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Dear RSS, I’ve Met Someone New

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Dear Google Reader/FeedBurner/RSS aggregator,

I can’t go on living with you this way.  We used to hang out all the time. You’d make my day better and show me new things that I didn’t realize existed.  Anytime I came to see you, you’d give me some great times. You and I would spend so much time together, walking on the beach or even just riding the bus. But things aren’t like they used to be.

Plus, you’d never come see me.  You wouldn’t introduce me to your friends. Honestly, our one-way relationship is strained.

Ok I’m just going to come out and say it – I’ve met someone new.  Someone that gives me just what I need.  She lets me choose the way I feel good, who and what I want to hear and even lets me easily reply quickly.  She introduces me to her friends with similar interests, and gives me more ‘feel good’ connections. She even lets me directly respond with her friends that create interesting items for me to consume. She teases me with quick blog titles and links that expose me to new industry writers and information.

Sure, you do some of that, too.  But the fact is I don’t really see a huge need for you any more.

And yes, I’ve heard the stories about her dating others. But that’s ok, too, because she isn’t afraid to share.  If another one of her friends see something that they like, she’s not afraid to share it with me too.  Yeah, I know that’s a little orgy-ish, but in the end I feel happy knowing that I got to experience something that I may have never done had it not been for her being in the middle.

Even weirder, she encourages me to share her goods with others.  And this sharing actually helps me with other relationships.

Her name is Twitter, and she has replaced your place in my heart.  I’m sorry.

Will

Posted in RSS, feedburner, social media, twitter | 1 Response »

What You Can Learn from Presidential Tweets

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Today I stumbled across a great article from the NY Times about one of our great past presidents using Twitter.  Go ahead, read it, I’ll wait.

Pretty cool, huh?

Several things are going on here, which I think you can use for your business.

Niche it, Baby

I’ve never heard of the JQA diaries until today, and most likely neither have you.  Thanks to some graduate student for mentioning that it looked like a Twitter feed, another person for acting on that observation, a Historical Society with a look-forward approach  (and a NY Times writer), now you have.  As of today, this account now has over 6000 followers. This little niche of history buffs is just the audience that the Massachesetts Historical Society wants, and they’ve found a way to “promote their wares” via Twitter.

Lesson: Find a topic that interests people.  Provide updates on a consistent basis, and you’ve got an immediate audience.  People will tell others, and in no time you’ll have a nice following of warm leads.

The Old is New

While reading a 200 year old diary isn’t exactly exciting to everyone, it is to some.  And that “some” is very interested in what is said by the account holder.  Old news is in demand, and over 6000 people are eagerly awaiting the next tweet, whether it’s about rough seas or card playing.

Lesson: Take information in your industry that you think everyone knows, and post about it.  Or blog about it.  You’ll increase your followers, RSS subscriptions, and website traffic because no one else is doing it.

Be Afraid Aware, Very Aware

Every day we are exposed to mundane and boring things in our industry.  We see them all the time, and pay no attention or give no second thought to them.  But smart business owners are taking those simple things and writing about them.  They are showing the behind-the-scenes to their business, or posting updates to their ‘boring’ day and people are interested.

For instance, I have a customer that sells memory foam mattresses.  One day I was at Target returning an item.  In front of me was a lady who was returning one of those mattress-topper memory foam things.  You roll them out on your mattress and they supposedly make it more comfortable to sleep on.  Well, I listened to her go on about how lumpy it made her bed, how it didn’t help her sleep, etc. so I mentioned it to my client.  He wrote up a blog post about these toppers (and their problems), and today it is one of his most popular posts ever.

Lesson: Watch what’s going on around you daily.  What things do you take for granted that your audience might find really useful?  Do you do something to each of your products to make it unique? Do you meet interesting people in your industry that others may find interesting as well?

Integration

The JQA diary posts also integrate with maps, making it even more interesting.  Even though the voyage took place  200 years ago, you can follow along today as if it were happening in real time.  You can see where in the ocean JQA is, and experience just what he was.

Lance Armstrong is a great user of integration, often posting his ‘view from the office’ pictures on TwitPic.  Bicyclers, cancer survivors and just fans love these updates.  They are interesting to his readers, and it helps him increase and identify his brand.

Lesson: Use technology to show what you do and who you are.  Become a real face to an otherwise faceless business identity.

You can learn a lot from a president that sailed the seas 200 years ago.  And you can take those things, along with the actions of some smart people, and apply them to your business.  How are you using similar tactics and posts to increase your business?

Posted in Marketing, blogging, niches, social media, traffic | No Responses »
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Your Geeky Friends are Probably Getting It Cheaper

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Everyone loves saving money. Whether you’re blue collar, white collar, or even if your last name is Trump, you still like taking advantage of any opportunity to keep a few more bucks in your pocket.

Getting A Good Deal

Back in the day, (and still today, actually) coupon clipping was a great way to save money. I can remember my mom buying the Sunday paper simply to get the coupons.  She’d go through them, cut out the ones she wanted to use, and then wait for a double coupon day at the local grocery mart.

Today we’ve got so much information to sift through, it’s hard to keep up.  But thanks to social media websites like Twitter, (can Twitter really be called a ‘website’? It’s more of a tool) the ability to watch some of your favorite brands has become easier.  Getting information and savings is at your fingertips. Click to continue »

Posted in money, social media | No Responses »
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Tune Up Your Magnet

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

Back when I first got out of the military, I got a job at a local copier repair shop.  We tore down used copiers to their frame and then rebuilt the entire thing from the ground up with new parts.  We had one entire 4-shelf setup for each copier, storing parts that were still good, along with every screw, roller and rubber grommet that went back in. A good sized machine could take three or four days to complete.

It was very important for the repairmen to have nice tools, including a magnetized Phillips screwdriver.  Without this tool, it was pretty much impossible to get into those little nooks and crannies to tighten screws.

From time to time, the magnetism in the screwdrivers would wear off, and we’d have to ‘tune them up’.  We did so by taking apart an old solenoid and putting the tip of the screwdriver in the middle of it, then plug that bad boy in.  The magnetic forces created by the coil would help the magnetic particles refocus and realign, and by morning we’d have a kick-ass screwdriver again.

The Two Versions of Marketing

For years and years, marketing has been all about outbound (or Interruption) marketing.  Companies would interrupt people through email blasts, radio or tv commercials, telemarketing and more to try to get their brand in front of potential customers.  That was the old way.  It’s no fun, not trackable, and most companies weren’t really thrilled with doing it.  A necessary evil.

As the Internet continues to mature, new communication paths and opportunities are coming to business owners, including a great new way to market to potential customers – inbound marketing.  Think of inbound marketing as a lot like a magnet; you create content that people are drawn to.  People want to read your blog because it is interesting and provides insight to an industry or product they have never had access to before.  Can you see where I’m going with this?

If you aren’t doing inbound marketing, well, shame on you.  The time is here (actually, it’s passing you by) to get involved.  Creating content should be something you all the time.  This new content will pull in visitors that are looking for just what you’re talking about.  Yeah, thanks to search engines, RSS feeds and social media, it pulls them in.  You don’t have to go stand on a corner with a megaphone and beg people to come into your store, they’ll come because they are simply interested with what you have to say/provide.

Inbound marketing methods

Blogging – if you aren’t blogging at least once a week for your business, you are missing out on some major traffic.  From ranking your site for ‘long tail links’ to providing your customers with info they need, blogging is by far the number one way to increase your website’s overall footprint on the Internet.

SEO / SEM – If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’ve already been exposed to SEO in some amount.  Search engine optimization is an awesome way to increase your rankings in the “big three” as well as all the thousands of other smaller search engines out there.  SEO also means you understand and watch what your website visitors are doing, and if they’re not buying, how to adjust accordingly to prod them along.

Social Media – Today its all about relationships and community.  From mySpace to Facebook to Twitter and beyond, people are creating their own inbound marketing channels through these websites and methods of communication.

RSS – I had a hard time grasping RSS when it first came out.  It’s a tough one to explain, but once you understand it, you’ll never believe you could have made it through a week without it.  Good thing is, if you’re blogging, you’ve probably already got RSS capabilities, you just need to promote them a bit more.

Viral Media – YouTube used to be something that people visited because they were bored or just wanted to see themselves online.  However, when it sold to Google for 1.6 billion dollars, businesses soon figured out that there is huge potential in video.  Creating videos that people want to share can result in literally thousands of visitors to your website.  Be creative, think it out, and watch it grow.

Tools – As you start to grow your website, you’ll probably start to see some recurring themes.  People will be using search terms that push them to your website, and the information they seek you have.  Smart businesses are creating tools for these visitors, and thus cornering a part of a market that their competitors don’t have.  Examples? Sure.

  • An online mortgage calculator on a real estate agent’s website
  • A wine grading worksheet for wannabe connoisseurs
  • A downloadable town reference guide on a bed and breakfast owners’ website

So how’s your magnet working for you?

Is it focused and aligned, pulling in those customers (and dollars), or is it too weak (or non-existant) to hold onto your goal at all?  Your inbound marketing magnet should be on full blast, and if it isn’t, now is the time to get it tuned.

Posted in Marketing, SEO, beginner sem, business blogging, content, free stuff, small business, social media, traffic, trending, twitter, videos | 1 Response »

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