October 27th, 2011

Making Your Blog Social

Tips and Strategies for Promoting your Content.

As I mentioned in my recap of the Wordcamp Conference in Boston, I sat in on a session where the focus was on making your blog functional (see my post here) and on a session where the focus was making your blog social. Not Buddypress kind of social, but a discussion about content marketing. Being social (i.e., marketing your content) increases your web presence and sharing your blog posts grows your market; whether your goal is to sell your stuff, create a community, increase awareness of a cause or get more followers. It hopefully improves your social experience and the social experience of those who are on your site. It basically was a reminder that if you blog, you probably should Tweet and post on Facebook push your content, because if SEO is important for those that do a Bing or Google search for a topic and land on your blog, you need to be proactive too, if you have one of the above goals.

Some ways to do this are to create blogs that also have video content on YouTube or photographs on Flickr or Slideshare. Then you use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to spread the information you created. With that one blog post, you have broadcasted in 5 social mediums. If time is a factor, there are a variety of plugins that can automatically do that for you via your WordPress blog, like Network Publisher.

Another way to promote your content is to have a subscriber list, but make sure to note it is free. Remember, not everyone understands that that your “Subscribe to my Blog” is a free thing. Especially since a lot of websites are beginning to charge people. Also be upfront with the information about your subscription list: How often will you be emailing them? Will you sell their information?

Lastly, have buttons at the beginning or end of your post to make it easy for your readers to share your post. Plug-ins or tools like the Facebook Share, Tweetmeme, Twitter Retweet, Sexy Bookmarks, Add to Any, Socialize, Facebook Like, to make sharing your blog post super easy. Just don’t make it too busy or have too many buttons. That may actually hurt your goal. Pick one or two plug-ins, or one or two buttons where you most want to have your content shared. And as always, back up your blog before you install any new plug-ins. While these are some examples, they may not work for all. Always review to determine what plug-in is right for your blog, both in the social sense as discussed here, but in a technical sense too!

So what do you think? Do you currently use any of these plug-ins? Do you have a plug-in you love that is not list here?

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October 27th, 2011

WordCamp Boston

The logo of the blogging software WordPress.

Image via Wikipedia

What I did on my summer vacation.

So this one time, at WordCamp….

I went to camp this summer; minus the mosquitoes and smores. (Bummer on the latter.) WordCamp was an informal day and a half Boston conference in July that focused on everything WordPress. Casual users (aka: me) to core developers got together to participate, share ideas, and get to know each other over a common platform: WordPress. There were some great sponsors too, like Zemanta, !Oomph, VaultPress, ISITE Design, and .tv.

There were five main tracks: (1) How To, (2) Development, (3) Education, (4) Strategy, and (5) Advanced Development. The How to Session focused, for example, on how to use WordPress as a Blogging platform. The Education track contained sessions on how to use mobile WordPress on campus. Development and Advanced Development were for folks who create WordPress plug-ins and themes. The Strategy sessions were for businesses interested in figuring out why blogs are the core to any social media strategy.

I stuck with the How to segment. Though some of the things I already new or had taught myself, it was great to learn about new plug-ins, be reminded why I use a certain plug-in in the first place, and overall get a refresher on things like SEO. The crowd in these sessions was a mixed bag of social media experience. Some did not know what was SEO (Search Engine Optimization: How to get your stuff found on the web) and others chatted about Child Themes and .php files like it was the daily weather forecast.

All in all, there were some great takeaways to share if your are a WordPress user. The first post will be about Tips and Strategies to Promote your Content. The second post will be about Top Tips for Blogging in WordPress. Like me, you may have this plug-in or already know this tip, but hopefully there are some that are new for you. Even if you are not a WordPress user, there may be some concepts to look into on your own Blogging platform.

Overall, here is one item that I loved about WordCamp.


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October 26th, 2011

Are you accurately listed on Foursquare?

If you are a small business, there is a lot of talk about having a business presence on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. There are lots of seminars teaching you strategies on searching for mentions of your business on Twitter so you can respond to comments via Tweet, or to review your stream on Facebook to handle questions or concerns. Yet, there is little chatter about a presence on Foursquare and what you are doing about mentions of your business on that platform too.

Foursquare has grown from 1 million users to over 10 million users in one year. It is growing exponentially every day and is touted as a top player in the social media space.

If you are not familiar with Foursquare, read my past post here, but the general gist is that your business can be listed by anyone on the Foursquare application, which is primarily used as a smartphone app. (Though access can also be through their website.) Then everyone who visits your business can “check-in” and leave a ‘tip’ (i.e. a comment) about your business or their experience in your store.

Question is: are you reviewing those tips? If there is an error in your business listing or if it is incomplete, are you fixing it? Here are some examples, and some ideas, on what you can do to ensure you are putting your best Foursquare foot forward.

First, check your basic business listing on Foursquare, either through the app or the website. Is the address correct? Does it have all the information you would want to provide a customer like a phone number or twitter handle?

Here is one business listing that looks good.

mbeans 4sq
Here is one business listing that has errors.

Parlor 4sq

It is easy to update any inaccuracies on Foursquare.com. If you are the business owner, you can even ‘claim’ the venue to add information, as well as add specials and deals.

Second, what comments have people left on your Foursquare business listing? This shows some good comments for a local business.

comments 4sq

But the comments for this business are not as good.

panera comments 4sq

If this was your business, you could gleam a lot of information, such as perhaps staffing more employees during lunch or upgrading WiFi.

All in all, take a minute to look at your business listing or listings on Foursquare. Ensure consistency across your brand and periodically check to see what people are saying about you so you can respond and improve your business each day. Not only is it a good social media strategy, but it is a good business strategy too.

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Image Credit: Photobucket

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October 21st, 2011

Klout and Self-Hosted WordPress Blogs

Image representing Klout as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Klout Klash

As many of you know from my previous Klout post, there are new ways to give Klout. However, there are new ways to add Klout too, and that is by linking your various social media channels into your Klout profile, such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, and more. There is even the ability to add your blog.

Um, maybe.

I have a self-hosted WordPress blog and I was super excited to see the WordPress emblem on my Klout profile. In addition to adding my YouTube channel and my LinkedIn profile, I went to add my WordPress blog.

Until I realized I couldn’t.

Apparently, if you have a self-hosted WordPress blog, you can’t add it to Klout. (Ironic that this post, on this blog, about Klout, won’t get me any Klout points). However, if you have a free WordPress blog (meaning you don’t have your own domain name like CharleneChronicles.com but rather CharleneChronicles.Wordpress.com) you can add it to your Klout profile.

Let’s just say that is not sitting well with many folks. Here is a stream I came across when looking for a solution.

Klout5

Apparently, there isn’t one.

Klout6

And the answer given by this particular employee is rather…non-helpful…don’t you think? Many people thought so. Here is one ‘customer’ response, if you will.

Klout3

Another commentator also thought that the reasoning (albiet a short one) from the Klout employee didn’t make sense.

Klout2

The Klout employee responded again.

Klout

Needless to say that second official Klout response didn’t go well. Here is one of the many responses.

Klout4

All in all, there are two issues here. First is the quick, non-specific, responses from Klout. Big no-no number one. The next is the issue is about self-hosted WordPress blogs not getting the same Klout push as WordPress hosted blogs. While I don’t agree with the whole “I’m better than thou…” comments, I do agree with the gentlemen above who said that until both sides (self-hosted and WordPress hosted) websites can be supported by Klout, Klout should have left all ‘blog platforms” off the list so there is an even playing field.

What do you think?

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September 2nd, 2011

What is Klout?

Image representing Klout as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Klout measures your online influence based on your ability to drive action online. Every time you tweet, post, or otherwise create online content, you influence on some level.

Klout measures that level and gives you a Klout Score from 0-100 with 100 being the highest. Then it defines you further. Are you a conversationalist? Are you an activist? Broadcaster or specialist?

In the past few months, a Klout Score has gone from using data via Twitter and Facebook to including LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare (and more) to measure the people you influence, how much you influence them, how influential they are and how you influence overall. It makes sense, since these additional venues are key in the social media realm as much as Twitter and Facebook.

As a result, companies are beginning to take notice of Klout scores in offering and selecting key individuals as part of their brand campaigns, so Klout is an online tool of which to take notice. It appears to be here to stay. Companies like Mashable and TechCrunch agree. In the social media world, many are obsessive about their Klout scores as they are with their Google analytics.

Another tool in Klout is the +K feature where fellow Klout users can give you Klout kudos for your online areas of expertise. To learn more about that feature, see my post here, but it has given even more social media credence to the Klout experience. =K is all the rage, just as +1 for Google.

All in all, Klout continues to grow. Question is: are you a part of it yet?

 

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September 2nd, 2011

How to Give a +K on Klout

What is a +K?

If you have seen tweets like this, you may wonder what it means or how to do it.

If you are not familiar with Klout, then see my post here, but a relatively new way to show your Klout is to show that you have online influence on a certain topic or are otherwise considered an authority in a particular area. It can be important to show your expertise with brands or companies for various opportunities. Currently, those topics are generated by Klout’s algorithms, but Klout has mentioned that it may to let users submit their own topics in the future. But generally, this is what it looks like.

These are the topics that Klout has determined I am an influencer in and fellow Klout users have given me +K in those topic areas. You can see where I have gotten more +Ks in one area over another in the progress bar on the right.

So here is how to do it.

First, you need to sign-up for Klout. Second, you need to link your Twitter and Facebook accounts to your snazzy new Klout account. Ta Da! Now you have Klout.

Then, look for people you know to give them your +K. One of the easiest ways to find someone is to type in their Twitter handle (example: charchronicles) in the upper right corner of your Klout page.

When their profile comes up, under where it says Influential about, click “See all” link.

Then select one of the topics associated with that profile and click the +K button.

You then have the option of tweeting or posting your +K gift. Klout users get an allowance of five +Ks every day that they can give to any user in any topic and they can give a +K to the same user on the same topic once every seven days. Ta Da! Easy right.

So how about giving me some +K love. ;)

 

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