Posts Tagged create social media strategy
Make the Most of Linkedin for Your Business
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Networking on July 28, 2011
As a web design and web development, search engine optimization, search engine marketing and social media marketing firm, we like to keep on top of the trends – and exploring trends on LinkedIn is no exception. We stumbled across this article that boasts 10 LinkedIn Tips for Professionals, that says:
Despite the hype over Twitter and Facebook, Linkedin offers the greatest opportunity for professionals to make connections that lead to business.
We agreed with Ian Brody’s article, especially the following tips
1. Don’t make your profile look like your resumé. Brody says that the number one temptation when setting up a LinkedIn profile is to fill in all those prior job slots, but that’s ineffective where LinkedIn is concerned. The business connections that you’re looking for are going to want to see solution-oriented details. Add the business name and title, leave out things like, “managed four people who perform business-related tasks.” Explain where you went above and beyond the basic job task, improved something, saved money, or where you were excelled and were just plain awesome.
2. Find Connections – Know your Strategy. LinkedIn is social, and there are a lot of professional networks on LinkedIn, where you can flex your knowledge and show off your skills – for example, you might find us in the LikeSocialMedia.com group. Of course, like any social network, it’s best to get a feel for the pulse of the community. Listen, watch and learn; find out what other pros in your industry are doing and saying and be cautious at first about sharing dissent. Like anywhere (or any social network) first impressions are lasting impressions. And Ian Brody notes, “Create a connection strategy to build valuable discussion.”
3. Ian Brody suggests updating your status to remind people what you do, and what you’re currently working on. If you connect with a lot of people, staying current with status messages can do anything from help you connect with someone who’s looking for YOUR expertise to keeping you up to date on news in your field, to helping you and your brand grow in ways that your clientele are looking for.
What do you think readers? Have anything to add to Brody’s tips for LinkedIn?
If you’re curious about how to use LinkedIn for your business, contact RoryMartin.com to find a strategy that fits your social networking needs, as well as the social tools that simplify your social media integration. We offer a comprehensive set of services from website design and web development to search engine optimization and search engine marketing and social media marketing. If you need creative ideas, easy implementation, and a limited investment into your social media campaign, RoryMartin.com has experts available to assess your needs, provide excellent customer service and innovative marketing tactics before you’ve even signed a contract.
The State of LinkedIn
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing, Social Networking on July 12, 2011
Have you ever wondered how LinkedIn actually affects your business? Ever asked yourself why LinkedIn is important to your company’s potential? At RoryMartin.com, we’ve been researching ways for businesses to use LinkedIn to build a better social media strategy.
Having your business profile out there on the web WILL help increase your organic search results, so if you’re not optimizing sites like LinkedIn, you’re not fully optimizing your search engine potential. LinkedIn also helps your business look more complete, and is an established tool for reputation management – especially through customer testimonials.
LinkedIn is also a powerful tool to analyze your company and its connections through your employee network. An article on Mashable notes that, “…it will automatically calculate your company’s median age, top schools, and other companies that they are well-connected to.” This can be effective for recruiting job candidates, and networking in your industry. Through LinkedIn you have the ability to post polls, and receive answers, letting your business know what your clients are interested in, and keeping you up to date on industry standards.
If you’re curious about how to use LinkedIn for your business, contact RoryMartin.com to find a strategy that fits your social networking needs, as well as the social tools that simplify your social media integration. We offer a comprehensive set of services from website design and web development to search engine optimization and search engine marketing and social media marketing. If you need creative ideas, easy implementation, and a limited investment into your social media campaign, RoryMartin.com has experts available to assess your needs, provide excellent customer service and innovative marketing tactics before you’ve even signed a contract.
Time Your Social Media Efforts for Maximum Effect
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing, Social Networking on June 30, 2011
We found a cool infographic on the best times to send out social media posts. We like to couple this with the Problogger strategy for blog postings when we’re considering the best way to send out social media messages. This is a great infographic to keep in mind – especially if you’re using something like HootSuite to schedule your posts. The original post says,
Included are stats for Facebook and Twitter on what days and times are best to maximize the audience size and the possibility that your content will be both found and shared.
As a Seattle Web Design company that specializes in Seattle Search Engine Optimization and Seattle Social Media Marketing, RoryMartin.com can help you build a Social Media Strategy that reflects your unique brand, draws and keeps visitors on your page. We help implement exciting content and social tools that will make your business stand out. From a one-time site analysis to full search engine optimization strategy and execution, RoryMartin.com can help your business grow.
Make Your Keywords Pack a Punch
Posted by Rory Martin in Search Engine Optimization on June 28, 2011
Keywords play a large role in search engine optimization, and are a key factor in social media marketing. Having the right combination of keywords will generate hits, increase traffic and drive sales; however, it’s not always easy to determine which keywords are right for you, and where your keywords aren’t packing a punch. At Rory Martin, we specialize in helping business come up with relevant keywords that drive traffic to their site. We do the research so businesses don’t have to.
– Ask yourself: What would my customers search for?
This seems relatively easy enough. If a customer would find your services by searching “freelance writer Los Angeles”, put that on your list. Your keywords might be words your competitors use or words that are industry specific. Think up simple terms and phrases that specifically target your site or business, but know that using one word is going to decrease the likelihood that your site will stand out in a crowd.
You will get higher search engine ranking by choosing a mix of specific longer phrases, and general targeted keywords. Look at the breakdown of search terms as they show up on Google:
|
Number of Google Matches |
Term |
|
11,600,000 |
writer |
|
1,200,000 |
real estate writer |
|
48,000 |
freelance real estate writer |
|
9,000 |
freelance real estate writer los angeles |
Source: WebsiteHelpers.com
You’re going to have an easier time getting click throughs if you narrow it down a little – by adding your location, but be cautious about being too specific. For example using “Neon Helmet Tacoma WA” won’t drive people to your site. Phrases that are just too specific may offer you the #1 slot on Google, but still won’t deliver the clicks you’re looking for, because they’re not keywords that people would search for. Ranking #1 on terms that nobody is searching for is just as bad as ranking #300 for terms that everybody is searching for. You can’t get the traffic if people aren’t using your search terms, no matter how well you’re ranked.
When you have a list of possible keywords, check out tools like Google’s Keyword Tool, that will help you determine whether or not people are actually searching for those keywords, by populating a list of terms related to the keyword you entered. Look for targeted keywords, and specific phrases that are relevant to your business and your industry.
Search Engine Optimization through keyword analysis is one of the most effective ways to increase targeted traffic to your web site. At RoryMartin.com, we put our Seattle Search Engine Optimization experts to work to research your target audience, determine what keywords they are searching on, and then make sure, through proven search engine optimization tactics, that your web site is the one they find.
As a Seattle Web Design company that specializes in Seattle Search Engine Optimization and Seattle Social Media Marketing, RoryMartin.com can help you build a Social Media Strategy that reflects your unique brand and meets your business goals. From a one-time site analysis to full search engine optimization strategy and execution, RoryMartin.com can help match your keywords to your SEO needs.
The World, in Social Networks
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing, Social Networking on June 24, 2011
We found a cool infographic from Vincenzo Cosenza’s blog (Vincos.it) showing the world in Social Networks. Vincenzo says,
Facebook is slowing gaining users around the world (almost 700 millions) establishing its leadership in 119 out of 134 countries analyzed (in this edition I’ve added Ethiopia and Tanzania).
Europe has now became the largest continent on Facebook with 205 million users…
It’s interesting to look at how these numbers have changed this year.
Facebook is by far the social network winner here, so we encourage our clients to make sure they have a solid presence on Facebook and are actively engaging their customers. Need to know what goes into your Facebook strategy? In this article we tell you how to make an impact on Facebook.
RoryMartin.com is that secret weapon that will revolutionize the way you engage with your clients and end-users. We offer a comprehensive set of services from website design and web development to search engine optimization, search engine marketing and social media marketing for companies large and small.
The New Landscape of Social Media Marketing
Posted by Rory Martin in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking on June 20, 2011
Navigating the new marketing landscape means knowing which marketing tactics are effective, and which tactics are outdated. Improving the visibility of your website has become a marketing priority, yet it can be frustrating since competition for rankings is intense. As many businesses lack the time or cashflow to continuously monitor, report and adjust their strategy, the results of many social media marketing campaigns are often poor. If you’re struggling to boost your page rank, you may need to adapt your SEO and social media strategy to reflect the new trends in social media marketing and search engine optimization.
If you’re not embracing social media as a business, you’re missing out on one of the biggest marketing tools available. Using tools like Facebook and Twitter actually boost your search engine rankings, making your website more visible to search engines like Google. Consider how much content is shared on Facebook each day – users spend approximately 22% of their Internet time in social media, making social media a priority for any company that wants to be visible.
Of course, just hiring an intern may not do the trick. While social media can be a valuable marketing campaign tool, it’s often a commitment. Hiring a professional will ensure that you get the best results from your brand’s digital communications. You want someone who can represent your brand and company, not just the message behind your brand. Social media has become an avenue for customer service, sales inquiries and ongoing questions – you want someone who understands your audience, and can think out of the box in a way that is both specific and familiar to your client base.
Hiring a professional will ensure that your message, and your core product do not get lost in a sea of irrelevant information. Anyone who’s been on the web knows just how much junk the web holds – having a true professional on your team will ensure that your relevant keywords and terms drive traffic to your page. A professional can tell you which information to include and which information is irrelevant. They can help you streamline your content, showing off your product’s benefits in a straightforward way. A social media professional can also help you determine terms that are broad and wide reaching, and help you optimize key words and phrases so that your site gets a good SEO ranking.
Content is still key on the web, and having someone who knows your brand, your clients and your company will ensure that users come to your website because you are an authority. Social media is all about providing something of value to your customers. You need interesting and relevant content, you need high-quality inbound and outbound links. You need customer interaction that is fun and info-rich. Monitoring industry key words and phrases will continually provide feedback on what your customer or audience is interested in, making a tailored social media strategy easier to attain.
RoryMartin.com is that secret weapon that will revolutionize the way you engage with your clients and end-users. We offer a comprehensive set of services from website design and web development to search engine optimization and search engine marketing and social media marketing. If you need creative ideas, easy implementation, and a limited investment into your social media campaign, RoryMartin.com has experts available to assess your needs, provide excellent customer service and innovative marketing tactics before you’ve even signed a contract.
Create the Best Copy for Your Website
Posted by Rory Martin in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing on June 17, 2011
There are a lot of tips out there on how to create effective copy for your website – especially for businesses who maintain a blog, regarding their services. Of course, these guides may be incomplete and often overly general. Fortunately, we’ve written down our favorite tips for generating effective copy that will drive traffic to your site, showing your business’s authority in your industry.
– Make sure your content is easy to read.
Keyword stuffing, technical jargon, and long-winded posts are often indicators of poor copy. These problems will make your website’s copy hard to read, especially since most web users scan web pages rather than read them word for word. To make your content easy to read, try using fewer words, simple terms, highlighted keywords, and bulleted lists. Another tip – try writing in inverted pyramid style, like you’d find in a newspaper. Try writing your conclusion first, then back it up with the details.
– Your copy should reflect your audience.
Be familiar with your audience – is there a common tone or style of writing that your audience expects to see? Think about how you’d tell someone about your product in a conversational way – you’re giving your reader tips (tips from Me to YOU). Highlight the benefits (not the features) of using your product. Include answers about what the product does. Write for how people will search for your page, using words your target audience would use to look for your services. Offer solutions, be entertaining and informative, grab your readers’ attention, use bold (but not cheesy) headings and brief explanations. And don’t just rely on keywords – use words that elicit emotion and action from potential customers.
– Avoid dense copy with no breaks.
Smaller chunks surrounded by white space are visually easier to digest. The use of effective headings is one great way to break content into chunks, using boldface type for emphasis. When using headings remember a few things: keep them to eight words or less; include important keywords; avoid the use of adjectives and prepositions (and, a, the, of); be clear and concise, avoiding wordy, wishy-washy phrases. Headings are great because you can place them on your homepage as a link to content, or use them in title tags around your links.
– Don’t let your website become a dead end.
Offer links to other information in your industry, and build relationships so that other sites link to you. Often, search engines like Google are based on their ability to find you from links on other sites. The web is all about being inter-linked.
– If you’re stuck, hire a professional.
RoryMartin.com has a team of Seattle Search Engine Optimization and keyword experts who can help you draft engaging copy that reaches out to your audience. We help clients educate their markets and build brand awareness while winning and retaining customers with engaging and impactful websites and web marketing.
RoryMartin.com, a Seattle Web Design company that specializes in Search Engine Optimization and Seattle Social Media Marketing, can help you build a strategy that speaks to your audience and puts your business on the map.
Make an Impact on Facebook
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing, Social Networking on June 15, 2011
One of our focuses at Rorymartin.com is helping customers create and execute their social media campaigns. An effective social media campaign should be married with your marketing campaign, and should use a wide variety of social media tools – including Facebook. Facebook is one of the most useful social media marketing tools out today; yet many businesses don’t quite know how to implement Facebook into their social media strategy. One key point to Facebook as a social media tool for business is building interactions.
Initially, Facebook didn’t offer pages, and so businesses created profiles as a way to reach out to users, especially since messaging users has continued to remain a feature reserved for profiles. Yet, one of the most common mistakes businesses make on Facebook is creating a profile instead of a Facebook fan page. What these businesses may not know, is that profiles have not been as visible and don’t necessarily get the visits that pages do. While Facebook updates may seem like a way to alert fans to events and news – showing up like messages in users’ inboxes – a very small percentage of updates are actually visible to fans, because of an algorithm called EdgeRank.
EdgeRank gives every post a quality score – measuring the number of comments, likes, and shares per post against the number of fans a page has. Businesses who want to be seen need to build up their EdgeRank, by making their posts interaction friendly – which means businesses need to spend more time building community with their fans. Fans don’t interact with self-promotion nearly as much as they interact with conversation. Your page needs to have a conversational, community feel – a give and take that makes your brand appealing to your fans and their friends. To really optimize your Facebook experience, mix up the types of posts to include blogs, videos and engaging questions.
Building the interactions your Facebook page is just one part of a good social media strategy. Seattle Social Media Marketing company, Rorymartin.com focuses on helping our customers build their EdgeRank. This helps our clients educate their markets and build brand awareness while winning and retaining customers with engaging and impactful websites and web marketing. We offer a comprehensive set of services from website design and web development to search engine optimization and search engine marketing and social media marketing.
The Periodic Table of SEO
Posted by Rory Martin in Search Engine Optimization on June 10, 2011
We found something cool today – from the folks over at SearchEngineLand, who say:
Search engine optimization — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals.
They put together the Periodic Table of SEO to help readers get a visual idea of what goes into producing the right ranking factors that make your website shine. At Rory Martin, we take all the factors into consideration when we’re building a strategy for SEO, online marketing and social media management. Since we often talk about how important SEO and Keywords are to your website’s value, we figured you (our readers) would be interested in this graphic too! (Click the image for a larger view)
As a Seattle Web Design company that specializes in Seattle Search Engine Optimization and Seattle Social Media Marketing, RoryMartin.com is dedicated to helping you find the right tools to optimize your website, and bring you the most exposure to help your business succeed.
Trend Forecast: Social Media’s Immediate Future
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing on June 7, 2011
There are big trends happening in Social Media right now, from the use of scanned location check-in points, to social commerce. It can be hard to navigate the trends but we’ve compiled a few of the most common themes into 3 predictions on where social media is headed in second half of 2011.
Social, Mobile Entertainment –
Games have moved onto mobile devices, now that smartphones are relatively inexpensive, prevalent and readily available. Social media is giving users a way to take their entertainment on the go. Now instead of filling out a crossword while commuting, you may use Words With Friends. Or you might make a game out of being in the right place at the right time through Foursquare – ousting your friends, and letting people know where to find you. It’s a way to stay connected with other users while managing a busy lifestyle, from Facebook gaming to sharing last night’s football or Mad Men highlights over Twitter, even watching YouTube videos via an Android application. It’s entertainment to go, and integrating more social technology into your business and website will make it much more appealing to social media users.
Scanning, Scanning, Scanning –
When you’re using check-in services like FourSquare and the Facebook places application, you may be able to scan a barcode or QR code, checking you into your location on relevant social sites. With the emergence of social scanning, it’ll only be a matter of time until you can scan a barcode, which adds a “Like” to the business’s Facebook Page, or pulls up the latest Yelp Reviews and Groupon coupons for the location you’re at. It’s a business strategy – integrating social media and marketing in an easy-to-use way.
Mobile Workplace –
As smartphones become better and faster, we’re seeing users move from laptop to mobile (as desktops have been pushed out of the way for smaller, lighter ways to work-on-the-go). This means websites need to plan for mobile content that will load quickly on a mobile network. Businesses should start looking for ways to accept mobile payment, and will have to consider dynamic pricing to keep up with supply and demand. And since smartphones often double as media storage devices, it won’t be hard to keep your PowerPoint presentations handy for your next business meeting.
These are a few of our predictions for the coming year – companies will want to work these trends into their social media marketing strategy. At RoryMartin.com we do the research on tips, tricks and tools of the trade when it comes to SEO, online marketing and social media management. As a Seattle Web Design company that specializes in Seattle Search Engine Optimization and Seattle Social Media Marketing, RoryMartin.com can help you build a Social Media Strategy that reflects your unique brand and meets your business goals.
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