This is a review of The Lobby, a blog by the Starwood Hotel company.

The first thing that you notice upon arriving to this blog is that it is visually appealing, and this company has clearly captured a good look and is running with it. The Lobby is a blog that is devoted to the preferred guest loyalty program that Starwood Hotel offers. There are two different ways to focus on the blog content is this specific instance, with the first being on the customers that the program is aiming to reach out to, and the second being focusing on the program itself.

This blog is a rich content environment, with blog posts on a wide variety of subjects including local attractions that locals can experience all over the globe. This blog also gives advice not only on popular dining spots, but also offbeat attractions in many local spots as well. The blog also brings promotions into the mix by talking about some of the specials that are run at hotels operated by the company. This is all content that people will be interested in reading in because it will help them plan their next trip or vacation.

As a whole, this is a pretty solid blog that is devoted to popular destinations, though there are some suggestions that can be made. By looking at this blog and then paying particular attention to the suggestions, you can learn a thing or two about your own blogging effort.

- It would be nice to see more how to and tips articles, such as ‘what to pack when traveling to …” or “Preparations to make before visiting …” with some of the most popular destinations in mind. There are some posts like this, but more just like them would be preferred.

- Despite being a blog that is rich in content, there are no real comments to speak of. This means that the bloggers with this particular blog need to spend more time interacting with their visitors. For example, Starwood would benefit from joining and utilizing Twitter, which they currently do not do.

- Another thing worth noting is the posting schedule. This blog is putting out between 3 and 5 posts every weekday, and that is a lot to contend with. As nice as this blog can be to read, they seem to be putting out too many posts, because unless readers are coming every day or several times daily, they are likely missing a lot of the content because it’s being bumped onto the next page. Posting only once a day is usually more than enough when it comes to posting in a blog.

Overall, the Lobby is a better than average blogging effort with a great deal of potential. In terms of Content, The Lobby by Starwood is worth a 4 out of a possible 5. As for comments, the Starwood blog is worth a 1.5 out of a possible 10. Based on posting schedule, Starwood’s blog is worth a 10 out of a possible 15. As for sidebars, a 11 out of a possible of 15 seems sufficient. This leaves the Starwood “The Lobby” blog with a fairly respectable 53 out of a possible 100, and with some room for improvement.

Originally posted 2009-02-05 05:44:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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By now, the phrase social networking has been emblazoned on most of our minds. The problem is, not a lot of people understand how it really works or how to use it to promote their sites and their blogs. When used properly, social networking can be very beneficial and can help you pick up a lot of new readers. The key is learning how to use it effectively and learning the right techniques. Using the right social networking sites can mean the difference between a few hundred readers or a few hundred thousand.

Let’s start off with services like Twitter. Although your blog has a built in RSS feed, not everyone will subscribe to it. Twitter is a very popular new service that allows you to build your very own social network. You’ll get updates whenever someone in your Twitter circle does something, and as such, they will get updates whenever you do. Adding a Twitter module to your site allows you to reach out to your readers and adds a little more interest to your blog. This is also a very effective way of publicizing new events and building up word of mouth for your site.

Next, there are sites such as Digg.com and Technorati. Both are very popular, but they are not quite similar. Digg.com is more of a democracy, where Technorati uses a different means of indexing and promoting stories. You need to use both to cover both sides of the angle and attract the most readers. Digg.com can be pretty tough to break into and you’ll need to pay special attention to the type of content that does well on the service. For example, top ten lists are generally much more popular than simple posts on a news event. Find a way to incorporate a top ten list that is funny, interesting and related to your site and you’ll be able to do quite well on Digg.

Technorati works a bit differently. You’ll need to sign your site up for the service (it’s free) and then submit your RSS feed. Whenever you publish new content, you’ll need to use what are called “tags.” These are pretty much key words that describe your content. On the main page of technorati, you’ll see what is called a Tag Cloud. The biggest words are the words that are the most popular on the site. If you include these words in your posts, you’ll have a better chance of getting ranked better on the Technorati site. For the best results, set your blog software up to “ping” or notify Technorati whenever you publish new content.

Social networking is meant to be social and this means that you’ll need to reach out to your readers. It is all about building up relationships as well as readership. You can see great results with social networking and it can make a real difference in the popularity of your corporate blog as well as your regular site.

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Originally posted 2008-09-09 05:34:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Whether you are just getting started in corporate blogging, or you haven’t been paying much attention to other bloggers, the so-called “blogosphere” can be a little confusing. There are literally thousands, if not millions of blogs out there, and if you’re trying to network through them, the task can be a bit overwhelming. There are a few tips however that can help you learn to navigate successfully through the blogosphere.

What is the blogosphere?

It is a term that was coined to describe the intertwining of blog sites, the general atmosphere of the community and the fact that bloggers are really in their own little world. You can become a member of the blogosphere just by becoming a coporate blogger, but you’ll need to know a few things before you get started. Otherwise, your best efforts may just be shooting yourself in the foot.

The first place to start is understanding RSS feeds, and social networking sites. If you don’t have the basics down for these two very important items, everything else may be more complicated than necessary. Take some time to go through places like Digg.com, Technorati, and Twitter to see what is going on. Chances are, you’ll be able to come up with some great ideas for your own blog during this process.

Next, you’ll want to start thinking about setting up some great relationships with other bloggers. This has many added benefits, such as being able to write a guest post for another blog (or having someone do the same for you) and you’ll be building up some strong contacts that will help you increase your traffic and your exposure. Take the time to hunt down other blogs in your niche and start by leaving thoughtful comments in their blog section, making sure to leave your URL.

This is quiet marketing, but it can be very successful. Once you have your own little network built up through your contacts, you should find that your traffic increases as a natural result. This is particularly true if you are utilizing social networking sites to promote your blog.

Remember, you don’t necessarily have to promote just your blog. You can develop a reputation as a valued contributor by sharing good links with your network and involving them in your blog. Try to keep your promotion efforts as quiet as possible, to avoid being labeled as a spammer. People in the blogosphere have a very low tolerance for behavior like this and you can quickly develop a reputation that is very hard to shake.

Taking the time to become a valued member of the blogosphere is time well spent. This is your opportunity to develop yourself as an authority on your subject of choice, and to build up real relationships with your readers and with other bloggers. By reaching out to them and becoming an active participant in social networks, comment sections and forums, you can start to grow your corporate blog very quickly and with little extra effort.

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Originally posted 2008-11-19 05:37:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Ever since Google purchased Blogger, Blogger has seen the addition of all kinds of interesting gadgets that create additional functionality and personality for your blog. Gadgets are essentially widgets, but by Google’s standard. You can show off your favorite quotes from movies, insert flash games, and show off the weather in your region or a number of other interesting things. Not all of these gadgets are ideal for a corporate blog, however, so which are? Here is a look at some of the best Google gadgets for blogging using the Blogger platform.

1 – Followers, which is found in Basics.

Followers is essentially what you get when you combine Twitter with RSS. You can follow people, people can follow you, and people can subscribe to your blog anonymously if they do not want to be followed. This is one of the easiest possible ways for you to attract more traffic to your blog. You can follow other people and they will more than likely begin to follow you in return, bringing new faces to your blog rather regularly.

2 – HTML / Javascript, which is also found in Basics.

This gives you the ability to add your own code to your blog page, which will significantly and exponentially enhance its functionality. You can add your own opt-in box for example, in order to begin your own mailing list. You can also easily add links and images to your other pages, making your blog work for you better than before.

3 – Feed, another gadget found in Basics.

This feature will allow you to add a feed from another blog, a Squidoo lens or even your author page on EzineArticles.com if you are an author there. Basically, it allows you to link your pages together, letting your readers find other content of yours such as your Twitter or Squidoo pages.

4 – Countdown, which is found in Featured.

This allows you to add a count down feature to your blog. You can count down to anything you like, such as a birthday, the launch of a new product, Christmas, or anything else that you like.

5 – AdSense, another gadget found in Basics.

This is a great way to make some extra money from your blog. You need to make an account with Ad Sense first, so put a few blog entries together before you apply for an account. Then you can create your Ad Sense account and add your special code to the gadget in order to begin earning money through advertising.

Adding gadgets to your blog through Blogger is simple. You just need to log in to your Dashboard, clicking on Layout and then Page Elements. Then click on the “Add a Gadget” link in the area where you would like to install the gadget and you are good to go.

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Originally posted 2009-02-20 05:31:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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