It may be safe to say blogging has hit the mainstream. There’s a blog – and in some cases hundreds – on any and every topic conceivable.

Blogs are great outlets for voicing opinions, educating, expressing creativity and, of course, as marketing tools. They provide you or your organization a global platform and an opportunity to create a more meaningful relationships with a niche audience. If you don’t have a blog and you’re thinking about starting one, or maybe you do, but have hit a wall with creating fresh content, there are a few things you can do to get started or overcome creative block:

• Research – what is already being done in this area? Can you fill a niche not currently being filled or approach a common topic from a fresh angle? Discover that and you will have a leg up on the competition.
• Passion – what are you most passionate about? Base your blog on something you are passionate about and it won’t feel like a chore. Topics will come easy, and you’ll be excited to constantly create and share your passion with the world. In turn, you will create better content, because it won’t be forced.
• Voice – find your voice. Your passion will dictate this too, but also think about whether you want your blog to be written, video or audio as a podcast. Blogs are not just limited to the written format. If you hate writing, maybe audio is the route to go. Make it fun.
• Curating content – create an editorial calendar with at least a month or two of topic ideas so you are not scrambling each week. Check in with your audience. What are they talking about? Ask them what they want to know or see in your blog. Crowd source!

A good example of someone rocking the blog world is Liza de Guia of Food Curated.com. She started by analyzing what else was being done in the food blog world, found a void in the online food documentary arena, then determined how she could take her documentaries to the next level.

Though there’s no shortage of food blogs, de Guia managed to create a name for Food Curated and a following by doing something different. See the interview below in which de Guia provided some great tips for rising above the fray and finding your passion.

Hopefully this gets you thinking about what you can create. Just remember to be relevant, have fun, find your passion and make it special.

Question: Have you found a new approach to blog about a common topic? If so tell us about it and share a link your blog.

Resources:
• FoodCurated.com
• Tumblr.com
• WordPress.com
• “Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them” ~ by Josh Catone via Mashable

For more marketing and PR tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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It’s happening with greater frequency – traditional media using social media not only to share their stories, but also cultivate new stories and sources. As an added benefit, they are also deepening relationships with their audience and creating more loyalty.

While some organizations have been slow to adopt social media, others jumped in feet first – treading new territory and figuring it out as they go, just as the rest of us are. One news outlet that has integrated social media into the show format is the Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb. Though it was a collaboration among producers and talent, Today Show correspondent Sara Haines has become the unofficial social media correspondent for the show and is doing a lot to deepen interaction with viewers.

During the show, Haines regularly reads comments and questions from the Facebook page, and tracks trends and feedback to help shape the direction of the show. Now, more so than ever, viewers are helping source content and coverage.

“Whether they specifically lead to an idea or shape the route I’m taking….they (the viewers) contribute everyday,” Haines said. “It happens everyday in every post, it influences what we’re thinking and which way we’re leaning.”

This is completely changing the way we communicate with mass media. For the first time, we are seeing more opportunities for two-way interaction, rather than the one-way street we’ve grown accustom to.

“Having people ask questions, and knowing you can give it back, means it’s not a one-dimensional thing,” she said. “Back in the day we could feel we knew someone just by tuning in each day. Imagine if you tune in each day and now you talk with them. It just deepens the bond.”

While not all news institutions monitor and utilize their social networks like the Today Show, more are seeing the value. So what does this mean to you?

You now have the potential to have your voice heard, either by sharing a story idea, interesting news or trend you think journalists and producers would be interested in; joining the conversation – you could have your comment read on air; or you could even be called on as a source for a feature story. Take advantage of the fact that this barrier is slowly coming down and start interacting with the media…but remember to keep it relevant, because spamming will work against you.

**For the entire interview click the video below or download the audio version.

Question of the week:
What online tools are you using to connect with traditional media?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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The idea of personal branding may not be new, in fact it can be traced back to the 1980s when it was introduced by Al Reis and Jack Trout in “Positioning: The Battle for your Mind.” Despite how you may feel about personal branding, social media has made it a part of our fabric. Not only is it important to be a part of the conversation, it’s also imperative to be consistent, relevant and distinguished.

Whether you post personally or professionally, you are establishing a voice for yourself and your audience will come to rely your tone, quality of posts and style. Why does this matter? You are building a brand that potential employers, clients, members of the media and your audience is watching and can reference at any time. You have an opportunity to build a greater audience, set yourself apart and develop more meaningful relationships.

So how do you ensure you put your best foot forward?

• Become an invaluable asset – build your network and continually provide them with resources and information they can’t get anywhere else.
• Find your niche and spread the word – what do you do particularly well? What are you passionate about? Use a blog and your social networks to position yourself as the go-to-person for a specific skill.
• Build equity – create consistency and post regularly. How often do you engage your audience? Do you have a signature blog post or style that keeps them engaged?
• Build your database through layers – as you generate more content, be sure you hitting on multiple touch points: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, RSS, email, etc. As you build your networks in these individual platforms, be sure to integrate them. Find people in your email database that may also have social networking accounts.
• Be visible. Be remarkable. Be everywhere.

Michele Laudig, food editor at the Phoenix New Times and blogger at Chow Bella, has used social media to help develop her voice, and inherently build her “brand.” She also recently added another layer when she began posting her popular “What I Ate” depictions…yet another differentiator. Here is Michele’s take on the issue:

Q. Has social media helped you build your personal brand and Chow Bella’s? If so, how?

A. As a writer, I don’t think so much about my “personal brand” as much as my “voice.” And social media, especially Twitter, is just other place to express my voice. But it’s also been a fun way to interact with readers and people who are interested in restaurants, and it’s been useful for share links to the blog. I like having instantaneous feedback, and I like the community feeling. Twitter is like one big digital cocktail party.

Q. How do you think it has helped you carve out your niche?

A. I think I carved out my niche back when I first started doing the blog a few years ago. Social media has helped bring attention to something I was already doing by giving me a way to immediately reach people who want to know about breaking news, or who are curious about random dish I decided to sketch. So much content goes up on the blog every day that it has been a way to pick and choose what I want to personally emphasize.

Q. Has building your and Chow Bella’s brand helped increase awareness for Phoenix New Times?

A. I’m sure it must — at this point, they are probably one and the same because I don’t write for anyone else in town, and I use social media under the auspices of being the paper’s restaurant critic and resident food geek.

Q. It seems the “What I Ate” drawings have provided your followers another way to share your brand, did you anticipate them serving this purpose?

A. When I think about my “brand” in this context, it boils down to my personality. These drawings are just a funny thing I do, and I’m happy to share them. I honestly had no idea what to expect when I started doing “What I Ate.”

Q. Have social networks (Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn) helped build more interaction with readers or sparked more comments on blog posts?

A. Social networks definitely have helped build more interaction — it’s another forum for feedback, ideas, and even just socializing in the virtual world. And I do think that when I post a link to something from the blog on Twitter, it does get more comments.

Resources:
1. “10 Ways Personal Branding Can Save You From Getting Fired”
2. “Personal Branding 102: How to Communicate & Maintain Your Brand”
3. ‘Top 10 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Brand’s Reputation”

Question of the week:
What are you doing to create a need for your brand?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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Are you Googley? No matter what area of business you are in, being Googley can help differentiate you from your competitors, at least according to “What Would Google Do?” by Jeff Jarvis.

In the book, Jarvis examines how Google operates and its core values: creation, openness, connections, uniqueness, collaboration, invention and keeping it simple. In previous podcasts I talked about Googlefying your business – that series was more focused on utilizing the many platforms Google has created to help you operate more effectively and efficiently in many ways. But by becoming what Jarvis called “Googley” a company is in essence taking the core values that Google has employed to better serve their clients. Whether or not you like Google (good reads: “Google Whacked” and “When Google Owns You”) some of the core values Jarvis outlines in his book should be fundamental in any business.

Fundamental values:

• Listen and monitor – What are customers saying about you and your competition? Where are they saying it?
• Collaborate and link – What do you do best? Focus on that and refine it. Make quality the one thing you do then collaborate and link with others who have different specializations. Linking to other bloggers helps you get found and increases your Google (or Bing) juice.
• Join and distribute – Your audience will likely not come to you, so go to them. Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube…if this is where they spend their time, it’s also where you need to spend yours. Engage, interact and find out what they want. Think about how you can utilize these platforms, like Foursquare, in a different way beyond a special deal for the “mayor.” If you are a restaurant owner or chef, is there room for collaboration with other restaurants to develop a Foursquare-specific deal?
• Innovate – As Jarvis points out in his book, Google employs a 20 percent rule in which technical employees are encouraged to use 20 percent of their time innovating and working on new ideas, products and businesses. It has spawned many of the new ideas and features that come out of Google. Jarvis recommends spending time each week researching, learning, experimenting and inventing.

Get out there and join your audience, the conversation could be taking place without you. Create, and make it easy for your customers to share you or your product with their friends online. Remember, contributing, creating and linking will make you more searchable. Lastly, innovate! It will likely be one of the most liberating things you do in business.

Resources:
1. “Five steps to a Googlier you”
2. “What Would Google Do?”

Question of the week:
Do you implement the 20 percent rule? If so, has it spawned any great ideas that you’ve tested?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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What makes a business remarkable? What drives repeat business?

A recent purchase got me thinking about this again. The item I wanted wasn’t available in stores any longer, so the company had it shipped to me free of charge. I was completely blown away by the entire purchasing process. It was incredibly easy – and rightly so – what company wouldn’t want to make it as easy as possible to take your money? It arrived before the estimated date and the attention to detail in the presentation actually shocked me. They even followed up with a thank you email the day after I received it.

How does a company this large and storied maintain this level of quality and attention to detail? Often with growth these two characteristics fall to the wayside. Aside from a system of policies and procedures there must be something deeper at play here; something at the core of the company.

What is the cornerstone of great business operation? Is there just one? I threw the question out on Facebook and Twitter and got a mix of responses:

Twitter:
@PoshRestaurant – Ingenuity
@SedonaPies – Relationships
@ZackBarna – Honesty. Brutal if necessary.
@jamesarcher - Awesomosity

Facebook:
Stephanie Conner – Good, high-quality work/products
Katie Bitowf – Good ethics.

While different qualities resonate with different people – and timing, cost and type of product also come into play – most successful, sustainable companies have a strong set of values at their core. Perhaps it’s these core values that your customers know you will deliver on consistently that keeps them coming back.

In a recent Marketing Over Coffee podcast, author of “Start with Why,” Simon Sinek, spoke about “The Golden Circle” – why, what and how. According to Sinek, too many businesses focus solely on the what and how, but it’s the why that sets great companies apart. Why you do what you do in your company. People don’t by what you do, they buy why you do it. He said inspired companies, like Apple, focus on the why.

Think about your buying patterns? Why do you do business with a particular company? Then translate this to your customers. Do some mining and find out why your customers do business with you. Their responses may surprise you and may spark some new marketing ideas. At the very least, this exercise will show you care about your customer’s input.

Question of the week:
What makes you repeatedly do business with a company? If you own a business, what value do you offer customers that keeps them coming back?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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How do you make your Facebook page more appealing? One way is to customize it through applications, and now there is bevy to choose from – everything from games to polls to blog/RSS feeds and video boxes. Applications not only enable customization, but if used correctly will also create a page that’s made to stick – your fans will actually want to hang out there, and contribute and share your information with their friends.

Relevant, rich content and regular interaction are imperative to attracting Facebook fans. Applications can help you push new content to your page, make it appealing and keep your fans engaged.

Five to get you started:
1.    Blog RSS Feed Reader – this will automatically feed your blog into your Facebook stream. If you don’t have a blog, there is no better time to start one. There are several blog and RSS reader apps out there and you can also do this with the built in Notes app. Two that work well are the Blog RSS Feed Reader and Social RSS. These can be customized to look like your actual blog.
2.    Static FBML – allows you to add a customized box to your page using Facebook Markup Language. Get creative – add images, videos, text – anything to customize it to your brand. This app was developed by Facebook so it won’t be subject to the problems third party apps sometimes encounter.
3.    Extended Info Box – allows you to fill in more information about your organization beyond the standard information categories. You can also choose the name of the box so it matches your brand.
4.   YouTube Video Box – allows you to import videos from your YouTube account and has an integrated search option, which is handy if you have a lot of videos. There are several YouTube applications on Facebook, but this one seems to be the easiest to use and only requires one step for adding your videos.
5.    Polls – this application makes it easy to create polls for fans. You can add pictures, videos and links to the polls. Again, use your creativity here.

Explore Facebook and all of the applications offered there. Be sure to read the reviews and check who developed it. There are tons of solid applications, but many of them can be overloaded with bugs and not worth the time. Check out the apps other organizations are using too. Zappos.com, for instance, has a very engaging page and more than 32,000 fans. Poke around see what they’ve done – their huge fan base shows they must be doing a few things right.

Question of the week:
What Facebook applications are you using to actively engage fans?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio. Feel free to fan Wired PR too!

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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So you have established Facebook is where your organization needs to be. You did your demographic research, determined how you will engage your fans and allocated the time and resources to truly be interactive. So the logical next step is to create a page. But how do you build a page that will be most appealing to your audience? Start with a few of the basics to get a good foundation, then listen to what your fans are asking for and how they are spending most of their time on your page.

Start with the tabs
The wall – this is your landing page for fans and your life stream. It’s all of the activity and interactions with fans. Devote most of your attention here as your page gets going.

Info – this is all about your organization. Be sure to be descriptive, but concise, punchy and appealing. Don’t forget to post links to any of your Web sites or social networks here too. Use this information and the links in the small box under your icon too.

Photos – consider opening this up to fans, allowing them to post, tag and comment on photos. Photos create another level of interaction and can spark dialogue. Post photos of your customers here too (with their consent of course) and tag them. Again it’s creating more activity on your page.

Boxes – you can add various built in boxes like “links” and “notes,” but they also afford you the ability to customize your page. (More on this in the next blog).

Notes – use this to post articles, press releases, anything…get creative. You may find though that you don’t even need this tab. Most of the other tabs get the job done and are more useful.

Events – use your creativity here too. You don’t have to limit it just to in-person events. Think outside of the box. Maybe host online event or some sort of contest or special promotion on your page that is contained within a set number of days.

Landing page – for fans the default landing page is the wall, but for non fans and non Facebook members you can direct them to a different tab with a call to action. Mashable and Victoria Secret’s Pink do this effectively with their landing pages.

Post no bills
Will you allow fans to post comments, photos and videos? You would be wise to leave it open. You can always moderate any inappropriate postings. Keep in mind the more people post the more it will show up in streams, which means more of their friends see it. Not allowing this level of interaction could potentially have a negative effect.

How will you kick start these conversations and postings? Think like a blogger, unravel stories over time and engage your fans with questions.

One last tip, be sure to grab your vanity URL. Not only does it help you retain your brand identity online, but also there are talks that Facebook may be launching an email platform. The platform would use your vanity URL as your email address. You don’t want to get stuck with one that doesn’t fit your organization.

Couple questions:
If you have a page what is one strategy you’ve used to successfully build your fan base? Could running a promotion to get new fans and not extending that offer to existing fans have a negative impact?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio. Feel free to fan Wired PR too!

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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Is your company on Facebook? Now, more often than not the answer to that question is yes. In fact, it may seem your organization is living in the dark ages if it hasn’t claimed a piece of the Facebook real estate.

But Facebook may not be for everyone or every organization. Before starting a fan page, every company should ask themselves a few key questions:

1) Is your target audience on Facebook? Bottom line, you have to go where your target market is. If they are not on Facebook don’t waste your energy and resources there. Go where they are.

2) If they are on Facebook, ask if you can dedicate the time and resources to truly interact and engage them in two-way communication. If not, then you may want to reconsider creating a page. Unless you’re willing to turn the reigns over to a couple of loyal brand ambassadors like Coca-Cola did with their page. (Read the Mashable post.)

3) Finally, why would Facebook users want to fan your page? What are you going to offer them?

Once you’ve established Facebook is where your company needs to be, what do you do to get started?

Begin building your page being sure to go through the tabs thoroughly and filling in as much information as possible. Include links to your Web site, blog if you have one, and other social networks you are a part of. Think of it as an extension of your Web site (information wise), but as a blog (content wise). Fill it with photos – if appropriate – and tag people in them. Upload your logo or whatever image you want to represent your company in your profile picture.

Before you hit publish, develop a plan for engaging your audience. How are you going to interact with them? What voice will you use? Is going to be more personal or from a business approach? Who will respond to comments, questions and other posts?

How often will you post? Some companies that really have it down typically post a few times a day everyday. Either through questions or relevant information their fans can use. If you go too long in between posts, you will lose your fans attention – staying top of mind is key. BUT you also have to be relevant.

Going through this process will take a little more work, but it will build a good foundation and help ensure the success of your page.

If you have a Facebook page, what tips and tools did you use in the building it? Did you go in with a strategy? What has been the outcome?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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There are countless free online tools out there – everything from white papers to eBooks, to tool kits and guides. While they run the gamut on what they offer, there are a handful of useful tools to help manage, market and maybe even grow your business. Google offers a fare share of resources, as well as Bing, Yahoo and several other sites dedicated to the small business.

These tools will focus on creating awareness and driving people to your brand online:

• Google’s Local Business Center – as local search grows this will become a valuable stream for businesses. It enables you to list information about your business – address, hours of operation, photos, videos, real-time updates and special offers. You can also track views, actions and where the searcher came from. (For more see the below interview with Chuck Reynolds)

• SEOMOZ.org – search tons of free resources and information on search engine optimization.

• Websitegrader – enables you to essentially test the effectiveness of your Web site by giving you an actual grade on the site. It will also tell you where you need to make improvements and offer a few suggestions.

• Google Webmaster Tools – search articles, tips and information on improving your site and where it shows up in search results. It is also a great tracking, management and guideline tool.

• Google Analytics – allows you to track your site’s activity. Find what key terms brought searchers to your site, what part of the world they came from, how they navigated your site, how much time they spent there, and even set up specific tracking events. Extremely thorough and intuitive.

A few others to check out:

• Bing Local Listing Center

• Google Favorite Places

• Yelp

One last note, Google is now doing sentiment analysis, which essentially means it is geo-tagging blog references. Now, when a search is conducted for your business on Google maps it will not only pull up the location of your business, but also any other online references, including blog posts. Yet another reason to get listed on Google Local.

What free tools are you using to help your business get discovered online? Please share.

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

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Is your site the top listed in Google search results? Or is it buried in the fifth “O” of Gooooogle? There are a few good practices you can implement to influence Google’s algorithm and improve where you land in search engine result page (SERP).

This post will concentrate on two key influencers of search results – relevance and authority – and how to impact them – that is if you don’t hire someone that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO). Keep in mind, there are many schools of thought on SEO tactics, but a good, searchable site starts with great content and structure. For a more basic overview refer to “Googlefying Your Business: Understanding Google Basics.”

1. Relevance (on-page SEO) – determines how closely a given Web page matches the search term. This is where keywords, tags, attributes, content and anchor text become important.

• Keywords – determine which keywords are relevant to your industry and which are being searched the most. Refer to your Google Analytics and Webmaster accounts for some insight on the words searchers are using to find you and include them throughout your site.
• Page Title – this appears at the top of the browser window and as the link in search engine results page (SERP). It helps Google determine the content of the page and helps searchers determine whether or not to click on your link. Be sure to use descriptive keywords.
• Page Description – information about the page or a snippet about what the searcher will find on the page. While meta descriptions won’t impact page ranking, good descriptions will make searchers more likely to click on your page.
• URLs – Again this is where rich keywords can be used to impact SEO and your click-through-rate. Also be sure to customize your URLs to match the page. For example, for an “About Us” page, the URL should read http://example.com/AboutUs.
• Images – Google doesn’t read images, so if you do use them, use an “ALT” attribute to include a few words of readable, descriptive text.
• Content – Create useful, relevant information. Sites rich with information will naturally use more keywords and potentially gain more inbound links.

2. Authority (off-page SEO) – This is another element that can influence Google’s algorithm. Some might argue it is the primary influencer. It is a measurement based on the number of inbound links on your page from other pages and their authority – not all inbound links are created equal. How do you build your authority?

• Interact – get out there and post to other blogs. Don’t spam, but offer thoughtful responses to blogs you are already reading and that interest you. Once you post your comment a trackback will be created.
• Blog – the more thought-provoking, useful content you create, the more comments and references you are likely to receive.
• Anchor text – this is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink that usually gives the user a relevant description of the link’s destination. Using relevant keywords as anchor text can help with search results.

There are countless ways to impact SEO, but this should give you a good base to start from. I’m curious what SEO tactics have been used? What has been successful? What hasn’t worked?

For the audio interview click the play button below, and for the video podcast visit Getting Found Online

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