19 Ways to Build Relationships With Blog Comments Have you ever left a comment on a blog? How do you feel when the author replies? As we’re all ushered into this age of social media, each and every one of us is looking for ways to form stronger relationships with our audience, especially with current and potential customers. There are many ways to discuss how to cultivate and build relationships. Focus on your blog commenting strategy to build relationships. Why Blog Comments? Over the last 3 years since I started blogging for my two businesses (one company does swimming pools and the other is a sales/marketing company), I’ve personally replied to over 8000 comments on my two blogs. I don’t give you this number with any intent to brag, but rather to set the stage for a topic that is near and dear to me, and one that I see businesses and bloggers falling short on everywhere, simply because they’re missing a few of these important habits. Here’s how to cultivate relationships with blog comments. #1: Write in a Personal Voice #8: Show Empathy
10 Steps to Creating a Successful Twitter Chat #Blogchat is now about 16 months old and based on number of tweets and contributors, it looks to be the most popular chat on Twitter. It’s definitely been a labor of love for me, and I am a HUGE proponent of Twitter chats. So I wanted to write down the ten steps I’ve taken to build #blogchat up into the success it has become. I would hope you can use this advice to start your OWN successful Twitter chat. The focus and structure of the chat 1 – Pick the theme of the chat. I think a broader theme leads to a larger audience, while a more niche theme will lead to a smaller following. 2 – Pick the time. 3 – Pick the schedule. 4 – Decide on the flow. Now if that’s your cup of tea, fine. Building a following for your Twitter chat 5 – Ask your chat’s participants for their feedback, then act on it. Another example is OPEN MIC. 6 – Bring in co-hosts. 7 – Invite and welcome newbies. 8 – Shift ownership. 9 – ‘No experts allowed’. 10 – Say ‘Thank You!’
Nice Day Designs: social media After writing my post yesterday about my blog design I decided to write a series about blogging, it was only when I logged in did I notice that this is my 600th post, how appropriate! It will be a 3 part series dealing with basics, design(Part 2), and promotion(Part 3). Today I'll be doing the basics, I wrote an article last year on this for Etsy Ireland ,some of the info is out of date because of the changes made this year to blogger, but there are still some helpful tips for total beginners. Firstly you have to decide if blogging for you, lots of crafts people feel that they have to have one because everyone else does, or that it's hurting their business not to have a blog. Now that we have things like Facebook and Twitter there is really no need to start blogging if it would feel like a chore. It's just as easy to share your new creations on FB/Twitter, and there is not as much pressure to write. So now you need to choose who to go with. Tips: 1. 2. 3. 4. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 10. 12. 13.
How To Get Organized In A Tweet Chat 4 Reasons Pinterest Wins with Women (And Facebook Loses) Look out Facebook FB -5.19%. A picture is worth a thousand words especially if you are looking to speak to female consumers. That’s why Pinterest boasted 104 million total visits in March, and is now the third most popular social media platform behind Twitter and Facebook. Women are almost completely responsible for Pinterest’s success—according to Inside Network’s AppData. In fact, 97 percent of the site’s users are women. Women trust recommendations from Pinterest more than any other platform, per BlogHer’s annual study on women and social media. Why? It’s no surprise that brands have been jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon in troves and have seen their followers grow over night. To sum it up, here are four reasons why Pinterest is superior to Facebook when targeting women: 1. 2. 3. 4. All told, Pinterest has brought women together online in a way never seen before and tapped into an extremely influential consumer market without even trying.
following twitter #chats Resources | twintangibles In the course of our work we create resources that others may find useful. Many of these are shared under creative commons licences and are accessible to anyone, some are charged for. Typically slides and papers are available as PDF files, and audio files as MP3 Papers As a research led firm we create a range of commissioned valued resources for clients which can be for private or public use. To Papers Slides and Infographics The team at twintangibles are regular and sought after speakers, presenters and event hosts. To Slides Video and Podcasts Often events that we speak at are captured on video and so if you missed us speak you may find it here. To Video Student Snitching: No Laptops During Class A few weeks ago, the Toronto Star published an article about Professor Henry Kim at York University's Schulich School of Business. The focus of the article was on Kim's approach to students using laptops while in his classes. To ensure 'proper' use of their laptops, Kim has created two pledges the students must agree to: 1 - No laptop use for anything other than class work. 2 - Spy on their classmates' screens and report truthfully on what they see. Now, I'm not sure what your first reaction is to reading those two pledges, but mine wasn't positive. (Before I go further, I'd like to point out that the comments posted by readers are quite an interesting read, too.) My first thought was, 'He doesn't get it'. By recruiting this new breed of screen snitches, Kim hopes to make digital distraction so socially awkward that students will close forbidden windows — Facebook, email, Sikh field hockey matches — and plug into class. So again I react, "Why is Facebook 'forbidden'"?
10 Ways to Humanize Your Brand on Social Media Joe Chernov is the VP of Content Marketing for Eloqua. He is responsible for creating, distributing and measuring content that increases awareness and drives demand. Marketers are suckers for a catch phrase, from “join the conversation” to “think like a publisher.” Now, thanks largely to Facebook Timeline for brand pages, the new marketing slogan has quickly become, “humanize the brand.” Humanizing a brand simply means trying to interact with each customer on a personal level. 1. I recently asked Alfredo Tan, Senior Director of Facebook Canada, if the company distinguishes between business and consumer brand pages. 2. In Smart Business, Social Business, author Michael Brito writes, "while many organizations are trying desperately to humanize their brand, they are failing to understand that they need to humanize their business first." Take Maya Grinberg, a social media manager with social commerce platform Wildfire Interactive. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Want to prove your brand is human? 8. 9. 10.
Blog framework Twitter for Business: 10 Things You Should Tweet There's a real etiquette to doing business in 140 characters. And unlike when you tweet as an individual, it means no random thoughts, photos of your last four meals, political rants, or too much information about your digestive issues, sex life, and drinking binges. Hopefully you already knew that. So what should you tweet? If you become a respected member of the Twitter community, you can throw in messages directly related to your products or services, but those need to be counter-balanced by tweets completely unrelated to your sales efforts. 1. These are not direct plugs of your business, but links to articles that would be of interest to your target audience. 2. These are tweets designed to humanize your company. 3. Everybody loves a deal. 4. Remember, social media is social. 5. Twitter is an amazing tool for customer service. 6. If you have a company blog, if you've written article or white papers, use tweets to link to your content. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Book Summary: "The Question Behind the Question" by John G. Miller - Personal Improvement - News - Raleigh, Durham, NC : JFD Performance Solutions Earlier this year some fellow business coaches and I agreed to each identify five or six non-fiction books that are our "go to's" when we work with groups and individuals. Although I rely on QBQ! What to Really Ask Yourself - Practicing Personal Accountability in Business and in Life myself, I was a bit surprised that it showed up on more than a few of my colleagues' lists. Not that it isn't a fine book...I just wasn't aware that it had the following that it did, at least amongst some of my peers. John G. Miller's handbook aims to help eliminate blame, complaining, and procrastination and addresses what he feels is a major issue: the lack of personal accountability. "It's not my fault." "Why is this happening to me?" "No one told me." "It couldn't be helped." "Who dropped the ball?" "It's not my problem." In one form or another, we often hear these questions and statements. It is understandable that we think and feel the way we do, especially when we get frustrated. QBQs: 1. 2. 3.
11 Social Media Marketing Lessons from the Old Spice Campaign The Old Spice campaign has proven to be one of the most memorable creative marketing and advertising concepts ever executed. It has longevity and endurance that has been achieved through a mix of several reiterations as well as using online and offline marketing, social media and PR that has kept the original content bubbling across the Web. Wieden + Kennedy created the original ad for the Super Bowl for their client Procter and Gamble the owners of the iconic Old Spice brand. The ad featured former NFL athlete Isaiah Mustafa and was a a video centric marketing campaign that combined both traditional and social media. The Old Spice Campaign Facts and Figures Here are some of the numbers that were the result of the continuous marketing campaign. The number one most viewed sponsored channel on YouTube236 million YouTube Views80,000 Twitter followers in 2 daysFacebook Interaction increased 800% with the personalized videos (Fans now total over 1.5 million)Sales figures increased by 107 % 1. 2.
5 Ways to Boost Your Digital Media Career in 2012 Hanson Hosein is the Director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington. He’s written Storyteller Uprising: Trust & Persuasion in the Digital Age, and the host of Four Peaks on UWTV and has advised Microsoft, CVS Caremark and MasterCard on digital media storytelling strategies. As 2011 comes to a close, the economic situation remains bleak. Usually, graduate school applications rise during a depressed job market, but the ongoing uncertainty has discouraged some potential students from pursuing a graduate degree — MBA applications are down 10%, according to The Wall Street Journal. Yet with the rise of social media and the rapid advance of technology — particularly mobile — there’s increased interest in more specialized graduate programs that give priority to certain skills and strategies. 1. It’s all about the consumerization of tech. 2. The digital age is a great democratizing opportunity: Anyone can broadcast his or her creations to the world. 3.