2013 Internet Marketing Trends. Are They Just Hype?

March 25, 2013 – 11:11 am

Every year we are inundated with predictions of the newest and best Internet marketing trends, and 2013 is no different. Yet, even with all of the buzz, not every trend ends up being an industry standard – nor should they be, if they don’t optimize conversion. So while businesses are looking towards trends to platform their latest marketing schemes, they have to pick wisely or be seen wearing the online equivalent of last season’s shoes.

With that in mind, we’ve weighed the top trends’ value and longevity against the hype:

1. Beautiful Design Matters, Some

While experts are extolling the lure of gorgeous websites, like Pinterest and Apple, the truth is the top visited websites in the world are a fairly even split between clean design and cluttered hot messes. Yahoo! or Craigslist, anyone?

That’s not to say that design doesn’t matter. Designing for conversion is an art form that is different from just making a website pretty. The lesson here is that design does matter, as does valuable content. The lasting trend is in how you combine the two.

2. Parallax Design with Caution

This newest design technique allows background images to move slower than foreground images, creating a uniquely interesting depth of design. It’s already being used by many automobile websites and companies, such as Whiteboard.

This design will continue to take off in 2013, but those who use it need to be certain it fits their goals. It’s easy to wander into the realm of visitor confusion with Parallax, making content that needs to be simplified unnecessarily distracting or muddying the effect with bad design. It’s best use is shown on news sites, like ESPN, where the design aids the storytelling. Not every page of your website may benefit from Parallax design.

3. Visual Marketing

From Facebook to Pinterest to LinkedIn, social is focusing on visual communication. Given the success, many marketers will be tempted to do the same. However, individual testing by some has proven that while visual may be more social, it doesn’t always inspire fans to click over to your website and continue the conversion like a link and thumbnail would. Always keep your social marketing a healthy mix of content formats and test for what works for your brand.

4. Smarter Social Media

More and better user analytics are going to continue to be a hot marketing trend in 2013 and beyond, without a doubt. In part from marketers looking for further insights into what motivates fans and followers, so they can produce more content that generates a desired movement through the sales funnel. But most of the call for these tools will be to justify social marketing budgets to CEOs who aren’t sold on the value and are demanding proof of ROI.

5. Mobile Strategy

Five billion people worldwide use mobile devices and this number is only getting bigger. If your business doesn’t have a mobile marketing strategy, then you actively trying to fail. In addition, your website should have a responsive design that works across any medium on which users try to view it.

Which Internet Marketing trends have you heard the most about this year? Do you think they live up to all of the talk?

 

Category Conversion Optimization Design Website | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yellow Pages to Interwebs — The Evolution of Search

March 19, 2013 – 11:30 am

Whatever happened to the Yellow Pages? You may still receive a copy in the mail once a year, or you may have filled out the form to no longer receive it, but chances are you never use it. Internet users have all the information they need at their fingertips and it’s called Google. Google is so good, in fact, that you don’t even have to enter a city. Simply type in what you’re searching for and you’ll be provided with local results. Let’s take a closer look at how the internet replaced the Yellow Pages.

Early Online Business Searches

While the first online searches for local businesses did require entering a bit more information than today, it was still easier than dragging out the phone book. All you had to do was enter your search query, such as “plumber Houston Texas”, and results would come up with plumbers in that area. As businesses became advanced in their search engine optimization skills, you may have even gotten results for plumbers in cities surrounding your area because these plumbers used the same keywords you had entered on their site. As the internet evolved, so too did searches.

Localized Searches

In the mid 2000s, Google started allowing users to add a location to their profile that allowed them to search for local businesses without having to enter their city. For example, a user in Houston that needed a plumber, would simply search for plumbers. Google would then display business information for those businesses that had addresses in the same area or had used keywords to make their business appear in the results. While this was fascinating to users at the time, searches were about to go one step further in eliminating the need for phone books.

Personally I remember using this localized feature when searching for pizza when it first came out. I remember thinking in the back of my mind, “What the…ohh, that’s how they did that. Cool! Now do I want mushrooms or extra cheese?”

Smartphone GEO Searches

Thanks to smartphones, you can now download a number of apps that will tell you where the closest business is. For example, if you’re hungry, you can use an app to find out where the nearest Mexican restaurant is. If you have Google Maps on your phone, you can then get quick driving directions to follow. In other words, GEO searches are smarter than any phone book could ever hope to be, giving you information based on your current location.

Pile of Yellow Page Books

Pile of Yellow Page Books. pic by Frank Hebbert via Creative Commons

The Yellow Pages was a useful tool to have around up until the internet came along. Now, you can find the information you need in a matter of minutes. Of course, if you’re feeling nostalgic, you can always visit the Yellow Pages website.

Your Turn: Do you still use the paper yellow pages? Tell us why or why not in the comments!

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Content Marketing 2013: Great Content Brainstorming Tools

March 8, 2013 – 10:00 am

With 2013, we expect to see even more people and businesses harnessing the power of content marketing. In fact, there is a good chance you were already doing this but you may not have known what it was called.

One thing that most content creators will agree on is always looking for new ways to develop ideas. I keep a notebook with me at all times and also use the note-taking features on my phone. This way, no matter where I am when a good idea strikes, I can jot it down or take an audio note of it so I don’t lose it.

But what can you do when you’re trying for ideas and it feels like they just won’t come? There are actually some great content brainstorming tools available to help you build new ideas and expand on existing ideas. Some are meant to do as a group, others meant to do alone and some are tools you can find online to help you with the process.

Here are some content brainstorming tools to help you get your next big idea:

Freewriting

Freewriting takes you back to the days of high school English class but it’s a popular method for a reason. With freewriting, you do not restrict yourself to rules, grammar or style. You just allow your brain to run free with creative ideas. Encouraging free thinking with no boundaries is the best way to “think outside the box” and develop new, creative ideas. In the freewriting process, you can write on paper, in a journal or type on your computer- whatever you are most comfortable with. This is not a time for editing, criticizing or dismissing ideas. Just write, write, write and see what comes… some people like to use a timer for this exercise and just freewrite until the time runs up.

Mind Mapping

Another technique is mind-mapping and this is also good for people who like a visual to represent their ideas. A graphic representation of your ideas can be a fantastic way to build your content. You begin with a sheet of paper or a notebook, then write down your topic or idea in the middle of your space. Then start adding words that add to the main idea of your topic – in no particular order. When you have all the new ideas you can think of, begin asking the 5 “W’s”:

  1. Who
  2. What
  3. When
  4. Where
  5. Why

This will help you prompt more new ideas such as who will be interested in this topic, what will it teach them that they did not already know, when will they use this information, etc.

You can use the different groupings from your mind-mapping to help you generate different sections of your articles, posts to make on social media, blog content ideas and more.

Trigger Method

Next we have the “trigger method” which is often used in groups to help facilitate ideas between different people working on the same project. You could have your content team work together using this method.

First, state the topic or the objective. Then have the group write as many ideas as they can come up with on a sheet of paper for one minute. Then take a two minute break and come back and do it again for another minute. We use a large sheet of paper or a large whiteboard to do this trigger method. There are also ways you can do this virtually if you do not have a content team that can meet together in an office. We will cover some online tools a bit later.

Brain Writing

Another content generating tool that will help with your 2013 content marketing goals is brain writing. Similar to the other methods but also one that will work in a group, brain writing involves getting all the ideas out without fear of criticism or technical issues like spelling and grammar. This is all about content creation and the generation of ideas.

Start by giving everyone who will be participating in the activity a brain writing worksheet. You can have sheets printed up with the topic or project name at the top or just give blank sheets of paper and have them fill in accordingly.

Next, write down ideas underneath the topic for a pre-determined amount of time (usually 2-5 minutes). Once time is up, have them pass the paper to the next person who then adds something else. Then make the switch again until everyone has had a chance to add their own ideas, building off the ideas before them. You can just keep going until you’re finished and this is a great way to get more ideas than you would come up with alone or individually.

Online Tools

And of course, there are also some great online tools to help you create new content ideas for your business. Here are three of my personal favorites:

Word Storm- “Wordstorm visualizes the associations between words.” It begins with a word that you choose and will then create a map that puts related words together and words with a weaker association are spread farther out on the map. You can choose how many words you want included in your map. Mousing over the words in the map will give you the definition of the word in the box on the left.

See my map of the word “content” with 50 words included:

 

Mindjet- Mindjet is a great tool for online collaborations as we referenced earlier. It’s a good tool to create a graphical representation of your ideas and help you generate new ideas. There is a free 30-day trial to find out if it’s right for you. If you do a lot of content creation, this is one you will want to consider. If has more functions than the other tools but it does not have a free version (after the free trial). For what you get with the paid version, it’s worth it.

Bubbl.us- Bubbl.us is a great online tool for mapping your ideas in a graphical way. You can export and important, save and even print with ease. You can use your hierarchy, colors, font types and sizes and more. Here is an example of a very simple content map I started to create:

So as you can see, there are many different methods of brainstorming great content ideas. You may find that you try several and then pick one as a favorite or you might want to try different methods at different times to get the most from your content generation. The most important thing to remember is that the more you use these methods and the more you flex your creative brain, the easier the ideas will flow.

If you want to rock your content in 2013, make it a regular habit every day or every other day to do some content brainstorming and watch your content marketing succeed.

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Privately Funded / Crowdsourced Creative Projects Today

March 5, 2013 – 4:13 pm

privately funded creative projectsDo you have a hot new idea for a video game or a movie?

Have you created a comic but you don’t have the resources to make it available to the masses?

Of all the great things the Internet has brought us, there are now also new ways to get your creative project privately funded or crowdsourced. Before you reject the thought, you might be surprised to hear how well some projects of this nature have succeeded. People want to be a part of making the things they love and use and this is now possible more than ever before, with the help of the Internet.

We’re not talking small time hobby inventions, either. For example, this guy’s SWTOR Lego creation has over 900 supporters and over 30,000 views. Fans of Lego, Star Wars and the game are all on board to see this project come to fruition. If enough people invest, they will make these Legos and you better believe I’d be buying some for my son (ok and myself, too).

This is just one example of privately funded/crowdsourced creative projects today and more inventors and even companies are jumping on the bandwagon. When you can get the people involved in the projects, you know you have a solid idea from the start. When enough people are willing to invest to see it get completed, you also have a pretty good indication of how many people would be willing to buy the product or service. It gives you a solid measurement of the interest of your target market.

This is all thanks to fundraiser sites and crowdsourcing sites online that make it easier to connect projects with people who want to support them.

With these, real people can support actual projects that they believe in and watch those projects come to fruition. There is a big difference in this and the traditional ways of creating and inventing.

Let’s look at some more successful creative projects:

There are some major projects out there being completely privately funded and one reason for this is the accessibility made possible by platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Crowdrise. It’s important when dealing with these platforms to know the difference between those who exist to help creative projects and those that are meant more for private fundraising of causes.

So if you’re looking to post a project, take some time to research the platforms to find the best one for your project. Also take some time to explore current and recent projects. Make sure there is not already one too similar to yours and also take a look at the ones that have been successful to give you ideas for how to do it correctly. This is not the sort of project that should be done on a whim. It takes planning and organization as well as a great product/idea to make it work.

Creative projects like video games, music and videos are doing very well on fundraiser sites today. We are also seeing an increase in information from the government about accredited investors and how to make it easier for people to come together to fund ideas.

Do you know of any examples of really great privately funded projects?

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Mouse Finds New Mate, Takes Over Get Web Wired

December 27, 2012 – 11:30 am

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release

Fred Sexton
Big Cheese
704-968-1775

Charlotte, NC

Mouse Finds New Mate, Takes Over Get Web Wired

Get Web Wired Passes SEO Torch to m&M

Charlotte, NC., December 27, 2012 – Mouse gets some new cheese as Mouse & Man™ takes over servicing existing clients, mainly SEO accounts, of Get Web Wired. President Denise Garbacz, of FastForward Marketing Solutions, after 25 years in marketing has decided to move on to new ventures and is passing the torch to the team at Mouse and Man.

For more than 8 years, m&M has been providing SEO services such as ecommerce, local and national SEO, SEO audits, site design, training and keyword research to clients from many different industries. The team at m&M has worked with businesses of all types and sizes as well as industry-specific verticals in SEO like golf courses, heating and air, plumbing and dental.

m&M helps clients build their own SEO programs, evaluate current strategies or build one if there is not a current strategy in place. They will first provide an evaluation before beginning any work or changes to a client’s SEO. From here, the experts at m&M will work to build and expand the client’s current SEO program.

FastForward Marketing has offered one of the most comprehensive online marketing platforms in Charlotte and helped clients build SEO strategies, evaluate their current strategy and perform audits to look for areas of improvement.

Existing clients of FastForward Marketing will be forwarded to m&M for all of their online marketing needs. m&M will assume control of all online assets of FastForward Marketing, including website and social media accounts.

“I’m very honored and excited that Ms. Garbacz chose m&M to take over over for FastForward Marketing. We look forward to taking on new clients and exciting projects,” says Fred Sexton of Mouse & Man™.

About MouseandMan.com: Fred Sexton, AKA: The Big Cheese, opened Steinbeck-inspired “Mouse and Man“, an online marketing company in 2003 and since has helped businesses successfully promote an extensive array of products and services to strategically targeted markets around the world using the Internet.

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Download PDF Here

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How to Fix Your Screwed Up LinkedIn Marketing Strategy

December 5, 2012 – 11:30 am

LinkedIn MarketingMarketing your business or company on LinkedIn is an excellent way to build your brand, make connections with others in your field and even to recruit new hires or find qualified businesses to collaborate with. However, since LinkedIn marketing is growing in popularity, many marketers are looking for an easy fix and as a result, are losing their LI accounts for violating the rules. Many might not even know what they are doing is not allowed and that’s why you need to take some time to be familiar with the rules and the community expectations of each social network you try to market on. No one wants a sleazy spammer in their circle of business connections.

Here are just a few benefits to marketing on LinkedIn:

  • Reach a greater audience related to your niche/field
  • Generate leads for your business and traffic to your website
  • Showcase your blog posts and other professional writings
  • Join in groups and communities that share your common interests

However, when you mess up and break LinkedIn rules, you’re going to find yourself booted off the site and just coming back with a new account is not as easy as it is on other networks like Twitter. So first, you need to familiarize yourself with LinkedIn’s User Agreement. While they are not as strict as some networks, they do have some specific rules and etiquette that you will do well by learning right from the start.

So let’s look at some easy ways to screw up your LinkedIn marketing so you can be sure to avoid them:

Connecting with Everyone- whether you know them or not…

It is generally acceptable on Twitter to follow anyone who sounds interesting and while some Facebook users are still strict about their “friends”, many are open to friending you if you have friends or interests in common. On LinkedIn, however, you are only supposed to connect with people you know. It will even ask you how you know this person when you attempt to make the connection. If you are reported to trying to connect with strangers, there’s a good chance you will get banned. To avoid this altogether, make sure you only add people you know and send them a little note with your invite reminding them of who you are. (ie. “We met at that small business convention last August”)

Mass Mailing with LinkedIn Messages- the site is not your personal messenger…

Still another mistake marketers use is trying to use the LI mail system for mass mailings to other members. This is a misuse of services and can have your profile removed from the site. Focus instead on genuine, real messages to members when they apply to your topic. The receivers will appreciate it and you will remain in good standing with the site.

Plastering Your Email Address and URLs Everywhere- there’s a place for that, you know…

There is an appropriate place for your contact info, email addresses and website links. Use them. There is no need to try to place your URL in your name field, for example. It’s seen as spam and it will get you removed and banned. Keep the info where it belongs.

Posting Copyrighted Content as Your Own- stealing is wrong, even online…

Any time that you post content to a LinkedIn Group, LinkedIn Company Page, or on LinkedIn Answers, you must ensure you have the rights to post this content. If you are quoting someone else, use resources and link to the original and don’t copy the entire thing. Presenting copyrighted information as if it was yours is a violation. It’s also bad manners.

Using Bots to Perform Actions on the Site- don’t be lazy when making business connections…

Just like many other social networking sites, LinkedIn is taking a stance against those who use bots to try to get more connections, followers or members. They want you to grow your contacts organically. And honestly, what’s the point in cheating your way through anyway? All those numbers won’t convert if they are “fake” connections.

Have you been doing any of these already? Time to check yourself and get it together if you don’t want to have your account removed.

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Google’s 2012 SEO Review

November 29, 2012 – 11:30 am

2012 has been an interesting year for website SEO. If you’re a web design company, a business owner or an SEO service provider, it’s a full time job trying to keep up with all the algorithm changes. Google wants to cut back on the number of people gaming the system and also improve search results and quality for the Internet user but Panda and Penguin plus all of their subsequent updates have made the World Wide Web a difficult place to reside. It’s time to look at SEO in a new light and focus not on what you have to do to get ranking but on what you should be offering to be considered a valuable resource, which is ultimately what the search engines and everyone really wants, right?

The impact of Penguin and Panda is still being felt but there are some things you can do to prevent your site from being devalued and even to improve a site that has been previously downranked due to these updates. Google has changed their search algorithm between 300-500 times over the past year and while most of them were very minor, some of the big changes have website owners across the globe scrambling to comply.

So let’s take a look at some of the major changes to the search algorithms that happened this year:

  • Too many ads above the fold can get your site devalued
  • Low quality content or “thin” content was filtered out as a follow-up to the original Panda update
  • April brought us Penguin- which focused on “over optimization penalty” or “Webspam update”
  • Linkspam was targeted- warnings were sent out to many website owners with what Google read as unnatural backlinks
  • Penalty for sites that abuse copyright infringement (especially repeatedly)- remember folks, just because you “find it on Google”, doesn’t mean you can copy it to your own site
  • (EMD) Exact Match Domain Penalty – copying a well known domain and posting thin content to try to piggyback off the popularity of the original domain. These sites are now filtered out or down severly.
  • 21st update to Panda came in November with a focus on penalizing low quality sites

Who knows what December and then the New Year will bring (besides a lot of champagne). If you’re worried about your website or unsure of how to get back in the good graces of Google, it’s all fairly simple: deliver excellent content.

Forget about the tricks and the “secrets” you hear about online and avoid black hat tactics like the plague. Focus on giving your website visitors something of true value so they appreciate it and want to come back again, as well as recommend you to friends. Being that the search engines are looking more at social factors every day, things that people just naturally want to share is the name of the game….finally.

Make sure all content on your site is unique and well written. Mix it up with some multimedia- do podcasts and video marketing. Have some fun with it or whatever if your style.

In addition, get into social media and if you’re already there, get more involved in a genuine way. Don’t try to ‘game’ the system but instead, try to connect with users on a real level. If you don’t have the time and energy to do this for your company, consider hiring a community manager to take on that role. It’s a better investment than dropping a bunch of cash on purchased backlinks that will get you flagged for link spam.

Speaking of links, consider participating in quality guest blogging. Create excellent content on your chosen topic and try to get it published on some of your favorite industry blogs and sites. And don’t be afraid to link out to high quality, authority websites as well in your content.

Remember to update your web content regularly and continue to contribute something useful and worthwhile to the Internet. Search engine optimization is still very important but far too often, website owners get caught up in all the current “tricks of the trade” and they forget the purpose of it all. Even if you do weasel your way to the top of search with the right techniques, you won’t keep human readers around or convert anyone to customers when you don’t have something of value to offer.

If you need help with your website SEO as we head into 2013, contact us for a quote on a website SEO assessment.

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Creating a Social Media Marketing Strategy that Runs Itself

November 12, 2012 – 11:00 am

social media marketingToo lazy (or too busy) to run your social media campaign and too poor to hire someone to do it for you? Fortunately, you’re in luck! While you can’t completely scrap a social media campaign- every business and every department within a company should have one – there are some ways to create a social media marketing strategy that practically runs itself. It’s not as good as having a top-notch professional manage your campaign but it will come really darn close.

So let’s explore how this is done…

Figure out Who You Are (and Who You Are Not)

Have you taken the time to figure out who you are? (Who do you want to be when you grow up.) If you don’t know who you are, then how do you expect others to?

If you don’t know who you are personally, well that’s another story but as far as your business is concerned, you need to be able to define who and what you are. Your mission statement, your values and your core beliefs and work practices are all part of what makes your company what it is. if you don’t know who you are, it’s like being on a ship at sea with no navigation system. You’re just wondering aimlessly about, hoping someone spots you.

You want to make sure you stand out from the competitors by knowing who your target audience is and how you can benefit that audience. You have to be able to tell people who you are and how you can help them. Social media is your chance to connect directly with your target market and existing customers. But you need to know who you are in order to connect successfully.

At the same time, make it clear who you are not. Take a look at your competition and find out what you can offer that they don’t – and don’t be shy about letting everyone know why you should be the choice over them.

Don’t Tick People Off – Learn Proper Etiquette

social networkingWhile it’s okay to be a little controversial as well as having a strong opinion, you don’t want to tick people off so much that they avoid your posts and you like the plague – or worse, get you banned from the site you’re marketing on. Make sure you follow the rules set out for each site – especially if it has a specific area where marketing messages are allowed and other areas they aren’t allowed. They might cut you a little slack in the beginning, but if you’re scolded more than once a twice, you’ll be “outta there” in no time.

Make sure you’re active on the site and involved in conversations without having an agenda every time. You want to be genuine and contribute though-provoking comments and not just spam. Get to know the site and its members, and after a few weeks you can begin to post subtle marketing messages while still providing value and engaging with members. It’s all about balance. Also remember the specific social media etiquette for the site you’re using. For example, Reddit users have a specific way about them that’s different from the community at Facebook. Spend some time exploring the site, its rules and its community before you jump into conversations.

Controversial posts- Controversial posts can be a great way to get more attention and more activity on your social media accounts. However, you want to handle them with care. Post questions asking for the community’s opinion but be wary of trying to tell them what to think or that one way is right and another is wrong or you might turn away an entire class of people.

Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine; be humorous without being lewd or profane, and most of all be respectful.

Get noticed for the right reasons

You want to be noticed. That’s the whole point of social media marketing, of course, but you don’t want to be noticed for the wrong things. You’ll have to make the ultimate decision as to what is aligned with your brand and what is not. Does what you’re posting help or hurt your image?

For example, a number of sites recently have posted fake stories about celebrity deaths. While it might draw an immediate increase in viewership, in the end, these sites are not seen in the best light. Honesty and integrity is still the best policy when it comes to any business. While emotional stories will get read, think about the long-term impact of how you would like to be seen.

Ask yourself these questions about your brand:

  • How are you unique?
  • How do you stand out?
  • What do your readers want to talk about?
  • How can you engage the community in a unique way?
  • How can you showcase what makes you (or your brand) an expert?
  • How can you get the community involved?

Now that you know some ways to build your social media strategy, how do you keep it flowing smoothly on its own? Well, this is where the power of tools comes in to save the day. Total automation of your social media is a death sentence but taking advantage of certain tools to spread your messages more easily and accurately allows you to spend more time actually running your business.

Tools for Managing Social Media

social media toolsNow that you have an idea of the type of things to post, you probably want to know how your social marketing strategy can run itself. Here are just a few of the many tools available to help you with your social media management:

  • Using Hootsuite is a fantastic method of posting to a number of social networks, scheduling posts and also listening to what’s going on by creating dedicated searches or streams of Twitter lists. This is probably the number one site for monitoring and posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, a variety of business pages and more. It has a built-in custom analytics system with an ability to monitor select keywords as well as conveniently schedule posts.
  • SocialOomph can help you monitor your Facebook and Twitter accounts and also manage and schedule blog posts.
  • Crowdbooster is also a great site to manage social media activities on Facebook and Twitter by auto-posting on those sites as well as tracking new fans and followers and providing stats on how many times content has been shared or retweeted. It also provides posting time recommendations, which can be really helpful.

When it comes to scheduled posts, I like to create a social media editorial calendar with a theme and then pre-post these planned messages. They go out at specific times whether I am on the computer or not. Then I log in later and check for messages and replies. I make sure to comment back and reply to any and all messages that come through my social networks. As a general rule: you should be the most frequent commenter on your own accounts.

It may be slow going at first but the time and effort you put into your social media will continue to grow and in time, you’ll have accounts that practically run themselves. All you need to do is check in for some maintenance on a regular basis.

Happy networking!

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Why Your Customers Hit the Unlike Button

November 5, 2012 – 11:00 am

You’ve got fans! You want more fans. So why does it seem people keep “unliking” your page? Getting a lot of fans to your Facebook fanpage can make you feel really awesome for awhile but what happens if you cannot keep them? What do you do when you log in to Twitter to find you are down even more followers than yesterday?

The Unlike ButtonIf people are unliking, unfollowing or disconnecting from your networks, there’s probably a very good reason why. First, know that some people just like and follow because they want you to reciprocate. If you don’t (or sometimes even if you do), they will move on to find someone else to pull the same trick on.

As for these people… just let them go. It’s like the girlfriend who sleeps with your best friend. Do you really want her? Nope, didn’t think so.

However, these users just looking for a “return of the like love” are not the only ones who are hitting the dislike button in many cases. When you’re dropping numbers in a big way, then you know it’s because you’re doing something wrong and it’s time to act fast before you lose them all!

The problem is, most people don’t know how to pinpoint what they’re doing wrong or how to fix it.

The good news is there are some very common reasons for customers to hit the dislike button and once you hear them, you’ll probably be sitting there shaking your head because you know you’re guilty. So hang on to your hats and let’s take a journey down a path called “Things you should not do on social media.”

Reasons why your customers hit the dislike button:

You Post Too Much

Posting Too MuchWe like you but seriously, we do not need to hear from you every minute of the day. Flooding your followers with comments, posts and status updates too frequently will cause them to mentally mark you as spam. It works the same way our eyes tend to automatically ignore most Internet ads these days. Internet users come with a sort of built-in spam filter and if your posts are boring, overly promotional, and posted too often, they’re going to get placed in the “visual spam” department. Do it often enough and the user is going to take the time to hit that unlike button and remove you from their feed forever.

The Solution: So how do you fix this problem? Take note of how often you post and remember that it’s about quality, not quantity. There is no magic number on how many times in a day (month, week, hour) you should post- just post when you have something interesting or useful to say. Don’t post at all unless you have something great to share. If you cannot think of anything awesome to say at least once per day, you need to do some more research into your market and your industry. There’s got to be something you can add to the conversation on a daily basis. On the other end as your post volume increases be sure to monitor numbers of people dropping off. Might not be a bad idea to survey a couple of them and ask them why they unliked you.

You Got Them There by Bribing Them

Another common reason why fans/friends/connections leave is that they no longer have the incentive to stay. Think for a moment about how you got all of those likes in the first place. Did you buy them? Run a contest? Trade likes for likes? If you used any of these methods to bring in the fans, then there is a good chance they will dip out on you when there is no longer an incentive to stay. Hey, this isn’t college anymore so unless you plan on paying people to be your friend forever you best start coming up with some useful incentive. Maybe ask them what they want then give that to them for starters?

The Solution: You need to give the fans/followers something useful to make them want to stay. What point is there in them being a fan of your page anyway? Do you offer certain tips or advice to fans only? Do you have a tab or fan gateway that allows only those who like the page to see certain content? Are you providing solid, useful information on a regular basis to make the fans want to stay? If you got them by bribing them, you’re going to need to give them a darned good reason to stick around or they’ll move on to the next fanpage with a shiny prize up for grabs.

Your Posts are Boring/Annoying/Stupid

social networkingLet’s face it- no one wants to admit it but some of us are just like “that guy” at the party. The one who no one really likes but the nice girls smile and nod at your summer camp story until they can make a clean getaway without looking like snobs. Fans might be unliking your page because your posts just suck. If you’re boring, annoying or just plain stupid, people are going to notice and they’re going to blow you off. Maybe you looked cool at first but then you opened your mouth and put your foot in it and now she’s leaving for that other cool-looking dude in the corner faster than you can say “Really, I was just kidding!”

The Solution: Make better posts. Ok, it sounds simple enough but how do you do it? Well, you can use the news, media, and current trends to your advantage. When you don’t always have something brilliant to say, you can share current events or news in your niche. Additionally, you need to get to know your community. What do they want to hear about? What do they want to talk about? If you don’t know, ask. Get them involved and they will stick around.

You Have No Personality

Well, this one really goes hand in hand with the last reason why your customers are hitting the unlike button but the truth of the matter is, if you have no personality or if you don’t allow your personality to shine through in your posts, people are going to grow tired of you/your brand.

The Solution: Let your personality shine. Don’t be afraid to be witty, funny, silly or goofy. Be unique. Be real. Be you…who else could you be? Allow your personality to carry the brand rather than sounding like some paid advertising spot. Social media is about… being social! To truly connect with your fans, you must be personable. They will see this and they will reciprocate and this is how you build true fans who won’t leave you for the next sexy fanpage promising a good time.

So there you go- what tips do you have for keeping your loyal fans and reducing the numbers that hit that dreaded unlike button?

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Shake What Your Mama Gave You — 5 Content Marketing Strategies

October 19, 2012 – 10:00 am

Content marketing is making it big today. While the buzzword is new, the techniques are not. I’ve been doing content marketing for more than a decade and chances are, you’ve been using some content marketing techniques as well. So what is bringing so many people to now pay attention to the age-old approaches to marketing?

Well it’s simple; content creation has now become a significant method of effective marketing and community building. You can increase brand awareness, develop relationships with your potential market and share knowledge with readers through interesting and insightful content.

What you might not know is that the word “content” goes much deeper than just a blog post or even an article about your company. There are many different ways that you supply content and you might already be using many of them. It’s often hard for business owners to understand the importance and effectiveness of their content so let’s explore five ways you might be using content marketing already (and why they are important).

Do you keep a blog?

Blogging is not just for moms and foodies; the blog has taken over the business world as a successful and affordable method of marketing and advertising. What you might not know is that blogging is actually a highly effective form of content marketing.

Your blog will work to increase search engine placement and ranking, draw in human readers interested in your topic, help you build brand awareness, gain links from other sites in your niche and more. The more unique, interesting posts that you make, the better your blog will work for you. Try finding a new and unique angle to an old or popular topic. Try explaining more about who you are and what you do. Give some detailed insider tips or tricks about your niche or industry. There are so many wonderful opportunities out there; you just have to find them and make them yours.

Do you post to social media?

Do you use social media to connect with your target market, promote products and services or increase brand awareness? If not, you’re not taking advantage of one of the biggest platforms for marketing today. The problem is that while many businesses are using social media, most are not using it correctly.

Here’s a quirky example of a feisty company who had a great comeback when they were criticized on Facebook by a snarky poster. U.K. maxipad maker Bodyform had an interesting experience a week ago when a man named Richard Neill posted a wall, humorously calling out the brand for false advertising. His post had over 85,000 likes. So Bodyform decided to play along and they made him an excellent video response:

While a response such as this is what we might call epic proportions ,this doesn’t mean that you cannot still be up on your social media efforts. Engage with your connections, even if they don’t always agree with you. Listen to their feedback and draw inspiration from that. You should be the most common poster on your own social media accounts.

Do you share testimonials from clients/customers?

Did you know that your testimonials are a type of content that you can use for marketing and brand awareness? One of the main purposes of content is to create an awareness of your brand and to build trust between your brand and your customers and target market. Any SEO methods you use should also coincide with this content. Consistency is key to presenting the image you want your brand to have.

When you share certain types of content such as reviews, testimonials and even how to’s, this helps create consistency and transparency in your company. This builds trust and it strengthens the brand awareness.

Some ideas for this type of content include:

  • Specific advice to your readers
  • Tips and tricks related to your niche
  • Customer reviews on 3rd party sites like Yelp or Google+
  • Articles that mention your firm
  • Endorsements from previous customers/clients

Now let’s explore another type of content you might know realize is beneficial.

Do you post conversion content?

If you’re not posting conversion content, you are cutting your content marketing methods short. What does this even mean, you might be asking? Conversion content has the ability to call and convert potential clients into the action of buying or using your product or service. One traditional method of doing this is by holding live, in-person events.

But some other ways you can do this with content are:

  • ROI calculators
  • Case studies
  • Stats and charts
  • Documented results

This is your proof that your product or service works and it builds trust with the potential buyer. It also gives you clout in the industry and proves that you know what you are doing. No matter what industry you are in, conversion content is possible. If you’re not currently using it as a marketing strategy, it’s time to put that on your to-do list.

Do you share multimedia content?

One of the most popular types of content today is multimedia but many people don’t even realize how important it is to share content in this way. Still others are attempting to do it haphazardly and they may be missing the bulls eye from time to time. Video, infographics, photos, pictures and images can all be used to help increase awareness of your brand.

What about a monthly or weekly podcast? What about using Instagram to share photos of your business doing what you do or to introduce new products? How about a weekly series of how-to videos that you share from your website’s blog?

There are so many wonderful opportunities for multimedia content today. A creative marketer will be able to help you if you are stumped for ideas. One of the most important rules to remember: Don’t think outside the box; throw away the box!

The word “content” is confusing today but the good news is that it encompasses more unique directions and ideas than ever before. There is much more to it than some blog posts or some articles (although they make an important part of the process). You must think in terms of your content as a tool that helps turn prospects into customers and customers into repeat business.

This is a process- something you must plan, something you need to set goals for and have a plan of action to meeting those goals. It is also a process and not one that happens overnight. Do not expect your first video to go viral. Do not expect one great article to increase sales in one week. However, treat your content marketing seriously. The more you put into it, the more you will get in return.

Now that you know these are methods of content marketing, the real question that lies is: ‘Are you putting your best efforts into this?’

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