Social Media Advisors – Page 18 – We are Social Media Advisors, a Social Media Speaker, & Custom WordPress Site design.

Is Your Website Mobile Optimized?

Custom WordPress Sites, Online Consulting, Social Media Advisors

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!

Creating Better Videos- Audio

Social Media Advisors, Video

This is part three in my series on creating better videos. In our first segment we covered indoor shots and how to keep the light balanced. Then, we discussed why using a tripod is crucial to the quality of your video. For today’s segment, we are going to discuss audio.

Good videos are made up of two main components. The images on the screen and the sound that accompanies it. If one of these parts is lacking or missing, the quality of your video goes down. While you may think you need to spend several hundreds of dollars on a good microphone setup, you will be surprised what you can get for under $40.

Before I show an example, let’s first discuss the different types of microphones that exist. There are three main types that you may want to use:

Shotgun Microphones- These microphones are highly directional and pick mainly the audio that is just in front of them. It is used many times on movie sets with a boom stand that hangs it overhead those speaking. They can get a little more expensive, but can be effective in situations where you cannot have a microphone 6 inches from your subject. They can pick up sounds usually within 10 feet. Unfortunately though, if you are trying to interview someone in a noisy room, it can be difficult to distinguish their voice and the noise of others speaking in the room.
Handheld Microphones- Handheld microphones are like those used by news reporters. They can be wired or wireless. They provide a good sound of those close to the microphone. If you want the ambient noise of others in the room, this may not be the best option. Also, if the person using the microphone has weak arms and the microphone moves away, you may lose some of what they are speaking.
Lapel Microphones- Lapel microphones provide very good quality audio that will remain consistent as you clip it onto the persons shirt or jacket. These microphones pick up only the person wearing it so if you are trying to interview someone else, this is not the option for you. Unless of course you use an audio mixer and two of them. In the example below, I use a simple $25 Audio Technica ATR 3350 wired version. (aff link)

Here’s a demo:

As you can see, adding just a simple $25 microphone changes the quality of your video immensely. No longer do you hear the wind blowing and my voice faintly. Instead my voice now is coming through crystal clear. So, if your camera allows for the use of an external microphone, then put the additional investment into your videos and see the major difference. If your camera doesn’t have the option for an external microphone, have no fear! I will have a guest post coming soon that will show you how you can accomplish the same type of audio quality.

To learn more on how to create better videos, check out this presentation that I have shared as a social media speaker on Video Basics.

photo credit: Mike Mueller Areweconnected.com

Better Happy Birthdays

Facebook

I love it when a birthday comes up for one of my online friends. It gives me the opportunity to make their day special AND have a little fun in the process. Sometimes for birthdays I might hack an image together…

Other times I may do a quick video…

My online friend is going to feel great when they see what I did for them. Truth be told, it doesn’t take long to create something that will be special and meaningful.

Sometimes Birthdays pop up unexpected leaving you little time to plan or prepare. The new Facebook doesn’t make it easier to see who’s day is coming up. Like many things that are important to me, I have bookmarked exactly what I want to see. Want to know a secret? It’s now hidden but here’s the upcoming birthdays for your friends http://www.facebook.com/events/birthdays/ click on that, bookmark it and you won’t get surprised again, right?

The Dark Side

I understand the dynamics of social media marketing. I understand by wishing someone “Happy Birthday” you are putting your smiling face in front of all their friends. But birthdays are special to me, they are probably special to them too. That’s why I don’t understand the people who “phone in” their well wishes.

Want Examples?

Posting the exact same status update for every in your sphere’s birthday. I’m not talking about the drive by greeting “Happy Birthday Buddy!” – (everyone who sees that knows just how much effort it took). More like the creative sounding “I hope you enjoy your day! I hope this is the best birthday ever – make it a great one!” which might sound great to them and look great as a stand alone, but anyone who happens by your wall will see you said the exact same thing to the 20 other people. How special does that Birthday Boy feel now? Can you say marketing backfire?

There’s also the video version of this same tactic. While it may be popular to post a YouTube video of the Beatles singing Happy Birthday. That’s fine, but to every single person? Would it kill you to toss in a little Jimmy Buffett every now and then?

Let’s do this better

For your the next friends birthday try this instead. Take a moment and reflect on what that person means to you. Is there an inside joke between the two of you? How about something meaningful that has happened in the past? Need a little help? Go to their wall. On the top right you’ll see a gear. Click on the gear and the dropdown will show you “See Friendship”. Facebook will create a page that shows you exactly the ‘what’ and ‘how’ the two of you have interacted over time. You might even be surprised to see the last time you interacted was a year ago on their birthday!

How easy is that? So now that you have all the tools you need to wish that someone a Better Happy Birthday the question is – will you do it?

Creating Better Video- Steadying Your Shot

Social Media Advisors, Social Media Speaker, Video

Yesterday I started a series of posts on creating better videos. The series came from some recent presentations I have given as a social media speaker on using video more effectively in your online marketing strategy. The first post dealt with picking the right angles for your indoor shots. Today we are going to tackle another one of the issues I see in too many videos. The fact that you feel like you are riding a roller coaster throughout the entire video due to the shakiness. If you wonder what I am talking about, here’s an example from one of my golf outings.

So how do we go about fixing this problem? Well, absolute easiest is to just use a tripod. It steadies your camera and removes all the shake. You can purchase one for anywhere from $20 for an inexpensive one to some that can cost you several thousands. Personally, I use a tripod/monopod combo from Sunpak that is around $85. (aff link) This tripod is a little taller than some of the others out there which comes in handy if you are taller or interviewing someone who is taller than 5’7″.

In addition to this tripod, I also use a smaller lightweight one, but that can can be hard to use since it is so lightweight it causes some vibration when you try to do pan shots. The third tripod I carry in my bag always is a small desktop tripod. This one might get more use than any other tripod I own as it is with me all the time. It doesn’t always work the best with the DSLR camera due to the cameras weight, but with the pocket cameras it is perfect.

Here is a quick demonstration video showing the importance of steadying your camera:

So what if you want to shoot a video and do not have a tripod handy? What should you do? Well, obviously you wouldn’t want to just give up on shooting the video. Instead, lets think of some other ways to imitate the tripod. Here are just a few things I have done in the past when I don’t have a tripod nearby to steady my video camera:

Find a steady flat surface to sit/prop the camera. I’ve used everything from sidewalks, desks, railings, you name it to steady the camera. I’ve even used my wallet before to prop a camera up & get that perfect shot.
Put your camera strap on & pull the camera tight against your neck. This will help to steady the camera more than just using your arms.
Find something to lean on. If you can find something to lean your elbows against you can use your arms as a tripod fairly well.

These are just a few ideas, there are plenty more crazy things I’ve done in the past to try & get the right shot. Have you ever used any of the things I mentioned in the past? Or maybe you have another idea. If you do, please share!