What is the best design for a button on a webpage that is optimized for having the user try a new service/product? (design principles, best practices, specifics etc). Blog Post Ideas That Always Generate Buzz. Image credit: addicted eyes (modified under cc 2.0 license) Many marketing bloggers are swooning over Twitter, FriendFeed, and other instant, fast-paced social communities lately. It is easily forgotten the blogosphere is still the single best place to build a well-trafficked home for yourself or your business on the web.
Blogging is alive and well, despite what the cynics say – look around at all the people creating new content and the millions reading it daily. While many have been enticed by the siren song of Twitter and her instant gratification, plenty of us still enjoy the longer format content that blogs are becoming known for. Also consider that so much of microblogging is actually made up of people discussing and linking to blogs. With so much talk about use of the newer platforms, I thought it would be worthwhile to throw some blog post ideas at you that never go out of style and always generate buzz. These should be applicable to any niche. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 10 Secrets For Creating Viral Content. I’m frequently asked the question “how exactly do you create content that goes viral?”
I always try and explain that while it isn’t lightning in a bottle, it isn’t something exactly formulaic either. I’ll usually start answering the question by explaining whether you’re creating blog posts, images, videos, online marketing campaigns, web apps – you name it, it’s really all about the content. But all other things being equal, there is still a ton of great content out there you’re competing with. How exactly do you get your idea to replicate in the petri dish of the web and accelerate out of control between real users? I’ve been successful at creating viral content both with posts on my own blog as well as with client projects including web applications, community building projects, new products, etc. There is not necessarily a science to viral, although I’ve been able to reproduce it enough times to have picked up on a few secrets. 1) Build viral into the process.
42 Marketing Lists From The Future Buzz. Lists continue to be a popular format to publish content to the web, and with good reason. As I wrote previously, lists: Are scan-ableProvide easy to read and consume contentHave the novelty factorAre many times “must-share” contentEngage peopleAre at times humorous, entertaining or incredibleAre a strong social web memeGet traffic Since there have been an influx of new subscribes here in the last several months but I haven’t done a highlight post since October 2008, I thought it would be useful to take a look back. Below are links to every list I’ve published here at The Future Buzz since the inception of this blog in 2007. 140 Insights From Twitter (In 140 Characters Or Less) 50 Inspirational Images From Flickr Under Creative Commons 10 Secrets For Creating Viral Content 45 Blog Post Ideas That Always Generate Buzz 6 Buzzworthy Laws All Web Marketers Should Understand 77 Insights From More Than A Decade On The Web, Daily 50 Viral Images Part Two 10 Skills All PR Pros Need For 2009 And Beyond.
MediaPost - news and directories for media, marketing and online. Leveraging Snippets and AutoPreview to Lift Response - ClickZ. Jeanne Jennings | November 30, 2009 | 0 Comments inShare0 A look at AutoPreview and the ways it can impact your e-mail marketing success. It's hard to believe that I wrote my first ClickZ column about snippets and AutoPreview more than three years ago. Some companies now use this simple concept to improve the performance of their e-mail marketing messages, but many still aren't. If you're in the latter group, there's no time like now to join the party.
If you aren't familiar with snippets or AutoPreview, you aren't alone. Click to enlarge AutoPreview changes your inbox view so that you see up to four lines of information per message, rather than just one. AutoPreview can be used with or without the reading or preview pane turned on (in the image above, both AutoPreview and a bottom reading pane are enabled).
In the image above, ClickZ does a good job of optimizing snippet copy. The DMNews e-mail message isn't bad, but it's not great. Until next time, Jeanne. How to Chase the Long Tail - Search Engine Watch (SEW) You've probably heard a lot about the long tail of search. Publishers that understand how to leverage the existence of the long tail can reap rich awards for their efforts, but chasing it isn't easy, as we'll illustrate today by using a fictional golf club business as an example. First, here's a chart of what the long tail looks like: A common belief is that the head and middle terms make up about 30 percent of all search queries, leaving 70 percent of search volume in the long tail. To further understand our long tail chart, here's a look as some sample search terms for each segment of the chart, courtesy of Wordtracker. You can see the difference between the categories of terms right away.
In a brainstorming session about keywords, the management team of our golf club business probably would have put 100 percent of the head terms up on your whiteboard. What Doesn't Work Because head terms are easy to identify, it's only natural to chase them as a primary focus on a Web site. Summary. HOW TO: Manage Successful Social Media Promotions. Ben Straley is the CEO of Meteor Solutions, provider of the leading word-of-mouth analytics and optimization platform that enables marketers to measure, manage, and monetize earned media.
With holiday shopping in full swing, social shopping is already making a big impact. Data from Hitwise shows that downstream traffic to the Retail 500 coming from both Facebook and Twitter increased 36% and 15% respectively on Thanksgiving from the previous day. Downstream traffic to retailers grew again on Black Friday and Cyber Monday as many retailers promoted sales through fan pages and tweets. This data is very encouraging for marketers, but a social media campaign must still be managed correctly for maximum ROI. Here are some tips on how brands can best engage their customers by offering what everyone now looks to social media for – a bargain. New Strategies to Turn Buzz Into Buy Brands have long spent big money on commercials, media placements, direct mail, and more. 1. 2. 3. Conclusion. Conversion Optimization Is The New SEO. 8 Predictions for SEO in 2010. First off, apologies for my absence from the blog these past few days.
It's been an incredibly busy time, trying to wrap things up before I leave for San Diego over the holidays. So much for a December lull... In this post, I'm going to try tackling a lot of the recent trends we've been observing from the engines and talk about my personal perception of what's to come over the next 12 months. #1 - This Real-Time Search Thing is Outta Here Microsoft initially beat Google to the punch in announcing their integration with Twitter data in their SERPs. As Danny Sullivan notes, it's like we're back to Infoseek in 1997. This is, in my estimation (and many others), the worst implementation of new results Google's ever implemented.
In 2010, I think this fades away. . #2 - Twitter's "Link Graph" is the Real Deal All that real-time integration bashing aside, I'm a firm believer in my original hypothesis that Twitter is cannibalizing the web's link graph. . #3 - Personalized Search is Here to Stay. How to do A/B Testing with WordPress – Think Vitamin « WordPress. Small Business Search Engine Marketing - Creativity And Agility. With search engine optimization, small businesses have two advantages larger competitors often can’t match: creativity and agility. By embracing these two philosophies as part of their digital marketing DNA, small businesses can carve out a search marketing strategy that runs circles around larger competitors.
Today, we’ll briefly explore why creativity and agility are advantages small businesses have for search marketing, and some quick tips to activate each. Creativity as a search marketing advantage Large = more risk management – Small = creativity/individuality can shine Larger corporations are naturally risk-averse. Tips to activate for SEO benefit: Develop creative linkbait – small, creative groups have the perfect environment to brainstorm linkbait. Create controversy – success in small businesses comes from dedicated team members passionate about their industry of choice. Agility as a search marketing advantage Larger = slower moving – Small = the advantage of speed and agility. Headline Writing Tips For Social News Success And Visibility - O. Crafting unmissable headlines which resonate with social web users is something which appears deceptively simple. Yet it’s an art form requiring writers, bloggers and marketers to craft thousands of headlines to perfect.
As someone who has been successful with creating content that goes hot across social channels I’ve come to appreciate the art and challenge of crafting sticky headlines. In fact, crafting headlines is equally if not more challenging than leads and even content itself. Something many bloggers have down, but communications professionals aren’t always fluent in, is the art of crafting headlines specifically for social news sites/users. While there is no one formula for success, I’m going to share 5 things I’ve learned from experience as a blogger, social news user, PR pro and marketer. 1. 2. 3. Your headline doesn’t have to make sense to everyone. 4. 5. A by-product of news stories which go popular on the social web is links. Conclusion. The 5 Rings Of Conversion Optimization. Conversion optimization is bigger than your web site. From blogs and landing pages, to official outlets on social media sites, marketers now manage a large extended web that thrives beyond the borders of the traditional web site.
Great conversion optimization must leverage the dynamics of each layer—and coordinate the interaction between them. The extended web solar system There are five rings of your web presence under your direct control: Core web: Online applicationsInner web: Your traditional, navigable web siteOuter web: Landing pages, blogs, micrositesSocial web: Outposts on social media sitesAdvertising networks: Paid media on other sites Picture this as a kind of solar system, with your inner web and core applications as the gravitational center: Of course, there’s much more about you out on the web—what others say, organic search results, affiliate initiatives, etc.
The core web: Applications with general appeal The inner web: A stable, global reference There are two exceptions. No One Cares About Your Products - ClickZ. Sage Lewis | April 6, 2010 | 13 Comments inShare0 There is a transformation happening. People don't care what you say about your products; they care about what consumers say about your products. No one cares about your products - that was the message that really hit me at Incisive Media's SES NY this spring. That message was delivered by David Meerman Scott - marketing speaker and bestselling author of "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" and the new book "World Wide Rave. " That sentiment isn't really revolutionary. Let me tell you a story. My friend Greg and I had been talking all week about getting some good pizza in the big city. If you are only going to eat pizza one night, choosing the "best" place is daunting.
Actually, for the last couple years coming to SES New York, I just took the listing on Google Maps first page with the best (and most) comments. But it's not the stars that kept me coming back. The BEST...Hands down. That's all I needed to hear. Bellissimo!! Best Pizza - ever!