Breaking News: Google+ Now Open to Businesses and Organizations

Time to Dive In

If you hang out in the geek world like I do, you’d know that there’s been mounting pressure for Google+ to allow businesses and organizations to create G+ Profiles. (Until now, it’s only been open to individuals and a few large corporations).

And now –  It’s Here! Late yesterday Google+ pushed the doors wide open and now you can create and claim your business’ or organization’s page.

Just go to Google+ Create a Page, fill out the information, and your business is up on Google+. Pretty simple really.

I know a number of you are still on the fence about joining Google+. And I sent out a post why you should be on Google+ a few weeks ago.

Get Off the Fence

So why do I recommend you schedule an hour or less this week to set up your businesses Google+ page and start engaging? Because as one of the top, very tip-top, social media and business experts, Guy Kawasaki, says, “It’s a land grab”. 

Remember when you first started hearing about Twitter and thought “What’s That?”…”How Could that Possibly Be Useful to Me?”

Ever wish you’d jumped in then instead of waiting until it was like pulling teeth to get more than a handful of followers? Although I started on Twitter when it first launched, I let my account languish over the years. I wish I’d paid just a bit more attention to the huge audience out there when there was less attention for their eyeballs.

Today – followers = leads for your business. Important leads. Customers. Revenue. A growing business.

Like it or not, marketing has changed tremendously in the last few years and waiting until everyone else catches on to something (or you do) won’t help people find you or the fantastic product or service you have to offer. And that would be a shame.

I’m not recommending you jump on every new thing out there. But Google+ has significantly more behind it than a couple of kids working out of a dorm room.

So schedule in 30 minutes this week to get your business page up and start poking around google +.

And It Needs You.

You probably have heard that there’s another social networking site – Google+.  And chances are, you have still not taken the plunge to participate. If are there- great! If not, you need to be.

Here’s three main reasons why:

1. Search. Google = search, right? It’s the main way people find you and your business online. In a few short weeks of being on Google+ a search for my name resulted in a #1 listing that included my Google+ picture, profile information, and links to my business website. Cool. I see Google+ integrating into Google search results in a big way. Get involved and claim your name now.
2. Business Pages.  Right now, Google+ is testing business pages with a select few. Once they open it up to everyone soon those Google+ers who already have realtionships established with people in their circles (subscribers or friends) will have a built in audience. You’ll have people that know you, have had discussions with you, and like you. What better way to build your business?
3. Engaging and meaningful. Yes I am still on Facebook (you can joing our Idea Pioneer Community there). And I plan to stay for now. But what immediately drew me into Google+ was the people I met and the rich discussions I was having about things I care about. I’m intersted in art, things going on in the world, technology, fun stuff, learning from others, not just business. Our world is expereincing huge change and, while pics of your vacation are nice, I like a little more. Google+ offers this. In spades. And that’s why it needs you.

Join me on 

++ Click Image to Enlarge ++

Source: The Future of Paid Search Infographic

Recently at one of my favorite, local establishments I was enjoying a refreshing beverage in an increasingly futile attempt to cool down from the 100+ degree weather. Stacked on the table in front of me I spied a postcard promoting an upcoming food festival.

Cool! (as I hoped it would be in September when the festival ran). I picked up the postcard excited to learn more, and like all good (obsessive) marketers, proceeded to critique everything from copy to design.

Postcards are great for marketing. They are a relatively inexpensive way to sell and promote – a staple in the direct marketer’s toolbox. Postcards are something I’ve used with success selling products and events, for many years.

Unfortunately I often see postcards used ineffectively and inefficiently. And this one was no exception.

But, first, I was intrigued to flip the postcard over and find a QR code nestled in the bottom corner just waiting to be clicked.

For the uninitiated, these QR “bar code” symbols can be easily read by smart phones (usually with a QR reader app). Pointed at the QR code, whether on a printed piece or online, once your phone “sees it” you are taken wherever the QR’s code wants to take you – an offer page, coupon, invitation, and more.  You can link a QR code to a URL, text, phone number or SMS. Used correctly, they are a great marketing tool. 

Ta-da!

I pointed my smartphone at the QR code excited to see what popped up on the screen. And – it – was – the festival website! With all of the same information I’d gotten on the postcard! But tiny and not easily readable in mobile form!

In fact the website address was on the postcard. Why even use the QR code??? Did they think that someone with a smartphone capable of clicking QR codes couldn’t enter a website address in a browser?

(I won’t even go into the fact that the website address didn’t point to a unique landing page, or an offer on a Facebook page, or anything that was trackable and measurable.  How would they know if the postcard worked?)

Too many missed opportunities…

Deflated, I thought of all the fun promotional possibilities that QR code could have provided. What could have been done differently? Like any good marketing starting point, you need determine the purpose of your campaign.

This postcard for a food festival was clearly created to sell tickets to the event. It took just a couple of brainstorming minutes to come up with a few ideas.

Five ways a QR code can help your selling and promoting

1. Offer a discount on a ticket purchase with an easy sign up link. The most obvious choice, but spice it up visually with a simple mobile landing page and, say, a big picture of a glass of wine with the percentage off and a “sign up now” button.
2. Create a contest.  The 100th visitor clicking through with the QR code wins two free tickets.
3. Link to a Facebook page and ask for a “Like” in exchange for a reward/discount. Then link directly to a purchase page with a discount code.
4. Make a compelling slideshow of images from previous events (or the ones being used for the campaign); and,
5. Create short, two minute, video pieces with a links back to the sign up page. In this case, there were a number of vendors participating. Stories featuring a few of these vendors could be used in many cool and different ways.

To top it all off, each of these five tactics would provide trackable information to see what worked and what didn’t. You could (and should) split test several ideas to see how each performs.

Are you using QR codes yet in marketing campaigns? What other fun ideas do you think would work well in a mobile QR marketing campaign?

Oh, and if you haven’t already, go ahead and scan the QR code at the top of the page to see what we’ve got for you - 

Let’s elevate ourselves out of the deep groove
of conditioned thinking and herd mentality and
become Originators again…instead of Imitators.
~Oshum

Seems like my radar has been picking up a lot about email marketing lately and the fact that it’s still a very viable marketing tool, especially a social media marketing tool. It seems that when it comes to sharing content, email still beats out every other channel.

This study by AOL found that 66% of people use email to share content (published content including articles, videos, photos, etc.). And it wasn’t just the old folks (aka AOL users…sorry but who else uses AOL anymore) who still use email to share, the 66% spanned demographics in both age and gender.

One of my favorite copywriters wrote this recently Is E-mail Old-Fashioned ,which cites a new study that found business leaders still choose e-mail marketing as the top area of investment growth (65%).

Before I’d even read these two pieces I’d decided that I was going to dust off and pump up my email marketing newsletter efforts. I started my online marketing career, like many, using email marketing and I still have a soft place in my heart for it.

So maybe I’m old-fashioned or maybe my radar -is- picking up on an old “new” trend. In any case, it’s pretty clear that “sharing” is not just for Facebook or Twitter.

Now, email this post to 20 of your closest friends.

Query defined fresh is my new favorite content marketing term. A short video about content marketing, keywords, multi-format content, and how video out trumps every other content format for user action.

]]> http://ideapioneermedia.com/2011/02/visualize-content-marketing/feed/ 0 http://ideapioneermedia.com/2011/01/i-write-this-sitting-in-the-kitchen-sink/ http://ideapioneermedia.com/2011/01/i-write-this-sitting-in-the-kitchen-sink/#comments Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:37:36 +0000 Leslie Mock http://ideapioneermedia.com/?p=592

I just read a post on by Greg Jarboe over at Search Engine Watch.com called Creating Online Video Content that is Worth Watching. The post makes great points about creating video content that is compelling enough to watch beginning to end (using the embarrassingly bad and dweeby Mirosoft video HostingYourParty as an example of what NOT to do – watch at your own risk…).

Bottom line the best video, blog post, article, podcast, etc. tells a great story. All of our content needs to heed the tenets of good storytelling (see the video below). I’ll bet most evergreen content, the stuff that lasts and draws new readers and watchers continually, has strong elements of great storytelling.  It’s something I plan to test and write more about.

In the post a segment is included by NPR’s Scott Simon’s “How to Tell a Story“. It’s fantastic, and right to the point, at about 3 minutes long.  Simon says (hey, it works) openings are critical. Vivid analysis and breathtaking detail are great, but without a good opening, no one sticks around long enough to grab the rest.

My headline opening is from of one of my favorite books I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t bring an immediate image to mind and make most of us eagerly read further.  Here’s a link to the 100 Best First Lines of Novels. May all (or most) of our content be as profound.

What do I tweet?

That question arrived the other day in my in box from a life coach who had decided after trying Twitter almost a year ago, and not really “getting it”, that it was time to jump back in and see what it could yield for her business. It wasn’t the first time I’d been asked this question, so after sending her the same email I’d sent other clients asking “What do I post? I decided to share it with everyone.

My suggestions are below. Mainly, don’t get overwhelmed. Start with 1 or 2 things and get comfortable. This is an approach that focuses on context first, content second.

1.  Make a list of the top 5 words, or phrases, you feel define your niche the best.

2. Find people you’d like to follow in your niche by looking for the “big names” you are familiar with. See what they are tweeting and then see who they follow. (Use the search box in twitter, twitter search at http://search.twitter.com/, and even a hashtag search ex:#introvert)

3. Go to Listorious. Look for people using the search terms in #1. List yourself using these same keywords. You may find some other keywords here you like. Keep focused though.

(You can also find people on twello, a local listing of people to follow, tweepsearch, socialwhois, blastfollow, and some others). Start with listourious.

4. Sign up for google alerts. Take your keywords and enter them. You will get an alert 1-2 times a day sent to your inbox containing news stories, blog posts, and other “news” and information related to your niche. Click on the things that interest you and tweet if you like. (Most sites now have “retweet” button that makes it easy).

Note: I like to quote a part of the piece and include that with my tweet & sometimes a question or comment. I think this brings another element to the tweet instead of the general retweet, but many times this is fine too.

5. Now that you are following people in your niche, you will find things to retweet and reply to. Sometimes it can just be fun. I had a great conversation once with authors and entrepreneurs Jonathan Fields and Pam Slim about having a foot race at SXSW and who would beat who. It was a fun way to engage. You can also answer questions. Just don’t be afraid to engage.

6. In general, a good rule of thumb on tweeting is:

For every 10 tweets makes
- 3 @ replies in conversation (see 5)
- 3 retweets
- 4 original broadcast tweets – could be a link to your newest blog post, a comment on an article (see 4), an opinion, etc.

Finally, don’t stress about it. Schedule in time for twitter so you don’t feel tethered and make use of Twitter lists so you can “catch up” more easily during your twitter time.

Other things to look into later. Twitter platforms like Hootsuite, which make it easy to post and crosspost to Facebook and using an RSS feed for your favortite blos (if you don’t already).

And keep this in mind…

People who are way out of sync with the digital maelstrom of the moment aren’t always bad followers. They might be great leaders.Seth Godin

So don’t stress and don’t be afraid to open your twitter mouth – say something, share something, reply to someone you don’t know. Start with these easy six steps for using Twitter, and you’ll be on your way to getting more credibility and visibility using social media marketing.