Popular Articles on Business 2 Community

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• 10 Simple Ways Social Media Can Help Small Businesses
• The 10 Most Cringe-Worthy SEO Myths Ever Told
• Real-World Lessons Learned from Creating a Facebook Page
• Local SEO and the Importance of Video Production
• 5 of the Worst Things You Can Do on Twitter
• Can Customers Go from “Liking” to Buying on Social Media?
• Interesting Infographics: Who Is Your B2B Buyer?
• Content Marketing Technology Update: 9 Emerging Trends
• 6 Ways To Make Your Message Resonate Better
• How to Use Place Pins on Pinterest

10 Simple Ways Social Media Can Help Small Businesses Posted: 01 Dec 2013 08:11 PM PST Small businesses may feel that a social media presence is a luxury rather than a necessity. In fact, social media can be a boon to small businesses, and the time invested in it will pay off. Here are ten ways social media can provide a real boost to a small business. 1. It can be customer-focused. In creating content, the key is to think about what the customer wants and needs. Providing links to information that are useful to customers will encourage them to keep up with you on social media. 2. It can convey a sense of your business personality. This gives customers a sense of being in touch with a human instead of a faceless company. 3. It can improve customer service. Unhappy customers who complain over Twitter, Facebook, Yelp or other platforms can be contacted immediately. Engaging with your customers in this way adds value and helps to develop a lasting, healthy and harmonious customer relationship. 4. It can increase your visibility over your competitors. Although social media use is on the rise among small businesses, many still do not use it; therefore, as a small business engaging with customers on social media, you will stand out and be noticed. 5. It can promote your business at a lower cost. By almost every metric, social media marketing gives a higher return on investment than traditional forms of marketing. 6. It can make it easy for your customers to share your content with others. Customers can retweet and share your content with their own connections, and this in turn gives you greater coverage and increased visibility. 7. It will facilitate engagement with your local community. Small businesses are uniquely positioned to participate with social media on a local level in a way that large companies cannot. 8. It offers unique opportunities for promotions. A small business can allow customers to make suggestions such as what specials you should offer or what products they would like to see stocked. 9. It can help consolidate your brand with customers. Over social media, you can create a consistent image and reinforce that image for your customers. 10. It can help you build a larger, more loyal customer base. All of the social media actions mentioned above will gradually expand the reach of your business, and studies show quality content increases customer loyalty. Are you practicing the above tips, if so, how is social media affecting your business and what other benefits can you think of?

The 10 Most Cringe-Worthy SEO Myths Ever Told Posted: 01 Dec 2013 05:39 PM PST What Are the Biggest Lies About SEO? Who doesn't love mythology? Dragons, princesses, demi-gods, and epic battles are all fine and good if you've willingly tuned into HBO's Game of Thrones for an hour of entertainment. They're not so amazing if you're a professional who's continually trying to defend your craft to dubious onlookers. You probably know what you're talking about. Your wife, your friends and even your boss may think that SEO is less like on and off-page optimization, and more like black magic or playing online games all day long. While we can't help you build your arsenal of witty retorts (that's another blog post for another day), we can aid you in being aware of some of the most pervasive, hilarious or even dangerous myths about SEO that exist. This list is by no means comprehensive (and sorry, we're not even going to touch the bit about SEO being a form of magic), but it's certainly a strong start: 1. Rank #1 or Else Ranking is incredibly important, don't get us wrong. We've all seen that meme about how "you know you're desperate if you go to the second page of search results." It's typically pretty true. However, the first result doesn't always get the most traffic – especially if you've spruced up your page with Google authorship or other rich snippets. 2. Get as Many Reviews on Google Business as Possible Yup, reviews on your Google business page are pretty important if you're in the business of improving your SEO. However, it's not the only thing – especially if your competitor's padded their page with saccharine reviews from their Aunt, their neighbor, and their Aunt's neighbors. SEO expert Don Campbell points out that what Google is really looking for is a "natural, diverse review profile" –  something that's pretty hard to fake. 3. More Links is Better than More Content Many well-meaning SEOs have missed their goals by focusing on link-building more than anything else. This myth can be especially dangerous if the focus of the link-building strategy is quantity, not quality or plausibility. Never put all of your SEO eggs in a single basket, especially in an era where fresh content matters more and more. 4. SEO isn't Usability I can feel many SEO experts beginning to shake their heads in frustration. Yes, this myth still exists, and it's pretty darn annoying. For the record, SEO is a matter of user experience. You can have the best writing since Tolstoy, but if your page takes 3 minutes to load, you'll annoy both search engines and your potential customers. Optimize your pages, your load time, and your user experience. 5. Local Businesses Should Aggressively Optimize Around Their City Listing your company's address and phone number clearly at the bottom of your web pages is a best practice. So is publishing locally-targeted content, and including geo-targeted keywords in your page titles. That being said, some overenthusiastic local SEO practitioners get a little carried away by bordering on keyword stuffing: "We're a Nashville SEO firm who helps Nashville businesses get found in Nashville." Get what I'm saying? According to Nyagoslav Zhekov, this myth can quickly become dangerous. 6. We're a Licensed Google SEO Firm/Person/Specialist Nope. Google doesn't endorse, license, or train SEO professionals. They have trusted photographers who can take photos of the inside of your local business, but that's totally different.The closest thing you can find is an SEO with a healthy respect for Google's terms of service and quality standards. 7. Google PageRank is Everything Also false. Google hasn't updated their PageRank, a public measure of a website's authority, yet this year. There's actually tons of speculation that the search giant is about to totally retire this measure. 8. Your MetaTags Need Keywords Your MetaTags and content tags both matter because they're a function of user experience. However, this text is no longer used by search engines for ranking, sorting, or categorizing purposes. If you can't quite fit your primary keyword into your meta description, don't fret. Make sure it's enticing and descriptive enough for your readers to click-through, because Google won't even notice. 9. H1 Tags are an Important On-Page Element In some research that threw many SEO experts for a total loop, Moz revealed that they've found little correlation between a page's ranking and the H1 tag. To be sure, it's prudent to ensure yours is superb, but don't expect an H1 tag to compensate for thin content or a poor page layout. 10. Automated SEO is Automatically Spammy Let me get this one straight. If an SEO professional uses tools and platforms to make their job a little easier, they've crossed the line from white to black hat? Not quite. SEO tools are actually only as spammy as you make them. We recommend Natural Search Blog's post on whitehat automation practices to those curious about the difference. What are the funniest, most annoying and cringe-inducing SEO myths you encounter on a regular basis? image credit: akarakingdoms/freedigitalphotos.net

Real-World Lessons Learned from Creating a Facebook Page Posted: 01 Dec 2013 04:47 PM PST Facebook has over one billion users, that's one out of every seven people on the planet.  Forty-eight percent of small businesses, some which don't even have a Website, have created a Facebook page in an attempt to reach them. Joel McKinnon, president of McKinnon Insurance of New Philadelphia, Ohio, has over 2,000 "likes" for his Facebook page.  Joel talks with me about how to create a successful Facebook page for your business. Q: How did you get started with a Facebook page? A: Our agency was started in 2003, heavily focused in commercial insurance, but we wanted to balance that with consumer accounts.  I had experience marketing to the commercial accounts, but when it came to going after to consumers, I didn't know what to do. At first I tried billboards and radio, but the costs were too high for a small business owner.  So around 2010 I decided to make the transition to social media. Social media is all about interacting with family, friends and acquaintances.  Facebook provided a natural connection to those people.  It gave us a great way to look at our customers and to see what was going on in their lives.  We tried to connect using a friend's recommendation, which is the most powerful marketing tool out there.  If you see a friend doing something, chances are, you are also going to give it a shot. We needed something that would allow us to stand out from the other agencies in town which had been established for a long time.  For us to make an impact and to get people to know us, we had to do something different. So we decided to become the "social" agency.  We threw the suit and tie out the window and went with jeans and logo wear.  We tried to create a whole different image for an insurance agency, and it caught on for us. Q: What has having a Facebook page done for your agency? A: It has given us a voice. If you put up a billboard or run a newspaper ad, you send out a message and it's done.  That doesn't give our clients the opportunity to get to know us as people.  People buy from those they know and trust, not from a brand.  Even if they love the brand, that doesn't mean they are going to love us, because they don't yet know who we are. Social media gives us the opportunity to show how we are involved in the community and who we are as individuals.  It also allows us to demonstrate who we are as an agency. Q: One of the concerns for businesses starting a page is “Where can I get content?” Where do you get the content for your page? A: Unfortunately, I see a lot of other businesses trying to use Facebook as a selling platform.  Facebook wasn't built to sell a product or service, but rather to connect with people, to find people that maybe you haven't seen in twenty years. When we initially started our Facebook page, we would write things like 'We just saved so-and-so so much money by switching' or 'Did you know this about life insurance?' or 'Did you know that about renter's insurance?' Because what we were writing was so product specific, no one paid any attention.  There was no interaction whatsoever. It all changed one day when we posted a photograph of a little girl on a tropical island with the caption, 'Tuesday morning.  Wish I were here.  How about you?' We got a ton of responses! It's not about trying to sell your clients anything.  It's all about making them aware of your brand so that, maybe, when it comes time for your potential clients to make a decision about insurance, they'll think about you. So we try to put things on our Facebook page that are relevant to our community, like 'Hey, good luck to a local sports team' or 'Are you going to attend the festival?'  We want to give people an opportunity to respond. Insurance is boring enough.  It's a necessary evil that everybody is forced to have.  Nobody likes being told what to do.  So they're already upset that they have to buy insurance.  And if you try to tell them why they need to buy insurance from you, they will unfriend you. So try to put content out there that may soften the blow of being told what to do.  Give your audience something to comment on.  Try to make people connect with you and start a conversation. If I see something that looks like an advertisement, I'll blow right past it.  But if I see a picture of something, my eyes will be attracted to it.  As a result, we try to put a picture next to everything we post. If you want to get serious with us, you can check out our blog, where we will post information on the serious topics.  And, a Website?  Websites are dead!  A Website is a stagnant place where the information doesn't change very often.  You have no idea who is looking at a Website.  And there is no way to have a conversation with it. In the social world, I can connect with people and give them a reason to talk about my brand.  I can see who is talking about my brand, and even where they are from.  I can learn a little more about them. Sales is about learning about your audience.  We want to sell you a product, then become your friend and find out who you truly are.  As a result, price no longer becomes an issue. Q: Another concern of people is, “I have a business to run, where am I going to find the time for social media?” How would you answer them? A: You have to make the time.  If you are not making the time, someone else is.  The majority of your customers and prospects are looking for you on the Internet.  If you are not there, it will cost you more time and money in the long run. While traditional media still works, people are turning to social outlets first.  At our agency, it is a natural part of our business day.  We open our e-mail and we open up our social channels.  It's about allowing our clients to communicate with us using the method or methods that they are most comfortable with.  If you are not available, your customers will go to somebody else who is. All of my client communications come to my smartphone.  As a result, when they need me, I'm going to be there. Q: Do you think that Facebook pages can be successfully run by the corporate marketing team or another outside centralized entity, or does each business need to maintain their own page? A: I believe that it should be an 80/20 mix.  Your social media efforts need to be 80% self-generated and then 20% can be from an outside vendor. You've got to get people's attention first.  If I get your attention so that you are accustomed to interacting with me, then I can ask you to check out an insurance-related item.  You may not comment on or interact with that item, but at least you're going to see it. If all I am doing is putting corporate content in front of you, you're going to get to the point where you will realize that the human element is missing and you'll turn away. Too many business people want to just set it and forget it, to flip a switch on social media, walk away and have it work.  It just won't happen that way. Q: What other advice would you give to someone looking to start their own Facebook page? A: Social media is so new, there is no cookie-cutter approach or proven track record.  Every industry, community and person is different. One of the best things you can do is to follow as many people who are in the social world as it relates to you business as possible.  One of my favorite social media experts is Gary Vaynerchuk.  For example, using one of his principles, rather than sending a client a generic $10 gas card to thank them for a referral, because we have gotten to know that they are a Cleveland Browns fan, we can send them a Browns t-shirt instead. It's much more meaningful to personalize your marketing.  Marketers first need to show that they are passionate and love what they are doing.  Next, they need to be real and be themselves. At our agency, we show that we truly care about what we are doing.  Through social media, we demonstrate that we care about our clients and our community.  And they know that, when they need us, we will be here, no matter how they choose to communicate with us.

Local SEO and the Importance of Video Production Posted: 01 Dec 2013 11:09 AM PST I recently sat down with Matthew Hunt to discuss local SEO and the how video has become such an integral part. Matthew is the Head Coach at Small Business Online Coach in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He's an internet expert. This guy knows his stuff inside and out and helps many local businesses with local SEO and also coaches them on the importance of making video production an integral part of their marketing initiatives. In this video, Matthew explains Google's ability to gauge a searchers local intent, and he also sees a trend developing that makes video more important than ever for local businesses. Tell us your thoughts. Leave your comments and let us engage in healthy local SEO/video debate. We'd love to hear from you.

5 of the Worst Things You Can Do on Twitter Posted: 01 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST Business owners love Twitter more and more with each passing day, but one of the consequences of so many new users is seeing the same mistakes over and over! Every day I notice one business doing this, that or the other to majorly anger their customer/fan base. To help them and you out, here are five things you should absolutely avoid doing on your business Twitter account. 1. #Hashtag #Everything Yes, Mr. New User, using hashtags works…in moderation. For example, if you want to spread buzz about your new coffee shop and you see #localcoffee is trending, be sure to include that to get into the conversation. No doubt some will notice and engage your account. Do not, on the other hand, turn the whole post #into #a #hashtag #party! Not only is it obnoxious, the posts become impossible to read, which is kind of the point of Twitter. Only include tags you believe will gain you traction and/or new customers! 2. Crazy Long Links You've got the right idea, business owner who is starting to understand social media. Sharing links you find interesting is a great way to engage your readers and show them you're interested in what they like. They may even retweet your post giving you more love around the web. But you forgot one thing: shorten that crazy long link! Nobody wants to see "Check out this story on ant farms! http://www.antfarmsarecool.co.uk/post/f89suaf9u3289jfiofi32oif32j9/index.html" and it may even get deleted. Use a link shortener like bitly or Google Shortener if your Twitter client doesn't auto-shorten. 3. Arguing with Doofuses Did you know not everyone on the web is going to like you? It may seem impossible, but it's true. In fact, you'll often get trolls coming at you trying to drive you crazy and make you fly off the handle. Unfortunately, when you do, they win, and the exchange could land you in hot water. So before you respond to the tweet, "You guys are stinky faces!" ask yourself if they have a real gripe or are they just being a doofus. 4. Check out my site! Check out my site! Checkoutmysitepleasedoit The end result of tweeting isn't to send everybody to your website to buy as much as you can. You'd like that to happen, of course, as that means you get to stay in business. But if you treat the platform simply as a way to get people to buy stuff from you, you'll end up tweeting stuff like the title of this section. The key to understanding Twitter is to imagine it as just another way to interact with your customers. Anything they want to talk about, or you think they want to see, you should post. Hint: that doesn't include constant reminders that you have products for sale! 5. Not Linking to Your Business Remember everything I just said in #4? Well, forget it for a second. Why? Because you probably don't have a link anywhere on your profile for people to click on. Over 80% of business Twitter profiles actually don't have any link anywhere to their website or store, which completely halts any progress you make on your profile. Even though you don't want to spam, you are still running a business, so don't actively prevent paying customers from handing over their money by not telling them how to do business with you! Did we miss one? What's the worst thing you see businesses do on Twitter?

Can Customers Go from “Liking” to Buying on Social Media? Posted: 01 Dec 2013 07:10 AM PST How do you get customers to go from "Liking" your business on Facebook to spending? Recent research from Vision Critical entitled, "From Social to Sale: 8 Questions to Ask Your Customers" uses results from 6,000 survey responses on social media purchasing over a 17-month time frame to offer insight into purchasing influenced by three major social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The data sounds pretty promising. In fact, the study found that nearly four in 10 Facebook users say that they have gone from liking or commenting on an item, to buying it. And 43% of social media users have purchased a product after sharing or liking it on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Wonder what they bought? Here are the highlights: Twitter users purchased a tech product. Pinterest users purchased a food or drink item. Facebook users bought "other" types of purchases, followed by tech products and hair/beauty and apparel. Facebook led the pack with the most online purchases at 29 percent, followed by Pinterest at 22 percent and Twitter and 18%. So, were these folks already primed and ready to buy? The survey participants responded that they were "vaguely thinking about" buying whatever product they ended up purchasing. That indicates we've got tons of opportunities to further engage with our fans and followers. Tread this line carefully though; Facebook engagement isn't about a bunch of posts to buy, buy, buy. As Jay Baer, the marketing keynote speaker and best-selling author is famous for saying, the difference between helping and selling is two letters, but it makes all the difference in the world. So what does that mean? Simply put, when you offer your fans and followers real value on social media networks through content that appeals to them, you'll win time and time again. If you make your content easy to access, you can get even more people exposed to it and sharing it. In fact, we recently took down all the forms we required folks to fill out to get our guides, webinars and infographics and in less than a month we saw our downloads increase by 7 percent. So consider whether you really need people to fill out a form or not before you make that a prerequisite. My advice? Spend time nurturing relationships on social media by offering your fans what they want, when they want it. And surprise and delight them from time to time with unexpected things that they'll love.

Interesting Infographics: Who Is Your B2B Buyer? Posted: 01 Dec 2013 06:35 AM PST We know that understanding the behaviours of their prospects and buyers is important for a successful B2B lead generation play. But how well do you really know your B2B buyers? Earlier this year, the Acquity Group released an infographic titled "Who Is Your B2B Buyer?" which is based on their 2013 State of B2B Procurement Study. I'm not sure if you viewed it already, but I thought this was worth sharing now; after all, B2B marketers must always remember to reflect on the profiles of their prospects and buyers. With that being said, consider the way the Acquity Group divides buyers into three groups: Up-and-comers Ages 18-35 According to the infographic, 89% of up-and-comers purchase corporate items online – in fact, they are 131% more likely to make corporate purchases on the web compared to those age 35+. Up-and-comers spend a lengthy amount of time conducting web research. As stated in the Acquity Group study, it takes a few hours for up-and-comers to find the best prices before they settle on their final purchase. Amazon Supply seems to be the top choice for this group's corporate purchases – 82% of up-and-comers are already accustomed to Amazon Supply and 63% have made a minimum of one Amazon Supply purchase. Established buyers Ages 36-45 Sixty-eight percent of established buyers reportedly buy their corporate goods online. Only 34% of established buyers said they previously considered the website of a B2B supplier – ultimately though, these established buyers ended up buying from another, more affordable supplier. Unlike the up-and-comers, only 63% of established buyers are aware of Amazon Supply; meanwhile, 43% have made at least one purchase through Amazon Supply. Seasoned execs Ages 46-60+ In contrast to the established buyers and up-and-comers, the number of seasoned execs making online business purchases is inferior. Only 45% of seasoned execs between the ages of 46 and 60 buy corporate items on the web; for buyers over the age of 60, the number is lower at 29%. When it comes to Amazon Supply, 12% of the ages 46-60 seasoned execs make regular purchases from the business and industry store; however, their counterparts over the age of 60 come in at a mere 11%. Note: Keep these buyer trends in mind 1. Online purchases are much more common now. Corporate buyers are confident in making major online purchases; currently, they're comfortable with spending over $5,000 on the web. According to the infographic, 57% of corporate buyers have already made purchases via the web; meanwhile, 37% of corporate buyers plan on increasing their budgets to accommodate online purchases. 2. You must create a web experience that's comparable to B2C. Seventy-one percent of corporate buyers claim that if a supplier's company had an easy-to-browse website, they would spend more money online. Another interesting number to note: 25% of corporate buyers have revealed that if their suppliers offered more services via efficient mobile-optimized websites, they would increase their chances of spending over $5,000 on a purchase. For more details, view the full infographic below. Which category does your B2B buyer fall into?

Content Marketing Technology Update: 9 Emerging Trends Posted: 01 Dec 2013 05:30 AM PST Content marketing is proving to be the MVP in today's inbound marketing world, with 87 percent of today's marketers implementing a content strategy to drive sales, establish thought leadership or increase brand engagement. Journalism techniques and automation platforms that are processing and mining content are now fused together in this type of digital marketing. Because of this, marketers are exposed to content technology and intensive tasks such as content curation. Tying these all together can get confusing, especially with complex terms such as semantic search, machine learning and natural language processing. However, the importance of learning these terms is growing tremendously for content marketers. Here's why. People want fresh, purposeful content and they want it in one convenient place. Let's say that place is your website. Now, if they aren't getting the content they want every day on your site, they're going to look elsewhere – potentially disregarding you as a dependable source and giving a leg up to your competition. So, how can you get them to stick around? Upload original and curated content, fast. Content marketers don't always have the time, or resources, to call in an IT team. If you haven't mastered the technology behind today's digital marketing world, and can't get to that IT resource in time, it can be a recipe for disaster. It's imperative to understand what's going on in these behind the scenes technologies to be the go-to source in your field. Here are nine introductions to these intelligent technologies and how they can be implemented to advance your content marketing strategy and make you a better digital marketer. Artificial Intelligence Let's start with the basics. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad term that describes intelligent software and computing, allowing a machine to "think" through programming specifications. Although the term is popularly relatable to robots or video games, AI stands as the backbone to many fields, such as natural language processing and sentiment analysis. These technologies allow content marketers and their constituents to search for and discover relevant content, collect consumer data and explore predictive analytics, to name a few. Machine Learning Machine learning is a branch of AI where machines can learn from data and predict potential outcomes. For example, machine learning utilizes predictive analytics to score leads, much like Infer or Lattice Engines, or to learn what content is the most relevant, like Curata. This leverages the potential of big data and allows marketers to focus on the information, or leads, that best match their service. Natural Language Processing The science of intelligently understanding or generating "natural language", the language that humans write, is known as natural language processing (NLP). When a user searches "How much is a cup of joe?" their search results will include coffee prices. Even though "Joe" is also a common name, it doesn't fit within the context of the sentence. NLP aims to understand the structure of human linguistics, not just the words themselves. This is useful for content marketers looking to dive into the world of mobile marketing as part of their online marketing plan. NLP can be used to help generate content through automatic summarization, like Summly, on mobile so that the information presented is intelligently discovered, purposeful and presented on one page. Users seeking content on mobile devices don't have the leisure, or space, to click from tab to tab. NLP can also be used to help marketers understand customer inquiries and better educate their users, leading to improved buyer satisfaction and content congruence. The NLP experts at Q-go have engineered a new FAQ practice, by matching all of the same versions of a searched question with the same answer, i.e. "I need to change the address on my account," yields the same result as "How do I update my address?" Information can be more easily found and buyer frustrations, and company costs, are kept to a minimum. Curata's ability to surface and analyze content within specific user guidelines, as well as our software's ability to "learn" to improve search performance can be attributed to NLP. Machine Translation This is automated content translation. You've most likely used the free translation resources offered by Google Translate or Systran. These machine translation tools can cost-effectively transfer content into new markets, international and domestic, reaching a larger audience and increasing potential for improved brand awareness. Sentiment Analysis Just as the name implies, sentiment analysis is an automated NLP task used to determine the feeling or "sentiment" of a piece of content. By understanding the sentiment of content posted by potential consumers on social media, marketers have the opportunity to adjust and present targeted information to those users. Crimson Hexagon has the ball rolling on this application by offering social data analytics to discover how people think by analyzing what they're saying on the Internet. Information Retrieval In order to avoid an information overload, search results must be tapered and precise. Information retrieval is the field of retrieving the correct information given a query. This is the science that Google and other search engines use to return the right content to the inquirer. Without understanding how Google works, marketers can have a more difficult time optimizing content. A solid understanding of Google's PageRank algorithm and search algorithm, most recent being Hummingbird, gives content marketers an exponentially better shot at reaching a wider audience. Content curation technologies, like Curata, use information retrieval to identify relevant content for consumers. Document Clustering The task behind document clustering includes the automatic grouping together of related content. Document clustering proves itself useful for marketers because it often powers content recommendation engines to suggest other similar content for the searcher to read, improving the reach of content and usefulness for the user. This automation can also be used to suggest call to actions. BrightInfo modifies original content recommendations for individual site visitors, grouping your related information together to keep them around longer. Collaborative Filtering In short, collaborative filtering is a technique used to recommend content based on the content consumption habits of similar users. It filters through large amounts of data to obtain the most useful information available to the user. This technique is used by Netflix and Amazon – consumers who watched X also watched Y. Sound familiar? This is helpful for marketers to understand how to optimize their content for sites that use collaborative filtering. It also proves as a great example of how content marketing and technology can be used to increase product awareness and drive sales. Semantic Web/Semantic Search Semantic web is a common data format for adding metadata to concepts and interpreting their relationship. This automation takes the intent of a query and polishes it to provide more customized search results. When a user searches "Veteran's Day" on Google, not only does the date pop up at the top of the page in bold letters, but it is followed with a stream of history and news stories on the topic. Semantic search is a beneficial tool for marketers because it can be used to find extended content related to the initial search, giving that associated content an expanded reach. However, the amount of human annotation required for semantic search is causing user interest to decline, as it cannot comprehensively "learn" from existing preferences to make the search process more efficient. Note the graph below via Google Trends, displaying the declining interest in semantic web since 2004. Now more than ever, it's important to leverage the potential content marketing has for your business. Including content in your marketing strategy is essential to establishing thought leadership and staying ahead of the competition. In order to do this effectively, marketers must understand the technology behind the digital content they're producing. This knowledge will make your content, and content curation, strategy more effective. Ready to take the step towards content creation and technology integration? Download Curata's 2013 Content Curation Look Book and see how these companies are using curation technology to enhance their content and take on the digital marketing world.

6 Ways To Make Your Message Resonate Better Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST Customers are bombarded with an array of messages coming at them from marketing platforms ranging from email, SMS, mobile, social, media, display, digital, point-of-sale and print advertising. The sheer volume of messages can be overwhelming. So it's important for marketers to get their messages right from the start. Rather than hoping for the best, here are some simple techniques to improve and refine your messages so it appeals to a targeted set of customers: 1. Talk Like Them – If you produce a toy which is aimed at 9-year-olds then remember to 'talk' their language so they will notice. If you're pitching your service to an operations manager in a mid-size corporate firm then, if needs be, use the appropriate business language to spark their attention. The language you choose says much about your audience and your knowledge of how that audience engages with certain language characteristics. You could call this "linguistic mirroring". You're creating rapport through language in order to match your prospect's mindset and circle of knowledge. 2. Focus On End Benefits, And Prove Them – You passionately believe your unique product or service solves a real pain point or problem productively. Most people will need educating as to what exactly are the key benefits. By researching what exactly the end result is you can tailor the messages more precisely to each market segment. For example: does the business service minimise business bottlenecks, power critical issues, and enable staff to perform more efficiently? Does the service bring departments closer together? Does the consumer product make people feel happier, healthier, or safer? The more simple and clear the message, the easier it will be for your customers and prospects to understand the product in their mind. In addition it's also up to you to provide some evidence for your message. 3. Think Up One Emotional Idea – Often just focusing on one big idea can be enough to encapsulate what your service or product is about. For instance if your product line streamlines productivity then the "big idea" campaign could potentially focus on the concept of 'a new world of talent'. If your product is about an 'eco' cosmetic skin product then the big idea could be around extending a customer's healthy lifespan as well as acting environmentally to save the planet. The simple 'big idea' acts a golden chance to make your product or service resonate emotionally. 4. Check What Your Competitors Say – You operate in a competitive market. By routinely checking what competitors say and evaluate their calls to action you can more accurately determine what their own message is. When the marketplace is scanned you as a savvy marketer can successfully separate their messages from the clutter, and strengthen the bond with customers. Ultimately messages should have the power to stand up against rivals. 5. Mine Your CRM System – Traditionally a CRM system has acted as a contacts database. Though CRM has come a long way in the last few years. It's morphed into an all-powerful technology system which serves to generate prospects, develop customer 'personas', and deliver targeted campaigns through multiple marketing channels. The latest CRM system allows employees at both small and big organisations to become highly productive. It enables sales and marketing teams to clarify which customers consume inbound content, at what 'tipping' stage to contact them for a sale, and what tasks to automate and report on. The sheer richness of information will inform your tailored messages and marketing communications which can be activated through the company web, social media platforms, mobile CRM app, and email for improved sales conversions. 6. Listen Closely To Customer Chatter – The Halcyon days of brand-led 'push/pull' marketing are fading fast, if not dead already. These days customers call the shots. Education, content, and digital are lauded as the new marketing. People more readily educate themselves on products, and interact with organisations via the web and social media. The inexorable rise of social media means you cannot afford to "switch off" once the day job finishes, because customers will talk about your product or business on social media 24/7. It's wise to closely track and monitor all customer feedback on your social media platforms in order to tweak messages where necessary. Equally, this approach sends out the message that you effectively provide excellent customer service and online PR to an engaged audience: your fans and followers.

How to Use Place Pins on Pinterest Posted: 30 Nov 2013 08:05 AM PST Place pins are the newest feature of Pinterest, now the third most visited social media site. When Pinterest first announced place pins, many people seemed surprised, excited, and a little confused all at the same time. Don't fret! We're here to explain how to take advantage of this exciting new feature and share some examples of how people are using it to help them plan their dream trips and how brands, cities, and universities are using it to share why their location is worth seeing. How to use Place Pins Step 1: Create a secret maps board We recommend starting your first place pins board as a secret board – it allows you to pin without worry and to be able to play around with place pins before you take your board public. Step 2: Add a Place Step 3: Choose a City (optional but makes it easier) Step 4: Add a location Pinterest has partnered with Foursquare to create a more accurate and easy experience. Step 5: Add a description Step 6: Select or upload a photo to match that location Examples of Place Pins City Favorites - Airbnb's Loved by Parisians board - Europe a la Carte's London board University Promotion - University of Michigan's Tour #UMich campus tour board - University of Michigan's Wolverines Around the World travel abroad board Long Term Trips - Europe ala Carte's Best Places to Travel in Europe board Food Trips - Mithya Srinivasan's Pancake Crawl through SF board - Thrillist's The Best Burgers and Brew in the Big Apple board Activity Bucket Lists Ideas include: golf courses to try, consignment stores to visit, hikes to do (seen below), etc… - Dmitry Chechik's California Hikes To Do board Business Lifestyle & Office Favorites (aka: shameless self promotion) - Our HelloSociety's LA Tour board From day trips to road trips, and Europe trips to food or shopping excursions, with place pins the possibilities are endless. Are you feeling inspired? Take inspiration from your bucket list! Get creative with it. You can even make it a group board so you and your best friends can finally plan that trip you've always talked about. Think about that saying, "Turn your can'ts into cans and dreams into plans." You can now take your dreams of one day seeing Paris or Japan and start planning that trip. You'll be one step closer to making it a reality.

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