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Archive for December, 2011
Newsflash: Facebook Is A Business!
Like any progressive organization, Facebook is always looking to improve its service offering – connecting people with people. While there will always be glitches, the Facebook team makes a big effort to set the bar rather than become complacent with what they have achieved. Some of their upgrades are considered minor – others have a major impact on user interaction. In fact, the change pushed out this Fall created a flurry of grumbles among its users. I saw a lot of responses from well-meaning optimistic users like, “Hey, don’t complain; it’s free.”
My problem with that response is that it is free to most. But what they are forgetting is that Facebook is a business. And if the users are dissatisfied, then the product becomes less used, lowering its value in advertising. What’s more, many companies rely on Facebook as a complement to their marketing strategy. Many of those companies devote valuable resources to keep their Facebook pages active. All this equates to millions of dollars annually.
Like your television, companies support the cable and non-cable channels with advertising. You don’t pay to watch those non-cable channels. However, if most people were not getting good reception, they may not watch much, if anything. This would lower the value of advertising…well you get the picture.
So how does Facebook impact a business? Below is a simple example.
On a client’s Web site, we had an unknown problem with our contact page fields. During the Christmas holiday, a prospective customer attempted to complete the form but couldn’t. He did however, click on our Facebook page to let us know that he was unable to send us the form. Wow! Likely, he would not have made much more of an effort had we not made the Facebook icon readily available AND if he wasn’t satisfied with using Facebook in general.
So the next time someone tells you not to complain about a problem on Facebook because you get to use it for free, explain to them that you are actually doing Facebook a favor by devoting your time and making it a great place for businesses to promote their services!
Is Your Job Killing You?
Did you know that 26% of workers consider their jobs the most stressful part of their lives due to heavy workloads, job securities, lack of support, etc. – just to mention a few reasons? Excessive stress is leading to higher medical expenses for those employees. In fact, the Japanese have a term called “Karoshi” meaning “death from overwork.”
Of course, we are all responsible for our own feelings and need to do everything possible to reduce most stress: exercise, eat well, sleep enough, etc. See the creative infographic below for more details of stress in the workplace.
From: HumanResourcesMBA.org
Keyword Phrases: What They Are And How They Can Help You Make Money
In the wonderful web world, keyword phrases are just that, key words (2+ words) that influence how search engines rank your Web site. Assuming you have strategically chosen your keyword phrases, they should be the main focus of each blog post or Web site page(s). To find those phrases, you can use Google Analytics or other programs like Market Samurai. These online software programs give you the capability to find the words that are most popular for your industry products or services. Keep in mind that industry jargon is not necessarily what the general population uses to describe your products or services. The trick to finding the best keyword phrases is to dig deep enough to discover those phrases that are underutilized (relatively speaking) and construct your content using those keyword phrases. For instance, if you sell flowers, you may not want to optimize for the single word ‘flower’ but rather another more definitive term like ‘Mothers Day flowers.’ Now I am just making this up as an example but you get the idea.
The programs mentioned above can be helpful in finding keyword phrases; however, it’s just as important to think thoroughly through other possibilities on your own. It can also help to research the competition.
So now to the more important question, how can keyword phrases help you make money?
Quite simply if you have a well-optimized site with keywords that are pertinent to your products or services, then you’ll be able to get more hits (also known as traffic) to your Web site. By merely playing the numbers, someone will contact you. With a single contact, it is up to you and your team to convert the call into a meeting and then eventually into a sale.
Keep in mind that optimizing your Web site is not just a one-time deal. It’s important to keep writing content with those keywords to increase your chances of showing up on the first page of Google. But don’t just write content for the sake of writing content. Write information that others will want to know about you, your company, your products/services, your staff…you get the picture.
Ultimate post message: Be relevant and have fun!
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