So the Nielsen report is out and people are spending more time than ever on Facebook. In fact, 87 million visitors in the month of June spent an average of 4 hours and 39 minutes on the site. Out of the top 10 web brands, Facebook now ranks #1 in time spent beating out Yahoo!, AOL, and Google. So what is it that people are doing on Facebook?
Communicating like they never have before. I think more than ever people are beginning to use Facebook as a viable , interchangeable communication tool similar to email, text messages or instant messaging. Everyone is there. All in one place and just a couple of clicks away. Why go back and forth sending several emails when Facebook can easily be used to share thoughts, pictures, links and other information within seconds? I am also starting to see many of my business contacts use Facebook as a place to connect not only for personal use, but also for business related use. And like it or not, the new Facebook layout has made this easier. Comments are all over the place, often times leading to further conversation. Think about it – you see that your best client just got back from a vacation in Alaska and posted pictures on Facebook. You have a meeting next week and already you have a great conversation starter. Maybe you have already commented on some of the photos and exchanged wall posts.
The bottom line is this: Facebook is doing more than just drawing a huge number of users that spend a ton of time each month on the site. It’s changing the way we communicate. Possibly forever. What do you think? Do you agree?
ProBlogger brings up a great idea in Day #24 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge – analyze “old” mainstream media – particuarly magazines – to get ideas for improving your blog. This is something that makes perfect sense, because in a lot of ways blogs about similar topics are just like a shelf of magazines – all competing against eachother for the same group of readers. So how do you make your publication stand out?
Look at the headlines. What are some current hot topics?
Are the magazines including lists of any kind? Many advertise the Top 10 or 20 Tips. Or a Top 50 list of celebrities.
Flip through the pages, not reading the articles, but rather paying attention which ads and headlines stick out. ProBlogger suggests using sticky notes on the magazine to remind you of the elements that you feel make the magazine successful. Give it a try!
So you write a great blog post. You post a link to it on Facebook. You Tweet all about it. It even gets retweeted and the next thing you know it’s one of your more popular posts. But then what?
Yes, you gain a great deal of exposure from this, exposure that you might not have received otherwise – but do your readers take any type of action? Better yet, what exactly is the call to action for your blog?
Is it having someone contact you through a standard contact form? Is it encouraging someone to leave a comment for that particular post? Or do you just want to continue to connect with people through other forms of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn?
I will admit, this is where I really struggle. What should my calls to action be? Promoting Fusework Studios? Encouraging other businesses to advertise on my blog? It is a tough decision. But something that you must address in order to get an ROI from your blogging efforts – be it for personal or business use. No one wants to just write blogs and get nothing from it.
So I am challenging myself to come up with clear, solid calls to action on my personal blog. We are also going to be redesigning the calls to action on our Fusework Studios blog. Over the next few weeks there will be some changes and I am looking forward to learning from this experience. Hopefully it will result in developing a successful case study to share.
The call to action for this blog post – leave a comment to share with me. What are your calls to action? Do they work? How have they evolved over time? Let me know!
Fortunately the team over at Compendium Blogware have put together a great slideshow presentation to help with this quest:
This person has been very encouraging to me and always offered support with my blog. She recently started her own blog, Forgetting 2 Remember. She allowed me to be part of the blog set up process and putting a plan in place to get things going. This was a very rewarding experience and I am VERY impressed with how far she has come. She has been a dedicated, hardworking blogger submitting a blog post nearly every single day since its creation. We all know creating content is king when it comes to the web, and she does it extremely well. But this isn’t just content. These are deep thoughts that really cause you to pause and take a moment to think about life. They often serve as motivation to learn more about yourself as part of a self-discovery/improvement process. This is a unique niche that not many blogs can fill and hers does it extremely well. That is why my Blog Reader of the Week is Derinda Kempa. Take a moment to check out Derinda’s blog and Web site. Derinda is a very talented woman with alot of great stuff going on that you will want to check out.
Thank you Derinda for all of the blog comments and support!
So now I challenge those of you reading this. Who are your blog readers of the week?
Think about how you can improve upon this post. Ask yourself these questions:
Is my blog post title effective?
Do the first few lines of my post do a good job on setting the stage?
Did I rush through this post? Could I add a bit more content to really explain things?
Does the post look good? Sometimes the right image can make a big difference.
What is the call to action from this post?
Taking the time to bit just a bit of effort into an old post can really go a long way. Remember these posts are still alive and still drawing visitors – let’s show them a little love too!
Blogging without comments. It’s like peanut butter without jelly. Like salt without pepper. I am a firm believer that all blogs should allow comments. Whether or not you post them is up to you, but you MUST give your readers the opportunity to engage. Great blogs are a two way street. If you are going to share your opinions and thoughts with the world, you better be prepared to receive their thoughts and opinions back.
Leaving comments on other blogs is also a great way to get your blog off the ground, however, your participation must be authentic. Demonstrate that you have actually read the post and have something insightful to say. It really does go much further than the classic “great post” comment. This not only allows you to generate new content ideas, but you are also able to open many doors of communicaton with other bloggers. Many times this is the first step to a partnership in improving each other’s blog.
So the next time you read a great post, don’t forget to take a moment to leave a comment. It goes a long way.
I have mentioned Seth Godin and his blog on a number of occasions. It’s great. I read it daily and would highly recommend it.
Even being a daily reader, sometimes I am still amazed by the content. Today was one of those days. Today’s post was entitled You Matter. Talk about a great way to start off your day! This is a must read.
Below are just a few of my favorites from this particular post by Seth Godin:
When you see the world as it is, but insist on making it more like it could be, you matter.
When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.
When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter.
Social media tools have allowed NBA fans to follow the NBA Finals like never before. Twitter, Facebook and Blogging bring a new perspective to the games that is sure to make any NBA fan highly satisfied. Below are just a few examples on how social media tools have become a big part of the NBA Finals experience:
Dwight Howard’s Blog See Dwight connect with fans and read about his thoughts on missing critical free throws during the game. It’s all here.
Follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Twitter The NBA’s all-time leading scorer and Laker great was tweeting during the games with his perspective on the action. I bet he is happy the Lakers won!
Check Out the NBA’s Facebook Page Stay up to date with all of the action as the Lakers and Magic battle it out. Insider information, vote for player of the game, and create your own amazing NBA moments.
Twitter users were tweeting aplenty. Webcams were broadcasting live all over the world. But as for now, the Facebook username buildup excitement is over. The initial rush has passed. Many people predicted that Facebook would crash or some other type of complication would arise. They were wrong. It was a smooth, seemless process that took about 5 seconds once the countdown was complete.
Now let the interesting part begin…how will we use our new Facebook identity?
The Facebook Username Vanity URL coundown has begun. Many people around the world are logged into Facebook online right now waiting…watching the countdown to an opportunity to secure their very own Facebook username aka vanity url. Up until now, Facebook users have been assigned a long string of numbers in their profile URL and have not had an option to change this to something that is user friendly. As you can imagine, if you were to try to direct someone to your Facebook profile using this original URL it would be quite cumbersome. Now you get the option to create your own Facebook username. This is another chance to own your name online in Google search results.
It will be particularly important for businesses as more and more companies begin to embrace social media filling the spectrum of online competition. Some companies are moving completely away from the “traditional” Web site. Skittles’ Web site consists soley of links to social media profiles such as a YouTube page, Flickr account, and Facebook fan page. Boone Oakley’s Web site is a YouTube video. Opening up the username vanity url will encourage businesses to consider using Facebook as their main web presence, further continuing the movement away from the “traditional” Web site. To prevent users from creating profiles and squatting on business usernames, Facebook is only allowing those pages with more than 1,000 fans (as of May 31st) to get first rights to their username. As for those legitimate businesses with less than 1,000 fans, you will have to wait until June 28th.
So what is the big deal? Why all of the excitement now? Well, Facebook is offering up these usernames on a first come first serve basis. So if you want to “own” your Facebook name – you better act now. You can sign up for your Facebook username vanity url here.
As I write this post less than 30 minutes remain in the countdown.
Internet marketing strategies are evolving daily and I am always amazed to see some of the creative ideas that stick. I am particularly excited to share this one.
Here is the scoop: An advertising agency out of North Carolina has created its Web site using a YouTube video. That’s right Boone Oakley’s entire Web site is a YouTube Video. This is something I have never heard of or seen before. It is definitely creative and drawing quite a bit of attention. The video/Web site already has over 239,000 views. So while this is very cool right now, I have to wonder are they missing out on other benefits of a traditional Web site? Will it be easy to update and change? Is it an effective long-term strategy or are they just going for a short-term campaign? Either way this is definitely something that breaks through the traditional advertising clutter. What are your thoughts?
Do you use Facebook for personal use or business use? Is it okay to post “party” pictures on Facebook that your employer or future employer may see? What is your opinion?
When looking to diversify your blogging portfolio, consider the opinion post. Expressing your opinion helps keep things from getting boring. It is also a great way to encourge others to share their opinions on a particular subject. This goes a long way to build interaction with your readers. These are just a few of the reasons why ProBlogger suggests writing an opinion post in Day #19 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
So, now back to the Facebook question. I do not think you have to make a decision to use Facebook for personal or business. The beauty of Facebook is that it can be used for both. In fact, that is when Facebook is most valuable. How else would you know that your largest client’s daughter just won her softball tournament? And then be able to connect right away and send your congratulations comment. Creating a personal connection with business partners can be very difficult and Facebook helps make this easier by removing social barriers. You may not hang out with the same group of friends. You may not even live in the same state. But through Facebook you can still connect on a personal level.
And as for the party pictures. Everyone is a human and likes to have fun from time to time. Just use your common sense. If you have to second guess the photo, take it down.
Doctors using social media during Hurrican Ike? Twitter being used to obtain medical care instead of the phone? Blogging to raise money for the homeless?
Creating blog posts can take a lot of time. More often than not, we only receive a one time value from each of our blog posts. This is why ProBlogger suggests creating Sneeze pages for your blog posts in Day #18 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. Sneeze pages use your archived posts to create a nice directory of posts all relating to a particular theme, series or time. Creating these posts will show off your archives and improve your Search Engine Optimization. A great way to repurpose your hard work and get the most value from it.
So, without further adue – here is my BlackBerry Storm themed Sneeze post:
While returning visitors and blog subscribers are great, most blog traffic comes from first time visitors. This is the reason an exercise like this is so important. Typically you have someone for 3-5 seconds before they are going to make a decision whether or not to stay on your site/blog. First impressions are crucial and you only get one chance.
Have a friend, relative or co-worker check out your blog for the first time. Take 5-10 minutes to watch their behavior. You are guaranteed to learn a few ways to improve.
So, this blog post has now been published. Should I post a link to it on Facebook? Should I post a link to it on Twitter? Or should I do both at the same time?
As each social media giant continues to grow, so do the number of ways to manage both at the same time. Some allow for options to post to just one or both with each update. Others post to both by default.
Blogging Buddies can be your greatest allies when maintaining a blog. Day #15 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge was all about finding a blogging buddy to help strengthen your blog content. It makes perfect sense. Working together as a small team can help push new ideas and better content resulting in a high performance blog. Here are some of the benefits in finding a blogging buddy(slightly revised from Darren’s list):
1. Your posts can be reviewed prior to being published. It always helps to have a 2nd set of eyes on your posts.
2. A Blogging Buddy is someone you can relate to. This makes it easier to exchange ideas.
3. Blogging can become a collaborative effort. Sometimes it is nice to invite a guest blogger to post.
4. You can link to one another’s blog. Show the love!
5. Your message is more likely to spread. Use social media to allow both of your blogs to travel further.
6. Blogging buddies help each other stay motivated.
I would suggest finding someone in your niche or an individual that you are connected to in some other way (business relationship, friendship, networking partner). Remember a blogging buddy equals twice the blogging power!
Blog pages can often get overlooked when thinking about maintaing the actual front page posts. Day #14 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge was all about focusing some attention to the pages, side bar, headers/logo and other elements of your blog that also need some attention from time to time. What page of your blog do you think is the most important? Is it the About page? Do you need to pay some attention to your side bar? ProBlogger suggests some “spring cleaning” to freshen things up on your blog.
My personal favorite pages of any blog are the About page and the Contact page. The About page is where you are going to learn where the blog is coming from while finding out a little bit about the author’s personality. The Contact page is a very important call to action. If a reader is compelled for more information or follow-up, contacting you must always be a click away.
Does you About page tell your story? Is it easy for your readers to contact you if they wish to do so? Take a look at these pages today and do a little Blog Spring Cleaning.
I am going to skip over Day #12 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge because it discussed setting a schedule for blogging which I have already included in one of my previous blog posts. I am going to go right to Day #13 and the task on visiting a shopping mall. At first I was not sure what to make of this blogging assignment, but after reading the description, it makes a lot of sense. A shopping mall is a great place to see many types of people and many types of marketing all in one place. Here are some things ProBlogger suggests for observation:
Who is there? Who are they with?
What are they doing?
What are they buying? What products are particularly in demand at the moment?
How do they make their buying decisions?
What are the retailers doing to get people’s attention and stand out?
What messages are they using in their marketing?
What colors/design techniques are in at the moment?
What other things are ‘hot’ or in fashion?
What sales techniques are sales staff using?
What are retail outlets doing well? What are they doing poorly?
One thing that I noticed was the large amount of families that went shopping together. I also noticed marketing efforts targeted toward families. It makes perfect sense, why just target one age group when you can pair your products up to target the entire family? One of the best at implementing this family marketing approach is Old Navy. Imagine making your product something that not just one person can’t live without, but something that an entire family can’t live without. I took a photo with my phone to show the Old Navy marketing display so you can see what I mean. Pretty clever.
At some point in time, you have probably been asked to provide some type of reference for the work you have done. It could be on an individual level, or on a company level. References are essentially testimonials that describe your character, the work you do, or the services your company provides. Very powerful testimonials can be a key decision maker when you are being evaluated as an individual or company. At Fusework Studios, we decided to put together the below video to showcase our client testimonials. Let me know what you think!
Posted by derekmcclain 
Posted by derekmcclain 
Posted by derekmcclain 
Do you use 
s list):
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5612cc92-a69a-4f44-a366-5b04a6cc86df)
Blogging Without Comments
June 22, 2009Blogging without comments. It’s like peanut butter without jelly. Like salt without pepper. I am a firm believer that all blogs should allow comments. Whether or not you post them is up to you, but you MUST give your readers the opportunity to engage. Great blogs are a two way street. If you are going to share your opinions and thoughts with the world, you better be prepared to receive their thoughts and opinions back.
Leaving comments on other blogs is also a great way to get your blog off the ground, however, your participation must be authentic. Demonstrate that you have actually read the post and have something insightful to say. It really does go much further than the classic “great post” comment. This not only allows you to generate new content ideas, but you are also able to open many doors of communicaton with other bloggers. Many times this is the first step to a partnership in improving each other’s blog.
So the next time you read a great post, don’t forget to take a moment to leave a comment. It goes a long way.
Check out Day #20 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge for more benefits on leaving comments.
Also check out my earlier blog post entitled Discovering New Customer Touch points with Comments.