Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category

Twitter is a great tool to help drive interested readers to your blog. Here are 3 Twitter tips that will help you establish yourself and grow your community on your blog.

1 – Retweet your followers: If one of your followers posts something you think is funny or interesting…retweet it for them. They’ll most likely see that and thank you…exposing your content to more people. Remember, Twitter’s not just about you.

2 – Post articles from other writers: Whatever your passion is…write about it on your blog. But also, post articles from other sources with similar content. This lets your followers know that you’re genuine about your passion and not just looking to push your own message out to them.

3 – Answer questions: Monitor your community and try to answer your followers’ questions. If you don’t know the answer to one…maybe someone else does. Find out and respond. This helps build your reputation and credibility, which can lead to more followers and the likelihood that your posts will get retweeted…hence, extending the reach of your message.

For more information, or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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Source: 10e20.com
by Rebecca Kelley

When I spoke about Facebook marketing strategies at SMX East, someone asked the panel of speakers this question: “If you had to do only one to help your business, would you start a blog or focus on social networking?” The answer, I feel, is not necessarily a black or white issue. Obviously, if you can handle running a blog and social networking, the easy answer is “both,” but there are situations where one is more suitable than the other.

Why You Should Blog

Adding a blog to your site can be beneficial to your business in a multitude of ways, a few of which I’ll highlight below:

• It builds unique content. By posting new entries on a regular basis (daily, weekly, etc), you’re creating new, unique content for your site. You’ll get more pages indexed, meaning popular posts can pull in some good search traffic and other posts can rank for long tail search terms.
• It’s a great launchpad for linkbait and viral content. If you’re developing linkbait or viral content for your site, a blog is a great, easy way for you to launch the content. Deploying a piece of content via an active blog makes it seem less orchestrated/intentional than if you were to set up a separate page just for a list.
• It’s a good brand builder. Giving your company a voice via the blog can make your business stand out among the competition. If you provide really helpful information and stand out as an industry leader, your blog will become a valuable resource. Also, establishing a personality on the blog will create emotional ties to the reader and you can develop positive relationships with your audience (which can lead to sales!). You can also use the blog to address any reputation management issues and share company news with the public.

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Source: Hubspot

If you’re launching a new product — or even just putting new energy into an old product — the holy grail of marketing is a hearty endorsement from a popular independent blogger.

But how do you do that? What can you as a marketer do to get bloggers talking about your product?

In the video below, Sarah Pinnix (@RealLifeSarah on Twitter), a popular and prolific independent blogger based in Boone, NC, explains.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Source: Compass Partners

According to The 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners, 64% of women are nearly twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information, 43% for advice and recommendations and 55% for opinion-sharing, while they 75% are 50 percent more likely to turn to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family.
Since the release of last year’s Benchmark Study, women are turning in even greater numbers to blogs (55%), social networks (75%) and online status updating (20%) as primary sources of community interaction, entertainment and information.
Participation by Active US Women in Social Media (Millions)
Age GroupMM OnlineMM Participate in Social Media
Millenials (18-26)13.39.7
GenX (27-43)25.015.4
Boomers (44-62)28.913.3
Matures (63-77)11.93.6
Source: Compass Partners, May 2009

Of the 42 million women engaged in social media weekly:
55% of women participate in some form of blogging activity
75% participate in social networks such as Facebook or MySpace
20% use Twitter
45% of survey respondents decided to purchase an item after reading about it on a blog
Susan Wright, President of Compass Partners LLC., says “Bloggers have a broad reach in the social media population… women who blog are the most actively engaged social media participants.. seeking out new ideas and ways to share their opinions… ”
As a result of this increased activity, the 2009 study found that women online are now more than ever before spending less time engaging in traditional media activities like:
Reading the newspaper (39%)
Reading magazines (36%)
Listening to the radio (31%)
Watching TV (30%)
Talking on the phone (28%)
Meeting in person (19%)
The demographic profile of social media users and blog participants in the general population provides a targeting clue:
Demographic Profile (% of General Population)
DemographicAny Social Media UserPublish or Post a Blog
Married/Living together60%57%
Number in HH (actual number)3.13.2
Children at home4451
Employed full time2727
Education
High school or less2321
Tech or trade school graduate66
Some college/university2221
College/university grad2221
Post grad work44
Master/doctorate degree76
Income ($)
< $25,0002324
25-34.91517
35-49.92018
50-74.92021
75-99.9119
100-124.966
> 12555
Source: Source: Compass Partners, May 2009

The Executive Summary (PDF format) of the 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners.