How to Use Instagram to Market Your Business

Photo sharing has been given a major social upgrade thanks to the introduction of Instagram. The Instagram platform has become hugely popular with more than 80 million users, who enjoy altering their photos with special effects and cool filters before sharing them with friends and followers.
Businesses can start using this new type social media as a way to market their company and build up a following. People love strong visual images, so posting pictures of products and even employees will make them feel closer to you. This type of marketing is what helps forge brand loyalty.
So how can your business use Instagram for marketing? Here are some examples:

Geotagging
In Instagram’s latest update, users now have the option to tag a specific location with their images, which are saved to a personal photo map. These can be shared with your followers.
This is great if you have a physical location or even if you travel around the city, state or country. If you have booths at local craft fairs or other vendor events, then you can snap a photo and tag your location to let your followers know where you can be found.

Inside Look
The whole idea behind social media is sharing. Your fans and followers are giving you a chance to reach them on a more personal level so make sure you are giving them the same. Take pictures of the staff in the office. Snap shots of upcoming products to give them a sneak peak. If you’re on the road, take some pictures along the way. Give followers a real sense of how things are behind the scenes to help them feel like a part of the brand.

Use Hashtags
If you use Twitter, you know how effective hashtags can be at sharing. You can use the same on your Instagram photos. Use hash tags that relate to your business or industry to make it easy for people to find you. For instance, if you make jewelry, you can use hashtags like #rings, #customjewlery, or #necklaces. Look up popular hashtags that are being used by similar brands and add them to your images.

Encourage User Images
People who are already using your products should be encouraged to snap a photo of themselves using it and tag it with one of your hash tags. This will show people how to use your products and show how many people are happy with your company.

Hold Contests
People love a chance to win prizes and using Instagram to hold a photo contest is an exciting way to give them what they want. You can ask fans to send in a picture of them using your product and then choose a winner from among them. You could also go a different route by asking them to send in a picture that demonstrates something more abstract, like what represents summer to them.
There are any number of ways to get creative and get more followers by holding a contest using Instagram. Your followers will share with their friends who will also want to join in the fun.

Market Your Events
If you are going to be at a trade show or convention, take pictures and tag your location to let your followers know what is going on for your business. If you are holding a big sale, snap a shot of your sales flyer for your followers to see. This is also a good way to make your followers feel more special because you can offer them a VIP discount that only Instagram users can get. Get creative with them!
Instagram was acquired by Facebook for about $1 billion. That is a sure sign that this is an important part of social media. When you implement it in your marketing strategy, it is one more important tool to have.
People love getting involved and sharing with the businesses they love. Take part in this era of sharing and you can broaden your reach and strengthen your branding with a few snaps of the camera.
Are you signed up with Instagram yet? What are you doing to market your business with the latest social app?

How to Use Instagram to Market Your Business

Photo sharing has been given a major social upgrade thanks to the introduction of Instagram. The Instagram platform has become hugely popular with more than 80 million users, who enjoy altering their photos with special effects and cool filters before sharing them with friends and followers.
Businesses can start using this new type social media as a way to market their company and build up a following. People love strong visual images, so posting pictures of products and even employees will make them feel closer to you. This type of marketing is what helps forge brand loyalty.
So how can your business use Instagram for marketing? Here are some examples:

Geotagging
In Instagram’s latest update, users now have the option to tag a specific location with their images, which are saved to a personal photo map. These can be shared with your followers.
This is great if you have a physical location or even if you travel around the city, state or country. If you have booths at local craft fairs or other vendor events, then you can snap a photo and tag your location to let your followers know where you can be found.

Inside Look
The whole idea behind social media is sharing. Your fans and followers are giving you a chance to reach them on a more personal level so make sure you are giving them the same. Take pictures of the staff in the office. Snap shots of upcoming products to give them a sneak peak. If you’re on the road, take some pictures along the way. Give followers a real sense of how things are behind the scenes to help them feel like a part of the brand.

Use Hashtags
If you use Twitter, you know how effective hashtags can be at sharing. You can use the same on your Instagram photos. Use hash tags that relate to your business or industry to make it easy for people to find you. For instance, if you make jewelry, you can use hashtags like #rings, #customjewlery, or #necklaces. Look up popular hashtags that are being used by similar brands and add them to your images.

Encourage User Images
People who are already using your products should be encouraged to snap a photo of themselves using it and tag it with one of your hash tags. This will show people how to use your products and show how many people are happy with your company.

Hold Contests
People love a chance to win prizes and using Instagram to hold a photo contest is an exciting way to give them what they want. You can ask fans to send in a picture of them using your product and then choose a winner from among them. You could also go a different route by asking them to send in a picture that demonstrates something more abstract, like what represents summer to them.
There are any number of ways to get creative and get more followers by holding a contest using Instagram. Your followers will share with their friends who will also want to join in the fun.

Market Your Events
If you are going to be at a trade show or convention, take pictures and tag your location to let your followers know what is going on for your business. If you are holding a big sale, snap a shot of your sales flyer for your followers to see. This is also a good way to make your followers feel more special because you can offer them a VIP discount that only Instagram users can get. Get creative with them!
Instagram was acquired by Facebook for about $1 billion. That is a sure sign that this is an important part of social media. When you implement it in your marketing strategy, it is one more important tool to have.
People love getting involved and sharing with the businesses they love. Take part in this era of sharing and you can broaden your reach and strengthen your branding with a few snaps of the camera.
Are you signed up with Instagram yet? What are you doing to market your business with the latest social app?

How to Use Instagram to Market Your Business

Photo sharing has been given a major social upgrade thanks to the introduction of Instagram. The Instagram platform has become hugely popular with more than 80 million users, who enjoy altering their photos with special effects and cool filters before sharing them with friends and followers.
Businesses can start using this new type social media as a way to market their company and build up a following. People love strong visual images, so posting pictures of products and even employees will make them feel closer to you. This type of marketing is what helps forge brand loyalty.
So how can your business use Instagram for marketing? Here are some examples:

Geotagging
In Instagram’s latest update, users now have the option to tag a specific location with their images, which are saved to a personal photo map. These can be shared with your followers.
This is great if you have a physical location or even if you travel around the city, state or country. If you have booths at local craft fairs or other vendor events, then you can snap a photo and tag your location to let your followers know where you can be found.

Inside Look
The whole idea behind social media is sharing. Your fans and followers are giving you a chance to reach them on a more personal level so make sure you are giving them the same. Take pictures of the staff in the office. Snap shots of upcoming products to give them a sneak peak. If you’re on the road, take some pictures along the way. Give followers a real sense of how things are behind the scenes to help them feel like a part of the brand.

Use Hashtags
If you use Twitter, you know how effective hashtags can be at sharing. You can use the same on your Instagram photos. Use hash tags that relate to your business or industry to make it easy for people to find you. For instance, if you make jewelry, you can use hashtags like #rings, #customjewlery, or #necklaces. Look up popular hashtags that are being used by similar brands and add them to your images.

Encourage User Images
People who are already using your products should be encouraged to snap a photo of themselves using it and tag it with one of your hash tags. This will show people how to use your products and show how many people are happy with your company.

Hold Contests
People love a chance to win prizes and using Instagram to hold a photo contest is an exciting way to give them what they want. You can ask fans to send in a picture of them using your product and then choose a winner from among them. You could also go a different route by asking them to send in a picture that demonstrates something more abstract, like what represents summer to them.
There are any number of ways to get creative and get more followers by holding a contest using Instagram. Your followers will share with their friends who will also want to join in the fun.

Market Your Events
If you are going to be at a trade show or convention, take pictures and tag your location to let your followers know what is going on for your business. If you are holding a big sale, snap a shot of your sales flyer for your followers to see. This is also a good way to make your followers feel more special because you can offer them a VIP discount that only Instagram users can get. Get creative with them!
Instagram was acquired by Facebook for about $1 billion. That is a sure sign that this is an important part of social media. When you implement it in your marketing strategy, it is one more important tool to have.
People love getting involved and sharing with the businesses they love. Take part in this era of sharing and you can broaden your reach and strengthen your branding with a few snaps of the camera.
Are you signed up with Instagram yet? What are you doing to market your business with the latest social app?

Learn How to Rock Your New Twitter Header Photo

The new Twitter header photo has arrived, ladies and gents, and it is an awesome branding and potential website traffic generation opportunity for your small business.
The most important thing to note about the Twitter header photo, is that there currently are no mentioned restrictions, like the laundry list of no-nos Facebook subjected us to when it launched its fan page cover photos.
Twitter: 1. Facebook: 0.
How many small business owners do you think will be hopping on Twitter’s jock to get their new Twitter header photo set up in a hurry? It’s called freedom of speech for a reason. I mean, get a clue.
The following are tips to help you get started:

1. Use it to Direct Traffic to Important Pages.
Without overly-limiting restrictions in play (at least for now), you’re free to adorn your new Twitter header photo as you choose, thank you very much. So why not use some screen real estate to bring attention to a second URL?
Keep it short. Users will have to type in your link by hand because, of course, it will not be clickable when you build it into your header. Hint: “short,” but “word-based” – nothing silly like: bit.ly/Jk59UuIkl. It should be a domain URL and something attractive that users can easily remember and type in without revisiting your Twitter header photo every three seconds.
Holding a contest for Twitter users? Want all Twitter users to subscribe to your blog? Put a URL in your photo to get visitors to go where you want.
Critical Tip: It’s best to make any Web address span the width of your new Twitter header photo, lest mobile users be unable to read it when it gets squashed into their little viewing area.

2. Get Twitter Header Photo Dimensions Right for a Professional Look
To avoid pixelation, graininess and other unsightly oopsies, have your Twitter header photo sized to 1252 (width, clearly) by 626 (height, obviously) pixels.

3. Use it to Solidify Your Brand
First, think of those “Got Milk?” commercials. How many businesses do you know with the money to fund such ambiguous and widespread campaigns? Not small business owners, that’s for sure. Funny, then, how small businesses are forced to pay for them…but that’s another story entirely.
Tip: Branding-only actions are generally reserved for those with bigger budgets – meaning most small business owners can’t afford to use branding-only marketing. Instead, we must combine branding actions with marketing calls-to-action.
Use your Twitter header photo to solidify your brand by incorporating your logo, using your business’ color scheme and using the same look and feel you’ve used in the rest of your profile (and the rest of your Web presence in general). Remember, your brand embodies your company’s personality. Does your Twitter header photo (and profile) help convey personality consistency?

4. Branding Tip: Make Sure the Colors are Harmonious
Yes, color usage is one of the primary ways you can solidify your brand across media channels.
I’m finding it kind of awesome how @TodayShow has totally meshed all their colors to create one beautiful, orangey experience. The background rainbow, the logo colors and the link colors all match the logo within its Twitter header photo. Delicious. If your avatar doesn’t match your header, it will be a huge fail.

5. Ensure that Header, Bio Text and Avatar All Cohesively Portray Your Brand
More about branding. Notice how the Today Show logo, bio, location, etc. are all in the middle of the header? Twitter did that. So if you decide to implement this new profile change, note that Twitter moves your introductory text and avatar from the left of your profile, changes the text color to white, and plops it all smack dab in the center of your new Twitter header photo.
As a result, cohesiveness in brand message is even more important to avoid portraying a disjointed, disorganized company image to your audience.

The Reveal: The Twitter header photo can be good news for your overall marketing and branding strategies.
This simple new profile feature is a great opportunity to help further brand your business, potentially strengthen your Twitter call-to-action and, hopefully, get a little website traffic boost out of the mix. So go on, put your Twitter header photo into play before your competitors.
Now if I could only find enough hours in the day to do mine. Oh well, clients come first.

How to get your missing scroll bars back

Notice anything funny lately about scrolling on your Mac? (That is, besides the fact that scrolling on your mouse or keypad has been essentially reversed by default.)
Look carefully at the browser window on your desktop—and specifically, look at the right side of the window. Um, where are the scroll bars?
No, you’re not seeing things (or rather, you’re not not seeing things). Along with other changes borrowed from the iPhone and iPad, Mac OS X “Lion” (a major Mac system software update that was released in 2011) has adopted the barely-there scroll bars in Apple’s ubiquitous mobile devices.

In earlier versions of Mac OS X, prominent scroll bars were present at all times—handy for letting you know where you were in a lengthy web page, or for simply letting you know that there’s hidden content either above or below.

Just select "Always" in the General preferences pane to get your scroll bars back.

In Lion, however, the scroll bars are thinner and lighter than ever—and in some cases, they may completely disappear when you’re not actively scrolling.

While Lion’s no-scroll bar aesthetic might be daring from a design perspective, it’s a bit disorienting for the rest of us. Luckily, it’s easy to get those scroll bars back—not the old, larger versions, mind you, but at least you can keep Lion’s skinny-mini scroll bars visible at all times.
Here’s how:

• Click the Apple menu at the top-left of the screen, then select System Preferences.
• Next, select the General preferences pane; it’s the very first one, up at the top.
• Under the “Show scroll bars” heading, you’ll find three options: “Automatically based on input device,” “When scrolling,” and “Always.”
• Go ahead and select that last “Always” option. You’re done!

Handy trackpad gestures you need to try

Want to zoom in on a web page, twirl a snapshot in iPhoto, sneak a peek at the desktop, or look up the definition of a head-scratching word? You can do all that and more with a simple swipe, “pinch,” or tap on your Mac’s trackpad.
All 12 of these multi-finger gestures will work on newer-model MacBook trackpads, as well as on Apple’s $69 Magic Trackpad accessory for the iMac.
Ready to start pinching and swiping? Let’s start with…

1. Swipe up or down with two fingertips

Put two fingertips together, touch the trackpad, then swipe up or down to scroll on the selected page or window. (Does it feel like you’re scrolling backwards? If so, just turn off “Natural Scrolling” in your Mac’s system settings.)

Swipe up with three fingertips to launch the Mac’s “Mission Control” feature, or swipe down to see all the open windows of an active application.

2. Swipe up with three fingertips

Instead of swiping up with two fingertips, try it with three—and when you do, you’ll activate the Mac’s “Mission Control” mode, giving you a bird’s-eye view of all your open windows and desktop spaces.

3. Swipe down with three fingertips

Shows all the open windows for the active application. For example, if you’re using the Mac’s Safari web browser, swipe up with three fingertips to see all your open Safari windows—even those on other Mission Control desktops.

4. Swipe left or right with three fingertips

Switches you to the next Mission Control desktop; just keep swiping to cycle through all your desktops.

5. Swipe from right to left with two fingertips in Safari

Takes you back to the previous web page. Want to go forward again? Swipe once more with two fingertips—except this time, swipe from left to right.

6. Click the trackpad with two fingertips

Performs the equivalent of a “right-click” on your mouse. (You can also right-click by pressing and holding the CONTROL key as you click the trackpad.)

7. “Pinch” the trackpad

Zooms in on (or out of) the active window, depending on whether you’re pinching or spreading your fingertips. (“Pinching” on the Mac trackpad is the same as pinching on an iPhone, by the way; just put both your thumb and index finger on the trackpad, then slowly pinch them together or spread them apart.)

Pinch with four fingers to jump to the Mac’s Launchpad feature, or spread four fingers to reveal the desktop.

8. Pinch with your thumb and three fingertips

Activates the Mac’s “Launchpad” feature, which displays all your Mac applications in a handy grid.

9. Un-pinch (or “spread”) your thumb and three fingertips

Clears away the clutter of windows and reveals your bare desktop.

10. Pinch and twirl a photo

Want to twirl a snapshot around in iPhoto or the Mac OS X “Preview” application? Just select it, pinch the trackpad, and twist one way or the other.

11. Select a word, then double-tap with three fingers

Stumped by a word in an article you’re reading in Safari? Select the word, then double-tap the trackpad with three fingers; the definition will appear in a nearby pop-up window.

12. Double-tap with two fingers

Zooms in on a web page, focusing on the current position of the mouse. To zoom out again, just double-tap one more time.

Bonus tip

You can tweak or deactivate many of these trackpad gestures by tweaking your Mac’s settings. Just open the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, select System Preferences, then click Trackpad.

5 Steps for Social Media Success

Some businesses are still hesitant to get involved with social media. Others have social profiles but rarely ever update them. Utilizing social media not only helps promote your brand and increase brand loyalty, but it has an impact on your online search presence as many social signals are now incorporated into the search algorithm of the major search engines. That being said, you don’t want to dive head first into social media marketing without creating a plan first. In order to get the best return on investment for the time you put into managing your social networks, you need to be continually engaged. Many businesses set up accounts and then forget to update them, or leave months in between posts. Here are five steps to take when embarking on a social media marketing campaign to help you get the best results across your different social profiles.

1) Strategize
Before you begin any social media marketing, you first need to make a plan. Not all social networks are created equally, and you need to do your research first. If your business requires a lot of visuals, Pinterest may be worth looking into. If you offer educational or informational services, video tutorials on YouTube would be a worthwhile investment too. Weigh your options and look at what networks work best with your business.

2) Post Content That Is Share-worthy
The most powerful aspect of social media is its ability to share information across multiple channels in a short amount of time. You want to make sure that the content you post is shareable. Think about all of the videos that have “gone viral” and have been viewed millions of times, across the world. Well crafted, informational content will be shared by your followers which helps boost your influence on the web.

3) Keep It Going
Social profiles have prominence in branded search. When people look for more information about your brand, they’ll check out your social profiles to see what other people are saying. If your last update was a few months back, it not only looks unprofessional but it reflects poorly on your current followers as you aren’t engaging with them.

4) Be An Active Member of Your Community
Social media is a great platform for social networking. Use your branded social profiles to share content from other industry leaders. They may in turn share your content down the road to their set of followers which expands your reach. You can also use social media to connect with prospects that can lead to new business opportunities.

5) Engage
Social media is another way to communicate with your audience. Your audience also uses social media to communicate with you. Instead of writing an email or filling out a form on your customer service page, many people will post or Tweet comments, questions, or even concerns on your social media page. Take the time to respond to these inquiries. Others will see your response which demonstrates that you are actively engaged with your customers.

How to Convert Your Social Media Followers

So you’ve successfully built your social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and have a decent amount of followers. Each day you see new followers and more “Likes,” so clearly your work is done, right? Not so much. Social media followers are great if they are engaging with your business and sharing your content, but others may remain passive. Once you gain followers on your social networks, your next step is to provide opportunities that will convert them from being a follower to a lead and then a customer or client. Here are some steps to take to help convert your social media subscribers into customers.

Focus on Quality not Quantity
Many businesses get consumed with increasing the number of followers or Facebook page “Likes.” Yet solely focusing your energy on getting new subscribers can sometimes get the wrong type of follower. You could end up with a lot of “Likes” but only a core group of people who are actively engaged on your Facebook page or Twitter profile. Instead, focus more on creating and sharing great content with your followers. It shows your current followers that you are invested by providing quality content, but good content also has a better chance of getting shared with non-followers.

Engage With Your Followers
Social media is not a one way communication channel. In order for your social media marketing to be effective, you need to have a conversation with your followers. Instead of just logging into your accounts to post your blog articles and then leaving, try engaging with your followers. Pay attention to what your followers are saying. Social media is a great tool for compliments and customer feedback. By actively engaging with any comments you receive, it shows you are a business that cares about what your audience has to say.

Create Opportunities for Conversion
In order to convert your social media fans, you need to provide additional opportunities for engagement. Your Facebook page should have links to your blog as well as your email newsletter. Turning your social media followers into email subscribers moves them one more step closer to becoming customers. Keep in mind that these call to actions need to be clear and to the point. Conversion points need to be no more than two clicks away from your social media site.

Keep a Social Media Mix
Are you only using your Twitter account to promote your latest blog post? You might get lost in the crowd. Social media is very noisy and because new content is shared every minute, you need to create content that will break through the clutter. Did you know that posts with images or videos are more likely to be shared, and tend to be at the top of the Facebook newsfeed? Better yet, create a poll or an interactive post that will encourage a response from your followers. Only sharing one type of content with your followers can be boring and reduces your chances of converting your followers.

Nintendo Tips 23 Games for Wii U Launch

Nintendo today announced a lineup of 23 games that will be available when its upcoming Wii U console debuts on Nov. 18.
Nintendo-backed games include Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Sing Party, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. But the lineup will also include games from partners, like Ubisoft's ZombiU, Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, EA Sports Fifa Soccer 13, and Warner Bros.' Scribblenauts Unlimited.

"We're making sure that Wii U owners will have great games to play from the moment they open the box, and that a steady stream of fun new games is always on the way," Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's president and COO, said in a statement. "We have something for everyone, from new franchises to creative new approaches to familiar favorites."


Nintendo said that Wii U owners who connect their consoles to the Internet will be able to boost their gaming, social, and entertainment experiences. That includes the Nintendo eShop and Miiverse, as well as the Nintendo TVii in the U.S. and Canada, which integrates online video services, DVR recordings, and live TV via the Wii U GamePad.
Earlier this month, Nintendo said that more than 50 titles will be available for the Wii U by March. A full list of games expected in November and beyond is below.
The Wii U will be available in two versions, a Basic Set and a Deluxe Set. The Basic Set includes the Wii U system, the Wii U touch-screen gamepad, 8GB of storage, an HDMI cable, a sensor bar for Wii remotes, and an AC adapter. The Deluxe Set will include all of those things, but will include 32GB of storage, a Wii U GamePad charging cradle, a stand for the Wii U, and a copy of Nintendo Land.
The Basic set will retail for $299.99, and the Deluxe Set will retail for $349.99.

NOVEMBER

Activision Publishing
Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Nov. 18
Skylanders Giants - Nov. 18
Transformers Prime - Nov. 18
Wipeout 3 - Nov. 18

Broken Rules
Chasing Aurora - November

Pwnee Studios
Cloudberry Kingdom - November

Disney Interactive
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two - Nov. 18

Electronic Arts
EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13 - Nov. 18
Madden NFL 13 - November

Frozenbyte
Trine 2: Director's Cut - November

WayForward
Mighty Switch Force HD - November

Namco Bandai Games America
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition - Nov. 18
Tank! Tank! Tank! - November

Nintendo
New Super Mario Bros. U - Nov. 18
Ninja Gaiden: Razor's Edge - Nov. 18
Nintendo Land - Nov. 18
Sing Party - Nov. 18

Sega
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - Nov. 18

Shin'en
Nano Assault Neo - November

Tecmo Koei America Corporation
Warrios Orochi 3 Hyper - Nov. 18

THQ
Darksiders II - Nov. 18

Tomorrow Corporation
Little Inferno - November

Two Tribes
Toki Tori 2 - November

Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed III - Nov. 18
ESPN Sports Connection - Nov. 18
Just Dance 4 - Nov. 18
Rabbids Land - Nov. 18
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 - Nov. 18
ZombiU - Nov. 18

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Scribblenauts Unlimited - Nov. 18
Game Party Champions - Nov. 18
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition - Nov. 18

LAUNCH WINDOW BETWEEN NOV. 18 AND MARCH 31
505 Games
Funky Barn

2K Sports
NBA 2K13

Activision Publishing
007 Legends
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing

D3Publisher
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
Ben 10 Omniverse
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade

Electronic Arts
Mass Effect 3 - Launch Window

Gaijin Games
Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien - January

Nintendo
Game & Wario
Lego City: Undercover
Pikmin 3
Wii Fit U
The Wonderful 101

Sega
Aliens: Colonial Marines

THQ
JEOPARDY!
Wheel of Fortune

Ubisoft
Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
Rayman Legends

Using Keywords Part 8: Use keywords in offline advertising

Offline advertising has a proven effect on people’s search behavior and planning optimized web content around certain keywords to support the advertising campaign is a tactic growing in popularity.

Internet users' search behavior revealed

In a review of search marketing, "Advertising Age" magazine published some interesting statistics:

• Over 65% of consumers regularly watch television and use the internet at the same time. 
• Going online to find out more or to buy after seeing a television commercial is now normal behavior for consumers, in a way that in-store purchasing after seeing advertising never was. 
• Fewer and fewer consumers are starting their internet session by typing in a URL - over 80% of internet traffic begins at a search engine, over 40% of users now find a brand through a search term, and the numbers will grow and grow.

Not only is this good news for ad agency creatives who find themselves arguing over the size of a URL in an end frame, it should change their view of the role of keyword research in developing advertising.

Television drives search

It’s acknowledged by keyword research experts that television is one of the key drivers of search behavior.

Offline advertising can have a dramatic effect on the words that potential customers use to search so keyword research needs to be included when developing creative work.

Include keywords in your offline ads

Integrating the most popular keywords into copy in any media will increase the chances of online success.

Advertising for Burger King, Paramount and Pontiac is acknowledged as setting a good example, with the integration of advertising creative and keyword research bringing new levels of success for agencies and clients.

Nothing compares to the razzmatazz and the massive exposure of the Super Bowl. It’s estimated that 106.5 million people watched it in 2010 – making it the most watched program in US television history, according to Nielsen. And the expensive ads shown during the game draw massive attention from the advertising world.

In 2002, AT&T invested millions in the Super Bowl to launch m-life, its mobile initiative, but did not think about what their potential customers would do after seeing the ad - they went online and typed in ‘m-life’.

But nothing had been done to make sure that relevant pages from AT&T ranked well for that keyword. AT&T failed to deliver content to the customers who were looking for it and lost sales as a result.

Go Daddy's keywords success

But now, major agencies and clients understand how extended internet coverage can mean the difference between the success and failure of an advertising campaign. Take Go Daddy and the 2007 Super Bowl.

Advertising purists have criticized Go Daddy’s campaign as creatively uninspiring, but the results have been incredible. Go Daddy harnessed the controversy over their ad, which was pulled before its planned second showing, to get people onto the internet and get sales.

Once you watched the ad on their website, Go Daddy offered a special 10% sales discount. Incredibly, year-on-year sales for Go Daddy on Super Bowl Monday were up 70%. According to Go Daddy they even managed to better this Super Bowl sales record in 2010.

Using Keyword Part 7

Post from: wordtracker.com

10 Tips and Tricks for iOS 6

Maybe you've installed Apple's iOS 6, the newest operating system for iPhones, iPad, and iPod touch, but do you know about all the tricks that are inside and how to use them?

Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 6, may have sparked a fury of Internet hate for the new Maps app, and I certainly won't wag my finger at anyone who misses Google's engine behind the Maps app, but plenty more goodies are tucked away in iOS 6 that you shouldn't miss.

Here are ten of the best features and how to use them.

1. Swipe up to reply to incoming calls with a text message. Maybe you heard that when a call comes in, you can now reply with a text message instead of just declining the call. But these options don't appear automatically. You have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal them.

2. Customize your text replies to declined calls. The feature that lets you turn down phone calls but reply with text message allows you to use a canned message for added convenience. A few options appear when you swipe up, as mentioned in the first tip. To change what they pre-written texts say, go to

Settings > Phone > Reply with Message.

You can now customize your one-touch replies.

3. Learn how to work the Do Not Disturb option. A new feature called Do Not Disturb appears in the settings, but it's nothing more than an on/off switch. Where can you set the hours for quiet time, or make it so that calls from emergency contacts come through? Oddly, these choices fall under the Notifications area. Go to

Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb.

The Scheduled button lets you define the hours when you don't want to be disturbed. The Allow Calls From button just below it launches a new screen where you can exclude people from your do-not-disturb list.

4. Attach photos and videos to email in the Mail app. Formerly, using the mail app was occasionally a pain. You'd compose a message, remember that you wanted to send the recipient a photo, too, and realized you couldn't actually attach anything to the draft. Now you can. In an email draft, press a hold anywhere in the body. In landscape mode (holding the phone horizontally), list of options will appear, including one to insert a photo or video. If you're in portrait or vertical mode, just press the arrow button that appears until you see the right choice.
5. Read in full-screen mode. News articles, blogs, and other text-heavy pages, when viewed on an iPhone especially, cause squinting and more pinching, zooming, panning than most people feel comfortable doing. When Safari detects a text-heavy page in iOS 6, it supplies a button called Reader at the top right of the URL bar, which reformats the page in a full-screen and easier-to-read layout. You'll also notice a "share out" or "send to" button (curved arrow) in Safari with a lot of great option beneath it also worth exploring. They're mostly not new to iOS 6, but they do appear in a newly designed interface.

6. Pass your iPad or iPhone to friends without worrying they'll get nosy. I admit that I've hesitated in the past before passing my mobile devices around to friends to let them look at photos or something that made me giggle on Facebook. The larger the group of friends, the more suspicious I am that someone might take liberties with my device when I'm not looking. The same is true, I'm sure, for parents who let their kids play with their iPhone or iPad. Guided Access, new to iOS 6, lets you lock down your device so that only the app you open can be used, and no other functionality works until you enter a unique four-digit passcode. It's a little tricky to find and set up.

First, go to

Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access.

Toggle the switch to on and set a passcode. When you want to use Guided Access, just open the app of choice, and triple tap the home button. Be sure to hit the start button at the top right. But wait, there's more (see the next tip).

7. Disable buttons in apps (in Guided Access). When you enable Guided Access in an app—which locks users from going into any other app or areas of the phone—you can also disable parts of the screen. For example, if you turn on Guided Access in the Photos app, you can also use your finger to circle parts of the screen you want to disable, such as the top row of buttons so that one can look through your other albums. Just be sure to hit the Start button in the top right corner before handing over your device!

8. Share Photo Stream. Apple's syncing service, iCloud, handles images with speed and good responsiveness. But it was never easy to share your pictures until iOS 6 came along. To share your Photo Stream images, go to the Camera app and press Photo Stream. Then hit the plus button in the upper left, which will open a screen where you can fill information about how to share your Photo Stream, whether with a select few individuals, or by making it public on your iCloud account.

9. Learn what the new Privacy button means (and use it). A new Privacy button under Settings comes with little explanation. Tap it, and you might not know what information it's even telling you because there are no instructions or explainers. Here's what it does: Privacy shows you apps that can talk to other apps, and whether they are. For example, my Twitter app talks to my Flipboard app. I enabled that integration, and I'm okay with it. But if I didn't remember allowing it, or wanted to shut it off, I can do so in the Privacy area with one quick motion. This feature gives you very good ability to quick ability to turn off any app-to-app sharing that you don't want and you might have forgotten existed. So if you don't want Facebook to know where you are, check the Location Services section of your Privacy buttons, and you can flip the switch off lickety-split.

10. Customize native Facebook alerts. A big new feature in iOS 6 was the direct folding in of Facebook functionality, meaning you can share to Facebook a picture from your Camera app or a link from Safari without ever opening the Facebook app itself. It works similar to the baked-in Twitter functionality that was new to iOS 5. What many users may overlook, however, is the ability to customize your Facebook chat and message alerts, separate from the Facebook app as well. They're found under

Settings > Facebook > Settings.

Of course, you can also add Facebook alerts to your Notification Center, but that feature isn't new (it's under Settings > Notifications, and then scroll down until you find Facebook in your list of apps).

17 Tips Before You Start Your Blog

Starting a blog is no longer enough.
There are millions of blogs out there, and most of them get nowhere because they don’t have a strategy in place.
In this post, you’ll not only learn blogging for beginners, but you’ll get 17 concrete steps you can take to dramatically increase your chances of success.
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t started a blog yet, or if you’re a veteran, because just one of these tips can make a big difference in your life and in your blogging.
With that said, let’s start with the first tip.

1. Passion
Don’t just start a blog because you want to make money. There are no shortcuts to success.
If you want to build a thriving blog that brings in revenue, you will have to work hard, and to stay motivated, you have to find something you’re passionate about.
Or at least something you’re interested in.

2. Purpose
When your purpose is weak, your chances of giving up somewhere along the way go up dramatically.
So ask yourself the following questions:

• Why are you starting a blog?
• What do you want to get out of doing this?
• Why do you want to succeed?

If you have a strong reason for starting your blog, you will go far. This is a long-term game. Always remember that.

3. Niche
The next step is to find your niche. The best way to stand out from all the millions of blogs out there is to become an expert in a highly targeted area.
Think opt-in conversion expert instead of email marketing. Think turning your blog into a book instead of just general blogging tips.
Get specific and you will go far.

4. Solve a Problem
One addendum to finding your niche is to make sure you solve a problem.
Money is made by solving problems for people. If you can help someone get more subscribers on their list and make more money, you’re solving a problem.
So think about what problem you’re solving, and then do some research on if people are willing to pay for having that problem fixed.

5. Personality
To really stand out from all the noise, you have to inject your personality and expertise into your blog.
There are too many people out there teaching something they have no experience in.
If you don’t have experience, get some. The more you know, the more you can share with your audience, and the more they will grow to know, trust and like you.

6. Come Up with a Domain Name
There are many ways of coming up with an excellent domain name, but in the end, you alone have to decide what kind of name and brand you want to build.
A few tips for coming up with a good domain name is to make it:

• Unique
• Memorable
• Easy to spell
• Concise

Coming up with a name is tough, so go for good enough instead of perfect.

7. Tag line
Coming up with a tagline is not absolutely necessary when you’re starting out, but it can be a lot of fun.
Go for a tag line that communicates who you help and what you help them with. If you help small businesses get more leads on their email newsletter, a simple tag line could be:
“Turn your readers into leads, and your leads into raving customers.”

8. Pick Your Web Host
Avoid using a free blogging option like WordPress.com or Blogger.com. If you’re serious about blogging, you need a self-hosted service.
There are plenty out there, like BlueHost and HostGator. They are just a few dollars a month and will get you started on the right path.

9. Pick Your Theme
Next up is picking a WordPress theme that makes your blog look professional.
Again, there are several free options out there, but I recommend you spend some money and get a good premium theme. Some of my favorites are:

• WooThemes
• Thesis
• Genesis

If you’re strapped for cash right now, go with a simple free theme and upgrade later.

10. Pick Your Plugins
Once you’ve got a web-host and a good looking theme, it’s time to get your plugins in order.
Keep the amount of plugins you use to a minimum. Each plugin you add will (usually) make your site slower, which isn’t the best thing you can do.
Here’s a list of plugins I use:

• Akismet – to prevent spam.
• Audio player – to play interviews and podcasts.
• Broken link checker – so I can remove and fix broken links.
• Contact form 7 – so people can contact me.
• Google XML sitemaps – to create a nice and simple sitemap for Google to crawl.
• Popular posts – to help people find my best content.
• Sharebar – so people can share my content on social media.
• WP smush.it – to reduce image file sizes and make my site load faster.
• WP super cache – another plugin that helps my site load faster.

11. Analytics
The next thing you have to do is get analytics set-up, which will help you keep track of how many visitors you get, where they are coming from, and what they are doing on your site.
If your traffic isn’t growing from month to month, something needs to change, but remember, traffic isn’t everything.
If your goal is to make money with your blog, you should be building your email list, and converting that traffic into email subscribers.

12. Content Strategy
You need to have a solid content strategy in place, so think about the following questions:

• What kind of content will you produce? (audio, text, video)
• How will you produce it?
• How often will you publish new content?
• How will you make new readers aware of old content?
• How will you use your content to grow your business?

Your content is what will build authority and trust. The more you can share, the more people will trust you.

13. List Building
I mentioned building your list above, and it’s crucial if you want to make money with your blog. Think about how you will get people on your list, and what email service provider you will use.
One of the easiest ways to start is to give away a free 5 to 10 page report when people sign-up.
There are many email list service providers out there, and they do cost money, but it’s an investment worth making. One of my favorites is Aweber. I’ve been using them for over 5 years.
Do not skimp on starting an email list, because while you may save money now, you will end up losing thousands in lost opportunity down the road.

14. Monetization
The next step is to think about how you will monetize. How will you make money with your blog?
If you don’t want to make money with your blog, you can skip over this step. But I see so many people jump into blogging without having a simple business plan.
You have to have an idea of how you will generate revenue. You don’t have to be crystal clear, but there needs to be opportunities for you to do so.
Look at what people are already paying for. Go to ClickBank, Amazon, or just use Google to find products and services people are selling in your market.

15. Traffic Generation
How will you get traffic to your site?
Write down at least three traffic generation strategies that you will start off with. For example, I started with blog commenting, but I quickly moved over the guest blogging, because it was so much more effective.
To this date, I’ve written close to two hundred guest posts for different blogs, and they all keep bringing traffic to my site and building my list, and consequently, my business.

16. Outreach
How will you connect with peers in your field?
If you blog about knitting, how will you connect with other knitters?
This part scares people, and it scared me for a long time. Or to be honest, it still scares me, but in reality, it’s about making friends and being yourself.
Just write down how you can connect with fellow bloggers. Maybe you can comment on their blogs, see if they hang out on Twitter or Facebook, or simply shoot them an email.
Start connecting with people right away. Think about how you can add value to their lives and people will appreciate your help.

17. Expectations
Last, but not least, write down what your expectations are. Here are a few questions to get you going:

• Where do you expect to be with your blog in 6 months?
• What will happen if you don’t reach those expectations?
• Why do you want these results?

If your expectations are unrealistic, you will be in for a disappointment, and you’ll probably give up.
But if you equip yourself with the truth, you’ll know what to expect, and you will keep going when the going gets tough.
Summary
Whatever you do, don’t just move on and read another article. Pick one of the tips above and implement it.
If you haven’t started a blog yet, look at the first few tips on passion, purpose and finding your niche. Sit down and brainstorm some answers and then move forward.
Starting a profitable blog is not easy, but it is worth it. It opens doors, helps you grow as a human being, and if you work at it, can help you make a living working from home, just like it has done for me.
It’s not easy, but it can be done.
 
Henri Junttila is the founder of Wake Up Cloud

7 fabulous free apps for showing off your iPhone 5

“What’s so special about the new iPhone?” I’ve been hearing that question over and over in the past few days, and here’s my stock answer: it’s thinner, lighter, faster … and wait ’till you’ve seen the bigger screen.
Indeed, it’s amazing how quickly my eyes got used to the taller, four-inch display on the iPhone 5—so much so, in fact, that my old iPhone 4 screen now looks stubby and cramped in comparison.
Unfortunately, just a handful of apps have been optimized to take advantage of the extra space—well, besides the core iPhone apps from Apple, that is.

A bigger screen means more “pins” to peruse in the Pinterest iPhone app.

The rest are plunked in the middle of the screen, with black bars above and beneath. Sure, they still work perfectly fine, but what a waste of space!
So, which super-sized apps should you try when you’re showing off your new iPhone to your friends? Here are seven of my favorites—and yes, they’re all free.

1. Facebook

Facebook recently rebuilt its iPhone app from the ground up to juice its performance, and a just-released update zooms the interface to fill the entire iPhone 5 screen—perfect for browsing all those status updates and baby photos in your news feed.
Download: Facebook

2. Flipboard

This eye-catching “social magazine” takes headlines and photos from your favorite sites and social networks and turns them into gorgeous, flippable pages. Already one of the most impressive iPhone apps in the App Store, Flipboard looks even better now that it’s been optimized for the bigger iPhone 5 display.
Download: Flipboard

3. Pinterest

You still can’t “pin” anything from the Pinterest iPhone app like you can on the iPad, but Pinterest on the iPhone makes for a great way to browse the latest pinned goodies from your fellow Pinteresters—and on the iPhone 5, you’ll see even more pins in a single glance.
Download: Pinterest

4. Brushes 3

Unleash your inner artist with this free painting app, which lets you paint on a virtual, widescreen canvas with 14 different brush shapes. Customize your brushes, “record” your brush strokes and play them back later, or share your creations via Facebook or Twitter.

The addictive “Bejeweled Blitz” looks even more beguiling on the four-inch iPhone 5 display.

Download: Brushes 3

5. Pocket

Sit back, relax, and lose yourself in a lengthy online article with Pocket, an app that takes long text stories from the web, and saves them on your iPhone, all formatted for easy reading. Yes, the new-and-improved “Reading List” feature in Safari will also save web pages on your iPhone, but the iPhone 5-ready Pocket app does Reading List one better by letting you flip through pages like a book, just like on a Kindle.
Download: Pocket

6. Hipmunk

Here’s an iPhone travel app with a difference. Instead of just spitting out a list of available flights, Hipmunk (pictured above) creates a color-coded chart that lets you compare departure and arrival times, as well as pinpoint flight with on-board Wi-Fi. And thanks to the iPhone 5′s longer screen, you’ll be able to view up to 10 flights at a glance.
Download: Hipmunk

7. Bejeweled Blitz

The addictive, ever-popular “match-3″ puzzler is now enhanced for the bigger iPhone 5 display. The game itself is free, but expect to pay extra for score-boosting power-ups.
Download: Bejeweled Blitz

How to baby-proof an iPhone app with Guided Access mode

When she isn’t kicking contentedly in her ladybug chair or tossing pacifiers out of her crib, my six-month-old daughter loves swiping my iPhone’s touchscreen with her pudgy little fingers.
Specifically, she’s enamoured of Koi Pond, an app that turns my iPhone’s display into a virtual fish pond, complete with lily pads and fish food.
My daughter’s eyes go wide whenever she manages to splash the water or scare the fish with a well-aimed swat at the screen.

Once you activate Guided Access mode, you can disable touch input anywhere on the screen by tracing an area with your fingertip.

Not so fun, though, is when she accidentally hits the tiny “?” icon in the corner of the display, which interrupts the koi pond action with a boring how-to diagram.
Whenever that happens, my little one quickly loses interest in the fish and switches to a more absorbing game, called “Put the iPhone in Your Mouth.”
Well, fellow parents, good news.
A feature in the new iOS 6 software update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch can temporarily “lock down” an app, freezing all the hardware buttons (including the “Home” button) and letting you draw zones on the screen that won’t react to taps or swipes.
The “Guided Access” feature will work on any iPhone or iPad that’s been updated to iOS 6, and you can turn it on though the Settings menu.
Here’s how to get started…

• On your iPhone or iPad home screen, tap Settings, General, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap Accessibility.
• On the next page, scroll down again to the Learning section, tap Guided Access, then flip the Guided Access switch on.
• If you want to, you can also set a passcode for unlocking your device once you’re done with the Guided Access mode (tap “Set Passcode,”) or keep the Power button active during Guided Access for putting the screen to sleep (flip the “Enable Screen Sleep” switch to “On.”) Rather leave those options alone? No problem.
• Next, open the app that you want to babyproof—Koi Pond, in my case—then triple-click the Home key. The app should freeze and a frame of Guided Access controls should appear.
• Now, draw a circle anywhere on the screen to disable taps or swipes in a specific area. Once you’ve drawn your circles, you can drag or resize them with your fingertips (which I had to do a few times, after my baby kept swatting the “?” icon in Koi Pond), or tap the little “x” to delete a touch-free zone.
• At the bottom of the screen, you can switch off touch and motion input altogether (on an iPhone, tap the Options button to reveal those settings).
• All set? Tap the blue Start button in the top-right corner of the screen, then let your tyke loose.

Once you’re done letting your baby swipe away on her favorite iPhone or iPad app, you can turn off Guided Access mode by triple-clicking the Home key again.
And when she’s ready to tap again, your device will remember your Guided Access settings from last time.