Marketing Muse-ings
If you’re like me, you’re getting close to message meltdown. Not a day goes by that I don’t have dozens of great information snippets screech “Read me...me...me” like hyper-caffeinated seagulls. I honestly can’t tell you why I chose to read certain pieces and not others, except that some have more compelling headlines (which, I guess, is a good lesson unto itself). Anyway, as a departure from my usual blogstyle and presented in digest(ible) form, here are some totally random items for your consideration.
Survey says... 73 percent of small businesses report using social media to market their businesses.
Thom says... 90 percent of them are using it wrong. Social media is not about adapting traditional advertising tactics to Facebook and Twitter. It’s a conversation, not a monologue. It’s what interests the audience, not what serves the interests of the marketer.
Mothers’ days... are socially active. Moms are 37% more likely to post photos than those women without kids under 18. 25% more likely to link articles and videos. 33% more like to give status updates. Moms spent an average of 258 minutes watching online video in March of this year.
Make your mother happy... by giving her what she wants. Videos that are personal; information that is practical; and content that is flat-out fun.
Everybody likes... to be liked. “Likes” are the new “hits”. They are one measure of popularity, but an often meaningless one. Research tells us that people who click on a “like” button are more inclined to recommend the brand or share content. But is that enough?
Like is easy...it’s the love that can be hard to find. That’s why engaging one’s brand fans is so important. Inspiring true love for a brand (and the loyalty that comes with it) takes cultivation and communication with the object of one’s desire.
Searching... for the truth. For sure, there are competent and ethical SEO (Search Engine Optimization) consultants who provide valuable services. Unfortunately, there are also scores of them who feed on the universal desire to be on the first page of a given search and bait prospects with claims that are either unrealistic, or use dubious tactics to accomplish those results.
If it’s too good to be true..., it probably is. Be wary of exaggerated claims and don’t be afraid to question the methodology of someone who touts dramatic case studies.
Speaking of SEO... Google is fighting back. Content farming is the latest threat to Internet search effectiveness. Wikipedia defines content farming as the employment of large numbers of writers, usually low paid freelancers, to generate large amounts of textual content which is specifically designed to satisfy algorithms for maximal retrieval by automated search engines. The main goal is to generate advertising revenue through attracting reader page views. In other words, it’s planned spam, which biases search results and diminishes the experience of anyone searching online for legitimate information.
Power to the Panda... Google’s latest response to content farming is its algorithm update called Panda, which launched in February. This update appears to be having the desired results, but is also creating some problems for legitimate search marketers. The best thing any of us can do is make sure website content is as fresh, original and relevant as possible.
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