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Content marketing can be an extremely complicated, time-consuming, and expensive proposition! So I came up with content options for the time-starved! Let’s face it. Content development can be a complicated, time-consuming, and expensive proposition! So I started thinking about this in the context of my friends and small business customers who simply can’t afford that kind of effort. It led to this idea: micro-content, or creating small bits of marketing content when you don’t have time to blog, create videos or spend all day on Facebook. Let’s examine ideas about using micro-content for your social media strategy, assuming you are testing the water and only have 15 minutes a day to devote to this activity. Hey, I’m up for a challenge! Preparation Like any marketing initiative, you must have a firm idea of your strategy, selling points, and target audience... Read more: http://bit.ly/LEiFKi
Via Martin Gysler
Startups.We know the mantra: Team matters. Is this philosophy exaggerated? Overrated? Cliché? No. Team is the only thing that matters. Whatever you’re working on now, the half-life of innovation is so rapid now that your product will soon be out-of-date. Your existence is irrelevant unless you continue rapid innovation. Your ability to keep up is dependent on having a great team of differing skills. Individuals don’t build great companies, teams do. The nature of the Internet and global knowledge is such that even if you’ve stumbled on to a super interesting area of innovation there will be many teams tackling the same problem at exactly the same time. If you develop something novel that catches a spark you’ll have the world gunning for you over night. In this globally connected world product leads disappear in nano-seconds. Read more: http://bit.ly/J6aoLM
Via Martin Gysler
4 new social media productivity tools reviewed and analyzed. Each can save you considerably time and hassle when you're producing or curating content. As Jay mentioned in his post yesterday, there’s a serious influx of information out there, plus an increasing urgency to get things done better and faster. It can be overwhelming to stay up on what’s happening in the world while also tending to your day job. Between our new newsletter, the One Social Thing, and the handy tools below, we hope to give you enough time- and sanity-saving techniques so you can go home at 5pm, be with your family, and even take up a hobby.
While a few of these tools can be used solely as a creative outlet, they can also serve as a way to harness creative energy that can be put toward your content marketing efforts so you can maintain a cohesive, high-quality, and consistent strategy.
Read more: http://bit.ly/IBydM1
Via Martin Gysler
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great for building your brand -- but how do you find new customers? That's seems be the question from everyone in business! [note mg] We all know social media is an important tool for brand awareness and customer acquisition — but how exactly are you supposed to convert random Twitter and Facebook users into real-life customers? Well, that depends. Different brands have different challenges when it comes to customer acquisition: “If you’re our customer, you’ve signed up for a year-long service, unlike the Starbucks of the world, where you can be a customer by coming in for a cup of coffee one day,” says Lisa D’Aromando, social media community manager at Equinox. Whether you’re a clothing shop, a restaurant or a subscription service, you must tailor your strategy so that it makes sense for your brand. That said, there are a few universal ways to help your company attract new faces on the social web... Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/03/29/customer-acquisition-social/
Via Martin Gysler
An excellent article on how to strategically generate more traffic for your blog by targeting the right audiences for your content. Very useful for businesses who want to capitalize blogging as a tool for driving up more profits. It took me 101 days to hit 1,012 subscribers. I did it by using a very simple strategy that was free from overwhelm and stress. Most bloggers never get past the 1,000 subscriber mark, or create a profitable online business, not because they aren’t good, but because they are afraid to use the most effective tools available. I worked hard during those 101 days, but I loved every second of it. Looking back, I can still see where I made mistakes, but making mistakes is not the problem, not taking action is. If you can consistently take action, you will achieve your goals. And the way to consistently have the fuel to take action is to find and follow your passion. We all have something like this inside of us. If you can find a topic you could die for, you’re on the right track. If someone had a gun to your head and you had to choose one topic to write about for the next few years, what would you choose? Read more: http://www.wakeupcloud.com/blog-subscribers/
Via Martin Gysler
The global market and the new online tools open new doors to all marketers in the world. To know how use it is a must and a chalenge for all marketers today and gives so many possibilities to break some limits. This post contain a very interesting approach about this subject [note Martin Gysler] The biggest change that has happened in the last fifteen years is the monumental growth in technology. This has played a huge role in changes for students, individuals and organizations. The most drastic change has happened within organizations, as they have had to adapt the entire organization to technological changes. Changes such as this can sometimes be quite a challenge, especially when things change at such a fast pace as the growth of technology within the past few years. Businesses and Business Managers can view these technology changes as obstacles or opportunities. These changes should be viewed as opportunities that will be both beneficial to current employees and the entire organization. Read more: http://anisesmithmarketing.com/2011/11/26/the-benefits-of-expanding-your-business-into-a-global-market/
Via Martin Gysler
The establishment and protection of a good brand name doesn't come cheap, but the equity value of a good brand name can be worth many times more than the annual earnings of the business itself. Developing and building any new brand is time consuming and very expensive. Your competitors will be only too happy to ride on your success if you allow them. To prevent this, you must protect your brands, slogans and logos from the very moment that you decide to use them. That means doing so even before you introduce your brands to the world. This protection is vital. Read more: http://www.businessmanagementbasics.com/how-to-brand.html
Via Martin Gysler
SEO is the magic word that is often the difference between a business that is concluded or who is lost to another company that is better positioned in search tools like Google, Yahoo, and so on. Check out what the top SEO Experts in the industry think about links as opposed to tweets! This is also a great list of the top SEO Experts. The top SEO experts give us their views on these three issues: Question #1: Because of the way people share content today, do you think the impact on rankings links have will start to decrease? Question #2: Do you think tweets and other social shares will ever have the kind of impact on rankings that links have today? Question #3: Would you rather have a link to a blog post from an authoritative blog, or would you rather have the post tweeted by a highly authoritative figure?
Via Martin Gysler
What’s Game Good For?
Before we can talk about applying game mechanics to anything, we need to understand what a game actually us. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a game as “a form or spell of play or sport, esp. a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength or luck.”
That’s pretty hard to digest as a something you can say to a decision maker! However, if we break it down further we can start to get at some core ideas that should help. Play and sport are all activities or tasks. Played is not a strong word in the corporate world. It conjures images of nerds playing quake after hours on the corporate network. So instead, how about we use completed. Rules Can Be Starting Points Next, rules. We all have rules, but it is not something you hear people talking about in businesses. Instead, we could say parameters or guidelines. All projects have parameters or guidelines... Read more: http://osakabentures.com/2012/01/gamification-motivation-and-engagement/
Via Martin Gysler
We discuss many aspects of personal finance at Get Rich Slowly. We explore ways to earn more money, get out of debt, and build an emergency fund. We talk about the psychology of money management, and we share tips and tricks for making the most of your savings and your career. Basically, we do our best to help readers take control of their financial lives. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the little details of money management. Sometimes we forget the Big Picture. Because of that, I like to devote my annual Happy New Year post to a colossal summary of the collected wisdom at this site. If you’ve resolved to take control of your finances in 2012, this article is the place to start. It’s packed with tips and resources for making the most of your money. And as I do every year, I’ve added one tip to the list. Here then are twelve simple but effective steps to take control of your finances in 2012...
Via Martin Gysler
Practical advice to turn an average workday into an incredibly productive day. Occasionally you need to go the extra mile. Sometimes you need to complete a major project, tackle a task you’ve put off, or just knock out a ton of work in one day. Here’s the best way to turn a normal workday into an incredibly productive workday: 1. Let everyone know. Interruptions destroy focus and kill productivity. So are the guilt trips your family "sometimes unintentionally" lay on you. Let coworkers and family know you’re planning a “project day.” Tell key customers too. Announce you will be tied up on, say, Tuesday, and that you will respond to calls and emails on Thursday. Let people know who to contact in an emergency. Some will get with you before Tuesday, and the rest will make a mental note you’re not available. In either case, you’re covered...
Via Martin Gysler
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Since long time you would like to start your own business, but it's the lack of finance is holding you back. Here's an article that will give you the information needed to make it through the bootstrap. An amazing post for everyone who want create their own startup. [note mg] Bootstrapping a startup refers to starting a small business by funding it yourself or through customer receipts -- without getting any external investment. Companies that go the bootstrapping route have their own set of challenges to overcome. This topic covers the latest news and trends on bootstrapping a startup, including best practices for success. Bootstrapping a Startup is part of Business Exchange, suggested by Anita Campbell. This topic contains 894 news and 374 blog items. Read updated news, blogs, and resources about Bootstrapping a Startup. Find user-submitted articles and reactions on Bootstrapping a Startup from like-minded professionals. Read more: http://bit.ly/LtituQ
Via Martin Gysler
Getting quoted, giving speeches and writing articles are great ways to market your business. As we measure the degree of damage, or more precisely, reduced revenue and increased costs from the downturn, advertising spending tends to be one of the first cuts owners make. Yet this may be a great time to expand marketing to take a share of the market away from your competitors. The key is marketing without little or no money through efforts like community engagement, referrals or sending a press release to local media. Another method is becoming a recognized expert who is called upon by media and other outlets to speak, write and lend your expertise. Read more: http://bit.ly/HYGw8U
Via Martin Gysler
Find out how Ifttt can help simplify your social media marketing. Connect your online accounts to create triggered events with if this, then that feature. Are you looking to simplify management of your social activities? If so, then Ifttt is for you. Don’t be put off by Ifttt’s crazy name. This is one handy tool that you should definitely know about. Ifttt stands for “If this, then that,” which is a very basic way of explaining the site’s whole premise. With very little effort on your part, Ifttt will connect your online accounts and services to create triggered events. After setting a trigger from one service, you can create a task to be activated automatically when the trigger goes off.
Via Martin Gysler
A comprehensive article on the subject and perfect for a Saturday or you've maybe a bit more time to read ... :) [note mg] Link building isn't really link building. It's relationship building. Links are just the proof of the relationship, as are the tweets, likes, sales… relationship building is link building. Your social graph is your linkerati. Tom Critchlow encapsulates this with one of these Distilled Pro Tips: Here's a few tactics and strategies to build and leverage relationships that lead to links, likes, sales and more. Outreach is for tomorrow. Relationships are for life. Let's go!... Read more: http://mz.cm/Hx9RWB
Via Martin Gysler
All what you need to know to create your link building strategy... amazing! [note mg] Yes, the rumors are true. I’ve put together the most comprehensive list of link building strategies on the Web. If there’s any post on my blog you should bookmark for future reference, this is the one. Why I created it: The best link building strategies are never found in one place, and the best lists of strategies are completely outdated. Read more: http://pointblankseo.com/link-building-strategies
Via Martin Gysler
A good business plan can be very important to obtain financial support from investors. This post will give you some insights to do well for your business. [note Martin Gysler] Dear Lifehacker,
I've got a great idea for a new business, but I want to make sure that I set it up right and I might need some financing help to get started. What do I need to include in the business plan? Is there an easy way to create one?
Thanks,
Self-Starter Dear SS,
It sounds like you've given your business idea a lot of thought. The business plan can definitely help you get started on the right foot. Whether or not you actually use the business plan to secure financing, writing down the business plan will force you to think through all aspects of your business, much like creating blueprints for building a house. Read more: http://lifehacker.com/5833967/how-do-i-create-a-business-plan?popular=true/
Via Martin Gysler
Last month I shared 40+ networks that you could consider depending on your niche or interests. As part of my commitment to this community, I shared that I will expand on this list througout 2012. So here is the first addition to that build! The topic- Curation!I thought I would focus on curation because a) I have a favorite site and b) there has been a lot of “press” on Pinterest as a curation tool and as a result I thought the timing was right. However before I list the sites lets talk curation. What is social media curation? Today, with the exponential growth of social networks and blogs, it can be overwhelming searching for information on the internet. As a result, the act of filtering, selecting, reviewing and providing commentary with a perspective on an article, or collection of articles, have become increasingly important. This is known as social media curation. Recently, I had posed the question : What is a social media curator” on Linkedin. Read more: http://socialmediapearls.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/40-social-media-curation-sites-and-tools/
Via Shirley Williams (appearoo.com/ShirleyWilliams), Martin Gysler
This is the first in our series of articles that looks at leadership capacity and its impact on organizational growth and transformation. The full series will be available for download as a white paper once it is completed. Leadership capacity is more than simply skill development; it’s about performance, growth, transformation and change. For the purpose of our discussion in this series of articles, let’s define it as; “Leadership Capacity is the skilful use of leadership attributes for the growth and development of ourselves, our colleagues and our organization”. Great leaders not only understand how to engage and inspire their teams to get the best results — they understand the need to create participatory and collaborative processes that develop the abilities of the next generation of leaders. Leadership lays the groundwork for success Successful companies do not happen by accident. They are the result of building effective leadership capacity and an awareness and willingness to take the necessary steps in identify internal talent and nurture them into the leaders of tomorrow. Read more: http://www.customerthink.com/blog/is_your_leadership_limiting_your_organizations_ability_to_grow
Via Martin Gysler
As business leaders, everything we do should focus on setting our organizations up to win. But we can’t do it all ourselves. Which means we also need to get our employees obsessive and relentless about winning – a task much easier said than done. If you’re struggling to build a winning attitude in your organization, I have some encouraging news. Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. Not some of the time, but always. Which has huge implications for business leaders trying to shape attitudes and opinions in their organizations. Read more: http://morethanaminute.com/2012/01/17/the-winning-attitude-tipping-point/#
Via Martin Gysler
Everyone says play bigger, grow; keep expanding. But is all growth and development good, or even necessary? I’ve learned that there’s no guarantee that growth will make a difference in your business. You can have more people on your list, and no one actually buying. You can have more traffic, and only crickets in your comments section. There’s a big difference between growth that’s meaningful and growth that’s hollow. The difference is depth. A lot of people say you need 1,000 true fans. I think that’s a good, tangible goal to aim for. For our purposes, “True Fans” are defined as: People that buy everything you create. When you announce the launch of a product, creation, or offer, they are actively waiting for you to release it. They refresh the “coming soon” page. They comment on every post. They tell everyone they can about what you do.
1,000 is good because it’s a number that we can wrap our minds around. It seems like a stretch, but it also seems doable. You can convert one true fan a day if you’re really on your game.
Via Martin Gysler
Ever wondered what your truly best times to Tweet are? Knowing when you can reach most of your friends and followers can have a huge impact. We found that it can increase the number of clicks by 200%, double your retweets and considerably increase your Klout score. So, over the past few weeks, we over here at Buffer sat down with the team from SocialBro and brainstormed a solution for you. SocialBro is a wonderful Social Media dashboard that gives you a huge amount of information about your Twitter account. Personally I have been very successful understanding more where my followers are from, whom I engage with the most and much more... Read the full article: http://blog.bufferapp.com/how-to-post-your-tweets-at-optimal-times
Via Martin Gysler
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