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The Benefits of Content Marketing

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content marketing

It has been said before that “content is king”, but when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), this is really the case. Regular high-quality content can help websites and blogs get better rankings online and also drive more traffic to a website. In addition, it also helps companies be seen as a resource and important resource in their field or industry.

Blog Posts

Blog posts are an easy way to continuously provide a website with fresh content. Blog posts should be published on websites 2-3 per week, on a variety of topics that are related to the industry or the company’s products and services. These are easy to find if marketers read online content daily. Companies that create publishing calendars for their blog content may find that they be more productive and organized, leading to better overall content.

To get the benefit from regular blog posts, the blog must be hosted on the same domain as the content. The blog can be on a subdomain, but most users and search engines are used to finding blogs at domain.com/blog.

External Content

Providing content to other sources is another great way to get the benefits of SEO, even though it’s not on the company’s website directly. Guest blogging, press releases, testimonials, videos, and other types of content are examples that can give links to the company’s website. Besides getting links, users see companies that have a wide reach (meaning that they are published/seen in a variety a different platforms) as being more reputable than those that aren’t seen anywhere else online besides their own website.

To find places that will accept your content or mention your company, do Google searches for “guest blogging + “industry keyword”” or look at guest blogging websites like MyBlogGuest and Hullabaloo. Use these platforms to create connections with other companies and website owners to help get your content and website out there.

Social Media

Google and Bing now include personalized search results based on a user’s social network, so being active on social media, for both employees as individuals and companies, is definitely key. Websites should also have social sharing buttons on all blog posts so they can be shared online easily.

Social media shouldn’t just be a place to share your own company’s information and content, but to also be a fun resource and industry news source. Occasionally post updates about current events, holidays, fun facts, and other information that your audience will find interesting.

photo credit: See-ming Lee 李思明 SML via photopin cc

Top 20 Reasons Why We Need WordPress for Blogs

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Initially when WordPress was launched it was a big flop, however, with passing time it has become the most widely used software for websites and particularly for blogging. WordPress offers a lot more than the few 5 to 10 benefits you normally hear about.

Before going into the detail why WordPress is a better tool for your blog, you must be aware what is exactly meant by WordPress. There is WordPress.com that is a free hosted blogging service similar to Blogger etc. and then there is WordPress.org that is the blogging software. We’ll talk about the top reasons of using the WordPress software here. [Read more…] about Top 20 Reasons Why We Need WordPress for Blogs

5 Mistakes Bloggers are Making With Social Media

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5 Mistakes Bloggers are Making With Social MediaEven though most people would regard bloggers as tech-savvy and the ones to whom they can bring their computer to when it no longer will save any more images to the desktop after the first 500. However, it is possible that bloggers are making the same mistakes many others do when it comes to social media.

Not Connecting at All

Not utilizing social media at all is most likely the worst thing a blogger can do when it comes to maintaining a presence online. Creating a social media account is free and fairly easy to do; what takes the most time and effort is keeping it maintained. Many bloggers may feel that social media takes up too much time– however, considering the missed potential when it comes to exposing their brand, it is worth the while to at least set it up.

Not Responding to Feedback

Once a social media profile is set up for a fairly active and/or highly trafficked blog, then it will mostly likely continue to grow at a fairly fast pace. This is when comments, questions, and responses to items posted as statuses on the page. Bloggers need to answer and respond to these on a timely basis, as nobody likes to be ignored, especially blog readers. Participating in the social media community for the blog can help increase loyalty and readership.

Not Sharing Their Content

One of the easiest things to automate via social media are blog post RSS feeds. Use a service like Twitterfeed.com to set this up, which allows for instant posting on someone’s Twitter or Facebook page. This can ensure that your posts are being shared automatically, without having to think about or remember it.

Not Allowing Others to Share Their Content

This is something that is a onetime set-up, but makes it easy to help blog readers share posts. For WordPress blogs, install social sharing plugins like Sharebar or Sociable.  For other types of blogs that have HTML capabilities, install an embeddable widget like AddToAny to appear at the end of posts.

Not Considering it as a Benefit

This goes back to the first mistake– taking social media for granted. Because blogging is an online writing platform, social media should be something that is easy to integrate into the overall blogging process. Most bloggers have nothing to lose when it comes to social media and should in fact add it as part of their blogging and online marketing strategy.

Do You Tie in Your Blog With Your Social Media?

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Many businesses may wonder why their Facebook or Twitter profiles don’t seem to be growing like they should. At first, they may seek to blame the employee or consultant that is responsible for updating and maintaining the profiles. However, before putting blame on the social media content provider, it may be time to look at the company’s website, especially the blog, to see what can be done to increase awareness and exposure of the company’s social media website.

In the sidebar, footer, or main page of a company’s website, they should have a Facebook Like Box, as well as a Twitter widget. For the blog, the sidebar is the best place for these engagement boxes. They allow visitors to instantly connect with the brand’s social media profiles without ever having to actually go to the external sites.  This can help drive growth for the social media profiles instantly.

Besides making sure that visitors are aware of the company’s social media profiles, they should also be making their blog content more shareable by adding sharing widgets or plugins to each blog post. If a site is hosted on WordPress, great free sharing plugins include Shareable and Sharebar. For other websites, try AddtoAny.com or AddThis.com. These plugins and widgets are all free, and can greatly increase your company’s social exposure online.

Sharing content socially shouldn’t always be the visitor’s responsibility. The company can set up automatic posting of a new blog post, news piece, or any other content onto the social media profiles when they are posted on a blog or site that has an RSS feed. TwitterFeed.com is a good resource to do this, especially since they allow sharing on Facebook Pages, not just profiles. Be sure that your automatic posts include a photo preview when shared on Facebook– this instantly gives them more visibility and makes the content more eye-catching to the user.

For original or linkbait blog content, be sure to also make sure that posts are shared via social bookmarking sites, which can make them viral in a short amount of time. However, only use social bookmarking for truly original content, such as “The 12 Top Mosh Pit Photos of All Time” instead of “Greg’s Hardware Store Now Open.” Social bookmarking users aren’t interested in self-promotional posts.

Encompassing social media site widgets, sharing plugins, and a social bookmarking strategy into your overall social media strategy can help ensure growth and continued success.

Tapping industry players for relevant, timely content

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Improving blog traffic means hooking visitors to your blog and giving them something that will make them go back again and again. One way to do this is to providing relevant, up to date information on topics related to the general theme of your blog.

Blogs are about information; it is one of its key elements. Providing good, relevant information takes work and dedication on your part. For example, providing relevant and up to date information means knowing where to go online to get the latest news and information. To do this, a good idea will be to identify the major players in the field you are writing about and follow their own feeds. [Read more…] about Tapping industry players for relevant, timely content

Why You Should Backup Your Blog

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It would be nice if all bloggers had to worry about was coming up with the next great post.  But in a world of constant security threats, even WordPress blogs need to up backed up once in a while.  And it’s better if you can backup your blog on a daily basis if you are updating the content that much.  There are several very good reasons you should be backing up your blog, but not all of them have to do with hackers or spammers.

Server problems

You may think that it will never happen to you, but servers do crash.  And your webhost may not have all those files backup for you.  I have heard many stories of those who have had dedicated servers that have crashed and they lost everything that was on their site.  Don’t think this can’t happen to you.  All of the hard work you put into your blog can be lost in a moment and it usually happens without any warning to prepare you for it.  But by having a simple backup of your blog you can make sure that even if your server completely melts down, you will be able to get your site up and running again in a matter of minutes instead of days and weeks. [Read more…] about Why You Should Backup Your Blog

Spice Up Your Blog With 7 jQuery Goodies

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You invested a great deal of time and effort into getting your website ready for the world to view. While content is definitely the most important thing, a little eye candy never hurt either. Rather than gambling with proprietary plugins like Flash player, it is better to use tools that every browser on every device supports. Javascript is an excellent scripting choice, and jQuery is a remarkable javascript tool that makes it easy to add animations, effects, and superior functionality. [Read more…] about Spice Up Your Blog With 7 jQuery Goodies

Why Do They Call It Bum Marketing?

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When I first started to dabble in Internet marketing it became clear pretty early on that it was all about links, so the next thing I had to figure out was where to get them which lead me to the article directories. The concept couldn’t be any easier, you write an article put your links in it and submit it to one of the directories. With a little more research I started to come across the term “bum marketing” which in truth was a little off putting at the time. Since then I have learned a lot and realized a lot about article submission and now when I see the term bum marketing it brings a smile to my face because if the person really knew the potential of article marketing they wouldn’t refer to it that way, so I can only conclude that they either don’t know how to use it properly or they just overlooked this tactic in favor of a more glamorous method. [Read more…] about Why Do They Call It Bum Marketing?