Social Media & Business Owners

One of my favorite bloggers, Shana Albert from Socialdesire.com, had the guest blogger, James Duthie, write a blog that discussed how many businesses don't actually "get" the web 2.0 or social media. After reading it, I thought I would share it with my readers b/c it helps you get a great understanding of social media "gone wrong". But it also gives marketers a new perspective on how to use social media to market their brands. I believe it is important to understand what business you're in and what appeals to your customers. Once you understand this, you can use social media to your advantage. Check out the blog here: SocialDesire.com

If you have any additional thoughts you'd like to share about the article, let's discuss it! Leave a comment.


Yours truly,

B.Croom
Social Media Stepchild

Blogging Etiquette 101

So we've talked a lot over the past couple weeks of about how to set up your blog and how to market it. But one final conversation around "Blog Etiquette" is needed. I'd just like to share with you some tips that I've found in my experience is helpful when visiting and commenting on other blogs. These aren't the hard and fast rules of blogging, b/c the web is changing everyday, so feel free to add to the conversation if you feel I may have left out a few. We all need to be become better online citizens and here's a few ways to do that:

1) When you find a great blog that you enjoy and learn from go ahead and take the plunge and become a subscriber. Its helps to grow their user base and encourages them to continue to write great content for you to read. They may even return the favor and do the same for you. Reciprocity is key!

2) If you're blogging about a topic you may have seen on another blog or about a person, simply link back to their blog or site. The web is designed for sharing and collaborating so take advantage of it.

3)When you have time, after reading a great blog, leave a comment! Blogs were created to initiate discussions online and what better way to start things off but by leaving the writer a comment. However, if you don't have time, consider using any of the social bookmarking tools like Delicious or Digg.com and StumbleUpon to give other readers a chance to find and read the posts as well.

4)When you do leave a comment, try and leave a few thoughts of your own. As I stated above, blogging is about starting a discussion and you will be surprised what we can learn from one another once we open the flood gates of communication.

5)If you have a blog of your own, its okay to reference it and even leave a link to it, however make sure its relevant. Random links to unrelated content is a waste of everyone's time and its just plain rude.

Chris Brogan, who also works with business on social media and social networking, has a very interesting blog on the "Netiquette" of everything from using Email to Twitter. Check it out...ChrisBrogan.com

I am sure you all have your own rules and opinions on blogging and I'd love to hear them all. So please leave a comment and share them with me, so we can get a dialogue going! See you all next post.


Yours truly,

B.Croom
Social Media Stepchild

Marketing Mistake or Genius

I ran across this blog and I thought it was funny, yet inciteful and thought it would be useful to share with small business owners out there. Getting traffic to your site is a hard job, but w/some interesting strategies as the author describes here, it can be done. Check out the article and let me know your thoughts. Controversy Marketing

Yours truly,

B.Croom
Social Media Stepchild

Marketing Your Blog: Part Deux (That's 2 in English)

Now that you've actually had time to work on your blog and you've practiced the six tips I gave you earlier (wink*wink), its time to add to that knowledge. The last 5 tips are simple but in my opinion they require the most work. When marketing your blog its important to remember you have to be involved in both posting content and commenting on other's content. Social media is a two-way street and you can't get anything, if you're not willing to give something back.

7. Press releases are for blogs too
I bet you thought press releases were only for announcing new services or products. Well, think again. Your blog is a service you are sharing with the world and there are a number of online sites out there that will help you disseminate your press release. Not only does it help you reach your target market, but it also helps to further legitimize your blog. One site you should check out is: PR Web.com


8. Join Blog Communities
Bloggers of the world are uniting all over the web and you should too if you want to promote your blog. They are a great way to socialize with other like minded individuals in your industry. Additionally, its a great way to drive traffic back to your site. Two very prominent communities to consider joining are:

Blogcatalog - simply get a profile & network
MyBlogLog.com - same as above

9. Don't forget the news sites
After posting entries to your blogs, make sure to add them to popular online news sites for further distribution. But be careful, you have to be aware of what a ton of traffic can do to your server if you're not prepared to handle the bandwith. We all want the traffic, but when interested readers are unable to access your site its similar to the "Kiss of Death". Here are a few news sites to add your posts:
Digg.com
Newsvine.com
Sphinn.com
Propeller.com

10. Spark some conversation
Don't just read other blogs, but get in on the conversation. This is by far one of the best ways to promote your business blog with other people in your industry. As I stated earlier, social media is a two-way street and the only way to get something back is to give something. It's called reciprocity. Sites like Bloglines.com or Technorati are great tools to find other blogs that interest you so you can get involved.

11. Review are not just for movies anymore
With so many new blogs popping up every day, what can set your blog apart from the rest? Get reviewed! There are a ton of services on the web now that will review your blog and give you feedback on how to improve it. Here are two services, I personally use & love Reviewback.com and my second favorite is Smorty.com.

Follow these simple steps and watch your blog take off in readers, subscribers & traffic. Next week, we'll flip the script and begin looking at some B2C social marketing efforts that Small business owners can use to attract more customers no matter what their industry. Till then!


Yours truly,


B.Croom
Social Media Stepchild