September 1st, 2011
by Daniel Hadaway
TechCrunch has an interesting article (and accompanying video) about some of the behind-the scenes info from Google on what goes into providing search results and constantly revising the algorithms to make results more relevant.
You should definitely take four minutes and check out the video, but here are a few key takeaways:
Google changes things constantly. Early in the video it is mentioned that last year alone, Google made over 500 changes to its search algorithm. Some changes were major, and many were minor; but staying abreast of all the latest changes Google is making- and knowing how those changes will affect your search engine ranking is a very important part of maintaining your digital presence.
Google doesn’t arbitrarily change its code. Somewhat conversely from the previous point, Google spends many hours researching every change and its potential impact on users and results. So rest assured, that your page’s ranking isn’t resting on the whims of a corporate giant (well at least not a volatile one). In the last minute or so of the video at TechCrunch, Google explains an anecdote of how one change is monitored and refined. They definitely do their homework!
Lastly, Google does control your fate. The bottom line is that Google does have ultimate control over your ranking within its search engine. They don’t answer to a higher authority than their share holders, as any business would. The whole point of this video being posted is to show the public how responsible and trustworthy Google is with all of this power. But still, it’s not a good idea to place all of your eggs in Google’s basket.
Try dedicating some resources to decidedly non-Google-controlled marketing means like Display, Paid Search (still owned by Google, but you’re paying them so you know you’ll get results!), Social Media, or even a Website designed to convert.
The bottom line is that Google does control what happens on their search engine, even though ti reached critical mass a long time ago. But, be reassured: it does seem like for the time being they are dedicated to constantly improving search results for users, and providing clear concepts on how to rank higher in its results!
TechCrunch has an interesting article (and accompanying video) about some of the behind-the scenes info from Google on what goes into providing search results and constantly revising the algorithms to make results more relevant.
You should definitely take four minutes and check out the video, but here are a few key takeaways:
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Paid Search, SEO | Tags: analysis, display, google, Paid Search, story | View Comments
August 23rd, 2011
by Marcus Snyder
What time of day should I post? How long should my status messages be? Is it okay to ask followers to like something?
These are just a few of the question that every page administrator faces daily. There are a lot of “best practices” floating around out there that helps with these inquiries, however, there isn’t a whole lot of data to back them up … until now.
The people over at Momentus Media analyzed the top 20,000 Facebook pages to find out which posting techniques really work and placed their findings online for the entire world to see. For each analysis, they dissected 10,000 – 250,000 posts to find out exactly what drives interaction, and more importantly, how to replicate it.
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Filed under: Content, Marketing, Online Reputation, Social Media | Tags: facebook, followers, how-to, online reputation management, PR | View Comments
August 18th, 2011
How to Deal with Negative Comments About Your Company
It really is an inevitability: At some point in the life of your business there is bound to be someone who has a bad thing or two to say about your company. Even if you always do everything right, someone isn’t going to like you, and they’ll be determined to tell the world about it.
More often than not, the first place people go when they have something negative to say about a company these days is Twitter. Of course, they do this because all of their friends are on Twitter, but they also do this because they know your company is most likely on Twitter too!
Twitter (and social media at a higher level) have become the main medium for expressing dissatisfaction with a company or brand. So you need to be prepared to deal with the negative posts when they start showing up. Here are a couple of ideas for how to do that:
Address the issue in private, and ask the poster to remove the negative post.
Finding a way to address a customer’s complaint via the medium he or she used to express that complaint can do a lot to solve negative feedback. Doing this says “We’re paying attention to you and your criticism and will meet you where you are to resolve this for you.”
Once you’ve resolved the issue, it may be appropriate to ask the person to remove the negative post. This should only be done when you perceive the original post to contain factual inaccuracies or exaggerations about your business. The idea is not to erase the incident from existence, but to ensure the truth is being told about your brand. If someone says “I came to XY Restaurant yesterday and my sandwich was horrible”, you should leave it be.
In situations like the one above where it is not appropriate to ask someone to remove a negative post, you should encourage him or her to create a second post, highlighting the positive outcome and how you addressed their complaint. In the above scenario it may be “Big thanks to XY Restaurant for contacting me and giving me 2 free lunches in the future, in order to make it up to me!”
Many times addressing the issue directly can turn a negative into an eve bigger positive!
Provide an alternative location for customers to voice complaints.
It never hurts to attempt to prevent a negative comment from being posted about your brand in the first place. Create a page on your site, and link to it from your social media profiles, that is dedicated to accepting critiques and feedback from your customers.
Many times this will be enough to encourage the customer to communicate via this direct channel as opposed to a public social media post.
Of course, once you receive the negative feedback via this page/form, make sure to address it! Customer service is still important to your customers and your business, so don’t neglect it!
One thing to never do: Get into a public argument.
The last thing you want as a brand is have your audience become polarized by a public battle with a disgruntled customer. Avoid confrontation in public like (insert scary disease here)! No one wants to see that in their social media feed and it won’t turn out good for you, no matter what!
Negative critiques of your business will eventually happen. It’s important to keep an eye on what’s being said about your brand and stay proactive! Stay on top social media platforms and communities and remember: Your reputation exists whether you choose to control it or not!
by Daniel Hadaway
It really is an inevitability: At some point in the life of your business there is bound to be someone who has a bad thing or two to say about your company. Even if you always do everything right, someone isn’t going to like you, and they’ll be determined to tell the world about it.
More often than not, the first place people go when they have something negative to say about a company these days is Twitter. Of course, they do this because all of their friends are on Twitter, but they also do this because they know your company is most likely on Twitter too!
Twitter (and social media at a higher level) have become the main medium for expressing dissatisfaction with a company or brand. So you need to be prepared to deal with the negative posts when they start showing up. Here are a couple of ideas for how to do that:
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Online Reputation, PR, SEO, Social Media | Tags: controversy, facebook, followers, online reputation management, PR, reputation, reputation management | View Comments
July 18th, 2011
by Marcus Snyder
David Berkowitz recently posted an article on Social Media Insider that, in exactly 906 words, called Google+ dead in the water. While his perspectives are interesting (and at times, entertaining), they’re flawed. This service has yet to be fully released to the public. Calling this platform irrelevant and bereft of life is premature, at best.
Let’s be honest, adding another social media platform into the mix may be a bit overwhelming for some. Managing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, etc. can be exhausting, and initially I too questioned the demand for another major hitter to enter the game. I was wrong. Everywhere I turned, there was someone pleading for an invite.
This begs the question: Why is everyone so eager to hop on the Google+ bandwagon? Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Social Media | Tags: controversy, google, google plus | View Comments
June 21st, 2011
by Daniel Hadaway
FlashXML.net wrote an interesting (and useful) blog about the reasons employers look at your Facebook account.
The article lists 10 reasons that are unique in some ways, but all pretty much boil down to this: Are you an honest, upright person? To put it another way: Are you the kind of person that employers want working for them?
This article got me thinking, and not about my secret life as a lip-dub star and the voice behind the Bronx Zoo Cobra Twitter account. No, it got me thinking about how your business is no different than an employee in this article. And your employer is every person who has ever considered doing business with you.
Think about that… Every person… Ever.
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Filed under: Blogging, Content, Online Reputation, PR, Social Media | Tags: centralcast, facebook, facebook page, online reputation management, reputation | View Comments
June 1st, 2011
by Daniel Hadaway
A former colleague of mine used to have the following mantra about online video: “If it’s great, it will go viral.”
Every time I heard that statement, I would wince. While the sentiment was honorable enough, the facts just don’t back up such a worldview. There is a ton of great content out there that never gets shared or viewed by anyone. And this isn’t true just for the online world- it’s true in pretty much every form of media.
Some of my favorite (and critically acclaimed) TV shows were canceled in their first season. In fact, some of today’s most popular TV shows came dangerously close to being canceled because no one was watching them.
For example, NBC’s The Office was on its death-bed midway through its first season, and the only reason it didn’t get canceled was because the network’s president at the time was a huge fan of the series and kept it alive.
So, great content is important, but it doesn’t guarantee viral success. So what does guarantee that a video will go viral?
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Filed under: Content, Video | Tags: branding, how-to, Video, viral video | View Comments
January 25th, 2011
(Note: This article references “scam”-related suggestions in Google, but really could be about any negative-keyword or term that Google may be suggesting about your brand.)
While most companies would love to show up higher in search-engines, can you imagine a situation where showing up first on Google is a bad thing?
This blog has an interesting article about a client that had this exact issue. Google was suggesting the company’s brand name + the word ’scam’ in their suggested results.
How would you feel about a company if when you typed in their name, the word ’scam’ was added to the brand name and suggested by Google?
While this function of Google is certainly useful for finding companies that truly ARE scams (and avoiding them), what happens when Google gets it wrong? Or more importantly: why is Google getting it wrong in the first place? Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Content, PR, SEO | Tags: Content, google, Marketing, PR, reputation management, SEO, word-of-mouth | View Comments
December 16th, 2010
Landing pages are the bread and butter (or cheese and bacon, if you prefer) of most digital marketing campaigns. Virtually all other marketing efforts are moot if prospects aren’t converted into customers with a well-crafted landing page.
While efforts can be made to lead a prospect towards doing business with you via Paid Search, Display Advertising, Social Media, and Email Marketing- none of them are as directly responsible for obtaining new customers as a landing page.
So, what makes a great (effective) landing page? While definitely not exhaustive, here is a list of the Big 3 indicators of landing page success. Get these three items in place, and you’ll be well on your way to a land filled with unicorns, double rainbows, and most importantly: full pockets. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Landing Pages | Tags: convert, landing page, Landing Pages, sales, user experience, Web Design | View Comments
August 17th, 2010
Improving e-mail campaign performance doesn’t need to be rocket science. In fact, sending highly valuable, relevant and of course targeted e-mail campaigns can be accomplished by placing a few, simple content best practices in your utility belt.
- Personable “to” and “from” field – Use your company or first name if applicable for the “from” field. Personalization is key. Be sure that your opt-in process asks for the right information. Using a first and last name as opposed to the company name in your e-mail’s “to” field is an important indicator that you value your prospects enough to devote the time to addressing them personally.
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Filed under: Email Marketing | Tags: email campaign performance, email content, email content best practices, email marketing content | View Comments
August 3rd, 2010
Creating demand starts with creating awareness of your brand. While paid search is especially effective in driving results further down the buyer funnel (capturing people actively searching for products/services you provide), display advertising is an essential tool for driving buyer consideration and awareness.
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Filed under: Display Advertising, Uncategorized | View Comments
