The Small BizNest » microcontent

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 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.