Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

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Latest Facebook Changes Impact Marketers

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

This week, Facebook had its annual developer conference where CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced several big changes that are coming for the over 800 million members of social media community.

Now, rather than a person’s profile and wall only reflecting their life since they joined Facebook, members can use their account to create a scrapbook of their entire history. The new profile page is called Timeline and it will allow you, should you so choose, to organize and document your entire existence.

When people visit your page, they’ll be able to see a comprehensive story about you, rather than just – what Zuckerberg likened to the first 20 minutes of conversation with a new friend –a brief profile and your most recent status updates.

Another significant change is coming to the dearly beloved Like button. Facebook developers have expanded on the capacity of the Like button and are launching Facebook Gestures. Facebook Gestures will allow users to more precisely describe their feelings about a particular product or activity or whatever else they might be commenting on.

So, what do Timeline and Facebook Gestures mean for social media marketing? It means that simply acquiring a huge number of “likes” isn’t going to be as relevant as it was, say last week. As Facebook users become more specific about whom they are and what they’re interested in, companies are going to have to follow suit.

Facebook’s changes are intended to enhance personal connections and further the emotional bond users feel with their accounts. Companies that use Facebook for social media marketing will need to reach consumers on a personal level. Marketers are going to have to offer something of value to foster their relationships.

Bottom line, compelling content and interpersonal communication is now more vital than ever.

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Stick Around! How to Keep Your Twitter Followers

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

It’s so exciting to see the count on your Twitter followers rise. One of the most fun parts of living in the Twittersphere is watching for milestones: 50 followers, 100 followers, 1000 followers. And, one of the most disappointing things about the Twittersphere is checking into your account to only discover that your numbers have dropped.

It’s normal to experience a fluctuation in the quantity of followers you have on Twitter. People follow and un-follow based on a lot of different factors and you shouldn’t take a drop in your numbers personally; it’s just a part of how Twitter works. Still, we would like to offer some tips on proper Twittiquette:

•    Tweet. It’s important to contribute to the conversation on a regular basis. A lot of people make a habit of un-following accounts that aren’t active.
•    Be interesting. Share fun tips. Provide helpful hints. Give something of value to your followers.
•    Build relationships. Don’t just send out one-way tweets. Have conversations with your followers and the people you follow.
•    Know when to take it outside. A couple of tweets back and forth between you and a follower is fine but if your conversation goes beyond 3 or 4 exchanges, move it to direct messages.
•    Be yourself. People want to follow accounts that come across as genuine and sincere. If you’re forcing it, people will catch on, even in only 140 characters.

Sometimes people get intimidated by Twitter and make it out to be a bigger deal than it really is. Don’t be one of them. There are no solid rules or regulations really, it’s just about getting in there and having a good time. If it helps, think of Twitter as a worldwide cocktail party. Mingle, interact with different people and be nice; you’ll always be invited back.

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Tried and True Marketing Strategies

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

When it comes to marketing your Internet business, it can often be hard to know where to start. There are so many options for marketing strategies and techniques, so how do you know which ones would work best for you and your company?

Obviously, you want to select strategies that have proven success records and are shown to lead to excellent results. To get you started, here are a few tried and true marketing strategies you may want to consider:

Search Engine Optimization
SEO is a way of developing your website content to attract the attention of top search engines like Google and Yahoo. When your target market does an Internet search for something related to your products and services, you want to be sure that your site appears as high in the search results as possible. By implementing an effective SEO strategy, you have the best chances for that.

Pay Per Click Ads
Top search engines such as Google, Yahoo and others offer advertising programs known as Pay Per Click or PPC. The basic way it works is that you create ads using keywords that relate to your business. When people search for those particular terms, your ad will appear on the page along with the other search results. The reason it’s called Pay Per Click is that you only pay for the ad when someone clicks on it.

Social Media Marketing
Social media is a kind of broad term that encompasses the various social networking communities – Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn being the top three. The way you market through social media is by creating profiles within each community and then participating in the online conversations. It’s a slow but steady word-of-mouth system that has revolutionized the way people exchange information with each other online.

Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing helps you drive traffic to your website by creating a network of other sites that already have a high volume of visitors. Here you would find businesses that have products and services similar to your own and then ask them to promote your company to their list in exchange for promoting them to yours.

The most important part of creating your custom marketing strategy is to choose the ones that best fit the nature of your business and the personality of your clientele. To find out which ones those are, do a little research and find out where your target market goes for information and resources on things related to your business and services.

And of course, if you ever have any questions about best marketing practices or developing a customized strategy for your business, contact us directly. We’d love to help you get started!

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How to Get Fans for Your Facebook Page

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

You’ve created your Facebook Fan Page, you’re writing consistent, informational updates that are relevant to your audience, and you’ve even customized your page with all of the nifty tips, tricks and applications available to you. So, why isn’t anyone “liking” your page?

 

Maybe it’s because you haven’t told them why they should.

 

Internet marketers of all sorts are experiencing tremendous growth through using Facebook pages and we want you to be able to do the same thing. Social media networks – especially Faceook – have taken on huge importance in the world of Internet marketing and you don’t have to be a technological genius to take advantage of their power, which is awesome. However, you do need to be a little more strategic than just adding a “Like us on Facebook” message to your email signature.

 

Here are a few ideas for getting people to “Like” your Facebook Fan Page:

 

  1. Write a blog article with a list of the top 10 reasons your followers should “Like” you on Facebook.
  2. Offer an incentive like a special coupon or free download to folks for joining.
  3. Tell your Twitter or LinkedIn followers about the exclusive content and news on your Facebook Fan Page.
  4. Create “Members Only” contests for your Facebook fans and advertise them in your newsletter.
  5. Reward loyal fans by thanking them with a “Fan of the Month” update on your page.

 

Nowadays, everyone from veterinarians to grocery stores to reality show celebrities has a Facebook Fan Site and it’s virtually impossible to log on anywhere without being asked to “Like” someone’s page. As a result, Facebook users are becoming increasingly selective when deciding to put their okay on a page, so it’s a good idea to give them a little encouragement to join your community. Sure, getting folks to make the leap from being just a user to becoming a fan can be tricky, but with a little persistence and creativity, you can develop a strong Facebook community surrounding your brand.

 

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Google+ Shakes Up Social Media

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

A couple of months ago, we posted an article on Google’s new +1 button that gave registered users a way to put their stamp of approval on webpages and share their “likes” with their social circle within Google, meaning other registered users to whom they were connected. Now Google has made that social circle official and created a custom social network known as, Google+.

 

Although it’s not yet available to everyone, Google+ is already shaking up the social media world. Google proclaims that, “online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And [they] aim to fix it.” From what we can tell so far, it looks like they just might be able to do it.

 

The problem with online sharing, according to Google, is that you don’t have a lot of control over what you share with whom. Social media networks like Twitter and Facebook neglect to provide ways to discreetly share your updates, photos, Tweets and the like with specific members of your online community, or control what those folks choose to re-share with others. In general, you either share with everybody or you don’t share at all.

 

Google+ provides an easy filing system within your social community and allows you to separate your contacts into groups known as +Circles. You can make one for your family, one for your close friends and a separate one specifically for business contacts. That way you don’t have to worry about censoring your status updates or having your clients stumble across those photos from your college trip to Amsterdam. You get to choose what to share with whom at all levels of your interaction, which will eliminate the need for multiple accounts within one social media community.

 

Google+’s field trial has just started, so unless you’ve received an invitation from one of your contacts, you may have to wait a bit to test it out. However, with the features and options that Google is promising – +Sparks customized information feed,  +Hangouts face-to-face interactions, +Huddle group messaging, and more – we’re pretty sure it’s going to be worth the wait.

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Website Challenges for Mobile Users

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

As a reader of our blog, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve been covering the topic of creating mobile-specific websites for your business in our past few posts. Well, this week we thought we’d discuss the challenges that users face when accessing websites and applications on their mobile devices so that you have a better understanding of your customers’ wants and needs when it comes to a mobile-friendly site.

 

Although, by and large, mobile activities are relegated to communicative tasks such as texting, emailing and interacting on social network sites, there are a great deal of people who use their mobile devices to surf the web, find information and interact with their favorite websites. The problem is that for as advanced as they are, mobile technology and mobile web access are still far behind that of a traditional computer.

 

Because mobile devices need to be, well … mobile, they by necessity feature small screens. Small screens make data entry tough and decrease readability. Fewer options are visible at any given time and users have to rely on their ability to recall what they saw in areas of the page that become hidden as they scroll around the screen.

 

Then there’s the issue with the tiny keyboard. Whether it’s an onscreen version like the iPhone or actual buttons like a Blackberry, they’re way smaller than the average fingertip and that leads to difficulties with entering the text you want to, as well as problems with tons of typos.

 

Another problem is download delays. In many cases, response time from a mobile user’s Internet connection will be slower than a dial up connection, and we all know how frustrating those extra few seconds or even minutes (gasp!) can be.

 

Of course, developers and technicians across the globe are working to improve the mobile user experience on all mobile devices. Some things, like small screens and tiny buttons, will not really get a whole lot better, lest our mobile devices become full-sized laptops. On the other hand, connectivity issues are improving every day, but the fact is, it’s going to take a while before they catch up to the speed of even a regular cable modem.

 

Until things do improve, keep these issues in mind when you’re developing or updating your websites. If you find that a lot of your client base uses your site from their mobile devices, but you’re not quite ready to develop a separate mobile site, there are some things you can do to help your users out. Keep your fonts plain, your layout simple and your functionality limited to just a few necessary tasks. That way, even if you’re not creating a mobile-specific site, you can still make your full site more accessible to your mobile audience.

 

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So, You’ve Decided to Create a Mobile Site

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

When considering what types of functions you should include on your mobile site, it’s important to distinguish between the two types of users who might be visiting your pages and figure out which ones will make up the majority of your visitors.

 

1. Searchers are on your site looking for one or two specific things and have a particular goal in mind. Perhaps they want to locate your phone number so that they can speak to you directly, or check a price on one of your products so that they can log the cost into their budget. Searchers want to get in, get out and move on with accomplishing their ultimate task.

2. Browsers tend to have more time to poke around your pages until they find something they’re interested in. They don’t have a specific focus when they visit your site, but are just there checking things out.

 

If your users are made up of mostly searchers, be sure to create a site that provides easy access to vital information about your business. Things like business hours, contact information and basic product or service features should be available within one or two clicks. Any more clicks than that is problematic because it not only increases the likelihood of slow download times or a dropped connection, it also becomes frustrating for a searcher who wants to be as efficient as possible.

 

On the other hand, if your audience is mostly browsers, you can enjoy a little more freedom in providing a wider range of options and information that they can navigate through at their leisure.

 

Once you understand your mobile site’s audience, you’ll have a better grasp on what types of features to provide for them. Still, for both groups, tasks that are overly complicated or super time-consuming should be reserved for your full website. Regardless of who your users are, be sure to provide a link to the full site on all of your mobile site’s pages. Remember: your mobile site isn’t a replacement for your full site, but more of a value-added service that increases the ways your customers can access your business.

 

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How Mobile is Your Website Audience

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Last week we discussed the topic of creating mobile-user friendly websites for your business and we know we may have gotten a lot of folks in a tizzy wondering how to optimize their sites for mobile use, or deciding whether they should invest in creating a separate site specifically for mobile devices. But, before you hire designers to revamp your website or make the leap to designing a new mobile-specific site, you should first know whether your audience even needs one.

 

Survey your clients to see where they gain access to your site. You may also be able to find this information in your analytics data. Ask whether the majority of your clients use smart phones and tablets or if most of them loyal to traditional desktop computers. This question alone will go a long way in determining what steps, if any, you need to make towards making your site mobile friendly.

 

Another question you should answer is, “What are my clients trying to access when they visit my site from their mobile device?” You might find that the tasks they’re trying to accomplish are pretty simple and limited to things like checking order statuses, looking up business hours or finding directions to your location if you have a storefront. If your site has a simple design that is easily readable, you may not need to make many changes at all.

 

However, if your end users have loftier aims like browsing through your product pages, placing orders and paying for services, you may need to make some significant adjustments. Mobile devices, although they’ve come a long way, are still pretty far behind regular computers when it comes to load times, screen sizes (obviously) and text entry.

 

Understanding your website’s audience, how they use your website and where they access it is the key to deciding what updates you need to make and how to make your site specifically user-friendly for your users, mobile or otherwise.

 

 

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See Me at the San Jose Social Media Conference – June 23

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

I will be presenting “Introduction to Social Media” at the San Jose Social Media Conference – Growing your Small Business with Social Media, on Thursday June 23, 2011.

The City of San Jose and http://www.businessownerspace.com/ have developed an event to provide small businesses interested in leveraging Social Media with an understanding of the offerings of the large social media outlets as well as some of the newest concepts coming on the market.

My presentation will include information about the origins of “social media”, considerations about developing a social media plan, and ideas on determining the metrics of success.

Learn more about this San Jose Social Media Conference and I hope to see you there.

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Is Your Website Mobile-User Friendly

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

Have you thought about what you need to do to make it effortless for your clients to access your site on their mobile devices? Is your web content clear and easy to ready on small screens? Are your employees able to effectively log in and use your website when they’re on the road?

As people are increasingly relying on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets to access the Internet, websites are being challenged to make their content as mobile-friendly as possible, which isn’t an easy thing to do. Screens are small so it’s harder to create an interface that allows users to see more than one or two options at a time, and it’s awkward for users to input information into a site because most of the buttons on these devices are a fraction of the size of a fingertip.

When designing or updating your website, be sure to consider mobile users and their needs. Although you may not yet have the capability or funds to create a separate mobile-specific site like so many of the big companies are doing, thinking ahead to potential issues such as font readability and simplifying opt-in requirements can make a difference for your end user.

In the coming weeks, we’ll address more topics surrounding mobile-usability, marketing for mobile devices and optimizing your website for mobile users, so be sure to stay tuned!

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