Small Business Marketing & Business Acceleration | FrontlineMarketingSystems.com

Expert Video Marketing Strategy – Spoiler Alert: Cat Videos Included #SESNY

Posted on 22. Mar, 2012 by BLarson in Blog, Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Video Marketing

Have you worked yourself to the bone on a video marketing campaign only to see the results fall flat? Do you have a wealth of video content but are unsure how to leverage it effectively to serve your marketing objectives? Can your presence on YouTube be summed as ‘well, we have a channel’?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re not alone. Getting results through your video marketing efforts can be a challenge if you don’t have the right game-plan. However, you’re in luck! At day 2 of SES New York TopRank CEO Lee Odden moderated a panel discussion with leading industry video marketers.Their stellar tips and insights that can be found below.

Video Marketing Tactics – Mark Robertson

Robertson did an excellent job providing a nice comedic break during the session by showcasing a video that pokes fun at one inevitable truth about audiences: we love cat videos. If you haven’t seen the Catvertising video, take a moment to watch the video. It’s worth it.

Cats aside, Robertson shared some helpful and often overlooked SEO tips for YouTube that can help your video be found more easily through search.

• Titles-Be sure to include a relevant keyword at the start of the title to help the video be found through search.
• Summary – The summary serves as the meta description in the SERP. Start your summary with your keywords when possible to set expectations with your audience about the content in the video.
• Tags – Per YouTube’s own instructions, include as many relevant tags as possible.
• Playlists -They offer appear in search results and can keep your audience engaged with other relevant videos. Create playlists and include 3rd party content. Per YouTube, a videos ability to funnel traffic to other videos is factored into its search algorithm.
• Close Captioning – When uploading videos, be sure to upload closed captioning. The text from closed captioning is indexed and can help the hearing impaired and search engines find your video.

Applying a Strategic Approach to Video Marketing – Aaron Kahlow (@omconnect)

Video marketing shouldn’t live on an island in your marketing program. To be successful videos can’t be a simple one-off project or after thought. Kahlow encourages marketers to apply their marketing strategies to video and incorporate video marketing as part of a larger holistic effort.

Here are some key strategic steps to apply to video marketing:

1. Determine Your Goal – What marketing objective should it serve. What is the desired outcome of the effort?
2. Identify How to Capture the Video – Should the video have a raw feel that can be captured through a handheld or does the message need to be shared through high-quality video and production.
3. Target an Audience – Who are you targeting with this video? Apply what you know about this audience to dictate how, when and where you promote the video.
4. Leverage Your Brand & Promote Links – Your video should not be a secret. Promote it through other established channels such as: website, blog, email and social.

Video Marketing Case Studies – Greg Jarboe (@gregjarboe)

Making a viral video is a lot easier said than done. Although planning that a video will reach viral status is a dangerous expectation, Jarboe helps break down some of the commonalities that widely successful marketing videos share. Through his research, he found that every video that found a large audience fell into 4 categories.

• Inspiration
• Entertainment
• Enlightenment
• Education

An Example of Inspiration – Positive vs. Negative

Given the current political landscape, one might expect that the Republican candidates vying for the party’s presidential nomination would be gaining a large audience on YouTube. Compared to the number of views and shares for videos promoting President Obama, the Republican candidates’ audience is just a fraction of that of that of the incumbent. Why would that be?

One observation Jarboe noted was the focus of the videos. Whereas 71% of the videos on YouTube by Republican candidates were negative or attack focused, a majority of the videos surrounding Obama have a positive message promoting things like ‘hope’. Interestingly enough, only 10% of Obama’s videos from the 2008 election actually featured Obama himself. The remaining 90% focused on Obama supporters.

The takeaway for a business is that videos that promote a positive message more often inspire sharing. As Jarboe put it, get your audiences thinking about ‘we’ and not ‘you’.

An Example of Entertainment – Consistency is Key

Ray William Johnson is an actor/comedian who reportedly makes over $1 million dollars a year. What makes that so unique is that you’re not likely going to find Johnson on a major network when you’re flipping the channels. Instead, Johnson found his audience through building his presence on YouTube.

Now it should go without saying that Johnson invests time and energy into putting together creative content – and without those funny videos the next point is moot – but one way Johnson has been able to stand out amongst the flood of videos on YouTube is through consistent publishing. Posting new videos twice a week and always at the same day and time, Johnson has taught his audience to expect new content on a regular schedule – and he delivers.

 Next Steps

This session packaged information well and when looking at the guidance from a cumulative perspective, there’s a comprehensive plan to glean from these experts. Between incorporating Kahlow’s strategic steps, following Jarboe’s guidelines for the type of video that inspires sharing and leveraging Robertson’s SEO tactics, you should have a good action plan to take your video marketing to the next level.

Do you have some expert guidance to share? What video marketing tips would you add?

Stay tuned for more posts from #SESNY, with additional updates on Twitter at: @toprank, @leeodden,@azeckman, @bslarsonmn.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Expert Video Marketing Strategy – Spoiler Alert: Cat Videos Included #SESNY | http://www.toprankblog.com

Online Marketing Best Practices: Software & Technology Marketing

Posted on 28. Feb, 2012 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, content marketing, Email Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

At TopRank Online Marketing, we work with clients in many different industries each facing a unique set of problems.  One of the industries we provide online consulting for regularly is software.  Be it network monitoring, healthcare system and hospital software, email marketing, project management, or B2C software, promoting technology solutions has been a part of our expertise since TopRank was founded over 10 years ago.

Software development continues to become even more valuable in today’s social, mobile and overall digital world as companies begin to migrate what were once offline industries into SaaS and cloud based services.  It wasn’t too long ago that recruiting, sales, and marketing relied heavily on meeting in person or over the phone. With advancements in software and devices, organizations are now able to accomplish the same if not better results at a drastically reduced cost.

Here is where software companies are met with a compelling challenge:  With so many new and previously established software solutions available for easy download and implementation, how can you compete in the marketplace?  It is no longer just a price or feature based conversation.  Companies are struggling just to get their brand front and center with potential customers.  Take Google for example, how often do you search and stray farther than the second page of results before you begin contacting companies to setup a demo of some sort?  Chances are you (and your prospects) don’t go past that first page.

Our internet marketing agency works with many companies that are facing similar struggles: How to attract people looking to buy in such a competitive market?  Companies know that they have a great product but don’t know how to go about getting in front of decision makers and influencers within organizations.  By this point we know that an integration of marketing and sales is necessary for success.  In fact, companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower cost. Here’s a great guide to lead nurturing from our SaaS client, Marketo.

Before making software marketing consulting recommendations, it’s important to do some due diligence to figure out key information about the software/technology company and their customers including:

• Current Situation:  Where are they currently marketing? Sales performance? Leads, sales, order volume, length of sales cycle, cost per lead/sale?
• Objectives: Where do they want to be both short-term and long-term?
• Target Audience:  Define customer segments, characteristics and preferences. Who is the customer?
• Pain Points: What problems are solved for both the prospect and the company they work with if they buy your software/service?
• Differentiation:  What makes your software or technology different from the competition? What is the value proposition?

Agencies working with internal client marketing teams is an essential part of a successful online marketing engagement.  When the agency can work with internal marketers on strategy and planning together, they are able to determine top ranked objectives and can then tailor the solutions to meet the unique needs of the situation. That’s how top agencies (like TopRank) work with clients vs. providing ala carte or commoditized services.

One of our clients is a leading software company in the recruiting industry.  This client wanted to increase their qualified lead inquiries by at least 100% a month.  A qualified lead was defined as a prospect submitting a request for information, setting up a demonstration, or contacting the company directly.  Through a combination of what we call a “push and pull” communications strategy we were able to significantly exceed initial projections.

Push communications were implemented with the intention of increasing brand awareness of the client as a leader and respected source within their industry.  Pull communications included a series of tactics aimed at educating and encouraging prospects to begin making inquiries regarding their software solutions.

The tactics that were used to draw in prospective customers included:

• Social Media & Networking:  to begin interacting with customers in a format and on platforms that they were already using for improved engagement
• Search Engine Optimization: for increased visibility when prospects were looking
• Blog Content Creation & Promotion: to educate and prompt prospects to take action
• Email Marketing: as a means to nurture warm leads and move them through the sales process

Many corporate marketers can get tunnel vision when it comes to marketing their software. They may prejudge integrating channels like search or social media and discount the value of outside expertise because of concerns about effectiveness or the idea of change. Whatever the barrier to getting outside expertise is, there are many situations where it can make a world of difference – especially with situations like the one above where a division of an international software company spiked sales and now has processes in place that would have taken years to do on their own. Ongoing online marketing consulting continues to provide value and more than pay for itself with increases in performance, efficiency and effectiveness.

The simple approach of Situation, Objetives, Audience, Pain Points and Differentiation seems straightforward but so many companies are still on the “Features and Benefits” hamster wheel. An outside online marketing service can break free of those confinements and duplicate outcomes with less effort in the long run.

The process and marketing mix above isn’t limited to software and technology of course. What approach does your company take towards software and technology marketing? Are you integrating channels like SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing?

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Online Marketing Best Practices: Software & Technology Marketing | http://www.toprankblog.com

Online Marketing News: Women Dominate Community Management, Google Privacy, FBI Social, Twitter Censorship, McD Hashtag Gone Wrong

Posted on 27. Jan, 2012 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, community manager, content marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media

The 2012 Community Manager Report

Community Manager is an essential, yet still uncharted territory for many companies that are expanding their presence on the social web.  What should you know about the current state of this position?

• 67% of Community Managers work for a brand
• The most popular city for Community Managers is New York
• 65% of Community Managers are Female

Be sure to check out the rest of this report presented by Social Fresh.

Google & FBI: All Your Social Data Are Belong to Us

For non-geeks, here’s the reference (Zero Wing video)

“Google Privacy Changes: What Do They Mean To You?” Google announced this week that it is rolling out a new, main privacy policy that covers the majority of its products. The company is consolidating over 60 privacy notices into the main privacy policy. User activities across Google web properties from Gmail to YouTube will be used to deliver customized ads. Via WebProNews.

“The FBI Wants to Monitor Social Media” The FBI is looking to develop a web application that can monitor social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, in order to gain better real-time intelligence about current or potential future security threats or situations. As with the Google combined service data collection, many people are thinking, “Weren’t they already doing this?” Via Mashable.

“McDonald’s Twitter Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong #McDStories” From McDonald’s PR: While #meetthefarmers was used for the majority of the day and successful in raising awareness of the Supplier Stories campaign, #mcdstories did not go as planned. We quickly pulled #mcdstories and it was promoted for less than two hours. Via Business Insider.

“Twitter Now Able To Censor Tweets, If Required By Law, On A Country-By-Country Basis” From Twitter: Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country — while keeping it up in the rest of the world. Danny Sullivan compares Twitter’s approach towards censorship to Google, which you might find interesting. Via Marketing Land.

The Online Marketplace is Competitive: Tips to Help You Meet the Challenge:

“The Top 51 stats for Generation Y marketers” How can marketers tap into this gadget-savvy, brand-aware demographic? The following statistics, taken from four recent reports listed below, provide an insight into the complex world of 13-24 year-olds. Via The Next Web.

“5 marketing Tips for Putting Customers First” The digital world of today offers many choices to customers, which means that marketing professionals have a tough job ahead of them.  We must not only ensure that our messaging is on target, but also work with our internal team to make sure that our promises can be delivered.  Via i Media Connection.

“10 Essential YouTube Tips and Tricks”  YouTube is currently getting over 3 billion views each day.  This article provides some great tips for getting more out of your YouTube experience including, improved search and better viewing options.  Via Mashable.

“10 Ways to Impress Your Industry’s Influencers” Often times your press releases are in the hands of influencers within the industry.  This article provides some great tips on identifying who these people are, buttering them up, and following their lead.  Via Ragan.

The TopRank Team Knows News

Brian Larson – “MarketingSherpa Research Shows the Avg B2B Deal on the Decline”
We know that B2B sales cycles are longer. The rebuttal from B2B’s has always been ‘the size of our sales are far greater’.  What if that changed? With B2B deal sizes diminishing, do B2B’s need to focus on increasing sales volume or developing new ways to demonstrate value and win back larger sales? Or both? The answers to these questions are sure to influence online marketing strategies.  Via Marketing Sherpa.

Ken Horst – “Social media for the complex sale: Where should you start?”
While most B2B companies are heavily invested in their social channels today; many are finding that for at least Facebook and Twitter, these may not be the best channels for companies with a longer sales cycle.  The good news is that in this post, the author lists 10 other social media outlets that B2B marketers could use to help prime the pump for those longer sales cycle products and services. Via SmartBlog.

Emily Conley – “Google Announces Privacy Changes Across Products; Users Can’t Opt Out”
Google released an announcement on Jan. 24th stating that the company plans to follow users’ activities across the majority of its sites, including YouTube, Gmail and Google search. With no opt-out option, as of March 1st all logged in Google users will be sharing data that will enable Google to create more complete user portraits.  The change opens new debate around privacy and competitive practices.  Via Washington Post.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Online Marketing News: Women Dominate Community Management, Google Privacy, FBI Social, Twitter Censorship, McD Hashtag Gone Wrong | http://www.toprankblog.com

Google+ for Business: 5 Things Marketing Professionals Should Know About Google+

Posted on 17. Jan, 2012 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, chris brogan, content marketing, Google Profile, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media

Google+ has been on the lips of every online marketing professional since early 2011.  With a base that has now passed 62 million users and the integration of Google+ into Google search, it has become clear that Google+ is here to stay.

As this new social platform continues to evolve it may be difficult to keep up with the latest trends, changes, and tactics for creating an optimized and influential Google+ profile for you and your business.  With recent events and the release of Chris Brogan’s new book “Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything” Lee and I thought it seemed a good time to compile some helpful tips of our own and some from Chris’s new book to help professionals take some of the fear and uncertainty out of using Google+.

Author Information in Search Results

I’m sure over the last couple of months you’ve noticed author information included in Google search results.  This feature displays a photo of the author as well as an opportunity to add them to your Google+ circles.  Getting Author information to appear in the search results next to content that you create can be accomplished a few ways.

Google suggests adding your name and your email address to each article or blog post and then verifying that same email address within your Google+ profile.  The other option is a good old fashioned link exchange between the content you create and your Google+ profile. Add a Google Profile button to your site or manually add the link using: <a href=”[profile_url]?rel=author”>Google</a> and replace the [profile_url] with the long id in your Google+ profile web address. Then make sure you link to the sites that you contribute to from your Google+ Profile in the area called “Contribute to”. Once you do that, there’s a form you need to fill out.

Google Plus for Search

Many SEO professionals and Marketers were up in arms after last weeks release of Google+ search functionality.  It appears that Google is favoring it’s own content over others.  Google does include information from some networks such as Quora or Flickr, but at this point is excluding popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.  What does this mean for marketers?

Take full advantage of these changes and post useufl information on your Google+ profile or company page that are relevant to your business and the business problems of your customers. Engage with others and be useful and interesting so that as many other relevant users of Google+ add you to their circles as possible. The larger your network on Google+, the more likely your content will appear prominently in their search results.

“Where Google+ Fits in the Business Ecosystem”

Outside of the obvious need to have a presence in Google+ for search visibility, there are other good reasons for professionals to leverage the social network. In his book, Chris Brogan expresses that how a company uses Google+ for business is up to them, and that there are many opportunities to consider when building a Google+ strategy.  The suggestions in the book are pretty much best practices for any kind of social network involvement and with all the attention being paid to Google+ the past few months it’s a good time to review. Some of the ways you may want to consider using Google+ for your business or professional online presence include:

• Collaboration
• Learning
• Discovery
• Community Building
• Contests & Promotions
• Customer Service
• Engagement
• Listening
• Referrals
• Sharing

“The Most Important Part of Your Profile: The Introduction”

Building out your Google+ profile is essential for how people perceive your brand. Google+ for Business puts special emphasis on creating a stellar introduction for Google+ profiles.  The introduction field in you Google+ profile should include:

• Professional Experience:  give your potential customers an idea of what it might look like to work with them.
• Personal Information: this will inform prospects what matters most to you outside of business.
• Linking: do not stuff your profile with links but be sure to link to outside resources where appropriate.

“Posting to Build Connections”

If part of your marketing strategy is to connect with interesting or influential people, Google+ this is a good way to inspire creativity in your own content.  Some helpful tips for creating content to drive connections would include:

• Source information from websites that are not always sources.  Posting interesting information from a more obscure sight is likely to catch the attention of new followers.
• Original content that takes a different stance from the majority of users is likely to get you some attention.
• Curiosity drives traffic, share some interesting knowledge that you have about something you care about such as music or film.

There is a wealth of information being created each day on optimizing, creating content, and socializing using Google+.  Over the next few months Google will only continue to roll out changes to their Google+ platform and either by incentive or usefulness, Google+ will grow.

What are your most pressing questions about Google+? Has your business created a page yet? How are you getting your staff on board with Google+ profiles or are you focusing more on your brand page?

Be sure to connect with TopRank Online Marketing on Google+ here.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Google+ for Business: 5 Things Marketing Professionals Should Know About Google+ | http://www.toprankblog.com

Online Marketing News: Google+ Search, $10 per Twitter Follower, Facebook 1 Billion Users, Foursquare Search Engine, Social ROI: No, Really!

Posted on 13. Jan, 2012 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, foursquare, Search Engines, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, Twitter, YouTube

Search, plus Your World

The big news this week centers around the changes that Google has rolled out related to Google+ integration with search, which as the tech press buzzing.  Google is aiming to bring users additional search functionality that is incorporated with their Google+ profiles.   The official Google blog states that “you should be able to find your own stuff on the web, the people you know and things they’ve shared with you, as well as the people you don’t know but might want to… all from one search box.” Industry observers are saying it’s too much Google+, all the time.

Regardless, it’s a new dimension on the face of search and that spells opportunity (for those optimists among us) to Optimize. Here are a few tips on Google+ optimization. Be sure to add TopRank to your Google+ circles!

It’s an Oh So Social Web

“Facebook projected to hit 1 billion active users by August”  There are about 6.9 billion people currently living in the world, and Facebook is projected to capture close to 14% of that number by the end of this summer. According to a new study, the Facebook user count will hit 1 billion by the month of August. Via Digital Trends.

“Anywhere in the world, foursquare Explore can find you something interesting (now on your computer!)”  How do you search for personalized recommendations in the real world? This is a huge and difficult problem. Most real-world searches are one-size fits all. The new web version of Explore is powered by 1,500,000,000 check-ins, tens of millions of Tips, and over half million Lists. Explore is powered by check-ins and foursquare Tips, it’s not just personalized, it’s specific. Via Foursquare.

“Some Advertisers Are Paying Up To $10 Per Follow On Twitter” Marketers spent an estimated $100- to $150-million on Twitter advertising to reach its 100 million users last year, compared with forecasts of nearly $4-billion for Facebook and its 800 million users. So far, Twitter’s advertisers have been prepared to pay $1 to $4 for each new follower through “promoted accounts”, though some – such as car makers – are bidding more than $10. Via Financial Times.

“YouTube accounts for 25% of visits to social sites in December” Market research analyst James Murray shares that there were record levels of Internet traffic at Christmas, with 2.18 billion visits going to online retailers in December.  Murry also shares that the right blend of traffic from social media, affiliates, and other sources is essential.  But, that it is more important than ever for marketers to optimize both paid and organic campaigns.  Via Econsultancy.

“71% More Likely to Purchase Based on Social Media Referrals [INFOGRAPHIC]”  Consumers are currently connecting, rating, discussing, and consumer more product information and review then ever before.  The infographic in this article illustrates the importance of ecommerce inbound marketing.  Via Hubspot.

We’re With the Brand – Tips

“5 Tips for Making Your Brand More Social”   As social media only continues to increase in value companies cannot afford to shamelessly self promote or opt out from the conversation all together.  Requests are being made that companies respond in real time, across multiple channels. Via Social Media Examiner.

“How to Build Recognition for Your Unkown Brand” In the marketing and advertising world the word “frequency” refers to the number of times a consumer must see or an ad before they purchase the product.  According to this article frequency works because it is all about building trust.  As consumers we tend to be weary of anything new.  However, if we are shown a product or brand repeatedly we begin trust what that company has to offer. Via Wall Street Journal.

TopRank(ing) News From Our Team

Emily Conley – “Real-Life Examples of How Google’s “Search Plus” Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy”
Google’s recent implementation of the “Search Plus Your World” feature has everybody talking about whether the new feature benefits Google users, or just the company.  This article dives into the initial impact of the change through a user perspective.  The “Search Plus” feature has huge implications in terms of search and social…this is only the beginning of what is sure to be a long debate!  Via Search Engine Land.

Ken Horst – “Pinterest: 13 Tips and Tricks for Cutting Edge Users”
As we’ve seen in previous weeks, Pinterest traffic and interest is growing like crazy, recently breaking into the top ten social media websites.  In addition to the 13 tips in this post, I’ve also found it useful to create pin boards of images from my blog or web site.   Each image is a link back top the originating web property and if the images are cool, users can also see some nice referring traffic as well.  Via Mashable.

Alexis Hall – “SoLoMo Revolution Picks Up Where Hyperlocal Search Left Off”
I thought this post on Social Local Mobile Search or the “SoLoMo Revolution” was interesting. It discusses how  companies like Shopkick have been successful using new mobile technology to offer shoppers a highly personalized experience.  Via Mashable.

Discussion: What do you think about the new Google+ integration with search? Do you think it’s too much?  What about $10 per Twitter user? Or $1? Do you think Foursquare can compete as a local search engine? We’d love your feedback on these stories and feel free to suggest other top stories we missed.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Online Marketing News: Google+ Search, $10 per Twitter Follower, Facebook 1 Billion Users, Foursquare Search Engine, Social ROI: No, Really! | http://www.toprankblog.com

3 Ways to Optimize Images: Search, Social Media & User Experience

Posted on 05. Jan, 2012 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Optimize Your Images for Better Digital Asset Optimization

From Marketing to PR, digital assets are an essential part of the content used to tell stories and communicate brand messages.  For publishers and public relations professionals, optimizing the images used in news stories and press releases can have an important impact on visibility in search engines.  Images not only add flavor to news content, but they are also an opportunity to extend the reach of your message through image specific search.

Images are essential for both search and social media marketing with growing popularity as a social media asset. Long time image hosting and social network Flickr hosts well over 50 billion images and social media image sharing services like Instagram and Pintrest have exploded in popularity:

• Pinterest has grown 4,000% in the past 6 months
• Instagram added over 2 million users in November

Optimize Images for Search

To improve rankings of your images, here are 6 tips to make sure images are search engine ready:

File Name. Keywords used in image file names provide very specific information to people and search engines on the topic of the image.  img05.jpg isn’t nearly as useful as image-optimization.jpg

Text Surrounding Image. The text used to describe your image like a caption can help search engines associate the image with keywords used in the surrounding text.

Image Linking.  Links from other pages to your image or the page your image is embedded on can help search engines find the image for crawling and also pass PageRank.

Alt Text.  Adding descriptive text to the image alt attribute is helpful for search engines as well as a usability best practice in situations where images are not shown in a browser such as when a visually impaired person uses a screen reader. However, do not stuff a long string of keywords in the alt text, that will simply dilute the meaning and usefulness.

Image Sitemaps. If you are having difficulty getting your images into a search engine like Google, or you want to show that some images are less important, you can add image specific tags to a sitemap and provide that information to Google.

Focus Keyword Usage. For example, if you are writing a piece on flowers and have an image of a particular type of flower then your keywords should reflect the name of that specific flower.

Optimize Images for Social Sharing

Inspiring social shares is important to extend the reach and visibility of image content.  A basic first step is make it as easy as possible for your audience to consume and share your images.

Use Inspiring Images.  I am a strong believer that your content and your images should first be relevant to your audience, and then optimized for search engines.  A good example of news images that have received a lot of social sharing are collections of compelling photos. This group of the most powerful photos of 2011 on BuzzFeed has receive over 45,000 Tweets and 862,000 likes on Facebook.

Use Standard Formats.  While there are many types of images formats to choose from .jpg, .gif, and .png are the most common.  Use images that will be easy to display on any device and you’ll avoid any barriers to sharing or viewing.

Post Images on Multiple Social Media Sharing Sites.  The more relevant places you make your images available the better the chances are that they will be shared.  In addition to social networks like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, popular image hosting and sharing sites include:

• Flickr
• Photobucket
• Pinterest
• Picassa
• Instagram
• TwitPic

Optimize Images for User Experience

The human eye can see things that search engines can’t.  Humans can also associate emotion or take action based on the images used in news stories, press releases and web pages.

High Quality.  People will be more likely to spend additional time on an image that is high quality in terms of composition and image resolution.

Maintain Relevancy.  It is even more essential that your imagery is relevant for your audience.  An image that is disconnected from the text will put people off and they will be discouraged to visit again.  An example would be a photo of a cute dog sleeping when your article is about your clients love for cats, or their rocky relationship with their boyfriend.

Don’t Make Them Work Too Hard. While some journalists or PR representatives may lean toward using abstract images, it is important to always keep the end user in mind. An abstract image may be interesting to look at but does it really help you sell your story? Use your web analytics to determine whether abstract or more literal images result in more pageviews and traffic.

Bonus Tip: Inspire User Generated Content

An interesting way to gain access to new images is to get your network involved.  Try running a contest on your website or social media network page encouraging potential vendors, clients, or those interested in your brand to create an image for an event or as a promotion. The images used in such a promotion can provide content on your site, inspire sharing and links amongst participants as well as a way to recognize your community.

I would recommend that going forward you try to optimize more of your image content and other digital assets.  Many press release distribution services such as PRWeb (a TopRank SEO client) allow users to upload images to their press releases.  If you are a journalist be sure to include optimized images in your column. If you’re a retailer, make sure your product images are easy for Google to access and consider supplying an image sitemap. The next time you upload an image to a social media site, think about using relevant keywords in the file name, in the description and alt text.

The possibilities for image asset optimization are endless and I hope that the tips I have provided show you that some small adjustments to your image optimization can improve search visibility, social sharing and a better user experience for your community.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
3 Ways to Optimize Images: Search, Social Media & User Experience | http://www.toprankblog.com

7 Ways to Improve Your Online Reputation Management Strategy

Posted on 19. Dec, 2011 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, Reputation Management, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, user-generated content

Is your reputation management strategy a turn off to your customers and critics?

Should we respond, get angry, fire back, ignore the situation, censor comments, or just see what happens?  Those are some of the many questions that marketers are faced with today.  With more and more consumers and customers turning online to share what they think of a particular brand or company it has become increasingly difficult to capture everything that is being shared.

In April of this year Yelp.com reached 50 million users with over 17 million reviews on their database.  If you are a professional responsible for online reputation management it makes you wonder how many other means are there for your customers and critics to share their opinion about your company.

According to a recent infographic created by Digimind 47% of American companies’ net worth is tied up in intangible assets like brand equity and reputation.  That being said there are two questions that I would like you to ask yourselves:

• Do you know what your customers,competitors, and critics are saying online about your brand?
• Do you have a plan in place to respond to negative feedback?

If you answered no or maybe to either of these questions then there are some things that you should know.

You Gotta Cover Your Assets.

Step one is knowing where you are present online. Step two is devising a plan for using those assets to your advantage.  The state of online reputation management today calls for more than a company website.  Try leveraging your social media channels as a way to attract, engage, and inspire positive feedback about your organization.

[It] is Not Just About Control.  It’s Also About Letting Go.

You are in control of what you post, where you’re present, and how you react to questions or comments.  Make sure that your online approach is aligned and consistent for each platform.  It is impossible to censor every negative comment and piece of information you have online.  Instead respond consistently and appropriately when you do find negative information.

The Rules of Engagement.

Should an issue arise I recommend you have influencers in your corner.  If you take the time to properly build and cultivate relationships online you will be prepared with an army behind you to approach the subject when and if it happens.

The First Rule of Fight Club is: You Do Not Talk About Fight Club.

If your approach to reputation management involves not talking about or planning for negative press then perhaps it’s time to rethink your strategy.  Managing your personal or company reputation head on will show that you have listened and that most subjects are not off limits.

Please Don’t Take a Turn to Negative Town.

Counteracting negativity with negativity is a recipe for disaster.  If you can, try to take a positive approach and do your best to present your case online if you deem necessary.  If you believe that a formal response is in order, maintain a positive outlook and show that you are open to feedback and will address comments head on.

There Are No Mistakes, There’s Things we do, and Don’t Do.

Learning from the mistakes we have made is key in improving a reputation management strategy.  Perhaps you responded poorly to negative feedback.  To avoid making the same mistake twice devise a plan for addressing issues and shedding a positive light on your organization.

Well, I Guess We Can Close the File on That One.

False.  Ongoing monitoring of your online reputation is key in protecting your assets online.  Consider implementing some cost effective solutions that enable you to monitor issues in real time for quick response. It is important to not only monitor your brand name but also products, the company, and key executives.

Not Sure How You Rate?

If you have a few moments I recommend completing the survey below.  I am curious to know how our readers would rate themselves or their companies when it comes to addressing online reputation management.  I would like to share the results on the TopRank Blog in a future post to see how our readers are addressing issues currently and provide additional tips on reputation management for the future.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
7 Ways to Improve Your Online Reputation Management Strategy | http://www.toprankblog.com

Search, Social, & Content Work Together at SES Chicago 2011

Posted on 16. Nov, 2011 by Ashely Zeckman in Arnie Kuenn, Blog, content marketing, content marketing optimization, lee odden, Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing, ses chicago, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, social media marketing

Wednesday morning’s panel discussion on search, social, and content was flush with information that was easy to digest and provided helpful tips for implementation. The session was moderated by Anne Kennedy from the SES Advisory board and featured speakers:

• Aaron Kahlow, Chairman & Founder, Online Marketing Summit & SES Advisory Board (@omconnect)
• Arnie Kuenn, President, Vertical Measures (@arniek)
• Lee Odden, SES Advisory Board & CEO, TopRank Online Marketing & SES Advisory Board (@leeodden)

Kahlow Presents the What, Why, How, and Who of Search, Social, and Content

Aaron Kahlow focused on some very basic but essential areas that all marketers should focus on when creating a campaign either online or offline. In regards to search, social, and content he had this to share:

What is Convergence?
According to Kahlow what convergence really means is that it’ is important to understand how these disciplines work together and how they impact each other.

Why is it Important?
If marketers are able to figure out how to leverage search, social, and content efforts the return on investment can be so much greater.

How Does Convergence Make A Difference?
By incorporating search, social, and content in multiple locations you are able to set next steps for prospects. An example would be leading users to a landing page that also allows them to like your Facebook page, follow you on twitter, get a link to a free white paper or fulfillment piece.

Who Should Be Participating?
Each and every one of us as marketers has an opportunity to participate and should take the next steps necessary to get involved.

Research & Idea Generation for Content with Arnie Kuen

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for clients is trying to come up with ideas for content that will engage customers. If a prospect is searching online one of two things will happen. They will find you, or they will find your competitors.

Why Should You Focus On Content?
A study conducted by GroupM Search found the following:

• 93% of all buyers online or in stores use search prior to making a purchase
• 86% of searchers conduct non-branded queries.
• 94% of buyers click on organic links versus 6% on paid links for branded queries.

What is the Path to Success?
Kuen provided a series of steps that will not only build foundational success but allow for killer implementation. Included were:

• Start with keyword research
• Do online research
• Determine types of content to create
• List the possibilities
• Put together a calendar

If Peanut Butter & Jelly Could Talk with Lee Odden

Marketers often get in the habit of optimizing strictly for keywords. What marketers should focus on is optimizing for customers and optimizing for outcomes. Odden went on to compare search, social, and content to a PB&J sandwich. It simply wouldn’t be the same without all of the ingredients. According to Odden Peanut Butter is the SEO, Jelly is the social media, and Bread is the content.

Optimized State of Mind
The evolution of SEO will continue to keep marketers on their toes. It is important that marketers understand that anything that can be displayed in search results can be optimized. By making sure that your content is optimized for keywords related to the audience you are trying to reach will put you on the path towards success.

Optimize For Consumer Behavior & Engagement
Knowing what it is that influences your customers is key in determining an content marketing strategy. Some examples of optimizing for consumer consumption would include determining the following:

• What devices do your consumers use?
• What format of information do they prefer?
• What different types of media can be used?
• What types of information would be useful?
• What time of day and frequency would they prefer?
• What topics and keywords are important to them?

Search, Social, and Content Takeaways

• Always know what, why, how, and who of creating a search, social, and content strategy.
• Research is essential in creating an educated marketing plan.
• Build the foundation for success.
• Take a customer centric approach
• Practice proactive optimization

Trying to find the forest through the trees can prove very difficult as it relates to marketing search, social, and content planning. However, what we learned from the speakers today was that doing your homework and building your plan the right way can produce enormous return on investment. I’m curious to know what process you as marketers have found works for creating an integrated online marketing strategy?

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
Search, Social, & Content Work Together at SES Chicago 2011 | http://www.toprankblog.com

What Chicago’s Best Restaurants Can Teach Us About Search & Social Media Marketing

Posted on 15. Nov, 2011 by Ashely Zeckman in Blog, content marketing, Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing, ses chicago, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, Twitter

I’m going to be visiting the windy city for SES Chicago this week and have been trying to figure out where to explore if I can find some time while I’m there. I always enjoy a great meal so turning to search engines and social media platforms was an obvious answer for me to find great restaurants.

Understanding how end consumers use search and social to find and discuss your business online is key in creating an effective online marketing strategy.  The more that you study and adapt your strategy to positively impact new customers, the more successful your social media strategy will be.

What Would You Search For?

When assembling an optimized social media strategy it is important to get in the mindset of your audience. That means thinking about search as well as social since the discovery experience often involves both.  Put yourself in the mind of your customer: What search phrases would you use to find what you were looking for?

The easy choice for researching keywords is the free Google AdWords Keyword Tool. If you’re a restaurant owner in Chicago that expects online customers to find the restaurant and book reservations, it’s essential to know the most relevant and popular keywords searched on a monthly basis.

Below is an example of a keyword search that I completed as it relates to finding a great restaurant in Chicago. Many social media strategists don’t consider researching keyword phrases, but it is imperative that you are aware of the different variations of keywords that can be used to locate your business. Customers might start the process of finding a restaurant with search first, before going to their friends and asking for recommendations.

Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool will show keyword competitiveness, monthly searches per month and additional keyword ideas. Now you can use those phrases as inspiration when creating social content that is a little more search friendly (optimized) socially. Other keyword research tools include: WordTracker, Wordstream and Ubersuggest.

Takeaway #1: Know Your Audience.

By getting into the search mindset of your audience you are more equipped to develop a need based social media marketing strategy.  Customers looking for services and things like restaurants often go to their social networks and ask for recommendations and then to a search engine like Google to get more information. Other customers will start the process at Google and then ask their friends for opinions about what they found in the search results. Either way, it’s important to use the tools available to you in order to understand how customers are using search and social so your marketing can be present at the moment of need.

Provide Value To Your Followers (and prospective followers)

Twitter provides a great deal of information when it comes to seeing what users (and businesses) have to say about a phrase like the “best restaurants in Chicago.” What I typically find is a good mixture of user generated content as well as businesses that have incorporated my search term into their social keyword strategy. In fact, one of the  top 5 tweets related to my search term was published by a restaurant.

Rosebud Restaurants (@RoseBud_Chicago) is a search result created by a business as part of a social strategy. Marketers within any industry can take note of the way that RoseBud Chicago has optimized for keywords and worked to provide useful information to their followers. The content is clever, engaging, and links to their Facebook page which displays mouth watering photos of select menu items.

Takeaway #2: Provide Value.

Worthwhile content can go a long way.  Although you may not have photos of your products or services on display there are still things of great value that you can provide.  Perhaps a series of white papers or news articles that are relevant to your audience will entice them to research you further and take next steps.  If you don’t provide valuable information to your potential customers someone else will.

Don’t Sit and Wait: Be Sure to Engage Your Followers

Interaction is key when executing a social media strategy.  I think that sometimes we lose sight of the fact that social media should be a combination of sales and marketing.  Simply pushing out information will not get results.  The more that you can engage your audience and encourage them to share and act, the more willing they will be to come back for more and tell their network to do the same.  Another Chicago establishment that I think is doing a good job of this is Protein Bar Chicago (@proteinbarchi). Not only is Protein Bar Chicago responding to tweets but they are also asking engaging questions to inspire next steps.

Takeaway #3: Engagement is good for business.

Simple acknowledgment of fans and followers helps build the relationship between a customer and a service provider.  Asking engaging questions and providing timely response to questions can have a very large impact on brand loyalty and business.

User Generated Content Can Have a Large Impact

Think outside of the box when it comes to online sharing.  While it is true that some users (like myself) will turn directly to their social networks, others may not.  If someone goes to Google and searches for the “best Chicago restaurants” are the results on the first page likely to be typical social media profiles? Chances are that they wont.  By utilizing sites that allow for user generated content this opens up a whole new world of possibilities.  For review websites such as Yelp, Zagat, and UrbanSpoon, users provide detailed information about the restaurant atmosphere, price, menu, service, etc.  Remember, happy customers can equal brand advocates.

Takaway #4: Keep customers happy and encourage them to share.

Do you know what sites your target audience uses to voice their opinions about products or services such as yours?  By identifying these platforms in addition to standard social media sites that you should have an active presence on you are poised to cover bases that your competition may not have considered.

What Now?

I know that in this post I have provided a very small example of how one industry can connect and engage customers through search and social media, but I challenge you to apply it to your own company and to think about the following questions and how they relate to your target audience:

• What is your audience searching for?
• What are the problems that your product/service solves?
• What makes your product/service different from competitors?
• What can you do to differentiate your business and engage prospects and customers online?

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
What Chicago’s Best Restaurants Can Teach Us About Search & Social Media Marketing | http://www.toprankblog.com

The Power of Integrated Search Marketing in a Social Media World

Posted on 14. Nov, 2011 by Lee Odden in B2B, Blog, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

For many years search has been the backbone of internet marketing. While effective on its own for a range of marketing objectives, namely product sales and lead generation, it’s the integration with other digital marketing tactics that can really elevate marketing program effectiveness.

It’s important for marketers to think more holistically about their search marketing programs because with brands and consumers empowered to publish 24/7 via mobile, tablet or computer, we live in an age of information overload. Increased competition for consumer attention, interest and engagement means marketing messages must do more to stand out and focus not only on transactional outcomes, but influence and branding.

For consumers, Google has been an effective filter for the billions of documents in its index handling over 11 billion searches per month on Google.com alone. But search isn’t enough to carry the day in most internet marketing programs.

There are challenges for marketers and for Google in anticipating changing consumer interests and the language used with search activity. Of the daily queries on Google, 16% have never been seen before. How can you keyword optimize and advertise for what’s never been searched on? How can advertisers tap into the ebb and flow of relevant topics that represent consumer interest, word of mouth and influence?

A bit part of that solution is the shift towards optimizing for customers and outcomes vs. a sole focus on keywords.  Search terms are often seen as an objective when they are really a manifestation of what buyers care about relevant to the brand’s offering. Understanding customer needs, pain points and interests is the gateway to mining keyword data effectively. Of course determining keyword performance with organic search (with Google) is becoming much more difficult. However, Google AdWords advertisers won’t have that problem since keyword referrer data is not being masked on PPC traffic.

Search ads are highly effective and according to Google, search advertisers realize a 7:1 ROI on investments in search-based internet marketing.  But search is changing even faster than in the past with continuous improvements in infrastructure and technology, changing online consumer behaviors and of course the growing influence of social media and mobile. Companies have not necessarily been quick to adapt to such changes as evidenced (for example) by the fact that only 33% of advertisers have a mobile optimized website.

Social media has been capturing the biggest share of media attention in the internet marketing world and it’s often warranted. Social networks have facilitated major changes from revolutionizing online gaming to facilitating revolutions in countries.  However, social media investment is a kitten’s meow compared to the lion’s roar of search marketing budgets.

According to Forrester’s most recent Interactive Marketing Forecasts (2011 – 2016) for the U.S., interactive spend is to reach $76.6 billion by 2016. While social media spending will increase about 6% in that time, 43% of the overall interactive forecast by 2016 will be search marketing.

That said, the combination of social and search may be even more powerful and as marketers realize the benefit of integration, many will see significant returns. This is something we’ve been proponents of for many years at TopRank Online Marketing whether it’s optimizing social media content for better visibility in search results to incorporating social sharing features in online advertising and media.

The combination of social media with search is more than compelling. GroupM and comScore published a report called “The Virtuous Circle: The Role of Search and Social Media in the Purchase Pathway” which revealed that only 1% of respondents were led to purchase by social media alone. More than half (51%) arrived at purchase by search alone and 48% by a combination of search and social media. For even casual observers of the internet marketing space, it’s easy to see that the effect of that combined interaction will only increase in the future.

In response to the massive competition for online attention and changes in both consumer behaviors and expectations, I believe there are 3 areas marketers can optimize for a more strategic and holistic approach to successful internet marketing:

1. Optimize for Discovery – How does your target audience prefer to find information? Search, Social, Email, Advertising, Word of Mouth. What devices do they use? When are they most likley to search, socialize or purchase?

2. Optimize for Consumption – What content formats and media types does your community prefer? Do they like long or short form? Text, images, audio or video?

3. Optimize for Engagement – What messages, topics and contexts motivate your community to interact, share and convert?

There’s a diversity of influences for consumers as they discover, consume and engage with content and advertising messages online. An integrated approach that empathizes with consumer needs, pain points and position in the buying cycle will help marketers improve their relevance and effectiveness while providing for a better user experience with their target audience.

Within the universe of customer influences and experiences there’s a constellation of opportunities for online marketers to attract, inspire and engage their target audiences.  A holistic mix of paid, owned, earned and social media provides marketers a much better platform for attracting, engaging and activating customers. The question for marketers to answer is, “Do you know enough about your customers, where they spend time online, what they’re influenced by and what key messages and experiences with motivate them to action?”

How are you integrating paid search or even organic search with social media, content, email and other forms of online marketing?  Have you had any obstacles in getting integrated search programs budgeted? Implemented?

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
The Power of Integrated Search Marketing in a Social Media World | http://www.toprankblog.com