http://www.new07.org Niche Blog Reviews Covering Retirement, Business, Real Estate News, Finance, Credit and Press Releases Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:17:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.new07.org/social-media/social-media-time-saving%c2%a0tip http://www.new07.org/social-media/social-media-time-saving%c2%a0tip#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:20:43 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/social-media-time-saving%c2%a0tip Continue reading →]]> What I am going to share with you is not new, but I am surprised at how many people do not use this time saving source. Ping.fm is a resource that I want everyone to know about. If you aren’t using it then you need to rethink the reason why. If you are using this wonderful tool then maybe I can share with you some more helpful tips to help in your successes. In there own words: “Ping.fm is a simple and FREE service that makes updating your social networks a snap!” To me the best part is that the service is free and you can post from anywhere with their mobile, instant messenger and email apps. They also work along with hundreds of other 3rd party apps to make updating your status simple and fast. Ping.fm was recently acquired by Seesmic making the service much more powerful. You can send an update and it can be submitted instantly to 50+ social networks including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning, WordPress, TypePad, Yammer, Status.net and many more. My favorite part about using this valuable resource is that I can post from my iPhone from anywhere sharing with my friends and family something cool. For example, I recently sent an update to all my friends to over 20 of my social networks right from my phone. The update was sent from the beautiful mountains of Utah stating that I had just finished a Half Marathon. Here is a very short video I created showing how easy it is to sign up and start using Ping.fm today: There is also a trick to update your Google Buzz account via Ping.fm and here are the steps: 1. Of course you must have a Ping.fm account, sign up here – http://ping.fm/ 2. Add Gtalk by clicking “Add Network” at the http://ping.fm/networks/ page 3. Next enter your email address and password associated with your Google buzz account then click submit: 4. And for the last step, you need to add Gtalk as a connected service by logging into your Google Buzz account. See images below for steps: That is it, your Ping.fm posts will now automatically post to your Google Buzz account. Most other social networks are much easier to add as you can see in the video I shared above. There are some things you need to know with using Ping.fm as a social media tool. You need to remember that it is simply a tool that will help save you time. It is not an automated tool that will make you millions or get you more followers necessarily. I see many people abuse the tool to the point that they are not being social anymore with their friends and followers. As we know, Social Media is all about the conversation and being social. If all you are doing is submitting updates and not a part of the discussion then you will loose out on what social media really is. Here are some helpful tips and reminders to save time but still be social: Only use Ping.fm as a status update service and not your only means of connecting to your social networks Post your status updates and make sure you still login to your social network profiles to be a part of the dialogue Don’t overdue it with your submissions, you will loose a lot of friends and followers this way Use other tools to help you in the conversation (e.g. Seesmic , Hootsuite , or Tweetdeck ) In conclusion, Ping.fm is simply a tool for us as marketers and individuals to use to help us save time when conversing and sharing stuff with our friends and followers. This free resource has the ability to help us be more productive if we use it correctly and wisely. Bear in mind that any tool can be abused, so just be careful. Also always remember to have fun. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Social Media Time Saving

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/social-media-time-saving%c2%a0tip/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/creating-a-social-media-analytics-action-plan-%e2%80%93-part-1-defining%c2%a0kpis http://www.new07.org/social-media/creating-a-social-media-analytics-action-plan-%e2%80%93-part-1-defining%c2%a0kpis#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:29:29 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/creating-a-social-media-analytics-action-plan-%e2%80%93-part-1-defining%c2%a0kpis Continue reading →]]> Last week I spoke at PubCon South on the Analytics Strategy panel on the topic of social media. This is something I’m very passionate about and during my preparation for the presentation I uncovered some scary statistics. According to a survey conducted by BazaarVoice in 2009, on average businesses have no idea what their ROI is on any type of social media activity: Here are a few of the lowlights highlights 53% of respondents are unsure about their return on Twitter 50% are unsure about the direct value of LinkedIn 50% are not sure how to measure the impact on business metrics from blogs And yet, companies now-a-days have no problem investing thousands of dollars into social media marketing even if they have no idea if they’ll profit from it. Why have companies gotten so lazy when it comes to marketing spend? Part of the problem is they aren’t properly analyzing their data. Social networks are giving us more and more insight into visitor and performance metrics, but most of us aren’t properly setup to find actionable insights on the campaign’s performance. This series of posts will explain how to properly setup your social media strategy so that you can make better-informed decisions, understand your ROI and adjust your strategy according to the numbers. Let’s get started. Before you do anything else, you need to have a clear understanding of what your goal will be and how you will measure the success of your social media strategy. In other words, we need to define KPIs. There are a couple of guidelines you should follow when definining KPIs: Choose metrics that actually translate into business context (e.g. sales, new leads, customer satisfaction, customer interaction, etc.) Define more than just attention metrics (You want to look at more important metrics than just your fan/follower count) Define KPIs that are actionable (How does knowing what your retweet reach is help you adjust your Twitter strategy?) Create specific KPIs for each social network and specific elements of your website The most important guideline above is to define actionable KPIs. Obviously these types of KPIs are going to be unique to your business, but here are a few examples of what I would consider good actionable KPIs: Number of people in a specific location who follow your company on Twitter Reduction in sales cycles Reduction in support costs Increase in product reviews Product improvement suggestions from [specific social network] If you’d like more KPI ideas, I highly recommend you buy Jim Sterne’s new book, “ Social Media Metrics ” where he has over 100 KPIs listed in the first few pages of the book. Now that we have your KPIs established, we need to configure your analytics. I’ll walk you through that process in part 2 of Creating a Social Media Analytics Action Plan . Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Creating a Social Media Analytics Action Plan – Part 1: Defining

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/creating-a-social-media-analytics-action-plan-%e2%80%93-part-1-defining%c2%a0kpis/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/social-media%c2%a0freak http://www.new07.org/social-media/social-media%c2%a0freak#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:13:50 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/social-media%c2%a0freak Continue reading →]]> http://twitter.com/jordankasteler To add a bit of explanation here… Live at Pubcon Dallas there is a blackhat panel going on. Steven Plunkett is attempting to rank Giovanni.net for “social media freak” live during his session. It FAILed. This was to rank #1 instantly through use of a post and Twitter conversation. Follow the coverage on Twitter here: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=social+media+freak Me = #1 Steve Plunkett = 2nd page Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Social Media

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/social-media%c2%a0freak/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/what-should-be-included-in-your-companies-social-media%c2%a0policy http://www.new07.org/social-media/what-should-be-included-in-your-companies-social-media%c2%a0policy#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:12:35 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/what-should-be-included-in-your-companies-social-media%c2%a0policy Continue reading →]]> It is important for every company to have a social media policy in place. Depending on the size of your company or organization, your policy may be more or less detailed. It is amazing to think that only 1 in every 3 companies has a social media policy in place. Of course as social media becomes a main-stream marketing tactic, more and more businesses with start to see the importance of having a writing social media policy. Overall Philosophy and

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/what-should-be-included-in-your-companies-social-media%c2%a0policy/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/10-ways-all-employees-can-contribute-to-link%c2%a0building http://www.new07.org/social-media/10-ways-all-employees-can-contribute-to-link%c2%a0building#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:40:22 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/10-ways-all-employees-can-contribute-to-link%c2%a0building Continue reading →]]> It’s not a hidden secret that link building is an essential part of SEO, but how you go about building links can make a huge difference in your organic visibility. Having your company buy into the fact that actively building links to your site can help your bottom line can help make your efforts a lot easier. Instead of having an in-house SEO or marketing department focused on link building, why not leverage the power of the entire company and have everyone contribute. Roles and

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/10-ways-all-employees-can-contribute-to-link%c2%a0building/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/facebook-drive-more-loyal-visitors-to-news-and-media%c2%a0sites http://www.new07.org/social-media/facebook-drive-more-loyal-visitors-to-news-and-media%c2%a0sites#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:39:41 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/facebook-drive-more-loyal-visitors-to-news-and-media%c2%a0sites Continue reading →]]> Well, it looks like Facebook is not only beating Google in terms of being the most visited site in the U.S . as well as for driving traffic to news and media sites, but  Hitwise’s follow up data is also showing that visitors from Facebook.com are more loyal to these sites . Meaning, they are not just one-click wonders but repeat visitors of the news and media sites as well, thanks to Facebook’s traffic referral. According to Hitwise’s latest compiled data , from the week ending March 6, 2010 78% of Facebook.com users were returning visitors to Print Media websites.. Google News’ returning visitors were only at around 67%. While for Broadcast Media, Facebook has a 77% returning rate while Google News only has 64% returning rate. So what does these data mean and how relevant it is for social media marketing? It only goes to show the value of traffic driven by Facebook as compared to Google News.  And returning values of potential customers are definitely very important for advertisers and retailers. Take note, this comparison is for Google News and Facebook only, not including Google.com. Although Google.com may be the number 1 source of traffic for news and media sites, those traffic will not be yielding  return visitors, according to Hitwise. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Facebook Drive More Loyal Visitors to News and Media

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/facebook-drive-more-loyal-visitors-to-news-and-media%c2%a0sites/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/diamond-ipad-a-smart-social-pr-campaign-with-seo%c2%a0focus http://www.new07.org/social-media/diamond-ipad-a-smart-social-pr-campaign-with-seo%c2%a0focus#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:55:54 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/diamond-ipad-a-smart-social-pr-campaign-with-seo%c2%a0focus Continue reading →]]> This morning I started my day in a rather unqiue fashion which did not involve rushing into the office or trying to find some time to run to the gym. I brewed a cup of coffee, sat down on the sofa and turned on the morning news. MSNBC’s Morning Joe is usually my morning news of choice, but today I picked CNN’s Headline News and zoned out, catching up on the stories of the morning. One of the first stories on the “news” was the buzz surrounding a $19,999 diamond encrusted Apple iPad. The first thing that came to my mind was “ Is Apple pulling a Victoria’s Secret? ” but after listening to the story, it was not Apple at all that put out the diamond iPad, nor is there an official diamond iPad. The actual story is Mervis Diamond Importers, a pretty large diamond store in the DC/Northern Virginia area, has announced a prototype diamond iPad which according to Mervis will be available for ordering in June. Social Media & Blog

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/diamond-ipad-a-smart-social-pr-campaign-with-seo%c2%a0focus/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal http://www.new07.org/social-media/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:01:15 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal Continue reading →]]> In the pursuit of new inbound links, people don’t always seek out new image links. We’ve been so conditioned to go after good editorial links that image links may be the last things on our minds as we reach out and try to increase traffic (and, let’s be honest, rankings) for our sites. However, there are several reasons why you should start paying more attention to image links. They’re part of a natural link profile. Chances are that if you’ve never pursued image links but you check your external backlinks, you’ll find that you have more image links than you thought. Actually, I tried very hard to find websites that did not have any image links, and it was quite a chore. For more information on how to optimize your images for SEO, see Ann Smarty’s article . They’re good for traffic because they’re more noticeable. On certain web pages, I’d argue that an image link might be better than a text link, actually. Based on user eyetracking patterns, an image in the F-shaped reading pattern is going to have a much better shot at generating traffic than a text link at the end of the content. They can pass link juice. It might not be as much as a text link passes (and it probably shouldn’t, considering its origins and intended uses), but it’s still something. They give off a warm, fuzzy vibe. Try and find a few image links that are used to link to something that the site owner hates. It’s tough to do. Almost everyone uses text links to funnel their negativity. They can be optimized through keywords. Just as a hyperlink has anchor text, an image link has an alt (alternate text) attribute. If you used a screen reader, your browser did not load the image, or you were using a text-only browser, this would give the user a description of the image. Although it’s a great way to get your keywords in, it’s also ripe for abuse, unfortunately. While a long description may make more sense to a visually impaired user using a screen reader, if that tactic is overdone, it can definitely seem spammy. They show up in image search results. Many site owners report that a great deal of their traffic comes from Google images, so it’s nothing to scoff at, if you’re the scoffing type. They can be fantastic ways to build even more links. Images, especially really funny ones, have the potential to go viral. Remember the squirrel crasher that popped up all over the place? That wouldn’t have been such a success if it had been a piece of text. Reading about a squirrel husting into a wedding photo is slightly funny, but seeing it is freaking hysterical! Even though not everyone who created and posted their own squirrelized photos linked to the original site through their own new images, tons of them linked to it through text and pimped it using social media. Naturally there are downsides to image links, and images in general. They take more time to load than text does, which can annoy users enough to simply leave the site and never return. They may be confused for the more spammy ads that appear all over the web, causing users to ignore them or discount them. However, most people wouldn’t intentionally seek out a “Click here” link either, but it’s part of a typical organic link profile, just like image links are. Julie Joyce owns the link development agency Link Fish Media , is one of SEO Chicks, and contributes to Search Engine Land and Search Marketing Gurus . Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Add Image Links to Your

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/microsoft-to-run-a-massive-bing-tv-campaign-in-the%c2%a0uk http://www.new07.org/social-media/microsoft-to-run-a-massive-bing-tv-campaign-in-the%c2%a0uk#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:07:43 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/microsoft-to-run-a-massive-bing-tv-campaign-in-the%c2%a0uk Continue reading →]]> The Guardian UK is reporting that Microsoft Bing is preparing to launch a massive TV ad campaign aimed at challenging Google’s dominance in the UK search market. According to the report, the series of  Bing promotional TV ads is set to begin airing this week and will be promoting Bing as a “decision engine.” Microsoft has contracted the services of ad agency JWT. It aims to show how Bing simplifies the “information overload” that accompanies the results of  other search engines – obviously hitting on Google. Microsoft’s UK managing director Ashley Highfield said that  people worldwide may have forgotten that there is an alternative search engine. “People feel overawed by the internet and what they turn up when they are searching,” said Highfield. The said TV ad campaign feature ordinary people asking for information and getting their answers from Bing, will run for a month and then on a two-week bursts until Mid-June.  Backing up the Bing TV ad campaign is an equally massive digital campaign across Microsoft’s network and other media including social networking sites. It looks like Microsoft is on the final stretch of its promotional campaign for Bing and is now desperate to gain more users even if it cost the company around $2 billion. This is clearly stated by Mr. Highfield with the following statement: “It is a battle not just of mind but of heart as well. We are wanting to make an emotional connection – we are ploughing a different furrow here.” Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Microsoft to Run a Massive Bing TV Campaign in the

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/microsoft-to-run-a-massive-bing-tv-campaign-in-the%c2%a0uk/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/omniture-now-offers-enhanced-facebook-marketing%c2%a0analytics http://www.new07.org/social-media/omniture-now-offers-enhanced-facebook-marketing%c2%a0analytics#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:41:43 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/omniture-now-offers-enhanced-facebook-marketing%c2%a0analytics Continue reading →]]> With the ever emerging and evolving world of web 2.0. marketers no more can afford to neglect social media, and with Facebook becoming the second most visited website online after Google … and THE INTERNET (thinking back AOL circa 1998) to the bulk of its users … analytical tracking and gauging user action, interest and return on investment is crucial to an online marketing campaign. By engaging in social media networking, marketers get an awesome opportunity to join the conversation and have more relevant interactions with their customers. Focusing forces on social media web, a marketer gets a unique chance to: More effectively reach highly targeted and active web users; Better understand the needs and interests of their potential customers; Get instant feedback on new products and offers, etc. Yesterday Omniture , an Adobe company and a leading provider of online business optimization & target marketing software, and Facebook announced that they signed a deal to provide online marketers with solutions to better understand and optimize the impact and ROI of their Facebook investments. The new Omniture feature provided in collaboration with Facebook will enable marketers to automate Facebook ad buying and access analytics to help companies more easily integrate Facebook as a marketing channel in order to connect to and have relevant conversations with Facebook’s more than 400 million active users. For Omniture users this alliance will basically mean the ability to access a single dashboard to plan, deliver and measure campaigns. From one dashboard, the users will be able to: Effectively manage their ad spend on Facebook; Easily compare Facebook ad campaign metrics with other media channels; Generate reports specifically designed to understand ad effectiveness for some of the unique elements of Facebook such as Facebook Pages and applications. Omniture and Facebook will continue to expand this partnership as marketers increasingly utilize this channel to optimize visitor acquisition, conversion and retention. For more information, please contact your Omniture account manager. The official press release can be found here . Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Omniture Now Offers Enhanced Facebook Marketing

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