How Social is Your S-O-C-I-A-L Media?

by Felice Gerwitz

I do things for many reasons and many of them are not very well thought out. I have good reasons for this, of course. One is that I'm "creative" and people who think outside of the box tend to be cluttered, haphazard and well. . .disorganized. When I began social networking and looked into beginning my online social media campaign it was definitely not well planned. I jumped in as I normally do, with both feet and now feel like I will never reach the bottom of what seems like a never ending hole.

It is time to take a look, create a strategy and look at your ROI (return on investment). Is your time well spent? Are you making money from your time? Or are you considering the "social" part of the "media" a time of recreation to "chill," "hang," and "talk" with your friends? In some ways I wish that this platform was around when I was a teen, what a great time to enjoy the great assets of this venue. Unfortunately as an adult there are many responsibilities and constraints on my time. For me the ROI needs to be significant.

When I began these blog posts I explained you must give value in order to receive value. This is important and holds true then as it does now. The question is how to give value and still take something to the bank. Let's look at the word social and see where it takes us.

S is for search engine optimization. Do you use keywords in your article writing, your answers to posts online and in your blog? Did you place links in your keywords when possible? (You will I created an example in this blog for you with highlighted and hyper-linked words.) If you do you will find your time is well spent. When someone does a search online your name may pop up on occasion.

O is for organize and plan. I try to do things in blocks of time. In fact this is my third blog post this evening. I write all my blog posts at once, I'm in a "groove" my mind is geared to speak in short, concise sentences that have impact (hopefully) and address a need. Is your time organized and planned? Do you know when you are going to be on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn? Do you know what you are going to say? By planning this out in blocks of time you can optimize your time online.

C is for caring. Do you really care what people have to say or are you so busy telling everyone about your products, services or needs that you don't listen. Take a few minutes of your time to give someone a "thumbs up" on facebook, read a blog post and COMMENT and do what it takes to get others encouraged and jazzed. Yes, this is a social community we are using our words to convey our thoughts, and while that may take some time a few well placed sentences will work just as well.

I is for intriguing. Do people stop and listen when you post a comment or write a blog. Do you have followers, do you follow other blogs? I found a radio show guest who is a new author by visiting her lovely blog. She obviously took great care in choosing the color scheme, the layout and the fonts. Her blog was warm and comforting. She told a story and drew you in... and when I learned she was an author I invited her to join me as a featured guest on my radio show. How do you draw people to you? Are you outlandish, loud or brash? Are you informative, ingenious and interesting? Whatever it is keep it up especially if it will bring you leads or referrals.

A is for attraction marketing. This term is widely bantered around in internet-guru-marketing-speak. It means how to you get people to come to you, hang onto every word and buy every single thing you produce, talk about or sell. It is easy for those who jumped on the internet first and now we are all wary of the latest-greatest way to sell or market online. In fact I believe that is why the tables have turned back again and relationships matter. In the days gone by relationships have always mattered. People want to do business with people they know and they trust. Be trustworthy.

L is for laughter. Yes, you can have a good time and market... ROTFLOL translation: rolling on the floor laughing out loud. It wasn't that long ago that our emails and instant messages were filled with that type of "speak". Today there is a reason for laughter and for joy! The market is still new and you are on board. Yes, it is growing in leaps and bounds but you are here, you have a presence and you, my friends are making an impact.

Grow your businesses, share your good news, and let others know what you do... make sure you give value and you will find many will come flocking to your door. It has happened to me in many ways recently. I have hired several new part-time staff members and we are forging ahead to build my publishing business with a drive and a focus I had many years ago and thought I had lost. I find myself excited once again with the resurgence of connecting to people I may never have met and opportunities I might only have dreamed about in the past.

Use your time online wisely and you will not be sorry. We are only a click of a mouse and a keyboard stroke away from some of the most influential people in the space. . . and I could be talking about you!



Felice Gerwitz is a wife, mother, author, publisher and radio show host. Her focus is on education, whether it is products, curriculum or teaching social media classes online. You can find her on her website at http://www.InformationInANutshell.comInformation in a Nutshell.com


Note: I am taking a break from my blog posts and won't be joining you monthly for a time as I listen to my own advice, plan and regroup. I want to thank Joanne for her encouragement and understanding, and the entire Empowered Women group for making me feel so welcome!

Here's a Quick Search Engine Optimization Tip for Your YouTube Video Post

Adding Your Website Link to the YouTube "Description" field

If you like to post business-related videos on YouTube, here's a quick tip to adding your company's website link to the video, which will, in turn, add Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website. Once you've uploaded the video, YouTube directs you to the "edit video" page like the one shown below. All you have to do is add your website link(s) (I've added 3 in the example video) to the "Description" field and YouTube automatically creates a live link to the website address(es).

Here is the sample video embedded into this post. It is just a simple video I created for 3 companies to be promoted at an event on a 25'x15' Inflatable Screen.



Please contact me if you have any questions about posting or creating videos for your website, improving your website design, or creating an Internet presence with a new company website and/or Social Media Networking.

Sandi Eveleth
KISSyourWeb.com
239.691.2707

5 Facts About Having Video on Your Website or Blog

1. It Increases the Amount of Visitors (Traffic) to Your Site and Improves Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

When your website contains a video, your web designer includes important industry keywords, phrases and your website or blog URL address along with that video to help elevate your ranking on the Google™, Yahoo! and other important search engines. One of the most common ways to insert video into your site or blog is to upload it to YouTube (giving you even more links back to your website) - not as daunting a task as it may sound - then embed the url link into your blog or site. YouTube has videos and great help links to guide you through this process.

2. It Gives Your Overall Internet Presence More Interactivity, Credibility and Traffic

Website surfers expect to see photos at the very least but, even more importantly, now expect to see and even share videos with others. This helps to create loyal fans and make videos "go viral" (watched by many).

Consider creating a "how-to" video on something useful for your customers or about your products and services rather than writing 500 words of text. Other common uses for video uploaded to company websites are testimonials given by your enthusiastic customers. Your video doesn't even have to be more than a slideshow presentation, as is demonstrated here in this video I created for the Empowered Networking Blog!:



3. It Can be Easily Embedded into Your Social Media Sites

Your friends and networking connections can view these videos on your Facebook and MySpace pages, YouTube channels and more. This gives you added visibility for your company or cause at no extra charge. It also gives you more useful links back to your own website or blog.

4. It Sets You Apart from Your Competitors

Many companies are still not up on the latest technology when it comes to web design and website usability. They are not aware of the lost opportunities from relying on old website technology and websites that are difficult to navigate. By including a well-designed, thought-out video, you are most likely providing something your competitors are not. If you can make that video "sell" for you, it's well worth the time and effort you put into it.

5. It Allows You to Reach a Completely Different Target Market

You may be tapping into an entirely different audience than you ever imagined. There are people surfing the Internet who only want to watch videos. How they find your video will be determined by the keywords that you use when uploading the video.

As more mobile phones and other devices become equipped with the ability to display videos, the size of your audience may be growing exponentially.

Watch for my next post on ideas for creating and marketing videos to post on your website and/or blog.

ABC's of Blog Feeds and Submissions

Blog Post Feeds

by Felice Gerwitz 

We will build it and they will come is truly the stuff of movies. You can build it but they won't come unless your blog is syndicated. What is syndication? It is an air-wave or channel that your blog runs on so that others can find it, or "stumble-upon" it. Having a blog go "live" that is on a feed of its own is normally taken care of through your blog platform, whether it is blogger, wordpress or your own website blog. Yet, having an RSS feed and letting other directories know about your blog is a good idea and can increase your readership.

Blog Directories or Search Engines


One way to list your blog is to do a search of the top blog directories and submit your blog. Here are a few that I have used:

Blog Catalog
Technorati
Stumble Upon It
Search Engine Directories Yahoo/ Google
My Blog Log


Blog RSS  Feed Submission

FeedBurner
RSS Network
2RSS
RSS Mad

Of course visiting other blogs, and posting a comment is a good way to get interaction. I have recently tried, using marketing strategy to use social networks to get the word out. This is a very good way, as well. Do you find one directory especially helpful? Have you noticed a jump in your visits after submitting your RSS feed? If so, share the link, or result information with us.

Getting More Blog Traffic

More Traffic to Your Blog
by Felice Gerwitz



So, you have a blog. You took the time to format, check and double check those keywords. And you find that you don't have any blog traffic. How do you get people flocking to your blog? Advertise. How?

The Problem:

Many people approach blogs in the opposite way that they approach other business ventures. No one would think about opening a store front and then letting people know about it. There would be all kinds of promotions, grand-openings, announcements, and/or print ad campaigns to let people know about your new business. It is no different online. One of the best was of getting more traffic to your blog is by advertising, and I don't mean click ads although they can be effective, they are costly. Yes, you need a blog in order to advertise it, but once you do, all your other social network and print ads need to be in place.


The Solution:

Let your facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social network followers know about your blog. Use blog widgets to allow your readers to send the information about your blog, easily to their social network sites.

Twitter and Facebook users are always looking for good content for their followers. A blog post that is a good read will be happily tweeted by your followers. Create a link so that the reader can easily do this with a push of a button. There are all types of add ons for your browser that make this easy. We will discuss some of these application in future posts on using social networking.

Other Quick Ways to Get More Blog Traffic

• In your signature line in emails.
• On your business card
• Letterhead stationary, brochures
  
• Website
• In your newsletter
  
• Print Ad
• Banner ads
• Forums
• Responding to other blog posts
• Article writing
• Social networking
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Plaxo
• Youtube

Regardless of how you announce your blog post, be sure to choose at least two or three ways to advertise with each post. If you do, you will notice a marked incline in the number of followers and comments. Did you find this information helpful? If so, help us by letting your social networks know about it. And...do you have a good way to advertise your blog? What has worked well for you? Please share your insights here.

Keywords: Optimizing Your Blog Post

Part 3

Keywords

The word "key" has many connotations. For me, it deals with opening the proverbial door to find something new. Therefore, when I think about keywords I believe they are important to any well written blog post. By using them effectively you will help your blog rankings. Here is the information in a nutshell:

Why Should I use Keywords?

Keywords are used by the internet search engines to help organize data. We are all well aware of the power of looking up a string of "keywords" to find something of value online. I penned a book many years ago for families using the Internet, "Virtual-Field-Trips: An Online Study Guide."  In this book I had to explain how to search online! We have come a very long way. In fact, back then Google was not even one of the choices of recommended search engines.

As the internet continues to change, we can only hold onto the coat-tails of those in the know, and be dragged along, or we can arm ourselves with the information to be the leader of the pack. One suggestion is to follow blogs such as Marshable and others that stay ahead of the pack with timely information.


How do I use Keywords?
Your keyword should reflect the topic of your post, be used in the title, and in the first few sentences of the first paragraph. These words should also be used in the body of your text. Make sure your sentences are authentic.
 
What Keywords Should Your Use?

First, identify you client base. Then decide what keywords they would employ when searching for a particular service. Think: "If I was the customer what would I look for?" This will give you a starting point. Searching for keywords can be like looking for a needle in a haystack unless you have some important tools to help you.

How do I find Keyword Stats?
Statistics from strings of words are mined by companies with sophisticated software. These sources allow you to see what words, or word-strings are the most searched for by giving them a number rank. For example the word "book" has a higher ranking than the word "novel" (which means a fiction-book), as you can see the word book would rank higher because it encompasses all books rather than a specific sub-set.


What Tools Can I Use?

Once again, there are free services as well as those with a fee attached. I've use both and will admit that the services with fees tend to be well worth the money. One great feature is they store your data on a page you can access as long as you subscribe to your account and they allow you the ease of downloading an entire list. The service I use is WordTracker, but there are many free services. Use the ones you feel are the best.

Next post: Making your blog shine

Felice Gerwitz
Speaker, Author, Publisher, Consultant to Aspiring Authors
http://www.InformationInANutshell.com
http://www.MediaAngels.com
http://www.MediaAngels.com/socialnetworking