It had been over eight years since I last visited the museum for the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition. When I finally visited Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth for the first time, it took a traveling exhibit to get me there.

Notice a pattern here? I visited the museums when there was fresh, temporary and interesting content.

Like my never visiting a museum for its static exhibits, how often do you visit a company’s static website? What connects you with a company? Fresh, informative content.

Content Marketing

I found this old post on undervaluing content. In reading it, I think attitudes toward content have finally changed and it has a name: content marketing. Truth is, content marketing has been around for a long time, it just didn’t have a fancy name.

Content marketing involves creating content to engage customers and prospects, to earn their trust you and to get them to take action. You have to keep it coming or else customers forget about your company.

Blogging. That’s content marketing. Emails. Yep. Webinars. That, too. Tweets, Facebook updates and LinkedIn statuses. Yep, yep, yep. It includes newsletters, white papers, special reports, articles, podcasts and videos.

And the cool thing is that any of the content available online attracts search engines. Customers seek information. They need answers. Those answers can be found in content.

Marketing in Disguise

You may be thrown by the use of “marketing.” Content marketing isn’t focused on promoting a company’s products and services. If you constantly sell to them, they won’t come back for more. Content needs to offer value, otherwise how can you earn prospects’ trust? We also buy from people we like. Content helps customers get to know you. As you keep delivering useful content, customers drop another objection that blocks the sale.

Someone asked me if I knew of any way to automate original content. That’s one thing technology can’t do. Even if it could, would it share stories? Make it interesting? Add humor? Content automation sounds like dry content that will tell you everything about a topic without personality.

You don’t need to create content from scratch every time. Turn the contents of your white paper into a video, a blog post, a LinkedIn status update. I bet you can find a great sentence in there that would make a nice tweet.

Companies have it easier today. Instead of trying to reel people in to their websites, they go where they are in social media.

What do you rely on for content marketing? How do you connect with customers and prospects?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

Let Us Facebook

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But Facebook is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to book,
Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook!

Updates don’t show signs of stopping,
And I’ve seen some pics for swapping,
Messages and invites pour in, so I must go look,
Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook!

When we finally connect in Facebook chat,
Your links, jokes and videos make me laugh.
But now I really have to scat.
Tomorrow, I’ll post that funny infograph.

The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, logging off we’re still defying.
But as long as Facebook fills with gobbledygook,
Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

Image from sxc.hu user wolliballa

The AP is Changing the Way Their Reporters Use Twitter reports that the Associated Press (AP) is forbidding writers from sharing opinions in Twitter, including opinions of others through retweets. I understand AP wants to ensure its reputation for unbiased reporting remains intact.

My initial reaction was tripping over my jaw that had somehow landed on the floor. But the more I thought about it, the more I understood the concern. Let’s say you read an unbiased AP article about hydraulic fracturing. If the AP writer who wrote the story has a Twitter account and tweeted that the problems surrounding hydraulic fracturing are overblown, how would that affect the article? Future articles?

What if the writer makes no mention of writing for AP in his Twitter bio? When I tweet a link to a story, I often look up the writer for a Twitter ID to credit the person with writing the story. If I do that with the hydraulic fracturing writer and see opinionated tweets on the subject — could that reflect on AP and the writer?

As I think about this, I’m at a loss on the right way to handle this. With so much low quality, biased reporting today — maybe it’s necessary for AP to do it for the sake of integrity.

What do you think of AP’s actions? Are they exempt or should it apply to other publications? What about companies? Can employees be allowed to share opinions about competitors and their industry?

And now for your weekly links.

Brain food …

• Salvage Your Holidays with 15 DIY Christmas Ideas. Of course, good for any holiday. I do the bakin’ thing. Got a favorite recipe you’re willing to share? My top recipe is the chocolate mint cookies … everyone has this recipe, but I make ‘em anyway. I used to make fudge. I’m not sure why I stopped. I think I got wrapped up with raising three kids and didn’t bake for a few holiday seasons. Then, I decided to go the cookie and granola route.
• To Automate or not to Automate Your Personal Productivity System. Another great one from Lifehack that helps you figure out what you can automate and what you shouldn’t. I have templates for some of my clients’ invoices where the activity is the same, I just add in numbers or hours. I also have automated entries for expenses that repeat every month. I do not have automatic credit card bill payment set up, as I want to reconcile the bill before I scheduling payment.
• How to Curb Three Major Stressors in Life. This time of the year is both wonderful and stressful. Three things in my arsenal: Exercise, “no” and skipping something if it’s too much.
• 10 Business Cliches to stay far away from and why. “Content is king / queen” overused, too.
• These 18 Napkin Sketches Will Teach You Everything You Need To Know About Saving Money. Love these business / finance / personal sketches. Tells story in few words.
• Steve Jobs’ Influence on Our World. Nicely done interactive GQ chart …

For fun …

• Future Generations and Screen Names. True! I tried to get a Gmail ID for my son and nothing decent worked except using his unusual middle name, which he prefers not to do.
• Eyebombing. Not as weird or as gross as it sounds: “Humanizing the world, one goggly eye at a time.” Yep.
• 10 Craziest Christmas Tattoos. Ever wonder what Santa looks like when he’s Darwin? Wonder no more.
• Dear blank, please blank. Hilarious letters where users write letters using this format: “Dear … Please … Sincerely …” And now they’ve been turned into prints.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

Image from sxc.hu user buzzybee

Guest post by Lior Levin. Reference this post for the what and why have a platform.

In business and in life, what you say only means something to those who hear it. You can shout all you want, but if no one is listening, then what you say doesn’t matter much. A platform is the audience you create for yourself — the “who” that you develop around you. They not only hear what you have to say, but also they care deeply about it.

Just like many other processes, the building of a platform involves steps. Following the steps ensures that you don’t skip anything, and prepares you for bigger and more important steps that require the ones that come before.

Step 1: Have Something to Say

Too often, people jump online, start blogging or try to develop a following before they’ve stopped to consider why they are there and what they have to say. People shy away from the difficult yet crucial questions:

• “What am I trying to say?”
• “Why should anyone bother listening to me?”

Until you can answer both questions with confidence and clarity, you shouldn’t aggressively attempt to build your platform. In all likelihood, you wouldn’t go to a conference without knowing the topics, would you? Why, then, should you invite people to “follow you on Twitter” without knowing the reason? Give people a reason to be part of your crowd.

Step 2: Know Who Should Listen to You

The second biggest thing people forget to do before growing a following is figuring out their ideal audience. It used to be that everyone needed to have a “target” audience in mind, but that’s no longer good enough. You need to really know your audience — not just target a specific group of people based on a couple of characteristics. The whole benefit of sitting down and determining an audience profile is to find out who is ideal for you.

Here are great questions to get you started:

1. Who would care about what you have to say?
2. How do you know that?

Answer those questions, and you will hold the key to reaching your audience with little effort and incredible results.

Step 3: Figure Out Where to Find Them

Where is your ideal audience? Are they hanging out on Twitter, joining a Twitter chat? Are they on LinkedIn, participating in group discussions? Are they on Facebook, posting comments on images and videos?

Finding out where your platform lives, breathes and desires to be is the next big step in developing it. Think of it like pulling out a map before going on a road trip. Sure, you could do without the map, and maybe you would eventually get to where you are going. However, with a map in hand, you can take the shortest route, or perhaps the most scenic, or the one with the most rest stops along the way. Whatever route you take to reach your ideal audience to grow them into a following, you need to know where to find them.

Once you figure that out, go find them! Consider everything: blogs, social media profiles, forums and even Meetup and Yahoo groups. You don’t need to be in all places at all times. What’s most important is what you do when you get there. (See Step 4.)

Step 4: Start Communicating 

If only there were a secret recipe for the best way to interact with your platform. Wouldn’t it be great if you could rely on daily blogging, ten to twenty tweets per day, a Youtube video and three Facebook status updates every morning knowing that that would make your audience go crazy for you?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. But there is a golden rule: whatever communication works for your audience, you need to maintain it. Once you have established a way of engaging your audience — speaking, responding, reaching out, involving, polling, etc. — keep at it! Remember that for whatever reason, online activity has a short memory life span. People don’t remember things for very long, and there are a lot of messages going out every day. To remain top of mind, you need to be around a lot. Commit to having an active relationship with the platform that you build.

When broken down into steps, building a platform sounds simple, and it really is. Simple doesn’t mean easy, though. It takes work to follow the steps and ensure that the platform you build is relevant, worthwhile and highly effective for you. It’s worth it.

Have you built a platform? How did you go about it? Or why haven’t you built one? Should everyone have a platform? Why or why not?

About Lior Levin. This guest post is written by Lior Levin, a marketing consultant for the University of Tel Aviv in the political communication masters programs. Lior also consults for a company that provides business and individuals with a to-do list tool.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

Image by mattknow

After seeing a few folks with #hashtag after #hashtag in their Twitter bios, I asked what people thought of that. Along the same lines, I tweeted, “‘I follow back’ in a twitter bio does the opposite of what is intended … at least for me. How about you?”

I don’t follow back because this tells me they’re about numbers not quality. OK … OK … I admit following back one person with “I follow back” in his bio because he posts great quotes worth sharing.

What folks say …

“I follow back” comments

AshDHart: “I follow back” generally = I don’t engage I just build up a collection of followers.

rachaelgk: Agreed, and, I DID follow you because of your tweet that you don’t. Haha.

Booklorn: It suggest the person has no discretion/standards in who they follow, so yeah, not a good thing to put in profile.

#hashtag abuse in bio or tweets comments

zerocattle: if it’s funny, great! If it’s clearly spamming, boooo! (to both cases)

mmonsen7: I try to keep my hashtags to 3 or less per tweet. Often, it’s just one. Looks better, I think.

ZBzacbrown: I think it’s sort of a rookie move and an attempt to make their handle associated with the hashes..advertising..

Aside from those who follow everyone back, users rely on a few visual clues to decide whether to follow someone.

Clues Affecting the Twitter Follow Back Decision

1. Avatar picture. Default or original? Person, logo or other image?
2. Bio. Info, length and format. Format refers to whether the person uses a bunch of keywords or #hashtags. (Unless done with a sense of humor.) You only have 165 characters for your bio. Yet, some people use few words that reveal nothing about themselves. “I follow back” usually gets no follow.
3. URL. Some folks are suspicious of those whose URL uses a URL shortener service like bit.ly, tinyurl or is.gd. Most legitimate URLs should be able to fit that you shouldn’t need a shortener. No URL is also no good even if you don’t have a website.
4. Stats. Tweets, follower, following and listed numbers. People look for unbalanced numbers unless you’re Ashton Kutcher or  Oprah. High numbers don’t necessarily mean the person is popular or a good tweeter. With all the automated tools available, it’s not hard to drive up your numbers.
5. Tweets. Is there a variety of tweets? Or do you see all quotes? (OK, I follow some who do nothing but quotes — there are exceptions.) All “Title of article or blog post” followed by same type of link URL? Do you see other Twitter user IDs mentioned like @merylkevans? Some people look like they’re talking to no one like a “whaling wall” (Credit: Robin Dickson) when they never mention anyone. A sign they’re not listening.

What clues do you look for when you decide whether to follow someone on Twitter? If you look for these traits, what do you consider for each?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

Image credit: Web Treats Etc.

With a daughter in her senior year of high school, almost anything regarding college catches my attention. I caught a tweet about saving for college with a hashtag worth following. I sent a link to the Twitter hashtag to my husband so he could check it out.

“I have never followed twitter. Where would I set that up?”

I replied, “Can’t you see the search results without logging in?”

“I have never used twitter. How do I follow?”

[Insert proverbial jaw dropping moment here]

He’s never been into social media beyond the occasional Facebook friending and commenting. No, he’s not a Luddite — far from it. In fact, we met online the pre-Internet way through a bulletin board system (BBS). And his entire career has revolved around working in IT.

I loved his question because it revealed how someone someone new to Twitter thinks about the service. He obviously knew that following people was something you do in Twitter. But he didn’t know that it wasn’t the first thing he should do after signing up. He could, but people would unlikely follow back.

While there’s no right or wrong way to start using Twitter, you can take a few steps to make the most of it. For example, if you start following people before adding an avatar, you’re less likely to see people following you back. Having the default avatar has become an unconscious signal that the user isn’t serious about Twitter, and in some cases, could be a spammer.

Here are the steps I gave him for setting up his Twitter account (access these features in Settings — see image):

1. Make a list of names using his real name. Millions have already claimed Twitter IDs including @PaulEvans, which happens to be his name. Why a real name? It’s a connotation thing. His name is common, so it will take a few tries to find one that isn’t taken and consider the following guidelines:
• Avoid numbers. No one remembers them and spammers like them.
• Avoid punctuation like _ and -. While some favorite tweeters use them, it’s hard to tell what they are.
• Keep it as short as possible. Whatever your name is, it affects how much room others have in tweeting replies with your name.
2. Upload an avatar. A headshot photo of you works great.
   
3. Write bio. It’d take another post to describe an ideal bio. For most part, state who you are and what interests you. What kind of people do you want to connect with? If they do a search to find you, what words do you want them to use?
4. Enter location. I live in Plano, but I use “Plano, Texas, north of Dallas” to ensure people searching for “Texas” and “Dallas” find me. To abbreviate or not to abbreviate your state is a tough one. I opted not to because “Tx” is often “Thanks.”
5. Add a URL. Paul has a dilemma. He doesn’t have his own website. One option is to create an about.me type account that links to his LinkedIn, Facebook and other IDs. Another is to simply include his LinkedIn URL. There will be arguments for and against every option. Just avoid using a URL shortener service.
6. Change the background. Using one of Twitter’s background designs may not win over some folks. You can use a favorite photo or wallpaper. Make sure they don’t distract from the content. Many popular tweeters have plain backgrounds, so it doesn’t have to be fancy. Want to customize a background? Instead, search for “free twitter background” and use an online wizard to create one for starters. The downside is that the service will probably add its URL to your background.
7. Start tweeting. Yes, start tweeting before you start following. Some people won’t follow someone with no tweets as they want an idea of what kind of user you will be. Mix up the tweets by including links to great articles (Include the title, URL and an original comment), quotes, replies to other people’s tweets and tips in your area of expertise.
8. Follow … carefully. Don’t follow like crazy. If your Following number climbs way faster than your Followers,  people get suspicious.

You may have friends and colleagues already in twitter. If so, follow them and interact with them first.

What tips do you have for someone setting up an account in Twitter for the first time? What notes would you add or change in these eight steps?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

Photo from flickr user Keith Allison

As soon as the team got all three outs and came off the field into the dugout, I went to the coach. The look on his face confirmed my suspicions that he’d be disappointed in me. I apologized and told him I’d hit a home run to make up for it.

That was some promise for 12-year-old me. I excelled in softball, but I didn’t hit homers in every game or every other game. I felt bad about my mistake and wanted to make up for it.

And I did.

The Proof’s in the Pizza

People can recover from business mistakes. They happen and most of us rational folks accept that. It’s how we handle the mistakes that impress or depress customers. Amy Ravit Korin ordered pizza from Dominos online without talking to anyone. You’d think placing an order online would cut errors since you don’t have anyone speaking or listening in the equation. It’s all in writing (typing).

Not only did the pizza arrive over an hour late, but also it wasn’t the pizza she ordered. Korin tweeted a pizza her mind about the experienced in Twitter. Ramon DeLeon, the owner, caught her tweet and responded that he would make it up to her. First, he sent the correct pizza.

The next morning, he apologized in a video that also included the store manager. Despite its mistake, Domino’s gained respect and lots of video embeds for owing up to its mistake.  DeLeon also provide Domino’s pizza for over 350 people at a social media gathering in which Korin was involved in unbeknownst to him. (Talk about fate!)

Customer Service All A-Twitter

When I’ve complained in Twitter and received a response from the company, I’d follow up with a positive tweet about the company. Do a search for #customerservice and you’ll see complaints, compliments and job listings. Here are a few minus the job listings.

PatrickCSanders: Just had the absolute worst #customerservice experience @vapiano_usa on 18th&M NW #DC. Absent-minded chefs/mgmt, & food that never showed!

HeyyyGuyyy: Horrible #customerservice by @BestBuy_Deals during Hurricane Irene – Picture #BestBuy #Irene

I checked on the company accounts of the two negative tweets. No acknowledgment. Another user started a conversation with @PatrickCSanders about experiences with Vapaino.

People will talk about you and your company without you. While we can’t control anything online, we can listen and acknowledge. It can mean the difference between negative publicity and earning customer advocates.

What mistake did you experience that you complained about online? Did the company respond? Have you turned a problem into a positive experience? What happened?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

Photo from sxc.hu user Thoursie

Businesses should take care in monitoring their brand name. From the first day and throughout the life of the company, managers need to use monitoring apps and searches to watch what is being said about their company. Not only does this apply to large businesses with many employees, but to small businesses and one-person businesses as well.

Ignoring customer comments and views devastate a business’ brand and negatively affect your personal image. Because one-person business owners have a tendency to use both their name and their business’ name simultaneously, online reputation management grows more important. To protect your name and business’ name, use the following online reputation management techniques.

Use Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO used to be the go-to for all online reputation management needs. Although it isn’t the only technique to use, it remains important. Following SEO guidelines  allows business owners to make sure that their names appear high in the search engine results and prevent poor press from being easily seen on these same search pages.

Great content and keywords contribute to SEO. After Google’s Panda update, content has become king, the better the content and the more people share it, the better it is for you. A great spot to start for content creation is a blog. Starting a blog is not hard and you can provide your customers with relevant information and show off your expertise.

Businesses researching their competitors look for who is linking to them and what anchor text they are using. However, for someone such as a writer, this would not be a time efficient option since you would have millions of competitors to research. Now if you are a niche writer who write about a certain topic that has fewer  competitors, the research may be worth it.

Dominate Social Media

For individuals who run their businesses under a different title, they need to have an account on numerous social media sites for not only their own personal name, but also for their businesses name. Each of your accounts on these sites, both personal and professional, need to convey the same image that you are a professional providing quality products or services.

While your professional social media sites may be more focused on your products or services, your personal sites need to indicate that you are a professional business owner. This consistency makes it easier for potential customers to find you trustworthy, which will make them more inclined to give you their business. Other reasons why you need to be using social networking sites include:

• Gain feedback from customers.
• Engage followers in a positive avenue.
• Manage and correct any negative press received.
• Grow ranking factor for search engines.

Remember when working on social networking sites, it is important to keep them frequently updated. A neglected account can be worse than no account at all and lead to negative press. If you receive negative comments, respond immediately and rectify the situation, or at least show you are working to resolve it to make both parties happy. Remember negative comments aren’t the only ones that merit a response. If customers compliment, thank them and work toward turning them into brand advocates.

The rise of social media has made brand management a priority for everyone, even college students seeking employment. Politicians have ruined their careers over tweets, while Facebook photos have costs professionals their jobs. It takes years to build your reputation and merely a bad tweet, comment or photo to ruin it.

About the Guest Blogger

Matt Polsky is the Senior Content and Reputation Manager for VA Mortgage Center.com. Managing VA Mortgage Center reviews, and sharing insights learned from the nation’s leading provider of VA home loans.

How do you manage your reputation? What do you monitor? How do you respond to comments about you or your business?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

What do you think? Should Rowling start a new series with one of the characters? Should she create a new series revolving with the new students at Hogwarts? Or just forget it all?

Brain food…

• Blogging: Seth Godin and I are doing it wrong! Refreshing. I try not to let the blog stress me. Not worth it.
• The Brutally Honest Guide to Naming Circles in Google Plus. Now using Google Plus is stressful. I’m spending too much time trying to listen to conversations and engage. Now to add another?
• 41 Awesome Blog Post Ideas for Your Company Blog. Ideas work for all kinds of stuff, not just blog or companies.
• 40 Google Plus Tips for Newbies. I think we’re all new. Find my experiments and connect with me at gplus.to/meryl.
• 10 mistakes made in freelance writing career and 10 steps to setting your freelance writing fees. Two valuable articles from Anne Wayman.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• The Evolution of the Entrepreneur [Infographic]. Technically, this isn’t a true infographic because it has too much text. Nonetheless, it made me laugh.
• Retro Tattoos Dedicate Skin to Pac-Man. Wacka … wacka …
• 12 Awesome Hot Air Balloons. Don’t think I’ve ever met a balloon that didn’t make me smile.
• Lorem Ipsum Generators: 10 Ways To Make Your Dummy Text More Fun. “The Force is strong with this one. I have you now. She must have hidden the plans in the escape pod.” [Link: Yvette Chin]

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

4th of July in 2007

Brain food…

• 30 Websites to Find Free Vector Graphics: I currently manage two PTA and one other nonprofit organization’s websites. This should come in handy. Figure y’all could use it, too. [Link: Deborah Edwards-Onoro]
• Are Case Studies Helping or Hindering You: People also misunderstand what makes a white paper. Yes, it should mention the company, but not until the ending.
• 50 Powerful Time-Savers for Web Designers: Great resource.
• Google Web Fonts: Nice free fonts with no Comic Sans look alike. Whew. [Link: theparallaxview]
• How to sell your services for a higher price: Motivating read.
• 300+ Resources to Help You Become a WordPress Expert: Even I’m overwhelmed.
• What Is The Point Of Writing A Book If You Have No Online Presence? A keeper for writers. Not just for authors.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• 10 Words of Summer: Last week, I asked what you think of when it comes to summer. Vacation is the only one on this list that I’d think of.
• Pacman Tube Map: Nom nom.
• 10 Coolest Items Inspired by Alice in Wonderland: Surreal, of course.
• Archiving People’s Woes: 10 Cheerful Websites. Instant upper without the Rx. Some new. Some familiar. Some not safe for work. [Link: Gina Stark]
• 10 Amazing Geek Bars and Restaurants: Love Miracle of Science’s menu.
• 20 Animal Group Names You Probably Never Heard Of: What kind of business do flies have? Corps of giraffes? They’re serving our country? [Link: Erika Napoletano] More? OK. Fun with Words: Collective Nouns. [Link: Samuel Hawk]
• Alice in Wonderland Cupcakes: Off with her … frosting?
• 12 Coolest Typography-Themed Furniture: I do love good a font. The drawers are the only useful item, but the font is plain.
• 16 Online Gamers Unmasked: What they Really Look Like. I don’t remember the last time I created a game alter ego other than the one on the Wii, and it’s awful. These rock.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans