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.

Photo Credits: 1

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

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This is a review of the eBay Developers Blog.

One of the things that set blogs apart from news listings is the ability to interact with the readers, and their ability to interact back. Even a corporate blog should have the capability for readers to post comments to posts. Not only does this give the reader a sense of working with company, but it is free customer information. This is a lesson which the eBay Developers Program blog failed to receive. Customers of eBay who visit the blog will find that there is no way to comment, making the blog nothing more than a news feed.

Stepping aside from that, examination of the visual qualities of the blog leaves one quite unimpressed. Visuals are limited to text, text, a screen shot or two, text, a clip art image, and text. While many blogs get away with just text, the text is typographically pleasing, not the browsers default by any measure. Examination of the site also fails to readily explain what exactly the site is trying to do.

Over all, the blog is of poor quality, especially given the resources eBay could have put behind the blog. There are many things specifically which merit review, so here is a breakdown of how the site rates in different fields.

Availability, 8 out of 10 –

Typing the blog into a Google search yields the page as the very first link, which is very good. A search for “eBay blog” will yield the blog several pages in, but this is due mainly to interference with their blog service for customers.

Posting Frequency, 6 out of 10 –

The eBay Developers Program blog posts in high numbers but there may be long pauses in between posts, leaving readers with a empty newsreader some days.

Relevance, 4 out of 10 –

It is very difficult to identify exactly whom the blog is trying to reach. The posts remain focused on technical developments of the eBay system, but because of the many voices behind the site, it is hard to figure out why the readers should care. Reading the blog makes it seem more for corporate propaganda than a blog where the company can give news to customers and get feedback in return.

Accuracy, 9 out of 10 –

It is difficult to verify, but so far the blog has remained technically accurate. A point is lost in the inability to verify everything, or comment for further information.

User Interaction, 0 out of 10 –

For the users and readers of the blog, there is no way to directly interact with the blogs writers. The posts lack any comment system, not even a digg button. And aside from author names, the blog offers no means to contact the authors aside from googling their names and hoping a result appears.

Overall, the eBay Developers Program Blog received 27 out of 50, or a whopping 54%. Given this failing grade, one would hope their act gets together and with the times.

Originally posted 2009-02-10 05:57:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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This is a review of the Nike Blog at inside.nikebasketball.com

Every few days, Nike updates their inside.nikebasketball.com blog. The posts they provide are relevant for the fans of Nike, and they write in a very well written and interest keeping manner. Despite this, the blog is very difficult to find if you do not know where to go. Searching for the blog does not turn up the pages without a nearly exact title. The blog does not provide a way to comment on or about blog posts. The user will easily get the feeling that the blog is part of a non-responsive environment. The links provided are not clear in their use, and the overall graphics scheme of the site leave a lot to be desired.

Availability, 2 out of 10 –

One would think that by typing Nike Blog, that the blog would be on the first page of links. No dice. The blog was very difficult to find without knowing the URL to begin with. Basic SEO principles will improve the find-ability of the blog, and enable it to show in many searches.

Posting Frequency, 8 out of 10 –

The blog might not be updated every day, or every other day. However the blog is updated every few days, and is consistent in updating at that pace. The size of the Nike brand name would make you think that they could hire a blogger or two to post with greater frequency. It is not like there is a lack of content in the world of basketball.

Relevance, 10 out of 10 –

The blog stays on topic amazingly well. The writing is well, even if you have no interest in the sport of basketball. Someone who knew nothing about the game could find themselves hooked after reading the blog, which is a great testament to the blog.

Accuracy, 10 out of 10 –

Nike is very good about keeping bias and propaganda out of their blog. The content they do produce seems to be on point and is without inaccuracies. If only they would take this professionalism and apply it to other aspects of their blog, they could have a phenomenal blog which is a great source of income.

User Interaction, 2 out of 10 –

There is no place for comments to be placed or for users to reply to posts. This distancing from its users seemingly makes the blog a bit elitist, not caring of what their users are thinking. Answering comments is a simple process which would greatly increase the user appeal for the site.

The Nike blog earns a 64%.

The blog can stand to have one or two staff bloggers who post frequently, and respond to user comments. There is a lot to be said for user interaction, it builds trust in a company, to think that are listening and willing to respond to their readers and customers. The styling of the blog could use a lot of work. The other big loss for the blog is the inability to find the blog without a direct link or URL. Basic SEO principles would enable the blog to turn up easily in many popular search engines.

Originally posted 2009-02-09 05:48:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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This is a review of the Yahoo Search Blog.

Yahoo! is a major website providing search services. One would think that the Yahoo! search blog would be full of jargon and technical terms that only a select few would have been able to understand. Surprisingly, the blog was full of easy to read updates that describe to users how their experience is changing. The instructions provided were easy to follow and the blog features plenty of visuals and posts that cover events, updates and other information. The blog is over all a good site that can use a little polish here and there.

Availability, 8 out of 10 –

The blog is easy to find. A search for Yahoo Blog or other similar terms will turn up the blog in the first page of hits. A little bit of SEO will definitely put the blog to the top of the list.

Posting Frequency, 5 out of 10 – The posts may be consistent on a every other day sort of pace, but they have been know to have posts spaced out by a month at least. Consistency of posting leaves a bit to be desired, but there is plenty for the reader to read. Yahoo would do well to add posts on their history or other Yahoo! topics to help with the larger gaps in posting.

Relevance, 9 out of 10 –

This is an easy set of points, because all of the posts are relevant to the users of Yahoo. Writing style is very easy to read and is conversational. Graphics and writing organization are well done. Overall the blog is very well done technically and is an ease for people to use. A little polish is all that is needed.

Accuracy, 9 out of 10 –

The posts are about the Yahoo! site and services that are provided. There’s not much for the technical person, but the blog does seem honest and not a propaganda or sales blog. A few posts geared towards the reader who is technically geared will help get that last point.

User Interaction, 7 out of 10 –

There is plenty to enable the user to contact blog writers and Yahoo! individuals. There are links where users can promote the blog to digg and del.icio.us directories. That said, they do not seem to reply to comments, hence the point deduction. All it would take is someone who watches the posted comments to give meaningful replies. The blog does frequently provide information on Yahoo! meetings, where users can go and provide input up close, so all is not that bad.

Over all, the Yahoo! Search Blog earned itself a 76%.

That is a pretty good score all things considering. The blog is quite easy to read and provides a good deal of information about Yahoo!, its search engine and its services. There are points in which the blog can be improved. It wouldn’t be much work to hire one or two people to keep track of the blog and reply to users. Even if there is nothing new added to Yahoo!, they can still provide posts talking about the company.

Originally posted 2009-02-03 05:35:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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