You are here: Home / Archives for Online Visibility
8 Comments

Easy Video Creation on Facebook [cool tool alert!]

Video creation can be intimidating for many people. I was following the comments on a post by Kathleen Gage about the Pros and Cons of Using Video and was surprised at the number of people who don't like video and refuse to use video in their business. 

Video helps you build rapport with your audience faster, you can teach more complex ideas, especially for how-to videos, and it’s been shown for several years now that the number of people watching video is on the rise.  The thing is, video doesn't have to be difficult and it doesn't need to involve a lot of fancy equipment. 

If you don't feel inclined to shoot video but you do take a lot of photos (and it seems everyone does now that cameras are integrated into our phones), you can create impactful videos with your photos. I've been using Animoto to do this for a few years. And, I've discovered a new Facebook application that works in a similar way and in fact, is even simpler: Slidemotion Video Express. Thanks to Social Media Examiner for the tip!

With three clicks you can convert a Facebook photo album into a video with music. This is a fast, simple way to repurpose your images and get more visibility by posting your video on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other video sharing sites.

Anyone who is tagged in your original photo album can be notified automatically (you can disable this feature) that they are featured in your video. Again this helps get more visibility for your video.

Though it's not business related, below is a video I created to test the Slidemotion Video Express app. It took two minutes. There are options for editing, embedding and sharing once the video is created. If you want to download your video or upgrade to a higher quality, you must purchase credits (you get 3 free when you set up your account).

How can you use Slidemotion Video Express strategically for your business?

Take some time to think through and set up business focused photo albums. Here are some ideas:

  • Images of you in action at speaking gigs, workshops, book signings
  • Your products and books
  • You with your clients
  • You at events with thought leaders in your industry
  • Quotes from your work, books, articles

Give it a try and let me know what you think. After you create your video, post a link to the video in the comments so I can check it out!

Filed Under: Online Video, Online Visibility Tagged With: ,
Leave a Comment

3 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Content Syndication

Once you're in the habit and creating awesome, compelling content, then what? How do you get your content amplified across the web and in front of potential new clients without doing a lot of extra time-consuming work?

Following is a guest post by my colleague, Dr. Rachna Jain, co-presenter for From Platform to Profit.

From Platform to Profit Content Syndication

Content syndication is one of the missing pieces in most small business owners’ marketing blueprints. This, I believe, is because many people don’t know what content syndication is, how to do it, or why it even matters. 

Let’s start with what content syndication is. It’s the process of sharing your content across the Internet, so that you are creating greater reach and influence along the web. Content syndication is a multiplicative process; where you share your content on a series of different sites, and those sites may republish to other sites, and so on. So, from one piece of content, you can get hundreds or maybe even thousands of shares. 
 
Contrast this to most business owners, who write for their blog or newsletter and then never do anything more with this content. 
 
Content syndication has been as simple or involved as you like. On the end of simple syndication, you are syndicating content each time you add your newest blog post to your Facebook page or LinkedIn account, or when you submit your RSS feed to the RSS directories. On the end of more complex, it is possible to set up a content syndication system that funnels your content to hundreds or thousands of sites almost automatically. 
 
The truth is, though, for most of us, we need something that’s neither too simple, nor too complex. And, whatever content syndication system we use, we want it to have results. 
 
So when we look at the results of content syndication, there are really several main benefits. But the three main reasons your business needs content syndication are: 
  1. It puts you in front of new people who might become clients. When you share your content consistently and strategically in social media, you will likely attract new potential clients.
  2. It’s a way of creating leverage in your business. You can use technology to put you in front of hundreds or thousands of people much more quickly and inexpensively than it would take you to meet with each of those people individually. 
  3. It builds your expert status. When people keep seeing and hearing about you everywhere, they naturally begin to view you as an authority. This, in turn, can create more opportunities for you in your business. 
So if you’re not yet utilizing content syndication as a regular part of your business, it’s time to give this serious consideration. And if you’d like some help getting started, please join Denise Wakeman and me for our new training: From Platform to Profit.

Denise here. Send me a tweet to let me know you read this post. Click the button below.

Dr. Rachna Jain

About the Author: Dr. Rachna Jain is the founder of Profitable Popularity.  Rachna works with speakers, consultants, authors, and small business owners to develop and execute effective social media marketing  strategies. Her proprietary persuasive social media  process (sm) focuses on building influence, credibility and  visibility online. This translates into greater recognition, increased  website traffic, faster lead generation, a shorter sales cycle, and  more opportunity for her expert clientele. She blogs regularly at Profitable Popularity.

Filed Under: Online Visibility Tagged With:
23 Comments

Pinterest Drives Traffic and Boosts Visibility for Your Blog

Pinterest

Pinterest is all the rage these days. No doubt you've seen articles, blog posts, and status updates on Facebook. You may be seeing "Pin It" buttons on blogs as well.  And for good reason. Pinterest as grown nearly as fast as the speed of light in the last few months. [Not sure what Pinterest is? Click here for info.]

Naturally my interest is in how to use it for business without being spamy. I joined Pinterest a few weeks ago and set up boards for Business Blogging Tips and Online Visibility Tips, in addition to personal boards for travel, running and books. My intention is to share not only my own posts on blogging and visibility but great content by others as well so there is a well rounded selection for visitors to choose from. 

Quickly I observed dozens of "likes" and "repins" of my posts. And, new traffic to those posts. Cool!

Next I set up a community board for Social Marketing Tips. I've invited people in my LinkedIn group to share content on this board too. [If you want to contribute your posts and other great content to the Social Marketing board, let me know in the comments below and I'll add you to the community. Be sure to include your Pinterest profile URL so I can follow you, too.]

I don't know how this will evolve for businesses, but from a visibility stand point, I'd recommend anyone who deals with visual arts in any way to get started, if you're not already. Restaurants, photographers, crafts people, builders, artists, architects, and designers of all types can benefit. If you demonstrate your product and services visually, get those images pinned and linked back to your site.

Tips for Getting Started on Pinterest

  1. Take the time to fill out your profile completely, including your bio. I've clicked through to a lot of profiles that have no bio info. This is a an opportunity to tell your visitors about you and your business. Include your picture. Set up a few boards and pin a couple of things right away.
  2. Add links to your blog, Facebook page and Twitter account
  3. A recommended tactic is to post your images on your blog FIRST, then pin to a board. This is an opportunity to attract people back to your site where they can go deeper into your content.
  4. If you create your own images and photographs, take the time to add a watermark with your URL. Courtesy of Elizabeth Cottrell, here's an article reviewing several watermark plugins for WordPress.
  5. Connect your Facebook profile to your Pinterest account with the Pinterest app, if you want to share your activity with your friends. I'm getting more activity on Facebook since I added the app.
  6. Add the Pin It button to your blog and make it easy for your readers to share your images and posts. The Pin It button is included in the Digg Digg social sharing plugin and there are stand alone Pin It plug ins as well.
  7. Encourage your readers, friends and followers to pin your content.

I saw this post (image above) in my Facebook newsfeed. This is an excellent way to enage your friends. I clicked through to the article and then pinned the image to my Running board. The only thing missing was the Pin It button on the actual post (a missed opportunity). I had added a Pin It button to my bookmarks tool bar so it's easy for me to pin anything on any site.

Another cool feature is that people can embed your Pins on their blogs. This one is from Tom Treanor's board about Pinterest tips…

 

So much has been written about Pinterest for business in the last few weeks. I've curated a list of posts for you that I've found helpful if you're ready to dig deeper.

Top Tips for Brands on Pinterest from SimplyZesty.com – there are some great tips for all businesses in this article.

How an Alaskan Mom Brings Millions to Her Carpentry Blog - a great case study on Social Media Examiner

To Pin or Not to Pin: An Indepth Look at Pinterest – detailed article by Kathryn Rose

10 Tips on Using Pinterest for your Business

thenextweb.com1/20/12

The most obvious use for Pinterest from a business perspective is to market and sell your products. By adding a price to your pinned item, you can direct users to your online shop, and your post will be automatically listed …

Pinterest Drives Enormous Blog and Business Success | Business 2 …

www.business2community.com1/30/12

This is Kate. She's a hairstylist, jewelry maker, and all-around crafter based in North Carolina. Kate started her blog (thesmallthingsblog.com)

10 Pinterest Ideas With SEO Benefits | Business 2 Community

www.business2community.com1/27/12

If you haven't heard of Pinterest, it does what it says on the tin – a virtual pinboard of interesting things. You find something you like, you Pin it to.

How to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business [Infographic ...

How to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business [Infographic]. One of the “new kids” on the block…..Pinterest is doing very well in 6 months…….read 11 million visits in a week in December 2011 obviously you need to have a …

At the time of writing this post, Pinterest is still invite only. If you would like an invite, post your request in the comments and I'll send one to you. If you'd like to contribute to the Social Marketing  Tips Board, post your Pinterest URL in the comments and I'll add you. If you'd like to connect with me on Pinterest, click here.

Feel free to share your tips and thoughts about Pinterest below…

Filed Under: Online Visibility, Social Media Marketing Tagged With:
13 Comments

Free Keyword Search Tips for Bloggers

This is a guest post by Matthew Hooper of MatthewHooper.com.

Keyword research is a great way for you to discover potential content ideas for your website. Very often, blog owners either don't know the right phrases to be targeting or they target the wrong keyword. Great headlines, great content and a great message all sound, well, great but if nobody is finding your blog then you're talking to yourself. Furthermore, your efforts are all going out the window. This is where doing a bit of research can go a long way. Search traffic will keep coming long after you had published the post.

Free Keyword Search  Video

In order to demonstrate, below is a short screencast on how to search for targetable keywords. The focus of this video is to identify keyword phrases using Google's free keyword search tool and then hone down the phrases in order to end up with a phrase that is less competitive.

(Can't see the video? To watch on YouTube, click here.)

A Word of Caution

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Online Visibility Tagged With: ,
4 Comments

Facebook Continues to Dominate as Social Network of Choice

In a recent poll I asked you to vote on the primary social network you use for your business, where you spend most of your time for business (not personal). I limited it to the top five: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube. As you can see in the results below, Facebook beat the others by two to one.

Interesting to me was that Twitter and LinkedIn were tied. Google+ got only 2 votes which isn't too surprising since it's a very young network and no one voted for YouTube. That tells me most people use YouTube either 1) not at all or 2) as a secondary site for boosting visibiltiy and traffic. When I asked a similar question in 2010, Twitter came in second with LinkedIn well behind. So it appears LinkedIn is gaining ground as an important site for businesses to be using for their networking.

Of course there is nothing scientific about this poll. Asking one question doesn't provide a full picture of who and how businesses in my network are using these sites. The next questioni is: does your business cater primarily to other businesses (B to B) or to consumers (B to C)?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Online Visibility, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: , ,
Next Page »