Do you want to utilize social media to the best of its capabilities with your corporate blog? Here are ten secrets that the best social media users are utilizing in order to boost the capabilities of their blogs and other websites.

1 – Do your research!

Why? Because every single successful marketing strategy is based on solid research. You cannot go blindly onto a social media site and expect to get immediate success by submitting your content. Find social media sites that work well in conjunction with your niche.

2 – Interact with the community as much as possible.

Do not completely ignore the community as many social media marketers do , but instead get involved because this is what social media is really all about. Take advantage of the social nature of the platform and interact for better success in your corporate blogging and social media endeavors.

3 – Write FOR your audience.

If you want your content to be hot, and even viral, then you need to write for your audience on these social media sites. Interact with the community and get to know its members, learning about their likes and dislikes for example. Learn what gets the most attention and cater to it the best you can.

4 – Shoot for relevancy at all times.

Relevance is the true key to effective social media marketing. Look at Digg, StumbleUpon and other social networking and social media sites for proof of this fact.

5 – Keep your writing short.

Internet users do not tend to enjoy reading long text passages, preferring instead to scan anything that they are interested in. Be accommodating by keeping your content short.

6 – Good design.

When users come to your page, are they greeted with a design that is clean and welcoming in nature? If not, they may leave! To combat this, simply focus on presenting a good design and you will go far.

7 – Stop trying to make sales.

Another rookie mistake that is commonly made in social media marketing is to try ands ell your products. Promoting your brand is a good thing, but if all you are doing is pimping your products then you are never going to get any respect in the social networking world.

8 – Create Outstanding Headlines.

Your story may be excellent, but your headline is what sells. If you want attention when it comes to social media, you need to have an absolutely killer headline otherwise users will not notice what you are posting.

9 – Help Others Out.

If you want to become a top user or a popular user, you have to help others out rather than simply submitting and promoting the content that you write.

10 – Convert the hottest content.

Capitalize on hot content as often as you can. Make the attention that you garner last for as long as you possibly can by creating more posts to follow the hot ones so visits can read not only your popular post, but also your newer content as well.

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Originally posted 2008-11-18 05:37:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Ten Tips for Better Corporate Blog Traffic pt 1 Unless you went out and purchased an already established blogs, the chances are that you just recently launched your blog with only a single loyal reader, your own self. Maybe you received a few hits a couple of days later when you began to tell the people you knew about......
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Once you know what niche or industry you will be blogging about, the next step in the process that you need to consider before you actually begin writing is some basic blog design tips. When designing and modeling your blog, you absolutely need to be able to keep your readers in mind. You need to create a design that has enough individuality and pizzazz that it will attract new visitors to your blog, but your design should also be comfortable and warm so that readers will return again and again, and striking this balance is not always simple. Here are five tips that will help you create a design for your corporate blog that is balanced between appealing and comfortable.

1 – Choose your blog theme wisely.

The blog theme that you choose should correspond with whatever industry or niche you have decided to blog about. Don’t go off target when it comes to pictures, symbols and other visual aids if they do not have relevancy or a relationship with the niche you are writing about. Your blog theme may be a subtle part of your blog but it is a vital one all the same, reinforcing the affiliation of your blog with the niche or industry that you are promoting.

2 – Introduce yourself so that your audience can get to know you.

Every blog should feature either an about me page, or an about me section where you can introduce yourself to those who are reading your blog. Tell your readers who you are and why you are blogging about the topic you are in, and even more importantly, what objectives you hope to fulfill by blogging. Your readers will appreciate getting to know you.

3 – Offer your readers methods for contacting you.

Do not keep your contact information obscure or hide it from your readers all together. Your readers should have easy access to you through a phone number or e-mail. This has a very powerful effect on building relationships with your readers and customers so do not underestimate its importance when styling your corporate blog.

4 – Make your best work easy to find.

If you write something that attracts more readers or more commenters than usual, make this post more readily available by categorizing it separately or linking it in a section on your sidebar, such as the “Most popular entries” section so that these posts can be regularly read and accessed by your readers and customers in the future.

5 – Make your blog visually appealing as well as easy on the eyes.

This one ought to be pretty straight forward – Don’t jazz your blog up too much with eye catching details because they can strain the eyes and cause difficulty reading. Good fonts to use include Times New Roman, Georgia and Arial. If you want to get a little fancy without sacrificing readability, consider Calibri. You can’t go wrong with dark fonts on light backgrounds, which are the easiest for readability.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2009-01-30 05:59:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Although corporate blogging can be a powerful tool, there is a time when it can get pretty dicey. Without proper management, a blog can be a disaster that can end up ruining your corporate image. Let’s take a look at three examples of the good, bad and ugly in the world of corporate blogging.

The Good

A good corporate blog finds the balance between being personable and professional. This is a juggling act, but when it’s done right, the result is a successful blog that builds a solid relationship with the public. The best example of a good corporate blog is Sun Microsystems. They’ve allowed their employees as well as management to post blogs on anything under the sun and the result has been terrific in the blogging community. Readers feel connected with the company and they can now put faces with a big corporation. This company has long been a leader in the corporate blogging world and they are a very good example to emulate.

The Bad

Walmart is a terrific example of corporate blogging gone bad. They set up a blog that was supposed to be written by a couple that was traveling the US in an RV and staying at Walmarts. The only thing that was not mentioned was that Walmart was sponsoring this as a corporate blog – not as a personal endeavor as the creators originally claimed. The blogosphere soon found out and the result was scorn. This did not do Walmart’s image any favors and they quickly retired the blog in question and have not made any new overtures.

A lot can be learned from this debacle. Never try to masquerade a corporate blog as anything but a corporate blog. It will backfire.

The Ugly

Earthlink’s blog is perhaps the most notorious. The company already has customer service issues and a lot of ill will already. When they debuted the blog, they were opening themselves up to a whole new host of problems. First, they didn’t allow comments, then they did, then they didn’t and the cycle continued. The posts ended up addressing constant controversy instead of addressing any key issues for the company. They simply could not surmount these obstacles and the blog was eventually cancelled.

For this lesson – make a decision and stick to it. Otherwise you look wishy washy. If you have trouble with customer service, a blog may not be the best idea. Don’t open your company up to problems right off the bat if you are concerned that the blog will turn into a public bashing forum for your company. This was a bad decision on the part of Earthlink and one that they undoubtedly regretted. Instead of fixing their image, they ended up reinforcing bad publicity.

The best way to ensure that your corporate blog joins the ranks of The Good in blogging is to work with a management company that can help you navigate the treacherous waters of blogging. With their help, you can avoid falling into The Bad or The Ugly categories.

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Originally posted 2008-08-08 05:16:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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As corporate blogging maintains a stronger foothold on in many industries, companies are seeking ways to take their efforts to the next level. If you’re interested in growing  your blog’s audience and you want to engage your readers, you may want to consider trying a technique known as live blogging.

This is best illustrated by the activity that surrounds an upcoming launch and the subsequent blitz of a new Apple product. Weeks, if not months, before Apple releases something new, bloggers go to work talking about it, building up buzz and creating a frenzy. Then, as the day of the release gets closer, they kick it up a notch and get prepared. On launch day, many bloggers will be present in the audience and they will be blogging live about what is happening, in real time.

These blogs are always interesting to read, because they have that real time element and the excitement is palpable. You may not be Apple, but there are ways that you can use live corporate blogging to enhance your company, engage your readers and build up momentum to promote your new products.

The first step is to plan out an actual campaign for your live blogging efforts. Take the time to read through other live blogging events and their aftermath. You can learn a lot by taking the time to learn about any mistakes that were made, and how you can utilize the same exact tips in your business. You’ll also need to plan a big event, one that will interest your visitors and is large enough to generate buzz.

For example, a launch that covers a new type of dental floss may not be very exciting. However, a launch about a new type of dental floss that can dramatically reduce tooth decay without brushing would be. You’ve got to find that interesting angle, and then work to figure out how you’re going to push it.

A live blogging event will require some extra equipment. At the very least, you’ll need a laptop or a Blackberry. You’ll have to be connected to the internet and be able to post to your blog from your location. Once you have this in place, you can set up either a regular schedule to keep your readers updated, or you can do it as it happens.

Live blogging is exciting and these techniques can be used for virtually any corporate blog. The key is finding that angle, building up that buzz and following through. If you can do that, you’ll be able to hold a successful live blogging event. It’s a good idea to chronicle your efforts as you go through this process. This will help you plan out future launches and live corporate blogging events that will build on the success of your first one.

Try implementing these techniques the next time you have a new product or service coming out. Chances are, your readers will get swept away and you’ll notice a dramatic increase in site visitors and buyers.

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Originally posted 2008-12-03 05:57:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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In a lot of ways, text blogging has become a thing of the past. Folks are beginning to blog in other ways, including blogging in video and blogging in audio. Video blogs often tend to be more engaging, and they allow bloggers to use video channels and other unique opportunities to promote not only themselves but also their posts in completely new and exciting ways. Everyone and anyone who is looking for an all new blogging platform should get started with video blogging right now while it is still a good thing. When it comes to video blogging, there is no real thing as getting in too late, so if you’re not already V-blogging or video blogging, now is your chance to get involved. There are some challenges to contend with when it comes to creating your own video blog, however, so keep reading.

A lot of people do not feel comfortable presenting themselves in front of a video camera or in front of a crowd. The mere idea of having millions of people see them from around the world can be a major turn off. Video blogging should be seen as a great opportunity to connect with other people rather than as some frightening or overwhelming affair. By presenting yourself and talking in front of a camera, you may actually find a publishing method that is less formal and less daunting while still creating a powerful message. Besides, in most cases you will be in charge of and control of everything and its great when you are in charge of getting your message out.

Hosting videos can also be looked at as something of a challenge as well, however. Videos can easily consume a significant amount of bandwidth, so you are going to want to make sure that you have the right amount of bandwidth, as well as the financial stability to pay the bills associated with hosting your video content. Most brand new video bloggers can use video networking websites such as YouTube in order to have their videos hosted for free, which allows them to save a significant amount in operating costs without having to deal with any other technical challenges along the way.

The best way to really get started when it comes to video blogging or vlogging, is to see what the “best” at it are doing, and emulate them. Many top bloggers put videos not only on sites like YouTube but also their own individual blogs as well. Watch these videos and you should get decent background for your own video, as well as some pointers on how you can better communicate with your “reader base”. The more effectively that you can communicate to your audience, the more your audience will respond to you and the video blog entries that you post. Video blogging does not have to be complicated in any sense of the word, as long as you can handle speaking and presenting and sharing those videos with the world.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-02-16 05:10:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Are you ready to make blogging work for your business? If you already know the benefits associated with corporate blogging, then the next step is to put these concepts to work by creating your own corporate blog and sharing your company with the world. This is part 1 in a short series on tips for making blogging work for you.

1 – The first step is to find your domain name.

If you already have a website for your business, then the most advantageous option may be to attach your blog in some way to your normal business site. The next best thing would be to own the domain name that is most descriptive of your business when creating your blog. Either use your business name for your blog name, or your own name, so that you can help people link you and your blog with the company that you are intending to represent. Some of the most well known domain name registrars are GoDaddy, MyDomain, Register, PacNames and DotCalmDomains.

2 – Figure out which blogging tool or blogging platform is going to work best for you.

There are at least two different camps to consider when it comes to tools. The first is those who prefer self hosted blogs, and the second is those who prefer hosting tools. Where do you feel most comfortable? The decision is ultimately up to you but there are pros and cons associated with both options. Some of the options available to you are easily customizable hosted options like TypePad offered by SixApart, or Movable Type which offers more control than TypePad. If you want to host your own blog, WordPress may be more your style, as it offers a lot of customization and control and you can host it a lot more efficiently by yourself.

3 – Talk about yourself so your readers can get to know you.

Most blog templates have an “About” function. Use this wisely so that you may capture the true essence of who you are and what you are hoping to accomplish with your blog. You should aim to strike an excellent balance between human voice and “business speak” to show your readers that you mean business, but are just a passionate human being at the core.

4 – Register your blog and start spreading the word about your endeavor.

Get comfortable with your blog before you start speaking out about it. Once you have some content, and perhaps even a reader or two, you can start spreading the word about your blog. Register your blog at FeedBurner, available at http://www.feedburner.com so that you can provide RSS and e-mail feeds that people can use to gain access to your content. Technorati, at http://www.technorati.com is another excellent option as well as it will allow you to associate tags with your blog for better “findability”.

5 – Create a resource section or a blog roll to show your customers what you enjoy reading, or what resources you often visit.

Blog rolls are generous in two different ways, as not only do they allow people who you link to to find your blog, but they also help readers expand their knowledge by checking out the blogs that you recommend.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-01-19 05:07:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Many corporate blogs fail simply because they strike a wrong chord with readers. If you want to use your blog to increase traffic and sales and improve your relations with the public, it is vital to develop a technique that will allow you to talk to your readers, not at them. This is a very delicate balance for many companies and it can be tough to find the right voice for your writing. Often, corporate blogging can be a bit dull, but there are some techniques that you can use to engage your audience.

1. Allow comments.

One of the best ways to talk to your readers is to allow them the opportunity to talk to you. By encouraging them to leave a comment, you are opening a dialogue with them. Even if they don’t leave a comment, you’ve opened that door and shown that you are not afraid to interact with the public. Many companies make the mistake of not allowing their readers to comment and the result is a blog that is very cold and very static. More often than not, these blogs fail because they do not engage the reader.

On the upside, allowing comments can also help increase your pageviews. Many readers like to keep coming back throughout the day to see what is going on in a comment section. They become mini discussion forums for many and it is fun to keep up with events throughout the day.

2. Ask the reader questions.

One of the best ways to avoid talking at your readers is simply – don’t do it. Ask them questions in your posts, encourage them to interact with you and discuss what is on their mind. By asking them questions, your readers will not get the impression that your corporate blog exists only to drum up more business (even if this is the case.) Impressions are so important in blogging and you want to make sure you are giving the right one.

3. Include polls.

One of the easiest ways to involve your readers is to ask them to vote in a poll. Find a topic that matches well with your industry and create a poll around it. For example, if your site sells apparel for women, you can write a post about the fashion industry and the latest news about how many countries are no longer allowing size 0 models. As your readers what they think about this decision. This is a very easy technique that will engage your readers and it will help increase your search engine ranking since your keywords for that post will be included in searches about models.

These are very easy techniques that can be used in any corporate blog. If you’re having trouble with yours and you want to make sure you are hitting the right note with your readers, consider hiring a blog management company. They can help you craft the right kind of posts and build a strong foundation for your new venture.

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Originally posted 2008-07-04 05:49:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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So many people focus only on the post portion of their corporate blog that they miss out on great opportunities to further promote their business. Unless you have integrated your blog into your company page, there are a few things that you need to add to make sure that you are taking full advantage of this medium.

1. An About Page –

This is a vital step that simply cannot be avoided. This is your chance to establish yourself or your company as an authority and promote your services. While this should not be turned into a sales letter, it can still serve to give your visitors an idea of who you are, what you do, and why they should be reading and listening to you. Without an about page, you are completely missing out on that opportunity of building authority. You might be surprised by how many people actually do read the about page on a blog – and you don’t want to miss out on this.

2. A contact page –

Simply asking your visitors to connect with you via comments, or occasionally posting an email address is not enough to establish that link with your readers. At the bare minimum we recommend adding a contact form that can be filled out by your visitors. No one wants to deal with spam, but if you’re not giving your readers a chance to reach out to you, once again, you have missed the boat on a very powerful opportunity. You can add your physical address, phone number, fax number or anything else you may need to make it easy for your readers to contact you.

3. An update page –

Sometimes blog posts aren’t enough to promote a new service, but a news page is. Consider keeping one page set aside for news and updates and feel free to get a little more promotional in here. Your readers will expect it since it is quite common and it gives them something to be excited about to. Don’t miss this great promotional opportunity!

4. Extensions, Plugins and Widgets –

If you are on Twitter – you need to let your readers know if you want them to follow you. There are numerous similar services out there that will help you connect with your readers and build strong relationships. You can easily add these to your blog with the use of extensions, plugins or widgets. Most are free and will display the latest updates you’ve made. Just keep this in mind when you are tweeting, since these will be published on your site as well. No matter what social media service you’re using, it should be integrated with your corporate blog for better results.

These are just a few extras that can be added to your page and when combined, they present a powerful force that you can use to continue extending your blog’s capability and reach, as well as helping you promote your company more effectively.

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Originally posted 2008-11-24 05:17:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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One of the best ways to raise morale is through an internal newspaper that keeps employees appraised on what is going on with the company. They foster a sense of belonging, especially if you cover employee birthdays, events and special happenings within the office. However, if your resources are a bit strapped, you may not have the time to put together a special publication. Print costs are not cheap, and it can be quite time intensive to publish a newspaper each month.

In order to get the benefits that a company newspaper can bring, without the downsides, you can begin to use your corporate blog to fill this position. By including your employees in your blog’s news, they will feel more a part of the company and they will want to share the posts with their friends. Everyone likes feeling like a star, and a blog is a great way to share news, promote friendly competition among employees and keep everyone updated.

Before you jump in and start making your corporate blog into an internal newspaper, there are a few things that you should remember:

1. Ask before using last names.

A lot of people prefer not to have their full names splashed all over the internet. You may not realize it, but if other sites are including your RSS feed, your posts are appearing all over the internet. Always ask permission to use an employee’s last name, or err on the side of caution and use first names only, or their first name and last initial. They will know who you are talking about, but your readers won’t. In today’s environment of identity theft and cyber stalking, last names should be avoided.

2. Always remain professional.

Sure, it’s a fun company newspaper, but the general public will have access to it. Unless you are going to password protect the posts for your internal news, you will need to keep that veneer of professionalism up at all times. It’s one thing to be lighthearted and fun, it’s quite another to veer towards being unprofessional. If something has the potential to be spun in a way that is negative towards your company, don’t publish it.

3. Be wary of posting photographs.

A lot of companies like to use photographs on their blogs to let the public know that there are real people working for the company. This is terrific, but you should always remember point one above. Never use last names to identify people in a photo. The public doesn’t really need full disclosure, they’ll be able to see the real people – they don’t need their names. Again, with the threats to people’s safety, it is best to err on the side of caution.

These are just a few things to remember before adding this option to your corporate blog. Remember, if you don’t want the public to know something about your company – don’t write it! Always keep the fact that news can be twisted in front of you while you are writing your blog.

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Originally posted 2008-08-26 05:40:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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If you are running a corporate blog and you feel that you do not have the customer base and the blog is not doing well, you may not be using the blog to its fullest potential. There are a few areas you need to examine to evaluate your blog to see how hard it is working for your company.

First and foremost, you should enable users to post comments, and your company should take the time to respond honestly and in full to user comments. While the blog is a podium for you to get your message out, it should also have a Q and A section to it, otherwise your blog will fail in the ether of corporate blogs. Answering the questions and comments that your users provide will ensure that your customers feel that you have a genuine interest in their opinions regarding your product.

Secondly, blogs should be in a conversational voice. Every post you make could be geared towards selling a product, but don’t make it sound like a commercial or copy for the product. Rather, you should make the piece have a real voice behind it. You can provide tips towards using a product, discuss upgrades to the product, give an insider perspective regarding the company, and many other posts which seem like natural conversation. Do not post blog entries as though you are a sales man; post entries which make you seem like an extreme fan for your company and its products.

Another aspect to watch for is whether your blog is providing a transparent look into your company, or whether it appears as though it is a filter piece of corporate propaganda. This is a very difficult aspect to gain control of, given that any large company will have a large legal department using black sharpies on every piece of copy. This ends up back at the same idea as before, you blog should be personal. It should be written from the customer’s perspective, as if they had open access to your company. Not only will you garner additional customers this way, but the ones you have will have much more trust in your company, and that means more customers.

Do not assume that if you post content on a site where users can comment, that you are blogging. That is a poor way to start and shows an indifference towards learning how to properly utilize the education available to you. Reading other blogs is the best way to truly understand how to setup your blog and how the posts should end up sounding. This also has a real benefit if you go to other blogs and comment and participate. This demonstrates that you have full interest in the consumer.

Finally, do not expect users to give you any real information on their own. Instead, gear posts towards asking your customers for their input. Making them a part of the creation process will not only give you valuable market research, but customers gain great confidence in a company when they feel that they are a part of the process.

All of these tips will ensure that you are utilizing your blog to the fullest potential. It is not a difficult prospect, but rather one that should should be approached from the consumers perspective, not the PR department’s.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-18 05:21:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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