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Posts Tagged ‘Blogging’

There are now over 600 million people using Facebook. 2 million web sites are integrated with Facebook social plug ins. Facebook has their own algorithm, much like Google, which is called Edge Rank. Having good Edge Rank determines if your posts are making the “Top News” feed. Facebook has two news feeds: “top news” and “most recent”. Top News is the default feed Facebook assigns to accounts and what most people see. It is a snapshot of the “most active” Facebook people and pages you are connected to. Most Recent is the feed that shows what every person or business you are connected to has posted in their status update. As a business, the more you are “shared”, “liked” and “commented” on, the better your Edge Rank.

As a business, you must follow these tips to improve your Edge Rank and help ensure your posts are being seen by your community:

1. Post photos: they get the BEST Edge Rank
2. Post videos
3. Post URL Links out to content (Only posts with URL’s can be shared. Text only does not show the “share button”)
4. Post live, manual posts (not all auto fed)

More Tips About Facebook and Your Blog:

You may also want to consider manually posting your new blog articles into Facebook, rather than auto feeding them in via the notes tab, Networked Blogs app or other automated tool, like Twitterfeed. The reason is, a manual post allows you to choose the best “thumbnail” image to accompany the post. Sometimes, auto fed blogs don’t provide a visual thumbnail (and sometimes they do, so, check the one you are using). People like to see images along with content. Take a look at how your blog article entries look on your Facebook wall now and decide what works best for you. At least 1 post per day should be a live, manual post to improve Edge Rank.

Facebook Like Box - Social Plug In

When it comes to Facebook Social Plug Ins, use the “like box” on your blog. The “like button” is not as viral. It posts 1 line to the wall of the person who clicks it. But, the “like box” makes the post easier to share, shows up on the wall of the person who posted it and includes thumbnail images of fans.

Add This Sharing Buttons

Allowing people to share your blog while reading their Facebook wall posts is key. If someone starts on your blog and wants to share your article in Facebook or any other social tool they use, you should make sure your blog is as “sharable” as possible by adding share buttons to each and every blog article. Add them to the top and bottom of the post. For example, you may use the “TweetMeme” button at the top of the post and the “Add This” list of buttons at the bottom. Be social everywhere you can and encourage sharing.

Nuts About SouthWest - Winner of Best Corporate Blog 3 Years in a Row

If your business has jumped on the social media bandwagon, congratulations to you! You’ve taken a big step towards marketing time well spent. But, before you launched it, did you and your company do some strategic planning to decide what your blog should be about?
If not, take a step back and get your strategic planning hat back on. In order to achieve business success through blogging, you need a plan and to determine the following:

• What is the voice of your blog
• What is the end result / goal you wish to achieve

I attended a recent webinar where SouthWest, P&G (specifically ManOfTheHouse.com) and McDonalds spoke about the effectiveness of blogging for their respective companies. There were some big takeaways every blogger and business can learn from:

1. Be Authentic and True to your Brand
   Every blog should mirror the company voice. SouthWest Airlines has a very fun blog called Nuts About Southwest. If you’ve ever seen a southwest commercial on TV, you can see how their online presence mirrors their brand. They state their goal on the blog itself, “Give our visitors the opportunity to take a look inside Southwest Airlines and to interact with us.” Started in 2006, their blog posts content from 30 bloggers companywide and they have won the Best Corporate Blog award 3 years in a row.
2. Add Value with Your Article Content
   You need to give people a reason to visit you, subscribe via RSS and comment on your content. All social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and Blogs) are communities first and foremost. What information can you bring to the community that will make them want to visit you and learn what you have to say? How do you add value?
3. Reach Out for Other People’s Content
   Blogging does not have to be an island in itself. Reach out for others to write content for you. Take P&G for example. ManOfTheHouse.com found great success promoting the Gillette P&G product by reaching out to 12 bloggers to create custom, personal, heartfelt content about their own personal Dad stories in their “Thank You Dad” campaign.

McDonalds actually does not blog for themselves at all. But, rather, they invest in bloggers who already have a strong online presence, like Mommy Bloggers, who are happy customers. They find that having a 3rd party voice lends credibility to their restaurant as the story is told with through a true voice who loves the products.

If you have not yet figured out what your blog is about or why you are blogging, take a look at successful corporate blogs online, think about the ideas above, and create a plan and goals for your blog today. As with any traditional marketing activity, without goals and planning in place, you will have trouble achieving the desired results.

The Blogging Success Summit has kicked off with full force. I always attend webinars like these to stay current on what’s happening with social media for big companies as well as learning results from other social media consultant’s client successes.
With three sessions so far, we heard from:

1. Richard Jalichandra, the CEO of Technorati, with a great Keynote speech talking about best practices for brands and bloggers and the State of the Blogosphere.
2. Joe Pulizzi, co-author of Get Content Get Customers, and founder of Junta42 and the Content Marketing Institute revealed twenty actionable tactics to create compelling content.
3. Debbie Weil, author of The Corporate Blogging Book, talked about Leveraging Your Blog as a Social Media Hub.

Here were the big takeaways:

As Facebook and Twitter may come and go or social platforms may change over time, a blog stands as your “permanent digital footprint” – the Hub. Every article holds a unique URL which makes it easy to find share and linked to from any social platform. And, and when you wisely use your keywords in your headlines and body copy, you are improving your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with valuable content that lives online forever.

I’m excited to have been asked to speak at the San Diego North Rotary club on Thursday February 3rd to talk about “Why Blogging Means Business”.

My talk will focus on: the top 5 things every blog must have; how you can easily start one; and how often you need to blog to see results.

You can join us for the Rotary Club meeting on February 3rd, at 7am. It will be located at the Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club 14050 Carmel Ridge Rd. San Diego, CA 92128.

Visit this site to learn more about the San Diego North Rotary Club at: http://www.sandiegonorthrotary.org/

Have you heard the buzz about Blogging Success Summit 2011—the web’s largest online blogging conference?

Before I tell you how this virtual summit will help your business gain more exposure, more qualified leads, better customer engagement and more sales, let me share a story with you.

PROOF BLOGGING WORKS…

In October 2009, Michael Stelzner started Social Media Examiner, a blog for marketers and small business owners. Almost overnight, his site became one of the top business blogs in the world.

He didn’t advertise, didn’t rely on the press and almost none of his traffic came from search engines.

Slightly more than a year later, he has nearly 50,000 email subscribers, a half-million page views a month, and has generated nearly $2 million in sales from the site.

Everything he does focuses around delivering high-quality content along with intelligent marketing.

Michael’s story is not unique. A significant 43% of U.S. companies will be marketing via their own blog by 2012, according to eMarketer.

Now the connection… Blogging represents a new marketing frontier because it bypasses all the costly middlemen and allows you to own your own platform, quickly engaging with your customers and prospects! AND this presents an enormous opportunity for you.

SO WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?

Michael (and his team) have been working for months to bring the best minds in blogging together in a fully online event called Blogging Success Summit 2011.

More than 4,400 marketers and business owners from around the world attended his last two summits. Businesses were transformed. In fact, 95% of attendees said they’d attend again.

This summit’s focus is to empower you to implement successful blogging strategies, grow a loyal following, generate quality leads and sell with your blog.

Twenty-three of the world’s leading social media superstars will be summit instructors.

Presenters include Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra, Scott Monty (head of social media, Ford), Darren Rowse (co-author, ProBlogger), Brian Clark (Copyblogger), Michael Stelzner (Social Media Examiner), Debbie Weil (author, The Corporate Blogging Book), Douglas Karr (co-author, Corporate Blogging for Dummies) and experts from McDonald’s, Cisco, Southwest Airlines, Sony and Procter & Gamble.

Plus join Joe Pulizzi (co-author, Get Content Get Customers), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Jay Baer (co-author, The Now Revolution), Chris Garrett (co-author, ProBlogger), Dave Garland (author, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper), Mike Volpe (VP of marketing, HubSpot), and Rick Calvert (CEO, BlogWorld)—just to mention a few.

Attendees at our two last summits included well-known organizations such as General Electric, American Express, Staples, General Mills, Intel, Harvard, San Francisco Giants, Kraft Foods, Hyatt Hotels, Stanford, IDG and Disney. But you don’t need to be a big business to benefit!

This is the world’s largest online blogging event designed to empower marketers and business owners to master blogging. And the great news is it’s a live online conference you can attend from your home or office.

Go here now to learn more.

Here’s to your success!

Joann Whetstine, Social Media Marketing Consultant

P.S. You can get 50% off if you act now. Twenty-three successful blogging pros will show you how to use blogging to market and grow your business.

Remember, the experts teach the sessions live (and it’s all online). So you don’t need to leave your home or office! Go here to see how this works.

P.P.S. As a way of saying “thanks” for checking out the summit, there’s a gift just for marketers called “Building Community with Facebook and Blogs” (valued at $59) waiting for you. Go get it here.

Here’s my last installment of notes from the Social Media Success Summit webinar. These are great social media marketing tips from two top bloggers. Blogging is so important to getting your keywords found online and having a social media marketing strategy in place BEFORE you begin your social media efforts in Facebook, Twitter and your blog will help you achieve your business goals.

“Making Your Blog a Social Media Destination”
There are 1.8 billion people online which equals 26% of the world population. You’ve got to be found online and dominate search results for your keywords. So, what can a blog do for you? Technorati’s “State of the Blogosphere” reports these numbers about blogging:
71% = Blogging provides greater visibility for your company
63% = It gets clients to purchase
56% = Helps you be regarded as a thought leader
40% = Makes you more visible so you are asked to speak at conferences on your product/service

If that’s not enough, here are more reasons why you should blog: Enhances reputation, Establishes your brand, Builds credibility, Helps you get traffic (SEO), Helps you build your list and most importantly, it Brings you more business! Be sure to create great content, use your keywords, and tap into what your readers want. Via @denisewakeman

“Easily Integrate Social Media Into Your Marketing Mix”

Some people are just broadcasting in social media spaces and not responsive to customer service and replying to people. Don’t create a social media account unless you have a strategy in place to support it. Social media is about the pre-sale and relationship building. Once they love you, they will refer. Find out what your audience is interested in and give it to them in the way they want it. Talk to people about their problems then direct them to your articles that solve that problem. Network with those people who influence your audience for a bigger reach. Via @chrisgarrett