argue? I build WordPress sites & blogs and help small businesses with SEO, marketing & stuff.” I like professionals that enjoy what they do.

I’m running out of room, but I can’t leave out Angi Nikoleychuk, Christine Churchill, Meaghan Olsen and Anne Kennedy.

Are the SEO women listed above special because they’re women? Nope, not a bit. However, it must be said that these women are buried in SEO and at the top of the field. People, I like Alan Bleiweiss; he’s a great guy and knowledgeable. Dave Harry, AKA @theGypsy – the man knows more about search than Matt Cutts. Micah Baldwin Search engine marketing and startup business guru. I’m not sure, but he’s probably started more businesses than Donald Trump.

Now you have a long list of great people to gain SEO insight from. However, along with the top SEO men, you can now snag a little info from the top SEO women as well. I may even add to the list as time allows…

The clarification of SEM vs SEO is pretty simple. Yet, for some reason and for many people, it is still very much needed. For example, just recently I read a top SEM guy equate the two. And there I was, thinking that he, of all people, should get it. But I guess not. I guess there is still uncertainty about what each one is and whether or not they are interchangeable terms.

So I would like to clarify. Maybe it really isn’t necessary, but here we go. Simply put: SEM and SEO are NOT the same thing. They are not interchangeable terms, able to be tossed about and equated without care. They are not “Spielberg” and “Great Movies”. Now, they might sort of look similar; they might even be connected in a way. But, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are not one in the same. The difference is very clear.

Granted, the difference isn’t like apples and oranges, where both are completely different things connected only under a certain subgroup. In fact, the comparison is more like apples vs. Fuji apples. SEM is the apple; and SEO is the Fuji apple. That is to say, in the broader category of SEM lies the subcategory and type of SEM known as SEO. Let me explain further.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is the broad category of tools that a company will utilize in order to bring more traffic to a website or more attention to a product. It increases the “magnitude” of a site, attracting as many searches as possible.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is more specifically the tool of increasing the search-ability of a website (or optimizing) so that it can more readily be found in all search engine listings, including organic and natural listings.

SEM includes SEO but is not limited to it. That is to say, there are more tools in the SEM belt than SEO. These include such things as Paid Inclusion, Traditional Ads, and Pay-Per-Click Advertising, all of which focus on a different marketing medium than traditional SEO. Unlike SEO, for example, they are faster tools, able to bring traffic to your website quickly. They get the message and increase your visibility immediately.

SEO, on the other hand, builds up the content of your website, making it readable, informative, and helpful. All of these make your site relevant and desirable, which, too, increases traffic, though slower than the other tools. Overtime, however, SEO has proven just as, if not much, much more, effective in bringing traffic to your site, leading ultimately to SEO’s popularity and importance.

The final word: SEO is the best tool in SEM’s belt. You cannot have effective, long-lasting SEM without quality SEO. Now, there are no questions about that.

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.

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.

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.
See Our other Blog
Web Site: Level 343
Contact Details: Level 343
6328 Bambo Street
Diamondhead, MS 39525
Phone: 1-228.586.6360
Email
For information on questions one may have you can go to the following link