Archive for Web 2.0
Facebook and Going Viral
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There are almost 800 million members on Facebook today. With this vast web of interconnectivity, Facebook is fast becoming the leading way for ideas and content to spread on the internet. If you want to go viral, Facebook is one of the main platforms to pay attention to.
Two powerful tools to master on Facebook are Facebook pages and Facebook apps. Both of these are integrated in Facebook’s ecosystem and have access a wide array of tools.
Here’s how to use Facebook’s pages and apps to go viral.
An Idea with a Call to Action
Your idea for a page or for an app needs to have a call to action built into it.
Many of the protests in the Arab Uprising, from Egypt to Libya, were organized on Facebook and/or Twitter. Newly created pages literally got tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of followers in as little as a week or two.
They grew so quickly because there was a call to action. Share the page and let the world know what was going on. Even people in non-Arabic countries got involved, because of this strong call to action.
For a more light-hearted example, take a look at FarmVille, one of the most successful Facebook games in history. One of the reasons it was so successful was because there was a constant call to action. People were always being asked to share the game with their friends.
Your idea needs to not only be great, but have a call to action for sharing built into it.
Reporting
Facebook has one very unique reporting feature: it tells you about the viral aspect of your posts and of your app, as a statistic.
The statistic measures how often people share your content. If you primarily have three different kinds of content, say polls, videos and text, you could measure each post individually and see which one(s) people tend to share.
If you find that people share videos released on your page four times more often than text released on your page, you’ll know exactly where to focus.
While it’s possible to derive this statistic on other media platforms, generally they don’t give it to you in this clear-cut form. Facebook makes tracking and optimizing for virality easy.
Making It Go Viral
Going viral on Facebook is all about having a great core idea, then testing and testing until you reach the maximum viral velocity you can reach.
It means testing different messages, different kinds of outreach and different call to actions. If you find it extremely hard to get traction, it’s likely that your idea just isn’t striking a cord. On the other hand, if your idea is spreading, then your job is to accelerate the pace and make the idea go truly viral.
How to Add a Pinterest Button to Your Blog
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Pinterest is the latest social networking craze to take over the country. The concept behind Pinterest is to share photos and images. Users create boards with themes and categories and then “pin” images to their board. It’s a fun site for personal use and also a great way to build your business.
As a business owner you can create a Pinterest account and use it to drive traffic, build awareness, and connect with potential customers. Once you have a Pinterest business profile, it also makes good business sense to integrate Pinterest into your blog or website. That’s as easy as adding a Pinterest button to your website. Here’s how:
Step One: Sign Up for a Pinterest Account
This may actually be the most challenging step because you cannot simply go to Pinterest and sign up. They’re still in Beta, which means that membership is limited. You can sign up in one of two ways. You can get an invitation from someone who is already a member. Once you have that invitation you can sign up immediately. You can also request an invitation from Pinterest. Simply visit Pinterest.com and request a membership.
Sign up with your business email address and create a username that reflects you and/or your business.
Step Two: Add a “Follow” Button
Once you’re logged into Pinterest, click on “About” in the upper right hand corner. You’ll see a drop down menu. Choose “Pin It button”.
You now have a few choices. You can add a “Follow” button to your website. There are three button choices. Choose the one that you like the best, then simply copy the html code and paste it where you want the button to appear on your website.
If you’re adding a “Follow” button to a WordPress blog, get into your editor and add it to the code. Alternatively, if you use widgets then you can simply add a text widget into your sidebar and then cut and paste the code.
Step Three: Add a “Pin This” Button
You can also add a “Pin This” button to your website. This encourages people to add images from your website to their Pinterest boards. It’s a fantastic way to drive traffic and potentially boost your SEO.
There are also some truly wonderful plug-ins for WordPress that allow you to integrate Pinterest into your blog. And as Pinterest continues to grow in popularity, you can bet that there will be more developers creating ways to capitalize on Pinterest.
Pinterest also links to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Each time you post a pin on Pinterest you can also link that post to your other networking sites. It can be a very powerful tool to grow and build your business.
Check me out on Pinterest, I’d love to connect with you there. No, I am not really marketing my business there (yet!), but I am getting familiar with the site and how people are using it for biz. Mostly, I am enjoying the variety of images. You can even see a few of my own travel photos there on my boards!
Social Media for the Solopreneur
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In the early days of the web, the only ways a marketer could build a connection with customers was either through email or through their website. Then came Web 2.0.
With the advent of social media, the potential depth and breadth of your connection with your customers has become virtually limitless. That is, if you know how to leverage social media properly.
Social media presents an incredible opportunity for the shrewd marketer. How can you use social media to deepen existing connections and attract new customers?
Build Relationships with People Who Don’t Give Email Addresses
It takes a lot for someone to give you their email address. Even top marketers rarely get more than 20% of the people who land on an email capture page to actually give them their email address.
Contrast that with what it takes for someone to “Like” or follow you.
In order to like you, people just need to see a piece of your content that they connect with anywhere on the web, or through their friend’s feed. It doesn’t take much and can be just a passing thought.
The same goes for tweets. If someone sees one tweet of yours that they like, they can decide to follow you.
You can reach a lot of people who wouldn’t have otherwise got in your funnel through social media.
Social Media Is a Two-Way Street
Email marketing and (most) website marketing is a one way street. That means that you’re the one who’s providing the content, while your customers consume the content. You put out emails, they read the emails.
While this can be an effective way to market a product, it’s nowhere near as effective as having a real connection with your customers.
Social media allows you to have a two-way conversation. They can comment on your stories, tweet back, answer polls, like, post on your wall and express their opinions however they like.
This gets people much more invested in your brand and in your product. Someone who just reads your emails versus someone who’s in active discussion with you are two completely different kinds of customers. The latter will vehemently recommend your products, buy from you regularly and share your content, while the former may only purchase every once in a while.
Access to People’s Friends
Finally, social media gives you access to other people’s social networks.
With email marketing, you only get access to one person. On social media, if you make a post or a tweet that someone strongly agrees with, your content will immediately be shared with hundreds of other people. Among those people are more people who might re-share your content.
Social media is a powerful tool for building two-way connections and reaching friends of your customers. If you don’t have a solid social media strategy yet, now’s the time to create one.
Podcasting For Solopreneurs
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Podcasting is one of the “hot” things on the bucket list for the solopreneur. Named after the Apple iPod MP3 player, podcasting refers to uploading MP3 recordings onto your website. Other people can download these into their MP3 players or listen via the internet.
A podcast is similar to a blog, or weblog. Instead of reading your words, however, with a podcast people can listen to them. Many podcasts have a format similar to a radio talk show, where the host gives their thoughts and opinions on a given topic; some also interview guests or include a roundtable discussion with others.
Podcasts are great for publicity. As stated before, they are the newest thing on the internet and people are hooked on them. You can integrate your podcast with iTunes. People can have your podcast automatically downloaded onto their Mp3 player. There are also RSS feeds that will do the same thing.
You can choose to have a general podcast that will serve as publicity for your website. You can also opt to have your podcast promote a single item, such as an information product you created.
You can monetize your podcast by selling ad space, or commercials, that will play during your podcast. You can also give out your affiliate links during your podcast. For instance, you can review a product that you are an affiliate for, and tell your listeners to check out the product at your affiliate link.
Some people may choose to have a member’s only podcast. This is a podcast that is only offered to people that have paid a membership fee to you. Usually, these types of podcasts are highly informative and at least an hour in length. You may interview experts or present the podcast as a mini information product.
You can promote your podcast in several ways. Of course, you will want to include information about your podcast on your website. You can give a sneak peek at upcoming topics or guests. You may also want to create a newsletter that reminds people when new podcasts are uploaded and provides links for more information.
If you interview someone, ask them to send out an email to their list letting them know they will be a guest on your podcast. If your interviewee has a large following, many people will subscribe to your podcast in order to hear the interview. You can also provide a press release template so they can alert the local media of their appearance, or you can also send out press releases to publicize your guests’ appearance.
To create a podcast, you can use a service such as Audio Acrobat. For a small monthly fee, you can record and upload audio files to your website. Audio Acrobat allows you to record via your telephone or computer microphone. They are also integrated with iTunes, so your podcast will have the potential to be accessed by millions of people. To edit your audio, you can use free shareware, such as Audacity.
Podcasting can be a fun and profitable way to market your business. Give it a try and see if you like it. Unlike traditional internet talk radio, you don’t have to put too much money into it. You really have nothing to lose.
Your Coaching Website is NOT Optional
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It’s time for the April Easy Biz Teleseminar call and I want you to be on this call if you are a coach without either a website or a blog!
While you don’t have to have a website to be an outstanding coach, you do need to have a web presence to be viewed as credible in the 21st century. Just like a “brochure” was a requirement for business owners in earlier decades, having a website is considered a “basic” of being in business today.
Yes, the Easy Biz subject this month is EASILY getting up your website or blog and using it to make growing your business easier…
The April Easy Biz expert is Nina East who is one of the foremost experts on WordPress in the coaching world. Nina has been coaching for 12 years and has mentored and coaches thousands of other coaches in business development. But even more important, Nina is also an accomplished web designer who has seen too many coaches stall on this vital piece of online marketing.
Given how easy it is to have a powerful – and secure – website these days, there’s virtually no excuse for not doing so. As a coach, a blog is also an important part of your “online presence strategy.” Coaches, unlike many other professionals, are actually positioned naturally to be bloggers. You’ll want to learn all you can from Nina as she shares her ideas on EASILY getting your website or blog done and working for you.
Here are the details:
Date: April 5, 2012
Time: 1-2 pm ET (10am pacific, 11 mountain, 12 central)
Registration: http://easybiztelesummit.com
Nina wants all coaches to know that all you need is a self-hosted WordPress site, a few simple strategies, and a willingness to share your voice to have a powerful, noticeable and word-of-mouth-worthy presence online. And she should know – she has co-authored the soon-to-be-released This Business of WordPress, a book about the critical factors, pitfalls, and joys involved in building a business around the use of WordPress.
If you haven’t heard about the monthly Easy Biz Teleseminars, they are dedicated to giving you concrete ways to make the running of your coaching business easier. Join us live for the call because we always save time for questions or listen to the recording any time for one full week after the call.
If your website and/or blog are not yet the cornerstone of your online marketing, please make sure to listen to Nina. If you register for the call, you will automatically get access to the call recording.
Hope to see you there!
Warmly,
Janet
PS – This call is a “must attend” for new coaches and for those who aren’t satisfied with their online presence. Mark your calendar for the call and join me as I interview Nina on exactly what it takes to make websites and blogs EASY. Here’s the registration link again:
