Facebook users will have access to more than 60 apps that will bring a new level of transparency to what their friends are doing. Did you just eat an unforgettable meal at a local restaurant? Share the experience through Foodspotting. Purchased event tickets through Ticketmaster? Broadcast the details to your News Feed. Discovered the next must-have piece of furniture for your dream home on Pinterest? Pin your find straight to your Timeline.

And that’s not all. After the initial apps offering, Facebook is expected to add even more apps for a growing number of niche interests—think hobbies, sports and other categories.

Facebook’s New Apps: An Overview

Unlike other Facebook features that have been teased for weeks before they’re available, you can start adding new apps to your Timeline now (as pictured above). Since I’m a big news buff, one of my first choices was the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Social app.

Once you enable the app’s access to your Facebook profile, you can dive right in and, in the case of WSJ Social, share what you’re reading with your Facebook friends. Katy jumped on the WSJ Social bandwagon, too, and snapped a couple of screenshots to demonstrate how the app interacts with your profile.

If you’re sensitive about privacy, each app gives you an option to adjust the sharing settings so you’re not broadcasting each individual action to your network. From what we’ve seen, access to these settings is prominently labeled on most apps, so you shouldn’t have to spend much time on this task.

And while these apps are certainly more personal, that’s exactly what they’re meant to be. As Hayley Tsukayama writes for The Washington Post, “The apps are all set up to use the ‘frictionless sharing’ function on the social network, meaning that users only have to give an app permission to share information once. After that, the app updates automatically to a user’s profile, letting their friends know instantly what they may be eating, studying or listening to at any given moment.” For the record, I hate that.

Invaluable Marketing Data? There’s An App For That

Of course, a deeper dive into Facebook’s apps shows their purpose isn’t merely altruistic. As Jessica Guynn writes for The Los Angeles Times, Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer, Bret Taylor, said “…expanding the Facebook platform would generate revenue in the ‘grand scheme’ but that the announcement was not ‘overtly’ about making money.’” Of course it isn’t!

The cool thing about the apps is that with this latest technology, Facebook’s developers are creating a site that is more intuitive. Based on what you’ve shared in the past, ergo what you’re most passionate about, Facebook’s algorithm will determine placement on your profile page – much like how the current news feed features posts and updates. These features are only available to people who have enabled the new Facebook Timeline and users are supposed to be able to manually override the placements determined by the algorithm. That, of course, will be a whole different set of blog posts. And, if past history is any indicator, not easy to find and do. Gotta love Facebook.

Yet the apps also have a benefit for the sites to which they connect. Spotify has reported a large spike in traffic from Facebook, and other increasingly popular sites like Pinterest will likely see the same effect, a result that could be a huge boon for an up-and-coming website. Plus, the new data that will result from this deeper level of sharing will be a veritable goldmine for businesses as they continually work to refine their marketing strategies.

“The more businesses large and small are able to understand the relationships between us consumers and the products we consume, the more targeted and effective they can make their marketing,” writes Jolie O’Dell for VentureBeat. “It’s only as insidious as capitalism itself, and this type of intelligence is the kind of thing that could quickly bring online advertising to its evolutionary apex—at least for now.”

Moving Beyond The ‘Like’

Those financial perks don’t overshadow the fact that the apps are meant to give Facebook users a deeper, more meaningful experience on the site, allowing an opportunity for further profile customization and the chance to use Facebook as a tool with which to truly represent—and capture—your daily life. And it makes sense. After all, what does a “Like” truly mean? Support? Intent to purchase? Passing interest? These new apps introduce a wealth of actions to the Facebook experience: buying, reading, eating, etc. It’s a fulfillment of Mark Zuckerberg’s promise during last year’s f8 keynote.

“ ‘We’re helping define a new language for how people connect,’” he said as quoted in VentureBeat. “ ‘When we started, the vocabulary was limited to simple, inexpressive ‘Likes.’”

What’s your take on these new apps? Are you like me and annoyed by apps that want to share every article you read with your friends once you authorize it once? Or do you see yourself benefitting from the coolness factor of some of these apps such that that little detail won’t matter? Our advice, get used to it. This is just the tip of the iceberg and the first 60 of what will likely be thousands of apps. As for us, we’ll be doing our share of experimenting, in spite of the fact that there are things about apps that annoy me.

Lead image via Facebook

Facebook Wants More Social Sharing, Rolls Out Apps is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

But before StumbleUpon can start paying off for you in spades when it comes to content marketing, you need to learn a few tips and tricks to get started. Why bother? That’s simple: StumbleUpon will increase your web traffic (and that’s content marketing) and it will also boost the life cycle of your content.

StumbleUpon is a fun social networking site, but it’s also a powerful social bookmarking tool.  Rule #1 is to be professional and make it easy for you to be found. Be sure you complete your profile with a complete bio and an avatar, and be sure and use a name that coordinates with your presence on social networks so people can find you. Using your real name for all your profiles creates a consistent presence for you and that’s just about always what we recommend.

A Secret to StumbleUpon Success: Be Social

Once your profile is complete, find a few friends. Don’t immediately add all your Facebook or Twitter friends, which is a common SU newbie mistake. You can only follow a certain number of people on Stumble and if you’re going to leverage the power that StumbleUpon brings, you need to have some savvy friends in this group to help propel your content. How to find them? Look for some Stumblers with lots of likes and views on their Stumbles. Also, as with any social networking site, don’t be afraid to ask for advice on Stumbling from these more experienced folks. Do a lot of paying it forward and earning your chops by sharing their content and liking their Stumbles. That strategy will pay off for you over time. As always, being an active part of any community is the key to success!

Pick Your Interests Wisely

StumbleUpon is a discovery engine. It helps you find things that you might be interested in, based on things you routinely “like” and share. This is kind of neat, so pick a topic you’re interested in and give it a Stumble. This can be a great way to research for blog posts or other content you might be interested in creating. You can Stumble all your interests or just pick one from the handy drop down menu.

To make Stumbling easy, add the free StumbleUpon toolbar for Chrome. Using the toolbar, you can:

• Stumble one or more of your topics.
• Give a page the thumbs up.
• Look for “more” pages like the one you are currently on.
• Share via Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter.
• Share via email or to other Stumbles using a drop-down menu. When you share to other Stumblers, this creates a notification for your friend that you have shared something and would like a thumbs up on it.

• You can change the toolbar to explore all your interests or narrow it down to one interest.
• The text bubble lets you know if others have commented on this post.
• It lists how many favorites you have.
• Clicking the house icon up in the right corner will take you to the StumbleUpon homepage.
• The “X” next to it in the corner will close the toolbar.

Cool. Now, What Can You Do With StumbleUpon?

While it’s fun to just browse, StumbleUpon can also be very helpful for finding relevant content to share across your other social media platforms and/or, as mentioned before, a great place to do research for blog post topics and/or relevant links to include in something you’re writing. This is where picking your interests helps you to find what you want to share with your followers. StumbleUpon is a HUGE resource that you can tap into for better content, more focused sharing and a place you can also just have fun!

How Do I Post a Link From My Blog on StumbleUpon?

The easiest way to Stumble a post you’ve written or something you’ve read is to use the StumbleUpon Chrome toolbar and from there, *like* any page with the thumbs up icon. If you like something that has already been added to StumbleUpon, the thumb will change from blue to green. If you are adding a new item to StumbleUpon (like a newly published blog post), you’ll see this:

On this pop up, you will want to add the link, complete all the information, tag it (SEO always matters) and write a comment. It says optional; however, this is a review for the page and adds more weight to your Stumble. Always add a review — it doesn’t have to be long, but be sure and make it interesting and fun. Lastly, don’t be egocentric. Don’t just exclusively Stumble your own blog content or the content from a client’s site. StumbleUpon likes variety, so take some time and share a variety of interesting content–that will help you reap the most benefit. The same could really be true of just about any social network and considered a best practice for sharing content, so keep that in mind.

Why You Should Get Serious About StumbleUpon

According to StatCounter, in the past 3 months 46.98% of all referral traffic was generated by StumbleUpon, with Facebook at 37.56%. Those are some serious numbers and they continue to increase. In a 12-month period, Facebook was in the lead from a traffic generation standpoint, with 46.97% — StumbleUpon was nipping at Facebook’s heels with a solid 40.10%, as shown in StatCounter’s graph (below).

Bottom line — you want your content to be seen by people? Of course you do — get it on StumbleUpon!

Another Advantage? StumbleUpon Increases Your Content’s Shelf Life

How long does your content stay fresh when you share it? Not long!

Per a recent infographic from the StumbleUpon blog, “after 24 hours a popular shared link will typically get:”

• 0% more retweets on Twitter
• 5% more likes on Facebook
• 83% more Stumbles!

Clearly, StumbleUpon is proving that it isn’t just a lightweight, random diversion in a sea of online tools. Serious bloggers are here sharing their content and you should be, too!

A Few Notes

Take it from me and don’t Stumble crap! People will give it a thumbs down and there goes your StumbleUpon street cred.

One glitch with StumbleUpon is that sometimes the views will be pretty high and the next time you go back they are down to one again. They are aware of this problem and hopefully will get it fixed soon.

To ensure that you are getting Stumbles on your blog, make sure that you have StumbleUpon on your blog or site’s share bar and list your StumbleUpon link wherever possible.

Now that you’ve received a crash course in StumbleUpon,  you have no excuses–get out there and start Stumbling! And if you’re already a fan of StumbleUpon, I’d love to hear how–and why–you use it!

Peg Fitzpatrick is a positive vibe producer, social media butterfly and all around happy person! She is Director of Marketing and Social Media Manager for Kreussler Inc., where she directs online brand management and lead generation via Twitter and Facebook. Creating a fully integrated program, Peg blends traditional marketing and advertising with new media. Peg is the Brand Sparker with re:DESIGN You, which focuses on branding and Social Media services, helping brands & individuals create a unique and special message to get noticed. She’s also proud to be Managing Partner and writer at www.12most.com, and she created the very successful #MyBookClub, hosting such well-known guests as Guy Kawasaki, Dave Kerpen and Olivier Blanchard. She has also begun speaking at events such as the #140 Conference and is honored on several of the “best of” online and blogging lists. She is thrilled to be on the Alltop Twitterati and Pluserati lists! Please follow Peg on Twitter, circle her on Google +, visit #MyBookClub and stop by her blog.

Maximizing StumbleUpon For Your Content Sharing Strategy is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

Brands everywhere seem to be in search of what is today’s holy grail – Facebook likes. Want to know how to get them? It’s really pretty simple. Give people something they want. And if you do that, that’s the first step toward using Facebook to make money.

Yes. It really can be that simple. 

You’ve likely seen the same ubiquitous signs everywhere that I have — “Like Us on Facebook” — or an even more compelling call to action, simply displaying the Facebook logo. I don’t know about you, but when I’m visiting my local sub shop and see those lame invitations, it elicits nothing more than a head shake.

Do brands really think that that’s all it takes (rhetorical question – I already know the answer). That because I see a sign in their store (or on their enewsletter or in a newspaper or TV ad) that I’m going to stop what I’m doing, pull out my phone and navigate over and “like” their page? Or even more ridiculous, that there’s even the most remote chance in you-know-what that I’ll remember to do it later, when I’m parked in front of my laptop? Dudes.

Seriously. It’s so not gonna happen.

But you know what does work? Asking for a like and giving something in return. Like this example from women’s clothing boutique Francesca’s. In exchange for a like, they’ll give me a promo code for a 50% discount on a piece of merchandise. That? That’s value. Oh, and combine that with the fact that they’ve let me know that this offer is good today only, well that … it’s a pretty compelling call to action. This kind of request — it gets my attention. What does it take to get your attention? Think about it as you think about asking for Facebook likes.

What do you think? Are you more likely to like a brand that doesn’t offer you any value, any compelling reason or even any reason at all to like them? In my world, the answer is a resounding no. 

As my friend Brian Carter in his new book The Like Economy: How Businesses Make Money With Facebook so aptly says, Facebook is the new email opt-in and cultivating likes (ergo fans), is a concrete way that brands and online marketers can make money using Facebook.

“Facebook allows you to capture ideal prospects regardless of how soon they’re going to buy, make an impression on them, and build a relationship with them. Getting potential customers more cheaply and reaching those new fans over and over with your Facebook page means you have a big advantage over companies that are only marketing on Google” says Carter. And he’s right.

It’s important to know – and a step that’s often omitted by companies large and small — that creatively marketing your Facebook page, making offers to potential fans that make sense and amassing initial likes is only one part of the process. Now the onus is on you to take that a step further. And the first step in that process is understanding that Facebook is about relationships.

And if you’ve managed to acquire fans, you need to think about what you’re doing on Facebook – from a marketing standpoint – that adds value to that relationship. A Facebook “Like” is like a first date. Now the challenge is to interest your fans in more dates. More dates mean giving them a reason to come back to your page time and time again, getting them to participate in discussions, share stories, or take advantage of a special promotion or offer and, equally as important, getting them to share the content you create on your Facebook page. And that, my friends, is marketing.

Makes sense, doesn’t it? You know we don’t recommend stuff that we don’t really believe in and, trust me, Brian’s book is sitting here on my desk as I write this. If you want to know more about how to effectively use Facebook as part of your online marketing strategy, buy the book. Today.

How to Get Likes And Make Money With Facebook is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

All too frequently, the presentation that you’ve worked so hard to complete sits in a file on your computer once it’s concluded. You might need to borrow content from it for another presentation, but other than that, the fruits of your labor don’t get any additional exposure.

Why SlideShare?

That’s where SlideShare comes in. Think of SlideShare as a way to diversify your content marketing strategy—after all, presentations are forms of content, too. Not all of the presentations you prepare may be suitable for public consumption, but for those that are, SlideShare is an ideal solution.
When you upload your presentation to a platform like SlideShare, you not only extend the life of that material, but also show the public how you think, work and present solutions. Think of it as a way to provide an ongoing demonstration of your expertise and skills, an ideal way with which to attract prospective clients and other professional growth opportunities.

SlideShare: Traffic and Tips

SlideShare is one of the fastest growing content marketing platforms and much of its audience is comprised of industry professionals and business owners. According to the Content Marketing Institute, SlideShare receives 60 million visitors a month—one-third of which come from organic search. That means your presentation—and, by extension, your expertise—can reach a whole new audience that you wouldn’t have otherwise found. This means big things not only for you, but your brand or business, too. Increasing your online visibility equates to higher brand awareness and recognition, and SlideShare can be an important part of enlarging that reach.

SlideShare Best Practices

Before you post a presentation to SlideShare, you may want to do some editing, especially if your slide deck is long. Here are some tips from CMI on creating the optimal SlideShare presentation, including:

• Keep your presentation between 10 and 30 slides
• Use an average of 19 pictures
• Use an average of 24 words per slide (we think this is high)

SEO Always Matters

And as you tag your presentation, remember that search engine optimization always matters. Be sure to label relevant topics, industries and subject matter while envisioning what your prospective audience may be searching for. Provide an overview on SlideShare as to what the presentation is about and tempt viewers with what kind of takeaways they might get from the presentation. Some tips for SEO:

• Use keywords in the title
• Use keywords in the summary
• Use tags in your description
• Use large text in your presentation. It may seem easy for you to view it, but for SlideShare, bigger is always better.

I have to give a shout out here to Al Bonner of Presentation Transformations. I used to think I crafted pretty decent presentations. That is until Al started being in charge of them. And I realized that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was. When you put your work on display for the world to see, be sure that it’s pretty stellar. And if you need someone to help fine-tune or craft your presentations for you, Al is the guy I recommend. I bring the vision and the ideas and Al turns them into somethingfar better than I did on my own.

The Power of Content Marketing

Creating great content is one thing. Getting anyone to see it, that’s a whole different animal. And so, don’t just upload your presentation and hope people stumble across it. There are so many ways to use the presentation once it’s on SlideShare and that’s part of what makes the platform so attractive. Write a blog post and embed it, put it on your company website, embed it in an email newsletter, share it on LinkedIn, Twitter and even Facebook. That way, that one piece of work that you invested so much of yourself in live on in so many different iterations and really produce some bang for the buck. Oh, and when the day comes that a presentation you created is featured on the homepage of SlideShare … your smile will be pretty broad.

The Benefits of SlideShare’s Pro Account

The thing that I especially love – because I’m a geek – is the analytics that SlideShare provides. We have a pro account, which you need if you care about things like analytics, and that allows us some insights into what pieces of our content are the most compelling. It also shows us – as of today, anyway, that 36.6% of our views come directly from being embedded in another piece of content and 32.7% come SlideShare. Those are views (and opportunities to show other show we think) that those pieces of content would not have otherwise had, had we not uploaded them to SlideShare.

Another thing that’s particularly interesting, and which helps you know what kind of content is resonating with your audience, is seeing which pieces of SlideShare content are the most embedded, and which are the most active, as well as which countries your viewers are coming from. It also gives me insights not only from a content marketing strategy standpoint, but from a new business development standpoint as well. If you know me at all, you know that kind of stuff is my crack cocaine.

Are you using SlideShare as part of your content marketing strategy? If so, have you seen some benefits?

Content Marketing: Leveraging Your Presentations With Slideshare is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

Because this generation of fitness loving overachievers has no intention of slowing down or letting a little thing like getting older get in the way of being active and doing what they love. Not without a fight, and not without turning to the best that health care has to offer to keep them in fighting shape. Boomers need things like knees, hip replacements, plastic surgery procedures (don’t judge until you’re there) and maybe even weight loss-focused procedures.

Add to that the Boomers’ disposable income — they collectively spend over $3 trillion annually — combined with their use of technology, participation in social media channels, and savvy hospitals, physicians and specialty health care clinics can make significant inroads when it comes to reaching this target audience.

But having a presence on Twitter, Facebook and the like isn’t enough. And that’s where the smart marketers will prevail. Hospitals and health care providers must first understand the value of content marketing and what an integral role content strategy will play in their integrated marketing efforts moving forward.

Consumers today find the service providers they seek in one of two ways: they search the web and they ask their friends. Boomers make up 32.5% of the US adult population and a pretty significant 36% of the total online adult population. Boomers account for about one-third of the Web traffic on a typical day. (Pew Internet & American Life Project).

Using the web to search for information about health is one of the most common things that people of all ages do, including Boomers. This chart from Pew Internet (pictured below) illustrates that quite nicely.

The key to success when it comes to reaching these searchers is to respect the web enough to understand the value of search engine optimization and develop a subsequent content marketing strategy. And the second, equally as important, step is to understand the value of social channels and how building a brand presence in those social networking arenas – places like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn — and participating in those channels on a regular basis is an integral part of the process. And one of the ways to establish credibility in those social media channels is to regularly share relevant, informative, educational and sometimes even entertaining content – your own original content, as well as that produced by others.

How to get there? That’s really pretty simple. Great content already exists. Consider this: hospitals produce a large amount of printed material on an annual basis, and they also are home to some of the smartest, most talented and innovative minds around. They don’t have to reinvent the wheel; instead, hospitals and health care providers just need to look at some of the things they’re already doing. They can then establish some specific goals, and begin the process of exploring how to repurpose some of their existing content to suit a wide variety of online channels. That …. well, that’s what you call creating a content marketing strategy.

Content marketing isn’t brain surgery. In fact, it’s really just brand storytelling. And when it comes to hospitals and health care providers, there are so very many stories to tell. Using content marketing as a way of showcasing talented physicians, specialties, clinical trials and patient success stories is one of the ways hospitals can show thought leadership, innovation, compassion, commitment to and excellence in patient care and the like in a really effective manner. And by demonstrating those traits, health care providers will not only continue to build relationships with their current patient base, but also position themselves to reach new patients—especially those in the Boomer generation—as a result of online visibility and a thoughtful approach to an integrated marketing strategy.

Hospitals Want Boomer Business? Focus On Content Marketing And Social Media is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

The more recent update, dubbed the “Freshness” update, was designed to rank newer content higher in search results. Makes sense, right? After all, if you’re searching for a topic, you’re likely wanting the most up-to-date information that’s available—not a post from 2009.

Yet as with any Google algorithm update, some sites are inexplicably hit by the changes—even those who are delivering a steady stream of updated content. Sarah Perez of TechCrunch writes, “However, the sites that lost SEO visibility after the changes didn’t seem to represent any one group, as they also included some brands, blogs, broadcasters and even Google’s own Blogger.com, which dropped over 20%.”

Using (and maintaining) a solid, well thought-out SEO strategy should be enough to keep your site visible despite algorithm changes. In light of the “Freshness” update, there are some things you can do to maintain—and even boost—your site’s visibility.

How To Make Google’s Freshness Update Work For Your Sites

Blog. If your website doesn’t already have a blog, now’s the time to add one. Sure, you can maintain a blog that’s separate from your main site. But if you can integrate them, that’s even better—and it will bring better results for your business, too. Since blogs are created from regularly updated content, it makes sense that blogs will be rewarded by the “Freshness” update. And update aside, keeping your site active with fresh content makes good SEO sense no matter the algorithm. Plus, it entices past visitors to return and stay up-to-date with your company and what you have to offer.

Distribute your content. Once you’ve published something on your blog, distribute it! Sure, the blog is your primary content vehicle—but put other social platforms to work for you, too. Install sharing buttons on your blog so that you–and your readers–can easily post the content on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and social bookmarking sites. Each time your content is shared, it becomes new again, and is therefore more likely to continually appear higher in search results.

Mark the time. If you blog, your content should be time-stamped with the date and time at which it was published. Just in case, go back and verify your settings to make sure your posts include this information. This will help Google differentiate between your newer content and older articles, the whole purpose of the “Freshness” update.

How do you deal with Google algorithm changes? Do you revamp your site based on the updates? Or do you prefer to stick with a more timeless SEO strategy that carries you through the algorithm rollercoaster?

What Does Google’s Freshness Update Mean For Your Site? is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

We’re excited to see the evolution of this new feature, not only because it adds another dimension to the Facebook experience but is also a handy way to broaden the reach of your site’s content.

The button is now live—and if you’re interested in giving it a try, we thought we’d share installation instructions.

Installing The Facebook Subscribe Button On Your Website

According to the Facebook Developer blog, you can add the subscribe button using XFBML or an iFrame.

The XFBML version, which is also available in an HTML5-compliant version, allows for more versatility, such as dynamic resizing, and the ability to listen for subscribe events so that you know when users click the button in real time.

And as with other Facebook features, the company has done most of the heavy lifting for you. Simply input information into the subscribe button code generator and you’ll receive the code you need to plug into your site and active the button.

If you manage a website or blog that produces regularly updated content (which should apply to all of you, right?), the Facebook subscribe button is a handy way to let Facebook users stay up-to-date with your site while incorporating that content into the existing Facebook experience.

Plus, when someone subscribes to your website using this button, the action is reported in that person’s News Feed, sharing the option to that person’s followers—and giving you a chance to easily and exponentially increase your audience.

What do you think? Good upgrade or annoying? We’ll probably check it out, just to experiment with it, but if you have thoughts, spill.

Image via Facebook

How To Add The New Facebook Subscribe Button To Your Website is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

This news was apparently announced mid-November and somehow I managed to miss it. Imagine that – missing anything that happens in the information stream that’s literally moving at the speed of light. <cue: great hilarity><facepalm>. Google tapped HootSuite as the Official Launch Partner of the Google Pages Trial, which says a lot about HootSuite and what a great product it is. The V3 team has long used – and loved HootSuite, so this makes perfect sense to us.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Google+ Pages integration for HootSuite is in beta and only available to enterprise users.

Right now, HootSuite is one of a handful of companies, along with Buddy Media, HearSay Social, Context Optional, Involver and Vitrue, testing the interface for Google via their management tools, and the rest of us who offer brands social media management and community management services anxiously await the release from beta so that we can explore and experiment, too.

This is exciting because this allows users the ability to manage circles, publish to Google+ and monitor usage, all within the HootSuite dashboard. Seriously. It makes me giddy just thinking about it. Take a peek here …..

You can apply for access to the beta here. And if you want to see how slick the interface is, take a few minutes and watch the videos that are embedded on the application page. I’m betting it’ll make you as excited as we are about this bit of loveliness from HootSuite.

What do you think? Are you a HootSuite user (or user of any of the products from the above-mentioned companies) who, like us, is excited about the opportunity to use the interface to publish to Google+ as well as to make the platform more manageable and easy to use? Or – are you participating in the beta now? If so, let us know – we’d love to know what you think. 

HootSuite Adds Integration of Google+ Pages is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

Digital Marketing Strategies for the Service Industry

I was recently asked by the Kansas City Chapter of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) to speak to their group about social media. Instead of just discussing social media, the presentation I delivered addressed the changing nature of business and How the Service Industry can use the Web to drive Leads and Sales. I’m contrary that way.

But I’ve learned that people often think they want to know all about social media – until they learn about all the other stuff that they didn’t know they didn’t know about – like digital marketing – or inbound marketing – and how critical it is for businesses today.

The audience was comprised of HVAC business owners selling heating and air conditioning products and services direct to consumers – as well as some HVAC industry partners who focus on the B2B audience. In short, their customers are the people who own HVAC contracting businesses. So, we had both a B2C and a B2B audience in attendance. My favorite!

The presentation I developed was designed to take an audience who had for years mostly relied on Yellow Pages advertising and other types of traditional advertising through the process of understanding what digital marketing is – and illustrating the financial benefits of shifting business focus to inbound marketing tactics as opposed to limiting marketing efforts strictly to outbound marketing channels.

Some of the things we covered in the presentation are:

Content Marketing: What Is It And Why You Need To Do It

Content Marketing is really pretty simple. There are huge benefits to branding yourself and your business, owning knowledge, creating original content that can be of value to your customers and your prospective customers, and knowing how and where to share it;

The Power of Video

There can be tremendous value realized by integrating Video Marketing and the power of YouTube into your online marketing efforts. The audience was blown away by how many people in their industry are already using video – and I’ll venture a guess that that’s a channel that many of them start exploring very soon.

Local SEO Strategies

Most of us know that SEO in general is important. However, Local SEO is really where businesses should start. Understanding the importance of local search engine optimization – helping local searchers find you and your business more easily – that can be the key to getting leads that you can convert to sales.

Mobile Technology and How It’s Changing the Way We Do Business

There can be no understating the importance of Mobile Technology to businesses today. A vast number of searchers access the web solely through mobile devices (yes, Virginia, that new iPad is a mobile device). Understanding the importance of a mobile-optimized website and/or a mobile website can be part of the key to capturing the attention of those searchers. And integrating a mobile mindset into your overall digital marketing efforts, well, it’s pretty key.

Social Media: Why It Matters for B2B and B2C Businesses

Funny, this is what they asked me to speak about. And I saved it for almost the end. Social media is terrific, and an important part of an overall inbound marketing strategy. But social media can’t stand alone. And, while many understand why social media might be important for B2C businesses, they often overlook the opportunities that exist for B2B businesses. Social media is effective for both B2B and B2C businesses. Trust me on this one! Effective use of social media and social media marketing requires an understanding of where your customers and prospects are, what they are searching for, what problems they have, and one of the most important things that you can do in those channels is to provide resources and information to feed their needs. That’s what gets customers knocking on your door, wanting more.

Your Website: The Home Base of All Your Business Operations

Today, a poorly designed website can lead to the stagnation of your business. Or worse, it can result in your business folding. Unfortunately, it’s our experience that far too many businesses have outdated, poorly functioning, non-SEO optimized websites that are doing absolutely nothing for them. Business owners must understand that business happens today, customers and prospects find them, largely because of one of two things: they search the web for the products and services they need and want to buy or they ask their friends for a recommendation. If your business doesn’t have a robust web presence and is absent in social media channels, how is it that they will find you?

I did my homework before speaking to the group (I’m a nerd, it can’t be helped) and that research indicated that one of the HVAC firms in the chapter was doing all the right things, including having a killer website. A couple were clearly doing some SEO work, but many other important things remained undone, and many of the rest of the group had horribly outdated, poorly optimized websites. Which told me that that the group, collectively, weren’t doing much – if anything, to use the Internet to market their businesses.

And that, my friends, is why I didn’t do what they asked and serve up a presentation focused wholly on social media. Instead, I taught them the things that they showed me they really needed to know – regardless of the fact that that’s not what they thought I was bringing.

The Rewards, Well, They’re Pretty Amazing

And the best thing about the hour and a half that I got to spend with this group? All the heads that began nodding, as they understood not just about social media and how it could help them, but about how the Internet has changed the way that all of us do business, and how they could apply much of what they had learned in that session to their own businesses. Right away.

Being a speaker is a lot like being a teacher and, for me, anyway,there’s no greater reward than seeing eyes light up and heads nod because what you’re saying makes sense. Well, actually, when they reach out and connect with you afterwards and tell you that you’ve made a difference in their lives and/or their businesses – well, that’s pretty splendiferous, too.

Get the Goods Here

The presentation is embedded below. If you’re trying to figure out what to do next to get your business headed in the right direction and maximizing the potential of the Internet, whether you’re a service industry business or any other kind of business, this presentation might help. We hope so! And, if you need help along the way, we’d love to talk with you – this is what we do, all day, every day.

Special props here to my friend Al Bonner of Presentation Transformations, because he is the guy always making sure all of my presentations don’t suck. If you want help making your presentations awesome, check him out at Presentation Transformations or connect with him on LinkedIn.

How the Service Industry Can Use the Web For Leads and Sales is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

What’s the appeal? To start, tablets offer the best of both worlds for consumers. For those on the go, they can easily take the tablet around to handle a variety of daily tasks like email, social networking and content consumption. For those that prefer to sit on the couch, they can easily access information or shop without lugging a heavy computer around.

A mere year and a half after the iPad launched, 11 percent of consumers report to owning a tablet device of some kind. Of that 11 percent, 73 percent use the tablet daily, while 53 percent use it to get their news. Do yourself a favor and check out the complete infographic via Hubspot.

The iPad is no longer the only kid on the block, though. He’s been joined by his friends like the Kindle Fire and the Droid Tablet. These new products have not only expanded the tablet market, but they’ve also made tablets available in a wider price range. Consumers who may have found the iPad to be cost-prohibitive now have a less expensive yet still powerful alternative, especially when it comes to the Kindle Fire. And as a result, we’ll likely see a rapid increase in the tablet audience. Hello, new customers and prospects!

This holiday season, four in five consumers are asking for a tablet instead of a laptop. As consumers demonstrate a voracious craving for content consumption on the go, marketers must be prepared with how they can easily convey information about a brand.

But why should marketers even care if the tablet is rising steadily in its quest for consumer popularity?

Consumer content and creation, people. With more than 278 million mobile subscribers in the U.S., marketers see the potential in the mobile space as a way to connect with customers. Not only are consumers on the go, but they want to be able to process information while sitting on a bus, waiting for an appointment or even while eating lunch.

In this economy, consumers are budget-conscious, and they’re multi-tasking all facets of their personal and professional lives. The lightweight design of a tablet makes it convenient and easy to throw into a briefcase or handbag and cart it wherever you need to go. The content needs to be easily digestable, and access to content is key.

Consumers are focused not only on the cost, preferring free to low-cost apps, but on the type of content and its source. Networks like Pulse can aggregate content into one place for free, but the study finds that consumers prefer to go directly to the news site. Seems to be a flashback to simpler times, when marketers and PR professionals would only pitch traditional media outlets and focus on ad placements in primetime.

For those that access content through a browser, 81 percent accessed news headlines via a direct news website, while only 68 percent went through a search engine and 35 percent went through a social network.

Not only do consumers want a quick way to access content, but other studies have shown that those who own both a smartphone and tablet are more likely to spend money in the mobile space. Just think: if your brand is able to convey a message though content or advertising, wouldn’t that help push sales to an online or mobile store? If it’s ease of use and on-the-go mentality that the consumer wants, they won’t go to the store. Instead, they’ll seek out a mobile option—and your brand must be ready to deliver.

They will want to have it all at their fingertips.

With tablets on the rise, how do you think marketers can convey their message? Will tablets be a part of your mobile strategy in 2012? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

The Power Of Mobile Marketing: Tablet Usage On The Rise is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency