Social Media Pathways

Social Media Tools: What Is Pinterest

Jennifer — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:45:18 +0000

Pinterest. You’ve probably heard the buzz by now. Mark Zuckerburg just created his account, and as of December 2011, it had joined the ranks of the top ten social media sites, surpassing Google+ and Tumblr, with over 11 million visitors. So what is this new site all about, and how is it different from Facebook, Twitter, and the other big players on the social media scene?

An Online Tack Board

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, which organize your information in a chronological way and focus on text updates and written posts, Pinterest uses a unique visual layout that isn’t tied to any particular timeline.

Think of it as an online tack board, or several online tack boards, that you can theme and use to organize your projects, discover new products and ideas, or just post photos and videos you find fun or inspirational.

A Little Terminology

Your board is where you group related pins. You can have as many themed boards as you want and use them to group and organize your pins. For example, you might have one board about Food, another for Drink, and a third for Design Inspiration. It’s up to you, and the sky is the limit.

A pin is a photo or video that you add to your online pinboard. You can find these pins anywhere on the Web.

Repinning is adding an image to your board that you found on someone else’s board.

If visitors like one of your boards, they can choose to follow it, kind of like “following” someone on Twitter. They can also comment on your pins and repin them on their own boards.

Linking

One of the coolest things about Pinterest is that each image you post on your board can serve as a link, guiding your visitors back to the site where you found it.

Let’s say you find an interesting slideshow about organic farming practices. You can pin one of the photos onto your board and create a link to the original website. When your visitors click on the photo, they will be taken to the full slideshow. If you are linking to a product, you can also add pricing information that your visitors can see when they scroll over the picture.

Why You Should Join

Pinterest can be a great way to increase your businesses’ and/or brand’s online presence. While you can (and should) add pins of your own products and services to your boards, you don’t want them to become the equivalent of online stores. Think of them more as a way to get people interested in your company and develop a deeper understanding of what you do and why.

You can also link your Pinterest site to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, using it to drive traffic and increase online interest in your brand.

Pinterest has also created a “Pin It” icon that you can add to your business site, allowing other uses to easily add images from your site to their online boards. And all those “pinned” images can link directly back to your website.

How to Join

As of now Pinterest is “invite only.” But don’t let that scare you away. If you know someone using the site, you can simply ask for an invite. If not, you can go to Pinterest.com and request an invite. In a couple of days you should receive an email with an invitation to start pinning!

Twitter Is Traffic

Carl — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:17:17 +0000

If A Tree Falls

By Kalyn

Yes, you’ve heard the age-old adage, ‘if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound’?

Well, if you have a website or a Facebook Fan Page that is beautiful but has no hits, then you likely think that no, no sound is made.

Running an online marketing and advertising campaign today is tricky. You have to understand what mediums, like a website and a Facebook Fanpage, are a must and which sites, like Linked In, depend on what kind of business you have. You have to understand where and how to tweet, update, add; what to say and how often!

Then there is the most important factor of all, how to create traffic. It doesn’t matter what online presence you do or don’t have, it all comes down to whether or not it is seen. Thus, creating traffic should be your primary focus so that any other online efforts do not go in vein.

Twitter Means Traffic

So, when it comes right down to it, your online presence must be a combined effort these day, but Twitter should be thought of as the foundation to your campaign. Similar to a highway, Twitter provides a constant flow of traffic that speeds by. An update on Twitter, like a car on the highway, is only visible for a few minutes before it is gone out of sight. Also similar to a highway, a sign of what is available in town with an off-ramp provides advertising that can bring tourists to an otherwise sleepy town.

Twitter is the number one traffic driver. Because the tweets are limited to 140 characters max, they allow viewers to get a great overview or tidbits of information about your offerings. The tweets can be fun, informational or provide hyperlinks to anything you like.

How Do I Tweet?

On Twitter it is important to connect with people who are interested in the same things as you are or as your business offers. ‘Following’ others is the customary method to get them to follow you back so that your updates can then be seen by them. Gaining followers on Twitter is easy this way, especially as opposed to other social sites where an audience is not near as quick to join your social network.

Hundreds and then thousands of followers on Twitter is not uncommon, thought it takes some time to build up and can be time-consuming. A short cut to this is to have a social media marketing company run this for you. Either way, whether you run it yourself or have your social media run for you, building a Twitter audience will ensure that your voice is hear and will help you drive traffic and business.

Kalyn is co-owner of SMP and works with clients and the marketing for SMP. She offers business mentoring and, like the rest of the SMP team, works to help increase her client’s online presence, increasing traffic and business.

Successful Entrepreneur – Confidence

Editor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:03:52 +0000

By Kalyn

Stuck In A Rut

Sigh. Like me, you may just sigh when you think of “special” people, like Bill Gates who walked into a meeting with IBM at a young age and made the deal of his life. You may shrink a bit in your seat when you think that Dell computers began in a garage, as you sit in your home or small office wishing for more success. Or, you may be a bit bitter that Google’s home office, more like a home town, offers employees free gormet meals, massages and much more when you may be struggling to get insurance that covers very little anyway.

What makes these entrepreneurs quite so successful? Are you stuck in a rut in which you have business, but not enough? And yet, you are too busy to drum up more business, which you probably couldn’t handle anyway?

As a business owner, you may very well be stuck trying to get to the next level. You may need more space, more customers and more help, or any combination thereof. You also may find yourself in a catch 22 in which more business means too much work for you and not enough to hire out help.

Clarity

This is why a successful entrepreneur always needs clarity and intent in their business. Unlike being an employee in which you don’t need to foresee problems, solutions, marketing needs and growth for the company, you do. Above the every day waters of your day to day business, you also need to raise yourself above, giving yourself a bird’s eye view of the waves you are navigating.

You need to have clarity in your business.

Just staying a-float can take most, if not all, of your energy and time, something that most business owners say and experience. However, they say ‘a stitch in time’ and I say ‘can set your course to success’.

Any airplane requires a pilot; a country requires a leader and your business requires a captain at the helm. While most entrepreneurs may have to identify themselves as jacks of all trades even though they’d prefer that captain’s hat, this needs to change in order for you to be a “special” person who succeeds in business.

Whether it is Gates, Lennon or Walten, They Knew

Across many walks of life, one thing that successful entrepreneurs have in common is that they know. If you read about the stories of huge, successful entrepreneurs you will find a few commonalities, namely that they all had an unwavering belief in themselves. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard because he knew he’d be successful in life and that it was time for him to join the business world. John Lennon, one of the greatest influencers of music in our time and Steven Tyler both say that they knew they were great musicians before anyone else did. Sam Walten believed in himself and what he was creating even when he was 2 million dollars in debt and trying to get Walmart off the ground.

The Myth of a Map

Somewhere along the line we all seem to believe that we are supposed to be handed a map leading us to a treasure in life or a golden egg that we can cash in for our dreams and it never happens.

As successful entrepreneurs on the road to even greater success we need to realize that the map was a myth. The only treasure you were given was yourself. The only head start in life you could have received or can receive right now as you read this is the authentic belief in yourself. These were the magic elements that other kings and queens of enterprise had and that you have too. The only difference lies in their recognition of it.

Lead The Way

For many people the right marketing plan or the right social media campaign leads to success. For others it is having the team or directors on your staff. For someone else it will be something else. The elusive carrot that we chase to create the right circumstances can lead us on wild goose chases.

On the other hand, when you choose to own your business by wearing your captain’s hat and to have clairty and intent in your business, then you begin to navigate smooth and choppy waters. You begin to attract the right people to support you and the right campaign to help spread the word. When it comes to the chicken and the egg, you came first.

As an entrepreneur it is important for you to recognzie what it is that you do better than most and what you can offer others. It is crucial for you to see that you are the key to your success, and to then turn these into authentic confidence. When you blend such confidence and the vision for your company together you will begin to create the clarity you require. Now add intention and you provide that mythical map for yourself.

When you believe in yourself and take the time to get the clarity and intent your business needs then you will find a magical touch that helps you advertise, grow and enjoy success, naturally.

Some Great Quotes by Jeff Bezos

Simon — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:19:45 +0000

Some great questions from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, from a commencement speech he gave a few years ago:

“Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life — the life you author from scratch on your own — begins.

How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

Will you bluff it out when you’re wrong, or will you apologize?

Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swash buckling?

When it’s tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?” ~ Jeff Bezos

Simon Townsend

Holstee Manifesto Poster by Holstee

Simon — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:07:44 +0000

A post by Simon Townsend

If you haven’t seen this manifesto from Holstee, it is worth a read:

via shop.holstee.com

The greatest business owners are not just selling a product or a service. They are selling a feeling, an emotion…they are selling their passion, their vitality for their business. There is no question that people resonate to passion. They resonate to that vitality. And we want that experience. We want to feel as if we are a part of something unique and growing. We want to feel that we are a part of something that is bigger then ourselves, that we are contributing or creating, that we are offering something of value to our world. Some of the best sustainable businesses that I have seen (for example Holstee) all have a vision statement of who they are and what they are offering to the world. What is your vision of your business? What are you offering beyond a product or service? Why do you do what you do?

Posted by Simon Townsend

The Perfect City: What Does “Community” Mean to You?

Simon — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:55:25 +0000

A post by Simon Townsend

The people (or person) over at Brainpicker featured a column today on community. They ask, “What is community?” In the age of social media, and the new world of advertising, this is a great question to ask–especially as one builds out their brand. And it is important to go one step further and ask how you will build a community with your customers.

The thing that companies like Starbucks, Facebook, Google and Apple have done is to create products, and a brand that connects people, that gives them a sense of community. They don’t just offer a service or a product….they offer an experience. Researchers have determined that some people’s feelings toward Apple border on religious devotion (http://consumerist.com/2011/05/mri-shows-apple-stimulates-fans-brains-like-re….) There have been other studies that have linked brand loyalty with loyalty within a relationship.

08 JUNE, 2011

The Perfect City: What Does “Community” Mean to You?

by Maria Popova

What borrowing sugar has to do with robust public life.

Last year, the wonderful Fifty People One Question offered a poetic glimpse of the soul of four communities, and last month the city of Grand Rapids demonstrated the goosebumps-inducing power of community. I’m relentlessly fascinated by cities and what it is that transforms them from shared urban space into thriving, lively communities full of shared humanity, vision and aspiration, so I was happy to take part in a think-tank event by nonprofit CEOs for Cities last fall, which assembled some of the country’s brightest minds in urban planning, design, policy, information technology and other facets of culture to dissect the elements of “robust public life” and how to best foster them in building successful, happy communities that attract and retain talent.

That’s exactly what this beautifully filmed short video explores, by asking people one simple but profound question: “What does ‘community’ mean to you?”

I’d love to be able to walk out and know everybody in my community.”

Something that kind of has a little bit of everything and access to everything, but still is quiet, so it’s not so quite so hustle-and-bustle.”

I like to pass other people who are walking their dogs early in the morning or late at night.”

A few universal needs seem to emerge: Walkability, a combination of private space and readily available entertainment, face-to-face interaction with neighbors and, more than anything, a sense of belonging.

What’s your ideal community?

via brainpickings.org

As a business owner, by creating a powerful unique sense of community within your brand, through social media, through the experience of going to your restaurant, or shop, or buying your products, you are going to create that sense of loyalty, that sense of relationship with your consumers. So how you are creating a community? What are you offering beyond just a meal, a haircut, some music, a t-shirt? Can you create an experience in such a way that your business becomes more than just a mode of exchange, of profit or loss, can you create a business that is a community? And what would that community look like for you?

Posted by Simon Townsend

Ten Advantages of Google Places For Your Business (besides the fact that it is free advertising)

Carl — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 00:43:22 +0000

Are you using Google Places Yet?

As you become familiar with Google Places and update your listings on a regular basis, you’ll discover hundreds of advantages for advertising your business through this free service. Listed below are 10 advantages worth mentioning.

1. Online advertising like Google Places is the way of the future, and it will soon replace paper phone directory listings that cost thousands of dollars per year.

2. Google Places is free.

3. When your Google Places listing is optimized properly, your business listing appears on the first page of Google.

4. You can offer discounts and coupons for one day, one week, or one month.

5. Your website, physical mailing address, and your phone number are displayed in your listing, which allows customers to find you more quickly and to get the information they need.

6. Mobile phone users can find your business listing immediately, and they don’t need a computer to do it.

7. You will receive more traffic and new customers.

8. You don’t need a physical retail or warehouse location to get accepted into Google Places.

9. By using citations and reviews, your Google Places will move up in ranking. With high ranking, within eight weeks, rather than eight months or eight years, your free advertising with Google Places will bring you more targeted customers faster than traditional organic methods.

10. Finally, and the most important to your financial goals, is that because it is so easy for customers to find your business listing, you will make more money than you did before your business was listed in Google Places.

Whether you are going to set up and claim your Google Places page on your own, or have someone do this service for you, the sooner you have your Google Places page working for you, the quicker your customers will find you.

Google+

The Facebook Setting You Should Change as Quickly as Possible

Carl — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:41:25 +0000

Did you know that with a simple Firefox Browser extension people can hack into your Facebook account? Finally, Facebook has done something about it. The following is something you want to do right away!

The Facebook Setting You Should Change as Quickly as Possible

Facebook finally provided a way to keep any random jerk in the café from hijacking your account. But you have to go out of your way to enable this protection, and you might have to wait. Still: Jump on this.

Facebook has at long last offered an option to use the encrypted “HTTPS” protocol, a feature it will begin rolling out today but won’t finish for a “few weeks.” You should check now if it’s available, and sign up as soon as it is enabled for your account. The performance overhead is minor—zippy Gmail, for example, uses HTTPS for everything—and it’s an important step to keep your Facebook account safe from being hijacked on an open or poorly secured wireless network.

By default, Facebook sends your access credentials in the clear, with no encryption whatsoever. Switching to HTTPS is important because a browser extension called Firesheep has made it especially easy for anyone sharing your open wireless network—at cafe or conference, for example—to sniff your credentials and freely access your account. One blogger sitting in a random New York Starbucks was able to steal 20-40 Facebook identities in half an hour. HTTPS solves this longstanding problem by encrypting your login cookies and other data; in fact the inventor of Firesheep made the software to encourage companies like Facebook to finally lock down their systems.

You can sign up for Facebook HTTPS by going to Account Settings and then selecting “Account Security,” third from the bottom. Then click under “Secure Browsing” — if it’s there. Facebook says everyone should have this by the end of the day, but in the meantime you might be missing the relevant option toggle.

Facebook is sure taking its sweet time rolling this out. Firesheep has been out for more than three months, and the EFF released a plugin for secure Facebook connections back in June. Even the HTTPS option is half measure. It applies only on the website, not on Facebook’s iPhone app.

And HTTPS should really be automatic for all Facebook users, not an opt-in buried in one of Facebook’s famously labyrinthine settings menus. Facebook seems to recognize this, writing, “We hope to offer HTTPS as a default whenever you are using Facebook sometime in the future.” Given that Facebook secures not only intimate pictures and chats but people’s credentials on other websites, that future really can’t come soon enough. But if history is any guide, Facebook’s users are in for a long wait for proper security.

Send an email to Ryan Tate, the author of this post, at ryan@gawker.com.

via gawker.com

Was the option available to you? If now, check back with your Facebook account until it is rolled out to your profile. Don’t take a chance in getting your Facebook hacked!

Top 10 Business Blogs and Why They Are Successful | Social Media Examiner

Carl — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 04:35:25 +0000

Creating a business blog is one of the most important things you can do to increase your search engine visibility and increase your customer base.

A business blog gives you the ability to interact with your customers. It also enables you to easily add fresh content. Fresh content in a business blog is not only interesting to your customers and keeps them coming back, but search engines love it. Here is a great article from Social Media Examiner on the top business blogs and how they are used.

10 Top Business Blogs and Why They Are Successful

By Amy Porterfield
Published January 25, 2011

via socialmediaexaminer.com

Does your business have a blog? Are you looking to generate engaging comments and new daily visitors? If so, look no further.

This article showcases 10 top blogs in multiple markets. Follow their lead to take your blog from good to great. And if you don’t have a business blog yet, now’s the perfect time to get in the game!

Each of these successful blog examples has incorporated unique features that have attracted thousands of readers. The great news is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel—just model the best. Take a look at these thriving blogs and apply the same success strategies to your own blog.

#1: Sweet Leaf Tea

Sweet Leaf Tea is a blog site that sells specialty teas. They’ve figured out a way to humanize their blog while staying true to their brand. Sweet Leaf Tea uses their blog design to bring a less formal, more human touch to their brand.

Notice in the image below the casual fonts, the old-world feeling of their images and the informal language they use to spotlight the features on the site. It’s more “people-speak” than “marketing-speak” and this strategy instantly draws in their target audience.

Sweet Leaf Tea also showcases their employees in a very friendly, casual way. They show photos of their teammates (they call them “Tea Mates”) and give us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of their fun work environment by posting the Tea Mates’ nicknames and interests.

Tip: Consider allowing your employees to be the face of your brand. Highlighting your team is a great way to bring your readers behind the scenes and let them see the team camaraderie. This kind of transparency builds trust with your readers. Also, your team can help you keep things informal, fun and relatable. It’s important to be professional, but remember your readers are human and everyone enjoys a little fun too.

#2: Stonyfield Farm

Stonyfield Farms specializes in organic dairy products. Their branding is geared toward family, farming and living an organic lifestyle.

Stonyfield does a great job of staying true to their brand by creating a targeted theme within their blog. As you can see from the image below, they use a barnyard as their home page backdrop, and include pictures of healthy families and articles about healthy living. All of these components reinforce their theme of family and healthy living. Plus, notice how they say “Let’s Be Friends,” a much friendlier, warmer way to encourage people to connect with you on your social sites.

They also use video in a very genuine, behind-the-scenes kind of way. Just like their blog’s theme of family and farming, their videos are not professionally done, but with real people living the lifestyle they personify. Many of their videos come from the farm of an organic dairy farmer in Vermont, who supplies milk for their products. You can’t get much more behind-the-scenes than that!

Staying true to your theme, as Stonyfield has done with their videos, allows your audience to know, like and trust you. This is key to building a solid blogging foundation.

Another thing they do very well is their use of soft sales messages contextualized in value-added content. For example, they may write an article about the importance of eating organic fruit, but weave in the idea of mixing Stonyfield yogurt in with your fruit for an extra dose of nutrients. There’s nothing wrong with promoting your products on your blog; just remember that the most successful blogs place added value before selling.

The Stonyfield Farm blog is a great example of a big brand using their blog to build community and educate their readers about their market.

Tip: Try to weave in a theme throughout your blog. To help with this, consider inviting outsiders to contribute to your blog. Another great tip is to go deeper by allowing your audience to see what’s behind the curtain. Behind-the-scenes stories and footage invite the reader in even more and will help you create content that stays true to your theme.

#3: Pioneer Woman

Pioneer Woman is an excellent example of a successful lifestyle blog. The blog’s creator, Ree Drummond, has used her blog as a platform for a variety of projects, including promoting her cookbook and showcasing her photography. Her “secret sauce” lies in her ability to connect personally with her readers while creating a welcoming, friendly and warm experience one blog post at a time.

One great example of Ree’s welcoming persona is her simple bio on the home page. And take a look at her social sites. They’re easy to see and are also uniquely designed to match her site. This is smart branding at its best!

Another way Ree is consistent with her branding is in her blog’s header. She changes it depending on the season and time of year. Because so much of country life is about holiday and seasons, this small touch is directly aligned with the overall vision of the blog. Also notice her brilliant use of photography. Photos on a blog are essential when you want to create a feeling or experience for your readers.

In addition, her blog layout is easy to navigate, which is extremely important considering the short attention span of most readers today. Ree has added icons that allow you to view her blog in multiple ways, including multiple blog thumbnails to a page or just a few at a time. You get to decide. These small touches are just some of the reasons her readers continually return for more.

Tip: Be aware of your brand when you’re designing your blog. Consider using photographs and brand-specific design elements to draw in your readers. By increasing your blog aesthetics, you can easily create a more personable and relatable experience for your readers.

#4: Citrix

Citrix’s unique blogging strategy is all about adding value. Their blog, Work Shifting, is a work/lifestyle blog that focuses on the issues people in business experience when on the move. What’s interesting is that you have to really look hard to know which company is behind the blog because Citrix downplays their involvement. Instead, they’ve put their audience’s needs first and have created a space that resonates with their audience’s needs and interests.

In addition, to set their blog apart from the rest, they use distinct visual branding with their logo and images. Plus, their visual branding is memorable—another surefire sign of a successful blog. In addition to their branding, notice below how the content and topics are all about the target audience’s needs. This is key when creating a blog that’s bigger than your own brand.

They also use a broad range of contributors—people who do not actually work for Citrix. This is a smart strategy to diversify the content of your blog and attract new readers via those who already follow your contributors.

Tip: Focus on adding value to a market that’s bigger than your brand. You can do this by collaborating with contributors who are experts in your market and who will resonate with your ideal audience. Offer as much free value as possible and keep your sales messages as low-key as possible to keep the focus on the content. This strategy will build trust with your target audience and keep your readers coming back for more.

#5: Danny Brown

Danny Brown’s blog is a terrific case study for consultants or anyone with a personal brand. This site positions Brown as an expert in his field and showcases his expertise, knowledge and services.

A brilliant feature on this blog is the way Danny presents his consulting services without being too pushy or arrogant. It’s all about the language he uses. Instead of saying “Hire Me” on his site, he instead uses the phrase “Work with Me.” It’s a subtle shift in language, but conjures up an entirely different experience.

In the image above, you’ll also see that Danny uses the cliffhanger concept by posting a snippet of a blog post and then adding a “read more” button to get the reader to dive deeper into his blog site. This is a powerful way to get people’s attention and entice them to stay a little longer and explore your site. Also, this concept helps you save space on your home site by just giving a teaser of your article content.

One of my favorite features on his blog is the share sidebar next to his blog posts. The WordPress plugin is called Digg Digg and the sidebar floats on the screen. When a reader scrolls down the page, the sidebar follows them. This is a smart way to make it as easy as possible for people to share your content.

Tip: Make content sharing on your site as easy as possible for your readers. If they have to look around for the share features, they’ll likely skip sharing altogether. Consider using the Digg Digg plugin to make this possible on your site.

#6: Ecoki

Ecoki is a blog site that offers a wide range of articles, tips and ideas on everything related to living a green lifestyle.

The beauty of this blog is the clean, grid-based template. This style makes it easy to read and showcases the various topics. In addition, they make it simple to navigate the site by adding easily visible headers, such as featured article, latest news, popular items and resources. Sometimes just calling out the specific areas on your site is all you need to do to get people more engaged with your content.

In addition, Ecoki has two types of navigation bars. The top navigation bar calls out the main topics they cover, including food, technology and design, and the navigation directly under it showcases their media delivery, including articles, video and info on contributors. These two different navigation bars give more power to the readers by allowing them to choose how they want to consume the content.

Tip: If the content for your blog site includes multiple topics, consider the grid layout design. It’s easy to follow and allows you to showcase multiple areas in a simple format. Also, one smart strategy is to add in photos to break up the text in your grid layout and make the site more inviting and less static.

#7: Nuts About Southwest

Southwest Airline’s blog, Nuts About Southwest, is one of the most popular airline blogs around today. Their secret to success is they understand their loyal flyers’ needs and interests and capitalize on that throughout their blog. The blog is designed to build a relationship between the brand and their consumers.

One thing to remember is that blogs are so much more than just text. What Southwest does best is mix up their media. They use written articles, videos, photos, polls and surveys to capture the interest of their many readers. They often lead with images to draw in the reader, a great strategy for any business blog.

In addition, Nuts About Southwest has added a feature where returning readers can create an account to customize their profile and engage with other Southwest readers. Since frequent flyers are often loyal fans, they’re likely to exchange travel stories and experiences with other readers. Southwest created a way to make this easy for their readers.

Tip: Special features on your blog are a great strategy, especially if you have loyal fans who will likely return to your blog on a regular basis. (After all, this is the goal for most blogs, right?) Treat your returning readers as VIPs by creating features and content that facilitate engagement with you and other readers.

#8: Disney Parks

Disney Parks is a site designed to encourage more visitors to Disney’s parks. They do a fantastic job of making their site memorable and useful.

One great feature is the way they showcase their blog authors. Next to each post is a photo of the author. This allows their content to be a bit more friendly and transparent.

Also, Disney is a world-renowned company and they’re known for their professional branding and impeccable productions. To be consistent with the branding and to meet the expectations of their audience, this blog site posts professional videos, photos and content. Unlike the Stonyfield Farms blog mentioned earlier, Disney Parks does not have that casual, homegrown feeling to it. Instead it’s polished and professional to match their branding.

This blog site also includes a comment policy to inform their readers that comments are monitored. Because they’re appealing to families with children, Disney Parks needs to make sure parents feel safe when their children visit the site.

Tip: Keep your design simple while staying true to your audience’s expectations. If you have a polished, professional image, don’t stray too far from this on your business blog. The key here is to know your audience’s expectations and go above and beyond to deliver what they want to read, see and experience most.

#9: Procter & Gamble

Man of the House, a Procter & Gamble blog, is a great example of a blog that targets a very specific audience. The blog is designed specifically for men and covers all areas that interest men, including money, career, technology, family and fitness. Although there are many “mommy blogs” out there today, there are very few sites that focus solely on men and their interests. This site captures that niche market perfectly.

They do many things right, but one great feature is their use of photos on their home page. Each blog post includes a thumbnail photo above each post to allow their readers to browse the articles easily. This is a great way to showcase your content, especially if you’re writing on a variety of topics and want your audience to browse your archives.

Also, similar to the Citrix blog mentioned earlier, this site also does not blast advertisements and push their products. Instead, they’ve built a site with great content and engaging features and subtly weave their marketing messages into the site, but only as a secondary outcome. Adding value for their audience with tips, tricks and ideas is their number-one goal.

The key is to create a site that caters to your target audience, and once you own the platform, you’re able to subtly weave in your marketing messages to a warm audience. If you do the hard work up front and do it consistently, you’ll create a platform that practically sells your brand and products for you!

Lastly, the Man of the House blog places social media sharing buttons at the top of each post, instead of the bottom where most people are used to seeing them. Because many readers will not read the entire blog post, placing the buttons at the top encourages readers to share their content.

Tip: Think about how you can address the needs of your audience even if it has nothing to do with your products or services. The more you can make your posts interesting to your target audience, they’ll consider your site as the “go-to source” for quality info and keep coming back for more.

#10: Delicious Days

Delicious Days is a front-runner when it comes to impeccable blog design and overall layout. This site is a great example of knowing what your audience will respond to and delivering your content in a way that grabs their attention.

The use of white space and the black-and-white design makes the site easy to read and navigate. Notice how there’s not a lot of background noise and the clean, minimal look is inviting and calm.

Also, Nicky Stich, the creator of the blog, has added a feature that’s not often seen on most blogging sites. In the upper-right corner you’ll see a tab that reads, “Can I help you?” This serves as her website search tool.

In addition, the “A ” and “A-” buttons increase or decrease the font size of her blog site, again making her site even easier to navigate. These two features are great examples of taking care of your audience and addressing their needs front and center on your blog.

Also, Nicky knows what will lure her readers in, and in her case, its enticing photos. She is a master at mixing text with imagery to tell the story and evoke emotion. This is evident in the two images below.

Tip: Don’t underestimate the power of white space. It can make your blog more user-friendly and visually appealing to attract readers and keep your existing readers on your blog longer. Also, know what attracts your audience’s attention. If enticing photos will catch their attention, as with Delicious Days, use more photos! Keep it simple and give your audience what they want.

Want to Learn More About Blogging for Business?

If you’re not fully leveraging the power of blogging, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Most businesses are just now getting started with blogs.

There’s one easy way to take your blogging efforts to the next level. By attending the web’s largest online blogging conference, Blogging Success Summit 2011, you’ll become empowered to use blogs to gain more exposure, better engage customers and grow your business.

The great part is you’ll be learning from 23 blogging experts. Join Technorati’s CEO, Scott Monty, Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, Michael Stelzner and experts from McDonald’s, Cisco, Southwest Airlines, Sony and Procter & Gamble as they reveal proven blogging tactics at Blogging Success Summit 2011.

It’s the web’s largest online blogging conference. Go here for a free sample and to learn more.

What do you think about the above business blogs? Have you tried any of these techniques with success? Let us know! Please leave your comments below.

via socialmediaexaminer.com

Consider creating a business blog now. A business blog can be made to look like a static html website. It can also be added on to an existing website. More and more your customers are going to expect to be able to interact with you and your company and a business blog is one of the best ways to do so.

Google Places -Why You Need to Be Listed

Carl — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:56:42 +0000

Have you claimed your Google Places page yet?

This article by J.B. Malik discusses the benefits of being listed on Google Places.

Benefits to Getting Listed on Google Places

By J. B. Malik

Google continues its friendly relationship with local businesses by beefing up Google Local Business, now known as “Google Places”. The world’s largest search engine company is betting its renewed emphasis will get more local retail and service outlets to use Google when marketing their businesses.

I have used Google Places to market my wife’s housecleaning business here in Long Island, NY, so I am enthusiastic about the changes. Getting visibility in the 1st page results of Google – depending on whether or not your business exists in Google Places’ preset categories – is now pretty easy.

Now, businesses home-based and larger can set their service areas, which enables customers to find them more easily.

And in some cities, Google is offering local businesses free photo shoots (by a Google photographer!) of their store interior. The photos are then uploaded to accompany the Google Places listing. If you think this goal sounds too lofty, remember Google has blanketed much of the U.S.’ major cities – and their suburbs – with photographs to give its Google Maps users a ‘street level’ view of directions and locations.

Lastly – and a bit premature, I think – is that Google Places users can generate their own QR (“Quick Response”) code to place next to their listing, which a customer, equipped with a scanner on their phone, could scan to download information to their device. Such technology is proven in theory, but will people actually use it anytime in the near future? It smacks of the promise of a similar-in-concept technology, the cuecat, which was a commercial failure.

Overall, Google’s recent changes to Places make it an even more robust marketing tool for small business owners. When it comes to driving traffic to local stores and their websites, nothing is better than free, especially when fee-based, much-ballyhooed “local” marketing solutions like AOL’s Patch.com, have yet to fully prove their mettle.

To get your own business listed on Google Places, start here.

My passion has always been helping small businesses and entrepreneurs succeed online. I’ve taken all my marketing success at two of the world’s largest interactive agencies (Omnicom Digital and GroupM/WPP), and multiple successful startups (including Grasshopper and RCN), and now I’m sharing it with you, the small business owner. To get my free step-by-step guide showing you how to get listed in Google Places, visit: http://www.malikmarketing.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J._B._Malik

via ezinearticles.com

If you haven’t already, I highly suggest you claim your Google Places page now. Google is giving away these pages for free. Here is a link to a free tutorial on how to claim your Google Places page.

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Top 10 Business Blogs and Why They Are Successful | Social Media Examiner

Creating a business blog is one of the most important things you can do to increase your search engine visibility and increase your customer base.

10 Top Business Blogs and Why They Are Successful

#1: Sweet Leaf Tea

#2: Stonyfield Farm

#3: Pioneer Woman

#4: Citrix

#5: Danny Brown

#6: Ecoki

#7: Nuts About Southwest

#8: Disney Parks

#9: Procter & Gamble

#10: Delicious Days

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