Popular Articles on Business 2 Community |
- Is The 40-hour Workweek Too Long?
- 7 Hot Predictions In Social Media For 2014
- 3 Infographics With 100+ Social Media Statistics You Need
- How Is Your LinkedIn Etiquette, Gentle Reader?
- Lessons from the Best LinkedIn Company Pages of 2013
- Top 8 SEO Predictions For 2014
- A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Twitter Chats in Your Content Plan
- Facebook Finally Admits That You Do Have to Pay for Ads to Reach Your Fans
- How to Keep Your Online SEO Material Fresh
| Is The 40-hour Workweek Too Long? Posted: 13 Dec 2013 06:17 AM PST In his 1930 essay Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, the British economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that technological advancements would mean that future generations would work no more than 15 hours a week. While technological progress has indeed occurred at a level and pace that Keynes himself would scarce be able to fathom, this has not led to a reduction in the working week. Indeed, many of us work more than 40 hours from Monday to Sunday, often depending on a mix of culture and public policy. In my home country of the United States, the average workweek is 38 hours, after factoring in for part-time jobs. I know what you're thinking: "I work way more than 38 hours a week!" Believe me, I did too when I lived in New York. The most standard U.S. workweek is 40 hours, which is fairly average compared to other countries around the world. European countries generally work shorter weeks, with France (where I now live and work) famously defending a 35-hour week. Side note: as I have discovered since working in Paris, most French employees actually work much longer weeks, they just get extra vacation days to balance things out at the end of the month. On the other hand, Asian countries work much longer weeks. Choosing the number of hours in a workweek is all about efficiency. Studies and common sense show that productivity is lost if an employee works too few hours but also if an employee works too many hours and 'burns out'. Though many employees, myself (too) often included, work weeks closer to 50 hours and feel we could keep going, longer weeks have repeatedly been shown to not only fail to increase efficiency but to actually decrease productivity. A 2008 study comparing the respective effects of 40 and 55-hour weeks on productivity showed that those who worked the longer hours scored worse on vocabulary and reasoning tests over a period of years. Tom Walker, of the Work Less Institute agrees, stating, "that output does not rise or fall in direct proportion to the number of hours worked is a lesson that seemingly has to be relearned each generation." In the early 1990s, the famous industrialist Henry Ford decreased the lengths of working weeks from 45 to 40 hours, to the surprise and mockery of his competitors. Over the next decade, Ford's business boomed and, in 1937, the 40-hour workweek was enshrined in Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. As stated above, not only do only do longer working weeks fail to bring proportionate gains in productivity, they also engender negative consequences such as workplace accidents and the inevitable lawsuits that follow. This argument is perhaps best outlined in a 2012 Salon article entitled 'Bring back the 40-hour workweek'. However, data from other countries suggests that perhaps even a 40-hour workweek is too long and that the optimum number of hours lies in the 30s. The French, with their legally enshrined 35-hour week and lengthy holiday period (the entire country more or less shuts down every August), work the least amount of hours per year in the world. For the hours the French do work though, they are much more productive than workers almost anywhere else. France's total economic output divided by the number of hours worked is among the highest in the world, even higher than in Germany. Quality over quantity seems to be the French philosophy, working less but working better. In Germany, the average workweek is also only 35 hours and the notoriously efficient German economy is the fourth largest in the world. Working fewer hours could also be one of the reasons that Germany has maintained such a low unemployment rate (currently sitting at 5.2%) compared to the United States (7.3%). Of course there are obvious limits to these theories. France works few hours and has an appalling unemployment rate (11.1%) and dividing total economic output by the number of hours worked does not take into account the resources and infrastructure a country is endowed with. Nevertheless, many still believe that the 40-hour week is too long. According to researchers at the British New Economics Foundation, the optimum number of hours in a workweek would be 30. In their book Time On Our Side, they argue that the 30-hour week would safeguard natural resources, reduce greenhouse gases, undercut unemployment by creating new jobs and benefit workers' general health. Like Pandora's box, policy initiatives that include shortening the workweek open a whole new series of difficult questions. Should the state mandate how much or little an individual is allowed to work in a given week? Can the same number of work hours be sufficient for every kind of job, from banking to software development to babysitting? These are questions that will have to be addressed if voices demanding a shorter workweek are taken seriously by policymakers.  |
| 7 Hot Predictions In Social Media For 2014 Posted: 13 Dec 2013 06:07 AM PST We are coming to the end of 2013 which is a scary thought considering I remember last New Year’s Eve like it is was yesterday! Social media has been THE hot topic for 2013 and I can't see that changing. Here are my 7 hot predictions in social media for 2014. 1. The Rise of Short Lived Social Networks I don't know if you are aware but Facebook offered fleeting video and image sharing social network SnapChat $3 Billion! I don't think it is worth what Facebook offered however it is clear that there is a space in the market for networks where content literally vanishes seconds after being received. The reason for this being so popular is that it brings back fun and spontaneity that has been lost in the now commoditized world of social networking. Keep an eye on SnapChat for 2014 and for competitors coming on the scene. 2. Social TV Comes into Play Now more than ever, reality TV have been using their audience to influence how a show not only works but how the results actually turn out. The american version of The Voice actually allow Twitter users to vote on who should be saved out of the bottom three in the competition. In 2014, we will start to see real-time content chosen by viewers on tv. 3. Social Media Advertising We have been subjected to mainly Facebook ads over the last year however Twitter have now joined the social network advertising and I'm sure Pinterest and Google+ will follow suit. Online banner ads are now being ignored by social users compared to news feed and promoted post adverts. Promoted Tweets show 15 times more engagement than banner ads. 4. SoLoMo We are in a new era now where we are a socially active country, checking into locations throughFacebook and Foursquare, all through our mobile. There will be 1.4 billion smartphones being used in the world by the end of this year… thats 1 in every nine people owning a smartphone. We are extremely attached to our phones and this is affecting not only our online social habits, but our buying habits too. 2014 will see a lot more small businesses offer their customers discounts for "checking into" their store from their smartphone on a social network. 5. Social Influence Rewarding 2014 will see the introduction to social influence rewarding. The likes of Klout gives you a (all be it slightly inaccurate) social influence score based on your online activity. Celebrities are getting paid to promote products and services on their social networks and it won't be long before the popular online influencers follow suit. If they have an audience who trusts their authority, they can sell almost anything to them and get paid for it. 6. You Become Your Brand Advocate By this I mean you are the one who drives your business forward and encourages others to do the same. You are going to be the person who empowers everyone else, including your staff to see the business from your perspective. Don't let negativity cloud your judgement, if you don't believe in the business, no one else will. 7. Social Search Engines Social media is no longer just a way to connect with friends and family, most platforms now have advanced search functionality. Facebook, since showing interest in buying Opera last year, have advance their search functionality, especially since Facebook Open Graph and Hashtags were introduced late this year. Twitter has now changed their approach and is now allowing users to engage more with conversations and pictures. Do you agree with my 7 hot predictions for social media in 2014 or do you have your own thoughts?  |
| 3 Infographics With 100+ Social Media Statistics You Need Posted: 12 Dec 2013 06:01 PM PST Do you keep track of the latest social media statistics? It's essential for every business to keep track of the latest social media statistics. Staying up to date with the latest facts can help businesses get the most out of social networks. They can use the data to find out which social networks are trending and which ones they need to focus on. Stats can also help people decide if they need to give any new social networks a try. You can also learn about the type of content you need to share, when to share it and the list of benefits can go and on. So instead, I would like you to look at the 3 infographics below which contain 100+ social media statistics you require to improve your presence… 1. Global Facts on Social MediaA great infographic from Yoda London… Infographic Credit: Yoda London 2. 46 Social Media Statistics From 2013Fantastic infographic from Digital Insights which has been filled with filled with lots of great social media statistics… Infographic Credit: Digital Insights 3. 33 Digital Marketing Facts You Didn't KnowAnother helpful infographic from Yoda London… Infographic Credit: Yoda London Sign up to have our latest blog posts emailed straight to your inbox and get the Free Video Tutorial "How to Use Pinterest for Business?" What is your favourite social media statistic of 2013? How do you use these statistics to promote your business? Please leave your comments below.  |
| How Is Your LinkedIn Etiquette, Gentle Reader? Posted: 12 Dec 2013 10:25 AM PST Many business people and professionals are afraid of making mistakes on social networks and this prevents them from taking full advantage of all that social media offers. However, there are tried-and-true methods that I've used to generate more than 70% of my business on the network. Discover the important Do's and Don'ts of LinkedIn etiquette and the mistakes you absolutely want to avoid making: 10 Things You Must Do On LinkedIn
It's important to personalize all connection requests and avoid sending the default message like it's the black plague. There are many people on LinkedIn that don't appreciate random requests without a personal message. These are the example people who are likely to hit the "Report Spam" or "I Don't Know This Person" button.
Don't start connecting with people until you have a professional photo of yourself. Your profile picture should be a nice clean and professional headshot.
Sadly, there are many people who get in the habit of simply requesting a recommendation without adding a personal message. If you want to successfully receive recommendations from those who you know it's important to provide a personal note telling them what you are looking for one and always offer to reciprocate when appropriate.
Do not talk about anything that isn't relevant to business on LinkedIn. Ever. LinkedIn is a business social network and people expect everything to be professional at all times.
Profile updates can get a bit annoying for your connections if you decide to make a lot of changes to your profile in one day. It's best to disable notifications when doing any profile updating for this reason. Editor's Note: This is a SUPERTIP. One of those obvious things that I never thought of when I updated my job title….
One of the most critical steps in my LinkedIn marketing process is sending a "welcome" message to new connections to open up dialogue. Aim to provide them with some sort of value if you want to increase your odds of getting a response. You may want to offer an article that you or someone else has written that you know would provide value to your new connection. The important thing to remember when you are learning how to use LinkedIn effectively is that if it doesn't provide clear value, it is spam!
Make an effort to reach out to your valued connections whenever it makes sense to nurture the relationship. It can be as easy as leaving a positive comment on their recent update, sending them useful content specific to their profession or even a simple "congrats" for a promotion or a new product launch in their business.
It's important to open your contacts list up to your new connections, hiding them will have you seen as self serving. When you connect with someone new you can see all of their contacts, what do you think they will feel about you if they see you have hidden your contacts?
The best way to eventually gain referrals is by giving them to others. Be proactive with your business matchmaking and do the best you can to connect valuable connections with each other if you sense that there could be some synergy.
I like to treat LinkedIn etiquette similar to email in this sense. 1-2 days for a response is perfectly acceptable but any longer is pushing the envelope. 10 Things You Must NEVER Do On LinkedIn
The old saying "Slow down the sale to speed it up" fits well here and this means to not pitch by sending spammy, self-serving messages to your connections. Everything must always be positioned for their benefit, not yours.
Avoid posting more than one status update per day on LinkedIn and definitely not more than two.
You should never ask for a recommendation (or give one) to someone that you can't personally vouch for. If someone with a poor reputation gives you a recommendation it will be put right on your profile linking back to theirs. Yikes!
LinkedIn groups are a great place to make new connections but only if you don't turn them off with negativity.
LinkedIn groups are not for spamming your content. If you want to share your content then you need to craft it for the forum you want to post in and ensure that the goal of the content is to provide value first. Are you noticing a pattern yet? ;)
If you are going to send a single message to reach multiple people, you need to unselect the option that says, "Allow recipients to see each other's names and email addresses". Nobody feels special getting a message that was carelessly sent to a bunch of other people.
One of the biggest LinkedIn etiquette mistakes I see regularly is new, random connections begging for "likes" on their Facebook page. It's totally different if after building a relationship with someone if you also choose to connect with them personally on Facebook, but don't send a message saying: Please like my Facebook page.
Just because random people endorse you all the time doesn't make it okay to ask for endorsements if you don't know the person. I often get people that I don't know send me messages saying "I just endorsed your skills can you endorse mine now?" If they want to endorse you after they receive a notification you endorsed them, they will, don't ask for it unless it's someone you know well.
In a word: creepy. If it's someone you want to connect with, go ahead and send a personalized connection request that does NOT include I see you viewed my profile.
LinkedIn etiquette is very different from Facebook and Twitter. It's important to know the appropriate etiquette for each network as they are often different. Aka nobody wants to see what you ate for lunch on LinkedIn. It's Not About You, It's About Them The biggest mistakes on social media come from the misconception that people care about what you have to say. That's simply not the case. They care about finding solutions to their problems — and that's it. The golden rule of LinkedIn etiquette and social media marketing in general is to always provide undeniable value that speaks to the exact type of person you are trying to connect with. Photo credit: Liz West  |
| Lessons from the Best LinkedIn Company Pages of 2013 Posted: 12 Dec 2013 10:19 AM PST As a LinkedIn Company Page administrator, I'm always keeping an eye out for brands that connect with their communities in engaging and meaningful ways. Managing a page well requires a keen eye for interesting content, quite a bit of creativity and a true understanding of who your followers are. That's why I’m thrilled that the LinkedIn Company Pages team crowdsourced and honored the best Company Pages of 2013 earlier this week. LinkedIn members vouched for each of the 10 companies on this list, confirming that they've done an amazing job of sharing compelling and relevant content. Here are five lessons I picked up from the Best LinkedIn Company Pages of 2013:
Check out the full list and more tips in this Slideshare: Do you have other tips for running a successful LinkedIn Company Page? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter @cheesycons.  |
| Top 8 SEO Predictions For 2014 Posted: 12 Dec 2013 06:55 AM PST It's officially that time of the year again: industry prediction time! Yep, over the next few weeks, everyone who's anyone in the digital marketing industry is guaranteed to pop out of the woodwork to have their say on what they think the 'next big thing' might be for PPC, content marketing, SEO and beyond.Now, here at Bubble, we're never one to shy away from throwing our two cents in because… well, let's face it – who doesn't like to have a punt on what might lie ahead for their niche over the next 12 months or so? With that in mind, I thought I'd look into my crystal ball to see what I think 2014 might hold for the wonderful world of SEO. 1. The Death Of Guest Blogging: We've known it's been coming for a while but in 2014 I think Google's finally going to crack down on low quality guest blogging and guest blogging for link building's sake. Why? Because with a guest blog you don't necessarily earn the link out of merit eg. because the webmaster thinks your site is worthy of a link – instead you're getting it because you've given them something in return. It's no secret that Google thinks you should only get really get links if you've 'earned' them – and they've already given us a pretty big hint they're not thrilled with the idea of guest blogging by suggesting you "no=follow" your links in your guest blogs.That said, I think we'll have a major Penguin update in the first three months of the year that's going to partly target guest blogging (particularly low quality guest blogging on random sites) – so be warned!
Now, while I think low quality guest blogging is going to punished, I think Google Authorship is going to become more important as Google works hard to differentiate the good content from the bad. Over the next 12 months, I really think we're going to start to see digital firms take Authorship and status into account when recruiting for their teams, with candidates who have yet to establish an Author profile, authority and following (think Twitter followers, Google+ Circles) falling short. 3. Schema, Schema, Schema: I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again – Schema and data mark-up is going to be big news in the next couple of years. As I said in a previous blog, Google's been pushing data mark-up on us for a while now – but this year they've really stepped things up with the introduction of article mark-up and the new Structured Data Markup Helper Tool, so it makes sense that they're going to place more focus on it going forwards. The important thing to remember about data mark-up is that it gives more information to Google about what your site is about and what each page is about (think an extension to the existing metadata – H1s, metadescriptions etc) – and so it helps Google to rank sites more appropriately. Definitely time to invest if you haven't already! 4. Power To The Brands: In 2013 we've seen a big power push to brands – and I'm sorry to say it but I think that's only going to continue in 2014. Why? Because to put it bluntly, brands have the authority (and money!) that smaller independents don't have so they don't normally have to go down the more grey/black-hat techniques that the smaller independents have to go down in order to just compete. Fair? Not at all… particularly when you remember the Interflora incident of February this year. 5. Hummingbird-Influenced Content: In September, Google shocked us by announcing they'd released a brand new algorithm right under our noses – Hummingbird. As you'll know, the focus of this new algorithm is on relevance, precision and better understanding user intent. That said; I think we're going to see brands start to push out more and more semantic-influenced content in a bid to capture more traffic and SERP real estate in 2014. I think it's all going to come down to producing more detailed, long form articles (which incidentally comes back to article mark-up) which answer more long-tail detailed search phrases. The risk? As sites look to produce more content and pages that answer queries, there's a chance a lot of doorway-style pages could be produced which don't really contain much/good quality content and that don't serve that much of a purpose. 6. More Diverse SERPs: As we already know, Google has been playing around with its SERP results a lot over the past couple of years – with organic results (rightly or wrongly) now appearing further down the organic listings than ever before. In 2014, I think this trend is only going to continue as Google starts to give more real estate to in-depth articles, shopping results and knowledge graph info. That said, with the new focus on mark-up, I think listings which don't contain any mark-up (jobs, recipes, reviews etc) are going to suffer in terms of CTR because they're going to look plain in comparison to their all-singing, all-dancing peers. 7. Return To Technical SEO: Over the past few weeks, Google have been talking more about the more technical elements of SEO and development eg. site speed, mobile optimisation etc – and I think that's definitely a nod to what's to come in 2014. I really think that sites which haven't put a lot of time and effort into their mobile offering are going to suffer – and I also think sites which have lots of crawl errors and have lots of technical issues (think missing page titles, duplicate metadescriptions etc) could come under scrutiny too. 8. More Creative Link Building: Thanks to Penguin, link building has definitely stepped up a gear in terms of creativity this year – and I think that's only set to continue in 2014 as link building techniques which are currently working well (guest blogging, infographics, shallow content marketing etc) fall under the glare of Google. My prediction? I think link building might fall more in line with creative PR and Big Data next year as brands start to dig into their data more in a bid to present real, interesting, relevant news and comments that will actually add something to their industry. So there you go; my top eight SEO predictions for 2014. As ever, I'm keen to hear your thoughts on this one. Do you agree? Or do you think 2014 has something else in store for the world of SEO? Leave me a comment or tweet me – @amy_edwards88. PS. Don't forget to come back next week for Lauren's top social media predictions for 2014.  |
| A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Twitter Chats in Your Content Plan Posted: 12 Dec 2013 06:15 AM PST
This past summer, as the Content Marketing Institute team was in planning mode for Content Marketing World 2013, we started conducting weekly Twitter chats as a way for us to build our community and, in turn, increase our CMWorld registrations. We are excited to see what the #CMWorld community has become, and proud that our 10-week chat "promotion window" has turned into a weekly event around which many of our attendees plan their Tuesdays. As our way of giving back a bit, we wanted to share some of the lessons we learned from running our chats, and provide additional details on what it took to execute the program for those of you who are thinking about trying Twitter chats as part of your own content plan. Planning a Twitter chatChoosing topics: Once you decide what your chat series will be about, start brainstorming on possible topics and potential guests, so you can build out your schedule in advance. We began our #CMWWorld chats 10 weeks prior to the event, enlisting the help of speakers such as Joe Chernov, Lee Odden, and Ardath Albee. The topics aligned with our session tracks, such as content strategy, search, and social media, and also included industry-specific discussions, like financial content marketing. We wanted to give event attendees, and potential registrants, a feel for topics and what to expect when they arrived at Content Marketing World 2013 in Cleveland. Give your guests event questions and details: About a week in advance of each chat, we prepared a list of questions that we shared with that week's guest. We then sent the questions, along with other relevant details (Click here to download our template). Share questions with the community: Initially, we did not share the questions with the Twitter community in advance, but now we publish the questions in our Content Marketing Institute LinkedIn Group page. We've found there are several benefits to this approach:
Set up a recording of the hashtag: Each week, we used Hashtracking to record our Twitter chats. Not only is this report able to provide a transcript of all of the tweets from the hour, but it also offers top-level details, such as top contributors and most retweeted tweets, which helps us make note of hot topics or potential questions to be used for future CMI blog posts or Twitter chats. We also shared the individual Hashtracking reports with our special guests each week, so they could see details on the response to their chats. Guests seemed to appreciate this, as it provided them with a great list of questions and ideas by those interested in their particular chat topic. Since these chats are fast-paced, the reports also give guests a chance to look back, and perhaps even to repurpose the chat for their own blog. Also, with a complete list of an average of 96 Twitter chat attendees that they can easily engage with from Hashtracking, our guests now have an instant and active community they can tap into for their own content plans! Executing the chatsExecuting these chats was pretty straightforward. To keep the chat on schedule, I pre-scheduled the tweets using Tweetdeck. While we normally don't use any type of scheduler for CMI social media, pre-scheduling the questions for each hour-long session helped us stay on track and also allowed me, as the manager of our @CMIContent account, to welcome and engage with our audience, and still actively participate in the chat. For the actual chats, I used Tweetdeck as well, but we're also fans of tchat.io and HootSuite. There are also other great Twitter chat clients out there — I would recommend using whichever one you are most comfortable with. Repurposing content from the chatCreate a transcript: Once the chat was over, we used a virtual assistant to create a transcript from the tweets in the Hashtracking report. Each of these transcripts was published on our CMW blog and included on our Twitter chat page. Not only were these transcripts a great reference for those who were interested, but they also provided some search benefits for our Content Marketing World website. Here is one transcript example from Mitch Joel's #CMWorld Twitter chat on financial content marketing. Produce weekly SlideShares: As SlideShare is one of our key channels, we initially repurposed content from the chats for this audience. For the series of chats we executed prior to Content Marketing World, we created a SlideShare that included the questions and a few tweets for each — highlighting both the guests as well as the speakers. Not only have these SlideShares generated interest in the chats (as well as the CMW 2013 event), but they also provided us with new email subscribers (a key CMI goal). #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Mitch Joel on Financial Content Marketing from Content Marketing Institute Pull out key content for blog posts: Our Twitter chats provided a virtually endless stream of editorial ideas, some of which we translated into blog posts on CMI. For instance, during our small business content marketing Twitter chat, one participant expressed particular interest in ways Google Trends could be used for content. Arnie Kuenn followed up with a blog post on using Google Trends to punch up content creation. Quickly providing information on these relevant topics continues to position CMI as a thought leader and important resource for our audience. Review analytics for successes and opportunities: Through Google Analytics, we know that our Twitter referral traffic is up 20 percent, year-over-year, with a 27 percent increase in new visitors. Aside from our Hashtracking reports, we are able to use Google Analytics to see weekly trending and conversions based on the topics of each track. While tweets and reach are important, it is necessary to align these numbers with conversions so we can see where our audience is taking action. We hope you will join us on a #CMWorld Twitter chat soon! We hold chats on Tuesdays at Noon Eastern on Twitter — follow the #cmworld hashtag and find us at @cmicontent. Are you interested in being a special guest? Do you have a great topic idea or any questions? Submit ideas here and find our upcoming schedule on our Twitter chat page.  |
| Facebook Finally Admits That You Do Have to Pay for Ads to Reach Your Fans Posted: 11 Dec 2013 04:34 PM PST
I've stuck up for Facebook repeatedly over the years, despite the frustration it has elicited from nonprofit marketers with small budgets. I disputed myths, patiently explained all the changes to the Timeline and News Feed, read countless articles on EdgeRank, and blogged repeatedly about ways to organically increase engagement on the network. I should've spent those hours explaining that if you nonprofit doesn't have a dedicated budget for Facebook Ads, only 4% (or less) of your fans will see any of your posts. "The best way to get your stuff seen… is to pay for it." AdAge obtained a sales deck sent out to Facebook partners last month, where the social network tacitly admits its pay-to-play system. While not surprising – Facebook is a money-making business after all – it is disappointing. The found sales deck confirms what I have always claimed was just a conspiracy theory – that Facebook employs a "pay to play" system where they persuade people to create Facebook pages, build up their fan base and then force them to pay to get their posts seen by those fans. In the document, titled "Generating business results on Facebook", the company says: "We expect organic distribution of an individual page's posts to gradually decline over time as we continually work to make sure people have a meaningful experience on the site." In plain English, this means that "organic distribution" – posts that are not sponsored or promoted – will go way down. Already, less than 15% of your fans see your posts. Now it could plummet even further. And then, as if to twist the knife, they say this: "We're getting to a place where because more people are sharing more things, the best way to get your stuff seen if you're a business is to pay for it." This goes directly against what most Facebook marketers have learned and espoused to be true. Facebook marketers teach clients to generate awesome, compelling content that is of value to the online community. We say that if you consistently post great photos, videos, questions and other interactive content, you can reach your fans. This is no longer enough. Pay For Fans, Then Pay To Reach Them Yes, Facebook has continually encouraged brand pages to pay to gather up more fans – this is no secret. But why encourage brands to pay to acquire fans, and then inform them that they have to pay again to reach those fans? This seems counter intuitive. If more and more brand pages can't reach their fans except by paying to promote each post, won't they leave Facebook for other greener social media pastures? I like the analogy made over at The Social Media Hat: "It's like a city that keeps raising taxes on residents. As taxes go up, more and more residents decide to move someplace else where the cost of living isn't as high. But that results in lost tax revenue for the city so to compensate, they raise taxes on the remaining residents." I know that reach and numbers of Facebook fans are not what really counts – engagement does. But the alarming revelation that you do actually have to pay to reach your fans in order to get that engagement is disconcerting. Especially for the non-tech savvy marketing professional trying to build a fan base on Facebook the old fashioned way. If only 4% of your fan base is seeing your posts at all, how are you going to get the required engagement to stop your posts from sinking like bricks in the News Feed? Stop Drinking the Facebook Kool-Aid Most people on this Earth are not social media experts. They are not tech-savvy and they do not understand how to use social networks to connect with their prospects, customers and supporters. For many of these people, Facebook seems like a bright, shiny bullet – a free and easy solution to their marketing woes. How wrong they are. Expectations of Facebook marketing are higher than ever, but on the ground, it's almost impossible to gain traction on the site if you are starting from scratch. Also, most Facebook content sucks. Most people are just selling, self-promoting or asking for things on their Facebook page. If you are a small nonprofit, your content is probably not as engaging as you would like, because you don't have professional writers, graphic designers and content creators on hand. You are busy doing your job every day. You may be doing everything you know that you are supposed to on Facebook: Sharing impact stories, asking questions, being authentic and connecting where you can – but it's not enough. People are spending less time on the site. Yes, Facebook is growing in terms of numbers of users, but these users are interacting less and less with content from brand pages. The reality: If you do not have the resources to launch a Facebook Ad campaign or pay to promote your posts, you will not get the results you want from your Facebook Page. I always believed that the little guy could succeed on Facebook with enough hard work and creativity. I don't believe that anymore. . It makes sense for the Facebook business model. Of course they want to compel us to advertise. But this is just not a reality for most small businesses or small nonprofits. And they are the ones who will be left behind. photo credit: greg westfall. via photopin cc What is your reaction to the recent news about Facebook advertising? Are you surprised or not at all? How will your social media strategy change? Leave your thoughts below.  |
| How to Keep Your Online SEO Material Fresh Posted: 11 Dec 2013 04:16 AM PST
Time waits for no one—everything ages. This can be a good thing, such as with a fine bottle of wine, but age isn't always so kind; if you let items like cars and teeth age without proper care or maintenance, they deteriorate and often stop working entirely. This applies to online business material as well. There are still people who think you can just put business material online and expect it to remain accurate, relevant, and useful, but this isn't the case. Like other aspects of business, such as advertising and product lines, online business material needs to be regularly updated if it's going to help a business succeed. It's important to pay close attention to your SEO and its age. SEO has a shelf life, eventually becoming almost useless to your business. While you may not wish to do it, you have to be ready to refresh your SEO material so it continues to benefit you and your business. Examine and Evaluate Updating SEO means having to examine and evaluate content on a regular basis. By going through your online business results, you can get a feeling of where your SEO is weak and where to make the necessary changes. Keywords are important here, as you'll often have to redo your content with new competitive keywords so that your SEO material stays fresh in organic searches. While it's not something you have to do every day, a regular overview of your SEO results can let you know which competitive keywords are working, which ones aren't, and what combinations of long-tail keywords need to be revamped. Use your keyword tool to find new, fresh keywords and apply them using proper keyword density. You might also be thinking about improving your links. With interlinking and link building, it's best to examine your links in detail and see what areas need to be changed, redone, or even removed. Finer Details A complete update of your online SEO material can offer additional benefits. Not only do you revamp your SEO operation as a whole, but you can also spot places to improve content and make cosmetic changes, such as an ideal location for a new graphic. Loose meta tags and dead links are often found when refreshing older content. You may also discover pages with poor keyword density or get ideas for a complete overhaul of your content and graphics to make them easier to use in your regular SEO processes. In fact, that's why updating online material is necessary. Old and stale material can seriously hinder SEO, but fixing and updating it can help it once again bring in new customers, leading to greater success. To get more help on all your SEO, web site design, and web traffic needs, e-mail Numero Uno Web Solutions Inc. at info@numerounoweb.com. This article How to Keep Your Online SEO Material Fresh was originally published at Numero Uno Web Solutions and has been republished with permission.  |
2. The Rise Of Authorship:
While the team at Content Marketing Institute has A LOT to be thankful for, one of the things we are especially appreciative of is our active Twitter chat community. So on this day of thanks (at least in the United States), we wanted to extend a huge thank you to all of you who have attended and participated in our #CMWorld Twitter chats, as well to those who read the Twitter streams each week.
Everything I've been preaching about success in Facebook marketing has been a lie.
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