• esm

    Ask Your Social Media Questions & Get Answers from Pros

    Share Are you ready to take the next step with social media to make it work for your business? Have questions about Twitter, Facebook, blogging, etc.? Want answers from professionals? Need some tutorials on how to get the most out of social media? Learn social media from the Pros.

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  • mangoslide2

    Custom Facebook Pages & Social Media Outreach

    Share When Mango Languages, a language learning software developer, needed assistance with their social media strategy, they turned to Sazbean Consulting. While they already had a Facebook page, and were doing some outreach, they needed help implementing custom Facebook pages and stepping up their social media outreach.

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  • spartanslide

    B2B Multi-Level Social Media Strategy & Implementation

    Share Spartan Chassis is a Michigan-based world-class leader in the design, engineering and flexible production of chassis, specialty vehicles and aftermarket parts for defense, emergency response and outdoor recreation/RV markets. Spartan came to us seeking help integrating social media into their multi-level B2B organization.

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  • olsonslide4

    Website Design, Usability & Marketing

    Share Sazbean Consulting helped Olson & Cepuritis, Ltd. re-align their message to communicate their benefits to their customers, as well as re-organize their site content to increase site usability. Topped off with a stunning new look, the new Olson & Cepuritis, Ltd. website improves the firm’s overall image to prospective clients.

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Jan
28
2012

Top Internet strategy, marketing and technology links for the week of January 28, 2012

Here are the top Internet strategy, marketing and technology links for the week of January 28, 2012… 

Jan
27
2012

2 Different Tales of Blog Growth

“What was ‘the tipping point’ for your blog?”

This question is one that I’m regularly asked in interviews, and it is one that is challenging to answer. The assumption behind the question is that there is often some kind of event that pushes a blog into the limelight. The reality is that it’s not always this way.

Let me illustrate this by telling the stories of my two main blogs—ProBlogger and Digital Photography School.

ProBlogger’s tipping point: dramatic growth

Here on ProBlogger, the only real tipping point-type event that I can identify is when I mentioned in an interview I did on another blog that I was earning six figures a year from my blogging. Back then (it was 2005), nobody was making money from blogs (or if they were, they weren’t talking about it) so it was news that quickly got passed around.

It was picked up by quite a few other bloggers but also went viral on Slashdot, which was the closest thing that there was to social bookmarking back then.

While I didn’t really consider that there would be much effect from saying I was a six figure blogger in that interview, the impact was pretty significant (in terms of traffic but, more importantly, in terms of profile/brand) for a few reasons:

  • The statement was somewhat controversial (the idea of monetizing the “pure” medium of blogging was something that some were dead against) and that caused some buzz. But being the first to announce I was a full-time blogger also created a desire for others to do likewise.
  • The idea of blogging for money was sown in the minds of many. As I was not only making a living from blogging, but also writing about that journey here on ProBlogger, I guess there was some credibility built from that statement.
  • Coining of the term “ProBlogger”—again being first and having a site called ProBlogger meant that people started to talk about making money from blogs as being a pro blogger, which just grew the site even more. – 2 Different Tales of Blog Growth by Darren Rowse
Jan
26
2012

The Ultimate Checklist for Integrated Marketing

Successful inbound marketing requires a hand in a number of different marketing channels, from blogging, to social media, to email, SEO, PPC, and even live events. But because there are so many different channels at an inbound marketer’s disposal, what often happens is a marketing strategy that doesn’t call for any integration or cross-channel promotion. Don’t keep your marketing contained in individual silos — integrate it!

Individual marketing channels that work in tandem to promote an offer, promotion, or even a full-blown campaign can give you the oomph you need to generate even better results. Here are 8 ways you can give your marketing more leverage with a more integrated approach to the channels you’re likely already working with.

1. Email and Social Media

For many marketers, email is one of the most powerful tools in their inbound marketing toolbox. That’s because most lead generation efforts collect a very vital communication staple — email addresses. Therefore, marketers’ databases are often the most robust asset at their disposal. But did you know there’s a way to reach even more potential customers than just your email list? It’s all about social media.

Adding social elements to your emails enables you to expand the reach of your email sends beyond just your direct recipients. Be sure you’re adding social media sharing buttons (e.g. ‘Share on Facebook!’ ‘Tweet This!’ ‘Share on LinkedIn’ ‘+1 This!’) to every email you send so recipients are encouraged to share your email content with their personal networks. You’ll have access to a whole new audience! In addition, use your email to increase your social media following by adding social media follow/subscription buttons (e.g. ‘Follow Us on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/Google+!’) so you can touch potential customers through social channels, too! -  The Ultimate Checklist for Integrated Marketing by Pamela Vaughan

Jan
25
2012

How to Improve Social Networking for Your Business

A segment of a social network

Image via Wikipedia

Around 2009, small business followed the lead of big businesses and created pages on social network sites right and left. They might have heard somewhere on the Internet that social network is a great way to reach customers and profiles are free to set up, so why not?

A lot of those pages are graveyards now. They haven’t been updated in months and almost nobody Likes them. They didn’t even get a very good response when they were active.

A lot of businesses gave up once they didn’t see a surge in new customers, but no form of advertising can do that for very little work. Everything worth anything takes time and effort, and companies forgot that because they expected social network profiles to provide instant rewards with little effort. Social network requires effort just like any other form of marketing outreach, so how can you improve your social network marketing campaign? [Read more...]

Jan
25
2012

Why Social Media Needs to Get More Personal

New social media service Path promises to bring your true friends (not just acquaintances) together in a much more personal way. However, neither Path, nor Facebook, nor Google+ have fully comprehended that personal circles vary by context, and that context changes rapidly and infinitely.  

In the end, while services like Path get us closer to “personal,” they are still very much “broadcast” versions of social media. Ultimately, new services will arise that will allow the user to easily and naturally build relationships, physically meet and communicate with one’s rapidly morphing groups of true friends.        

How Humans Interact

To fully understand how structured broadcast and personal social models differ, we need to look at real life. First and foremost, people segment friends and groups based on a specific context. To put it simply, there are people we are very close with, people we may have never heard of, but who seem “safe,” then there are thousands of groups in-between. And that context only changes more over time. Even though it sounds confusing, we build and segment groups because the action has been hard-wired into our brains.  - Why Social Media Needs to Get More Personal by Patrick Moorhead


Jan
24
2012

What Every Parent Should Know About Social Media

I gave a talk last week at The Roeper School here in the Detroit area about some concerns and dangers parents should be aware of when your child uses social media.  Here’s the presentation:

Jan
24
2012

How to Write Irresistible Blog Intros

Did you know that I like to have sex on roller coasters? Yes, there’s nothing that does it for me more than wondering if my partner will puke at the point of, um, no return. Okay I’m fibbing. I can’t even imagine how difficult big dipper hanky panky would be, but I got you listening, didn’t I?

While I was being a little devious, and you’re now going to be a tiny bit disappointed that I’m not going to talk about my fetish for fairground frolics, I’ve demonstrated two things:

  • A strong hook in the introductory paragraph of your post is crucial to grab the reader’s interest.
  • Your hook should be linked to what you’re actually writing about, otherwise the reader will feel like they’ve been duped once they continue.

But then, seeing as the title already told you what this post was going to be about, I can be excused. You knew I wasn’t going to be talking about my fictional amusement park passions, so I haven’t hoodwinked you after all!

But I did gain attention.

First impressions…

They count, don’t they? Unlike networking events or dinner parties, where we may be forced to stay making small-talk with a person we’ve decided we don’t like, when we’re reading blogs, we have a choice. And we don’t have to stick around. Once you’ve got your title, you have to think carefully about the all-important first impression that will follow.

So how do you write a winning intro that will make your reader read on? – How to Write Irresistible Blog Intros by Andrea Wren

Jan
23
2012

Top Industries Advertising with Google in 2011

Wondering where Google makes it’s money?  WordStream has this infographic showing the breakdown of Google’s revenue for 2011 — followed up by a great post analyzing some of the information: What Industries Contributed to Google’s $37.9 Billion in 2011 Revenue?

What Industries Contributed to Google's Billion in Revenues? [INFOGRAPHIC]

© WordStream, Provider of AdWords solutions.
Jan
23
2012

Social Survival for Bloggers: a Peek from the Inside

Zombie accounts at Reddit are increasingly frustrating content creators on the internet. A “zombie” account is an account that appears to be active to the user, but to nobody else, usually as a punishment for that user submitting his or her own content.

The user submits, and he sees his or her submission. S/he comments, and sees the comment. S/he thinks s/he has an active account, and can go on for months thinking s/he does. But nobody else reads that person’s submissions or comments, and his or her up-votes are generally nullified by automated system down-votes.

No social bookmarking is so cruel as Reddit. I mean, this is downright mean. And no site is so easy to cross, because self-promotion (submitting your own blog post) is frowned upon in almost every way. I’ll bet that the zombie accounts at Reddit outnumber the real accounts by a gazillion to one. Okay, perhaps that’s just a bit of an exaggeration…

So what is a blogger, video maker, infographics publisher or other content creator to do if we wish to legitimately spread the word about a blog post? How are we to know where we can submit our own content and where it will just get us banned? Let this post be your guide. – Social Survival for Bloggers: a Peek from the Inside by David Leonhardt

Jan
22
2012

Top Internet strategy, marketing and technology links for the week of January 22, 2012

Here are the top Internet strategy, marketing and technology links for the week of January 22, 2012…