How to Revamp Your Social Media Strategy

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No marketing professional in this day and age would ignore social media. To do would be to sound the death knell for the business. Social Media has come a long way and is now vital tool to drive web traffic, improve brand reputation and visibility, and connect with customers and prospects.

If your social media strategy hasn’t been paying dividends lately, there could be a number of reasons for this. For example, if you use social media to get leads, drive sales, gather data, target ads and for customer service, it can be said that your business has matured digitally and you no longer have any low-hanging fruit to pluck. To succeed in future, you need to overhaul your social marketing with the right social marketing tools at hand.

The Linkage between Social Media and SEO

Let’s begin by taking a look at how social media and SEO complement each other. There are many misconceptions and outright falsehoods regarding the impact of social media on organic search ranking. The big question has been whether social signals have any effect on search rankings. None other than Matt Cutts, the former Google staffer, has said that social signals do not feature in Google’s ranking algorithm. This was back in 2014 and Google confirmed this again in 2016 via Gary Illyes.

However, despite this statement from Google, there is no doubt that there are a number of other ways that social media marketing can impact SEO. For example;

  • Social media profiles and content often show up in Google search results. For example, Google+, Facebook and Twitter content and posts often get indexed.
  • Mentions and social media activity accelerate organic search queries. For example, when something starts trending on Twitter, people quickly perform search engine queries to find out more about the trending topic. This “buzz” can quickly deliver visitors to your website.

The moral is that while social media signals are not ranking factors in the Google algorithm, they do have an impact on SEO by directly influencing other factors which are used in the ranking algorithm.

Where Does Your Social Audience Hang Out?

To revamp your social media strategy, you need to ask yourself where your audience hangs out. A lot of times, you may find your marketing budget being stretched thin because your campaigns are all over the place yet your audience may only be active on one or two social networks. For example;

  • B2Bs are likely to have a captive audience on LinkedIn.
  • For businesses selling a product, Facebook is most likely the platform.
  • For the fashion industry, Instagram appears to be the social media network of choice.
  • If you are targeting teenagers and millennials under 25, then you definitely want to be on Snap.
  • If your main audience in women, you can ignore Pinterest.

If you aren’t sure where your audience hangs out, there is a lot of research and data on this from research organizations like Nielsen and Pew Research Center.

However, social media isn’t ideal for all types of businesses. You may be in some obscure industry where a trade show or other forum may be a more appropriate marketing and PR strategy.

After refining your social media targets, the next thing is to test and retest. Test both paid and organic content and based on the results, refine your targeting. Also, acquaint yourself with how the social media network indexes its content and how it shows up when searched by users.

Combine Social Media Data with Other Marketing Channels

Marketing elements are rarely stand-alone, they co-exist with several other elements within the same ecosystem. To create a more unifying experience for your audience, you need to use data across all marketing channels. There are five ways to do this:

  • Gain content ideas from social media activity, for example, from complaints and suggestions in posts.
  • Gain content ideas from social communities, comments, and most engaging posts.
  • Gain remarking audiences from the site cookies
  • Use ad results to target better
  • Get link magnet ideas from trending topics

Conclusion

Social media marketing is akin to fishing. You need the right bait and you must cast your net where there is fish. Social media is just one cog of the overall marketing strategy. You must combine with other marketing channels for the best results.

Revamping your social media strategy is actually about understanding your social media helps you reach and engage with your target market better. Once you figure this out, you are home and dry.

 

Feature Rich: Your Website Developer Checklist

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Having a website developed for your business is often a very confusing endeavor. If you’re not in the know, this area can seem very daunting and complex. And, for most people, this is the reality. Unfortunately, it’s uncommon that the average person will have the skills and experience to know what they’re doing with their website, making it easy for your developer to sell you things you simply don’t need. Thankfully, though, this post is here to help you out. It will be going through some of the additional services to look for from your website developer. So, now, you can start avoiding the things your website can do without.

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A lot of people don’t realize that the development costs for their website don’t often include the hosting fees incurred keeping the site online. Instead, you will be presented with an additional bill once your website is ready to go online. Some developers, though, don’t do this. They will give you a year’s worth of hosting for your site, and be transparent about the pricing once the year is up. It’s not unreasonable to move to your own hosting service if your developer asks for too much. You might need some help to do this, though.

SEO is one of the hardest areas of website design for newcomers to understand. This set of methods is used by search engines to link keywords to your site so that it can come up in search results. Having good SEO can often be the difference between your business succeeding and failing, making it critical that your developer can handle this with well. SEO services come in loads of different shapes and sizes. So, it’s worth doing some research to compare the options different developers offer. It’s worth moving to a new developer if they’re better at SEO, to make sure you get the best possible results. The best SEO services will not only include work on your site but will also include blog writing and social media services.

In the modern world, one of the biggest concerns internet users have is security. When a website is insecure, web browsers will warn users not to visit it. The impact this can have on your business is huge. This makes it very worthwhile to make sure that your website will have SSL and form security as standard. In a lot of places, it will be a legal requirement that you have this sort of security on your website if you’re collecting user data. So, you might not have a choice when it comes to this element of your site.

In a lot of web design contracts, the client won’t consider updates they want in the future. When you don’t think about this, it can leave you with a website which can’t be changed with your business, making life very hard. It’s worth talking to your developer about this when you’re organizing the development of your site. You have to make sure that you’ll be able to add new images and information to your pages, without having to hire someone else or doing the work yourself. If your website uses databases for user logins, you may also need the ability to update your tables and forms. It’s unlikely that you’ll have the skills to do this sort of work yourself. So, it’s worth having someone else to do it for you.

Finally, like the ability to change the content on your site, it’s also very important that you can expand the functionality of your website. As your business grows, it’s likely that it will change and offer different services. During this time, you will probably want to upgrade your site for other reasons, too. Adding modern applications to provide quotes or shipping costs will make your website feel a lot smoother. But, you have to make sure that you have someone to do it for you. The developer you choose will have to be able to deal with all of the website standards out there, to make sure that they have the skills to handle these sorts of updates. This is something your developer should be very open and honest about. But, remember, you can always change to another professional if you’re unhappy.

The developer you choose to make your site will make a huge difference to the end product you receive. You have to consider all of these aspects to ensure that your website meets all of your requirements. A lot of people don’t realize how important their website can be. In reality, though, this is the backbone of your business.

Business Fundamentals You Need for Success

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Making sure you get all the fundamentals right is crucial for progression. You have to understand that there are a lot of things you could get wrong when running a company. It’s important to ensure that your business thrives and continues to grow. But, in order to achieve that you have to make sure you get the basics right, and you should follow the ideas on here to achieve that.

The Best Workers

No business can get very far without the right employees. That’s why you have to make sure you go out of your way to get the best workers you possibly can. This is something that you need to prioritize for the future. And that means you’ve got to make sure you have a strong recruitment strategy in place. You need to do as much as you can to attract the best talent to your company, and that involves offering incentives. You have to give them a reason to choose you over your business rivals. And that’s all about making sure you offer them the right kind of business incentive.

The Latest Tech

The latest technology is so important when it comes time to run a successful business. This is a fundamental part of the process that you need to get right as much as you can. Having the right technology in the business is so important for evolving and adapting. Technology is changing every year, and we become more reliant on it. So, it’s important that you do what you can to make sure your company uses all the latest technology. If you don’t do this, you’re going to find yourself left behind by those companies that have the best tech possible. So make sure this is a focus for your company.

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Simple Payment Methods

Never forget that it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of your customers. As a business, you’ve got to look at what people want from you. Pretend you are a customer and assess what’s your company does well, and what you need to work on. It’s important to prioritize convenience for your clients. People are so busy these days that they want to have more convenience. The way to achieve this is to make sure you get credit card processing machines for your business. That increases the number of swift payment options you can offer

Base of Operations

You also have to make sure you have a good base of operations. It’s important that you have somewhere you can class as a business headquarters. You need to have a commercial property that will help your company thrive. Business premises play a huge role in the development of a company. And you have to make sure you choose the best possible HQ for your company. That means assessing what the perfect offices will have and looking at places that can offer what you need. Get this right, and your company will hit the ground running.

When you run a modern company, you need to get the fundamentals tight. Obviously, there’s more to it than that, but it’s important to think about what the basics are. If you don’t get the fundamentals right, you can’t hope to generate any sort of success in the future. So you have to focus on what you can do to ensure your company is getting the fundamentals right as often as possible.

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Facebook as a Marketplace, but its mobile only.

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There are so many ways to sell stuff these days…like local stuff – the stuff in the closet, garage and basement stuff.  You can use craigslist (funny how this seems so “old” now), eBay, Facebook local groups, letgo – and then all the apps and sites you have not heard yet.

 

the-things

A short time ago, my family needed a new freezer.  We have three boys at home – so we go through a lot of food and we use the deep freeze to stock up.  We were looking for an upright freezer.

I looked on craigslist for a couple weeks – but there wasn’t too much.  Some for $150, some for $400.  But are they good, bad or smelly?  So I jumped on Facebook and just asked if anyone had a lead, I had some quick responses and within 24 hours…I bought one.

The best part – I knew the seller.  So I felt good about the transaction.

That is the power of Facebook.  They have had “Buy/Sell” groups for a while…”garage sale” groups.  But now, they have the Facebook Marketplace.  Its only on mobile – but they gave it prime real estate.

They launched this fall – and it is quite good.  This has potential, there is a lot of stuff for sale – in my area there is a ton of stuff popping up.

It will be interesting to see the impact this has on the other options.  I can say – I finding my self using it more than Craigslist.  Craigslist is just too hard to navigate from mobile.

Your 2016 Olympics – Breakout Year for Streaming TV

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I’m not a full on Olympics nerd like some, but this year I am really excited to watch – its a breakout year for streaming tv.  NBC is turning the 2016 Olympics into a springboard for the masses to adopt the streaming tv.  Its a taste of what we all want – more action from all the sports.  Its streaming sports we want to see it – when we want to see it.  NBC is streaming most events – and allowing us to go back and watch them when we want or as many times as we want.  The onset of set top streaming boxes makes it happen.

History – 2012 Olympics Event Streaming

In 2012, it was hard to get this to work.  You had to get a TV connected to your laptop.  Do you have an HDMI cable on your TV?  Do you have an HDMI out on your laptop?  Oh wait – that’s not HDMI, its a display port.  What’s a display port?  Can I get a converter for that?  Do I have a long enough HDMI cable?  How much is a 25′ HDMI cable?  Grab a kitchen stool and set it up between you and the TV, set the laptop on that.  Now hope it doesn’t fall.

It really was painful – every time you wanted to change the sport, you had to go use the mouse or the track pad.  The sound was crap, if you could get any sound to work at all and then you’d sit back down in the chair to watch and the live stream would hangup.  It was magical…but at the time, it worked – and everyone thought you were the cool.

What did it look like in 2012?

urlThe interface looked good for time, we would laugh at it now – but it worked.  It was streaming TV – the sports we wanted to watch.

You could watch most all sports – anytime.  Most people gave up trying to really watch it on the TV and just went into the den and watched from there.  It worked.  It wasn’t perfect – but it seemed high tech at the time.

The interface allowed you to keep track of the metal count, you could see the events – kind of carnival style and it still looked like a website.

How bad is internet in Australia?

Side note: the Olympics video streaming technically started at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which is kind of funny really – Australia has been known for its slow internet speeds and in 2000 it was worse.

Other Side Note: There were some things rumbling back in 2008 for streaming “regular” TV.  But none has sports yet.

But it wasn’t what we all wanted.  We want all the bells and whistles of the NBC live Olympics show – but the ability to watch the sport we want, when we want to watch it.

2016 Olympics Event Streaming

Hello Roku.  (It works on many streaming players…but I am in love with my Roku 4.)

This is the breakout year for streaming TV - NBC Olympic coverage is the best it has ever been.

streaming_optionsNote:  You’ll need to download the NBC Sports app or go to the NBC website to view it there.

The coverage is amazing.  It could be the breakout year for streaming TV, I mean – you can see what has been on, what is on and what is coming up.  Its what TV can be when you break the mold and try some new things.  Its not perfect – but its really, really good.

I just got done watching women’s table tennis, recapped the 10m air rifle (which I had no idea was even an Olympic sport before now), women’s handball and a whole bunch of swimming events.

judo

Oh, and also – I can still catch-up on the NBC website too.  While researching this article – I found out the 112th ranked Zambian Judo dude beat the 6th ranked dude.

hakaI also learned what the “Haka” is and that I already knew what it was because of some silly rugby movie I watched 3 years ago, (It was Forever Strong or Invictus) but I didn’t realize the dance had a real name – hey, I’m ignorant.

bballI didn’t learn this, it was more of an expectation…the USA Basketball team was dunking all over china.  And I mean MONSTER dunks…not those other remedial dunks.

Breakout Year for Streaming TV – Thank you Olympics and NBC

The coverage is Amazong.  I have almost watched more Olympics this year than any year ever – and its day 3.  I have been exposed to more sports than ever and I am excited about some of the other, different sports I have an opportunity to see this year.  Its the Olympics my way, on my schedule.

It shows the future of streaming – its the way TV should be.  We don’t need to have Bob Costas tell us everything (but I will say – the informational piece he did with the CDC dude on why the zika virus is not a huge issue to you in Brazil unless your pregnant (if you are pregnant…stay the hell out of Brazil) – but if you are not and are in any water…it probably has poo in it.)

So if you give me what I want…what I really, really want

Compelling, streaming content.  I hope other providers, networks and media types are taking notes.  This is how I want my TV.  The sooner – the better!  I don’t want to mount a dish to my roof, I don’t want to put a TV antenna in my window, I don’t want to pay you $200 a month for the privilege of you spamming the crap out of me and giving me 130 channels I don’t want, so I can get the 7 I do.

Oh, and sports networks.  (Big 10, ACC, SEC, NBA, NFL, MLB (you’ve been trying) – and ahem, ESPN) – this live streaming of TV works great.  LIVE sports is the last mile – its what we all want people.

And, Monday Night Football – what if I could watch any camera feed I WANT.  How about that?  I can still hear the commentary, if I WANT.  Rewind the things I want…but I don’t want to see your repetitive shot.  Why does every football play have to be wide angle croud shot, cut to sideline coach calling in the play on the headset, cut to QB ISO, cut to rear view…make it stop.  Maybe all I want to see if the linemen.  I like watching the ground game – the trenches…let me see that please.

Let me know when this goes down…in the mean time, I’ll be watching the Olympics.  I hear that badminton and modern pentathlon are coming up.  And I need to watch that dude crash into the wall on the bike again.  What the heck…it didn’t even look like he tried to turn at all.  And why didn’t dude in the green shirt take a picture of that?

This Olympic bike crash gives new meaning to "breakout year for streaming TV"