Search engines are great, and sites like Google can traffic a lot of consumers to your website. However, there’s a problem. Unless you’re a household name like Wal-Mart or McDonald’s, people probably won’t type in your brand name when searching for a general product.

For example, if I am looking for Pittsburgh’s best burrito joint and I have never heard of “Mikey’s Best Burritos,” I won’t type it into a search engine when searching for my perfect burrito. So how does “Mikey’s Best Burritos” get me to know that they make the best burritos in not only Pittsburgh but in all the world?

Mikey, it’s simple: Get your name out there.

Yes, it’s that simple, and one of the best ways to do this today is through social media. There is an overwhelming connection between SEO and social media, and surrendering to this new trend and using it to your advantage can make all of the difference for your business.

Read on to uncover 4 serious social media advantages:

1. Consumers want to hear from their friends.
2. Consumers are switching from search engines to social media sites.
3. Social media extends beyond your desktop.
4. Social media exposure can extend to search engines.

“Mikey, it’s simple: Get your name out there.”

1. Consumers want to hear from their friends.

You don’t have a relationship with a search engine (at least I hope not). Consumers will take a friend’s advice about a product over taking advice from a search engine.

Friends in social media networks recommend products and services to one another, and good exposure about a product from a trusted friend is extremely powerful.

2. Consumers are switching from search engines to social media sites.

More and more, consumers are looking at social media sites to get advice about products and services and are turning away from search engines.

Why? Social media sites give relevant and up-to-date information that search engines often can’t provide.

And like stated above, this information often comes from trusted friends who have either tried the product or know someone who has.

“Social media is where it’s at…”

3. Social media extends beyond your desktop.

The iPhone and other smartphones are starting to dominate the mobile world. Social media sites in the form of applications are easily available to consumers on these phones, and offer ways to access their information almost anywhere.

Now consumers can surf Facebook and tweet (on Twitter) while waiting in line for a sandwich, before falling asleep in their three-hour meeting, and even on the toilet. Awesome?

4. Social media exposure can extend to search engines.

If your business gets a lot of exposure on your social media site, many times it will show up on search engines. When a consumer types your product, brand, or service name into the search engine, your social media site will rank highly in the search. Now, this is no reason alone to create a social media profile, but it is an added benefit that will help get your name out there.

Technology is making information more readily available and easy to access from almost anywhere. Search engine rankings aren’t everything, and search habits are changing with new technology.

Sure, many people will inevitably check out Google and Yahoo when looking for a product online, but that’s not what all people are doing.

So get your name out there, and embrace the link between search and social media.

By Jordan Frank Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.

“… another batch of invites was extended.”

Everyone is talking about Google Wave right now. Even if with the initial 100,000 invitations and the additional invites recently given out, people are still pursuing Google Wave invites interested in checking out this new, exciting online tool.

Interested in learning more?

• About Google Wave
• Advantages vs. Disadvantages
• Google Wave on the I-Phone

About Google Wave

Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A “wave” can be both a conversation and a document that allows users to discuss and work collaboratively using formatted texts, photos, videos, maps, and much more.

A wave is also both shared and live:

• Any member can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content, and add participants at any time during the process. Playback allows anyone the capability to rewind a wave to see who said what and when they said it.
• With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have quicker conversations, see edits, and interact with extensions in real time.

There are a myriad of ways to use Google Wave from group projects and meeting notes to photo sharing and interactive games. As more and more people begin using Google Wave and becoming comfortable with it, there will be entirely new ways and benefits associated with this online tool.

“Google Wave lets you share meeting notes, photos, and games.”

Advantages vs. Disadvantages

There are some great advantages, but currently the list of disadvantages and usability problems outweighs the benefits of Google Wave.

Advantages:

• Innovative interface: the user interface is new, exciting, and innovative, but it is not unfamiliar because its layout is similar to the inbox of your mail application. Waves activate participants to contribute: the user interface encourages further contributions to the wave.
• Real-time collaboration: this tool enables you to actually see your friends, co-workers, family, and contacts type in and change content in real time.

Disadvantages

• Missing revisions with rollbacks: there is no revisioning system in place yet. If your wave is messed up, you have to fix it manually.
• No permanent hiding of replies yet: there is also no way to permanently hide replies.
• Not everyone is invited: currently Google Wave is not fit for real usage because too few people have an account.
• No notifications for updates of the waves: there are no means of monitoring waves. (This is one of Google Wave’s biggest weaknesses).
• Too slow for a real chat: Google Wave is too slow for a real chat still.
• Google accounts are required: a Google Account is required to participate in a wave which causes a potential disadvantage, especially when engaging with business clients.
• Confidential information can be accessed: once someone is invited to a wave, he/she he can access it forever. Therefore, if a discussion reveals information you don’t want to share with all participants, you have a problem.
• Waves lack readable URLs: waves have permanent URLs, but their readability is lacking.

While Google Wave offers an exciting, new technology, there are still plenty of disadvantages associated with it. Someday Google Wave is going to be amazing, but unfortunately for now it is still quite complex with several usability problems.

“Just go to wave.google.com on your Safari browser.”

Google Wave on the iPhone

Everyone may not have a Google Wave invite yet, but it already works on the iPhone.

Here are two ways to get Google Wave to work on your iPhone:

1. Go to wave.google.com in mobile Safari on your iPhone. From there, you are able to select different conversation waves and contacts, or just jump into a specific wave. (Note: It warns you that you are not using a browser supported during the preview, but if you continue to click through it, it works).
2. As with any Web page on the iPhone, you can save a bookmark on your home screen, and it creates a small icon which launches mobile Safari to that specific page. When you save the Wave bookmark to your Home screen though, you go to Wave, but without the Safari wrapper. In this way, it looks more like a regular application.

Although this is still new and there are probably a variety of issues yet to work out, it is obvious that the Google Wave team is working to make Wave available in mobile browsers.

Will you wave “hello” to Google Wave or dismiss it with a “goodbye?” Comment below.

Amanda Wilczynski Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.

“Totally like Kleenex.”






If you’re a human being, then you have more than likely heard about the social networking giants Facebook and MySpace – unless, of course, you have been living in the jungles eating bugs for food without access to the Internet for the past 5 or 6 years. These sites connect people with long-lost friends, relatives and random, interesting (read: creepy) people. Marketers and branders alike have taken complete advantage of these social networks and have begun building brands and promoting their product or business through blog posts, profiles and events on these websites.

Thus, social media has become the future of branding. Yeah, I said it. Future. In the competitive field of branding and online marketing, you must always be one step ahead of the competition, looking for the new way to reach customers and build your brand. Social media has become that new tool that will help you build your brand and promote your company. But there are some problems with social networking…Einstein wasn’t kidding when he said that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.

Here’s a quick breakdown of some positives and negatives about social media and using it to market your business.

No Cost?

POSITIVE- No cost.
Yeah, it’s free. You make a profile, and in a few minutes you can begin the process of adding friends. Watch your ROI skyrocket because you’re not spending a thing! NOTHING! Amazing.

NEGATIVE – Cost(?)
Time is money, pal. With the mass of social networking sites on the Internet, (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.), being on all of them and regularly posting updates can be quite time consuming, taking away valuable time from other focuses of marketing your business.

Reach your Audience

POSITIVE – Quickly reach your audience.
Do you have a new product, or want to inform your customers of an event sponsored by your company? Heck, maybe you just want to write a blog post about a new product or the company in general. Go ahead and do it.

If you followed the path of more traditional online marketing, you would have to have people sign up for a newsletter (which would necessitate them visiting your website first) that would be sent to their email (which, more than likely, was a fake email or one they never use [We've all done it.]).

With social media networks like Facebook, all you need to do now is send out a little message about your new product, or write up a new blog, and then it’s automatically seen by all of your online friends (whom you’ve never met face to face [and you probably don't want to...they're creepy.]) and it’s seen as soon as they log on.

“Trust us, they can be weird.”





It’s a simple and effective way to inform your customers and build your brand from “The Little Company That Could” to “I Don’t Know Where To Put All This Money. Seriously.”

NEGATIVE – Who the heck is your audience?
You need to know your audience before you can reach them. Are you opting primarily for young adults? Try Facebook. Are you a musical instrument company trying to sell some instruments? MySpace and their 9 gazillion bands are the way to go. Adults above 35? Gather.com. There are niche markets out there – you just have to know how to tap into them.

NEGATIVE PART 2 – Quickly reach your audience (?)
There’s reaching your audience….then there’s “reaching” your audience.

The thing about social networking users – they really hate to be bothered. Take Facebook, for example. In 2006, they revealed the “News Feed”, a tool that allowed a user to see what all the friends in their network were doing constantly, being bombarded with Wall Posts, Notes and who became friends with so-and-so. They hated it.

There’s a fine line between informing your audience and bugging the heck out of them. With some networking sites, you can get banned for constantly spamming them. To be successful, you need to find that balance between being annoying and doing business.

Get Fans

POSITIVE – Customers come to you…
It’s a proven fact that people spend more time on Facebook looking at their online friends than spending time with their real life friends. Don’t worry where I got that statistic, it’s totally true (because you read it on the Internet). Fine…people spend about an average of 19 minutes on Facebook.

Facebook has created specialized “Fan pages” for companies, products, and people. These Fan Pages show up in the profiles of those who have become fans of yours, and (if all goes as planned) will eventually be seen by their friends, who may join, and will be seen by those friends, and the cycle continues forever until you are friends with everyone ever. With profiles on Facebook and MySpace, people will eventually come to you…

“Wait, there are fans on Facebook?”





NEGATIVE – …Only after you add them as Friends.
There’s always a catch-22. You must find that target audience, and then add them as your friends, invite them to be your fans on your fan pages, etc. As with any marketing or branding strategy, you must get your name out there first before people come to you.

Add Friends (but not too many because they can ban you for that, too), and build a relationship with those customers. Begin to branch out and add more and more friends.

Then word-of-mouth will spread and people will begin looking for you. The beginning of branding on social networks can be compared to grassroots marketing campaigns – you must be the one to tell them about yourself. Once established as a strong brand, word-of-mouth will bring in potential customers.

Brand Your Image

POSITIVE – Raise brand awareness and image.
This is a BIG positive. With profiles on major social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, numerous blogs, comments and articles, the amount of exposure you will get will increase your brand image and awareness in a big way. Your brand name will get out to the public and to those who use social media, and with positive reviews of products and services from the consumers who will use them, people will begin to know your brand name and the quality it provides.

For more established brands, using these social media networks will help keep the brand fresh in people’s minds, breathing new life into some brands that may have fallen by the way side.

Tracking Made Easy

POSITIVE – Easily track progress.
If you do anything on the Internet, there’s a way to track it (scary huh?). From Google Analytics to tickers on websites, you are able to see how many people have viewed your page. The same applies for social media marketing.

You are able to easily track the progress of your blogs and profiles on these networks to see how many people have:

• Viewed your page
• Offered positive reviews
• Commented and so on

This, in turn, is automatic feedback to how your product or service is doing straight from the customers mouth.

It may take a few years before social networking and social media sites can be fully realized as a way to brand and market your company. But by outlining the various positives and negatives associated with them, you can develop a plan to begin building your brand through these websites.

Chris Levkulich Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.

Miley’s reason for canceling her account seems to have taken multiple faces. She insists that she has moved on and wants her private life to be private. At least, that’s what her video says:

However, Miley’s last few moments on Twitter tell a different story.

She admits that she is leaving her Twitter because of boyfriend Liam Hemsworth, saying “FYI Liam doesn’t have a Twitter and he wants ME to delete mine with good reason.”

So she did, still with no further explanation from her or Hemsworth.

Amid the outraged and pleading tweens pining for more information on Miley’s mundane daily activities, one fan took it (in my opinion) a little too far. One unnamed and over-deprived Miley fan has insisted that Miley Save Fuzzy. The fan, who apparently isn’t in the United States, insists that he will kill, cook, and eat his pet cat, Fuzzy, “according to our ethnic cuisine.”

The fan insists this is not a hoax. He has a picture of the cat and a recipe posted on the website, and insists he is open to suggestions for more recipes. The fan has never prepared or eaten cat before, but claims there will be pictures posted on the website of the preparation and subsequent dining of the cat.

The fan is attempting to use Twitter to spread the word on the campaign. If the hash #mileysavefuzzy reaches a top trending topic, the deadline will be extended by a week, from November 16 to 23.

To ensure her cooperation, the fan insists Miley make continuous tweets. At first, each tweet will push the dinner date back a week, and once it seems Miley is back for good, the fan will drop the threat completely.

The fan also states that he won’t sell or give away the cat.

So, what will Miley do?

Will she save the cute and cuddly Fuzzy, who seems nothing more than a succulent bystander, by giving in to the Twitter nation? Or will she stick with the “good reason” she and boyfriend Hemsworth have cited as their reasoning for a lack of Twitter Twactivity?

Jon Buczkowski Jon is not a fan of Miley Cyrus, but thinks a dog may have been more effective. Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.

Ten years ago, major news companies agreed that online content should be free to the public. Now, many news organizations are rethinking that strategy as advertising revenue continues to decline for both print (dropped 15 percent in 2008) and online media.


“Ten years ago, major news companies agreed that online content should be free to the public—perhaps not anymore.”

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), owned by media guru Rupert Murdoch, already charges for Web content. In May of 2009, Murdoch said all of his publications will begin charging within a year. Murdoch owns such news outlets as the New York Post, The Sun, and The Times.

This article will discuss:

• Charging for content
• Value of online content
• Problems with paid content

Charging for content

A report by the American Press Institute found that 58 percent of surveyed newspapers intend to charge for online content by the end of 2009. And although there are a large number of papers that want to charge for content, a big question has arisen over how to do it.

Should publishers:

• Charge users a base subscription fee?
• Price users a set amount each week, month, or year to get as much online content as users want?
• Allow users to use micropayments, paying a small fee for each article they want to read?

Currently, publications that charge have a system called a “pay wall”—a screen that will pop up asking for a paid subscription before you can view the article. The WSJ uses a pay wall, and it earns an estimated $65 million a year.


“A report found that 58 percent of surveyed newspapers intend to charge for online content by the end of 2009.”

Value of online content

But what is the true worth of Web news content? Many readers have expressed a reluctance to pay monthly subscriptions for articles they most likely won’t read. For example, unless you are a fan, you aren’t likely to pay to read the review of the new Twilight movie.

The main reasoning behind this reluctance to pay is the consumers definition of “news.” In the age of online media, readers have become accustomed to finding the information they want, and not having to sift through other information. Customers will become frustrated when they can’t find what they want, but will become furious if they have to pay for something they don’t want.

But the online media age has done more than enhance consumers’ ability to find the information they need; it has also made them want quality news. Readers want to read well-written, quality information about the topics that matter to them. I, along with most consumers, have “judged a book by its cover” by previewing an article and, not finding it up to my personal standards, passed on it and left it unread.

Some publishers are considering charging only for the best articles, but that won’t stop people from finding the information for free anyway.

“Customers will become frustrated when they can’t find what they want, but will become furious if they have to pay for something they don’t want.”

Problems with paid content

One key problem has arisen with paid content: keeping it paid.

Online copyright laws have extended into music and movie rights, but little else. Teachers in schools will fail you for plagiarism, but you won’t likely get arrested. However, if media outlets begin charging for content, there is not any current program or software that will stop readers from copying the information to their own blog or website.

The closest programming for online copyright protection out there is Google’s ability to recognize duplicate website content and not send it traffic; but that can’t stop people from posting it anyway. Four major technology companies, including Microsoft and IBM, have expressed interest in creating an online payment system for Web content.

Not every publisher has jumped on the pay-for-content bandwagon. Some papers are afraid to push away readership by requiring payments, while others are considering waiting on charging for information in an attempt to draw in readers driven away from other sites that begin to charge.

Jon Buczkowski Jon doesn’t pay for content himself, but he’s been insisting this article not be free. Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.

The threat of carpal tunnel induced by excessive status updates and wall posts, inane blog posts and comments, and the over-use of other social networking tools is now overshadowed by the more pervasive psychological risk of social networking: narcissism.

But what differentiates narcissism from the proper utilization of social networking?

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the greatest social networker of all?”

Narcissism vs. Networking

There are distinct differences between the narcissistic, attention-seeking, self-promotion aspect of social networking and the strategic use of social networking to build your brand. It is imperative to understand the difference between narcissism and networking in order to effectively connect with people rather than be seen as pushing your personality and having an over-inflated sense of self.

“I love me some me”

Much like T.O., social networking narcissists appear overly-confident. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, various blogs, and other social networking outlets often encourage self-centeredness rather than emphasizing actual networking.

The tell-tale signs of narcissism in social networking include:

• Frequent status updates about mundane daily activities
• Posts that are less than witty or entertaining
• Individuals posting about themselves
• Profile pictures that are reminiscent of glamor-shots
• Hundreds of ‘friends’ that are not real-life friends

“Social networking sites are effective vehicles of self-promotion,” said Lauren Buffardi, a University of Georgia graduate student and lead author of a study on Facebook users. “Online, they can assemble armies of casual friends, choose the photos in which they look most attractive and, through quotes and comments about themselves, create a compelling personal narrative.”

The need for individuals to broadcast what they’re doing, what they’re thinking, what they have found or seen to an online audience that includes friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and even total strangers, is clearly indicative of narcissism.

But there is social networking that doesn’t require engaging in shameless self-promotion tactics.

“I heart ME.”

Social Networking as a Marketing Tool

Using social networking as a marketing tool for your company or product can prove highly effective. Social networking sites allow you position your company in a way that allows you to reach your target market, build your brand, and advertise in an interactive capacity. After all, people prefer interacting with social networking friends rather than a faceless corporation or marketers.

Today 110 million Americans, or 60% of the online population, use social networks, according to a study by Anderson Analytics in a July 2009 Business Week article. According to Anderson Analytics, the average social networker visits social networking sites five days a week, checks those sites about four times a day for a total of an hour each day, and 52% of social networkers had ‘friended’ or become a fan of at least one brand.

In addition to the aforementioned social networking statistics, in June 2009, Dell announced it had earned $3 million through using Twitter. This proves that the benefits of social networking extend beyond brand visability.

What does this mean for marketing?

Social media is strategically relevant in marketing. It creates buzz and connections between brands and customers. Through using specific social networking sites to target certain markets, your business can more effectively and efficiently advertise. Ad supported social network sites can further your company’s reach. Also, company culture can be expressed through social networking.

Through social networking you will be able to:

• Brand your business
• Improve customer loyalty
• Expand marketing sphere

This begets the question: how do you social network without sounding like a self-loving narcissist?

“Use social networking to connect with customers in a meaningful way.”

It’s not about me, it’s about you

Rather than focusing on yourself when social networking, focus on those you are connecting with, in order establish a meaningful relationship with potential customers. This will propel your brand.

Remember, this is no time to be selfish. Social networking when marketing your business is all about catering to the needs of your target market.

Don’t worry though, the needs of your business will be met too. Effective social networking will allow the wants and needs of your target audience to be aligned with those of your business.

Avoid slipping into narcissistic tendencies when social networking by:

• Engaging followers in dialogue
• Addressing customer needs, rather than plugging your own personality
• xpressing what you have to offer your customers
• Connecting people with like interests (ex. an affinity for your brand)

Through adhering to these tips, you’ll be able to build relationships and your brand without seeming like a self-loving internet personality.

“Sometimes, social networking is like a tight-rope act…”

Walk the Line

Attempting to brand your business or company through social networking can be a sort of tight-rope act. But with the proper social networking skills and attitude, your business can maintain the balance between asserting brand personality and building strong customer relationships.

So keep in mind the following:

• Put customers first
• Create an open dialogue with followers, friends, members, etc.
• Build connections
• Forget the self-aggrandizing ‘about me’ section
• itch the sexy profile picture

Now that you’re armed with the know-how to prevent social networking narcissism, you can safely avoid T.O. moments…at least online.

Julia Cowher Julia isn’t a social networking narcissist but she is the fairest brander of them all. Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.

The Art of Retweet.

Want your Twitter posts to be viral? Everyone does. The point of Twitter is to be heard so take advantage of it.

Providing quality content in a strategic format will help increase your chances of being retweeted. Period. This doesn’t mean that any tweeted blurb is worthy enough to be passed along; I mean, content is still king.

What is a retweet, you ask?

A tweet is a status update on Twitter. When another user finds this information useful or interesting, they republish it onto their post. Hence, they retweet (e.g. RT@username followed by original post) or pass on the information.


“Providing quality content in a strategic format will help increase your chances of being retweeted.”

Ways To Increase Retweetability

Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz, provided some creative tactics in his last Whiteboard Friday presentation that will be sure to help increase the retweetability of your Twitter posts.

Use these tips as a foundation to add value to your Twitter posts:

• Length
• Time of day
• Phrasing
• Subject matter
• Authenticity
• Push campaigns

Length

Be concise. The maximum number of characters allowed for a tweet is 140. If the post is to be retweeted the name of the original poster is labeled pre-tweet.

Ex: RT@john Don’t drink Pepsi and eat Pop Rocks at the same time

The more retweets, the more user names eating into the 140-character limit and short and concise posts seem more likely to capture attention than long ramblings.

Note: Project Retweet, a Twitter development that would consolidate this process into the clicking of a single button, will eliminate the concern for post length. I’m still partial to the short and concise, but let’s not digress…

Time of Day

When is the best time to reach the most users?

According to Fishkin, the best time to Tweet is between 9am -3pm Pacific Standard Time. Being that California, the area with the highest concentration of Twitter users, falls in this region, your post has the best chance of receiving maximum visibility.

Be mindful of who you are targeting (investment bankers in New York City or farmers in North Dakota). There are many options to consider, but the efficient use of time will add credibility to your tweets by focusing on your audience.


“The efficient use of time will add credibility to your tweets.”

Phrasing

Different types of phrasing may spark interest in different groups of followers allowing you to target specific users or help to create more buzz around a topic.

• Definitive:
• “Gap’s profit slipped for its second quarter…”
• More or less facts.

• Humorous:
• “Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song”
• Who doesn’t like to be amused?

• Shocking:
• “Michael Jackson still isn’t buried?”
• Whether accurate or sensational, this is a great way to capture attention.

• Mysterious:
• “I would have never thought…
• Fishkin mentions that he is torn on whether the content at the other end of the link or the buildup of the link itself constitutes a retweet. Therefore…make them both good. A good buildup will only pull users to your site for one visit, whereas interesting content will continue to draw them in. It’s a “who came first…” kind of deal.

• Authoritative:
• “Fight for our future; fight global warming”
• Pretty self-explanatory. You’re the boss, direct us.

Subject Matter

All of these tips are useless without quality content.

Within the Twitter realm there seem to be a few consistent subject trends.

• Technology:
  Who else has the iPhone 3G?

• Celebrities:
  I wonder what Dave Chappell is doing right now…

• Politics:
  Everyone has an opinion and most voice it in their status (even President Obama).
• Images:
  Short, sweet and easy on the mind computer.

“All of these tips are useless without quality content.”

Authenticity

The more transparency you show, the more likely those following you will take notice of what you post.

So what does that mean?

Upload a real picture of yourself, not of Sidney Crosby or Megan Fox unless of course that’s who you are.

It’s that simple. Write a truthful bio and be yourself. This increases the appeal and usability of your page and lets the follower know that you are who you say you are.

Push Campaigns

Push campaigns are a systemic benefit of an authentic profile. A push campaign is when one user asks another user to retweet a thread that exhibits that they produce good content. This is not unlikely and is often a common practice.

This allows a less popular user to gain the advantage of a larger network through a friend (or follower).

The favor is part of a ‘Pay it forward’ system that encourages all users to retweet when asked because one day they will also need the favor.

Don’t Retreat…Retweet!

These tips highlight a few effective ways to make your posts attractive for retweeting, but these are not the only methods by a long shot. Twitter is constantly evolving, and so should your strategy of writing attractive micro-blog posts.

With enough trial and error you’ll soon find your niche.

For a great introduction to Twitter, check out Shane Smith’s blog post on Tweeting in the Marketplace and let us know what you think of the tips above and the soon-to-be Project Retweet with your comments below.

By Stephen Siegert

However, while the marketer may worship Google, the consumer may not, and rather searches elsewhere.

“A ticket to success is working on search engine optimization.”

So what about the other 30 percent of the search market who choose other search engines?

Google has received some bad rep recently for their invasion of privacy for target advertising. Some people are upset about this and have eliminated their use of Google completely and switched to a site such as ixquick that guarantees privacy. Search engines such as Microsoft Live, Yahoo, Ask, and AOL are often left in the dust, when in reality, thirty-percent is significant enough to make or break business. Are those marketers who opt to only use Google lazy, or investing their time and energy wisely?

“…invasion of privacy for target advertising.”

Social media marketers who also only use Google are missing out on ways to reach audiences through communication sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. These sites have built strong relationships with their customers.

In March 2009, a Nielsen Ratings blog ranked Twitter as the fastest-growing site in the Member Communities category for February 2009. The newest of the three communication sites, Twitter, has been growing every month about 1000%, while Facebook and MySpace, both older communication sites still grow at about 200% each month.

Social media marketers should look beyond the “Google powerhouse” and seek out other ways on the Internet to market products.

With more and more people making accounts with Twitter, MySpace, or Facebook daily, the Internet and the way it is used is constantly changing. Search engine sites fluctuate in popularity while new ways to market products are constantly evolving. While Google may be the most familiar to both marketers and consumers, other marketing tools are becoming familiar to consumers and proven useful to companies as well.

While Google Alerts are a popular way for social media marketers to track who is watching the company and its products, Twitter has developed an alert system as well, where an automatic response is sent when key words or the company name/product is searched. This is a strategic way to develop a relationship between consumers and companies that is outside of the Google box (literally). Zappos.com, Home Depot, and General Motors have shown how successful Twitter can be when relations are between a brand and consumers.

“Do you think marketers should think outside of the Google box?”

Widening the marketing horizon can definitely increase popularity for social media marketers. While Google is a huge aspect of the search engine world, there are other search engines that consumers use that are being left out. Not only are search engines a major part of online marketing, but communication websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are also crucial aspects of building consumer-brand relationships. By going beyond just Google, not only will marketers build excellent relationships, but they will reach a much larger target audience as well.

Do you think marketers should think outside of the Google box?

By Kaitlin Durkosh

Social Media the Future of Branding shows that social media as a tool for marketers has great advantages. But like the problem the job seeker faces, a small mistake could lead to unintended, potentially disastrous results, like being called the worst of the Internet nicknames – noob.

So what can you do to keep your brand image in the best possible light and avoid the worst of the internet taunts? You have to learn what social media mistakes you must avoid.

“Make your brand image shine by avoiding mistakes.”

Want to learn the big 4 social media mistakes?

This article will discuss:

1. Incomplete profiles
2. Lack of consistency
3. Keeping the conversation one-sided
4. Not interlinking your profiles

1. Incomplete Profiles

Your business profile is the absolute first impression consumers will have of your product, and an incomplete profile sets off a couple alarms.

First, it comes across as an act of laziness. If you won’t even take the time out to complete your profile, how can your business then be trusted to put 100% effort into its product?

Also, an incomplete profile may also have the unintentional effect of saying your background is not extensive enough to complete a full profile. While this may not be true, the impression has already been made in your audience.

To avoid this issue, complete your profile at the start; and if you have current profiles, make sure they’re complete.

“Ensure that your profiles are 100% complete.”

2. Lack of Consistency

A lack of consistency can occur by not using the same image, message or name across different social media platforms.

In her blog article Five Social Media Marketing Mistakes Companies Make, Denise Wakeman wrote, “When someone finds you on LinkedIn and follows a link to your blog, you want them to feel confident they’ve landed in the right place and you’re giving them a congruent experience.”

The best way to avoid this problem is by keeping the same profile name on each social media website.

3. Keeping the Conversation One Sided

A major mistake when using a social media platform is to forget that it allows for a two way discussion between yourself and the consumer.

In 5 Social Media Marketing Mistakes, not listening, is the number one social media marketing mistake.

Remember social media is called “social” for a reason, it is interactive; by talking at, instead of with your consumer, you will not develop in them the confidence and trust that can occur with the back and forth conversation that social media allows for.

One way to avoid or alleviate this issue would be to answer questions or thank a consumer for feedback.

“Open your ears and listen to the consumer.”

4. Not Interlinking Your Profiles

Not interlinking your profiles by posting links to each of your profiles on every social networking site that you have an account on, is probably the easiest and quickest problem to fix, but it might be the most overlooked.

The reason to do this is simple, by connecting with people on different social media networks you create a memorable impression and you can build on that by letting them know how they can connect with you on other networking sites.

The more your name is seen, the more easily it will stay in the mind of the consumer.

Although there are many risks and mistakes involved with social media marketing, they can be easily avoided by taking these tips into account.

Dave Makler Dave was only called a noob once and swore it would never happen again. Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.

“I’m a new soul/ I came to this strange world/ Hoping I could learn a bit ’bout give and take…”

In this article, you will learn about the “give and take” of social media in marketing.

What Do You Have to Give?

Your business cannot simply expect to be embraced by a community without offering something. So, what does your business bring to the table? Through utilizing social media, your business can offer more than just your marketing message and in turn, build successful relationships with consumers and other businesses.

When integrating the tools of social media, strategy is the name of the game. Increasing RSS subscriptions, page traffic, and links cannot be done through search engine optimization alone. In order to achieve a successful social media marketing campaign, part of the strategy must include thorough research and unique content.

Finding, Understanding, and Targeting Your Audience

First, your business must identify its target market. Ask yourself: what are the types of people who are most likely to be your customers? After you have defined who your customers are, you must study them.

Whether they are stay-at-home moms or tech-savvy entrepreneurs, understanding their preferences and what they value is paramount in gaining their support. By observing and listening to it, research the potential market to learn what it is most responsive to.

“I’m not sure she wants to buy the most recent ‘Call of Duty’ game…”




Once you have established your target market and what they value, how will you get them to your page? Hoping that your business reaches its intended audience is like hoping your crush takes notice of you; you need to get his/her attention if you expect anything to happen. By optimizing your site to show up first in search engine listings of search terms your target audience uses, your business will attract its attention.

The Importance of Content

Now that you have its attention, you better have something to offer your audience in order to retain it.

The most important thing to offer your target audience is content. The overused phrase “content is king” holds true in social media. Unique, quality content is crucial in determining SEO and other tenets of social media success. Creating effective content will ensure that people will return to or link to your site.

Utilizing Research for Content and Creating Diverse Content

The research you’ve done on your target audience will be helpful when figuring out how to formulate content. It’s all about what your audience finds valuable. The way in which you present your content must appeal to your target audience or community in order to keep them engaged.

Visually-engaging content such as photographs, graphics, and video can prove to be effective forms of content and more visually stimulating than text. Breaking up text with visual content will make your content easier for your readers to digest.

“Note our sweet image of the digestive system below.”




Whether using text or visual content, your content must educate. The more useful and informative your content is, the better. To ensure that your content is as informative as possible, linking to other resources is a good way to add to your content.

In addition to visual content, allow people to interact to further diversify your content. Using comments or ratings allows for discussion and buzz.

Maintaining SEO

Use terms that relate to your site’s subject matter so your target audience will find your site easily. Remember to put key phrases you hope to rank for into the title of your content.

As mentioned in regard to content, comments will improve SEO and page views. The more people that comment on your content and view your page, the higher your ranking. Also, getting people to link to your page will increase traffic and SEO.

Promotions

Aside from content, the give and take of social media is furthered through promotions. Offering promotions is a great way to entice people to purchase your brand or product. However, coupons are not effective for social communities.

Unique and community-specific promotions are an effective way to make people feel special. For example, offering a limited time promotion that is tied back to a specific community proves more valuable than a generic promotion for an unlimited amount of time.

It is also important to:

• Limit distribution
• Surprise people with the promotion
• Make it different from other promotions.

Factors of Social Media

Now that you’ve learned “a bit ’bout give and take…” when it comes to social media in marketing, keep in mind the following factors:

• Research
• Content
• SEO
• Promotions

If you adhere to the give and take philosophy of social media, your business relationships are bound to blossom.

Julia Cowher “Social media is a gift for all occasions! Julia offers social media gift wrapping free of charge.” Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.