Subscribe Now!
...with web-based news readers. Click your choice below:
...with other readers:
Get Nick Bostic New Media Marketing delivered by email
Embed this content on your site
Embed with: SpringWidgets
FeedBurner makes it easy to receive content updates in My Yahoo!, Newsgator, Bloglines, and other news readers.
Learn more about syndication and FeedBurner...
Current Feed Content
-
6 Steps To Achieve Social Media Optimization
Posted: Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:02:12 +0000
There are so many social media services out there – some that are just plain fun, some to watch over your kids, some to stay connected to old friends or colleagues and some that are industry specific. If you try to join and participate in all of them, you will never have true social media optimization and you will annoy friends and family members with your obsession.Social Media Optimization
- You’ve heard it all before, but it’s true that the first step to social media optimization is to analyze your goals, your likes and your industry. In real estate, it makes sense to be on ActiveRain. If you are a restaurant owner, Yelp may be more important. If you are a chiropractor, naturopath or acupuncturist, creating word of mouth via Twitter may be your best bet. Figuring out these specifics is something I can help with.
- Next grab ALL of your usernames. Yes, even though we are only picking and choosing certain networks, grab your username as many places as possible to protect your online identity. Use UserNameCheck.com to see the most popular sites and search them quickly. You may want to bookmark this page since grabbing your usernames may take a while.
- Now, starting with the sites from step 1, fill out your profiles. This is different for each site, but coming soon, I will have detailed instructions showing you how to get going on the most popular sites. Eventually, you’ll want to complete profiles on every site, but for now, just stick with the ones we’ll be using. Each profile should be almost identical, using great keywords you want to be identified with. Again, let me know if you need help.
- Find people you know. It’s always easier to talk to someone you know than a complete stranger. Most of the social media sites will allow you to import contact lists from GMail, Hotmail, Yahoo! or Outlook. USE THESE TOOLS CAREFULLY! At some point, every single one of these social media sites will ask if you want to invite people who aren’t on the site. This is considered by many to be SPAM! So just use the tools to connect with your contacts that are already on the network, then selectively invite people in a personal way.
- Go listen. Too many people getting into small business online marketing sign up and immediately want to see business flowing in or start spamming their message out. You need to establish relationships and trust first. So go listen and figure out the tone of the network before you engage.
- Have fun. They’re called social networks because they are supposed to be social. Business will come, but you have to build your presence first through careful social media optimization.
If you are just getting started with social media, this can be something of a lengthy process just getting setup and started. If you are already established, social media optimization is necessary from time to time in order to weed out networks that aren’t helping and are just competing for time.
Again, if you need help with your small business online marketing and social media optimization, let me know.
Conversation Prism Courtesy of Brian Solis
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
How safe is your computer data? Use Carbonite to automatically back up your important business documents along with your personal music, photos and family videos.
Related posts:
-
Paradigm Shift - A Wonderful Article about Changing Focus
Posted: Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:47:31 +0000
Paradigm Shift: Changing the Human Experience
Thank you Ardell! This is an excellent point that all businesspeople need to be looking into over the next few months to survive going into the future: how to better serve customers instead of yourself. This is great stuff, a definite must-read.Twitter be Nimble, Twitter be Quick, if you don’t know Jack, try these
Coming back at you with some daily online marketing tips and tricks, here’s a great summary of getting going with Twitter and using it more effectively.
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
Get started with the easiest email marketing program around with Constant Contact’s 60 day free trial
Related posts:
-
Ready for 2009
Posted: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:17:32 +0000
I was going to do one of those “Look back at 2008” posts, but realized it would be far too depressing, at least for me. It’s been a very rough year. So I am looking very forward to 2009.
Instead of resolutions, I have some goals. To help me achieve them, I’m putting them down for all the world to help keep me accountable.
In no particular order:
- Lose 10 pounds. I want to lose more than that in body fat, but put on some muscle, so that’s a good number.
- Get to 500 RSS subscribers. Should be pretty easy, at my current pace I should have that done in 2Q.
- Get my time on site back up to over 10 minutes. I’ve slipped down to about 8.
- Generate an extra $2k per month (average) between consulting business and sponsors/advertisers. Remember, I am working a full time day job, so I can only take on so much work
- Have the best Oregon Country Fair and Burning Man to date.
- Learn to stilt walk.
- Get my saxophone back out and get good again.
- Read a book a month.
- Be one of the stars of an incredible festival weekend sometime in June
- Get help. I’m a mess and some help would be good. No rehab, not that kind of mess
- Make at least half of the Portland Beer & Blog events.
- Keep the house clean and finish the fireplace, kitchen touch-ups and flooring upstairs and down by the end of 2Q.
- Learn to build stuff. Wood, metal, whatever, figure it out.
- Talk to (and learn from) one of the best financial planners/real estate investors out there to get to work on my Purposeful Planning.
- Be the best person I can be.
Any other good ideas to add to the list?
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
Need to establish branding with the perfect logo? Try LogoWorks
Related posts:
-
Blog How To: Getting Started Blogging
Posted: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:20:30 +0000
I have found the most difficult part of blogging for people is simply getting started. So I’m going to be writing a series of Blog How To articles explaining how to get up and going, from the technical to the content and promotion.
Blog How To Tip: Hire a Professional
People always moan and groan when I say this. Are you a REALTOR®? Mind if I sell my house on my own? Maybe you own a restaurant. Could you run a bookstore, since it’s just another business? Or maybe you’re an acupuncturist. Do you give yourself chiropractic adjustments too, since its another form of alternative care (thanks to the idiocracy of our healthcare system). My point is that you are a professional at what you do. Your feelings are probably even hurt when someone you know goes to a competitor of yours because you have pride in your abilities. Most of you, however, ARE NOT Apache/SEO/PHP/MySQL/CSS/HTML experts.
It comes down to time value: I could sell my house on my own, but I know statistically it will sell faster with representation and I won’t have to hang out for showings and field phone calls. It’s worth my time to hire a professional.
If you want help with this, please let me know.
So You Want To Go It Alone
First you’ll need a domain name. I recently have been using Domize.com to search for domain names, then buy them through GoDaddy.com. Avoid all of their upselling, all you need is a domain name.
A Word On Domain Ownership: Never have (or expect) your web designer to get your domain name for you. Transferring ownership can be a nightmare, it’s best if you just own it throughout the process.
Next you need a web host. This is who stores all of your files for you and makes them available for the world to see.
A Word On Hosting: I am personally of the belief that if your designer provides it, host with them. This makes development much faster and easier. The software I suggest and will be covering in a moment also requires almost daily updates, either of the plugins or the core system, so this is where paying someone who will both host and maintain comes in handy.
If you want to go it alone, I personally recommend HostGator for hosting. Plans start as low as $4.95, but the nice part is it is very easy to upgrade as your needs require, all the way up to a dedicated server. They also provide CPanel and Fantastico which allow you to install your blog software in just a few clicks.
Finally, you need blogging software. Based on no research beyond what I see people talking about and my experience in setting up over 20 sites to date, Wordpress is the software platform you want to use to power your site. There is a large developer community, so getting help is relatively easy. There are also plugins to enable your site to do pretty much anything you can imagine.
So your homework from Blog How To: Getting Started Blogging is to get your domain name and a hosting account, or just contact me and I’ll get you up and going much more quickly.
Next Time
Next time, I will show you how to use the CPanel/Fantastico system to get your site installed.
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
Use code 3NB4U2 at checkout to get your first month free!
Related posts:
-
Gen Y Prefers Crowd Wisdom Over Experts
Posted: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:21:51 +0000
Obama’s Top Ten Tips For Video Blogging
More and more people are jumping into video blogging (I’m going to be getting into it a bit more myself) and I think this is a wonderful list of things to consider. Like him or not, his videos are very effective.Retro Scobleizer Will Return to His Roots
I definitely agree with Steve in his prediction of more big name social media people return to their blogs and spend a little less time building their brand equity on other sites. It’s all a balance, sites like Twitter and FriendFeed are excellent tools, but they need to be used correctly.Gen Y Prefers Crowd Wisdom Over Experts
While I would definitely agree about 90% to this statement, as a Millenial, I personally use a combination of crowdsourcing and expert information. Say I want a new TV. First I’m going to look at expert review because they have set standards and I can get real statistics. THEN I’ll crowdsource to see what real life, long-term users are experiencing. All the reason why your company needs to social network.How to: Back up third-party applications on your BlackBerry
I plan on attempting an upgrade of an old curve as well as testing a beta update for my Bold. For anyone else considering upgrading their BlackBerry, this is a necessary first step.Related posts:
-
Snow Wars
Posted: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:24:45 +0000
Just saw this video come across the Twitter stream and had to share:
Out of curiousity, I took my 2006 Toyota Corolla and compared the ground clearance to a 2005 Cadillac Escalade (I have no clue what year or style that one is in the video). My car has 5.6 inches of ground clearance, no all wheel drive and no chains. The Escalade has 10.6″ of clearance, A FULL 5 more inches!!! Plus chains, all wheel drive and a snow shovel, which I have none of. So unless a heat wave comes through overnight, I can say odds are low I still will not be able to get off my street.
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
How safe is your computer data? Use Carbonite to automatically back up your important business documents along with your personal music, photos and family videos.
Related posts:
-
Social Media Optimization
Posted: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:09:33 +0000
I’ve been involved in social networking for a few years now on sites such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, FriendFeed and Twitter, to name a few. I even ran a few BBS’s back in my day. Sometimes it feels like there’s a new one every day. I feel like an old man when I complain about how much noise there is these days.
But for someone just getting started taking their business into the social media realm, the volume can be a bit overpowering. You need a little social media optimization.
Not every social network is for you
I came to learn that I hate MySpace. I agreed wholeheartedly with PC Magazine, when they declared it the #1 Worst Website. Now I know a lot of people who love MySpace, but it’s not for me. I really enjoy Twitter, but I know quite a few people who can’t stand the platform. This is why not every social network is for you.
When it comes to social media optimization, there are 3 key questions to ask:
- How much daily time do I have to dedicate? I have come to realize sites like Twitter and FriendFeed require a bit more attention to be truly involved. Other sites such as LinkedIn require an investment up front, but maintenance is relatively easy and requires less time.
- Who is my target market? You must always ask this question! Social media optimization depends on it. If you don’t know who you are targeting, you can’t decide which social media outlet is right for your business, you also can’t establish the best methods on each individual social network to maximize your returns.
- Do I recognize that there is such thing as Return On Relationship (ROR)? Some of these networks may seem like a waste of time. There’s no call or coupon code to track your results. You may not understand how to read your web analytics to see if and how much traffic is being pushed to your site. And what about “brand evangelists”? People who love your product or service so much, they tell everyone. That isn’t very easy to track using traditional ROI methods.
Once you know the answers to these three questions (I can help with this), you can begin your social media optimization and drive relationships and therefore business via online social networks.
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
Get started with the easiest email marketing program around with Constant Contact’s 60 day free trial
Related posts:
-
No TV & No Beer Makes Nick Something Something…
Posted: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:37:08 +0000
Okay, so the TV works, BUT THERE’S NOTHING DECENT ON!!! And I’ve gone through my DVR, it is officially empty as of yesterday morning. And I haven’t been drinking for a few months, so we’re out of beer except for some we’re letting age. This is what I’m feeling like:
Here’s some pics from my backyard since I can’t really go anywhere else:
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
Need to establish branding with the perfect logo? Try LogoWorks
Related posts:
-
Me Picking On The Cat In The Portland Snow
Posted: Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:28:26 +0000
He’s so fun to pick on sometimes…
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
Get fast, inexpensive, high quality business cards from Overnight Prints.
Related posts:
-
Let Me Be Your Email Marketing Director
Posted: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:19:36 +0000
Am I fishing for a job? Not as an email marketing director. I’m going to be regularly writing about the benefits of email marketing and how to do it (more) successfully.
Email Marketing Director Probably Isn’t a Full-Time Job
One caveat to this is if you are managing several campaigns for several products. Like if you work for GM as their email marketing director, but you publish for Chevy, Cadillac, Saturn, etc, that would definitely be a full-time job. A typical restaurant owner or chiropractor, however, isn’t going to need to manage more than one or two email marketing programs.
Let Me TEACH YOU To Be Your Email Marketing Director
I am well-versed in a variety of email marketing distribution methods (from using Outlook “effectively” to using professional services such as iContact or ConstantContact) and will be providing pointers for your online marketing person to also become your email marketing director.
So subscribe to the feed below or ask questions in the comments!
©2008 Nick Bostic New Media Marketing. If you are reading this outside of your feed reader or direct on NickBostic.com, the site publishing this information is violating US Copyright Law. Please report all offenses to nick@nickbostic.com.
Get fast, inexpensive, high quality business cards from Overnight Prints.
Related posts:
FeedBurner delivers the world's subscriptions wherever they need to go. Publish a feed for text or podcasting?
You should try FeedBurner today.
