via youtube.com
Maybe it is time to start thinking about a new way of marketing our business. Is Catvertising the way of the future?
Creating An Online Magazine Of Your Content For The iPad
Pads are quickly becoming one of the most popular digital devices ever. I recently read a report that said that more people are now connecting to WI-FI via an iPad than laptops. Why? They are easier to carry around, have a longer battery life and present the content in a more exciting way to the consumer.
Because of this, it is becoming increasingly important to offer this same experience of your content to consumers visiting your website. Magazine style sites for the iPad are one of the more popular ways that readers enjoy consuming content on the device. The quick loading images that you can scroll through and click on to get more content is much more appealing than just reading a bunch of links and clicking on the one you want.
Recently I found a great way to create your own magazine style version of your Custom WordPress Site called Onswipe. It allows you to bring in your content from not only your WordPress site, but also from other social media sources like Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and many more.
The setup can be a little tricky if you don’t know how to insert code into your site or set up a subdomain, but if you do, you can have everything running without much hassle. If you are not comfortable with doing those types of things, I’d recommend either contact your webhost, or paying someone who understands this to do it for you.
Once you install the code and follow the steps to pull in your feeds, it takes all the content of your WordPress site and other sources and delivers it to consumers in a very unique magazine style layout. You instantly have a dynamic presentation of your content for consumers viewing on an iPad that gives them a memorable experience of your site. The plugin creates a visually appealing version of your site with large images, colorful titles & brief descriptions.
Here is a quick demo of Onswipe:
Overall, I’d highly recommend checking out Onswipe and setting one up for your site. If you want help with setup, feel free to contact me for details. Also, grab your iPad and check out my site at https://210consulting.com
Planning For The Future By Succeeding In The Now
Technology is constantly changing. New social networks are being born each and every day. Companies develop new gadgets that now allow us to do things we never thought would be possible ten years ago.
Look at mobile phones for example: Ten years ago we carried around brick phones that allowed us to make phone calls and that was it. The craze back then was to buy a phone that came with the snake game installed. The thought of your phone allowing you to search the internet, give you directions, or update a social network was unheard of! Social networks didn’t even really exist.
While over the past few years we have made great strides in technology allowing us to do more things than ever before, it has also caused an addiction in many to finding “The Next Big Thing.” The minute a new social network launches everyone rushes to sign up and be a part. They spend countless hours trying to understand this network and how they can use it to give them some level of value. Unfortunately though, we spend too much time searching for the next hot buzz that we forget about current and present.
Focus On Now
Scott Stratten – @unmarketing
Instead of trying to figure out “what’s next” in social media/business/life, be great at what we have now.
If we spend too much time looking for new things and no time using what is working now, our business will start to fail. What works for your business right now? Is it blogging? Twitter? YouTube videos? If your business has had tremendous success with video, don’t suddenly abandon video because some expert mentions a new network that will revolutionize how we do business. It’s ok to be curious of new things, but they shouldn’t be the main focus of your business.
Want an example? Look at Google+. It launched with great fanfare and was the Buzz (pun intented) everywhere you turned. Everyone was talking about how this was the social network to destroy Facebook for once and for all. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Google+ is dead, but it has definitely lost it’s steam with the masses.
Bill Gade – @TopSEOranking
Google+ Pages Won’t Save Search Giant’s Social Network, Slate Says: Traffic-analysis firms have consistently rep… http://t.co/106mHObX
I’ve got a profile and business page there & will continue to test things out on the network. But, I spend probably less than 5% of my work week there in comparison to Facebook, YouTube & Twitter which get about 45% of my time. My blog gets about 45% of my marketing time with the remaining small fraction testing new products & services. It’s pretty simple to understand why I run my business this way as my site is by far the biggest generator of income for my business. Until I see something take it’s places as the main income generator, I will stick with this plan.
So in closing, if you are only out chasing new rainbows that may land you on the pot of gold on the newest adventure, it’s time to take a step back and work on what is generating income for your business presently. Focus on business of today more and less on what might come to be. While the future is important to your success, if you don’t put more thought into the current, there may be no future.
My Video Gear And How I Set It Up
My good friend Chris Brogan and I were discussing video gear the other day via Twitter. He was talking about an LED light (aff) I suggested to him to use when shooting his videos. This little light travels with me in my bag when I am on the road traveling as a social media speaker. Because it is so small, lightweight and rechargeable, it works really nicely for on the go video.
But, I also started sharing with him some of the other video gear I now use to shoot my videos in my office. Since I can have more of a controlled environment there, I can use things that may be a little more stationary.
Here is a quick tour of the various video gear I use on a regular basis as well as a tour of how I set it up in my office:
Bieber, Blogchat and Thoughts on Blogging
On of my biggest passions in the social media realm lies within blogging. I’ve traveled the country as a social media speaker teaching thousands how to get started in blogging. Honestly while it is probably the subject I have spoken on the most, it is also probably my favorite. The reason why is because I feel all social media efforts should revolve around your blog.
Why? It’s one of the few places that social interactions take place that you are in absolute control of. You get to make the rules and determine how things should look and feel. If places like Facebook & YouTube determine you are doing something they don’t like, they can simply shut you down without even providing a reason.
Each Sunday night there is a wonderful discussion that takes place on Twitter called #blogchat. Blogchat discusses various topics related to blogging. The host Mack Collier is usually accompanied by a special guest that helps moderate the chat of several hundreds of people generating many thousands of tweets at times.
This past week was an open mic night which means you can discuss any topic you wish and ask any questions you may have. I’ve highlighted a few of my favorites below thanks to Dashter:
Pam Moore – @PamMktgNut
There is only one perfect way to do blogging & #sm & that is the way that works for you & your audience! #blogchat
I agree with Pam on this. There isn’t one single mold to social media that works for every single person. You have to find what works well for your business and implement those things. For some that is using opt-in campaigns. Others have success with affiliate programs. Find what works for you and your audience and do it better than everyone else in your industry.
Ian Greenleigh – @be3d
You don’t owe anyone content. Never feel like you need to blog when you don’t have anything to say. #blogchat
Too many times we feel like we have to write a post just because an expert somewhere said that we needed to blog XX times each week. Instead of creating content of value to our consumers, we just write something that has zero value and can be more harming to our online footprint just so we can say we kept our weekly quota.
If we create junk, it breaks the trust in our readers that we are giving good stuff to them. Also, too many trash posts can put a major hit on the SEO of your site. Just like your mom taught you when you were a child, if you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything at all.
If all you care about is traffic, blog about Bieber. #blogchat
This second though from Ian I haven’t personally tested yet, but I might need to soon! Considering Bieber draws a crowd everywhere these days, it might just work. What I do know, is that if I did implement this tactic, it would at least drive a few of my friends like Mike Mueller here. As for more than just him, I don’t know.
Sandy Ellingson – @sandyellingson
Spend more time learning about & connecting w/your readers than copying & watching how others connect w/theirs! #blogchat
Sandy makes a whole lot of sense here. Too many try to be the next Chris Brogan or Gary Vee and copy what worked for them. The only problem is what works for them doesn’t always work for us.
Take your time and efforts to test your own strategies and ideas to find what works for your potential consumers. Research the age groups, things your consumers enjoy, things that would appeal to them and implement those strategies. Your results should be much greater.
Jessica Levin, CMP – @JessicaLevin
@MackCollier I’m still thinking abt what @marcymassura said: Make your blog a TV channel, not a show. That was powerful. #blogchat
This statement I probably spent the most amount of time pondering. I thought about what Jessica Re-Tweeted from Marcy and basically had two different trains of thought here.
The first was on creating variety of content to appeal to various groups of readers. If you offer a mix of content instead of just information on one single subject over & over you be able to gain more readership and traffic to your site. I try to do this on my site by sharing information about everything from blogging to video, and everything in between.
The second thought that came to mind was that we need to focus on long tail keyword topics on our site instead of just focusing on one larger item which I agree with 100%. It’s much easier to get your site ranking for a long tail keyword than a main keyword. Ranking for a bunch of long tail keywords over just one main keyword gives you an ultimately broader spectrum to drive traffic to your site via SEO.
They say that long tail keywords make up almost 80% of keyword possibilities, so if you write on your subject using various long tail keywords related to your product or service you can gain more and more eyes.
So there you have it, Justin Bieber, blogchat, & thoughts on blogging all wrapped up into one post. Make sure to try to join into a blogchat in the near future, it can really be beneficial to your business.
Photo Credit: cukuskumir creative commons 2.0
Is Your Website Mobile Optimized?
According to Google, mobile traffic queries are up over 4 times those of a year ago. More and more people are surfing the web from their smart phones every day for things. There should no longer be a question of whether or not you need a mobile version of your website.
Having your website mobile optimized means that it will load quickly & easily for any mobile device. If it takes more than five seconds for the page to load, consumers are likely to leave and move on to another site. Also, the amount of data required to open a non-mobile site can turn those with limited data packages away from becoming a regular online customer of yours. If you have images inserted, they need to load properly and I shouldn’t need to pinch or zoom to view the items on a page.
Google believes that mobile sites are becoming so important that they recently launched an initiative to help people determine if their site is mobile optimized. HowToGoMo.com offers you the ability to test your site, learn more about mobile websites and even get help if needed. Here’s a quick demo on how it works:
When you finish the test you will get a brief summary and also the ability to either email or download a Full Mobile Report. Also, if your site does not do so well in the test, they have some great developers available to assist you in building a mobile optimized site for your business.
As someone who uses WordPress and also builds Custom WordPress Sites, I install a plugin called WPTouch onto all the sites I build that helps turn them into a mobile optimized version for when your site is viewed on a smartphone. It is super simple to set up and can be done in less than three minutes. It will make your site look fairly similar to the way mine did in the video demo above.
So, go try HowToGoMo.com and see how your site ranks in their results. If you need help turning your WordPress Site into a mobile optimized version, just ask!