Google+ Should You?

Possibly,

Probably,

Depends...

What’s the frickin’ priority?

In order to bring in new clients and customers the most important thing is to be creating and publishing new quality content around your business.

However, if you have no digital network presence, it is likely that your content will go unnoticed because no one knows it is there.

It's about sharing

Building a presence on social networks is about getting your content in front of people who might be interested in sharing it; the more people who share it the more visible it becomes, not just to other people but to search engines too.

With all the different networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Quora, etc, etc) and only so many hours in the day, where do you choose to invest your time?

Google+ is different

Google+ is more than just a social network; it is the logical development of Google’s search business. An active business Facebook page has little impact on search results whereas Google has allocated space – prime space – on its search results page just to feature Google+ profiles and pages.

What’s right for your business?

Every business has a different set of resources; Facebook might be the perfect network, particularly if you’re familiar with it and are driving awareness by local word of mouth. Google+ might be more appropriate if you get the majority of new business through search.

Just because it’s shiny and new and works for someone else, doesn’t mean that it is appropriate for your business.

If you want to learn about leveraging Google+ to improve your search results – reply to this email and book a session

Don't Fool Yourself

She was heartache from

the moment you met her

You’re awesome

So you’re Googling your business to see how well you’re doing and the results look pretty good; your home page is in the top 3 results and even a few of your articles have made it to the top 10.

Excellent, time to fire the SEO consultant and hire more staff.

Really? You’re that awesome?

Search engines show different results to different people; they’re now delivering what they think you’ll like, based on your search history and social media interactions.

If you have 2 minutes I thoroughly recommend this very visual explanation of what is going on:

• Click here and read me 
  (only 2 minutes, I timed it!)

Duck Duck Go

Ridiculous name, I know, but if you want to get a real idea of what you look like to most people this search engine doesn’t track your behavior or “filter” the results.

I’m not suggesting it becomes your default engine, but the next time you’re “looking” at yourself online, wouldn’t you rather see the truth?

http://duckduckgo.com

Google+

Yes, it’s important. If you weren’t aware of how search worked, you can bet that the public aren’t. With Google holding 84% of all US searches and closer to 86% of the global market, they’re already “baking” their social network’s data into results.

As a local business owner you need to be on this; more on Google+ in the next few newsletters.

If you have questions or want to get going with Google+ immediately, reply to this email and book a session.

Bonus

If you’d like a free 30 minute session, be the first to reply with the answer to this question:

azlyrics.com or sing365.com and why?

Screw the Guru

Forget the "tools"

Focus on content

Oooh - shiny things!

It seems that there’s a new social media tool that comes out every day, so much so that we need a blog to tell us “This week’s best new social media tools!” Ever heard of these?

Wetoku, Twitterfall, Klout, Socialmention, Blekko, Kurrently, Sysomos, Zoomsphere… the list goes on.

Social media gurus

Thing is, when you look at the people promoting them – they all make their money in the social media world. Rarely do I see a retailer or a service provider tout the wonders of tools like buffer, trunkly, postling or storify.

Yes there are exceptions, but don’t assume that everything will be appropriate for your circumstance.

Content

These tools all have one thing in common – they exist to enhance your content; enhance – not improve or create.

No matter how automated or integrated your digital footprint is, if your content is lame then all you’re doing is amplifying your inadequacy.

Be the guru

Stop worrying about being behind the digital times or that you’re missing a great new way to get your message out. Ignore the social media gurus and become the “insert your business here” guru.

If your content is compelling enough I can guarantee that there’s someone out there with the tools ready to share it.

If you’ve heard about a new tool and are curious to see if it will work for your business, shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to give you my opinion. If however you’d like to work on improving your content, reply to this email and book a session.

Outsource this...

Don't

Cheat

Yourself

If you went to the trouble & expense of setting up your website and digital marketing around a content model & you’re too busy to write anything, then you basically threw your money away.

A static site may bring you a few clients who find you by luck but are they the kind of clients you want?

Time vs. Money vs. Expertise

Compelling content costs you either time or money; do it yourself when you’re rushing and you’ll produce crap, hire someone for minimum wage and they’ll produce crap.

Crap content doesn’t drive business.

Manage don’t do

Having someone whose core competency is writing not only ensures that content is added to your digital footprint, but that the content itself is compelling and more likely to be shared.

We recently put a freelance writer into a client and the difference was astonishing; traffic to the website increased significantly and sales went up, not only that but the owner now has more time for strategic planning, continuing the virtuous cycle.

How much does it cost?

Budget between $50 and $100 a post, of course it is different for every business & you might pay more or less depending on what you want but this is a good ballpark.

If you’d like to remove the headache that is content production, reply to this email and book a session.

Time to grow a pair

Cojones

Do you have them?

The purpose of a content strategy is to produce something that inspires people to:

• contact you
• remember you
• share your content

Generic content is pointless

I know, you’ve been brought up not to offend anybody, hell this is America, say something too outrageous and someone may sue.

“Don’t rock the boat, don’t be too opinionated, try and appeal to as many people as possible, that’s the professional way to do things.”

Wrong!

That’s the way to make your content bland, boring, indistinguishable from your competition and ultimately forgettable.

Yes, you really are unique and special

• What is it about your business that makes it successful?
• What makes you different from your competition?
• What are the experiences that have shaped your perspective?
• What are your opinions?

These are the things about you and your business that are unique. Understanding what they are, distilling them down and then amplifying them through text, imagery and video is what makes you stand out against your competition.

Don’t try too hard

Remember that you’re competing with people who aren’t as good as you – who don’t have your experience or intellectual advantage. Wannabes fill their content with hyperbole, with adverbs and adjectives to hide the fact that they have little substance.

Forget the sales speak, stop playing it safe, put your mouth where your money is and give people a reason to listen to you.

If you’d like a hand with this, reply to this email and book a session.

Er, did I tell you about Video?

Some Facts:

YouTube saw 45% growth in traffic year on year in December*

YouTube accounted for 25% of visits to all social sites in December*

YouTube is now the second largest search engine 

It’s about getting customers

You have a website because it’s the best way for a new customer to find you. You have a blog because it’s the best way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise to that customer.

How you present your information has a huge impact on whether they choose to contact you and actually become a customer.

It’s about you

You use text to convey your ideas, you use images to enhance the delivery, but then – so does everybody else. To a new customer, your content looks exactly the same as your competition.

Video puts you – yes you – the business owner – in front of potential customers. By allowing your customers to see you and listen to you speak, it makes your information unique and infinitely more trustworthy.

It’s not about going viral

You’re not Rebecca Black – you run a business; stop thinking about video as just a tool to drive traffic and start thinking about it as a way to convert visitors into customers.

Video isn’t appropriate for every communication but used judiciously as part of an overall content strategy it can have a huge impact on your business.

Wondering where to start? Reply to this email and book a session.

*UK market