Thursday, June 30, 2011

Web Producer / RCN / Falls Church, VA

RCN/Falls Church, VA

RCN is a Cable, Internet, and Phone provider servicing major cities on the East Coast and in the mid west. Our web team is seeking an ambitious and motivated web producer to join our team. In this role, you will work with a team of web producers, web designers, copywriters, and developers to maintain pricing, promotions, campaigns, and content across www.rcn.com. You will work on a daily basis to service our clients and maximize efficiencies. You will wear many hats and your contributions will be vital to the ongoing success of the RCN web channel.

Responsibilities:
�?� Ensure rcn.com is accurate and up to date.
�?� Act as a liaison with our markets by processing incoming project requests, assessing client needs, and maintaining regular client communication.
�?� Manage and contribute to the production of small and large interactive projects including custom landing pages, micro-sites, online advertising, and standalone apps.
�?� Oversee the entire life cycle of web projects from concept to IA, design, development, QA, delivery and launch.
�?� Create scope of work documents and manage scope to launch projects on time.
�?� Proactively manage projects, through regular status updates, recognize dependencies and escalate issues as needed.

The ideal candidate:
�?� Ability to drive projects from start to finish with minimal direct management
�?� Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment on multiple projects and deliverables in different stages of production
�?� Comfortable working in a team environment
�?� Experience in creating wireframes and/or functionality specs
�?� Proactive problem solver and gifted multi-tasker
�?� 3-5 years agency experience working on interactive projects
�?� Excellent organizational skills
�?� Outstanding written and oral communication skills
�?� Must be able to communicate effectively and follow through on initiatives
�?� Be pro-active, positive, transparent, inclusive, and honest.
�?� Understands common interactive tools such as FLASH, HTML, CSS, .NET, PHP and database design and development.
�?� Is fluent in all digital media/banner units, including standard banners, rich media and robust units.
�?� Should be technically savvy and be able to explain technology in a clear and non-technical way
�?� Must have digital media trafficking experience with the understanding of tagging and tracking
�?� Must be able to work with both internal and external teams, including freelance resources and possibly offshore development groups
�?� Familiarity with FTP, CMS, file compression, web optimization, publishing
�?� Familiarity with Adobe Photoshop
�?� Experience with Google Ad Words, Facebook, Omniture, and/or Google analytics a plus.
�?� Bachelor's degree or equivalent


Apply To Job

Source: http://jobs.searchenginejournal.com/job/web-producer-falls-church-va-rcn-516e253bf8/?d=1&source=rss_page

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Helping publishers get the most from display advertising with Admeld

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/Qe95OVDzXfI/helping-publishers-get-most-from.html

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BIG BRAND SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR / DEI Worldwide / Studio City, CA

DEI Worldwide/Studio City, CA

Tweeting, sharing, checking-in, posting. If you speak our language, we should be talking.

We're a cutting edge agency that lives and breathes social. Our clients are Fortune 500 consumer brands, and we need someone with the strategic and creative skills to keep them growing in the social sphere.

You'll lead a team of campaign managers in our out-of-the-box Studio City office. With 10 years in social media and over and 75 million conversations under our belt, there's limitless potential ahead.

Know our industry? Confident you can take our accounts to the next level? Love the pace of a fast-moving, ever-expanding medium?

So let's talk.

RESPONSIBILITIES
�?� Lead strategy and creative sessions to develop program elements aligned with client or potential client objectives
�?� Set expectations and timelines for deliverables and manage internal resources to ensure on-time delivery of all campaign related materials
�?� Identify obstacles and provide solutions to ensure success
�?� Drive execution of Social Media strategies to provide maximum value to clients, on time and in scope
�?� Lead and develop team members, keeping them focused on high quality, on-time deliverables
�?� Establish and grow relationships with key client and prospect contacts
�?� Identify opportunities for growing existing accounts and partner with business development team to scope and pursue
�?� Manage overall account profitability

REQUIREMENTS
�?� Bachelors Degree
�?� Minimum of five years of experience in an agency environment with at least 18 months working specifically with social media
�?� Strong interest and familiarity with social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc.) and trends
�?� Natural ability to engage clients personally and professionally
�?� Ability to multi-task and track a wide variety of tasks and assignments and pay close attention to detail
�?� Exhibit superior written and oral communication skills, including the ability to weave together presentation elements into a story that resonates with client
�?� Flexibility and responsiveness to deal with complex problems and strategic opportunities on the fly �?? must be able to think on your feet and nimbly go from 10,000 foot view to ground level and back
�?� Effective and disciplined project management capability, along with the ability to work well under pressure
�?� A strong commitment to client service
�?� Ability to lead and develop a team
�?� Ability to work independently, take initiative to improve processes or solve problems
�?� Digital media disciplines/tools preferred with experience and familiarity of the best practices within social media marketing.


About DEI Worldwide
Founded in 2000, DEI Worldwide was one of the very first social media agencies to emerge in the digital space. In 10+ years, we have conducted nearly 75 million conversations on behalf of our clients.

As a social media marketing agency, we bundle strategic expertise and community management with capabilities in interactive development.
We look at what we do as a great complement to myriad other forms of integrated marketing and advertising. We believe in the power of all mediums to create a seamless, cyclical brand experience and employ a team of social media and brand enthusiasts to drive results for our clients.

If you are interested in becoming part of a creative marketing agency on the forefront of word of mouth and social media, we'd love to hear from you. Please Email your cover letter, resume and salary history. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package.


Apply To Job

Source: http://jobs.searchenginejournal.com/job/big-brand-social-media-director-studio-city-ca-dei-worldwide-9b727d7c7f/?d=1&source=rss_page

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The Wikipedia Model

Posted by russvirante

As an SEO agency, Virante has always prided itself in having research-based answers to the questions presented by our clients. A year or so ago, I caught myself referring to the a site as having "a great looking natural link profile" without really having an numbers or analysis to describe exactly what that profile should look like. Sure, I could point out a spam link or two, or what looked like a paid link, but could we computationally analyze a backlink profile to determine how "natural" it was?

We dove into this question several months ago while trying to identify automated methods to identify link spam and link graph manipulation. This served dual purposes - we wanted to make sure our clients were conforming to an ideal link model to prevent penalties and, at the same time, wanted to be able to determine the extent to which competitors were scamming their way to SEO success.

Building the Ideal Link Model

The solution was quite simple, actually. We used Wikipedia's natural link profile to create an expected, ideal link data set and then created tools to compare the Wikipedia data to individual websites...

  1. Select 500+ random Wikipedia articles
  2. Request the top 10,000 links from Open Site Explorer for each Wikipedia article
  3. Spider and Index each of those backlink pages
  4. Build tools to analyze each backlink on individual metrics

Once the data was acquired, we merely had to identify the different metrics we would like to compare against our client's and their competitors' sites and then analyze the data set accordingly. What follows are three example metrics we have used and the tools for you to analyze them yourself.

Link Proximity Analysis

Your site will be judged by the company it keeps. One of the first and most obvious characteristics to look at is what we call Link Proximity. Most paid and spam links tend to be lumped together on a page such as 20 backlinks stuffed into a blog comment or a sponsored link list in the sidebar. Thus, if we can create an expected ideal link proximity from Wikipedia's link profile, we can compare it with any site to identify likely link manipulation.

The first step in this process was to create the ideal link proximity graph. Using the Wikipedia backlink dataset, we determined how many OTHER links occurred within 300 characters before or after that Wikipedia link on the page. If no other links were found, we recorded a 1. If one other link was found, we recorded a 2. So on and so forth. We determined that about 40% of the time, the Wikipedia link was by itself in the content. About 28% of the time there was one more link near it. The numbers continued to descend from there.

Finally, we plotted these numbers out and created a tool to compare individual websites to Wikipedia's model. Below is a graph of a known paid-link user's link proximity compared to Wikipedia's. As you will see, nearly the same percentage of their links are standalone. However, there is a spike at five proximal links for the paid link user that is substantially higher than that of Wikipedia's average.

Even though paid links only represent a ~25% proportion of their link profile, we were able to detect this anomaly quite easily. Here is the Link Proximity Analysis tool so that you can analyze your own site.

White Hat Takeaway: If you are relying on link methods that place your link in a list of others (paid, spam, blog-rolls, etc.), your links can be easily identified. While I can't speak for Google, if I were writing the algorithm, I would stop passing value from any 5+ proximal links more than one standard deviation above the mean. Go ahead and use the tool to determine if your site looks suspicious. Run the tool on your site and make sure that you are within about 18% of Wikipedia's pages for 4+ proximal links.

Source Link Depth Analysis

The goal of Paid Links is to boost link juice. The almighty PageRank continues to be the primary metric which link buyers use to determine the cost of a link. Who buys a PR0 link these days? It just so happens that PageRank tends to be highest on the homepage of sites, so most Paid Links also tend to come from the homepage. This is another straightforward method for finding link graph manipulation - just determine what percentage of the links come from homepages vs. internal pages.

Once again, we began by looking at the top 10,000 backlinks for each 500 random Wikipedia pages. We then tallied the number of folders deep for each link acquired. For example, a link from http://www.cnn.com would score a 1. From http://www.cnn.com/politics would score a 2. We created a graph of the percentage at which each of these occurred and then created a tool to compare this ideal model to that of individual websites.

Below is an example of a known paid-link user's site.

As you can see, 79% of their top links come from the homepages of websites, compared to Wikipedia's articles with average around 30%. SEOmoz, on the other hand, receives only 40% of its links from homepages, well within the standard deviation, and Virante receives 29%. Here is the Source Link Depth Analysis tool so that you can compare your site to Wikipedia's.

White Hat Takeaway: If your link strategy involves getting links primarily from the homepages of websites, the pattern will be easily discernible. Run the tool and determine whether you are safely within 15% of Wikipedia's pages in terms of homepage links.

Domain Links per Page Analysis

Yet another characteristic we wanted to look at was the number of links per page pointing to the same domain. Certain types of link manipulation like regular press releases, article syndication, or blog reviews tend to build links two and three at a time, all pointing to the same domain. A syndicated article might link to the homepage and two product pages, for example. Our goal was to compare the expected number of links to Wikipedia pages from a linking page to the actual number of links to a particular website, looking for patterns and outliers along the way.

We began again with the same Wikipedia dataset, this time counting the number of links to Wikipedia from each linking page. We tallied up these occurrences and created an expected curve. Finally, we created a tool to compare this curve against that of individual sites.

The example below is a site that heavily relied on paid blog reviews. As you will see, there is a sharp spike in links from pages with three inbound links to the domain.

Caveat: Chances are when you run this tool you will see a spike at position #1. It is worth pointing out that the majority of website homepages tend to fall in this category. When you run this tool, as with the others, you should probably take a second to look at your competitors as well. Is your site closer to Wikipedia's model than your competitors? That is the question you should be asking first.

White Hat Takeaway: Is your link strategy creating patterns in domain links per page? A natural link graph will have great variation in this. Moreover, it is not uncommon for authoritative sites to have 10+ links to pages from sites. This should be expected - if your site is the authority, it would make sense for it to be cited several times on a thorough page about your subject matter. Here is the Multiple Links Analysis tool to compare your site to Wikipedia's.

What to Do?

First things first, take every result you get with a grain of salt. We have no reason to believe that Google is using Wikipedia's backlink profile to model what is and is not acceptable, nor do we pretend to believe that Google is using these metrics. More importantly, just because your site diverges in one way or another from these models does not mean that you are actually trying to manipulate the link graph. If anything, it demonstrates the following...

  1. If you are manipulating the link graph, it is pretty easy to see it. If Virante can see it, so can Google.
  2. If you are still ranking despite this manipulation, it is probably because Google hasn't caught up with you yet, or you have enough natural links to rank despite those that have been devalued.

So, what should you do with these results? If you are using a third party SEO company to acquire links, take a hard look at what they have done and whether it appears to differ greatly from what a natural link profile might look like. Better yet, run the tool on your competitors as well to see how far off you are compared to them. You don't have to be the best on the Internet, just the best on your Keyword.

Tool Links One More Time:


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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/wFngmA4onaY/the-wikipedia-model

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3 Unexpected Marketing Lessons From Amish Farmers

From Rohit Bhargava:

Several weeks ago on a trip back to the US from South Africa, I deliberately picked up a magazine about a topic I knew very little about. It is one of the common tricks I use to learn about different industries—and in this case, the magazine I ended up with was called Farmer’s Weekly.

The content was as you would expect, advice for farmers on techniques, information about regulations that will affect their industry and ads for tractors and things like that. In the middle of the issue I picked up was a feature article about what the author called the “Amish Paradox.”

This paradox describes the unexpected methods that the Amish use when farming, which are working so well that they are continuing to run their farms profitably without interruption, while many other farmers are struggling to make ends meet. What makes the Amish technique so special?

They rotate their crops consistently, planting different items at different parts of the year. They never use chemical fertilizers and use something called legume-based pastures to keep the fertility of their land. They tend to grow smaller fruits and veggies, which some say are tastier, too. Perhaps most importantly, they do something called “adding value” by producing additional products such as fresh cheese.

In an industry facing increasing pressure from large industry leaders to plant more genetically modified crops, and focus on volume above all else the Amish philosophy stands out. What can you learn from their lesson, even if you aren't a farmer?

1. Stick to your ideals

For the Amish, their farm culture is mixed together with their religion and belief system. Few of our small businesses take such a principled approach, but if you do—it can help serve as a guidepost for what your business will do and how it will evolve, and what you will avoid.

2. Think longer term

One of the biggest challenges in any business is to think of the long term. Crop rotation is a principle focused on making sure that land remains good for cultivating crops far into the future. Sometimes what it requires is passing up the opportunity to plant the most profitable thing every time.

3. Avoid following the “experts”

The Amish philosophy goes against many experts in the farming industry who push for higher production and instead follows their more traditional path. This tends to draw many critics and also probably causes them to have lower revenues from their crops.  Yet this goes back to thinking long term—and how your priorities tend to be different if you focus on taking care of your land for future generations instead of just maximizing profit today.

Source: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/3-unexpected-marketing-lessons-from-amish-farmers

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Top Five: Low-Cost Marketing

From MSNBC's Your Business:

Boosting sales doesn't always mean major changes to your marketing budget. Small adjustments may do the trick. Here are five low-cost ways to increase your sales courtesy of Entrepreneur.com.

Source: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/video/top-five-low-cost-marketing

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8 Effective Strategies For Mobile Marketing

From Julie Rains:

Mobile has become the buzz word for the marketing industry, inticing businesses from all over to get in on the game. But with so many options and strategies to pursue, which one is the most effective for your business?

Don't think that mobile marketing is only for large businesses in major metropolitan areas, either. Businesses of all shapes and sizes can effectively use mobile marketing to draw and grow their business.

Kyle Agha, owner of a local restaurant situated just a few miles from an open pasture is using mobile marketing to recession-proof and strengthen his business. He has run the New Town Bistro & Bar in Winston-Salem, NC, for 17 years, weathering changes in the area’s economy while keeping pace with rapid-fire technology innovations. He told me about innovative ways that he connects with customers.

To gain even more insights about mobile marketing, I also spoke with:

  • Navin Ganeshan, who leads new product development and strategic investments for Network Solutions
  • Tim Gorin, vice president of business development for MyEyeDr with 35+ locations in the Washington, DC area and Small Business Advisory Council member for Yelp, a business review site
  • Lawren Desai, owner of a/perture cinema, a movie theatre showing independent, documentary, and art films in downtown Winston-Salem, NC

They talked about techniques for tapping the power of mobile marketing.

1. Slow time marketing tool

If the dinner crowd is not yet pouring in at 5 p.m., Kyle may send a text message mentioning a specific menu item appropriate for the evening. He might promote a “cool summer salad” on a sweltering July day. Plus, he’ll offer an incentive for customers to show the text to their servers as a way to track ROI.

2. Special promotions with limited lead times

Mobile marketing has also been useful in solving the problem of selling fresh seafood quickly for the restaurant, since delivery dates are rarely nailed down in time for traditional promotions. But the immediacy of texting plays in the business’s favor. Kyle can alert customers to the availability of soft shell crab as soon as he is sure of its arrival and quickly receives requests for dinner reservations.

3. Piggyback on another’s app

New Town Bistro does not have its own app but has a presence on Open Table’s mobile app, which comes pre-loaded on a host of smart phones. As a result, customers can find his restaurant, view a current menu, and call for a reservation easily. Kyle has been most surprised at how this particular listing has attracted out-of-town guests.

4. Search and discovery, not mobile advertising or apps

Navin at Network Solutions tells me that many small business owners tend to think of mobile advertising campaigns or apps to promote their business when they first consider mobile marketing. But he recommends avoiding those low-ROI techniques in favor of establishing and managing a presence on free local directories and review sites. Focus on major players such as Yelp, Trip Advisor, and Urbanspoon and those ranked high in search results pertaining to your business.

Here’s what to do so that prospects can discover your business:

  • Claim and verify the listing as the owner
  • Describe your business, its products, and services
  • Add compelling elements such as photo reviews

Thirty percent of all searches are local searches and the intent to buy is high: 82 percent of users doing a local search engage in some sort of interaction with merchants on the same day; and 62 percent make a purchase the same day. By establishing your Web presence via local listings, you are capturing business from customers who are ready to buy but need help in selecting a merchant. Help them find you.

5. Review sites: perfection not required

Through his marketing role with MyEyeDr and non-paid advisory gig with Yelp, Tim Gorin has learned that discriminating consumers do not expect businesses to have spotless records on review sites. However, they want to see engagement by owners or key employees when customers post unfavorable reviews, comment on poor service, etc. Prospects are interested in learning how businesses deal with complaints, not whether they have 5-star ratings.

6. Review sites drive customer service

Business-review sites can be a valuable tool in managing customer service, especially for businesses with multiple locations such as MyEyeDr. When lodging a complaint, customers often reveal employee names and locations, along with a way to contact the aggrieved through the site. These features can not only hold employees accountable but also offer a mechanism for dealing with customer service problems as they occur.

7. Not just local business

Mobile marketing can attract customers who are not local to your business, Navin tells me. E-commerce sellers are creating mobile catalogs to allow on-the-go shopping. Rather than listing all items for sale, they are promoting their most compelling offers with navigation designed for the mobile experience.

Businesses are also using mobile technology at out-of-town special events, trade shows, and conferences. They might distribute literature with QR codes that direct prospects to specially-designed landing pages, invite customers to their booths or venues, and accept mobile payments.

8. Mobile can do it all

Lawren, of a/perture cinema, sees a growing reliance on mobile technology. To capitalize on this trend, she directed a mobile-friendly re-design of her cinema’s website. Customers are visiting the website to check out film descriptions and show times, just as they always have, but they are also buying tickets on their mobile devices and redeeming mobile versions of Groupons. By facilitating transactions this way, Lawren's mobile-friendly site closes the mobile-marketing loop.

Source: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/8-effective-strategies-for-mobile-marketing

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Social Media Intern / Opportunity Green / Los Angeles, CA

Opportunity Green/Los Angeles, CA (United States)

Are you a motivated & enthusiastic individual who eats, sleeps and breathes social media? Someone who has a finger on the pulse of social media trends, platforms and new ideas; and understands how to engage, enlighten and entertain with creative writing and/or graphics. @OppGreen is looking for you!

Opportunity Green is looking for social media enthusiasts who are inspired by sustainability, environmentalism, entrepreneurship, design and innovation to intern with us. With over 14,000 Twitter followers, an award-winning blog and an atmosphere of F-U-N; this is the perfect opportunity to put your social media skills to the test, gain experience managing social media marketing for a business community, build your resume and network.

OG Social Media Internship Details
Opportunity Green has true entrepreneurial spirit, so be prepared for an exciting, fast paced work environment. We would like someone in the LA area who can dedicate 10-15 hours per week (for a minimum of 3 months) which would include time spent in our offices and out �??in the field' covering events.

This internship is unpaid. If you're looking to build your resume/portfolio, this is the perfect opportunity!

Responsibilities
�?� Become familiar with the OG community, maintain regular engagement with identified partners, sponsors, supporters, etc
�?� Build and maintain lists in Twitter, help with growth of LinkedIn Group and Facebook Fans
�?� Do research/writing for blog interviews, newsletters, and other outlets
�?� Find cool articles to recommend on twitter/facebook/linkedin
�?� Create social media contest ideas to promote OG and participating partners
�?� Attend and blog/tweet from exciting local events
�?� Forge relationships with other writers, blogs, potential speakers, press, etc.

Benefits
�?� Meet awesome people/make great connections
�?� Learn about the green space from the inside view of an entrepreneurial company connected to the movers and shakers in sustainability
�?� Connect and collaborate with the top names and companies in green business
�?� Gain valuable experience in project management, marketing and business development
�?� Prove social media prowess with quantifiable analytics

Qualifications
�?� Ability to complete projects on deadline with little supervision
�?� Interest in business, technology and design pertaining to sustainability topics and entrepreneurship
�?� Exceptional writing skills, sharp analytic skills, meticulous attention to detail and factual accuracy
�?� Experience with WordPress and social media platforms: twitter/facebook/linkedin
�?� Experience with RSS and understanding of SEO, meta tagging is a total plus
�?� A positive attitude and ability to thrive in dynamic small business environments

More About Opportunity Green:
Opportunity Green (www.opportunitygreen.com) brings together the brightest innovators leading green/sustainable business. This internship (unpaid) provides an exciting opportunity to meet key players in business and sustainability and oversee exciting social media efforts.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to meet and interact with influential business leaders around our mission to foster sustainable business & design in Los Angeles & across the nation.

Apply To Job

Source: http://jobs.searchenginejournal.com/job/social-media-intern-los-angeles-ca-united-opportunity-green-b31814bc2e/?d=1&source=rss_page

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Guest-Posting Dos & Don'ts: How to Get Your Guest Post Accepted

Guest Book

At WordStream, we're a fan of guest posting as a way of building links and relationships. But sometimes you put in the effort to write a post and the blog editor rejects it, or never gets back to you at all. That adds up to disappointment and a big waste of your time.

If you're about to embark on a guest posting strategy, here are some dos and don'ts to keep in mind. These tips will increase your chances of getting your guest post approved and published, links intact.

DO read a few posts from the blog before you send something. You run the best chance of having your post published if it resembles what they typically run. Things to pay particular attention to include word count, reading level (beginner vs. advanced), and voice (serious, kooky, snarky, etc.). If the blog publishes guest posting guidelines, read them (duh).

DO establish a relationship before you write. This isn't strictly necessary, but if you're trying to get a guest post published on a more exclusive blog, you'll have better luck if the editors already have some familiarity with you. You could start by commenting on the blog, linking to the blog from your own, or engaging with the editors/writers on Twitter.

DON'T write a post that already exists 500 times over. Don't send a guest post so basic and familiar that everyone has already seen it or could find a SERP full of the same information with a simple Google search. (You know what I'm talking about; we've all seen the "Five Ways to Get More Blog Traffic" post.) First, you don't want to bore the editor of the blog you're reaching out to, or their readers. Secondly, essentially duplicating a familiar article is a bad SEO practice. Choosing a topic is like choosing a keyword – you're aiming for something that has volume, but not so much volume you'll get lost in the noise.

DO write a strong title that matches the content. Sometimes we get guest post submissions that don't live up to the promise of the title. For example, don't submit a post called "How Much Time Should You Invest in Keyword Research Per Week?" and then write about why and how to do local keyword research. (Yes, this just happened.) In my experience, a good title that clearly communicates what a blog post offers – along with some well-placed subheads – can make a post 50% better without even changing the content. You don't want anyone to read the article and then think, "What was that really about?"

DO send an image or two so the blog editor doesn't have to find one herself. If you're reviewing a software tool or writing a list of your favorite plug-ins, include a screenshot. If you're writing a case study, include a table or graph to illustrate your data.

DON'T link-stuff. If the first paragraph of your post has five links back to your site, you run the chance of having it rejected. Everyone knows you're guest-posting for the link, but don't make your editor feel cheap, tawdry and used. Only link to your site in the body of the post if it's actually relevant to the topic (hot tip: if there's something you want to link to, it should govern your choice of what to write about); otherwise save your links for your bio. There's a point of diminishing returns with links from a single page anyway.

DO send guest posts to blogs that cover areas where you already have some expertise. Editors can spot a hastily researched post from 30 feet. If you don't know much about the topic the blog in question covers, you'll likely end up writing one of those Posts That Already Exists (see above). If you're trying to build links outside your wheelhouse, find a way to make it relevant. For example, if you work at a law firm and you want to send a guest post to an Internet marketing blog, write about common legal mistakes that bloggers make, or five ways lawyers get leads.

DON'T send the exact same guest post to multiple blogs. Blog editors want unique content. Personally, if someone sends me an article that looks semi-generic, I always Google to make sure it hasn't already appeared elsewhere. If you're repurposing something you've written in the past, make substantial changes even if you're sticking to the same basic theme. For example, you could change a "Top 10 Tips" list to an FAQ format.

DO you have an idea for a guest post? Send an email to egabbert@wordstream.com.

This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.

Source: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2011/06/21/guest-posting-dos-donts

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Help For Bloggers

Need tips and ideas to improve your blogging efforts? I know we do. Deep Ripples, along with Roundpeg and Seppichdaily, is bringing three Indianapolis blog experts to the Irvington Office Center for some helpful blogging seminars. 

The three seminars will be presented Wednesdays from 3-5pm on Oct 27, Nov 3, and Nov 10. Go here for more info. Registration for the event is here.

The three presenters are outstanding (Blog Indiana all stars). You don't want to miss these sessions. We suggest registering quickly because space is extremely limited in the conference room (formerly the auditorium for IPS School 85).

Source: http://www.deepripples.com/blog/help-for-bloggers

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Digital Producer / On Ideas, Inc. / Jacksonville, FL

On Ideas, Inc./Jacksonville, FL

Are you a kick-ass project manager? Do you listen and communicate well with diverse groups of co-workers? Are you engaged with the latest digital, mobile, social and tech trends? Can you get it all done on time and under budget? If so, On Ideas has a great opportunity for you.


As the digital project manger, you'll have a key role in our agency. You'll have ownership and responsibility for a wide variety of internal initiatives and client projects. Working with our team of designers, writers, developers, account managers and directors, you'll have a hand in creating award-winning work for our clients.


Responsibilities
�?� Establish the scope and objectives of key digital projects
�?� Work with digital team to define product specifications and functional requirements
�?� Research and recommend key technologies and methods
�?� Produce detailed project plans, resource plans and cost estimates
�?� Proactively identify risks to develop and implement contingencies
�?� Oversee vendor solicitation, evaluation, selection and contract negotiation activities
�?� Create and lead the workflow process from R&D through to product launch
�?� Maintain knowledge base and stimulate communication flow using digital collaboration tools
�?� Define and manage all aspects of project scheduling
�?� Arrange meetings and work sessions internally and with third party contractors and vendors
�?� Monitor budgets and through careful tracking, management and reporting
�?� Track progress against milestones and issue weekly status reports
�?� Maintain product and feature roadmap
�?� Produce concise written documentation of product components and deliverables


Qualifications
�?� 2-4 years of professional project management experience, especially in interactive/mobile
�?� Positive attitude and ability to adapt in a fast-paced environment
�?� Enthusiasm to coordinate the activities of internal and external teams
�?� Thorough understanding of project life cycles and dynamics
�?� A healthy obsession for details
�?� Proven skill to manage and deliver substantial digital products on time and on budget
�?� Comprehensive understanding of leading edge technologies and trends
�?� Practical understanding of systems integration, syndication, and scaling to multiple platforms
�?� Exposure to quality assurance, data analytics and data management practices
�?� Experience using common project management software

To apply, please respond to this post with your resume and cover letter.

Apply To Job

Source: http://jobs.searchenginejournal.com/job/digital-producer-jacksonville-fl-on-ideas-inc-fbf9868195/?d=1&source=rss_page

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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Top 5 Ways to Monetize a WordPress Blog

Many people start a blog with one intention: making money. While this is not a good sole reason to start a blog, it is a nice added benefit that comes with building up your blog with quality content and maintaining a decent amount of traffic.

It’s not a mystery that you can make money from your blog, but many users often struggle with it and end up giving up altogether. You cannot expect to make a lot of money when first starting out. You have to create a name for yourself and prove that your blog can stand on its own. While these five methods to monetize your WordPress blog are sure to come in handy, you’ll also want to take note of the essential tips for building and maintaining a successful blog.

Pay Per Click

This is one of the most popular methods used to monetize a blog and one of the easiest to set up. With pay-per-click ads, also known as PPC, whenever a user clicks on one of your ads you’ll make money. Ads come in a variety of formats like banners, sidebar text links, in-text links, full-page ads, pop-ups and pop-unders. Price per click varies since some companies use a bidding system while others use a fixed price per click.

Success with PPC ads depends greatly on the genre of your blog and your audience. Many tech-savvy users use ad blocking browser extensions like Adblock and NoScript to hide ads on all websites. If this is the case, these users will not even see your ads to click on, so you’ll be losing out on money.

The most popular PPC ad companies are Google AdSense, Yahoo Publisher Network and Bidvertiser. A great WordPress plugin that will help you easily integrate PPC ads from a variety of provides is Easy Ads. With it you can display ads from AdSense, Chitika, Bidvertiser and Clicksor. You get total control over how your ads are positioned and displayed on your blog along with widgets that you can use for each provider.

Custom Search Engines

One of the best ways for users to find content on your blog is to search for it using an integrated search box. Well, did you know that you can create a custom search engine and then get paid whenever a user clicks on a sponsored ad shown within the results? While most blog themes do come with an integrated search box, in the long run it is better to use a custom search engine because you can have greater control over how it functions.

Custom Search Engine

You’ll need to use a tool like Google AdSense for Search or Eurekster Swiki so that you can include sponsored ads within your blog’s search results. A couple of WordPress plugins that may come in handy are Gigya Toolbar and Search Integrate. With Gigya, they have a feature coming soon that will allow you to make money when users search on your blog from the integrated search box on the toolbar. Search Integrate works like Google AdSense for search, by displaying sponsored results on a user’s search results.

Sponsored Posts

If you really enjoy writing and are good at it, this is one of the best ways to monetize your blog. There are numerous sites online that pay you to blog. These sites are the middle man that bring advertisers and publishers together. Some allow advertisers to choose the publisher they want to work with, while others let the publisher choose the desired advertiser. Either way, you get paid a fixed fee for publishing a blog post related to the advertiser’s desired content.

While some sites allow you to negotiate a price, others force you to go with what the advertiser has set. Some will even set a price for you based on your blog’s traffic and pagerank. So again, it boils down to rankings, which is why it’s very important to build up your blog for a few months or even a year before trying to monetize it. Some of the top sites for writing sponsored posts are PayPerPost, SponsoredReviews, ReviewMe and Smorty.

Affiliate Links

Most people are familiar with affiliate links. You become an affiliate of a company and help them sell products. For every sale that results from someone clicking on your link, you’ll receive either a percentage of the sale or fixed amount set by the company. Many people have trouble with affiliate links because it’s a lot harder than it sounds. Getting sales from affiliate link clicks involves some knowledge of affiliate marketing. If you don’t know the proper way to promote your affiliate links you’ll end up frustrated from lack of sales and will probably end up pushing away many of your visitors.

Amazon Affiliate Links

Some of the top affiliate link programs are Amazon Associates, ClickBank and Commission Junction. Two great WordPress plugins for the Amazon Associates program are WordPress Amazon Associate and Amazon Product In a Post. For ClickBank you may want to try WP ClickBank Ad Display or ClickBank Widget. Each one of these lets you choose products that you want to link to on your blog. There are a large variety of products that you can choose based on your blog’s niche.

Custom Merchandise

Lastly there’s good old-fashioned selling. If you have a lot of supporters, surely some of them will be willing to support you by buying products with your blog’s name or logo on them. CafePress is a great site that will let you create custom T-shirts, posters, mouse pads, mugs and more by just uploading a logo or image of your choice; they do the rest from creating the products to handling the shipping. You can then use the CafePress WordPress plugin to display your products on your blog. Zazzle is another great site that works pretty much like CafePress, letting you create custom products using an image of choice. They also have a useful WordPress plugin that works like CafePress.

CafePress Plugin

Another popular item to sell is e-books. They’re a lot easier to write than actual books because they are shorter; they can be as short as 1-2 pages. In most cases, writing an e-book is like writing a more in-depth blog post that is 2-3 times as long. With WordPress you can use the Sell from Blog or Bookshelf plugins to sell e-books right from your blog. You’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to buy a useful e-book for a decent price.

Now that you have some ideas on how to monetize your blog, don’t jump into all of them at once. Too many ads, affiliate links and obvious selling tactics are sure to annoy your visitors. Try out a couple at a time and see what works best for you. Before you know it, you’ll be making a decent amount of money just by doing something that you love: blogging.

This is a guest post by Lior Levin, who works for a psd to html company and also advises to an applicant tracking software company from New York that works with large HR companies.

This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.

Source: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2011/06/02/five-ways-monetize-wordpress-blog

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AdWords: Yet Another Problem With Google's Panda Update

Hit By Panda

In a recent comment someone shared the fate of Patrick Jordan, owner of justanotheripadblog.com.

Since the Panda update happened, some scraper websites (monetized by Google AdSense) have started outranking Patrick for his own content.

Panda = No AdWords Soup for You

Distraught with the decline in traffic, Patrick turned to AdWords to try to bridge the gap and drive some revenues.

Unfortunately, Google wouldn't let him do that either:

I asked on what grounds he had decided that my site does not produce original content. His answer was that he had typed a sentence into Google and found it contained at many sites around the web. Seriously, I made a lengthy strong case for my site's record of having 100% original content and he typed one sentence into a Google search.

I emailed back and asked him to be specific about his search. This was his reply:

"An example of a specific sentence that appears in multiple websites is "a superb app for iPad and iPhone that lets you quickly and easily transfer photos and videos between iOS devices and computers ? has been updated this week, to Version 2.3."

Google Rolls Out the Red Rug (for AdSense Scrapers)

Think about how perverse this is:

  • Google algorithmically penalizes your site
  • Google won't say why it is penalized, other than some abstract notion of "quality"
  • Google offers no timetable on when things can improve, but suggests you keep spending increasing sums of capital to increase "quality"
  • Google pays scraper sites to steal your content & wrap it in AdSense ads
  • Google ranks the stolen content above your site (so the content has plenty of "quality" but it is just not "quality" on your website)
  • Google ignores your spam reports & DMCA notifications about how they are paying people to steal your content
  • Google tells you that you can't even buy AdWords ads, because you are now duplicate content for your own content!

Contributory Copyright Infringement

So now we have Google telling advertisers "I won't even take your money" precisely because Google is paying people to steal their content. Small publishers likely don't have the capital needed to sue Google, but clearly what Google is doing here *is* flagrant, systematic, abusive, and illegal (contributory copyright infringement).

One of Google's larger enemies may want to fund some sort of class-action lawsuit. Google deserves far more of a black eye than they have got in the press from the embarrassment that is the Panda update.

Um, Could You Please Help Me Out a Bit Here Google?

Patrick Jordan begged Google for help in March. In response they sent him this:

Yet Another Webmaster Loses Faith (& Trust) in Google

Since Google has ignored him (for months), Patrick felt he had to rebrand & redirect his old website to a new iPad website. Google made (a rather long and egregious series of) mistakes. And he had to pay the price for it, because Google is a monopoly that doesn't give a crap about how destructive their business is on the ecosystem, so long as it increases their profits.

Again I ask, how long does Google leave this mess in place before publishers broadly take a more adversarial approach to publishing?

Now that Google is aware that the panda fallout is costing THEM money, it will likely get cleared up quickly. I suspect to see an update within the next couple weeks at most. And it would happen even quicker if the press actually did its job. ;)

Update: Matt Cutts stated that the site wasn't hit by Panda here, so that wasn't what caused this. However that still means that Google has to work on better highlighting original content sources over the scrapers, stop funding the scrapers via AdSense, and improve the internal policies which state that you can't buy ads if a scraper outranks you for your own content!

Categories: 

Source: http://www.seobook.com/no-adwords-soup

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Infographic Marketing: An Interview with Brian Wallace of NowSourcing

Brian WallaceBrian Wallace is the founder of NowSourcing, a social media marketing firm based in Louisville, KY. NowSourcing offers infographics, WordPress consulting, online reputation management, SEO, PPC and other Internet marketing services. You can follow Brian on Twitter.

Why do you think infographics have become so popular in the past couple of years from a marketing perspective? How do they differ from other forms of linkbait (aside from the obvious graphical element, of course)?

Even though it seems that infographics are a fairly recent trend, they have been in the print world for some time. I often think of USA Today – it ran a bunch of infographic equivalents for years before I ever saw anything like that on the web. Why they’ve become popular is for a few reasons:

  1. You’d be hard pressed to find a single piece of noteworthy, fact-driven and downright pretty content. Typically a lot more work (concept, research, storyboarding, artwork, typography, etc.) goes into them than a plain Jane blog post.
  2. Social media infographics are a great way to compress a great deal of information into a relatively small space and reading time. Let’s say your average reading time through an infographic is about 2:30 – the amount of verbiage that you’d need to convey the point otherwise would be considerably longer. That, coupled with the fact that infographics are a visual learner’s dream makes the infographics irresistible.
  3. People really don’t read much on the web. Most people scan and do what are called chunking, quickly scanning for headings, images, bold, bullet points and the like. Infographics give the viewer some pretty slick pneumonic hooks so they’ll remember typically for a longer period after viewing infographic versus text-based content.

What are the potential benefits and pitfalls of infographic marketing? What qualities make for a good infographic and, conversely, a lousy, pointless one? Are there certain topics that lend themselves to infographics, and others that don't?

Benefits include getting a great amount of page views to your site as well as quite a number of mainstream news coverage, authority links, blog links, and numerous social media shares. You can also make it easy for people to embed your infographic, and then you’ve got some killer links + anchor text. Not so much in terms of pitfalls, except if you have a crappy looking, poorly researched or poorly executed infographic. If you’re in that category, don’t quit your day job. :)

I’m asked the “certain topics” question a lot in overall social media strategy as well (“is my boring business going to work in social media?”) – there are obvious topics like green, tech, science and geeky types of topics, but really any kind of industry will work. You just need the right concept, angle, graphics, typography, and strategy/success metrics.

How much promotion is required to get an infographic to go viral and what avenues do you recommend?

Ah yes, the $50,000 question. :)

Infographics do well on a number of popular social media news sites as well as infographic and social news blogs. The better quality of your infographic is what makes the difference here.

Infographics can be quite costly to put together when you figure in design resources as well as promotion efforts. How can marketers be sure they're getting ROI from infographics?

Pretty much the same way they (should!) be measuring off their other online campaigns. Take a look at the total PV’s, baseline how many social actions you had prior to launch (friends/fans/RT’s/followers/shares), watch your overall SEO as well as target phrases from the infographic, and watch for increases in sales, signups, other KPI’s you have for your business. Assign an estimated value for the huge links you’ll score from the infographic. Rinse and repeat.

As a designer, how much do you think about SEO when working on projects?

Well, we’re not just a design firm, so we take SEO seriously. It helps to have a beautifully anchor-text-rich link when everyone is copy/pasting your embed code versus completely missing the opportunity.

Do you think companies are underutilizing social media marketing? Overusing it? Misusing it?

I think that companies fall into 3 categories:

  • The ones that “get it”
  • The ones that have their head in the sand (“It’s just a fad,” “social media is dead”, etc.)
  • The ones that don’t get it

Problem is, there are lots of companies that think that they get it, but really don’t. Lots of SMB’s especially go to some social media seminar, get all hopped up about the possibilities for the day and create a Facebook page, Twitter account, and try it for the week. Then, they stop all efforts and call it a failure. C’mon people. The secret in social media is hard work. You wouldn’t go to work for 10 hours, stop working altogether and call it a failure. Stop treating social media as magic. It’s applied effort + magic. :)

I'm sure you've heard people declare blogging dead. Obviously, it's not dead (yet), but do you think the emergence of social media or any other factors have made it less important or relevant for business marketers?

Blogging is far from dead. If anything, people short-circuit perfectly good blogging ideas and instead opt for the more braindead 140-character version. By no means am I hating on Twitter. Just saying that all the sharing happening in social media needs a root source of content. So if you’re bright enough to say something original and put the work into it, by all means blog away and be that source to the eager-to-RT masses. Retweets are today’s version of blog commenting.

Does social media make reputation management harder for marketers?

Quite the contrary. There are some pretty nifty social media listening tools – plenty are free like Google Alerts and Twitter Search, all the way up to some of the largest paid tools that even include sentiment analysis such as Radian6. Now if you mean “Doesn’t a company have to work harder since their reputation can be threatened online,” the answer is yes. Still, working harder doesn’t mean it has to be harder. When done properly, you’ve got yourself quite an outlet for sales, customer service, recruiting, R&D and many more channels, much thanks to social.

What tools do you depend on to do your job (design tools, social media tools, productivity tools, etc.)?

I subscribe to the 10 rules of social media.

This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.

Source: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2011/05/26/infographic-marketing-interview

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Thousands of ?hackers for good? build applications for humanity

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/kaEdOhqfTaM/thousands-of-hackers-for-good-build.html

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Image upload resize crop make thumbnail at once

Package:
Summary:
Resize and crop uploaded image files
Groups:
Author:
Description:
This class can resize and crop uploaded image files...

Read more at http://www.phpclasses.org/package/7010-PHP-Resize-and-crop-uploaded-image-files.html


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/phpclasses-xml/~3/vEprFdvILlE/7010-PHP-Resize-and-crop-uploaded-image-files.html

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Social Search Engine Evaluator / Leapforce Inc. / Marietta, GA

Leapforce Inc./Marietta, GA (Telecommute)

Leapforce is looking for highly educated individuals for an exciting work from home opportunity. Applicants must be self motivated and internet savvy. This is an opportunity to evaluate and improve search engine results for one of the world's largest internet search engine companies.

Social Search Engine Evaluators will need to combine a passion for analysis with an understanding of various online research tools. Applicants must be detail oriented and have a broad range of interests.

Ideal Social Search Engine Evaluators will possess the following skills:
�?�Have in-depth, up-to-date familiarity with American social culture, media, and web culture
�?�An avid user of Twitter with a high level of proficiency
�?�Avid Gmail user with a Google profile
�?�Experience with other Google products is preferred
�?�Excellent comprehension and written communication skills in English
�?�Broad range of interests, with specific areas of expertise a plus
�?�University degree or equivalent experience (degrees in-progress are acceptable). Advanced degrees a plus
�?�Excellent web research skills and analytical abilities.
�?�Ability to work independently under minimal supervision
�?�Possess a high speed internet connection (DSL, Cable Modem, etc.)

Social Search Engine Evaluators provide feedback on search engine results by measuring the relevance and usefulness of web pages in correlation to predefined queries, by providing comparative analysis of sets of search engine results and various other techniques.

All candidates are required to take and pass a two-part qualification exam before becoming a Social Search Engine Evaluator. Part 1 of the exam contains 24 theory based questions. Part 2 of the exam contains 150 simulated evaluation tasks. Supplied study materials can be used during both parts of the exam.

Please Note: We are unable to offer more than one Social Search Engine Evaluator position per household.

To apply, please visit: https://www.leapforceathome.com/...16bb2afee7fd68b

Apply To Job

Source: http://jobs.searchenginejournal.com/job/social-search-engine-evaluator-marietta-ga-leapforce-inc-c7d0e17ee4/?d=1&source=rss_page

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Haulage Companies Truckers Headed for the Bright Lights

Internet Marketing Articles Sponsored by Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant


Driving for haulage companies might not seem like the most glamorous of jobs, but all you truckers out there should know that you're in great company! Not all of the world's rich and famous start out at the top, and there's more than a few who earned their living from driving before they hit the big time


Elvis - the King? Or the King of the Road?

Actually he was both, God rest his soul A year after graduating from high school, Elvis Presley started working as a truck driver for the Crown Electric Company He was either so good at his job or gave such an awful audition that Eddie Bond, the leader of his friend's professional band, suggested that he stick to truck driving as he was 'never going to make it as a singer ' Well, what can we say, except that soon afterwards haulage companies around the world must have been ruing the day that he cut that first record!

Sean Connery

Now, Sean Connery might have driven some pretty snazzy cars in his role as James Bond, but it wasn't always that way Amongst a variety of jobs which included labourer, artist's model and coffin polisher no less, he too was a lorry driver who must have had the owners of the haulage companies in Scotland crying into their beer!

Chris Tarrant

You won't find him working for haulage companies now, but the radio broadcaster and TV presenter who is probably best known as the host of the game show 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' also served his time behind the wheel Before making it big in the world of television, he worked as a long distance lorry driver, a security officer and a school teacher These days you're more likely to find him behind a fishing rod than the wheel of a lorry

Chevy Chase

Funny man Cornelius Crane 'Chevy' Chase might be better known nowadays as an award winning writer, comedian and actor, but he can actually lay claim to a truly impressive range of previous occupations in his earlier days Mr Chase did everything from waiting on tables and working in the construction industry, to working as an audio engineer, a busboy, a theatre usher, a produce manager in a supermarket, a salesman in a wine store, a motorcycle messenger and yes, you've guessed it, a truck driver Another great loss to the haulage companies of America but a huge gain for the world of comedy!

Liam Neeson

Lovely Irish actor Liam Neeson might be better known now for his impressive roles in films such as the haunting Schindler's List, but he was another one of the stars of stage and screen who took to the road Although he didn't work for haulage companies as such, he drove for that famous Irish institution Guinness, after returning to his home town of Ballymena in County Antrim when he left university

Source:
Haulage Companies Truckers Headed for the Bright Lights

Article By:
Lyall Cresswell

Source: http://www.internet-marketing-cafe.com/Art/195069/9/Haulage-Companies-Truckers-Headed-for-the-Bright-Lights.html

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7 Ways To Optimize Your Facebook Feed

From Susan Kuchinskas:

Did you know that your Facebook updates may never be seen by more than half the people who like your page? Last month, Facebook changed the way it displays the News Feed, the scrolling list of updates and actions that users see on their walls.

Now, people have two options: They can see Top News or Recent News—with the default being Top News. With Top News, Facebook is trying to highlight the posts that will be most interesting to users. To do this, it applies an algorithm called EdgeRank that is based on how recent an update is, how relevant it seems and how many people have liked or commented on it. The higher the EdgeRank, the more likely it is that an update will show up in Top News.

Experts estimate that only 0.25 percent to 5 percent of status updates make it into Top News. And Facebook users are equally split in their use of Top News and Most Recent. The News Feed is important because most Facebook users don't return to your fan page once they've liked it.

In short, if one of your fans uses Top News and has a lot of active friends, she may never see a single one of your updates. Welcome to NFO, or News Feed Optimization. Here's what you need to know to get your company info to the top of the news.

1. Post often—but not too often

Freshness definitely seems to be one key to polishing your EdgeRank, but you have to balance that with not boring your fans. If you're a media company with tons of interesting content, you can post several times a day. But pestering your audience with ho-hum info will cause them to unlike you.

2. Post to customers' schedules, not yours

 Yes, it can be hard to find time to participate in social media, but for maximum benefit, you should time your posts for when you think your customers will be most likely to pay attention, advises Lukas Maixner, COO of SocialBakers, a Facebook statistics portal.

If you want to market to the white-collar crowd, posting on weekday mornings may get you great results. If you're targeting teens, you might wait until after school.

"In general, rather than trying to guess the right time, we recommend maintaining the frequency, consistency and relevancy of your posts—and not being afraid of playing around a bit," Maixner says. "Don't underestimate the power of weekend posts."

3. Post directly on Facebook

 Here's one you won't like: While social media dashboards like HootSuite or TweetDeck allow you to post to multiple social networks, Facebook doesn't seem to like them.

"Facebook is starting to frown on auto-posted content," says Jeffrey L. Cohen, social media marketing manager for Howard, Merrell and Partners, a strategic branding and advertising agency, and managing editor of SocialMediaB2B.com. Not only can this lower your EdgeRank, but Facebook also sometimes aggregates posts together solely by the app used. Instead of listing the posts, it may simply display, "And 10 more from [Your Brand] using HootSuite."

EdgeRank aside, Cohen points out that Facebook gives you three times as many characters, as well as the ability to tag pages and people. "So, even if you have similar content, you are better off customizing it for each medium," he says.

4. Keep it short

Keep your copy to-the-point. BuddyMedia, provider of a Facebook management system, finds that posts with 80 characters or less are more than four times as likely to get a like or comment.

5. Keep the conversation going

 The more activity a particular item has, the higher its EdgeRank. You can double the impact simply by responding to other people's comments. Even more important, this tactic keeps your fans engaged and puts a human face on your company.

Mari Smith, social media speaker and trainer, and co-author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day, says the best way to do this is to set up and follow a consistent policy for yourself and employees, such as replying within two hours to every post.

6. Be liberal with photos and video

Facebook has assigned a higher weight value to photos than to other content, according to BuddyMedia. Photos are a quick and easy way for you to introduce your products or people, and they catch the attention of multitasking fans. Videos can play directly in the news feed. BuddyMedia says you should limit the length of your videos in order to keep people’s attention, and provide brief text explaining what the clip is about.

7. Keep an eye on your stats

Says Smith, "What often happens when people start out with their fan pages is, you're getting some traction, but you don’t know what you don't know." Facebook.com/insights is a good place to start, or you can try some inexpensive Facebook analytics tools. Smith says you can dramatically improve your engagement rate by experimenting with these tactics—but you won't know what's working unless you pay attention to the response.

Image credit: zandwacht

Source: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/7-ways-to-optimize-your-facebook-feed

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Social Media & Marketing Intern / Audio Visual Company / Philadelphia, PA

Audio Visual Company/Philadelphia, PA

Hello all,

Are you looking for the opportunity to gain the experience of reating a highly successful social media campaign?
Apply for our Social Media & Marketing Intern position.


ABOUT US:
An Audio Visual company needs to create a national brand and run a total social media campaign for using (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube, Blog. etc)

GOAL: To build attract 1000 people/followers by the end of the year and to visit them on these social media markets and then eventually get them to become or refer customers.


We estimate a part-time work schedule of 3 days a week with the potential for full time employment.

This is a very fun project but it will require you to put together a well organized proposal to be awarded the opportunity.

Please email me with a .pdf document attached where you provide me with:

1. Why are you the right person for the job. Tell us about your passion, education and experience.
2. Show us your vision for this social media campaign.
3. Write a detailed plan of action explaining how you will get us ranked and known as a brand.
4. Describe examples of previous work.
5. Specify the techniques you use in each social media realm.
6. Include how you'll get followers/fans to share and promote posts.

We have some ideas:
We need daily & weekly updates and posts. We need to grow our friends and likes on Facebook and Twitter. We need to make changes to our website and keep it fresh.
We need someone to post comments and respond to comments on message boards and industry related chats. We need to added to industry directories on the web.
We need you to blog about our industry, latest news, new customers and high profile events we've served. Go to Q & A sites such as yahoo answers and posts comments and back links. I am looking forward to hear your thoughts.

Proper grammar and a professional, friendly use of American & British English is required.


We look forward to working with you.

Hiring Organization: AMP Audio Visual

Apply To Job

Source: http://jobs.searchenginejournal.com/job/social-media-marketing-intern-philadelphia-pa-audio-visual-company-e604732646/?d=1&source=rss_page

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Website Design & Development Company SmallBox

 Small Box

Source: http://www.deepripples.com/partners/smallbox

social media marketing website development web hosting seo experts search engine marketing

7 Steps to Increase Facebook Fans

This is a guest blog post by landing page optimization consultant, best selling author, and speaker Bryan Eisenberg.

Your Facebook fan page is hopping. You have fresh & engaging content. You and your customers are sharing and commenting on content. Then again when someone who has never visited the page before decides to drop by the page; how will you make sure they click on the magic Like button?

The 7 steps below work for ecommerce, B2B and even publishers. I’m also going to share some examples from each as well. However before we get to each of the steps, I’d like to make sure you can manage and impact your Facebook Fan conversion rate. I urge you add Google analytics to your Facebook page so that you can get better insights into who is visiting the page and how they are getting there.

1. Offer a Custom Welcome Page

Many of the most highly engaged Facebook fan pages have leveraged the ability to take non-fans to a custom welcome page instead of taking them directly to their wall. If you don’t know how to do that my friend Mari Smith can walk you through adding this custom landing tab to your Facebook fan page. Notice how Bare Escentuals features there award winning product line which is probably what drove the visitor to the page in the first place.

bare escentuals facebook page conversions beisenberg resized 600
2. Remind Them Why

I am hoping you have built a customer experience that is truly remarkable much the way Zappos has. People really do love Zappos. Notice how they not only remind them of that on their welcome tab but how they also remind them that by Liking them on Facebook they get access to exclusive content. If you are truly a fan then you’ll really want access to something exclusive. Zappos also does another brilliant tactic by highlighting their Fan of the Week in their banner. People might kill for money but they’ll more likely die for recognition. So don’t forget to recognize your top fans.

zappos facebook page conersions beisenberg


3. Offer Them an Incentive

People may need a little more to get them to click the Like button than just being reminded how awesome you are. So once they see your custom landing tab, you’ll want to offer them a powerful reason to Like you. What I love about the way HubSpot does this is that the offer regularly changes and that they promote it through their various channels as a seamless experience. Who doesn’t like getting something of value just for clicking a button?

hubspot facebook page conversions beisenberg resized 600

 

4. You Don’t Get What You Don’t Ask For

If you don’t ask them to take an action with a good call-to-action then your visitors won’t take that action. Notice how L’Occitane combines an offer to win a free trip to Provence on their custom landing tab with an arrow pointing to the Like button and asking you to Like them.


loccitane facebook page conversions beisenberg

5. Make it Interactive

The biggest advantage a Facebook Fan page offers is the ability to interact with your customers -  the opportunity to dialogue. Make sure to highlight this interactivity on the welcome tab. Notice how BMW shows a video that features two of their fans. I also like the design of their call-to-action. Another way you can make your page interactive is by adding a bit of personalization to your Facebook Fan page and adding your visitors name to the page.

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6. Tease Them

Depending on your brand and on what you are offering on your Facebook fan page you may not want to open your kimono all at once. I have seen many pages like Red Bull use a graphic that teases their visitors to like them first before they engage with your content. A note of caution here: a. people must have some really strong reasons to like your brand in the first place b. the content you offer after the tease better not disappoint them.

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7. Give Them All the Info

Ultimately, people like to connect to people and Smashing magazine does a great job highlighting the staff behind their fabulous publication. I highly suggest you have an additional tab to talk about the people behind your company and don’t forget to fill out all the information on your info tab (including several links) and on your about section.

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For those of you who are already HubSpot customers, HubSpot has made most of this pretty easy for you with their HubSpot Welcome app. The app will automatically present new visitors to your Facebook fan page with a call to action to click the Like button and then offer them a lead generation form to fill out after they hit the like button. This is a great way to convert a visitor to your Facebook fan page to a fan and then into a lead by offering them something of value in your call to action. You can see some examples here.

Is your Facebook fan page a conversion machine? Share your masterpieces…

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HubSpot/~3/Id8Ro-ksYnA/7-Steps-to-Increase-Facebook-Fans.aspx

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