Promoting Blog

120 Ways to Promote Your Blog [Infographic]

Ready for some great promotion ideas for your blog?  Try this infographic!
And leave a comment to share what tactics are working for you right now, or what you’re going to test out next.

Source: http://digitalphilippines.net/how-to-promote-your-blog/

How People Read on the Web

How People Read on the Web

Meme Man

How to Harness the Power of Internet Memes for Your Business (Infographic)

BY Kathleen Davis | Yesterday|

funnycatwallpapers.com

Grumpy Cat, Bah Humbug

Grumpy Cat has a movie deal, the "I Can Has Cheezburger" franchise is worth millions, and Big Bird became the star of the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Internet memes have the power to capture the fleeting attention of millions, so finding a way to tap into that power to market your business could give you a huge boost.
But what goes into creating a viral hit? The environment, the topic and the timing all have to be right, says Damon Brown, entrepreneur and co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Memes (Alpha, 2010). Brown studies pop culture and the power of memes.
"There isn't an exact formula to go viral. You do the best that you can and see how it goes," he says.
Related: Grumpy Cat and the Thriving Cat Meme Marketplace
While you can't predict what will become the next Grumpy Cat, there are a few things that entrepreneurs can do to tap into the power of memes to promote their business or product:
1. Pay attention to pop culture. 
If you want to understand "the modern zeitgeist" and what people are thinking, you have to follow pop culture, Brown says. "Memes are little pockets of pop culture that show what we are thinking at that moment," he says. "How can you create a meme or be part of a meme if you don't know what the modern thinking is?"
2. Work quickly.
When you find something in the news or in pop culture that is appropriate for your business, timing is everything. For example, within hours of the Mars Rover landing last August Oreo released an ad showing a cookie with what looked like tracks from the Mars Rover it the orange-colored cream.

3. Be prepared.
It's not about seeing what's trending right now and trying to create something around it, Brown says. Rather, he advises to be proactive and look for elements of your product or business that are meme-worthy. Brown says you should ask yourself, "Is there a meme in here? Is there something that can carry on?"
For example if you make all-natural soap, Brown says, and Youtube video of a baby eating soap goes viral, use that opportunity to latch on to the video's success.
Related: What You Can Learn About Social Media from Big Bird
The infographic below from Seattle-based online backup service, Mozy, breaks down different types of memes and the elements of a viral hit, as well as the history of how memes started.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226955#ixzz2W0bKMwXG

Tips writing for great content

It’s a little strange to acknowledge that someone as famous and prolific as Stephen King is perhaps the ultimate ghostwriter. Then again, what about Stephen King and his writing isn’t strange? In 1977, King was frustrated with the industry standard that made it difficult to publish more than a single novel per year. Thus, King began publishing using the pen name Richard Bachman.
King published four novels before his secret was exposed, making this one of the greatest publishing tricks in literary history. As a great ghostwriter, Stephen King has a lot of tips for ghostwriters and content creators in general.

Article Writing Tips for Horrifically Effective Content

“Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.” – Stephen King

Now, there’s nothing wrong about giving up all your secrets, just be sure to space it out effectively. After all, if you want to brand yourself as a thought leader in a particular industry, you have to provide useful content – but you always want to have something to say.
To do this, spread out your knowledge over a series of blogs or articles. The more in-depth you get on a particular topic, the more valuable the information is and the more content you can squeeze out of your knowledge.

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” – Stephen King

Really, Mr. King?
While this might seem counterintuitive at first, it makes complete sense. Shouldn’t writers have and develop our own unique voices? The more that we rely on 3rd party sources such as a thesaurus to do the writing for us, the less of our voice remains in the content. Make your content your own – natural and authentic.

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination but should finish in the reader’s.” – Stephen King

Remember, article writing and written online content should be concise and effective. When we include superfluous descriptions, we muck up the idea and sometimes make it difficult to follow the point of the piece. Surprisingly, you can have very clear and descriptive writing in just a few words.
Word economy is everything. Your words are like dots on the page, and it’s the job of the reader to connect them all.

“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.” – Stephen King

To unleash your voice and personality in your article writing, write without any inhibitions. Write as though no one will read it. Once you get all of your ideas and thoughts onto the page, then that’s the time to critique it with an editor’s eye, not beforehand.
Article writing in mental privacy allows you to get all your ideas out. While they may not be the “best” ideas, at least you have the opportunity to develop and revise them with your open-door-edit.

Importance of Storytelling in Marketing.

Do you understanding that there is a need to tell great stories about your business? The reality is that your audience is bombarded everyday with irrelevant information that they don’t want or won’t use.
Most businesses struggle because their audience can’t hear them through all the noise. Have you ever tried having a serious conversation in a loud nightclub or concert? Did you get your message across?
First thing you must do is stop talking to your audience and start having a conversation. In other words TELL don’t SELL.
The best way to do this is to bring your business alive through storytelling. Stories work because they engage, whether it’s the Aboriginal Dreamtime, the Ancient Greeks which their myths and fables or the complex story lines of Shakespeare, we remember and believe stories. Great stories connect the fabric of our society through generations. Stories, told well and to the right people can do wonders for your business.
Our brains are hot wired to assemble bits and pieces of experience and mould them into stories. Telling stories has been and will remain a fundamental communication method, why aren’t you using them in your business?
Stories;

• change the way we think, feel and act.
• create awareness and inspire everything from understanding to action
• establish legend and break down barriers
• capture our imagination and make things real in a way that cold hard facts simply won’t.
• start an experience and allow the audience to relate in a  personal way.

An engaging story will take potential clients through a 5 step process.

1. start a conversation
2. create a personal emotional experience
3. influence and motivate
4. stimulate Action
5. encourage the audience to share

Have you been told to humanise your brand? Well, telling stories are a great way to do is. Why bother? Simply to become more likeable and more appealing to your audience.
Stories will define your business or brand in a way that supplying facts and figures and lists of features will never do. You’ll know your on the right track when your audience starts sharing their stories with you. Now you’re communicating on a whole new level.
Next time, we’ll talk about how to write a good business story. In the meantime, have a look at your communication over the past 6 months. How many good stories have you told?
Remember, get active, get clients!
As always comments are welcome and encouraged.
Roy West  
http://socialmediabusinessclub.com.au/why-you-must-bring-your-business-alive-through-storytelling/?goback=.gde_54772_member_231169476

Trending Stories Richard Branson on Business Ideas in the Growing Health-and-Wellness Industry Richard Branson on Business Ideas in the Growing Health-and-Wellness Industry What Your Desk Says About You What Your Desk Says About You Barbara Corcoran on Projecting a Big Image and Living Up to It Barbara Corcoran on Projecting a Big Image and Living Up to It (Video) Entrepreneur Daily Dose Blog How to Tell Your Company's Story

Every startup and small business has a story to tell, something that will connect potential customers to your brand. As a business leader in the social media age, you have an opportunity to draw devoted customers by rethinking the way you express your company’s core value.
Foodily, a new online recipe database, set out to brand themselves as the largest recipe aggregator on the web. But after hiring LoveSocial, a Vancouver-based social media agency, they realized that wasn't the story to tell.
Founder Azita Ardakani redefined Foodily's core value, saying it gives you the opportunity to spend more time eating at home with family and friends. On social media, she asked consumers to share their favorite dinner table memories and what it means to them to eat at home. "We saw a natural conversation erupting," she says.
What made Ardakani’s interpretation of Foodily's core value so much more successful was that it created an opportunity for human connection. "Human connectivity is the DNA of social media," Azita says.
Related: A Quick Guide to Making Your Brand's Story More Compelling
In order to engage customers, strive to create that emotional pull. Try these three tips to articulate your core value and humanize your brand.
 1. Expand your idea of value. To stand out in today's market, define your value in human terms, not in business terms. "[Companies] often look at their core value in direct correlation with sales," Ardakani says. "That commercial carrot is very distracting to who they are and who they could become."
Your real value is about what you believe in, what you’re trying to do in the world, and how you make others’ lives better. "You need to drill down to why you matter," Ardakani says.
You might ask: How is your product being created? What is your office culture? You're looking for the thing that your organization truly cares about -- an aspect of your business that makes you unique and valuable to the world around you.
2. Establish common language. Your company's core value is a bit like your vision -- everyone at your company needs to be on the same page. "A CEO and employee might describe the company totally differently," Ardakani says. "[Common language] creates internal alignment about who you are."
Ask a handful of people in various ranks and roles to share five adjectives they'd use to describe the company and two aspects of the business that are unique or valuable. Look for themes or especially strong responses, and synthesize them into a clearly defined description.


Read more...

Marketing with Linked In

Have you noticed the changes to LinkedIn recently?
Although changes to LinkedIn are less frequent than on Facebook, they can have significant marketing implications.
Read further to find out how the recent changes to LinkedIn impact your social media marketing.

What’s New With LinkedIn?

Recently the LinkedIn Homepage had a significant makeover. It’s now more sleek and modern. It also feels faster with an almost instantly updated user interface.

Read on...

9 Tips for Running Successful Facebook Contests

Have you considered using a Facebook contest?
These days, it seems like just about everyone is giving away something on Facebook.
iPad or $100 gift certificate, anyone?
Keep reading to learn nine tips for making Facebook contests more successful.

Do Contests Really Work?

Some business owners recognize that contests can increase the number of people who Like their business, and even more importantly, they realize that contests can provide valuable customer information. Then there are the business owners who complain that Facebook contests “just don’t work.”
So do contests work or not?
They do—but only if you do them the right way, with a reason for your fans to want to interact, a good prize and a clean design like Pocono Mountains features in their latest contest.

Read on...

Growing with Instagram

5 Ways to Grow Your Exposure With Instagram

By Jim Tobin
Published August 22, 2012

Wondering if the rapidly growing Instagram photo sharing community could benefit your business?
As teens quickly migrate to Instagram, could their photo sharing addictions include your pictures?
Instagram was the smartphone photo sharing tool of choice long before its acquisition by Facebook and the release of an Android version. And it’s growing faster than ever.

What Is Instagram?

Instagram makes sharing pictures easy.

Instagram is a free application for iPhone or Android that lets people take photos, apply filters to change the look of the photos and then share them. Users can share them on Instagram while also choosing to share them to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare.

Instagram photos (from left to right) on Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare and Facebook.

Like most social networks, users can accrue followers who will see their photos. The use of hashtags is encouraged as a method of photo discovery.
Instagram is unusual in that users review their photos via the app only, not online. However, several websites, including Pinstagram, Webstagram and Statigram, provide that ability.
In the last year, photo sharing has become an increasingly popular method of social sharing.
Facebook has made photos a bigger part of their experience, Pinterest has exploded in part because of their simple photo-based interface and brands are seeing increased engagement from sharing visual updates online.
This represents a great opportunity for businesses to participate in this thriving community. Like all communities, however, you need to do it right to be accepted.
Here are 5 ways to grow your presence on Instagram.

Read on...

Should You Create Your Business Plan on Pinterest?

Lots of people are loving Pinterest, the fabulously successful new social platform for sharing pictures. People are posting not only personal pictures, but increasingly business pictures, as well. And Pinterest business-success stories are popping up everywhere on the Web.

But can you do a business plan with Pinterest? My answer starts with the question: Why not? And it continues with a picture: My Pinterest sample business-plan board shown here.The original is available on Pinterest, click here to see it on the site.  
The Pinterest business plan shown here is based on a sample bicycle-shop business plan developed with the online Web application at www.liveplan.com, which is the source of the business charts. I added random public domain images, some of them from another of my boards on Pinterest, to illustrate hypothetical strategy, target market, ownership and so forth. The images don’t really tie together, but if this were an actual business plan, they would.

Read on...

Facebook Scheduled Posts

8 Tips for Using Facebook Scheduled Posts

By Andrea Vahl
Published August 14, 2012

Are you crunched for time?
Could you use a little Facebook automation in your life? Well, help is here.
Facebook allows you to schedule your page posts.


Read more...

Linked In Business Building

“If you can’t make money on LinkedIn, you’re deaf, dumb and blind,” says James Filbird of JMF International Trade Group.
It’s 6 pm on the west coast of the United States, but it’s already 9 am tomorrow at James Filbird’s apartment in Shenzhen, China.
Filbird is the proprietor of JMF International Trade Group Ltd., a company he built to $5 million in revenue largely through his efforts on LinkedIn, the only major social media platform that is not blocked by the Chinese government.
His beginnings in China, however, were less than auspicious.

An American in China

When Filbird moved to China in early 2006, he spent nine months working on a manufacturing venture that eventually fell through. He had planned to stay at least a year, so when the deal went sour, he did some soul-searching.
“I had very little money in my pocket. Usually it’s the Chinese coming to America with little money for their dream, but I did it the other way around.”
He decided to stay in China as a business consultant and contract manufacturer, the “feet on the ground” for inventors looking to source products there, and gravitated to LinkedIn as a way to connect with potential business.

Facebook Edgerank Algorithm

1. How the Algorithm works: According to Facebook, Edgerank is determined by three key factors:

• The closeness of the user to the brand -- or person, if the content is posted by a friend rather than a business. This involves an analysis of the relationship based on such factors as the time spent on a particular brand page and the number of shared messages or comments. The more your audience interacts with you, the higher their affinity score for you will be.
   
• The weight of the content. This factor ranks comments and sharing higher than "likes" because they require more action on the user's part.
   
• The time decay factor. This measures the age of your content. If it's older than other content, it doesn't get as high a score. 

2. The more engagement the better: How many of your posts on Facebook contain an instruction or call-to-action? If not many do, start asking your fans to share or "like" the content. You also can pose questions to spur comments that will help your Edgerank score.
Coca-Cola, for example, often posts pictures with a product on a beach or similar setting and asks, "Coke Check-In: Where are you?" A recent post like this garnered 7,700+ "likes" and more than 1,000 comments.
3. 'Heavy-lifting' interactions help a lot: Based on the algorithm, driving your fans to upload pictures, videos and engage in lengthy discussions can help you rank better in their News Feed than other sources. Most Facebook users want to engage with friends and family, so your challenge is to make them want to do the same with you.
Video and photo contests can spark more interaction, as can simple calls for content. The Straz Center in Tampa once promoted the musical Cats by simply asking fans to post pictures of their cats on its Facebook page. Several dozen people did just that.
Related: 3 Little-Known Metrics That Can Help Optimize Your Facebook Page
4. Consistency is imperative: The algorithm's time-decay factor means that if your last Facebook post, compelling or not, was a week ago, it's likely not being seen by anyone now. Successful brands on Facebook are posting content that drives the audience to react on a daily basis -- maybe even several times each day. You'll need to test to see if your audience will respond to more than one post a day, but posting content once daily is one way to start.
5. Content is king: The one sure-fire way to get attention and interaction is to write and publish great content. When your fans find the content so good they have to share it, you win and your Edgerank rises.

Building a Massive Community

Entrepreneur: What sets apart successful startups that attract millions of consumers from those that never really get off the ground?
Crowley: Whether it's Google or Twitter or Facebook, they all add something to the way that I share content or solve problems in my everyday life.
We built Foursquare literally for ourselves and for our group of 10 friends. And it turns out that when you build things that 10 of your friends like, their friends like them and their friends like them -- and then you suddenly get to millions of users.
Entrepreneur: How do you generate ideas and figure out which ones to pursue?
Crowley: I've worked at companies where the ideas come from the top down, and you build what you're told to build. That probably works for some companies.
We're different because we've hired so many rock stars. No one wants to be the guy that just sits there and is executing on someone else's ideas. We have to think up these different ways of allowing people to get their ideas out there.
Entrepreneur: How does an entrepreneur know when to sell? Did you make the right call by not selling to Facebook or Yahoo?
Crowley: I got some advice a while ago that, if you can't see where the ride is going to end, then you don't want to get off of it. We have our own vision of what the finish line looks like and what the product looks like a year from now. That idea is different from what Google is chasing and different from what Facebook is chasing.
That's the thing that we can do better than anyone else: execute on our ideas. That's the focus that we need to have to be successful.
Related: From $200 Million to $500K: Lessons from Digg's Slow Demise
Entrepreneur: What's your advice for tech entrepreneurs who want to build something big?
Crowley: For a long time, we had these ideas for things we wanted to build, and we listened to people tell us that the ideas were silly or stupid or weren't going to work.
You can't listen to them, and you really have to build this stuff on your own. Prove to yourself that it's either a good idea or it's not. …You have to be totally fine with throwing things away and realizing you might have to throw away five before you find one good thing.

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How do we get engaged prospects to buy using social media.

"How do we get customers engaged on our blog and other social media to buy or transact with us? How do we make that leap?"

It's a common question and you're not alone in asking it. Here's my answer: Getting engaged sales prospects to consider a purchase or actually transact is easy if you return to trusty, time-tested, proven basic direct response practices.

1. Solving customers' problems
2. Designing to sell (planning social experiences to provoke customer responses that connect to the sales funnel)
3. Translating (discovering customer need as it evolves and using this knowledge to improve response and conversion rate)

Read More....