Tag Archive for 'content'

Scheduling & Discipline

Published on June 13, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I’ve not managed a post in 4 weeks, which is really terrible. So I started writing about why scheduling your content really is a much more sensible way to things, than my current spur-of-the-moment-inspired-posts mechanism. That’s when I got Chris’s latest Kitchen Table newsletter and felt motivated, and a little envious… I’d like a few new toys myself :-)

The fact is there’s an abundance of tools that allow you to schedule your social media content, so many in fact, that it’s getting hard to track. There’s plenty of tools for twitter and facebook (see here , here & here). WordPress & Blogger let you do this natively.

But Chris is right, more than tools and cool gadgets, you need to have the discipline to schedule your content. It’s genuinely worth building. Simply put, scheduling helps you achieve a few key things:

1. Continuity; regularity is important,. You’ve got readers because you’ve got content, make sure you keep your content fresh and keep your readers coming. It’s very hard to get them back if you lose them.
2. Quality; most readers come to you for your quality content, which usually improves when you’ve got a little extra time to work on your posts thanks to the one’s you’ve got pre-scheduled.
3. Structure; you can better orchestrate the overall direction and structure of your blog when you’re not working under pressure to write the next post (on anything even vaguely relevant).

Video Advertising on Steroids

Published on April 22, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I followed a random link through to the HearSaySocial website, at first I was confused, really confused. I couldn’t find a straight answer to the simple question: “What does HearSaySocial do?” Except for a video link there was nothing really meaningful, I’ve since filed the website, into my list of websites-not-to-use-as-reference-material.

The video link on the other hand, was exceptional. No, that’s under selling it. It was more awesome than any promotional web video I’ve ever seen. It very effectively communicated what the company does, but by that point I wasn’t interested. I wanted to know what creative geniuses developed the video, and the answer is EpipheoStudios (Their website is also a bit cryptic about what they do till you watch the video or click on the About Us button). I won’t rant about how good they are, go see for yourself.

I will however point out the fact that users accessing websites from low bandwidth connections (or mobiles) will struggle to download video content. So after you’ve spent your marketing dollars on a great video, remember to add a bit of old fashioned text for the people that can’t watch it*.

*This may not apply if you sell video content creation and really need people to watch your stuff to understand why they should buy your services.

(Don’t) Contact Me

Published on April 21, 2011 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

For most businesses the key purpose of their website is to help drive sales. Yes it’ll have a variety of other purposes such as customer support, reviews, media information, etc. but the most important, overwhelming objective is to fill the sales funnel. Which is why it surprises me that many companies still don’t pay any attention to one of the most important pages on their website, the “Contact Me” page.

Web users are lazy, they don’t want to waste time wading through your website looking for a way to reach you. Your Feedback form simply isn’t enough, people need the satisfaction of actually having sent an email or called someone. If you’ve got a telephone number or email address please list it!

Depending on the nature of your business of course, you should have everything from
your telephone number, email, physical address, GPS co-ordinates, a (google) maps link, your twitter/facebook links, and if you’re lucky enough to have one, a live chat link. I’ve even seen a company that has a skype ID just for their reception! Just remember that the easier it is for your customer to reach you, the easier it is for you to generate leads.

Proof that Content is King

Published on April 18, 2011 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , .

Buffer is a new web 2.0 service that’s been attracting a lot of attention recently. I’m not overwhelmed by the service itself, but it’s incredible how well it’s managed it’s publicity and online content.

Aaron Lee does a great job of interviewing the Buffer guru here, where he explains how a very sensible approach to blog content management paid off tremendously. This is a must read success story for anybody in PR, social media or copy/content generation.

We keep saying that customer is king, and it’s still true when you’re generating copy. Tailor it towards the audience you’re making it for, they’ll appreciate the copy and you’ll appropriate their positive responses.