Jody Raines, Author at Jody Raines

February 27, 2012 By Jody Raines Leave a Comment

Pinterest – For Search Engine Optimization It’s A Win!

I’m enjoying Pinterest, even though I didn’t think I would! It’s a social billboard service, like a visual Digg or StumbleUpon. If you haven’t tried it yet, be aware that pinning is very addictive… Not only can you pin things you love from other websites, but you can also repin other’s posts.

The really cool thing about Pinterest, and this is subject to change, is the fact that all pins act as links to the website the pin is from. So, if you are working on inbound links for a website as part of an SEO plan, you really should pay attention to Pinterest.

I noticed retailers are doing a fantastic job of taking advantage of Pinterest to engage with their customers. One such terrific example is the DEB shops. This could be the best example of how to use Pinterest for a retailer that I’ve seen. The beauty of how they are using the site is that it’s easy to repin their inventory if you like what you are viewing. So a person who sees a prom dress that she loves can click that she likes it, can comment on that dress, and can repin the dress to her own board.

How can you use this strategy to promote your own website?

Join Pinterest and set up a profile. Use keywords and your company name – these are searchable and indexed by the search engines.
Completely fill in your profile. Use a link back to your website.
Consider which boards make sense for you. The boards are categorized into broad categories by Pinterest. To the extent that you identify your boards with one of the broad categories, your pins will be available to be searched.
Be social. Follow people, like posts, add comments and repin other’s content. This is the way you are engaging and interacting.
Without being a pest, you can selectively share your Pinterest pins on Facebook. There is currently a hack to add Pinterest to your Facebook as a tab, however it requests access to your information and that of all you are connected with. While connecting is pretty slick, personally I won’t compromise my information or my friends or follows info either. I also refuse to allow other applications to post as me. I’ve seen too many bad things happen and Facebook accounts become hacked that way!

How are you using Pinterest? Have you discovered any cool new things as a result of using it? Every day I see more and more friends getting involved with it… Will I see you there? Let’s connect!

February 12, 2012 By Jody Raines Leave a Comment

Google+ or Facebook: Which Social Media Is Best?

Google+ is the “new” social media and social networking platform for Google, which is purportedly the new rival to Facebook. No question, Facebook has more users, and there is incredible loyalty despite the variable security issues that Facebook has been struggling with.

Whether you like it or not, the world has change to a place where ‘social’ is the new ‘business’ platform. Social media, including Facebook and Google+ are important for business marketers for many reasons:

Your customers are using it
Your competitors are using it
Your customers expect you to be using it.

In the marketing battle for awareness and band identity, social media has become an important tool.

The relationship between search and social has become fuzzier and fuzzier. Google, which is recognized as the premier search engine, only recently became a power player in the social media and social networking arenas. As Google+ grows in popularity, the interrelationship between search and social has become more and more evident. Now, if you are logged into Google and you search for a term the recommendations of your social network will appear next to the results. Whether it impacts the ranking of the results is still a question, however there potentially is a tendency for people to click on the result that a friend or peer has recommended.

With Facebook business pages, Facebook has upped their stake in the social media marketing wars by enabling business pages to be indexed by Google. Originally, personal pages were not indexed. Business pages are subject to terms of use that govern the way contests or giveaways can be conducted, however, since so many people are already on Facebook, there is the expectation that businesses will also be there, and will be sharing information and engaging with their customers.

Google+ business pages are relatively new, and the rules to add people to business page circles are not as easy as the rules to add people to personal Google+ pages. To circle people as a business, the person must circle the business page first.

How you intend to use Google+ business pages or Facebook business pages will enter into your decision regarding where you feel you need to invest your time. Currently, Google+ is more business and tech heavy with regard to the audience, and Facebook is much more social. Dependent upon who your target audience is, and what your message is, and how you want to engage, you may chose to be on both platforms or concentrate on one or the other.

With regard to which is best, the answer is – it depends upon your business, who you intend to reach, what your message is, and what your goals are for your marketing program. Establishing your marketing plan first and determining what your goals are would be the first step to determining where you should spend your time and your marketing investment.

June 15, 2011 By Jody Raines Leave a Comment

Mobile Marketing: Are You Ready For Mobile Internet?

Mobile marketing or mobile internet marketing is an important opportunity for businesses to explore. B2B or B2C, business marketers are investigating ways to tap into the popularity of smart phone usage as well as mobile browsers increased usage.
Its powerful to have potential customers scan a code that takes them to a landing page on their phone with the latest specials or sales, plus has the ability to dial immediately or buy the item, without ever leaving the cell phone!

It’s not difficult to get into the web word of mobile web marketing.

Here are 3 great tools to get you started!

1. QR Code – These black and white codes are actually a gateway to any information that you want to share. One great way to use these is to direct the QR to a landing page. This page can be part of your existing website, or it can be hosted elsewhere.

The QR code works by embedding the information into a black and white square where the pattern is readable by an application that is downloaded onto a cell phone. There are two types of “Quick Response” codes, “QR” or “TAG”. Even with competing technology, most readers will interpret both types of code. Most used, however is the QR code, which is black and white, although the tag code is prettier and uses more colors. The application takes advantage of the camera on the phone to snap a picture of the pattern which is then translated to the webpage or information that you’ve identified. Some of the applications that I’ve used on my iPhone are i-Nigma, RedLaser, NeoReader and Grip’d.

2. Text Message Marketing or SMS – Many cell phones now offer unlimited text plans and if you are a parent of a teenager, you are probably familiar with how popular this is a a form of communication. There are even medical syndromes associated with texting like “texting thumb syndrome”! Utilizing text messaging used to be considered taboo, but now it’s become an extremely effective way to reach your customer.

The customer opts into the program by texting to a pre-designated number and they control whether they want pictures or just text to come to their phone. Why would someone opt into this? Perhaps they want advance notice of specials or deals that you offer. Or they may want to know that you have a table ready for them at your restaurant. It may be sharing campaign information for a candidate, or updates for a school to share with parents. The uses of text messaging are growing as more and more cell phone users have unlimited text message plans.

Some text message plans are expensive where you pay per subscriber and you pay per message. I like the program offered by KXText because it’s simple and easy to understand. Their program is $395 per year for unlimited subscribers and unlimited text messages. I’ve even purchased a subscription for my campaign. There are other programs available, so if you’ve found one you like, I’d be interested in hearing more about your experience. (Disclaimer – I have an affiliation with KXtext, although I’d recommend them anyway).

3. Mobile Internet Ready Website -If you have a WordPress site or you are hosted on Hubspot, you are in luck. There is an easy way to have a mobile ready website. A mobile ready site is one where the navigation is easier and the site is re-configured so it may look a bit different than the site would if you were on your computer. For most websites, it’s preferable to have a mobile configuration and as more and more people find your site on their phone, you definitely want to make it easier to get the information quickly and efficiently.

Within Hubspot, there is an option under settings which will automagically convert your website (no programming needed). Be sure to check your mobile phone browser to see what your mobile website looks like after enabling this option. (If you’d like to experience the power of Hubspot, we offer a FREE 30 day trial.)

For WordPress sites, there are multiple options. I like WPTouch Pro for ease of use and because it works. There is also a plug in offered by iThemes as well as other plug-ins that are continually being developed and marketed. That’s one of the cool things about WordPress – it’s open source so there are tons of new features. The downside is that not all of these work as WordPress continues to evolve versions, so be sure to check your mobile website after each upgrade to be sure the plugin still functions correctly.

What other applications and mobile web marketing tools have you discovered? I’m interested in your thoughts and experiences. What’s worked for you and what hasn’t worked, and do you think that mobile marketing will continue to grow?

Recent Posts