But if you get all of that right, how do you know if anyone is listening? Social Media is all about engaging in a conversation and creating a viral message that others share because the find it valuable and interesting. They share your information so they can be seen with the cool kids, those in the know, the experts. They share information because they want to show their friends how valuable they can be…even if just by association.

In fact – I’m doing that right now! =)

I read a great article about how to get more people to LISTEN and SHARE the things you post from Social Media Examiner and wanted to pass it along. It is based on a study done by New York Times and Latitude Research and they came up with some interesting findings.

Here’s a summary of why people aren’t sharing what you are saying with their spheres of influence:

1. They Don’t Trust You.

2. They Don’t Care About Your Brand.

3. Your Posts are Boring.

4. They Care About Causes More Than Brands.

5. They Share to Build Relationships with Others.

6. They are Looking for Validation.

7. They Share to Manage Information.

8. You’ve Misunderstood Your Audience.

9. They are More Personal in Email.

Check out the Social Media Examiner article or review the research right from the source.

So … was this valuable? Are you gonna share it?

The following blog post is intended to be utilized for educational purposes only. It is not meant to defame or shed negative light onto any person, entity, company or organization. Any reference made to actual persons have been removed unless those references are to promote that person or entity in a positive way. No opinion, express or implied, is being given on the person or persons whose identities have been removed from this post. Any opinions expressed in this article are quoted from other individuals and are not necessarily the opinion of the author of this post.

When I started making a name for myself in the local community as – Trista Polo Internet Business Consultant for AllThatInternet.net – I did it through building relationships at local business events and expos. This was a slow way to go but as I learned this weekend, it is the best way in these transparent and digitally viral times.

It used to be positive media was the way to go. PR firms were tasked with getting good press out there about the person or company and people would read it, believe it and then buy it. Press was always more valuable than advertising because it seems more real and more credible when it is out there in the NEWS.

So getting in the news was a big win for a local business owner. It allowed them to take a step up above their competition because they were recognized by local media as being special enough to warrant NEWS.

Well it seems that is no longer true.

My husband signed up for a local news paper subscription recently and – as a sign of the times – he lets it sit in its green bag on the driveway while he peruses the news on his smart phone before even getting out of bed. This weekend he came across a profile for a local business owner – a landscaper – that had a nice write-up about his background, keys to success and a company profile.

Great press. Nice picture. Put him a leg-up above his competition .. and there is a lot of competition among landscapers so good for him, right?

Wrong. If you read the paper virtually and happen to click on the comments for this particular article, you would realize that this was actually the worst possible press he could have received.

In a world of digital, viral, virtual, social we are not just shown what the news outlets want us to see but we have an opportunity to see what everyone else thinks about any given subject. Comments on videos, blogs and news articles allow the public to have a voice. The voice is now the NEWS.

I am finding out about the biggest news items first from twitter on my smart phone mobile app instead of seeing it on the evening news or hearing it on the radio. I am exposed not only to the news but people’s opinions about it – a much broader view of the world than when I was limited to the news from limited sources.

In the case of this landscaper, it is unfortunate that public opinion did not support the positive spin the article created. Because even though it states all “comments (should be) smart and civil. (And not) attack other readers personally,” that’s not what I always see. When people have an emotional charge about a situation, the guidelines are sometimes ignored.

Here are some tips from Jeremy Fennema, Head of the MAWebCenters program:

• Tell your story. This is a great way for businesses to get their blog started. Who are you? Who’s on your team? Why did you choose the industry you’re in? When did you decide to become an entrepreneur? This topic can be separated into a series of entries, too!
• Put the audience in your shoes. Tell readers what a day or a week in your business is like. Take us on a tour of your world!
• Get out into your community. Being active in various community events (like local fundraisers) creates a win/win scenario for everybody involved – it’s a way for businesses to promote themselves while contributing to a worthwhile cause! Use your blog to share that experience with readers. Take pictures; describe the event and tell readers what compelled you to become involved with that particular cause.
• Compare your business to the big fish. Small- and medium-sized companies everywhere almost certainly face larger national competitors. If you operate one of these smaller businesses, what gives you a competitive advantage over the corporate giants? Maybe it’s your understanding of the local culture. Perhaps you partner with other local companies. Regardless of your industry, you can always make a solid case for your business against the others with just a little brainstorming!
• Use your resources! Using the resources available through your web site and with your web professional, you can check your site statistics section to see what your most popular products or pages are, and create a blog post from that information. Or consult your Facebook and Twitter pages to find inspiration from your online community!
• Ask the readers! This is another way to leverage multiple features in your Web solution. Send questions or requests for content ideas via e-newsletter, Twitter feed, Facebook or with a simple post on the home page! Customers will love feeling included and will appreciate knowing that their online voice is heard!Most importantly – get started!
  And once you start blogging, don’t forget to promote the blog posts to increase followers. Post your blog entries on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks where you spend time. It will allow your friends, fans and followers to learn more about you and your expertise in your business. Consistent updates to your blog will also add to your SEO ranking, giving search engines new content – which they love!
  

  If you are a client of AllThatInternet.net and utilize the MA WebCenters solution you know you have all the tools you need to get started with your blog. Integrated Blogger tool, site statistics and social networking widgets make it easy to implement these ideas.

What other ways to you get inspired for blog content?

We find that with a well built site and these simple steps, our sites are getting found within weeks of going live. Here’s all it takes for us to get these quick results:

6 Simple Steps to SEO Yourself

1. Build a SEO-friendly site with titles, keyword rich text and images and content set up in category-based pages.
2. Choose the right keywords. First go to Google’s keyword tool and then search for these top terms in google.
3. Make sure titles, meta-data including keywords and descriptions are specific to the page you are labeling and only add keyword/description info to the pages you want search engines like Google, Yahoo and BING to find.
4. Add yourself to directories including local and industry-specific sites.
5. Make changes to the site regularly to keep the content fresh. One way to do this is to add a blog to your site and include articles, news and success stories so there is fresh content to keep your visitors coming back.
6. Promote your site on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn with a company profile. Promote your site on twitter with a company account.

Some examples of free location-based search directories where you can add your company include:

merchantcircle.com
google.com/places
epinions.com
hotfrog.com
yelp.com
local.yahoo.com
cityslick.net
brownbook.net
manta.com

Some of these require a user account or email verification but all of them are free and will create additional link-back credibility.

What other tips have you found to work well in setting up SEO for your site?

To find out how AllThatInternet.net can help you SEO your site, contact Trista Polo for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.

Check it out at www.scoreulster.org

Local Business Directories

A lot of businesses utilize local business directories to get found while waiting for their web site to be indexed and presented in local search engines.

Some of the main free ones include…

• Google Directory – your listing comes up when people search for your industry or company
• Merchant Circle – a listing page where you can enter info, coupons, hours and connect with other businesses
• YELP – a social review site where customers can review your products/services creating 3rd party credibility
• Yaho0 – another good search engine business listing
• BING – Microsoft search engine free listing
• Foursquare – a social networking check-in site so your customers can let people know when they are at your business

There are other directories that be specific to your area so do a search on Google for “local business directory” and see what else comes up. You can also utilize companies like ABC for an additional paid listing.

Just look for the “List My Business” or “Business Owners Click Here” link on the site. Sometimes it is hidden in the footer links so check there too if you can’t find it.

Keep in mind that these listings will always list your competition as well so it should not be the only way people can find you on the internet.

We recommend sharing reciprocal links with your vendors, suppliers, best referral sources, customers and friends that are in same, similar or related industries with you. Many businesses create a Links page on their site for these relationships. Just ask them to add a link to their site with your web address and you do the same.

While helping you get found while waiting to get found, it will also increase your search rank once you are indexed in the major search engines.

And of course, don’t forget to promote your web site on all of your social networking accounts as well – Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Flikr, MySpace, Yelp are all great ways to help your friends and contacts find your business online.

What other directories have you used that have helped your business get reciprocal linking and traffic to your site?

Contact AllThatInternet.net if you know a local business owner that would like to leverage their advertising dollars on the internet. 914-456-5803

Social Networking as a Business Tool

I like to shop at 7am over a cup of coffee…

Do so in my kitchen in my pajamas (which I would wear to business meetings if I thought I would still get business)…

Find great deals and coupons…

There are some sites I have been shopping at for a while. They have the cheapest deals on the items they carry (usually an online boutique that is very specialized) and a great selection. I have a comfort level with them and go back often. I can even sometimes find a coupon making their rock-bottom prices even better.

So why is it that I have to pull my hair out when I try to shop there. A recent experience was at one of these boutique online retailers. I am not going to give them the satisfaction of mentioning their name since all press is good press.

They recently overhauled their site. I’m sure it’s easier for them to track purchase, offer promotions, capture leads. But really. Do I have to suffer for the business to have a better experience? Can’t we have it both ways?

Not only was it hard for me to find where to actually purchase products. It was also hard for me to purchase them. I had to be sold on using the site first which insulted me as a returning customer.

I finally figured out how to buy from them and started *shopping*! =) I filled my cart, got excited when I found a coupon and then went to check out. Happy that I had also qualified for free shipping. It was a rocky start but in the end – well the middle – of my transaction, I was a happy, satisfied customer.

How quickly these things change back to frustration and annoyance.

I was asked to complete a new customer login since I had only ever shopped as a guest (my preferred way of shopping but now no longer an option). I even had to agree to their terms and conditions. I thought it was funny that a coffee company had terms and conditions but they were pretty boiler-plate.

So I agreed and hit “create my account”. All of a sudden, I was sent back to the home page and my cart was empty. Are you kidding? I had over $75 worth of coffee in my cart and now I am going to have to start over with my purchase from scratch. I back-arrowed to the cart screen and tried again…cart empty. I back-arrowed again figuring maybe I could just copy product codes from the list – no codes.

So now I am sitting here, almost out of coffee and not sure I want to buy it from the cheapest, best selection coffee company on the interent.

And the thing is, this is not unusual. Companies spend good money creating e-commerce that is clunky and user-unfriendly. And they are paying a LOT for these sub-par solutions. I guarantee they are not trying to create a bad user experience.

I was on newegg also earlier today. I hit “add to cart” and then “continue shopping” and was taken back to a featured product list instead of back to the list I was shopping from.

30% of consumers are using local content-driven web sites as the main way they learn about new products and services. Imagine how many customers you would have just by having an average online shopping experience for your customers. How about a GOOD shopping experience….

You would surpass most small to large companies vying for the consumer’s dollar and your bottom line would reward you handsomely for it.

What kind of experiences have you had shopping online? Help me make a “to do” list of how companies can improve their online shopping experience.

My list…

• Comparison Shopping
• Wish List
• Back to search after adding to the cart
• Clear and detailed photos of products
• Detailed descriptions with the consumer in mind and not just from the point of the manufacturer
• Coupons! and free shipping offers
• Good selection
• Clear and easy access to products and services

What other ways can we improve the shopping experience?

He has started to gear his advertising and marketing toward a more female audience and his web site is no exception. I am confident that we will be able to meet these goals and am happy to report that our new social networking strategic consultations will fit well in that strategy as well.

It turns out business owners whose businesses target a female demographic benefit greatly from the integrative social media widgets available through our web and internet marketing solution. According to comScore, women worldwide spend 30% more time on social networking sites than their male counterparts.

So not only will we work to assist our newest client with his web design to appeal to a more feminine audience, he will be able to take advantage of our social networking promotional avenues with ease.

Our dedicated team of Social Media Marketing specialsts can guide the business owner through the social marketing process to help the thrive on the most popular social media sites. The result – a shifting tide bringing more customers to the business’ door step.

We have integrated Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, GoogleTalk, Yelp, Youtube, Groupon and LinkedIn and we have only just begun.

Our goal is to help our customers increase retention and broaden their customer base.

We will be updating you on the many enhancements coming. If you are a current AllThatInternet.net customer, you can contact our Social Media Marketing Specialists today and learn how to start utilizing these exciting enhancements right away.