Successful Blog

Four Content-Rich Blog Posts You Should Be Creating

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By Diana Gomez

These days, it’s not enough to post a picture of what your business has been up to this week.

Gone Viral

Sure, some customers may find interest in which food truck is parked at the office today, but that’s not the kind of thing that will go viral.

To move up the ranks in Google, you need as many eyes on your pages as possible. This means the content must be eye-catching! Think about creating headlines that leave the readers hanging; make them want to click to find out what’s coming next. Let their curiosity lead them further into your website.

As far as the content inside the post, here are a few ideas for you. These types of posts must be in your regular rotation if you want to keep up with the rest of the web in the second half of 2014.

Videos

Photo tutorials are superb, but audiences are really going nuts for comprehensive video tutorials.

Do you have something you can teach your customers? Whether you’re a retail clothing business with advice on sewing buttons or a hairstylist who can teach customers how to create a topknot, a how-to video is a terrific tool to draw some attention to your business.

Videos can also go viral simply from their entertainment value. As long as it’s funny or out-of-the-ordinary, it’s worth talking about. Be sure it’s high-quality and only one or two-minutes long.

It’s rare that a five or ten-minute video goes viral like a short-and-sweet video will. Also, be sure you place keywords into the title and description. Hosting it on YouTube will ensure that your video will be easy to share on social media, because going viral is all about making it easy for users to get to the content.

Top-Ten Lists

Ever hear of a little website called Buzzfeed? This site has blown up over the past year as audiences increasingly latch onto the short-and-sweet visual concept. Lists organize information in a way that makes it easier to absorb, and our brains seem to love clicking on headlines like “Five Foods that are Making You Fat.”

Our noggins naturally want to make sense of any information that’s presented to us, and so when some of the work has already been done, the decision to click is a ‘no-brainer.’ It’s such a phenomenon that the parody site The Onion has just created a new parody site having a laugh at Buzzfeed – cleverly titled Clickhole. One funny headline example is “16 Pictures of Beyoncé Where She’s Not Sinking in Quicksand.” There’s a reason why everyone (ahem, see title of this very blog post) is jumping on the list-making bandwagon, and you should, too.

Competitions

Everyone’s a sucker for free stuff, and that’s why you should be offering your readers incentives for clicking through to your site. Spend ten minutes on Facebook and you’ll likely encounter a slew of contests, all of which require some sort of interaction on social media to win. Examples: someone shares a musician’s Facebook status for a chance to win a record box set. An interior design firm blogs about an author and offers its readers a chance to win the author’s latest book if they “like” the author’s Facebook page and leave a comment below the firm’s blog post (which is a clever double-win for two parties).

By asking users to share and follow you, you’re making yourself visible to entirely new audiences/friends of people who already like you. And when there’s a free offer involved, your posts are all-the-more attractive. Asking a like-minded blog to offer its readers your product will almost always be accepted with open arms. The blog’s readers like it, therefore the blogger loves it, too. It’s a simple concept, but it works, and it’s fun.

High-Quality Images

The success of Instagram and Pinterest prove that what people want is a beautiful photo (or ten) to gaze upon. High-quality cameras can be found on most phones nowadays, which is super fortunate for us amateurs. Filters galore are available now that can turn an ‘OK’ image into something interesting that people will want to like and post elsewhere.

Do you cook? Post your creations to your blog, and make sure your posts have the Pinterest Pin option available. To make a pic extra Pinterest-friendly, post one collaged image that includes something like a four-step (and four-photo) recipe. Again, users are in search of the short-and-sweet and the quick-and-easy stuff.

Are you a mechanic? Post cool photos of vintage cars to your business’ Instagram account. Be sure a link to your blog is obvious on your profile so that users can see what other content you can offer them. Use appropriate hashtags that will help interested users find you, and while you’re at it, go ahead and tap the Twitter icon to simultaneously reach another social media medium. Every little bit helps, right?

What social-media medium works best with your business?

Author’s Bio: Diana Gomez is the Marketing Coordinator at Lyoness America, where she is instrumental in the implementation of marketing and social media strategies for USA and Canada. Lyoness is an international shopping community and loyalty rewards program, where businesses and consumers benefit with free membership and money back with every purchase. Check out Lyoness on Facebook.

Image licensed via Shutterstock

7 Tips To Get Your Next Article Curated and Shared!

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By Dorien Morin-van Dam

I love it when my articles get read and shared, don’t you?

I closely watch to see where it gets shared, on what social media platform, and by whom. I absolutely get a kick out of it when my article gets a bit of extra life when an influencer in my industry shares it with their audience.

When I first started to blog, I often wondered what made someone curate an article and share it. After three years of blogging and following and watching those in the social media industry, I have a much better idea of what the ‘sweet spots’ are. Knowing what type of article gets shared, does not guarantee your article gets picked up, by any means. It will, however, have a much better shot of being curated.

7 tips to get your articles curated and shared
  1. Put a Date On It – Really! Go check and see if your articles have a date. If the content is evergreen, I do not mind sending out an article that is older, but if you write about social media platforms and features, I would like to know instantly what date you wrote it. It will tell me if it’s relevant and if I should share it with my audience, or pass it over for a more updated piece on the same subject.
  2. Add an Image – I can’t (I guess I could, but I won’t) curate an article to Pinterest and G+ without a picture. In fact, the only platform I will send it out on without a picture is Twitter, but only if it is really, really good. And my thought is, that if it is really, really good, (and you are a really, really good writer) you should have put in the extra effort to actually find (or create) and upload an image! Your image has to be pin-worthy to be considered for pinning. Therefore, if you want your articles curated to Pinterest, plan accordingly with your image(s).
  3. Craft a Catchy Title – Just like you want to catch my eye and have me curate and share your article, I want to catch the eye and interest of my audience as well when I share your article. Therefore, put a bit of thought into your titles. Make them catchy and irresistible, yet understandable! And please, do not misrepresent the article by using an obscene word or phrase. If you do, I will never share another one of your posts, no matter how great they might be!
  4. Format For Easy Scanning – What does this mean? It means outlining your article in such a way, that if I scan it and see the thought process behind your article, clearly defined by the use of paragraphs, bullet points and a conclusion, I am much more willing to share it than if it was one, long, rambling article.
  5. Mention or Quote an Influencer in your Article – If you can, reference an industry influencer by securing a quote from them. You could also reference a book or eBook they wrote by inserting a quote and linking back, of course. In doing this, it shows you are keeping up with industry greats and the latest research, which is exactly what I am looking to share with my audience as well! And yes, then I might curate and use your article.
  6. Provide a Link and/or Reference Research – Reference an industry influencer or researcher if relevant, by linking to an article they wrote. In doing this, it shows you are keeping up with industry influencers and the latest industry news and you know how to interpret and apply this information. That’s what my readers are looking for as well!
  7. Easy Comment & Sharing System – If I can’t leave a comment on your blog without much effort, I won’t share it. If I can’t share your article without much effort (meaning; I have to go look for the sharing buttons as they are not obvious!), I also will not curate and share your article. Make it simple to comment, simple to share and I will take a second look.

Question: Have you ever gotten a ‘major industry leader’ to curate and share an article you wrote? Thinking back, what article was it and what do you think triggered the share? If you can figure it out, I suggest you duplicate that type of post! And I have to admit I was giddy for a few hours after Mari Smith shared one of my articles on Twitter!

Happy writing,

Dorien.

Author’s Bio: Dorien Morin-van Dam is owner and social media marketer at More In Media, a social media consultancy in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dorien provides social media consulting, management, training and education; she is passionate about teaching social media to small business owners. She services clients all over the USA and has worked in many different industries as well as with several NPO’s. In her spare time, Dorien manages four kids, three dogs and a husband. She runs marathons and loves to bake, travel and read.

Content: The Fit Matters

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

When I did a last read-through on the post I had for today, I scrapped the whole thing.

Content fit matters

I realized the words I’d written weren’t for you. They didn’t fit. They were too narrowly niched. They were written for my clients. You are not my clients.

Some of you are my peers, some of you are my competitors and some of you are my role models. We gather here because we’re each building an online business. What I write here needs to serve you and honor your time. It needs to add value to your day.

In the same way, regardless of where you publish, every piece of content you produce should serve your reader, honor their time and add value to their day.

Writing for your own blog is one thing – the occasional tangent piece can humanize your brand, but when you’re writing for the audience of a peer, colleague or client you must be respectful of the audience that’s been cultivated. Whether you’ve been asked to write guest post or you’re pitching to a new blog, it’s your job to cater to their fields of interest and needs.

Know Your Audience

Vegetarians don’t want to know how to barbecue the world’s perfect steak.

Parent bloggers don’t need your sports marketing strategies.

People discussing how to build their online businesses don’t have a use for decorating tips.

That doesn’t mean you can’t contribute something worthwhile to any of these groups. It just means that you have to frame what you know in such a way that it’s relevant to those who’ll be reading it.

Find A Way To Fit In

If you’re a barbecue expert, share one of your best sauce recipes and show how it can be used for corn on the cob or a thick slice of grilled cauliflower.

If you’re a sports marketer, adapt your strategies to helping parents provide visibility for their kids’ league sports or school athletic teams.

If you’re an interior designer, help online business owners understand how to choose the right color palette for their website.

Finding a way to tie the knowledge you have to a need your readers have, then sharing that knowledge in a clear concise way so they can put it to work for themselves shows that you understand what you do well enough to explain it simply.

It’s All About Perspective

It doesn’t matter who you are, your content is only a good fit when it helps someone. Never ever make the mistake of thinking you’re so big that it’s the other way around.

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+

Photo credit: Sephiroth98

Create Unique Content and Own Your Business Niche

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By Paul Biedermann, re:DESIGN

Sharing other people’s content on social media is nice, but the best content sharers are content creators. Makers. Producers. Originators.

create your own content

It’s one thing to cover that ’80s band on stage with a bad wig at the local fair — it’s a completely different thing to perform a song you’ve written and then share it with the rest of the world for the first time. If it’s good, people will snap to attention. If it’s not so good, well… people may head to the side area for a corn dog, but if it’s really, really good? You could soon find yourself on a much larger stage with a vastly larger audience.

Whether it’s a great song, a witty visual, an interesting article, a compelling video, or an innovative dance routine — making something new that only you could have made captures the imagination and sets you apart from the rest. Heck — being original is what moves the ball forward on the field of human civilization.

As social media continues to evolve — and as all media continues to evolve — the noise quotient goes up.

Everybody is a publisher these days with the potential to reach a vast, global audience within a matter of seconds. What you do with that incredible opportunity is up to you. It’s quicker and far easier to just share what other people have created. Most people do that and that’s fine. But if you want to separate yourself from the crowd, the best way to step it up is to use your own special talents and create original content for your niche that others will want to share.

If that sounds challenging, it is. A bit risky? Maybe. But it is also incredibly gratifying — not only to carve out your own unique space in this always-on, 24/7 online world of ours, but also to have produced something original — perhaps evolving into a broad body of work that could only have come from you. Hone those latent talents! Take a creative writing class, practice your on-camera skills or learn to draw!

The important thing is to be original!

That’s always preferable to going down a path of relative sameness. When you write a blog post, fuel it with passion and take an angle that’s different from what others are doing, even if the topic is a popular one. When you create an infographic, draw a diagram in the sand and photograph it to create your image — anything to be different! Some of the content that has the biggest potential for going viral isn’t necessarily the most polished, but it has a good idea and oozes originality. People love that!

Now that many of us have been on social media for a while, I sense that people are starting to rethink things a bit.

  • Where is the best place to put your time?
  • How can you most effectively manage the online presence you’ve worked so hard to establish?
  • Things change — how do you keep it all going, especially as more people are vying for attention online with no end in sight?

Define your business objectives.

Of course, it all starts with what you are trying to do and defining your business objectives — then developing a strategy that will best reach the people you need to reach, solidifying your brand.

This includes fortifying your efforts with content that will get noticed, get shared, and drive the results you’re looking for. But if you’re interested in real business results, and not just high follower counts of dubious relevance, producing original, unique content and developing relationships is the way to get there. And if you don’t possess the skills to create a specific type of content, that’s fine too. The most successful businesses source the talent they don’t possess themselves to bring their content to life and power their brands — anything less presents a less-than-professional vibe to the world that should not be taken lightly, for it is a reflection on you and your business. Mediocrity is rampant, and sometimes we need to put the ego aside and make an honest assessment of where our time and skills are best spent.

Keeping an eye on the bigger picture and how to achieve real benefits for your business over the long-term should always be central. Yet, to my continued surprise, there is far less talk about content creation and an over-abundance of talk about the tactics themselves — advice on how to use social media, the hottest online tools, SEO, etc. is everywhere — necessary and important, but mostly irrelevant when it comes to producing the kind of meaningful content that will truly make you stand out and get noticed.

There is an avalanche of content flooding the social streams — day in and day out — much of it looking the same, rehashed over and over again. It has only just begun. The time to focus on creating your own original, unique, valuable content is now. It’s also a lot more fun.

What are you doing to create your own amazing content?

Author’s Bio: Paul Biedermann is the Creative Director/Owner of re:DESIGN, a small design agency specializing in Strategic Design, Brand Identity, and Visual Content Marketing — intersecting smart design with business strategies that reach, engage, and inspire people to action. Blending traditional and leading-edge media tactics. Paul consistently delivers integrated, award-winning results for his clients. Connect with him on Google+ or Twitter.

 

Photo credit: Pixabay / Photo illustration by Paul Biedermann, re:DESIGN

Don’t Let Ties That Bind Lead to Content That Strangles Online Growth

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

Last week, I was supporting a radio broadcast team covering a long-standing, week-long live event with tweets. This is the fourth year I’ve been part of the KOZE Sports team and this year I keyed in on something new. Not with the event but with the team of two announcers responsible for bringing the event to thousands of people across the nation.

NAIA media pass

Over the several years Brian Danner and Mike Tatko have been announcing NAIA World Series Baseball, they’ve developed a history. They’ve created and maintained off-air relationships with each other, coaches and players, families of coaches and players, fans, officials and a host of other people. A natural part of those relationships is personal experiences that spawned stories most of the listening audience knows nothing about, but those stories come up in on-air color commentary. Because that’s what sports color commentary is … stories to fill dead air between plays.

What I keyed in on, was they way these two men were able to share their histories. Instead of cracking a private joke on-air about something that happened in the past, they took the time to fill in the back story. Every memory reference was colored in. Every person listening was provided with an explanation that invited them into the conversation.

In the same way that Danner and Tatko have developed a history, brands that were conceived and launched online or brands that have been curating content over an extended period of time have a very real history.

One thing that makes a brand and its content attractive to people is a consistent voice that shares that history and the new events that continue to contribute to it. This takes on increased importance when you have a team of people managing that voice.

With any good team you want to encourage ties and relationships that give your team members a sense of connection. A cohesiveness that allows them to pull together to pursue common marketing goals. The danger comes when the intimate aspects of those ties and relationships begin to bleed over into the conversations that take place on your social media profiles.

I’m not writing about behind-the-scenes snapshots of Team Member Josephine caught sleeping at her desk during a quick power nap. Or teasers of an almost-ready-to-launch product. I’m writing about insider banter made up of private jokes and subtle references to previous events new followers might not be familiar with. Instead of being invited to participate in and contribute to conversations that occur on your Facebook Page, Twitter stream, Tumblr profile, or LinkedIn presence, your followers become observers, voyeurs if you will, over an exclusionary conversation.

An oblique reference once in a while shouldn’t damage your brand but if your team becomes comfortable with presenting too many tweets, updates or posts that have overly private resonances and not enough public appeal, people will stop retweeting, sharing or giving +1’s because they don’t have the contextual references they need to understand the content your team is publishing. It will kill your online momentum.

The best time to manage this situation is before it occurs by addressing expectations for your team’s online behaviors in a set of social media guidelines.

If you find yourself having to navigate the situation as it’s occurring online, you need to find a way to help your team bring the content back around to a place where your followers feel included and invited to take part in a conversation.

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+

Put a Face to that Name! Use Images to Build your Personal Brand Online

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By Diana Gomez

For many small business owners, their integrity is the backbone of their enterprise. Loyal customers depend on them to reliably deliver exceptional goods and services. This personal trust is a key reason that many of these “Davids” can successfully compete with the “Goliaths.”

As more products and services are transacted online, it has become more difficult for small businesses to maintain the personal relationships that can provide a competitive edge. This is why it is so important to cultivate personal identities and relationships on the web as well.

One easy way to get started is to incorporate personal photos into your online activities. A good approach is to treat your personal profile as if it is your brand. After all, in many ways it is!

images for personal branding

Take a cue from savvy brand marketers:

• Packaging is everything: Consumer products companies spend millions of dollars to design packaging that is appealing to the customer. Make the effort to take some good photos of yourself as well. In most cases, this would be a professional, recognizable head shot. Remember, unless you happen to be a big-time wrestler, you want your image to be friendly and portray trust!

• Be Consistent: Brand marketers generally try to display their brand consistently across all products and media. The same goes for your photo. Consider using the same one in all of your on-line activities. In a way, your photo becomes an instantly recognizable brand logo in the online community.

• Protect the Brand: Many companies go to extraordinary lengths to protect their brands. You should do the same with your online identity. Be careful how your profile and photos are distributed and portrayed on the web. Monitor your online persona. Take corrective action to remove posts that aren’t “on message.”

Once you’ve defined your personal brand, it’s time to publish it. Here are a few places to start:

• If you have a Facebook or LinkedIn account, it’s likely that you have already posted a personal photo. Start by reviewing these and any other photos already on-line and consider replacing them with some that are more suitable.

• If your business has a website, you will want to personalize it with photos. This is one of the few venues where photos other than headshots may be appropriate. Just make sure that they are professional and consistent with your strategy.

• Consider adding your personal photo to your email signature. If you decide to do this, resize the photo and be selective in its use. Some recipients discourage this practice as it can add to the size of the email, but most email providers now make it easier than ever to add images.

• Some integrated phone systems such as Microsoft Lync enable you to add photos to your profile. The system will display these personal images in contacts, email, phone and IM communications.

• By adding a photo to your Google+ profile, it will be accessible from other Google offerings such as Authorship or Hangouts. These applications will link to your profile and further expand its reach. Your photo can even be displayed in Google search results.

• Blogging tools such as WordPress can incorporate your photo. This same image will then be displayed in your posts on all WordPress Blogs. While many people use avatars for blog posts, consider adding your headshot instead.

• Of course, you can also add a photo to your profile on a multitude of individual sites such as Twitter, Skype and Yelp. Be sure to take advantage of these whenever you can.

The old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is just as true today as it was a hundred years ago. Incorporating personal photos into your online activities will help you build and maintain valuable relationships with your customers. Goliath won’t have a chance!

Author’s Bio: Diana Gomez is the Marketing Coordinator at Lyoness America, where she is instrumental in the implementation of marketing and social media strategies for USA and Canada. Lyoness is an international shopping community and loyalty rewards program, where businesses and consumers benefit with free membership and money back with every purchase.

Photo Credit: Brian Auer via Compfight cc