14 simple steps to help find relevant influencers
Lots of people will tell you ”Social Media Influencers” are the key to social media marketing, but what does that really mean? Is influence based on number of connections? Klout, Peer Index or Kred score? A combination of all of the above? How do you identify them and what do you do with that information once you think you know who they are?
The short answer is all and none of the above. There is no cookie cutter answer for creating an influencer list on a particular topic because you have to fine tune the list of influencers to the ones who are most likely to be interested in what you have and willing to…
Eight tips for promoting your content to help obtain backlinks for SEO
Even if you create outstanding, quality content, if you don’t promote it fully, it will not give you the full value you need from your investment. Regardless of how shareable content is, to get the most valuable, relevant links requires online promotion through a variety of different channels.
You may send a few tweets about your latest blog, but if no one is listening to begin with, your content assets are likely to be lost in the ether. This is content marketing without the marketing... There are a number of things you can do to promote your site content effectively and drive high quality traffic to your site; here I'll highlight eight.
Tip 1: Social media promotion
Social Media platforms are one of the most popular and effective methods for promoting your…
Starting out as an affiliate – find your niche and reap the rewards
Have you ever thought about becoming an affiliate, either personally or as an alternative revenue source for your business? With the current global economic climate and technological advances leading to increases in entrepreneurial spirit, more and more people are looking to affiliate marketing as a source of online income. Done right, affiliate marketing can bring in some genuinely easy money, but doing it right means doing it smart.
With a lot of the competition sewn up by a minority of big players, it can be hard for the "small-time newcomer" to get started. However, the kind of growth seen in many affiliate niches in recent years will always bring with it opportunities.
Potential opportunities
Online gambling, gaming and weight-loss all lend themselves well to affiliate marketing; the high commission, CPA and the frequent lack of any physical ‘product’ combined with ever-increasing…
A useful summary of changing consumer search behaviour and mobile SEO best practices
This infographic highlights again the growing importance of mobile marketing; in this case showing its impact on search marketing. We're reminded that there are now more than 4 billion connected smartphones and it's anticipated that mobile usage will overtake desktop use by 2014. So don't miss out is the message! Although the headline on the infographic focuses on Google's Siri, it also has a useful summary of the alternatives for optimising mobile search.
This Infographic from Alchemy Viral explores consumer usage, best practices for mobile SEO and the improvements of Siri to support consumers.
Best practices on mobile SEO
Here is a summary from the infographic of best practices for mobile SEO to consider.
Responsive web design. Considered industry best practice and is recommended by Google. This includes using CSS…
Facebook improves options for international marketing through “Global Pages”
Value: [rating=1] or [rating=4] for brands marketing to local country audiences
Recommended link: Facebook announcement on managing Global Company Pages
Until this month brands wanting to use Facebook company pages to communicate with their customers in different countries have had a challenge. The challenge has been the resource needed to manage different company pages in different countries in a way that provides consistency and management for their communications. Each country has required separate administrators and reporting has also been separate unless third-party tools were used.
In October 2012, Facebook launched “Global Pages” as a solution for managing company pages in different countries. This is how Facebook describe the new approach:
“With this new structure, Facebook users will be directed to the best version of a Page based on the country those users are in, enabling them to see localized cover photos, profile photos, Page apps, milestones,…
Widely expected (and useful) new tool introduced
Google have recently launched a new tool to its Webmaster toolkit, giving you the ability to identify and remove (at least in Googles eyes) unnatural or spam inbound links (from other sites to yours).
Google have become more active in notifying webmasters of problems with inbound links, this now enables you to remove the offending link(s) from Google's link graph without contacting the owner of the other site.
You may have received a message from Google in the past saying that they have identified unnatural, spam or paid links to your website, this usually left you having to identify the potential problem links and approaching each website to get the links removed. Not a massively effective process and neither is it a good use of your time. Bing also launched a similar tool earlier this year.
Here is an explanation of this new tool from Googles, Matt Cutts
…
Practical tips for pre-show event marketing
Exhibitions are a great way to get your company noticed in both business and consumer markets. Being able to meet and interact with dozens of potential new customers is a thrill in itself, never mind the long-term benefits of forging new business links in your sector. Generating interest in your company before a trade show is vital if you want to hit the ground running and gain new clients. Which means that your marketing team needs to be working like a well-oiled machine in the build up to the event.
You might be sceptical about the glitz and glamour of exhibitions, but there is real value to attending a trade show.
Face to face interaction is the best way to ensure that potential clients experience your company performing under pressure in a fast-paced environment. It is also a…
Which media give the best clickthrough rates?
I shared this engaging call-to-action on our Pinterest last week. Since size of a call-to-action has an impact on response rates, you would certainly expect this to perform well, although other factors may be at work here...
There was an interesting discussion on Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter about this, thanks if you took part or shared. This tweet was my favourite summary:
HUGE call-to-action, no reason to scan, no brand message = Epic Marketing FAIL (who drives & scans?) ow.ly/ed7U6 via @smartinsights
— Linsay Duncan (@LinsayDuncan) October 4, 2012
Most labelled it “dumb” since lone drivers aren’t going to scan while driving and even passengers would need to be quick on the draw with their scanners.
In terms of communications effectiveness, while you can’t miss the call-to-action, there…
Tips and examples to help plan and run global-local social media campaigns
Whilst the emergence of social media makes it increasingly difficult to contain campaigns within a given market, it offers brands greater opportunities than ever to connect with large, global audiences in a way that feels far more personal than most mediums previously available.
This blog provides successful examples of how companies are enhancing their global brand, the campaign development process and how to embrace the evolution.
Examples of companies successfully using social media to enhance their brand and increase sales.
A few months ago, Coca-Cola launched what they refer to as the ‘Cocal-Cola TV project’ campaign, essentially bringing live entertainment to its target audience via multiple social media channels and devices in a year-long project primarily aimed at audiences in Latin America. Paul McCartney’s free concert in Mexico was streamed live on Coca-Cola TV, with viewers encouraged to drive conversations on social…
A 3 step guide to DIY Keyword Research
While many larger companies have agencies to work on keyword research for them, many smaller companies don't. To help companies who need to work on their own keyword research, this post shows how to work on actionable keyword research and provides a 3 step quick guide to get your started.
There is a wealth of information that you can find on the subject of keyword research but if you're keen to dig deeper on this subject, I would recommend The Beginners Guide to SEO created by SEOMoz who provide an excellent account of the benefits and reasons why keyword research is the foundation to any SEO strategy. Smart Insights have details on more advanced approaches like a gap analysis using analytics and tools to use in their 7 Step Guide to SEO.
Let's briefly go back…
