Quora is awesome.

If you haven’t checked it out, here’s a few quick reasons why I think it has the chance to change the way information is shared & discovered.

I see it as a unique combo of Twitter and a Blog. (Tlog? Blitter?) Maybe even a dash of Linkedin Q&A’s. The [...]]]>

Quora is awesome.

If you haven’t checked it out, here’s a few quick reasons why I think it has the chance to change the way information is shared & discovered.

I see it as a unique combo of Twitter and a Blog. (Tlog? Blitter?) Maybe even a dash of Linkedin Q&A’s. The premise is simple. Ask a question about any topic, share your responses, vote them up and follow/get followed. If you’ve been online for a while, all the familiar faces are there & they’re willing to share their experiences and knowledge.

So far, the content I’m following has been hype/spam free, just great people asking & sharing good stuff. I like Twitter because it
helps me find content…but this helps me find specific topics,
answers and a quick connection to the person to who actually knows
something about the question being asked. No need to read a full
blog post and it’s comments to find out who else is a real expert
on the subject.

Looking for another way to build your own credibility on a topic and help your personal brand? Answer some questions and share your knowledge. Pro bloggers typically end their blog posts with thought provoking, engaging questions to get the conversation started. Quora skips all that fluff and gets right down to that last question at the end of the blog post. And the responses are great.

Check it out. I’ll save my question for Quora:)

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Today is the first day of the Build a Better Blog Challenge, by Darren Rowse from Problogger.net.

This is an excellent way to learn more about blogging and your own blog. It’ll also provide a daily task to help make your blog more effective.

One of my new friends and contacts from Raleigh, Kipp Bodnar, invited me to share some ideas with the Raleigh Social Media Breakfast today. (Thanks Kipp – great time!)

Here’s a quick overview of the items we discussed for your reference. The Raleigh [...]]]>

One of my new friends and contacts from Raleigh, Kipp Bodnar, invited me to share some ideas with the Raleigh Social Media Breakfast today. (Thanks Kipp – great time!)

Here’s a quick overview of the items we discussed for your reference. The Raleigh SMB is now of my regular stops when I’m in town each month; I recommend it to anyone with an online presence – stop out and meet some extraordinary people.

Today’s discussion talked about creating a plan and using tools effectively to reach help reach your goal.  Don’t just be online – be effective. Check out some of the ideas we talked about…

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Blogs: Wendy and Lucy video Download and install the Worpdpress plugin “SEO All-In-One Pack” to efficiently – and effectively – utilize your page titles, descriptions and keywords.  Combine these efforts with your keyword analysis and you’ll begin targeting content towards what your visitors are searching for – or even identify new areas of opportunities.

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Facebook: Add the Networked Blogs application to your personal or professional pages. Add your URL’s to the Networked Blogs profile page. The profile links on this page are ‘follow’ links – meaning Facebook will pass along the link juice from this page to your site. (link juice= page rank strength)

LinkedIn: Similar to Facebook – your LinkedIn profile page uses ‘follow’ links in the three spots reserved for your websites. Use them effectively by using your keywords in the link title as well.

YouTube: In your description box, the first 27 spaces are reserved for visible display – use those spots for your site’s URL. The shorter the URL the better as more of it will be seen. Youtube’s algorithm is  (relatively) easier to manage than other sites. Your video’s placement and strength can be affected by managing (not gaming – managing!) your titles, descriptions, tags, # of views and ratings.

Tumblr: Tumblr pages are still an underutilized property that offer so many opportunities within the micro-blogging niche. I use Tumblr for my twitter interviews; they don’t use ‘nofollow’ links and its a great way to build links to your main properties and also into your tumblr blog.

Social media releases were also mentioned – see my post on SMR’s for my thoughts. (I love ‘em)

A few other topics we didn’t get into, because I didn’t want it to turn into a twitter-discussion and/or off-track: twitter search, interviews and product reviews.

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Twitter search is exploding; increase your chances to be found within twitter search by using the hash tag (#) with trending keywords.  Interviews and product reviews are also great ways to build relationships while creating opportunities for relevant keyword links.

Use your tools to the fullest to build your brand, drive traffic and convert your key metrics.

If I can create a successful social media strategy within an unlikely market segment such as the used car market – you should have decent odds within your niche as well!

Share your efficiency tips and SEO secrets…

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Everyone, most of us at least, tries to contribute valuable content – in the hopes of networking with other like-minded individuals.  Recently, Dave Peck followed me on twitter.

Dave is clearly someone who has been on twitter for a while, has a boat load of followers (nearly 12k) and [...]]]>

Everyone, most of us at least, tries to contribute valuable content – in the hopes of networking with other like-minded individuals.  Recently, Dave Peck followed me on twitter.

Dave is clearly someone who has been on twitter for a while, has a boat load of followers (nearly 12k) and over 10k updates. But, he only follows 300 or so. Wow.

To get a follow from a guy like that is very cool. But, he quickly unfollowed me. Damn. What did I do? I’ve heard how people game twitter to build insane follower numbers; I’ve seen it happen often. So, I called him out. (Was that wrong?)

Turns out, Dave’s account was hacked. Cheers to Dave for his prompt reply, the contributions within his blog and the social landscape in general.

Are you listening to what people are saying?

Dave is…

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Tired of using Facebook to just update your status with comments about your overall dissatisfaction with it being Monday, trying to build your Mafia and poking people?

Here are four great ways to use Facebook’s resources to either brand yourself or market your company. If you managed to create your profile, add a [...]]]>

Tired of using Facebook to just update your status with comments about your overall dissatisfaction with it being Monday, trying to build your Mafia and poking people?

Here are four great ways to use Facebook’s resources to either brand yourself or market your company. If you managed to create your profile, add a photo and use any of the social applications available, then you’re qualified to effectively use these tools.

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The first three are free; the last item is a paid service.

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• On the groups page, click on “Create a new group” in the top right corner.
• Enter your group info; be specific and make it interesting.
• Once created, start adding relevant content that will interest potential group members. Add links, pictures and videos. Start a discussion – anything to get people involved and to keep coming back.
• Start inviting people that you know will be interested in your group.

Create a Page

• Click on “Add this application” in the top right corner.
• Instead of Group Members, your Page will have “Fans.”
• Pages are now much easier to manage – familiar items from your personal profiles such as the navigation tabs, blurb box, status updates and application boxes are all available.
• Be sure to check out Facebook’s new step by step overview for even more tools and tips. Very helpful.
• Fans love new content like  polls, interviews and contests.  Happy fans will your Page rock.

Add the NetWorkedBlogs application

• Click on the “+ Add New Blog” button in the top right corner.
• On your personal profile, click on the plus sign on the far right side of the navigation tabs.
• Select NetworkedBlogs from the list. This will add a new tab called “Blogs” to your profile.

Use the Advertising tool

• Promote your affiliate, blog, website… anything, using the targeting capabilities within the Advertising application.
• Choose the link wisely. Link to a checkout page that has relevant ad copy to increase your goal conversions. Ads about sneakers linking to a page selling a home based business opportunity won’t be successful.
• New strategies even include linking to your Facebook Page, Application, Group or Event.
• Your Ad can have 25 characters in the title and up to 135 characters in the body.
• Use an image that really pops; pick one that is still sharp because it will be reduced to 110px wide by 80px high.
• Choose your target audience – increase the likelihood of interested based on: Location, Age, Sex, Keywords, Education, Workplace, Relationship Status, Relationship Interests and Languages.
• Choose your budget; the daily minimum ad spend is only $1.
• Test your ads often and keep them fresh. Expect high impressions and low click through rate (CTR) – however the cost per click is still very inexpensive, even when compared to other online channels.

Here’s a couple of examples: Used Cars Blog and the Auction Direct USA group page.

How are you using Facebook to promote your brand or your company?

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