The Infographic

I've been working with infographics quite a bit recently, it's a great way to communicate with your audience.  Here's a few things you should know:

65% of people are primarily visual learners. 

The brain also processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text!  If you can express your message in a graphical way you make it easier for people to take the information on board - and we're all about making it easy for the customer!

Infographics should tell stories

Good Infographics are hard to produce - you can't just dump a few icons and colors on a page and hope people will be wowed by your design skills.   If you removed the text from an infographic would you still have an idea what it was about?

They're Images!

You should already be familiar with the idea that "an image is the sail that moves your content through the sea of Social Media."  People share images way more than they do text articles - an infographic  is the perfect content type for the social media world.

They're fantastic for SEO

Because people are more likely to share your infographic you tend to generate more links, more social shares, more interest in your content and visits back to your website and that's what it's all about isn't it!

They can be about anything

Here's one we just commissioned for my parents 50th anniversary from UK designer Adam Richardson.  It's unique, tells a great story and is eminently shareable!  Click the image to see it in its full glory!

View fullsize

What kind of infographic do you think would work for your business?  Call me on 310 980 2499 or email me and let's chat.

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Written while listening to: Study music Playlist - music2work2

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LinkedIn publishing platform - what's it all about?

I've had a couple of emails recently asking me about LinkedIn's new publishing platform (hi Matt and Sandra,) so here's the skinny:

LinkedIn Overview

LinkedIn is the biggest professional network - kind of like Facebook but for work.  You're generally connected to someone through a real world relationship and spammy connection building is frowned upon.

Just like Facebook there's a news feed where you see what your connections have been up to.

Publishing on LinkedIn (Old)

Up until recently you could post your blog posts or any other content you create to your LinkedIn profile page.  People that were connected to you would see that you had posted something in their news feed and would have the opportunity to check it out

The limitation to this is that they had to be connected to you in order to be aware of your content.  There wasn't really a way to know if someone had published unless you had a real world connection.

LinkedIn Influencers

Recognizing this, LinkedIn introduced the idea of Influencers - this is where you could start to "follow" someone who's content you liked but with whom you had no formal relationship.  With the success of that program LinkedIn have now opened it up to everybody.

LinkedIn Publishing Platform (New)

So - just like Twitter - you can now "follow" any of LinkedIn's 277 million+ members and their published content will appear in your news feed.  And of course - if you're in the content marketing game - they can follow you.

Should you get involved?

Well, as with all this digital marketing stuff you've got to work out if it's a good return on your investment.  LinkedIn is a great place to build authority - particularly for the services industries like Attorneys, Consultants and general knowledge workers.  If you've been an active user of LinkedIn groups then this is a natural next step. 

If however you haven't used LinkedIn and your client base is more B2C than B2B, then it's likely you'll see more bang for your buck elsewhere.

Golden Wedding Anniversary

There will be no It's Friday next week, I'll be celebrating my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary along with the entire family - it's going to be a quite a party.  Normal service will resume week commencing the 7th of July.

Written while listening to: Essay Writing Music - music2work2

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How I learned to stop worrying and love Twitter

If you use the internet to market your business, you're expected to have a Twitter account.  However - unless your business is social media marketing, 99.9% of the time, nobody cares or sees what you tweet.

There - that alone should relieve any "stress" you've been feeling! 

You're welcome.

What about the 0.1%?

Ahh - well - this is where it gets good because if someone is looking at you it's likely they're interested in what you have to sell.  So - what do they do when they "look" at you on Twitter?

They go to your profile, they take note of the imagery, they read the bio and then they'll scan the last 10 or so tweets.  All that information will help them decide whether they want to reach out to you.

So - what's the minimum I can get away with?

You need a branded header image, a great photo of you and a bio that clearly defines what you do. 

If you don't have the time or inclination to give Twitter the 20 minutes a day it needs to do all the re-tweeting and relationship building stuff, then just tweet your blog posts and if you can, share stuff that you've read and think is cool.

Like all of this social media stuff, it isn't rocket science but there is a minimum level of professionalism. 

If you'd like to get up to speed, email or call me on 310 980 2499.

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Written while listening to: Essay writing music - music2work2

Image credit: Dr. Strangelove from appletvhacks

Social Media - is it worth it?

TL;DR: 

Google does not include social in its search algorithm.

Caveat:

There is a direct correlation between social activity and search rankings

WTF!?

Search engine results are driven by links.  

Quick "Link" Definition

A link occurs when people like you and me,  (people who have websites and who publish blog posts, hell, let's call ourselves content creators!)  publish a blog post that links to another page or blog article.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum

If you want the science behind this - read this geeky article by AJ Kohn that I found in one of my social media feeds - look - I'm linking to it here!

And I use this information how?

It's the whole "smarter vs. harder" thing - sure Twitter may be a numbers game but not all numbers are equal - a little bit of strategy can have a huge difference on your bottom line.

If you'd like to make better use of your time email me or call on 310 980 2499  and let's chat.

NB: I'll be off the grid next week hanging with family - back on Monday 28th.

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Written while listening to: Fibonacci 144 beats per minute - music2work2

Image Credit: Sharing by Jono Davis on Flickr

Hashtags in 45 Seconds

Should I use them?

Yes

Where do I use them?

On social media: Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Facebook even Google search.

What do they look like?

The pound sign followed by a word or phrase (but no gaps between the words)
Example: #music or #musictoworkto

What do they do?

They act to categorize your post, not just for you and your circles  - but for everybody.

What does that mean?

It means if you add a hashtag to your tweet, instagram, G+ post etc, it is more likely to be seen.

How many should I add to each post?

Twitter:  No more than two
Instagram: As many as you like (but be careful if you're auto posting from instagram to twitter)
Facebook: Between one and three
 Google+: Between one and three

Where should I put them

Add them to the end of your post

Wow, I'm intrigued, where can I read more?

You're kidding right?  Just Google it and you'll find the datasets behind the above advice.

If all this digital marketing stuff makes you want to tear your head open, email me or call me on 310 980 2499.  We have cost effective solutions that will make your life easier!

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Written while listening to: Fibonacci 144 (unreleased) music2work2

Image Credit: Themes on Anxiety by Michal Maku

WTF is Twitter?

Twitter users are the gatekeepers

to the rest of the Internet

Out of all the digital tools that have sprung up in the last 15 years, Twitter is perhaps the one that is most hated by business owners. Saddled with a ridiculous name and adored by the hipster technorati, the idea of having to “tweet” fills most busy executives with horror. However…

Twitter users are more likely to impact your brand than any other network.

Twitter users are more likely to impact your brand than any other network.

Twitter is Marketing

Conceptually Twitter is no different than traditional marketing channels; you have a message that you want to put in front of potential clients so that they know you exist, are impressed with your offer and remember you when the time comes to purchase a product or service. The difference is the mechanism in which your message reaches potential clients

Twitter is Word of Mouth Marketing

A billboard on the freeway and a Google ad act in pretty much the same way; a static message is shown to hundreds of thousands of eyeballs. Through Twitter your message can also reach hundreds of thousands of eyeballs but it has to be passed on from one person to another, with each person making a value judgment on the validity of your message.

Why does this work?

The number one thing that makes a Twitter user feel good is to have one of their Tweets “re-Tweeted.” This is where another Twitter user takes the time to read a Tweet and consider it relevant or interesting enough to share with their followers.

If a Twitter user develops a reputation for sharing good information they gain more followers, likewise, if they rehash crap they lose followers

Twitter is your access to the outside world

If you want your message to get out to the internet, Twitter’s 250 million users are the gatekeepers:

• 72% publish blog posts at least once a month
• 70% comment on others’ blog posts
• 61% write at least one product review a month
• 61% comment on news sites
• 56% write articles for third-party sites
• 53% post videos online
• 48% share deals found through coupon forums

You only get what you give

I know – you want a quick solution that you can plug in to your existing operations and forget about – everyone does. The reality is that unless you invest a little time in the network, no matter how compelling the content, chances are it won’t be found and shared.

Twitter isn’t about Twitter – it is about people, it is about getting those people to share your message with potential clients. Treat the relationship as a one way street and people will stop listening to you, invest a little time to build a network and you dramatically enhance the chances of your message being shared.

If you would like to discuss a Twitter strategy for your business raise it with me in your next session or drop me an email to book one