What to Write? What to Right? - part 2

Here I am with enough on my mind to barely fill an update, much less create a whole post.  Where do I  go for ideas?

My favorite place is LinkedIn Groups.   Second come newspapers and blogs.    And now I state why, with no class or holding back: " There is always someone out there saying something stupid that I have an innate need to refute! (and also the expertise)"   The controversy generates ideas and arguments and brings out the best of my writing abilities, as limited as they are.  A well formed argument becomes a stand alone post for my LinkedIn Profile.  Well written and complete, it can become a stand-alone post in the LinkedIN Group from where the idea came.  Posted as a response to the original article, a well formed argument can generate views, reviews and a hearty discussion, bringing up the volume of views garnered by your profile and  Social Media sites. 

Why post in LinkedIN Groups?  The articles are far reaching.   Every group member, whether connected or not can see the post.   -- and the posts are of natural interest to the group as you are of course, choosing a topic about your professional life that you are an expert on.   Groups attract a diligent readership since the group filters topics for you and give you a starting point.    They allow for comments and an exchange of ideas.   Group discussions are by default, interesting to your connections since they are posts are about your working professional life and areas of expertise.  

.....   and a good post is no more than 300 words long -   so how hard can this be?

#SocialMedia is about useful information exchange.  #LinkedInGroups

What to Write? What to Right?

One of the biggest issues people have with #socialmedia is: What to write?  If this stumps you, not to worry, you’re not alone – at one time or another, everyone gets stumped with that!  But you don’t have to look as far as you might think to come up with some great ideas for social media and blog posts.   

Mark Twain said, “Write what you know.” Great advice! You’re an expert in your industry. But not everyone else is. Position yourself as the ‘go-to’ person in your field. And write what you know.

Let’s look at some examples of sources for inspiration:

1.     What are the 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5) key misconceptions about your industry? What are some of the most common myths surrounding what you do? Be the mythbuster! Social media is a great way to disseminate the information that will set people straight.

2.   What about your industry has changed within the past 5 years? What’s new? You’re the professional. Let people know that. Since you’re the one with your finger on the pulse, use that. Change within your industry is the important stuff that people need to know. Share it on social media.

3.   Think for a moment. What are the questions that you are most asked about your industry; about what you do; about your products and services? Elaborating on the responses to these questions can provide you with plenty of inspiration for social media and blog posts.

4.     Finally, and this is really important: What is the call to action? Make sure you include something. Once you have people’s attention, what is it that you want them to do after they absorb all of the useful information you’ve provided via social media? Well, ultimately you want them to buy your products; you want them to use your services. And how do you leverage social media to entice them to do that?  That’s your call to action. And you want the call to action to be an immediate response. It might be to call or email you to request further information about your services, or even better, to set up an appointment (don’t forget to provide contact information where it will be easily seen - and in the case of an email, link to your email address right there). Or it might be to come into your store/offices/workshop to purchase what you sell (again, a very visible address and a map to your location should be included on your social media sites – not to mention a link to your website). Or you might want people to subscribe to your newsletter or blog (and yes, you can write those, too! Piece of cake!). If that’s the case, ensure that you include a “Subscribe” button that people can click on right then and there. Easy!

Posting to social media sites isn’t rocket science, but it does take some time and thought. It’s also a necessity in business these days if you’re going to be competitive. I defy you to find one big business that doesn’t have a social media presence. I’ll bet you can’t! And there’s a very good reason for that. In today’s climate, if you don’t have a social media presence, you pretty much don’t exist. Just some food for thought…

Want more help with your foray into the realm of the social? We’ve got just the course for you! Join one of our Social Networking for Business workshops today! (See the call to action??)

5 TIPS FOR A KILLER BLOG POST

Blogging is an effective way of keeping your name at the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to  industry news and relevant information.  Others are doing it, why not you?

Here are 5 tips that will help make your blog the one people keep coming back to read:    

1. Write with Intention:  People generally look to a blog post as a source of information.  You therefore want to ensure that your posts impart crucial news and enlightening info that people are sourcing out.  Keep it fresh, current and relevant.  But, be engaging (and entertaining where warranted) as well.  You don’t want your audience reading your posts as a sleep aid!  And, whatever you do, don’t use your blog as a press release or an advertising forum – people are not going to keep coming back to read blatant self-promotion.

The takeaway:  Make sure each post offers readers the illumination they’re looking for, but try to set forth a unique tone, a sense of personality (yours, of course!) as well.

2. Maintain a Sense of Cohesiveness:  Remember your grade 7 English Composition class?  Remember the rule about every piece of work having an introduction, a body and a conclusion?  Well, that applies here.   People aren’t going to stick around if they’re trying to make sense of a jumbled, pointless mess.  You want your introduction to hook your readers’ attention.  The first line or two should create intrigue and make people want to read on.  A little drama never hurt anyone. 

Transition smoothly into the body of your post – and this should be where you become a resource – a wealth of pertinent, need-to-know and up-to-the-minute information.  Keep paragraphs relatively short and engaging and keep it focused.  Go ahead and be creative – make use of your toolbar and incorporate style elements like numbered lists, bullet points, etc.

Your conclusion should briefly summarize the body content, but must also invoke a call-to-action.  Hopefully, this will be to contact you to either acquire more information or to hire you.  But, remember, no sales pitches!

The takeaway:  In order for your posts to be informative, they need to primarily make sense and to follow (at least some of) the rules of the written English word.

3. Maintain a Sense of Decorum:  You want to be engaging and entertaining in order to maintain your readers’ attention, but you also want to invoke in them a sense of trust in you.  It’s essential to therefore maintain a sense of professionalism.  This is not to say that you must steer away entirely from being a bit cutting edge, or even informal, but just remember that it is, after all, a business blog and you are a real estate professional.  As your mom would say:  Watch your language!

The takeaway:  You can go ahead and make em’ laugh, but just bear in mind your target audience and the purpose of your blog, and write accordingly.

4. Make Use of Visuals:  Yes, your post will be engaging and enlightening, but it never hurts to add a little visual enhancement.   Insert a relevant photo or two where pertinent and this just adds to the ‘keeping - their- attention’ factor. 

The takeaway:  Photos add an element of interest and help to break up the text.  People love pictures!

5. Brevity is Key:  Even though people are sourcing you out and wanting to read what you have to say, they won’t want to be reading the second coming of War and Peace.  You will only be able to maintain people’s attention for so long, therefore you want to get all of your most important points down in a well-paced manner.  If people don’t care to stick around to finish a blog post, chances are, they won’t be returning to check out your next one.  A good rule of thumb is to try not to let any post exceed 1000 words.  If you’re blogging on a popular topic that is worthy of more than 1000 words, consider breaking the post up into Parts I & II – a great way to keep people coming back for more!

The takeaway:  Keep it brief and you won’t run the risk of boring your audience!

Ready to start blogging?  By following the above strategic moves, you should be doing it like a pro in no time at all!!

8 WAYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR BLOG’S S.E.O.

Blogs are fun to write (I love creating them!!!), informative and a great way to promote & market your brand.  But, the challenge lies in getting them found on that vast information highway we know as the internet.  As enjoyable to write as they are, your blog posts aren’t going to do much good if no one actually gets to read them.  The question is, then:  how do you maximize your blog’s SEO (search engine optimization) and drive traffic to your posts so they can serve their purpose of marketing your business.

If you run a customer-facing business – let’s say you’re a mortgage broker – then your business blog will revolve around offering information and advice on all things mortgage.  When someone in your locale is looking for information on obtaining a mortgage, the first order of business will be to conduct a Google search.  What you want to ideally do is ensure that your blog ranks among the first two or three search results – or at least in the top 5!  If you’re way down at number 610, no one is going to find you.  Over time and with some good old-fashioned work & polish, there’s no reason in the world that you won’t rank in the top 5!! 

Here are a few concepts to keep in mind that will be sure to maximize your blog’s SEO:  

1. Maximize your Links:

One of the most vital elements that you need to be aware of in order to garner that all-important search engine optimization, is “link maximizing”.  In plain English:  it’s imperative that you amplify as much as possible the number of links drifting around out there that direct people to your blog.  There are a few ways in which to accomplish this.  You can add a link to your forum signature or forum block; you can submit links on website directories; you can trade links or you can even purchase links. 

But remember, it’s also crucial that you use the right link name.  If you’re a mortgage broker, examples of links that you should use are:  “top-notch mortgage advice” or “hot mortgage tips for first time homebuyers” or “mortgage numbers demystified”.  You get the idea.

2. Keep it Fresh and Engaging:

In order for your blog to be and remain successful, you need to keep it updated on a very regular basis.  If you start to get a following and don’t post anything for over a month, it’s going to get stale; people are going to stop visiting and move on to find their info elsewhere.  Remember:  the more frequently you update, the more easily people will be able to find your blog on search engines, because search engines will more readily recognize your blog.

But, keep in mind that quality counts just as much as quantity.  Keep it interesting and engaging.  Your posts should encompass content that will appeal to your visitors – they’re reading your material for a reason and you want to maintain your audience. 

3. Create a Domain Name of Your Very Own:

Buying your own domain name is a really good idea if you’re serious about your blog and increasing its traffic.  Create a domain name that is easy for people to remember (size does matter – the shorter the better in this case) and that is relevant to your blog posts. 

4. Source Out and Follow other Top Bloggers:

Look for other bloggers in your industry genre and contribute by commenting on their posts.  Ensure that your comments are relevant, informative and that they intelligently enhance the content.  Also ensure that you include a directive link to your own blog, so that they’ll check you out, too!

5. Respond to Comments on Your Blog Posts:

Speaking of commenting on blog posts, when you do start to receive traffic to your blog and people comment, it’s essential that you respond in kind – this will assure your readers that you value their opinions and will establish a sense of loyalty between you and your readers.

6. Include Labels or Tags on Your Posts:

Once you’ve written your content, take the time to add a few labels or tags (these are keywords) to your posts.  Tags are easily recognized by search engines, much like links.  This will be sure to drive additional traffic to your blog as tags are an excellent way of assisting readers in finding your blog when they use search engines.  To that end, ensure also that the tags or keywords are used as plentifully as possible throughout your blog posts as these words must be incorporated within your content for Google to consider recognizing the posts.  For example, if you use the word “finances” a lot throughout your post, ensure that you include that exact word “finances”  and not the words “financial planning” as a tag.  Likewise, if you use the term “retirement planning” plentifully within your post, make sure that you use that term as a tag and not just the word “retire” or even just the word  “retirement”.   And, bear in mind when writing your content, what keywords or terms readers will use to search for an article such as the one you’re writing – then use those words or terms as abundantly as possible and, of course as tags.

7. Syndicate Your Content with an RSS Feed:

It’s a good idea to set up an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed tab on your blog.  Doing so will make it easy to alert readers when you publish fresh content.  (You can use Feedburner or Feedblitz to do this.  Visit their websites for more information on how to share an RSS feed.)

8. Make the Most of Your Other Social Networking Sites:

To really leverage social media as a means of effectively marketing your business, you should (if you don’t already) also be making use of other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Each of these networks offers you the opportunity to post content about and promote your blog posts.  And, again – don’t forget to include a link.

Above are just some of the ways you can maximize your blog’s SEO.  For a complete, informative lesson on “all things blog”, why not join one of our Social Media for Business workshops and we’ll help get you on the heavily trafficked road to a successful blog!  For a schedule of workshops in your area, please visit:

http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20