The Small BizNest » microblogging

Add Personality To Your Website: Building Your Online Marketing Ecosystem Part XI

John Joyce — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:43:43 +0000

There has been a great deal written over the past year regarding the value of including video on your small business website. The two main objections we hear over and over again are 1) I don’t have the time to create video content and 2) I don’t have the budget for the equipment and editing software.

Click to view interactive online marketing ecosystem.

Many of us said we didn’t have time to blog but now it’s a regular part of our daily/weekly routine and has become second nature. So, the next logical progression is to begin integrating some interactive and engaging video content that will boost traffic and also keep visitors on your site longer.

Is there someone you would like to interview that your readers would find interesting? Could you create a demo of a product or service that would be more compelling than a simple blog post?

So, you’re going to need a video camera (if you don’t already have one that can be plugged into your computer), editing software, and knowledge of integrating video into your website.

If you don’t feel comfortable getting involved in the editing and slicing of your content, you should check out a new service from Pixability where they send you a Flip camera, you shoot your video and send the camera back, and they create a professionally edited video masterpiece and send it back to you.

Building Your Online Marketing Ecosystem Part VII: Feedback And Comments

John Joyce — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:02:46 +0000

If you want to develop the “persona” of your small business, you have to make sure your audience is easily able to interact and share their thoughts and feedback with you. It’s also important to deliver engaging and, in some cases, polarizing and provocative content that will motivate people to interact. Finally, once you spark conversation and debate, you still have to maintain some semblance of control over the process so I have listed several tools available to help with this process:

Click on Image to View Interactive Online Marketing Ecosystem

Introducing The Interactive Online Marketing Ecosystem

John Joyce — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:16:22 +0000

In an effort to offer the most value to our readers, we have created an interactive map of the Online Marketing Ecosystem. There are so many marketing technologies available that we felt it was important to present your options in one central location. This will be a “living” map and will be updated as often as needed – as long as you’re willing to share your ideas and suggestions with us.

Here are some simple navigation tips:

Click and drag to move around the map
Hover over the small arrow next to the name of each tool to see/follow the external link
Click zoom in/out buttons at bottom of the window
Click “full screen” button to view in a browser window

Thanks!

Building Your Online Marketing Ecosystem Part V: Create A Playbook

John Joyce — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:45:13 +0000

I mentioned in my last post that I would discuss the “how to” of implementing operational efficiencies within your social marketing efforts so let’s get to it. Friends and clients are always asking me, “is this social media thing really worth the time and effort?” My answer is, “it doesn’t have to take a lot of your time as long as you 1) Carve out a set allotment of time each day to develop conversation points and 2) Identify the appropriate tools to automate and streamline the delivery process. The graphic below is only a small portion of the tools making up the “Twitterverse”:

Click Image to View Interactive Online Marketing Ecosystem

As a consultant, I work with clients during regular business hours so it’s most efficient for me to execute social media tactics early in the morning. The overarching goal is to remain top of mind within your “community” by consistently helping, sharing and soliciting feedback.

Here’s a quick example of linking together several tools to more efficiently bring your message to social media platforms:

Click Image to View Interactive Online Marketing Ecosystem

It might take some time for you to figure out what tools fit your specific social media needs but, once you’ve identified the most effective system, you’ll actually find yourself able to focus on content creation instead of manual distribution. You make time each morning to brush your teeth and have a cup of coffee so your social media efforts should be just as automatic.

I’ve shown you the tools; now it’s up to you to put them to good use. Also, please let me know if there are any tools you’re using that you would like to share with us.

Building Your Online Marketing Ecosystem Part IV: Quick Hits

John Joyce — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:31:39 +0000

Even if you’re not microblogging yet you’ve definitely heard of Twitter. Now there’s an entire category of similar tools available that I call Microcollaborsation platforms which allow you to present quick, concise messages to your target audience. The only tool I have experienced from the graphic below is Twitter so that’s where I’ll focus my comments.

Click Image to View Interactive Online Marketing Ecosystem

Everyone has a different system for consuming their daily dose of news and information so you need to make sure you’re presenting your message in the most effective manner for each area of your ecosystem. In this case, let’s assume you have written a blog post and now you’re ready to alert the Twitterverse of your incredible wisdom and knowledge with respect to [insert subject here].

For Twitter, your headline has to grab the reader and compel them to click on the link. So, as you develop your “hook”, ask yourself these questions:

Is this relevant to my target audience?
Would my target audience find value in this information?
How do I create a sense of urgency?
How is this information different?

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to add some operational efficiencies to the process which I will outline in a future post. But, for now, go create some great content, put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and showcase your expertise.

[I will be publishing the online marketing ecosystem graphic (with links) in the coming weeks so stay tuned]

Will Bing Twitter Help Your Small Business?

John Joyce — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:01:06 +0000

First, Microsoft surprised us when they released bing and it was actually a useful alternative search engine. Now, they’ve surprised again by beating Google to the “Twitter Integration Party”. Instead of being sequestered to the Twittersphere, small business tweeters will now gain exposure to the 80% of internet users who don’t use Twitter.

Ping and FriendFeed allow you to distribute your “microcontent” across all social networks and, now, Bing (and, yes eventually Google) will index not only the text of the tweet, but the link content as well. I’m not sure if there will be an adjustment required by users based on how the information will be presented but there didn’t seem to be an issue when Google added images and video to their search engine.

This is pretty powerful stuff for a small business owner and should allow them to expand their online presence without significant effort.