Perception Management: A ‘How To’ Guide for Steering Public Perception

Perception management is the practice of making certain the message you intend gets across to the specific individuals or groups you want to reach. It also means influencing how people interpret what others say about you as well. Writing for readers in the U.S. Dept. of Defense (DoD), Pascale Combelles Siegel calls perception management “the stepchild” of military Information Operations (IO). That’s because technology has taken over IO to the point that its former emphasis of perception management has been relegated to a secondary role.

Business and other government agencies have gladly adopted this stepchild as their own. How well they nurture this stepchild makes the difference between success and failure. Joel Garfinkle’s brief four-step outline of the perception management cycle makes a good basis for a simple primer on this crucial discipline.

STEP 1: How Do You Think You Are Perceived?

You first need to clearly define how you think others perceive you already. The reason this comes first is because any number of factors can skew these observations. Individuals commonly experience self-serving biases. This means attributing success to internal achievement and failure to external obstacles. “Individuals strategically employ the self-serving bias to maintain and protect positive self-views.” (Krusemark, Campbell, & Clementz, 2008, pg. 511) They also experience confirmation bias, which simply means interpreting results in the most favorable manner for their purposes.

When these combine among individuals in an organization it can result in groupthink — in simplest terms, a culture of “Yes” men. When this happens, strongly cohesive teams actually serve their organizations detrimentally. Teams that encourage a productive level of informed dissent and independence have greater immunity to groupthink (Callaway & Esser, 1984). Organizations with particularly strong leaders who promote their own agendas to the team, rather than assigning a subordinate that task, are at particular risk of groupthink (Ahlfinger & Esser, 2001).

STEP 2: How Are You Actually Perceived?

Next check the accuracy of your organizational self-perception. Surveys traditionally achieve this, and extend into Web resources with modern technology. Internet solicitation needs to be inobtrusive but still eye-catching. Consumers accustomed to Websites tend to ignore ostentatious banner ads, but will pay attention to ads that fit into a site’s theme. (Moore, Stammerjohan, & Coulter, 2005). However, animations on ads arouse site visitors more than distract them, and may get their attention if they are consistent with the site’s theme, and hence the visitor’s presumed interest (Day, Shyi, & Wang, 2006). In addition, monitor Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter for unsolicited praise or criticism.

Whole books cover ways to assess public perception of yourself or your organization. The most important thing to remember is that even performing this process you already influence how the public perceives you. If surveys are long and impose needless interruption, respondents will get more negative impressions of you. Political surveys commonly load semantics to both achieve target results and influence opinions: questions are already biased and seek biased results. Remember to keep questions open ended, semantics neutral, and to allow plenty of room for comments. Doing that already communicates that you care what respondents have to say, and do not just pigeon hole and tally their responses. You treat them as individuals.

STEP 3: How Do You Want to be Perceived?

This is simple math. What is the difference between your organizational self=perception and the actual public perception of your organization. If they match, that does not mean you need do nothing. It means you need to reinforce that perception. If they do not match, that does not mean you are in trouble — even if they differ tremendously. You have just learned where you are and where you have to be.

Very clearly define how you want public perceptions to change and express that in a story. If you have been perceived as being socially irresponsible and you seek a reputation for social responsibility, acknowledging past failures may be part of that story. That is called framing, and it is important because once the public accepts the frame of your organization, they interpret other information to fit that frame.

STEP 4: How Do You Change the Perceptions?

Tell your story. You might have had misplaced priorities, suddenly seen the light, and now work better for the public good. That worked for Tuna companies in the 1990s. Do consumers see you as a proficient underachiever for some past bad marketing choices? That quickly turns into an underdog story, fighting against some market juggernaut. That would be Apple Computers in the 1990s, just before launching the iMac.

Telling the story involves actions as well as exposition. That can be a corporate sponsorship — depending on your desired demographic you might sponsor a NASCAR crew, a sports team, or a particular charity. It can be product placement in particular programs. It might be something as simple as starting a popular Blog and keeping a friendly and responsive presence in social media.

If things have been bad enough, particularly if your concern is individual, you may have take the leap into full-fledged reputation management. This means going beyond how you frame your own story to distracting audiences from negativity. While this can be effectively achieved, consider it a last resort. It goes beyond manipulating perception to manipulating information, which is much more expensive and much less effective than recovering a positive perception based on a sympathetic acceptance of a story with acknowledged errors and nothing to hide.

James Scott

Tips How to buy Smartphone

Cameras and Music PlayersFor a few years, feature phones with good cameras and music players flourished. But especially now that the iPhone and Android devices are popular, phone manufacturers across the board decided anyone who wants to take decent pictures or replace their iPod probably wants a smartphone.
That said, feature phone cameras can still satisfy casual users who just want snaps to post on Facebook or Twitter. Look for a phone with at least a 5-megapixel camera. Keep an eye on our reviews to see which phones take washed-out, compressed-looking photos and which take bright, clear shots. It's tougher to find a good video phone; we'd recommend a newer smartphone for this purpose. If you want to post your videos online or burn them to DVD, look for a handset that captures at least 640-by-480-pixel videos, at 30 frames per second or better. Most of today's higher-end smartphones offer 720p (1,280-by-720-pixel) or 1080p (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) high-definition recording; many even offer image stabilization, which reduces jerkiness from unsteady hands.

For music, you want a phone with a 3.5-mm headphone jack, so you can listen to your songs with standard headphones. If you get a phone with a 2.5-mm jack, or even worse a proprietary one, you'll need a clumsy adapter to use quality headphones. As an alternative, look for a phone that supports stereo Bluetooth wireless headphones. Smartphones offer the most comprehensive music players. Apple iPhones work with iTunes, while the freeware doubleTwist does a great job of syncing both PCs and Macs with Android and some LG feature phones. Many people are moving to streaming services now anyway, like Spotify and Google Music, so it's less important than it used to be. Windows Phone 7.5 devices work with Zune software on both Macs and PCs, while BlackBerry Desktop Software syncs BlackBerrys to iTunes on either platform as well.

All About PricingCell phones are more expensive than they appear. American wireless carriers subsidize the price of handets, in exchange for signing customers to binding two-year contracts. That's why you can get a phone like the powerful HTC One X for just $99.99 on AT&T, even though the phone's actual retail price is $449.99.

Still, amortize the up-front cost out over two years, and it pales in comparison to what you'll pay every month. Look at it in that light, and maybe it makes sense to splurge up front to get the awesome Samsung Galaxy Nexus or Apple iPhone 4S you really want, while maybe paring back your minutes or an extra feature or two to hold monthly costs in check. Unlocked phones lack subsidies and cost the most up front, sometimes well in excess of $500. But they let you swap in any AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card, as well as use any prepaid international cards that help you save big when traveling. Unlocked phones don't work on other American carriers, though.

There are also your monthly carrier fees. And this is where things gets tricky, as the carriers make it exceedingly difficult to figure out how much you'll actually pay per month. Verizon and AT&T plans tend to cost the most, but those two carriers have the best voice and data coverage in the nation. Sprint and T-Mobile offer considerable savings, especially on unlimited voice, data, and texting plans, but don't have quite the same level of network coverage.

Don't want to play the contract game at all? Go for a smaller carrier or even a prepaid phone. We're beginning to see prepaid smartphones appear everywhere, especially on smaller regional carriers like Cricket Wireless, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular. If you live in an appropriate coverage area and don't need a cutting-edge device, the potential savings can be huge. Even phones with contracts on the smaller carriers like MetroPCS can run as little as $40 or $50 per month, and that's with unlimited voice, data, and text messages, and no extra taxes or fees.

For more, check out our list of The 10 Best Cheap Prepaid Phone Plans You've Never Heard Of.
To get the best price, it pays to check a carrier's Web site before hitting a retail store outlet; often you can do better online, especially with instant rebates, and buying online is also more convenient. Amazon.com, Wirefly, and LetsTalk.com are all good online portals to compare pricing, though many of these will have mail-in rebates instead of instant rebates. Finally, you can grab a used phone off of eBay from the same carrier, and then activate it on your current plan.

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Tips How to buy Smartphone

Do I Need a Smartphone?As more people become accustomed to instant email, Web, music, and messaging access at all times of the day, regardless of where they are, smartphones have become almost indispensible. That said, there's plenty of variety out there—not to mention devotees of specific OS platforms. That makes sense, though; sometimes, a platform's user interface or app selection just speaks to you, and that's all there is to it. With that in mind, and at the risk of attracting flames, let's break it down as well as we can for those who aren't so fully vested.

Right now, Google's Android and Apple's iOS are the two top smartphone platforms, both in U.S. sales and in availability of third-party apps. The iPhone has the best app store, the smoothest user interface (which some people don't like, but many do), and the best media features. But there's still no T-Mobile version, and Apple's tightly controlled ecosystem can feel stifling to some. Android sales have now surpassed the iPhone by a significant margin; you can buy Android phones on seven U.S. carriers, and there are plenty of Android handset choices. At the time of this writing, AT&T is offering more than 20 Android phones. Many come with rich features like high-speed 4G Internet connectivity, fast dual-core processors, 4-inch (or larger) hi-res screens, and free GPS navigation. Also, Android's open-source nature makes it a tweaker's dream. But it also means fragmented third-party app compatibility, occasional bugs, carrier-installed bloatware you can't remove, and scattered, often sporadic OS updates.
Don't get us wrong: There are other solid smartphone platforms. But there are issues with each.

BlackBerry market share is in freefall; RIM's star is fading fast as attention shifts away from email and enterprise-managed devices. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 is already on its way out, as Microsoft is abandoning the platform ahead of an entirely rewritten Windows Phone 8 OS coming later this year, although it's well-positioned to take a distant third in the U.S. after Android or iOS if RIM's woes continue. Nokia still does well outside of the U.S., but sales are nearly non-existent here, and now the company is in the middle of a complex transition to Windows Phone. HP canned webOS last year, so that one's out of the picture.

Perhaps most importantly, none of these other platforms have nearly the same level of third-party app support as iOS or Android. For many folks, apps are the primary reason to get a smartphone. Apple's App Store leads with more than 600,000 apps that are put through a rigorous quality check process. The iPhone also plays the best games. Google Play (formerly Android Market) is catching up quickly, though. Many independent developers like the freedom Google Play offers, as Apple can put the kibosh on whatever app category it feels like (such as vintage game console emulators), but not all apps run on all Android phones; there are so many phone models that maintaining quality control is tough. Other smartphone OSes can run apps, but there are much fewer available, and usually don't match their iPhone or Android counterparts in sheer power.

Regardless of your thoughts on platforms, form factor is also important. Touch screens allow for slimmer devices, smoother user interfaces, easy Web browsing, and a quality video-playback experience. And thanks to a lack of hardware buttons, third-party app developers can design their dream control schemes without worrying about differences in button layouts. But for some, typing on a touch screen can be a drag. Hardware QWERTY keyboards are easier to type quickly on, and are still ideal for many messaging fiends. But hardware keyboards either add bulk, in the case of horizontal and vertical sliders, or they reduce screen real estate, in the case of BlackBerry-like slabs.

Texting and Voice PhonesIn the age of mobile apps, smartphones get all the buzz these days, but roughly half of the cell phones sold in the U.S. are feature phones including camera phones, music phones, waterproof phones, texting phones, or just plain voice phones. There are still reasons to get a simpler, less-expensive device. And it's not just about being a Luddite. Maybe you want to save on the device itself and reduce monthly fees by avoiding a smartphone's $20-$30 data package, or you just don't want to be tethered to the Internet all the time.
Unlike smartphones, feature phones are a matter of "what you see is what you get." They don't receive magical software upgrades or run thousands of additional apps. (Some feature phones come with "app stores," but don't be fooled: These exist primarily to sell you additional-cost services, as well as ringtones, wallpaper, and basic games.)

Because even feature phones do almost everything, you should decide what capabilities you need or want most. Start narrowing down your choices by first ranking the five major categories of features in order of importance: voice quality and related capabilities; messaging; camera and camcorder; media playback; and Web, GPS, and other features. Once that's done, you'll be able to concentrate on a more narrow selection of feature phones. If you're big on text messaging, you want a phone with a  hardware QWERTY keyboard, plus an unlimited texting plan. If you've got a small child, a camera is probably important. If you want to ditch your old iPod, keep an eye out for good media features.

For voice quality, read individual phone reviews. Wireless network coverage is always the biggest factor, but individual phones can vary in reception, earpiece quality, transmission quality through the microphone, and side-tone (the echo of your own voice that helps prevent you from yelling at the other person). A phone with middling to poor reception quality can be almost impossible to use in a marginal coverage area, while one with excellent reception can make the best of the little signal that's available. Another point to consider: Some phones have much louder speakerphones than others. A few have buggy Bluetooth stacks that make pairing with headsets and in-car hands-free stereos a pain.

The same advice I gave above about form factors also applies to feature phones. In this case, in addition to touch screens, sliders, and QWERTY slabs, you'll also have basic voice phones that are either candy-bar shaped with numeric keypads, or flip phones that open up to a larger, more comfortable numeric keypad. Flip phones have the added benefit of not needing a keyboard lock; close the phone, and you won't mistakenly dial someone while it's in your pocket. For the accident-prone, some phones, like the Kyocera Hydro on Boost Mobile, are even waterproof or ruggedized.

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Tips How to buy Smartphone

What should you be looking for when buying a cell phone? Here are some key points to consider:

First, Choose a CarrierDespite all the recent hardware and mobile software innovation, your wireless service provider remains your most important decision. No matter which device you buy, it's a doorstop unless you have solid wireless coverage. Maybe you have friends and family on the same carrier that you talk to for free, and you don't want that to change with your next phone. Maybe you're lusting after a certain device—say, a 4G LTE-capable Android phone, or an unlocked smartphone for international travel. And of course, you want to choose a carrier that offers fair prices, and provides the best coverage in your area. These are all good reasons to put the carrier decision first.

We have two major features to help you choose a carrier. For our 2012 Readers' Choice Awards, PCMag readers told us which carrier they prefer based on coverage, call quality, device selection, and other factors. And for our Fastest Mobile Networks feature, we sent drivers to many U.S. cities to scope out which smartphone carriers have the best data coverage. Because each of the national carriers sells a wide variety of phones, choosing your service provider should be your first move. Here's a quick rundown of what each one offers:

AT&T boasts nationwide coverage and a terrific selection of phones, particularly for texting. It has dramatically improved its service quality in the Northeast over the past two years, and is busy building out its newer 4G LTE network. It's also the worst-rated carrier by our readers.
Sprint is relatively inexpensive, and offers some neat media services and a solid high-speed network. It also has the most open approach to third-party apps, letting its subscribers add a wide range of Java applications to its feature phones. Sprint has two prepaid brands, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile, that sell phones without contracts.

T-Mobile offers mostly cutting-edge phones at relatively low monthly rates and enjoys a reputation for good customer service. It's the only carrier that offers a monthly discount in exchange for paying full price for your phone up front. But its network can be weaker than the other major carriers' in suburban and rural areas. T-Mobile compensates for its lack of 4G LTE by offering HSPA+ 42, which is still blazing fast and easier on battery life, though only a select few phones support it.
Verizon Wireless is famed for its top-notch network quality and good customer service. Its prices can be higher than the competition, but when it comes to voice quality, Verizon phones often excel. That makes Verizon a perpetual leader in our Readers' Choice Awards. Verizon also currently has the largest 4G LTE network in the U.S.

There are also smaller, regional carriers. U.S. Cellular is only available in about half the country, yet it consistently gets great scores on our Readers' Choice Awards because of its strong commitment to customer service. Two years ago, the carrier launched the "Belief Project," a new customer-service plan offering perks like free battery swaps and replacements for damaged phones. Meanwhile, Cricket and MetroPCS are "unlimited" carriers that offer much lower rates than their competitors and don't require contracts. But they aren't available everywhere, and have a somewhat limited, mostly lower-end selection of phones.

Finally, you may also see unlocked phones on the market that work with GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile, but that carriers don't sell directly. These handsets are often imports. Because they're generally more expensive than carrier-approved-and-subsidized phones, few are sold in the U.S. But you can find a few bargains, such as the affordable Snapfon ez ONE-c, in case your AT&T or T-Mobile phone breaks and you need a replacement.

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5 Strategies For Efficient & Effective Blogging

Continually cranking out content for your blog that is consistently fresh, engaging, and audience-building can be challenging, to say the least. And unfortunately, blogger’s block doesn’t discriminate, and it can affect everyone from the greenest writer to the one pulling in six figures.
So, what does it too create a chain of content that grows your traffic and keeps audience enthusiasm high? Here are five tips to help you refocus your blog and succeed at creating quality, memorable posts:

1. It’s all about the reader
You know what you like to read… now forget about it. What interests you specifically isn’t worth a hill of beans as compared to what interests your readership. They’re in the driver’s seat and you’re barely a back seat navigator. Every blog post you approach has to be taken from the perspective of your reader.
You have to instinctively know the questions that the reader will ask about the industry sector you cover and you must cater to those queries by providing in-depth, unique, and compelling information.
It is also extremely important, especially for bloggers in the technical field, to give industry buzzwords and other assorted jargon a wide berth. Sure you may know exactly what “you can’t get decent bogon suppression with AFJ filters at today’s net volumes” but what chance does your non-programmer reader have at deciphering that gobbledygook?

2. A picture sells a thousand blogs
What is the reason behind the massive explosion in interest for Pinterest? The answer is fairly simple as it is that since Pinterest is essentially a blogging platform for people who don’t care to write and for readers who don’t care to read, it’s at the forefront of the new blogging world! By replacing long-winded gray blocks of type with pretty pictures, Pinterest is a vivid example of what bloggers should be striving for in building visual allure into their blogs.
Visual allure doesn’t mean changing the color of your header or background, it indicates a blog that has integrated both static and video imaging into its story telling process. There will likely never be an age when written blogging is completely extinct and only replaced by images, but all bloggers should strive to incorporate as much visual flair into their posts as they possibly can in order to further engage your readership.

3. Hawking your wares should be an ancillary, not primary focus
We’ve all witnessed the disintegration of blogs that we once treasured but have since descended down into nothing more than thinly disguised shilldom. Many bloggers start out by offering phenomenal and insightful content and as their audiences grow, they shift their focus almost entirely to improving their monetization.
So a blog which was once chock-full of great information is now doing little more than pushing the blogger’s latest paid ebook, online paid course, or selling tickets to their national seminar tour. Although a certain level of ancillary marketing is expected from bloggers who have to pay the rent somehow, when the entire blog turns into a sales pitch, you can be certain your readers will pitch your blog… right into the trash.

4. 95.5% of the world’s population is not American
Sure, you were born in Nebraska, went to college in Michigan, and raised a family in Texas… but that doesn’t mean that the perspective reflected in your blog should end at Portland, Maine on one side and Portland, Oregon on the other.
The vast majority of blogging topics are of equal interest to readers in Portland, Canada; Portland, England; Portland, Australia; and every other port on the high seas. With the rise in international blogging, your readers outside of the USA may be finding your Americancentrism disturbing and detracting from the value of your content. Either neutralize your geographical references or make a solid effort to cover events outside the USA.

5. Write well
Far too many bloggers write like uneducated dolts. Set yourself aside from the lowbrow, inept, and artless by cultivating a high standard of spelling, grammar, and overall mastery of the English language. You can accomplish this by double-checking your writing, but you should also use the Internet to learn tricks to help you write cleaner and faster.
Efficient and effective blogging isn’t a fantasy, you can achieve it today by applying these top five key strategies. The rewards for succeeding are steady traffic, plenty of comments, and lots of incoming links.

Hal Licino is a successful author, award-winning freelance writer, and frequent contributor to a blog hosted by Benchmark Email, an email marketing service for small businesses. He also writes a weekly column for Daily Blog Tips.

How to choose your default web browser

Sick of having Internet Explorer pop up when you really wanted another browser, like Chrome, Firefox or Safari? I know the feeling.
Both Windows and Mac systems will open a specific, so-called “default” web browser whenever you click a link in your email client or another, non-browser program.

For a fresh-out-of-the-box Windows PC, the default browser will invariably be Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer, while Apple’s Safari browser is the default browser for new Mac systems.
Of course, any time you open a different browser, like Google Chrome or Firefox, they’ll tempt you with the prospect of making them your default browser—and eventually, you may lose track of which browser is the default at a given moment.

If only there were a single, centralized place on PCs and Macs where you could set your default web browser once and for all, right?
Luckily, there is.

For Windows:

Just select your favorite browser for Windows and click “Set this program as default.”

• Click the Start menu, select the Control Panel link, click the big green “Programs” heading, then click “Set your default programs.”
• A window will appear with a big list of programs that you can set as the “default” for various functions, from email and photo viewers to MP3 players and (yes) web browsers. All the web browsers installed on your PC will be at the top of the list; go ahead and click your favorite one.
• Click the “Set this program as default” option at the bottom of the window. (A second option, “Choose defaults for this program,” lets you pick and choose which types of web files a given browser will open by default; unless you’re an advanced user, I recommend you skip this one.)
• Click the “OK” button. That’s it!

For Mac:

Want to pick a new default browser on your Mac? You’ll find the controls in Safari’s preferences menu.

• Open the Safari web browser, click the Safari menu at the top of the screen, then select Preferences.
• Under the General tab, the very first option should be “Default web browser.” Click the drop down menu, then select a browser that you’d like to designate as the default. (You may see other programs in the list that aren’t web browsers, by the way, so choose carefully.)
• Close the Preferences menu. All done!

How to Get Traffic without Paying

Millions of businesses, both big and small, compete for online dollars, and large companies have even dedicated entire marketing departments to promoting their websites. It’s not uncommon for companies to hire agencies to help claim shares of the lucrative global market available over the Internet. Thousands of SEO experts offer services to help businesses attract that all-important website traffic. However, many methods of attracting viewers cost little or no money. Small business owners can spend a little time on promotion and get the same results as the big companies who outsource their internet marketing without spending fortunes on advertising.

Websites Alone Fail to Attract Viewers
Online marketing generates billions of dollars in revenue, and even local mom-and-pop businesses feel the pressure to build a solid web presence or risk losing local customers who search online for goods and services. Many entrepreneurs spend thousands of dollars on site development and wait for orders to arrive. Usually, these marketing beginners experience shock when they discover that nobody can find their sites.
Customers find websites through paid advertising, generic searches, referrals, and direct links, which come from many sources, both online and in traditional media or promotional materials. Large marketers spend millions targeting audiences, and the competition for shares of the online pie becomes intense. Minnows thrown into the pool with sharks and piranhas stand little chance of eating tuna.

Free Ways to Target Customers
Small marketers have some things in their favor, however. Minnows can maneuver with extraordinary agility, and their size causes bigger fish to overlook them. Minnows need less food to grow, so they often stand better chances of success in crowded ponds when food supplies grow scarce.
Large companies with huge budgets must make millions to stay afloat. Small businesses need fewer orders to make profits. Business owners can get part of the action without spending their advertising dollars. Five excellent ways to draw traffic include the following ideas.

1. Join the Blogosphere. Professional networking takes time, but the rewards could prove substantial.

• Study the market and find blogs that touch on subjects related to your business. Make relevant comments and avoid using generalities, or viewers will identify the comments as spam.
• Target owners of small, medium and large sites where you can post comments. Find bloggers who speak with authority and comment in a similar style.
• Stay professional, relevant and friendly. Disagree politely when appropriate.
• When viewers post blog comments, they can include site links. Many blog viewers will click on these links if they find the comments interesting or relevant.

2. Social Media and Guest Posting. Social media offers forums to post blogs without cost. Marketers can spend some time learning to promote through social media, which includes active, engaged viewers who willingly trade links and visit sites of interest. Create funny, entertaining, or useful content to share, but avoid promoting too obviously.

• Expert commentary will convince other bloggers and websites to offer guest posting opportunities. If business owners cannot write well, they can outsource the job to employees or inexpensive writing services that only cost a few dollars.
• Social networking allows owners to trade links with other site owners in barter arrangements.
• Videos on YouTube offer extraordinary exposure and linkage opportunities. Simple phone videos can sometimes go viral when they hit a nerve with the public. Owners can post videos from their site or produce useful how-to videos very inexpensively.
• The key is to write about things that people find topical, useful, or simply entertaining. Devote some time to writing each week and post a calendar of topics to keep viewers interested.

3. Classified Websites Offer Free Posting. Whether selling products or services, free classified websites reach millions of viewers. Several sites offer sections where companies can post free listings. The best-known site is Craigslist.org. The site has become so popular that few businesses advertise in their local newspapers’ classified sections anymore. Other sites include the following sources that offer free listings:

• www.classifedads.com
• http://www.ebayclassifieds.com
• https://apps.facebook.com/marketplace
• www.oodle.com
• www.backpage.com

4. Article Marketing. In addition to social media, owners can post articles that link to their websites on free services such as www.goarticles.com and www.ezinearticles.com. The articles can link directly to owners’ websites, and the use of keywords helps improve the rankings that search engines give businesses in generic searches.   
NOTE: this is about traffic not linkbuilding as this technique has decreased rapidly in popularity with the release of the Google penguin update.  You should consider that before doing article marketing and make sure there is a strong editorial process at the sites you use.
5. The Classic Press Release. The classic press release lets viewers know what companies are doing, promotes new products, offers valuable maintenance or energy-saving tips, and announces special promotions.

• Owners can learn how to write in press release format online.
• Press releases go to online magazines, news organizations, bloggers, and search engines.
• Businesses can also target their releases to specific audiences by email or send them to traditional media sources.
• Google “free press releases” to find services that distribute them free of charge.

Creative strategies help owners find ways to attract traffic without cost. Most involve some sort of writing or posting, which owners can do personally or outsource to writers. Concentrate on solving consumer problems, helping viewers reach goals, or getting some laughs. Use these methods to get part of the lucrative online market.

How to be Success With Twitter

Twitter is a unique social media platform, and while it may take a while to understand, once you know the benefits and how to access them, Twitter can be a rewarding social media for business platform.
Twitter allows you to post up to 140 characters. It is all about fast and concise information that flows in a continuous feed. The no-fuss approach of this social media platform is highly effective, so don’t be fooled by its simplicity.

1. Business Networking on Twitter
Twitter is all about interacting. Find people with similar interests to you or complementary businesses to yours, and start the conversation. You can easily send tweets to people all around the world, including celebrities and CEOs. This is your chance to get involved, strike up meaningful conversations, and then over time develop the relationships over other social network platforms, or face to face.

2. Direct Message on Twitter
If you have something private to say, don’t forget that you can direct message someone, rather than tweet to them publicly. This is certainly a more personal approach, but remember that some people get a lot of direct messages. If they don’t reply, they may not have seen it, so try again, or use another communication method.

3. Search, Search, Search
The great thing about Twitter, is that everyone is on it. This means you can find personalized information on niche subjects, or locate other people who are interested in the same unique things that you are. Get creative with Twitter search and look for recent tweets that are related to you and your business.

4. Market Research
Market research ten years ago was a lot harder than it is today. The real-time and accurate portrayal of feelings, ideas and opinions, via social media, is valuable for all businesses. You can use Twitter’s statistics and individual tweets to conduct your own market research campaigns. There is a whole world out there, and the information about the people in our world is found online, through social media sites, like Twitter.

5. Keep in Touch
Twitter is not only about new people. Twitter can help you retain and maintain contact with colleagues and clients that you have established relationships with already. When you update your business contacts database, ensure that you collect social media data. Start searching for and adding people that you know on Twitter, and make an effort to tweet to them occasionally.

6. Re-Tweet and Favorite
People love to feel loved. Show that you respect or appreciate someone by favoring or re-tweeting their tweets. They will notice your efforts and they will feel good about themselves. This is one strategy to develop social marketing for business relationships over the Twitter platform.

7. Link to Your Blog
If you have a blog, this is the perfect way to share it and increase your traffic. Post a link to it via Twitter, and choose a title that is interesting and engaging. You should be able to track the traffic from Twitter to your blog, and you’ll soon find out how many of your followers are interested in what you have to say.

8. Attract Targeted Followers
While you can easily ‘purchase’ Twitter followers, the real power comes from developing a list of followers that is targeted to your unique needs and interests. Start searching for people that fit your business networking profile and add them on Twitter. Get the conversation going, and then add more. You may need to delete some after a while if there is no interest, but through this process you will gain meaningful online connections.

9. Add Your Twitter Name, to Everything
Do you have a business card? Add Twitter to it. Does your e-mail have a signature? Add your Twitter to it. Meeting a new client? Swap Twitter details. Remember that online and offline relationships are merged, and the more you publicize your social media for business profiles, the more rewards they will bring to you.

10. Extend the Conversation
Relationships on Twitter don’t need to stay on Twitter. You may need to develop a relationship for a while on Twitter first, but if you are having some interesting conversations, seek the same person out on other platforms. Remind them that you met them on Twitter and add them on LinkedIn and Pinterest, or like their Facebook for business page. Social media can be what you make of it, so explore the benefits and get the conversation started.

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By Matt Adams; co founder of http://socialselling.com.au/

How to Protect Yourself from Computer Viruses

Anyone who uses a computer connected to the Internet is susceptible to the threats that computer hackers and predators pose. These online thieves typically use phishing scams, spam email or instant messages and bogus Web sites to deliver dangerous malware to your computer and compromise your computer security.

Email Phishing scams are carried out online by tech-savvy con artists and identity theft criminals. They use spam, fake websites constructed to look identical to real sites, email and instant messages to trick you into divulging sensitive information, like bank account passwords and credit card numbers. Once you take the phisher’s bait, they can use the information to create fake accounts in your name, ruin your credit, and steal your money or even your identity.

Here are 10 things you can do to prevent these cyber-criminals from infecting your computer with viruses, malware or spyware:

1. Windows Updates: It’s important for you to keep your OS up to speed in order to minimize the possibility of having worms or viruses compromise your system.

2. Software Updates: Make sure to get the latest fixes or versions of your favorite applications in order to never let hackers find the opportunity to infect your network and computer. Make sure that your web browsers and other web-based programs are given good upgrades or patches.

3. Anti-Virus Software: Running your machine without an anti-virus software – especially if it’s regularly connected to the Internet – is downright suicidal in these modern, computer-virus-ridden times. Get one as soon as you can, and always confirm if its virus definitions are regularly updated.

4. Anti-Spyware Software: Spyware remains to be a continuous threat to computer users everywhere.

5. Switch to Macintosh: Macs get a pass for the simple fact that they are not as commonly targeted as, Windows-based computers.

6. Hacker-Controlled Websites: Common sense dictates that you should avoid going to bad neighborhoods, especially if you carry a lot of valuables. Avoid getting snared by dubious sites dedicated to porn, free downloads, online games, and so on; this way, there are less chances for you to be hacked.

7. Firewall: If you don’t have a third-party firewall then it’s highly recommended for you to activate your Windows firewall (available on all Windows versions from XP and up). Firewalls help filter your traffic, and there are some products that even filter both incoming and outgoing data streams.

8. Spam Email: Unsolicited messages should never be opened, and that goes double for unsolicited messages with file attachments. Fortunately, web-based email sites like Gmail have an extra layer of protection integrated in them although it’s still not recommended for you to overly rely on them. When in doubt, just delete the message.

9. Data Backup: If you have critical data, work-related documents, or personal files, then you must back them up as often as possible, because you never know what will happen to your computer. From viruses to system crashes, these sensitive bits of information can be wiped clean from your hard drive in the blink of an eye, so it’s best to always have a backup at hand.

10. Password Policies: The passwords you pick could mean the difference between a breached computer and a safe computer. At any rate, the most common recommendations when it comes to picking a password include not using the same password on every one of your accounts, using combinations of letters and numbers, and making sure that your password is as arcane as possible without necessarily making it too difficult for you to remember it.
Never give out your password to anyone.
There is no way of completely protecting yourself from computer viruses but, if the above 10 measures are taken, the likelihood of a virus infection on your network and computer will be greatly reduced.

How to Answer Questions at Yahoo Answers

1. Go to the Yahoo Answers homepage. At the menu section of the page, you'll find a "Get Started" link.
2. Sign in with your Yahoo ID. If you've ever registered with Yahoo, then you have a Yahoo username and password. Otherwise, you'll have to create a new account. To sign up, give your name, email address and create a new username and password.
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4. Adjust your settings. Prior to answering questions on Yahoo Answers, you'll need to create your account settings. Choose a display name, a picture or avatar, and a reply-to email address. Set your privacy settings to control whether or not users can contact you.
5. Click the "Answer" tab. After setting up your Yahoo Answers account, you can begin answering user posted questions. You'll get redirected to all the open questions currently on the site. You can then choose a category to see more refined results.
6. Select an open question you want to answer. After reading the question, you'll see an "Answer This Question" link. Type your answer in the box and then send it. It should appear on the question's page within a few minutes.

Tips for Saving Money On Global Roaming

When you're outside the USA, you shouldn't bury yourself in your phone. But a smartphone and laptop can be tremendously useful to travelers, whether it's for downloading maps, checking menus, or calling your travel companions when you're delayed. Here's how to do it without breaking the bank.

#1. Use the right apps to reduce your data footprint.Megabytes cost more when you're on the road, so use fewer megabytes. Some apps compress the data you use on your smartphone, so those expensive megabytes can go much farther. Use Opera Mini for Android or iPhone to cut Web page data usage by up to 80 percent. For an even bigger overall boost, download Onavo for iPhone or Onavo Extend for Android, which both compress almost all of your Internet traffic.

#2. Consider your carrier's service plan. At the time of this writing, AT&T is offering 120MB of roaming data for $30 and Verizon charges 100MB for $25. 

That's enough if you limit your data usage. On a 10-day trip to the U.K. and Spain in earlier this year, I turned off background data on my Android phone, preventing it from syncing apps without my knowledge. I tried to hold off on checking my email until I was in a Wi-Fi network. But I surfed the Web and used Maps when I needed to. I ended up using about 80MB, well under Verizon's $25 limit.

But AT&T and Verizon still get you with high voice call rates (usually 99 cents and up per minute), and Sprint and T-Mobile don't have affordable roaming plans.

#3. Local SIM cards can save money on single-country trips.Local SIM cards slot into AT&T or T-Mobile phones, or inexpensive unlocked phones, to give you very low rates in individual countries. Unfortunately, foreign cell phone shops can be difficult to deal with because of language barriers. (I once ended up with a SIM where all the documentation and support was only in Chinese.) If you don't speak the language of your destination country, Telestial sells single-country SIMs for many countries with an English-language support staff. The company can also help you get an unlocked phone, or figure out how to unlock yours.

#4. Roaming SIM cards can be a good solution for multi-country trips.Individual country SIM cards don't work well for multi-country trips, though. For broader roamers, Telestial's Passport SIM connects you with calls and data at much lower than your carrier's standard rates. Using it for two weeks in Europe with about 80MB of data, 43 minutes of calls, and 32 outbound text messages, I spent about $104.

More frequent callers and texters may prefer Maxroam, which charges lower rates than Telestial for outgoing calls and texts in some countries but higher rates for data. Other competitors, including OneSimCard and WorldTravelSim, also offer similar deals.

#5. For unlimited Internet, rent a hotspot.Relying on free Wi-Fi hotspots can be chancy; I found almost none of them in the city of Granada, for instance. When I need a reliable connection, I carry a hotspot with me. I've found hotspots from XCom Global to be the absolute best way to stay connected on business trips. The key: For $14.95/day, you get unlimited access on all your phones, tablets, and laptops in 40 European countries. That's a good deal if you're a heavy Internet user. And it comes with an extra battery so you can take the hotspot with you while you sightsee and not have to worry about running out of juice.

A hotspot becomes even more valuable when combined with Wi-Fi calling. T-Mobile calling plans let you make ordinary U.S. calls over Wi-Fi, with your standard American phone number, at no extra charge, just like if you were at home. If you don't have T-Mobile, you can use Skype.

How to Fix Your Social Media Strategy

Social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to build your brand and grow your business. But sometimes, in spite of all your efforts, it just doesn’t seem to work the way you hoped. There is plenty of information out there on how to form and execute the right marketing plan, but often the advice is contradictory and it is hard to know what will work best for you.
To find the best marketing strategy for you, it takes time to put different techniques into practice and the patience to move onto the next when one isn’t working.
Before you get frustrated and throw in the towel on your social media strategy, stop to reevaluate your plan and find out what needs to be done to get the results you seek.
Reestablish Your Goals
At some point, you have probably lost sight of your goals. Do you want more visitors to your site? What will you do with them after you have them? In order to be successful, you need to have clearly defined goals. Without them, you will just be wandering around trying random methods that won’t help.
Before you can create an effective strategy, write down your goals. Know what results you want to get from your efforts and it will be easier to know if you are on the right track.
Use the Right Sites
When you are starting out with social networks, you might choose to go directly to the big guys: Facebook and Twitter. But if you aren’t getting the results you expected, it is probably time to start venturing away from the mainstream.
Pick a few niche sites that are closely related to what your business or blog is all about. You don’t have to give up on the other sites completely, but don’t focus all of your efforts on them if they haven’t been working.
Check Your Content
If you want to be successful online, you need to have valuable content that engages your readers. If it isn’t quality writing, people will quickly leave your website in search of another.
See what topics and writing styles are getting the most response from the audience that you are targeting. You can do this by searching your competitors’ sites, blog posts, social media updates, etc.
Spend time writing down topic ideas that you can go back to any time you need inspiration for your next piece of content. If you feel that your writing is not strong, you can choose to hire a freelance writer to create content for you.
Change Your Timing
Look back at your posts and note what time and day you typically put them up. If you aren’t getting a lot of interaction at those times, try posting differently. Keep in mind the different time zones. You might be posting at 5 pm on a Friday in Eastern time, but most of your visitors live on the West coast and aren’t checking their Facebook and Twitter accounts then. Get the timing right and you could see higher engagement.
With social media, you need to remember that in order to see results you need time, patience and practice. There are no overnight sensations online. Each successful marketing strategy takes a lot of effort and planning to get it just right. Don’t give up on it too soon and you will reach the goals you set.
Are you having trouble getting the results you want? What have you tried to be successful in social media? Share with us!

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Dawn Pigoni of Be Social Worldwide is a certified social marketing specialist

Ways how to Build Your Online Reputation in 10 Minutes a Day

Joining a network like Twitter or Facebook isn’t enough to build an on-line reputation; you have to participate in it as well. That’s obvious, but this is one area that worries some people who think they need to spend all day on these networks to build their reputation. That doesn’t have to be the case. There are people who are constantly updating Facebook and Twitter, but you don’t have to be one of them.
Instead, note this quotation attributed to Benjamin Franklin:
“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”
This is usually quoted as a warning about the one bad deed, but you can also think about the many good deeds. For most businesses, building an on-line reputation is a series of many small good deeds. So it is a commitment, but not a large commitment.
Let’s look at 20 easy, practical ways to participate in various on-line communities. Each of these takes less than ten minutes to do, so they only take discipline, not a big time commitment.
LinkedIn
1. Expand your LinkedIn network by connecting with somebody new (somebody you know who you’re not currently connected to on LinkedIn).
2. Look through your LinkedIn connections, and write a recommendation for somebody you know. Be sincere, specific and brief.
3. LinkedIn groups are for members with common interests. Join a relevant group and contribute to a discussion. Be positive in your comments and build on existing comments in the discussion, especially if you’re new to the group.
4. Browse the “Answers” section on LinkedIn, and answer a question in your area of expertise. LinkedIn shows these questions and answers to people beyond your direct connections, so this is a good way to demonstrate your expertise to more people.
Twitter
1. Promote somebody else on Twitter – an award they have won, an event they are running, a book they have written, a sale they are offering, and so on.
2. Check Twitter right now, find something you like (for example, a link to an interesting Web site or blog post), and re-tweet it to your network. This helps the original tweeter, because you’re sharing her insights with your network; and it helps you, because you become known among your followers as a source of valuable information.
3. Find an interesting article, blog post or Web site, and send it to your Twitter followers.
4. Thank somebody publicly on Twitter. Include their Twitter name (e.g. @gihanperera) so they see it, but the main purpose is to tell your followers why you’re grateful to that person.
Facebook
1. Look through your friends’ recent status updates, find one you like, and click the “Like” link next to that update. It’s a simple way to give a small note of encouragement to a friend, customer or colleague. It also helps them spread the word, because this appears in your status update, which means your other friends see it.
2. Look through your friends’ recent status updates, find something you can comment on, and add a comment. Facebook is primarily for connecting with family and friends, so you don’t have to write anything clever or profound. Just something simple and sincere will do.
3. Search for interesting groups or business pages on Facebook, join one that looks relevant, and contribute to a discussion.
4. Connect with somebody new on Facebook (somebody you know personally, but isn’t already a Facebook friend).
Reviews
1. Write a review on Amazon.com for a book you read and liked. You don’t have to write a long review – just a few paragraphs will do. This not only boosts your own Internet presence, it also helps the author promote their book, and helps other customers learn more about the book before buying it.
2. What are your favorite apps on your smart phone? Pick one, and write a positive review for it in the iTunes App Store or the Android Market.
3. If you enjoy listening to a particular podcast regularly, take a few minutes to write a positive review for it in the iTunes Store. This helps the podcast author, because it makes them feel valued, it boosts their ranking in iTunes, and it encourages other comments as well.
4. Many podcasts also have an accompanying Web site, so visit that site and leave a positive comment there as well.
Commenting
1. Find a blog post you enjoyed reading, and write a positive comment on that post. Bloggers love comments on their blog, so they will appreciate you taking the time to write a comment.
2. Find a video you like on YouTube, and add a comment. YouTube has a handy option to automatically notify your Twitter and Facebook followers every time you comment, so use that for greater leverage.
3. Comment in an on-line discussion group you’ve joined. If possible, add to the discussion in your comment, rather than just saying, “I love it!” or “Thank you.” If you can’t think of anything new, simply explain why you liked it (how you applied the idea, what insights you got from it, and so on).
4. Think of two people in your network who don’t yet know each other – but should – and introduce them to each other. All you have to do is send an e-mail to both, explaining briefly what each other does and why you think they should connect. They now have each other’s e-mail address, so leave it to them to follow up if they wish.
That gives you 20 ideas you can use immediately to build your on-line reputation – and that’s just a small sample of what you can do. I’ve limited this list to general ideas anybody could use, but of course you might find more specific things as well, based on the on-line communities you participate in.

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Gihan Perera is a consultant, speaker, and author

Tactics for More Traffic Getting Tweets

Twitter is a fun and engaging social network site that was launched in 2006 and has since earned its way into the top ten most visited sites. With Twitter, you can post short text messages called tweets. As of 2012 Twitter has over 500 million users and several million tweets are posted per day. When used properly Twitter can be an effective marketing tool for your business.

However, we’ve all seen such tweets as “Watching Shrek tonight with the kids and having popcorn.” Tweets like these are not effective in building a business network. Learning to write more effective tweets will help you expand your networking circle and in doing so, help you build a more successful business.

1. Keep it Short and Simple – Although Twitter allows you 140 characters per post, studies have shown that smaller posts are more effective. Tweets with less than 100 characters are more successful with 80 character tweets being the optimum length. Shorter posts have a greater chance of being retweeted as well.

2. Use Hashtags Carefully – Using hashtags will help categorize your tweets to help them show up in searches. This will allow your tweet to work much more efficiently. Simply use the pound sign in front of your targeted word or phrase like so: #ebooks. Using hashtags sparingly can be effective but overusing them is more like spam and will likely do more harm than good. Studies have shown that using more than two hashtags per tweet decreased the tweet’s effectiveness.

3. Maximum Punch for More Clicks – You only have so much space and time for your tweets so you have to write them like attention-grabbing headlines. They must have punch to get people to notice and then click your link. Use the most powerful words that will pull readers in. Take note of which tweets, get your attention and how they are written. Take a little time to practice writing your tweets before posting.

4. Don’t Always Be Selling – Social networking is for making connections and building relationships, not just selling. If all you do is try to sell your products through your tweets, you will not get much response. Offer resources, helpful information, interesting tidbits, etc. Useful content will get attention, not just ads.

5. Tweet When the Time is Right - Certain days and certain times of the day can be more effective for tweeting. You need to find out the best time for your followers. Tweriod is a free Twitter tool that can give you a detailed report of the best time of days and what days you should tweet for maximum results.

6. Where to Place Your Link – A detail as small as where you place your link within your tweet can make a difference on the impact the tweet makes. Most people tend to put their link at the end of the post but reports have shown this is not the most effective placement. Research shows that your link will get the highest CTR (click-thru rate) when placed one quarter of the way into your tweet. Links will work at the end of the tweet but not as much as, when placed at the first quarter. The second most effective placement would be in the 98% area of the tweet. You can read more details in the report by Dan Zarella. He did this study based on 200,000 random tweets with links.

7. Twitter Specials – Offer your followers something they can only get on Twitter. People like to feel appreciated and offering them an exclusive deal can sometimes do the trick.

8. Be Consistent - Just as with your blog, you need to provide fresh content for your readers. Don’t just tweet once and not come back for weeks. This will not help build trust or reliability. Update your account on a regular schedule and be consistent.

9. Add Personality – The purpose of social networking is to get to know people, make connections and build relationships so you need to let people know you by allowing your personality to show through in your tweets. Get to know your followers and post information they will be interested in. Add some appropriate fun and humor along with helpful resources and pertinent information. Be helpful, positive, professional, fun and appreciative!

10. As Always, Use Proper Grammar and Spelling – Use correctly spelled, complete words when tweeting for your business. Do not use ‘u’ for ‘you’ or ‘ur’ for ‘your’ or ‘you’re.’ Be sure to use proper grammar as well. Always write professionally and correctly.
Twitter and other social networking sites can do a lot for your business, but you need to utilize them correctly and completely to get the maximum benefits.

3 ways to fix a crashy iPhone (or iPad) app

Got an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch application that’s giving you fits because it keeps quitting unexpectedly? Believe me, I know the feeling.
So, what’s the deal? Well, there’s always the chance that something’s fundamentally wrong with the glitchy app, in which case you’ll just have to wait for its developer to release a bug fix.
But there’s also the possibility that the app—or your iDevice, for that matter—just needs a little kick in the pants to get everything running smoothly again.
Try this trio of quick, easy remedies before going another day without your favorite application.

Quit the app and launch it again

If you’ve got an app that’s freezing up or otherwise causing you trouble, sometimes it’s best to simply quit, clear the app’s “process” out of your iPhone’s memory, and start fresh.

Just tap the little red circle with the minus sign to quit an app and clear it from your iPhone's memory.

• Start by pressing the Home key to return to your iPhone’s home screen (these instructions will also work for the iPad and iPod Touch, by the way), then double-click the Home key; the home screen will slide up, revealing a row of application icons.
• Swipe the row with your fingertip until you find the app that’s acting funny, then press and hold the icon until it starts wiggling and a little red circle with a minus sign appears. Tap the red circle to make the icon disappear, indicating that the app has quit.
• Now, go back and find the app icon on your home screen, then tap to launch it again.

Restart your iPhone

So, you tried quitting your buggy application and restarting it, but still, no dice. Now what?
Well, it’s possible that your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch may simply be running low on system memory—in other words, it may have so much going on at once that it’s essentially suffering from brain freeze. Restarting your device might do the trick.

• Press and hold the power button at the top of your iPhone until a red slider appears with the instructions, “slide to power off.” Go ahead and do it.
• After a few seconds, your iPhone (or iPad, or iPod Touch) will power off completely; wait a few more seconds, then press and hold the power button until the “Apple” logo appears.
• Once your iPhone is up and running again, give your misbehaving app a try.

Delete and reinstall

So, is your app still crashing? Let’s try one more thing: deleting the app off your device completely and reinstalling it from scratch. (And don’t worry—you can always re-download a previously purchased app from the App Store.)

You may lose all of an app's stored data if you delete it, so think twice before proceeding.

• Find the application’s icon on your iPhone’s home screen, then tap and hold it until all the icons on the screen begin to shake.
• See the little “x” on the corner of the app icon? Tap it. A message will appear warning your that if you continue, you’ll delete all of the app’s data—including, say, any saved documents or game progress. Keep that in mind before proceeding.
• Ready to move ahead? Tap the “Delete” button, and the app will be wiped off your phone.
• Now, time to reinstall. Launch the App Store application, and either a) search for the app your just deleted or b) find it in your list of previously installed apps. (Just tap the “Updates” tab at the bottom of the screen, tap “Purchased,” select the “Not On This iPhone” filter, and look through the list until you find your app.) Remember that you won’t be charged twice for an app you’re re-downloading.
• Last but not least, launch your reinstalled application; with any luck, no more crashes.

Got more questions? Let me know!
Note: This updated and revised post was originally published in August 2011.

10 Ways to Promote Your Blog

As a small business owner, you probably know that writing is a key component of marketing. However, only writing an article and submitting it to as many article directories as you can isn’t enough. Here are ten more ways to build more traffic to get better results:

1. Offer to Write Guest Blog Posts
Many blog owners are actively looking for guest bloggers. You can research blogs in a directory like Technorati or go to Blogger Linkup that can connect you with blogs looking for a guest blogger.

2. Blog Communities
Examples of Blog Communities that you can submit your blog to include MyBlogLog, Blogged, BlogCatalog and NetworkedBlogs. The search engines will index your blog faster because these blog communities have great search engine ranking.

3. Blog Directories
Blog Directories are great places to submit your blog to. The advantage of this is that more people will find you since the blogs are listed by category. Technorati is a great blog directory, but you can find more doing a search in Google.

4. Submit to Document Sharing Sites
Document sharing sites are often totally overlooked by the small and home business owner. Examples are Scribd, Issuu or Docshare, each with great search engine ranking. You will have to make your article into a PDF document for this.

5. Feed Directories
You should also submit your blog’s RSS feed to Feed Directories. Here are some good free ones: Feedage, Feedraider, GoldenFeeds, BlogDigger, RssMountain, RssMicro.com, RssMotron.com, Technorati.com and IceRocket.
After you submit your feed once, these directories should keep track of your new posts, and will index them.

6. Pinging Sites
Because pinging your site is very important if you want the search engines to index you and give you those coveted top positions, you need to do it every time you update your blog. By default, WordPress pings your blog to one pinging site every time you update. This can work against you as it pings after you edit as well, making it appear you are pinging unnecessarily. I found a great plugin that can stop this from happening. You can set it to ping every time you update your blog or to ping once every fifteen minutes, thereby safeguarding you from getting blocked by search engines for pinging too often.

7. Social Media Sites
If you sign up for a social media site such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube, use your blog name as your username. This will also help your blog get indexed quickly.
Share your blog posts on your social media sites to invite comments and retweets which will help your search engine ranking. You can make this process automatic through services such as Onlywire or Scoop.it if you curate as well.

8. Social Bookmarking Sites
Social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit and Delicious can also help to give you more traffic back to your website. Onlywire also automates this process.

9. Blog Broadcasts
Add your blog links to your autoresponder and invite your subscribers to comment on them.

10. Offer to write for Ezines and Associations
You can offer to write for ezines and associations in your niche. You can also use the search engines for this.

Remember: content is king. If you apply all these strategies and your content is poor, everything will just be a waste of time. You also need to post daily so that people who want to read more from you can keep coming back for more.

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Article by Hannah Du Plessis.

6 Steps for Social Media Strategy

If you are seeking to increase leads, sales, visibility or all of the above, the first thing you want to do is make sure everything you do online and offline obeys these six principles, that Dr. Robert Cialdini covers in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

1. Scarcity: Run limited offers on your Twitter and Facebook pages that provide attractive reasons to register, enroll or buy right away. Offers exclusively for current or past customers can be effective but one adding the element of scarcity is really your secret weapon. Groupon has a countdown that shows you how much time you have left to purchase and it certainly encourages people to buy sooner than later!

2. The Law of Reciprocity: Are you monitoring social conversations involving your brand, industry and products and taking every opportunity to answer questions and interact positively with others online? Pay attention to those who continually interact with you and share your content. Go the extra mile to make your brand evangelists feel good about helping you again.
I recently set up a group on a site called Triberr where I’ve invited other social media authorities to join so we can share each other’s content through a simple, coordinated interface. This is a perfect example of reciprocity in action.

3. Commitment to Consistency: Are you able to quickly sum up exactly what you do for your target market in a couple sentences? Be sure that everything you do online resonates with that objective. It’s crucial that you humanize and that you are consistently responding to people and engaging with them. Social media must be done regularly if you expect to be successful with it. It’s crucial that you think about it as an extension of your business.
Make sure that you add a personal message to your posts so your readers can instantly tell that the content you’re sharing is actually coming from a real, live person that is truly an expert on that topic.

4. Position Yourself as the Leading Authority: People need to be assured the person they are getting content from is a leader in their industry before they decide to engage or follow their advice. One of the most simple and effective ways to position yourself as an expert online is through blogging.
Discover what problems your prospects are trying to solve and begin giving them solutions through your blog.
Do you think you are more likely to trust a person who tells you they are an expert or someone who shows you they are the expert?

5. Social Proof: Social proof plays a key role in your success online. It’s that elusive “crowd effect” that gives you credibility simply by having an audience.
Leverage and reward your network by promoting incentives for customers to leave comments, testimonials and reviews. Having these real world testimonials on your website as well as on other popular 3rd party sites will result in social proof that will give you some real traction. You will be most successful if you manage to make things that benefit you, benefit your readers as well.

6. Create “Shareable” Content: Robert Cialdini says that you need to get people to like you and if people don’t enjoy your content, you can be certain they won’t share it. Make it as easy as possible for your audience to share your content and it will go much further.
Strive to post things that your target market will relate to so you can have a better chance at reaching their networks through word-of-mouth (aka social sharing).