Archive for Web 2.0
The Do’s and Don’ts on Twitter
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Twitter is a useful tool for both personal and business needs. If you are new to Twitter, it may be helpful to learn how to use it to your best advantage. Here are a few do’s and don’ts to get you started.
Twitter was revolutionary when it started. It’s a platform that uses short messages to communicate with others. It could be up-to-the-minute information about you or communication with clients and co-workers on projects and the like. And, you can follow others just like on other social networks.
With Twitter, there are very few established rules. Most of the advice given on how to use Twitter is about etiquette and using the service to connect with other business professionals, clients and the like.
Do’s on Twitter
So, let’s take a look at some of the positive things to do on Twitter.
Follow others – It is not just about you; it’s also about connecting with people. Get involved in what is going on in your area of expertise. Follow people with similar interests. This gives you a higher visibility and can help establish you in that niche on Twitter. If you see something interesting, retweet it so others can follow too.
Tweet – It’s just like posting on Facebook. Leave meaningful information for others. You can talk about yourself, but not too much. Intermingle some useful content with your conversational pieces.
Create a compelling biography – Use your bio to its utmost. You have just a few characters so use keywords that are searchable to describe yourself and help others to search for you and find you.
Be professional – This includes using proper grammar in your tweets. Abbreviations don’t lend themselves to professionalism.
Don’ts on Twitter
Don’t tweet every second – You often hear about people who tweet about eating dinner, inappropriate habits and every other thing they do all day. This is not what people want to hear from you. In fact, it is one way to lose your ranking and current audience. It just clogs up the works for those following you.
Be careful what you say – Once you have entered something on the internet, it will be there forever. Inflammatory tweets reflect negatively on you and can come back to haunt you later.
Don’t be too negative – People who are always looking on the downside crash the party. Misery loves company but you will lose yours if you persist.
Learn to use hashtags properly – Hashtags can help you and others to follow a conversation more easily. But, use them the right way. Don’t put a hashtag on each word in your tweet. And, don’t hashtag a run-on tweet.
Using Twitter doesn’t have to be complicated or hard. Be yourself and use the above advice to make the most of your time there.
Four SEO Tools You Can Use Now as a Solopreneur
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Search engines matter because without them you would receive minimal traffic to your website. Use them well and you will receive very targeted traffic to your website. Targeted traffic turns into customers and repeat visitors. This means it’s not only where you’re placed on the search engine rankings, but the keywords you use as well. You want to make sure you’re attracting targeted traffic to your site.
The world of search engine optimization and keyword development can feel overwhelming. It seems there’s a lot of information to learn, know and use. However, when you drill down, it’s actually quite simple. You want to optimize your website for a few primary keywords. These keywords ideally will have an acceptable amount of demand and supply. They’ll also be keywords that your audience is likely to use to find your information.
Then you optimize your pages for those keywords. You also choose some secondary keywords to support the primary ones. These may be keywords with less demand and less supply. However, they’re still keywords your audience is using to find your information.
How do you use these keywords? Content, content, content. Content gives the search engine spiders something to index. It also provides material that others may link to. This is an important part of SEO.
To help you manage and master your SEO efforts, there are literally thousands of various tools and gadgets. Some of these tools help you check the keyword density on your web page. They make sure your keywords are represented enough to help but not so much that your content reads poorly. There are also link checkers, keyword research tools, and so on. Here are four SEO tools you might find useful.
1. Keyword suggestion tools – This is where it all begins. Keyword suggestion tools help you learn and research your primary and secondary keywords. The most common of these tools is the Google AdWords tool. It’s free and quite useful. There are also keyword tools that you can pay for. They offer a bit more information than the Google tool.
2. Ranking checkers – Ranking checkers help you determine where you rank for various keywords and search engines. It’s a great tool for setting goals and tracking your progress. For example, you might set a goal to move up two pages in the rankings using article marketing. You can use a ranking checker to test and track your success. (You can also check to see how your competition is doing.) You can get a free rank checker from SEO Book by clicking here.
3. Link checking tools – Link checking tools help you determine the effectiveness of your back links. You can learn who is linking to you and how popular their links are. Again, you can also check to see who is linking to your competition. There are some basic, free tools that provide basic information. Or you can hire a service to analyze your back links for you. Click here for access to a free reciprocal link checker.
4. Keyword density tools – These tools can analyze a page or your URL for keyword density. There are a number of keyword density tools. Again some are free and some are paid tools. If you’re going to pay for this service, make sure it analyzes keyword phrases and not just one or two word keywords. Click here to access a free keyword density checker.
New SEO tools are being developed every day. Take advantage of these resources to strategically position your business. The easier it is for your prospects to find you, the faster you’ll achieve your business goals.
Tips for Creating an Effective Facebook Profile for Business Use
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If you’re thinking of sharing about your business via Facebook, creating an effective profile is important. It’s easy to go into Facebook and set up a profile that doesn’t do much to reflect what your business is all about. A few tips can improve that. Here are some tips for using for Facebook profile effectively for your business.
1. Be careful – It’s wise to exercise care when you set up your profile for business use. Facebook terms of service says that your profile cannot be used for business purposes. However, you should be fine as long as you are actively using the profile for personal purposes as well. You may or may not already be on Facebook to socialize, but it’s a good idea to consider how to keep your business and personal information separate. It’s also a good idea to limit who reads your status updates so that your personal news does not conflict with your professional news.
You can use Facebook’s privacy settings to control who sees your updates. You can also specify who sees an individual update as long as you use the Facebook lists feature. And remember, privacy settings aren’t perfect; some cross-over is possible, so take care what you post. Some things you don’t need to share!
2. Your name – Most business people suggest using your real, full name in your profile – another good reason to pay attention to privacy settings. But you’re a business, so you want your name out there so make sure to list your business information on the “About” page of your profile. Using your real name makes it a lot easier for people to find you.
3. Your avatar – You will need to choose an avatar. Some successful business people suggest using a professional picture of yourself, but it’s entirely possible to get a good photo with your home camera. Let your “look” reflect the mood of your business (you don’t want to be pictured in overalls, for example, if your business is a professional marketer; but overalls would be an excellent look for a landscape design business). If you have some photo software on your computer, you can adjust the background and so forth to construct a good avatar.
You do not want to use your business logo as your avatar. This is a clear violation of Facebook policy and could get your account suspended. Whatever your choice for your avatar, make sure it is one you’re comfortable with. Consider your avatar’s look, colors and branding message to see if it makes an effective business-like message or not.
4. Think like a client – If you were a prospective client of your business, what would you like to see on a profile? Be thorough and truthful, but keep your prospects in mind. There are some things your clients don’t need to know, and other things they should know – remember, this is a personal profile being used to help your business. Include those aspects of yourself that coincide with your business intent.
Using the Cloud for Business
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Today everyone is saying, “Take me to the cloud.” But what does that mean? And, is it a good thing for your business to get involved in?
What and Where Is the Cloud?
We are talking about cyberspace. You know it exists and you can see the results of it, but touching it is as elusive as putting your hands on a real cloud. Nevertheless, it is a revolutionary idea in network sharing and storage.
So, what is the cloud exactly? Well, if you are using the internet right now to read this article, you are a part of the cloud network. Companies used to set up IT networks on their own, installing, running and testing software applications. Whenever there was a problem, everyone turned to the IT expert to fix it. This took money and time which could cost the business money in man hours and lost productivity.
Cloud computing offers a break to companies both large and small with an easier way to store information. Instead of each company managing their own applications, third-party vendors offer access to a virtual network that they manage. Each company only pays for the amount of usage that they need.
This one area houses hundreds of apps that each company can customize for its own uses. It’s like having one central location for housing all business but with the ability to function according to the specific needs of each.
How Can Your Business Benefit?
Because the cloud is in cyberspace, you are not limited to one area when using it. In fact, the cloud was made for mobility. No matter where you or any of your associates are, you can upload information to the cloud that can then be viewed by others who also have access to the network. They can make changes to the document and then send it back to you in a flash.
Want to hold a meeting? You can do that too. Sharing ideas across the miles but within the same company has never been more accessible. What may have taken precious time through emails, faxes or phone calls can now be handled all at once via cloud computing.
And, your business can lower the cost of overheads by utilizing the cloud. With a third-party vendor managing the operation, they handle upgrades to software, technical questions and support for you. If there are problems, you will be up and running again as quickly as they can help. That also means that anyone accessing your applications is also back on the grid.
But, do your homework first. Make sure that the cloud is what your business needs and that it can meet your specific criteria for security and ease of operation. You decide if the cloud can move you forward.
7 Twitter Tips
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Twitter is a really great way to socialize and keep in touch, but it can be more than that. You can use Twitter as a tool for various things, from business to advertising. It provides a personal link with your customers and clients that may be lacking in the usual online business relationship. Here are some tips for using Twitter effectively.
1. Keep it short
Regardless of what you are tweeting, you’ll want to keep the message short and to the point. Twitter is not like email; it’s more like text messaging to a group.
2. Make a decision
Regardless of how you plan to use Twitter, go ahead and make that decision before setting up an account. If you want to use it for business purposes, determine who your potential customers would be. If you plan to use Twitter for personal reasons, make that decision ahead of time, too. It can get confusing and problematic if you try to toggle back and forth between business and personal messages on your Twitter account.
3. Avatar
Choose an avatar that reflects your purpose in using Twitter. A fun picture of your dog in a Santa hat may be great for your personal account, but not for your business (unless you sell dog Santa hats!). You may even want to find a professional to take a picture of you specifically for your Twitter avatar.
4. Username
The same things apply to a username as to the avatar – make sure it fits your Twitter intentions. Also, make sure it coincides with your avatar so that the two become synonymous.
5. Advertise
Twitter offers advertising programs that you can use to boost your business. You can sign up with one of these on the Twitter site. They work by connecting Twitter users with advertisers.
6. Share links
The brief nature of Twitter makes it a great vehicle for sharing links to websites, videos, and so forth. This can be a quick and effective way to share the newest and latest products or information with your customers. Sharing links for others can also be a way to generate income. You can share your own links, too.
7. Get a mobile device
Giving your Twitter followers up-to-the minute tweets is what makes Twitter unique. You’ll want to embrace this aspect of the medium, and invest in some kind of mobile device that you can have handy at all times to read and send tweets.
