blogging

Aug 23 2010

Focus on 3 Things for Social Media Optimization

We are often asked how and where to start for Social Media “Optimization” – We Suggest these 3 Things…

Consistency. It’s important to be consistent with where you spend your Social Media time, and how you look on the social web. If people know to find you, your company, your product or your brand sharing information on Twitter but not really using Facebook — we think that is fine.

We also think that using a consistent voice, look and feel are all vital. If a clown is your company mascot and your brand tweets on behalf of the clown, great. Just don’t have the clown start talking politics on us.

Empathy. Folks like Al Ferretti on Twitter use the term “Go-giver.” Said another way – people who put helping others – sharing information, links, even positive vibes – ahead of their own needs on social media.

When empathizing, remember that you, too, started out somewhere. Maybe you opened up a Facebook account and didn’t exactly know why – but then someone friended you and you were off and rolling.

Fun. I spent virtually my entire social media time this weekend sharing links to YouTube music videos on Facebook. Throw in some back-and-forth with people I have met IRL (in real life), and a few comments with people who I genuinely enjoy interacting with.

Business took a backseat.

Three tips. Quick stuff for a Monday. Go get ’em.

Aug 08 2010

Questions from the Area 224 Mailbag

Here’s a smattering of the mail we receive. We’re calling this “Questions from the Mailbag,” even though our mail does not arrive in bags. Anyway:

Dear Area 224: We couldn’t make your recent “Lame Marketing is So Lame” webinar. Can you give us a synopsis?

Sure.” Don’t be Lame.”

But seriously, one way to avoid being lame with your marketing is to avoid having a lame product or service in the first place.

One of the folks we’ve met along the way to our book called “Nichification” is this guy – http://www.drinkthc.com – whose product is the opposite of lame. And his marketing is pretty clever.

If you don’t have a product that provides value that people will pay for, then you may not want to spend your time on marketing. Spend your time on developing a better product. And on unicorns.

Dear Area 224: Where is “Area 224?” Is it some sort of mysterious alien landing place?

Area 224…sounds mysterious, which is part of the point. But it’s really named after an area code – one that overlays the North Shore of Chicago.

This is the second most common question we receive, right behind “why would you name your firm after an area code?”

(If you want to know more about area codes in North America, this is one of the best sites. http://bennetyee.org/ucsd-pages/area.html. Also pops up early on if you Google “area codes.” )

Dear Area 224: Great site, that area code one. What other sites do you recommend for those who want to be uber-productive?

The list starts and ends with http://e.ggtimer. If you’re not measuring how much time you are spending on various tasks – how long it takes you to write a blog post, how much time you’re spending to respond to DMs on Twitter, etc. – then you’re probably wasting valuable time. The Egg Timer will change your life.

Dear Area 224: Are we there yet?

No.

Oct 20 2009

9 Quick Tips for Small Business: Use Social Media Marketing to Make Some Noise

Okay, you’ve got a small business, or you’re thinking of going into work for yourself. Or you’ve just left Corporate America and you’re figuring out what’s next.

Here are 9 Quick Tips on how to start using Social Media Marketing (and Web Marketing and Internet Marketing) to Make Some Noise!

See if your business name or your own name are available on Namechk. Don’t focus on getting all of your names, but do get the big ones.
While you’re at it, don’t ignore your own name — if you have a business, you’ll want to nab your personal space in case you need it later. If you are a sole practitioner — like you’re in Real Estate — you’ll want to use your own name instead of a business name.
Twitter: it might scare you, it might seem like a ton of work, it might seem like everyone is saying stuff like “I am eating soup right now.” Don’t worry about using Twitter as anything other than a conversation engine, and spend some time using it before you even ask for the sale. If ever.
Do you have a web page? Do you have a blog? How about both at the same time. We recommend WordPress. It’s easy to use, and, even though it’s a blogging platform, it’s also a Content Management System, or CMS.
Video is a great way to simply, effectively and inexpensively tell a story. If you don’t have an expensive video camera, use a Flip. Video yourself talking about your business, make it two minutes or less, and post it to YouTube. AND post it to Metacafe. Why them? See item 6.
Metacafe rules when it comes to getting your video actually seen. Keywords and metatags and all that — it’s the number two site in the US for video sharing.
Start collecting email addresses in the most ethical way possible: use a service like aWeber. Double opt-in is direct marketing lingo for asking your permission, then sending you a note double-checking on that permission before sending a marketing message. Better than Constant Contact, in our opinion.
Blogging is great. But be sure to take time to comment on others’ blogs. Don’t sell people stuff — just find something you agree with or disagree with in the post, and make a comment about it. Spend 10 minutes a day doing this and it will pay dividends.
Remember, it’s not hours: it’s output. It’s not about efficiency, it’s about effectiveness.

Go get em!

Oct 09 2009

I Don’t Spam

We bumped into these guys today and found the tool to be pretty cool.

1. Go here –> I Don’t Spam Web Page.

2. Sign up. Takes 30 seconds. Free.

3. Wait a little bit to get approved. Took a couple hours for them to check my site.

4. Get the button:

Actually pretty darn cool, as they check you against all of the CAN-SPAM questions – verified opt-in, opt-out, etc.

We like…

Sep 07 2009

Labor Day Weekend 2009 – What Did You Learn?

This could be filed under “tragicomedy.” Or not. All depends on your point of view.

Background: The WordPress Worm struck the old Area 224 site. It struck quite a few sites. Here’s a great write-up on what happened from an appropriately named site: I’d Rather Be Writing.

Long Story Short: Now was the time for us to pull the trigger on a new look – “theme” in WordPress vernacular – for our site. We went with the Thesis Theme. We’re uploading old stuff and writing some new.

Our Point of View: Well, it’s early. Like, we’re only 12 hours into our new look, and we’ve sketched out some of what’s to come – whether or not we are able to get our data from 48 hours ago back, or whether we are forced to use some stuff that’s a little older.

During this relaunch, I’ve been going back and forth with fellow vagabond entrepreneur and web analytics guru David Dalka.

David has strong opinions on a number of internet marketing things, like SEO and helping big brands best allocate their marketing budgets for the new realities of user-generated content and social media marketing. David was the first person to email me and implore me to upgrade from 2.7.1 to 2.8.4 – something I had already started doing, but just a smidge too late.

But this comment in one of his emails struck me:

“…I should smack you for thinking about themes right now…”

I see his point – forest from trees, strategy vs. tactics, all that fun stuff. But in this case, I’m not sure I totally agree. Here are a few reasons, but I’d love to hear your arguments – for/against/neutral – about the role of “themes” and blog look in your marketing.

Reasons I should NOT be smacked, IMHO:

The old look was a little boring.
Thesis is THAT good. Take a look at some of the brands and people that use it. Like Chris Brogan. And Danny Sullivan.
This theme – or any theme – allows me to actually think more strategically about Why Area 224 is in Business.

That last one is key to this firm’s ability to thrive in this new economy – as it is the single most important question any business person must ask.

Forcing me to ask that question of my own business brought me to a couple answers. Social Media Marketing is where Area 224 has been focusing. Realtors and Coaches are two industries we’re working a ton with. We do consulting work with some big brands. And I’m on the speaking and event circuit (or I’m in the process of creating my own circuit).

An either/or moment? Either rebuild the old site or launch a new one. In this case, the theme I had been lusting after for a year but hadn’t pulled the trigger on? Well, this was time. And the elegance of the theme helped me relaunch AND refocus my efforts at the same time.

What did you learn this weekend?