Social Media Conferences: Coming Together to Enhance Communication

07/26/2012 by Joseph Baker

Social media is all about communication across a distance. This Internet-aided communication makes it easy for individuals to reach out, keep up on current events and acquire insight into the thoughts and ideas of others. While communication—thanks at least in part to social media—no longer requires coming together physically, many real-world conferences specifically pertaining to this topic are popping up around the country.

Such conferences—many of which are located in Chicago—allow social media users to come together face to face, perhaps enhancing the connections they’ve cultivated online and offering an opportunity for those who value social media to learn more about it and provide input on how it will continue to evolve into the future.

Face-to-Face Interaction

While some contend that the point of social media is to eliminate the need for face-to-face communication, others would argue that social media is in fact only another layer in the modern, multi-faceted system of interaction of which we are all a part. These advocates of communication across multiple channels would argue that connecting via social media alone isn’t sufficient to develop complex relationships and solve problems or reach a consensus for change. By coming together at physical locations, these lovers of—or capitalizers on—social media can add complexity to their interactions, enhance their understanding of the opportunities that social media affords and have a more lasting impact on the development of these channels.

What’s There to Learn

Using social media is generally intuitive, as designers of these online communication platforms aim to make it easy for users to teach themselves to use these tools. Knowing how to take advantages of all the opportunities that social media affords isn’t as simple, however. Through conferences like the Saint Xavier University Conference in Chicago, social media users can receive training in how to effectively utilize all the tools of social media as a communication and advertisement platform.

Such information could prove particularly useful to business leaders trying to use social media as a way to promote their products or services. Any time individuals of like interests converge in one place, the opportunity for networking also presents itself. At the SXU conference, as with other social media conferences, those with social media skills can network with those looking to use social media more effectively, exchanging ideas and potentially trading services.

Location, Location, Location

The Midwest provides an ideal location for conferences on social media; the centralized location makes it convenient for the maximum number of attendees. Unlike a conference on one of the coasts, which would be difficult for those from the opposite side of the country to attend, this Midwest locale isn’t as out-of-the-way for attendees.

As an additional bonus, Chicago offers much for visitors to see, ensuring that, even if the conference doesn’t meet their expectations, they aren’t sorely disappointed by their trip. From the Navy Pierto the Chicago Cultural center, there’s som

Social Media Conference at Harvard

ething to suit anyone’s fancy in this metropolis. With numerous well-appointed Chicago hotels, visitors will spend their time in the city in comfort and relaxation.

Since its eruption on the communication scene, social media has only continued to grow as a Web presence. Because of the pervasiveness of this communication medium, individuals in business—or just those with a refined desire to use and understand this sometimes-complex communication form—are remiss not to take advantage of the learning opportunities, including social media conferences, available to them.

Filed Under: Social Media, Strategy & Business Tagged With: facebok marketing, facebook, facebook features, online social networking, ROI, social marketing, social media, social networking, world wide web

Joining the Conversation: How To Make Your Small Business Internet Famous

07/19/2012 by Joseph Baker

Social media provides small business owners with a novel and effective way to market their business directly to a customer or client base. The advent of the Internet and widespread social media has eliminated the obstacles that once stood between a brand and the consumer. Without a middleman, brands can directly interface with their consumers through all the usual social media haunts. Social media is important enough to the business cycle that marketing companies have cropped up to aid brands in their endeavors to capture the hearts and the minds of their consumers directly. You need to learn how to take advantage of social networking to get the word out about your small business, and to interact with customers for great virtual word of mouth recommendations. However, you also need to accomplish this without coming off as being pushy, sales orientated or a complete tool.

How to Play the Social Media Field

The first thing you’ll need to do is to get a feel for the specific social network you’re targeting. Each social media site has its own focus, flavor and specific features that you need to be aware of so you come off as savvy. Look at your competitors’ profiles on the same site to see how they approach things, and how their customers respond to them.

Keep things professional, but don’t be too uptight. Most social networks provide you with an informal and personal platform to connect with your target demographic. If you approach them with the personalities behind your small business, they’re going to be able to relate to you far more than a faceless big box company. Don’t be afraid to be real and honest with them throughout the conversations. Just always be aware that you do still represent your company. Always be aware of the impression that you’re putting out.

Provide incentives to get your customers to share your profile. Maybe you can run a contest or giveaway that depends on sharing a post or picture. You can also provide discount coupons or access to exclusive sales by favoriting or friending a social media profile.

Let them look behind the curtain. People are always curious as to how the product creation process is conducted, how ideas are generated and other information about things you might consider mundane since they’re part of your day-to-day business. Show your customers what’s going on behind the scenes and let them feel like they have a better understanding of exactly how your business works.

Go beyond your own profiles. Not everyone that’s talking about you is doing it on your social media profiles. If the network provides tools to find out where you are mentioned, use them to your advantage. Try and respond outside of your own profile in order to show your customers that you’re involved and care about the impression that your company makes. Even if you find bad experiences, do what you can to help the person out. You just might end up with a great deal of word of mouth recommendations or even viral traffic for your troubles.

Everyone is playing the social media game and you can’t expect to stand out right off the bat, especially if you’re getting started now (good luck!). As long as you are honest and professional with your presence, you can always cultivate your user base and build new fans out of skeptics. Don’t give up!

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: blog, business development, engagement, facebok marketing, facebook, facebook features, google plus, marketing, online social networking, ROI, search engine optimization, social media, social networking

Small Business Going Mobile

06/21/2012 by Joseph Baker

You probably have a website for your business. It’s a great, low-cost way to market your products and services. You’ve probably also considered the need for a mobile application, too. Look around; it seems like everyone is getting a smartphone. Should you jump in and build an app for your small business? Do you need a mobile presence? Mobile applications can be developed for very little money and users can download them in under a minute so the answer to both questions seems to be affirmative. But what can these little software applications really do for you? Well, that depends.

Why You Should Bother

According to Pew Research, about 35 percent of American adults owned a smartphone as of July 2011. That figure is certainly growing. It represents an opportunity for small-business owners to use technology to their advantage. Gartner Research reports that mobile applications are expected to earn providers $58 billion by 2014. That’s a pretty staggering figure, right? Can you make interacting with your customers a little easier, more convenient or even playful? Consider it if:

Your business offers a service that could be ordered or used by customers on the go.
New customers might be enticed to buy from your business when they interact with your mobile application.
Your customers currently interact with you and each other using social media technology such as wikis, blogs and forums.
You’re willing to try creating a mobile application and dedicate some staff and budget to the effort.
You can envision new ways to make money for your business using a mobile application. For example, if you offer a global product or service, you might be able to find new customers in Asia, where mobile application use has been rapidly adopted.

Getting Started
To get started, check out websites such as Infinite Monkeys or BudgetAppDev. You can create a basic business application with display advertisements with the Infinite Monkeys drag and drop interface for free. It’s easy (and fun) to create your application. Video help provides guidance along the way. By specifying some basic information and uploading a background graphic, you can create an application that reinforces your brand and helps you connect. You get to choose which features and functions you want added, including photo sharing, blog feeds and videos. You can download your custom QR code and put it on your brochures, signs and marketing collateral. Users will be linked your application or the HTML5 version in the event that your customer doesn’t have an Android or iPhone. You can also view usage statistics.

If You Need Inspiration
Check out the BudgetAppDev portfolio for some excellent examples to trigger your creative flair. People love to use their mobile phone to pass the time. Can you develop a dynamite quiz related to your small business that people will play while waiting in an airport or train station? Want to package up training and support tips, tools and resources for your company that your customers can access from any location? How about a restaurant guide for the area surrounding your business as a benefit to visitors?

If any of these ideas appeal to you, you’ve already taken the first step in designing and developing a mobile application to support your small business. Now, take your idea and consult with your customers to find out what they might need.

Filed Under: Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Social Media, Strategy & Business, Technology Tagged With: analytics, audience, blog, Blogging, business development, marketing, mobile marketing, online social networking, ROI

The Success of Indie Developers

05/03/2012 by Joseph Baker

The arcade and console gaming industry was established and spurred on by creativity and true genius in its early years. The late 70s and early 80s saw an explosion of games based on the abilities of individual developers or small talented teams skilled in graphics optimization and backed by conscientious investors. Everyone remembers and loves the likes of Brick Breaker, Pac Man and Donkey Kong. Unfortunately, the industry is in the grip of a decades-long cycle of repeats in concepts and name upgrades. Year after year the “top” gaming prospects are determined by the companies that win by having loudest voices and the brightest colors.

The beginning of the 21st century, however, has seen a rise in more of the buck-the-system styles of independent–or indie–developers. As a result variety is seeping back into the market and there seems to be more of a place for those looking to express creativity.

But why now, when everyone is being driven toward big money? A few possibilities beg for our acknowledgement. Mass platforms like Facebook have become convenient outlets for gamers. No more jostling for a quick demo in an elusive limelight. Developers can now play all the cards. This is the story of smaller squads run by guys like Jonathan Blow, creator of the Braid game. Another reason for the growth of indie game development is the influx of developers from the mainstream sector. This exodus, while not exactly pilfering the mainstream markets of its talent, gives indie game developers a tint of viability.

So, you’re an aspiring developer; and you have enough business sense to understand that skill with coding and stand-out creativity will not be enough to keep you afloat. We have a few tips that may be helpful to you.

Find a Niche

Knowing where you are and what you have offer will give you sure footing in the development game. The strength of indie game production is in niches. The best and brightest produce a game that helps them stand out. Most game devs who go indie are attracted to it because of unique concepts that aren’t available except in the developer’s chosen outlet.

Don’t Go for it Alone

Build a solid team around yourself. Although it could be rewarding to hock out an award winner all on your own, it’s not likely. The best indie games are produced by teams built of passionate experts in their field, and use already-established graphics optimization companies. You may not be the best at what you do and you may not be able to get the best sound developer or designer, but you can put together a solid and dedicated team.

Capital, Capital, and more Capital

Yes “capital” is a dirty word in the world of indie gaming, but you must come up with creative ways to fund your projects. You and your team have to eat. Keep your day job. Try and raise capital investors from interests groups that line up with your concept interests or avid gamers that you know.

Consider Seeking Out and Joining an Already Established Team or Start-Up

If you are confident in your skill level, you may be able to go the route of some of the professionals who got their start in the mainstream. Although you won’t have as much of an appeal there are probably more than a few budding teams that share you drive and determination but lack that necessary ingredient: a team member like you.

Above All, Stay Positive

As the indie industry grows so will the competition. But staying positive will allow you to continue to develop in your skill area, suffer setbacks and move forward until you see daylight. Don’t be discouraged at this, but you may have to go through a few teams and projects before anything chalks up to a worthy gaming experience on the other end. Keep the faith and go forward.

Filed Under: Blogging, Contributors Tagged With: analytics, audience, business, business development, ROI, search engine optimization, search engines, social marketing, social media, social networking

The Future is Now, but For How Long?

03/08/2012 by Joseph Baker

Years ago I sat in a library computer lab at my university and thought, “Wow, the MySpace era is over, upended and replaced by Facebook, but how long will the victor stay on top? If MySpace could fall, surely Facebook will as well. What will Facebook do in the future to lose users in the same way?” Of course, Facebook has done very well for itself since and successfully defeated social media challengers or integrated them into its sweeping empire. That does not change the fact that technology is cyclical and someday Facebook will give rise to a new brand that will occupy that space.

This is especially important to marketers who specialize in social media and technology trends. Facebook built its empire on the sale of information and created a sharing platform irresistible to the masses. That model has changed the DNA of our interaction with the Internet and will likely continue on into the future.

Twitter is growing into a mature platform for short-form discourse and advertising. Pinterest is currently being mined for its marketing potential. Sites with a heavy social leaning are cropping up all over the place and nearly all of them present an avenue for marketing products, but marketers have to ask how long social media will continue to be a trend.

You can register your business on as many social media websites as you see fit, and you may find a way to sell products and generate traffic through one of them that is revolutionary. However, in addition to experiments in cutting edge social media, web marketers must keep in mind the foundations of the business that will always exist with the web. As marketers explore the final frontier of marketing on the web, it’s important that they maintain a foundation of solid tactics that will more than likely continue on into the future.

No matter how easily you are able to join a social media site, they remain inherently complicated as far as meeting business goals. Since they were designed as social networks that eventually incorporated a business aspect, they don’t always lend themselves to infiltration by brands.

Longevity

Social media groups are inherently driven by popularity, yet the most successful products experience the fastest rate of growth when they are still new and undiscovered by the masses. While it’s understandable to want a presence on the new, cool site the unfortunate rules of middle school still apply: by the time everyone has it, it is no longer exclusive and desirable. Social media marketing isn’t going anywhere next year, or the year after that. But someday there will be something new, and when that day comes we will have to fall back on a foundation of strategy that is typified by plain old good content.

All this to say that it is very important to stay abreast of new technologies when developing new ways to create brand identity on the Internet. It is equally important to maintain best practices for the innovations that got us to this point and continue to propel us toward the marketing future. Maintaining a solid newsletter, engaging the customer, and some campaign management software will go a long way when the frills of social networks begin to fall away and its successor rises from the ashes.

So yes, get on the social networks that make sense for your brand, but also remember the basics that got us to this point, because sooner or later we may have to rely on them again.

Filed Under: Guest Bloggers, Social Media, Strategy & Business, Success Tagged With: blog, branding, business, business development, marketing, ROI, search engine optimization, SMM, social marketing, social media, web marketing, working from home, world wide web

Keeping Up Appearances: Buying Twitter Followers

01/18/2012 by Lauren MacEwen

Maybe the Twitter Zombies can help

There has always been a lot of debate about weather it is good to buy followers or not. Generally the answer is no. Buying followers will not help you get clicks. It will not help you find your qualified audience. It will not help you build your community. It will not help you make a sale. …..directly.

However, buying followers might help you achieve all of these things faster. I read an interesting post about buying a Twitter Zombie Possie. She called them zombies because the followers she bought were just that. They were bots. Dummy accounts. They didnt tweet, or retweet. They didn’t engage with your. But what they did do was increase her Klout.

This, of course, raises issues with Klout’s rating system that it can so easily be influenced by purchasing fans. However, it does bring to question how important is keeping up appearances.

With clients I work towards landmarks. 100 followers is the first big landmark for any Twitter account. Once you have 100 followers your account starts being taken more seriously. More people will start following you and your influence will increase. 100 fans roughly says that you are no longer a newbie and you plan to stay on Twitter for a while. As your account grows so does everything else associated with it. Its like the old adage, it takes money to make money.

So does it take followers to make followers? Simply, yes.

Now buying followers will not get you any real time results. You will not get clicks to your website. You will not get sales. You will not make “connections”. You will not improve your brand awareness. But you might be able to get you over that “growing” hump that can take so long. If buying followers helps legitimize your account , ironically, then it might be a good tool to help you grow your legitimate followers that will help you reach your ROI goals.

Things to think about.

Filed Under: Twitter Tagged With: buying, followers, influence, ROI, twitter

Real Snail Mail

12/08/2011 by Joseph Baker

Transactions that used to be performed primarily by mail – receiving and paying bills, payroll services, bank statements and communication – are increasingly being done online. Nevertheless, many items are still sent by mail, including magazines, mail order DVD rentals and packages. Some of those items can be time-sensitive and any delays in their delivery can be a recipe for customer rage or other problems. Come Spring 2012, though, the entire mail system will slow down considerably as the U.S. Postal Service attempts to cut costs to avoid filing bankruptcy. With the volume of first-class mail dropping about 7% annually, it doesn’t make sense for the USPS to continue operating at the same levels it’s used to. At this point it seems the only choices are to lose the Postal Service or endure cuts in service.

What Brought Us to This Point?

This past year, the Postal Service declared that it expected $43 billion in losses over the next four years due to a steady decline in use of the service. First-class mail usage peaked in at 104 billion pieces in 2001, but fell to 73.5 billion last year. By 2020 it’s estimated that the USPS will process only 39 million pieces of first-class mail per year, showing just how difficult it has become for the nation’s mail service to receive enough mail volume to fully fund all of their operating costs. Add to that the fact that the federal government requires the postal service to prefund its retirement benefits by and you have a recipe for massive budget shortfalls. The USPS has already overpaid $75 billion for pension funds, bringing it to the brink of bankruptcy. Postal workers calling for the government to remove the prefunding requirements and refund the overpaid money to keep the service solvent were largely ignored.

What Consequences Will Be Experienced?

The troubles the USPS is experiencing have resulted in a reduction of services, namely a closing of around 250 processing facilities and the loss of up to 35,000 jobs. This will result in slower mail delivery times, extending first-class mail from 1-2 days to 2-3, increasing the relevance of streaming media rather than having it shipped on physical discs through the mail. The accelerating decline in physical mail usage coupled with the looming threat of a collapse of the federally regulated postal service means that further shifts toward digital purchasing and Internet usage will be experienced. This means that search engine optimization (SEO) will become increasingly important as more and more companies flood the web with their products and services, all vying for the coveted top positions on search engine results pages (SERPs). Many traditional forms of advertising and branding, such as mailers and magazine advertisements, will be more expensive to mail and be delivered less reliably with the increased waits, requiring businesses to look to digital branding and advertisement for recognition and customer interaction. SEO can provide that by helping businesses target their niche demographics, becoming more recognizable to their core audience through search engines.

Filed Under: Blogging, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Vlog Tagged With: blog, business development, facebook, online social networking, ROI, search engine optimization, social media

Learning from Black Friday

12/01/2011 by Joseph Baker

Search engine optimization should be a central building block for every website, particularly websites operated by Internet retailers. In general, SEO will raise the search ranking (and therefore the visibility) of the website – increasing the likelihood of profitable conversions based purely on an increase in traffic. More fine-tuned SEO tactics will actually improve conversion rates in addition to raising the raw number of visitors. But normal SEO tactics won’t cut it during the busy holiday shopping season, particularly Cyber Monday.

Nearly every online store offers some sort of deal or discount, and most will be heavily advertising it. By making a slight shift to the SEO strategy during special events, websites can target very specific search traffic without needing to completely rework content. If a site isn’t currently employing SEO tactics, the holiday season will provide an ample proving ground for changes, because the increase in online shopping will make the positive effects of any optimization almost immediately available. A solid SEO strategy coupled with a multi-faceted marketing campaign, including PPC, email marketing and remarketing, can produce major boosts to a site’s traffic and business.

Establishing a brand, both online and offline, can greatly boost a company’s exposure on search engines. It might not be easy to see how branding in the physical world can affect digital relevance, but making a brand highly memorable and recognizable can lead to increased off-site links from news sources or blogs, which factor heavily into search engine rankings. Increasing online exposure will make search engines more aware of the presence of the business, much as attaching a spotlight to a building makes it easier for visitors to spot. Companies that excel at branding not only make their name and logo memorable but also tie specific feelings and thought patterns in with their brand. Establishing a company as a thought leader and a trustworthy enterprise makes consumers more likely to develop a strong loyalty for the brand. Providing the content that’s necessary to build that trust will increase search rankings by providing rich informational pages that lead users to their desired destinations.

Browsing Behavior

Analyzing the browsing behavior of site visitors helps SEO specialists break down the effectiveness of various aspects of the site design and target potential trouble spots. If a menu system is confusing and unclear, visitors will bounce from page to page or even off the site entirely. Making the menus concise and user-friendly will go a long way toward increasing user satisfaction. Placing prominent links on landing pages to the most viewed or most popular pages will help funnel users towards desired conversions and give them a clear path to follow.

Blog usage

Every company should have a blog. Blogging provides numerous benefits to the company, users and search engines, chief among them being user engagement. Companies benefit from user engagement by building working relationships with their customers while users benefit from that company’s pool of knowledge in their industry. Search engines benefit from user engagement by being provided with additional information (via comments and links) that they can use to rank pages and sites more effectively. Blogging should be a major part of any serious branding initiative because of the trust it engenders and the rich, powerful content it provides to consumers and search engines – content that informs readers while associating the company with relevant topics.

Filed Under: Blogging, Contributors Tagged With: blog, business development, online social networking, ROI, SEO, social media

How to get your SEO right and know that it works

11/22/2011 by Joseph Baker

This is how many people perceive SEO. With the tools available it is not this complicate anymore.

What do you know about SEO?

It’s not exactly a new thing, though it has a turbulent history within the realm of Internet marketing. SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization – a super effective way to get your Google ranking up, although SEO has been maligned in the past.

Today there are good ways to optimize your search results and bad ways to optimize your search results. Bad methods get you punished by Google and your site stricken from the top search engine results; you may have heard about what happened to a certain retailer. “White hat” techniques are credible ways to improve the Google and Bing rankings of your site – increasing your page views and giving you more opportunities for conversions.

In addition to raising your search rank, white hat tactics make your site more navigable and easier to index/access. At its core, SEO is a way of getting your site in the best condition to be found in search results.

Okay, Cool. But what do I do to get my SEO right?

Tons of things! Google’s quest is to deliver the best search results for user queries. Based on the words people type into that query field, Google has to be able to analyze what you’re looking for and present you with the most relevant results. SEO is the practice of making your site relevant. That can be done through launching an email marketing campaign or writing guest blog posts. However, the first step is reorganizing the architecture of your site.

When Google sends its spiders out to crawl the Internet for content, they value each site they go to by how quickly they can glean information from it. If that information is relevant, then the rankings tend to go up. But if they can’t get to the information because of problems like junky site script, then they will devalue it.

SEO consultants always talk about things like the importance of selecting the right keywords and then using the right tactics to optimize the site for these targeted keywords. The more that your content reflects this keyword relevance, the better your site will perform in search. It’s also importance for your URL to be relevant. For example, if someone searches “Furby” and your site offers Furby reviews, opinions, and short stories, if wouldn’t make sense for the URL to be WorkshopFlock.com. That has nothing to do with Furby, and even if it did, it doesn’t sound like it does.

How do I know if it’s working?

When it comes to return-on-investment, SEO gives you an effective method of tracking exactly what your efforts are doing for you. Google Analytics has been a very important tool in the past for SEOs to demonstrate the efficacy of their work to clients. As SEO has evolved, newer tools have emerged and can be found all over the Internet. SEOmoz is the industry leader in SEO tracking tools, which include On-Page Analysis, Rank Tracking and Link Analysis.

Because SEO is so rooted in metrics, traffic, and analytics there are many things for you to measure and track and graph. The benefit SEO has over many other online marketing initiatives is that it’s so measurable, whereas the results of other initiatives often disappear into the ether of the internet.

SEO represents a growing industry, but it’s also a good way to get your site in the best shape possible. Use it and you will see changes in the ranking of your site and if you take it to the next level, the next search a user makes may see your site at the top of page 1 in Google!

Filed Under: Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Strategy & Business Tagged With: business development, facebook, marketing, online social networking, ROI, SEO, social media

My Twitter Real Estate Value?

10/03/2010 by Lauren MacEwen

The idea of Twitter real estate has never been more salient as it is right now. Twitter real estate is the space you have to customize your Twitter profile page. It is the space you have to be able to individualize, personalize, identify, set yourself apart, and express yourself. It is your space to work on your branding. Until a week ago, Twitter real estate had a pretty high value. When you wanted to see someone’s profile, you clicked their avatar and it took you to their page. On that page you would see the custom design of their choice. This could sway you into following them. It might send you to their website. Or it might simply give you a better idea of who they are as a person.

The New Twitter has reduced your available real estate to about 100 pixels, or 1.389 inches wide. Yeah, not very wide. Actually it is less than half of what it was. Before you had about 225 px, safely, to design and add content.

Now principles of real estate, if less land is available then the more it is worth? The New Twitter figured out how to squash that too.

Now, not only is there less space, but they reduced the likelihood that anyone will even see your 1.389 inches of custom background. How? Good question!

New Twitter has reduced your visibility a few ways. One way is to see a custom background you have to have your browser window completely open (up to 1080px). According to Banyan Branch, your custom profile will only be visible to about 5% of internet users. So assuming you have cleared that initial visibility hurdle, New Twitter gave us another one. Though this is nice for usability, it is not so nice for showing off your design work. Now, when you click on someones Twitter handle or their avatar, instead of going to their profile page, it opens up an abbreviated profile on the right. This abbreviated profile does not show your custom backgroud.

So unless someone goes to your actual Twitter URL (ie. http://www.twitter.com/twitterusername) then they will not see your profile, and even then they only have a 5% chance.

Should you have a custom background? Yes. The audience has been narrowed but not eliminated.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: new twitter, real estate, ROI, SMM, social marketing, social media, social networking, twitter