Lessons from BlogIndiana
I have had the weekend to process my thoughts about Day One of Blog Indiana. First comment: Noah and Shawn once again put on a great show. This years event was absolutely the best, and I am sorry I couldn’t participate for both days.
I have stacks of notes, (ok Megs of digital notes) lots to think about and lots to share. Here are just a few of my key takeaways from the day:
- @JasonFalls – Social Media Explorer opened the conference with a presentation on making social media a conversation. I have heard Jason speak on several occasions before this, and I always enjoy his sensible approach to social media. Friday was no exception. There was so much content in his presentation, but the core was the idea that you need to build trust. And the things you do to build trust on line is not all that different then what you do to build trust off line. More from this session
- IU East is a small school, making big waves with social media. Taking an integrated approach, tying their media together ( print and eResources) and getting everyone, even the Chancellor of the university involved they are one of the most engaged universities. Sure IU Bloomington, has many, many, many more students connected to their fan page, but when you look at real engagement : Likes and Comments per post compared to the total number of fans, IUE outperforms Bloomington. This session really made me think about who are my peers and competition on line. It may not be companies of the same size at all.
- Jeremy Dearringer, the CEO of Slingshot SEO, had some interesting information to share about what affects your online reputation. What stood out most for me the most was how quickly negative information can spread. 70% of surfers will click on negative result first. You have to have a lot of very positive information to combat a little negative press. The other really powerful element was the fact that people search for company names more often then key words. And when they do, the conversion is significantly higher.
- A look behind the scenes at Scotty’s was great. While I was sorry I didn’t get to see @brewhouse himself, he was well represented by Bruce McClain. And that was an important part of the message – To be successful, your social media strategy has to grow out beyond the owner!
That is just a start. There are a few more longer posts in the works with themes inspired by other sessions. And I can’t wait for the video to see what I missed. what did you learn at BIN2010?
Lunch and Learn with PinpointMultimedia
My good friend Dave Anderson has asked me to be part of his Lunch and Learn program next week. The topic is social media, and I will be sharing the panel with some of my favorite local social media experts; Colin Clark, Dave Anderson and Michael Reynolds.
The event will be from 11:30 – 1:00 on December 2nd, at the Fox and Hound on 82nd Street in the Castleton Area. There is no cost to attend the informal event, but RSVP’s are requested since space is limited.
Hope to see you there, for what is sure to be a lively conversation!
Traffic is Good, But Leads are Better!!
When I worked in retail, we always looked at the traffic in the store as the first sign of what kind of day lay ahead. Lots of people, usually meant someone would be buying something!
As I work with clients, many who are not in retail businesses, I can use the measures from their internet marketing to get a feel for the “traffic” to their business.
I review with them raw traffic, page views and time on site. I can point to the number of people who viewed a particular page or blog post, track where they came from and identify the most effective ads.
The numbers are fascinating, but with all this tracking and viewing it is easy to lose track of the real object … CUSTOMERS!
Back in my retail life, there were days the store was filled with browsers who didn’t buy; sometimes the same thing happens on a website. The trick is to convert window shoppers to buyers.
Now, not every business can ” sell ” products on-line. However, every business can use their website to create leads and move prospects along the sales process.
One strategy is to offer free reports, white papers or other resources. Instead of a simple download, require visitors to provide at least an email address to receive the information. Sometimes, people will give you a bogus email address, but most people who are interested in the content provide real contact information. Now you have permission to reconnect and send follow up information to move the prospect closer to a purchase.
We have always had a sign up form for our newsletter on our website but these free offers, like the one below have been much more effective in generating interest.
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What Did YOU Do This Summer?
Written by Jay Mattingly
I only have two weeks of summer left before classes pick back up, and I look back wondering where the last three months have gone. It seems like just yesterday I first stepped into the Roundpeg office.
I was lucky enough to spend my summer making an impact in ways that will hopefully last long after I’ve gone back to school. Throughout the last few months, as most of you know, we’ve been working tirelessly on a redesign of the Roundpeg website. The new site has slowly taken shape over the last month and should be up soon.
I spent most of the summer learning about web design and social media, but what I will really treasure about the last three months goes far beyond that. I learned how to be a part of a team and accomplish something that each member can be proud of. I learned how to be curious and participate. I learned how to play a role in creating something bigger than myself. And I learned how to care about more than just a grade. On top of that, I met a ton of great people in the Indy business community.
I’m really excited about the new site. Hopefully all of you will agree that it’s a huge upgrade over the old site, and each member of the Roundpeg team played an integral role in its development.
I began this summer hoping to be part of something great. And, looking back, I’m proud to say that I was.
A Blog By Any Other Name
Often I when I talk to small business owners about adding a blog to their website, I get more then just a little resistance. They don’t understand how this relatively informal means of communication can have business value. Valori Maltoni has written a great post talking about why this strategy makes sense for small business owners. She says:
Blogs allow you to:
- provide topical and relevant information and resources regularly, become an appointment
- receive feedback from your readers and engage them in discussion that are relevant to them
- distribute your content more widely thanks to Google and the larger business community online
They allow your readers and customers to:
- receive regular updates from you when and if they want them
- share the resources and tips you provide with their network
- find you through search thanks to keywords and tags that describe their problem
Even with all these compelling reasons I still get push back, so I have changed my tactic. Small business owners don’t need a blog, just a resource page! A place they can post the latest news about the company, new products, industry trends, and the occasional comment from a customer.
And the most efficient way to bundle this information? Well that would be a blog. But I have found if i sell the benefits and never use the “b” word it is a much easier sale!
Improve your WordPress site with Plugins
Written by Amy Rowe
Plug-ins are great for WordPress. Just when you think you found something your WordPress theme can’t do… someone creates a plugin which enables the impossible!
Whether you want to sell items in a shopping cart, add audio to your pages, or just simply include a picture slideshow… we have found solutions by adding plug-ins to just about every site we create!
My Link Order is a plugin that I have continued to use on a regular basis with our Websites! Everyone knows that some templates are limiting and you need to find ways around their functionality. One specific site where the navigation along the top was to include only the broad categories and the navigation along the side was to include all the sub-pages.
By using the Page widget in the side bar – all the pages show! If you create links on the side not only can you pick and choose the pages you want to show, with My Link Order you can even put them in a specific order! It is as simple as dragging and dropping them into the order you want.
Interested? Download your free My Link Order Plugin here! Enjoy!
Four Steps to Internet Marketing Success
One of my favorite new resources for Web Marketing Tips and Strategy is a site called Hubspot. I love their website grader tool, and now I have discovered they have a pretty good blog too!
In a recent post targeted mostsly at techies they spell our a formula for internet marketing success:The authors spell it out like this as they encourage Web Developers to see outside help for the things they don’t do well.
Data + Software + Skills + Network = Internet Marketing Success
Are you successful online? Do you have all 4 bases covered? Or did you skip one? What data do you use? What software are you using? What skills did you build internally? What tasks are you outsourcing and why? Are you building your network online? Moving your network online? Did you hire someone to help you with building your network online?
For small business owners, the networking piece is the easiest, but are you seeking help in your weak spots?
MicroBlogging – The Newest PR Tool
There has been lots of conversation about Twitter lately. This video, which I found on Smaller Indiana, (Thanks Pat) is the best explanation I have seen as to what Twitter is and how it works.
While interesting, it doesn’t really address why small business owners should consider using it.
Twitter is fun, but is also good for business. It is a wonderful way to see what other people are thinking about issues and products.
If you are writing blog posts to build traffic for your website ( and you should be), it is a great way to build exposure and a following for your blog. Especially by incorporating TwitterFeed, so your followers automatically see when you have a new blog post to read.
If you are hoping to make connections, or conduct research, Twitter can do that as well.
But a word of caution, it can become addicting, listening in on the steady stream of conversation, so find your balance point, commit time to Twitter, just as you would any other networking activity, and watch the results.
And if you do add Twitter to your routine, you can follow me at: www.twitter.com/roundeg
How to Make Social Media Work for Your Small Business
Maybe I am spending too much time on Twitter, or maybe more people really are talking about social media. Either way, it is a conversation every small business owner should get involved in, exploring options and making an informed choice on how and when to get involved.
Chad, at Three Hats Marketing had a good post this morning containing five points to use as a starting point for your conversation. He recommends:
1. Know thy audience
2. Understand your purpose
3. Pick the right tool for the job
4. Don’t bite off more than you can chew
5. Know what success is
This last question really contains two sub questions. And these are the same questions you should ask about any marketing expenditure.
The first: What do you want to accomplish. It is not enough to Jump in, Jump in with purpose!
The second which Chad address: How will you measure results? For me the easy measures are Traffic, registrations for my newsletter and sales are all viable measures of success. What’s yours?
Twitter and Microwaves
Kyle Lacy wrote an interesting post this morning about what Twitter becoming accepted by the mainstream. As he described interactions with small business owners who don’t see how it could be integrated into their business I was reminded of a conversation I had with my mother-in-law about microwave ovens almost thirty years ago.
A gourmet cook, she couldn’t imagine ever using a microwave to cook a roast or bake a cake. And she was right, the microwave was not the right tool for that type of cooking. However, as she began to experiment with it she did discover, over time things the Microwave did extremely well.
Today, at 79 years old, the microwave is the most used device in her very active kitchen. She still bakes and roasts in the traditional oven, but she defrosts, boils water, parboils vegetables, reheats and steams in the microwave.
There is a lesson there for small business owners! Tools become mainstream, when we figure out how to use them as part of things we already do.
Try it out.. boil and little water, and see the resuls!
