Author Archives: Nancy

Need More Comments On Your Blog? Try These Suggestions

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Dog, cube
Photo by Ethan Hein

I recently re-read an older blog post about getting more comments on articles. I see posts claiming to give you awesome ways to increase your comments all the time, but this blog is still one of my favorites. Why? Because the author doesn’t repeat the same tired suggestions like, “Ask a question at the end of your blog.” I still think asking a question at the end of your blog can be a conversation starter, but we’ve all read those suggestions over and over again. So, I’m condensing his great blog into a shorter version for you here.

Why are comments important?
The benefits of user-generated content are obvious to most. Not only are you generating additional unique, (hopefully) on-topic content for your pages, comments may even contribute to your article’s freshness score.

1. Make it as easy as possible to leave a comment
Does “website” really need to be a required field? Are your CAPTCHA images harder to solve than a Rubik’s cube? Sometimes the effort it would take to comment on your blog outweighs the potential user benefits. Take a look at each field and ask yourself  ”is this a hoop I’d be willing to jump through to leave a comment on a blog I’ve never visited before?”

2. Comment placement
So many widgets, so little real estate. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that the end of a blog post is the hottest piece of property on the net these days. After you’ve pumped your full author bio, social buttons, “other articles you might like,” opinion disclaimer, and multiple ad units, the comment section often ends up an entire page screen below the actual content. If you’re truly serious about getting the conversation going on your article, then you should consider giving the comment section a more prominent position on the page.

3. Social logins
If for whatever reason you simply must require users to register for commenting (a rather large barrier to entry) consider allowing them to log in using the social media accounts they’re already using. If you’re running WordPress, this can be done by installing one or two plugins of your choice. Simple Facebook Connect will get the job done and the Twitter version will do the same.

4. Join the conversation
Respond to comments on your articles. You took the time to write the piece, so get in there and stand by it! Keep the conversation rolling with questions of your own and address things you may have glossed over in your initial publishing. The reality is that articles with comments get more comments.

If you want to read the whole blog, go to SEOMOZ. Oh, and don’t forget to add your comment below!

 

Surprising New Consumer Social Media Statistics

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Social Media Trends for 2012Photo by HonestReporting.com

Do you feel as if you aren’t up on the latest in social media? Do you feel out of the loop? Do you sometimes wonder if all the attention social media seems to get is just a bunch of hype?

Just in time to help you navigate the social media landscape, here are some useful bits of information from a new study by Edison Research and Arbitron. Now you can say you have your finger on the pulse of the most recent social media trends.

Social media statistic #1
Over half of Americans (56 percent) surveyed have a profile on a social networking site. This is up from 24 percent in 2008, 34 percent in 2009, 48 percent in 2010 and 52 percent in 2011.

Social media statistic #2
While 52 percent of social media users surveyed are under age 35, approximately 48 percent are over age 35. The majority of any age group is the 12-24 year olds – with 32 percent of those individuals using social networking.

Social media statistic #3
Of those surveyed, 93, 90 and 85 percent expressed knowledge of each of the following social media sites—Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, respectively. Google + was known by 45 percent and LinkedIn by 39 percent.

Social media statistic #4
Knowledge of social networking sites does not necessarily equal usage. Of those surveyed, 54 percent said they currently use Facebook, only 13 percent said they used LinkedIn, 10 percent used Twitter and just 8 percent used Google+.

Social media statistic #5
The largest year-over-year growth in social networking was observed in those over age 45, with engagement among 45 to 54 year-olds increasing from 45 percent to 55 percent from 2010 to 2011. Social usage among those aged 18-34 saw no growth and remained flat.

Social media statistic #6
Not surprisingly, of the total individuals surveyed, 73 percent access Facebook via a smart device like a smartphone or tablet. Interestingly, 37 percent of Facebook users say they access the site via a smart device most!

I don’t know about you, but I found there were more than a few surprises published in the report. You can download the full survey here. Let us know what statistics you think are the most interesting or revealing!

Who’s Managing Your Organization’s Social and Online Content?

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Spelling Error!

As my organization’s director of content, I’m always on the alert when I read or hear about issues that relate to content, content strategy, content creation and content management. I recently heard an interesting story regarding the lack of oversight in online content.

The story that made it on to my content radar concerned a local article about Medicare–with the word Medicaid in the headline. The two are very different government programs with very different meanings. There was an immediate backlash of online criticism and phone calls to the newsroom. The good news here is this: someone noticed.

All too often, in the world of online interaction and social media mania — mistakes, basic spelling errors, punctuation lapses and social blunders are not only tolerated but are accepted as the norm.

So, while it’s nice to know people do pay attention, it’s also cause for you to be sure the people you trust to tweet, post on Facebook, pin on Pinterest and publish on your website are qualified to do so. With that in mind, here are some major brands’ online “fails” you might want to think about before you hand over your social and online content management to your cousin’s friend’s college roommate!

Netflix’s Qwikster
When Netflix users tried to follow the @Qwikster link on Twitter, they were directed to someone who talked about drugs and cursed a lot. Even though he wasn’t associated with Netflix, a bad name and poor judgment became associated with the Netflix brand as a result. It’s a good idea to investigate your links before you publish them!

Burger King
Here’s a good example of a Facebook campaign that probably did NOT go through the CEO: Burger King created a Facebook challenge called the “Whopper Sacrifice” that asked users to de-friend 10 people from their own Facebook account in order to get a coupon for a free Whopper. Facebook shut it down and Burger King suffered some major egg-in-the-face.

FedEx
This is my favorite mistake and showed a complete lack of judgment — by an ad agency executive who should have known better! Public relations/marketing agency Ketchum was meeting in Memphis, Tennessee with its client FedEx. Just before the meeting one of Ketchum’s vice presidents tweeted that he’d rather die than live in Memphis!

This goes to show that even those of us in the communicating and content creation business can fail at managing our own content. Here’s a tip: tell employees who create content associated with your business to imagine that every tweet or post will be displayed in a PowerPoint presentation at your next annual meeting or pay review!

 

How Can Your Business Utilize User Generated Content?

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For those who aren’t sure what user-generated content is, here’s a good definition from Wikipedia:

 “User-generated content (UGC) covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It’s used for a wide range of applications, including problem processing, news, gossip and research, reflects the expansion of media production through new technologies that are accessible and affordable to the general public.”

Wikipedia goes on to further define UGC:

“User generated content has also been characterized as ‘Conversational Media’, as opposed to the ‘Packaged Goods Media’ of the past century. The former is a two-way process in contrast to the one-way distribution of the latter. Conversational or two-way media is a key characteristic of so-called Web 2.0, which encourages the publishing of one’s own content and commenting on other people’s.”

You might recognize user-generated content as the reviews you read on TripAdvisor when you’re researching which hotel or bed and breakfast to book for your next vacation. Or, another example of UGC could be the reviews you read on Amazon.com or Zappos.com regarding a potential purchase. Facebook posts from your friends and followers are most likely user generated (unless you have a bunch of corporate-types following you).

So what’s in it for your business? A savvy business can encourage and utilize UGC to boost its image, attract more potential customers and solidify its place in its industry, for starters. Here a just a few tips I’ve condensed from Clickz:

Interviews
Interviewing industry thought leaders provides the brand’s audience with unique content and creates a positive association between the “brandividual” and the company. Asking the community for suggestions of whom to interview and what questions to ask is a great way to get people involved.

Social Q&A
Yahoo Answers, LinkedIn, and sites like Quora can provide very useful platforms to present questions and attract answers from a variety of people. Of course, your intent needs to be clear and permission for reuse should be obtained before republishing. Those familiar with the Q&A communities can word questions to attract replies from specific influentials who might not otherwise respond to a content participation pitch via email.

Contests resulting in content
Examples of contests in which consumers produce their own videos and share images abound on the social web. Search engines love any kind of content, especially text.

Comment feedback loop
One of the most meaningful ways for a community to engage with a brand is through comments on a company blog. Asking readers to participate in a dialogue by commenting can result in content that is better than the original blog post.

Book authoring by community
Reaching out to industry experts to share their insights as part of a larger project can be very effective. Another example involves soliciting subject matter experts to write articles of 1,000 words or so on pre-determined topics.

On a final note, keep in mind that while UGC seems like an easy way to add content to your branding efforts, it’s quality not quantity that the search engines seem to prefer. As an added benefit,  encouraging and nurturing UGC helps your business become more engaged in its community and shows your customers you appreciate their involvement.

 

 

Has Your Company Adopted Social Media Yet?

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Small Business

Has your company embraced social media? If you haven’t, you’re in the minority. According to a recent infographic posted by Infographic Labs, 75 percent of small businesses had a company page on at least one social network from 2009 to 2010. In 2010, according to the infographic, 83 percent of Fortune 500 companies used at least one social media site.

But don’t think you have to engage every single platform that comes along. Not every social media outlet is right for you or your company. Maybe a company blog is the best way to engage potential clients and current clients, or maybe Facebook is where your customers “hang out.” Pick one and stick with it for a while … but remember, no matter which platform you choose, think about your strategy before you commit.

Here’s a list of  four social media basics for businesses that I’ve condensed from an article written by social media expert Brian Solis:

1. Showing up isn’t enough
Customers and prospects are busy, connected and interacting with everybody but you today. This requires an engagement program — that is, a plan for using social media to meet goals — that extends beyond the typical marketing of “follow us on Twitter” or “Like us on Facebook.”

2. You can’t be everywhere, nor should you
Many entrepreneurs are excited about technology and they overextend themselves because they want to be part of the latest trend. The key is to only be where your customers, prospects and those who influence them are.

3. Authenticity and transparency are nothing without a connection
The two magical ingredients to a successful social media effort are: authenticity and transparency. However, without delivering value, conveying a meaningful mission and vision, or establishing a connect-worthy presence, authenticity and transparency have nothing to reinforce.

4. Talking to people isn’t a business strategy
Some people run effective social media programs by listening instead of actually saying anything. But no matter if you converse with customers or not, you must have a purpose before you can engage. Don’t get caught up in only replying to brand mentions. Your real opportunity is to also engage and convert those people not already talking about you.

Don’t be part of the 25 percent of small businesses without a social media page. As Brian says above, you don’t need to adopt every social media platform to engage your customers or clients. Pick one or two and start slowly. You’ll probably be surprised you didn’t “jump in” sooner.

5 Social Media Experts Describe 5 Ways to Be Better at Social Media

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social media
Every week, I spend hours gleaning the best ideas and strategies from the myriad social media eblasts, enewsletters, blogs and website links I receive in my inbox. Because there is so much information and misinformation available about social media, I am especially interested in tips from people who know what they are talking about.

I’ve condensed this list from an article by Amy Porterfield, author of Facebook Marketing All In One for Dummies. She based the article on interviews she had with social media experts. I hope you find it useful:

 1-Help others who aren’t necessarily famous
“Don’t try to build your personal brand or company brand alone. Go out of your way to look for opportunities to help others and give others credit,” says Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. “Easy ways to do this include recommendations on Twitter of others’ work, retweets and hot tips on the comment section of blogs,” Erik added.
2-Don’t over-focus on marketing
“All too often, businesses overlook the ‘social’ part of the phrase social media marketing and jump straight into the ‘marketing’ part… to their detriment,” explained Hollis Thomases, author of Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day.
3-Meet people in real life
“You can meet people online, but solidify these online relationships face to face,” says Steve Garfield, author of Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business. Steve founded a networking group that meets in person each month. “What’s very important is that the meeting is free, we never cancel and everyone is welcome,” explained Steve.
4-Invest in social media after you do your research
Corporations should gauge their own social business maturity and prioritize spending decisions based on the industry benchmarks, according to a study by the Altimeter Group. “Just as you would invest your personal finances based on your family size, age and market conditions, you should be spending on social using the same industry knowledge,” Says Altimeter’s Jeremiah Owyang, partner of customer strategy.
5-Share the knowledge of experts with your audience
“Get experts involved with your content. Determine who the experts are in your industry. Then go to them and offer to interview them about their hottest new project,” said Mike Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner.

Social media isn’t new (I wrote a travel and tourism blog way back in 2004!) but one thing that is a constant is this: social media is a moving target. What worked in 2004 definitely doesn’t work today. My best advice is to stay current, read everything you can and try new things. Not every platform will work for you, but you won’t know unless you try.

What’s a Content Strategist and Why Your Business Will Need One

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Working in the communications industry for many years—and within the website world since 2000— has given me patience and the ability to see beyond the hype of the next greatest thing.

So, when I hear a new or even “repackaged” buzzword, I can be a little jaded. Lately, I have seen the term “content strategist” used in a variety of contexts. It’s a term that’s been around for a long time, but it crops up every now and then and someone attributes a different meaning to it. As content director, I do a little of everything, and some of it could be defined as content strategy. But most definitions don’t really describe the term well and are lengthy and frankly, a little confusing. And content strategists themselves are not sure how to define what they do.

So I “Googled” content strategy and here is what I got:


Content strategy has been described as “the practice of planning the content creation, delivery, and governance” and “a repeatable system that defines the entire editorial content development process for a website development project.”
 
Personally, I find this definition too narrow (referring to website content alone) and not a current definition. I found another definition today, and I like it better.
 
What is content strategy (and what is “content”)?

“It’s how businesses are earning attention, getting customers, and shaping their industry. It’s content strategy: a plan for producing and sharing information and media with audiences you want to reach, to achieve goals like customer acquisition and press coverage.”
 
To put it more simply: you need a content strategist to gather all your company’s communications (print, web, video, audio, TV and social) and integrate every aspect into a cohesive, well-thought out and planned campaign that connects and weaves each avenue and platform to the other through careful research, thought and execution.
 
Just as you need a conductor to guide the individual members of an orchestra to perform as one, companies who want to communicate with their customers purposefully (and what company wouldn’t) are going to need a content strategist. Or how about this:  a “content conductor?”
 
Hmmm … content conductor. I know I said I didn’t like buzzwords, but it’s kind of growing on me!

What is Good Content and Why Does it Matter?

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computer

As CAP’s content director, I spend a lot of time reading, scanning, viewing, clicking on and trying to find online content. It’s my job to stay on top of industry trends, best practices and innovations in the world of content. I also like to see what other purveyors of content are up to!

It’s all pretty interesting stuff to me. But honestly, why would content matter to you, and what the heck is content anyway?

Look at it this way; you probably wouldn’t buy a magazine if all the pages were blank. So, to describe content at its most basic … it’s the stuff that’s on the page.  It could be images and text on a web page, a Facebook page, a company report, a newsletter, an email, a magazine page, a video, a brochure … you get the idea.

But, just slapping words and visuals on a page isn’t enough. Good, quality content should:

  • Be relevant
  • Be easy to understand
  • Be easy to find 
  • Be current
  • Make sense
  • Inform 
  • Engage 
  • Answer questions
  • Spur you to action
  • Encourage you to share
  • Have visual interest
  • Be attractive

Let’s look at website content as an example. In the past, website developers often placed content from brochures and marketing materials on a client’s website without giving much thought to the end user. The thinking was, if it was good enough for a brochure, it was good enough for a website. However, the online community has matured and become much more discriminating. It’s a competitive online world with many websites vying for consumers’ attention.  Unless they’re looking to buy something, my research leads me to believe most online visitors want information … not a sales pitch.

So, as search engines (like Google) become more sophisticated and intelligent, so must your content. Search engines are constantly updating their formulas to eliminate poor information from coming up at the top of a search. So, what that means is this: you need give your audience what they want, make it current, relevant and easy to find.

Future blogs will discuss search engine optimization (SEO), integrating social media content into your overall content strategy and how comments and questions from your online community are becoming part of your brand’s content, too!