Tag: content

Content Feeders

Do you use a content feeder for your social media?

Whether you use a content feeder or blindly share posts from sources you trust, you should check the content on your social streams daily.

Innocently enough, I found a post that I would never have approved that made it out to my LinkedIn feed. My associate caught the title of the post that had come from a source that I trust within a content feeder that I use for my own social media. (You know the shoemaker’s shoes story right??) Most of the time the content is spot-on, but for some reason this particular post addressed an industry that is thriving but that I would not promote. I didn’t even take the time to look at who the source of the article was. I only trust information from a select few sources.

The lesson learned here is:

Even if you use a source or service you trust – read what goes out on your social every day!

Case in point – the other day, we posted an image for one of our customers. The image had been supplied by a field rep of the company. Unbeknownst to us, the image violated some OSHA rules. As soon as the “boss” saw the image, he texted me to take it down. Things like this happen and we react as quickly as possible. Fortunately, no one had reacted to the post on my company page and no one had reacted to the OSHA violation post.

I need to post, but I have no time!

You want more customers. To get them, you have to advertise and market your business or network. One of the (not so new) avenues is social media.  You can post your own content. There are challenges that you may face with that:

  • Lack of time & time management –
    • Creating
    • Publishing at the right time
    • Publishing on the right platforms
  • Lack of ideas –
    • Coming up with something everyday
    • How often should you repeat
  • Lack of human resources –
    • Soloprenuers only have themselves
    • Small business may not have the knowledge

To bring the story home further, if you don’t have the time to post to your social media regularly (sometimes as little as once a week can boost your organic results with social platforms) try using a service or a content creator to help build a cache of posts that you can schedule. Or there are other services available if you search.

Whatever you do, find a representative that will uphold your brand. We provide a couple of options for you:

  • We can help you create a content posting calendar.
  • We can create content for you to post as needed.
  • We can post for you with content we create.

No matter which option you choose, we work with you to find out the important topics, keywords and resources to use to represent your company on the appropriate social platforms for your business.

When was the last time you

When was the last time you did some of the following things?

At a recent networking event I asked the attendees some questions. One of them was when was the last time you updated your website?

Here is my list of questions (raise your hand if):

  • How many of your have a website?
  • How many of your have a Facebook personal page?
  • How many of you have a company Facebook page?
  • How many of you have a LinkedIn profile?
  • How many of you have a company LinkedIn profile?

Then the questions were asked about when the last time any of those were updated.

It is great if you have a website! When was the last time it was updated? When was the last time you wrote a new blog post? How old is the content that the search bots will find. Are they totally ignoring your site right now?

It is great if you have a company LinkedIn or Facebook page! When was the last time you posted something to it?

LinkedIn itself has seen brands that post once a month gain followers six times faster than those who keep a lower profile. That pattern continues with more frequent posting: companies that post weekly see twice the engagement, while brands that post daily gain even more traction. Credit

Posting times vary based on your clients, type of business, and whether you are B2B or B2C. In my experience with B2B clients, once a day at the beginning of the work day tends to give the most engagement. That may not be the case for your business.

So, when was the last time you updated, posted or thought about how the search engines are finding you, let alone how potential customers are finding you. If you would like to have a more in-depth conversation, please reach out and let’s talk about your options.

Social Media Plan – Wildly Beautiful or Just Wild

What’s your social media plan?

The other day I was walking along a path and noticed this stand-out wild flower and it made me think about plans – especially a social media plan. When wild flowers are sown (or not) they come up and they are wildly beautiful. On my walk I noticed black-eyed susans, beebalm, coneflowers, Queen Ann’s lace and a couple of others for which I don’t know the name. Just like with social media there is Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and couple hundred others that I don’t remember the names!

What is right for your brand?

Do your posts just come out based upon your whim at the moment? That would be wild. Creating a pattern that involves planned posts along with an occasional wild one can be beautiful. One bit of information which I learned that I frequently share is 70% of your posts should be other people’s content, 20% should be original content from your expertise, and 10% should be promotional.

Which platforms?

Your social media plan should incorporate what is right for your business. Do you need a wild scattering of posts across all of the platforms, or do you need to concentrate your efforts on 2-3 platforms where your clients frequent? Wild would be the hit or miss scattershot. But, a planned effort on either side of a path might be wildly beautiful. Have you determined which platforms work best for your company? If you are a B2B company you definitely need LinkedIn, but is Instagram a good fit? Maybe.

Wildly Beautiful or Just Wild?

In the long run, no matter which approach you take, content will be added to your brand and allow people to get a feel for what you do and your thought leadership. If you are looking for the wildly beautiful option, make a plan and carry it out. If you need some help with your plan, I would be happy to be of assistance.

Building a Blog Post

Blog posts add umph to your website!

Let’s talk about websites, the key to a blog, and what they can really do for you.

  • Websites are your on-line brochure.
  • Websites hold your photo gallery.
  • A website is the hub of your online marketing.
  • All of your social media points back to your website (or a landing page).
  • Your website is the repository for your blog articles.key to a good blog

The key to a good blog is to write one. Regularly. Let’s talk a bit about search bots. When your website is new and you first publish it, the bots come and scour your site to see what you have out there. They check out the keywords and all of the goodies that you put out there to make it bright and shiny. They come back in about 30 days to see what other new shiny stuff you added. If you added several things, the bots reprogram to come back more quickly than the last time. If you didn’t they wait till maybe 45 days to come back. The more frequently you add new items to your website the more often the bots return ranking your higher in organic search results. The less often you add new items or changes to your website, the lower your ranking becomes until one day…

Whenever I build a website for someone, I typically use a WordPress platform. If I do that, I always include the Yoast SEO plug-in. Here are the tips I give to my clients when they write a blog post:

Make your blog heading a continuation of your title with the keyword in the beginning. Highlight the text and make it a heading 2 from the WYSIWIG bar.

Make sure to employ the “Press this” option offered so that when you read another person’s article, you can use the handy dandy tool to add a post to your blog and write your opinion on what you just read.

If you do that, make sure that you include a link to the original. Like this: You can read the whole article here. Highlight the word here, click on the chain link in the WYSIWIG bar and add the link to the original article – Ensure that it opens to a new window.

Write your thoughts. Include an image. There are many resources for free images. Don’t use any images from a website with a UK extension. One resources to check is pixabay.com Read about more options here.

Make sure to write 270 to 300 words. Complete the Yoast SEO boxes that appear below the blog post content frame.

Your keyword should be in your title, heading, meta data and body text.

Select the category on your website in which you want your post stored.

Add additional tags, especially if you have a tag cloud on your website. If you mention an organization or a searchable term, add the tag.

Last but not least, make sure to share your just finished post on your social media!

Let me know if I can assist you in any way.

Time to write a post – Mind is Blank?

What do you do when your Mind is Blank and it is time for a blog article?Mind is Blank

I sat down at my desk this morning, looked at my calendar and realized that I was scheduled for my weekly blog post. I was thinking, my mind is blank, I was out of ideas, I didn’t have a clue what I was going to write 300 words about. Then a thought hit me – what sort of advice would I give someone if they said that their “Mind is blank!”

Here are a few tips you might want to try:

  1. Press This – Since I use WordPress for my website platform, they have a tool that you can add to your browser tool bar that allows you to add the link and title of a webpage or article you are reading to a draft post. This is a great tool, because all you have to do is write a sentence or two about what your thoughts were on the article and save it as a draft. You have the article for reference and you have the bullet points or sentences you wrote to remind you of the thoughts you need to flush out.
  2. Scoop-it – Use a service like Scoop-it, Reddit or Digg, to feed your solo brainstorming. Something might not be applicable for you at the moment, but if you save items in your “one-day” file, you will have content waiting for you.
  3. Series – Instead of writing one long article, turn your thoughts into a series of articles. Everyone loves a good top five or best 10 lists of items. Perhaps you may not want to stretch a top 5 of something out over 5 weeks, but in the interim, you may find other ideas from which you can create blog articles.
  4. Events – Do you promote events in your blog? What about the before AND the after. Did you just host a successful workshop or expo. Talk about it.
  5. Products – when was the last time you updated everyone on the benefits of a product or service that you offer? Writing a blog post refreshes your readers on the values and benefits AND it provides you something fresh to share in your newsletter and other social platforms.

I am sure that there are more suggestions that you can find that will help you find blog content when it is time for your next scheduled article. What can you think of to share with the other readers?

And I was worried about coming up with 300 words….

 

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