Tuesday, September 24, 2013

How to Leverage Infographics for Any Industry | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Infographic MarketingInfographics are helpful for an abundance of people who are looking to increase and monopolize on their information. For many, it seems unlikely that infographics would contribute more than regular text pages. However, the appeal lies within the pictures, charts and bar graphs with minimalized and “straight-to-the-point” text.


For many standard and complex businesses, infographics will greatly assist their web presence by allowing them an alternative method of translating specific information regarding company products or services. Additionally, the sheer act of creating an infographic helps separate you from competitors that are still afraid of social media.


Why Infographics Work Well


Infographics contain specific data that is difficult for people to comprehend when written out in regular text-form. Companies should create and utilize infographics for the following reasons:


  1. Prevents short attention spans from clicking elsewhere. Infographics work well for people who have ADD and ADHD because it combats their short attention spans. On average, people determine within the first 2-4 seconds if they will continue to read further or go elsewhere. Infographics grabs the reader’s attention with large, bolded font and pictures.

  2. Consumers remember 80-percent of what they see. Contrarily, they remember only 20-percent of what they read. Therefore, anything placed in a visual context will be easily remembered versus something placed in textual context. For a company, it is pertinent that a consumer remembers as much information about their company as possible.

  3. Gives readers the opportunity to be engaged more often. Optimizing content to be more engaging is a key marketing strategy for any business that operates online. Consumers like to feel as though they have a way of interacting with the business and amongst one another. Visually appealing content will make the consumer feel like they are engaged.

  4. Prevent information overload for readers. Since the rise of the internet, information distribution is doubling every two years. This means that if there were only 50 GB worth of information back in 2000, there would now be 2,400 GB worth of information by 2014. Statistically, there is more data available in 2013 than a single computer can even handle. For this reason, companies must find a way not to overwhelm their consumers with information. Infographics allow a person to easily read and comprehend information without feeling the overload.

  5. Easier and more interesting for consumers to share. Since infographics are loaded with an abundance of information and are in picture-form, consumers have more accessibility and desire to share infographics. Written text contains only a minimal amount of re-sharing potential.

Can Any Company Create Infographics?


Companies or businesses tend to ask themselves, “Can infographics benefit my type of business?”


The answer to the question is simple – yes.


Any company can create infographics and receive these benefits for several reasons. The following are three reasons justifying the utility of infographics for any industry followed by an example of a diverse industry – not your typical social media savvy company.


Infographics are easily embeddable for WordPress and other website formats. Most bloggers and companies utilize WordPress since it is easily accessible and simple to use. Since infographics are saved in picture form, usually as a .jpg, .bmp or .png, they can easily be embedded in as an “added media” on WordPress.


Example:  CJ Pony Parts infographic | mustang auto-parts industry


Any company that has a following, whether big or small, will see results from showing infographics. Since infographics are easily shareable, they tend to be transferred and shared from one page to the next. Search engine optimization will soon kick in and as soon as Google crawl bots notice the influx of links back to your page, telling Google, “Hey, this site is pretty popular right now.” This helps boost up your PageRank.


Example:  12 Keys Rehab infographic | rehabilitation and recovery industry


Gain brand awareness by sharing infographics. Like a domino effect, companies that create infographics with their logo and brand name attached will no later see an influx in traffic then a higher page ranking and, lastly, more mentions on social media. For any company looking to make themselves into a potential high-profile client, infographics will play a large part in it.


Example:  Maxwell Systems infographic | construction software industry


Strategically Promote Infographics


Companies should not monopolize in infographics, but should use them accordingly. In addition to creative, neatly structured text and website formats – a company can create a wide viral spread of their brand.


Due to the “infographic movement” there are hundreds and hundreds of infographic directory sites to submit infographics for free backlinks and sharing.  These directories will help pass link juice to your site. More importantly,


On a Final Note


Keep in mind that creating an awesome infographic can be pricey if you don’t have an in-house designer. The average price for a professionally made infographic is about $400-$700. If you think that money can be put to better use in other facets of your business then steer away from infographics until you’re comfortable being a little flexible with the marketing budget.


It’s also important to remember that infographics are beneficial in the long-term. However, use them accordingly to get the most satisfactory results for sales, SEO, and brand awareness.


Written by Jesse Aaron. Jesse is a professional blogger with a passion for homebrewing. He writes on a variety of topics on his blog Mashbout. Follow Jesse on Twitter.


How to Leverage Infographics for Any Industry – Click to Tweet


How to Leverage Infographics for Any Industry

Monday, September 16, 2013

Googles Changes to Maps & Waze Localization | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Googles Changes to Maps & Waze LocalizationThe location information displayed on your website just got a lot more important with Google’s most recent update of its Maps application. Google just added Waze, a controversial startup the search giant is still in the process of acquiring. The Israeli-based navigation system provides users with turn-by-turn directions and real-time traffic and incident statistics.


Google already does some of this, using Android GPS to track movement speed and determine a rough estimate of traffic routes, but Waze uses user input to provide more accurate feedback. This results in more real-time coverage of the world around you, helping you navigate in cities you are unfamiliar with.



Impact on Blogging



Luis Miguel Dorador Andalon, a thought leader in the publishing space, recommends that writers establish a firm connection with their audience by physically meeting them. Google has now enabled bloggers to offer more location sensitive information to readers, allowing them to broadcast their coverage of events across the globe. Google’s changes to maps will connect readers to those events, show them how to arrive and give them tips on how to get there in real time.


That location data also plays into Google’s plans for your places page, and how important it is that you verify locations you visit and places you work. The more webmasters participate in this exchange of data, the more likely we are to see a service in the future that curates these events.



Localization



The change to Maps is also part of Google’s broader focus on localizing search. Google knows that mobile users are more likely to take action, like visiting a physical location, if that information is provided. Use HTML markup to add a telephone number and address that Google can display to a user from its search page. It might seem counter intuitive to direct people away from your site, but think about the end result.


Google has also begun displaying much of this data for businesses in the margin of its search page. When a user conducts a query, the business phone number, address, logo and map location are all visible.



Design Principles of Localization



Localizing your site comes down to making sure that your contact information is visible and marked up properly. Refer to the Schema database for business addresses, and add that contact information to your page. You can also code other elements, like events or sales, depending on what you want to show to users who visit your page.


Further than SEO, Schema actually changes what your listing looks like on the search page. Update the listing for your Google Places page as well by connecting your Webmaster Tools account to your business domain name. Once you have access, and have verified ownership of your website, you can correct incorrectly localized listings and make sure visitors can find you.


Googles Changes to Maps & Waze Localization – Click to Tweet


Googles Changes to Maps & Waze Localization

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Fake Facebook Likes Are Killing Social Media | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Fake Facebook Likes Social MediaThere will always be some people in any system that will try to game that system and ruin it for everybody else, half the time without really gaining anything for themselves in the long run, though some companies can profit in the short term. But in the end, it will always fall apart and the negative publicity will sink anyone who tries to cheat.



Recent Examples



A recent example of fake Facebook likes had to do with a particular charity. It’s been common practice for a while now for hackers to gain access to Facebook accounts and then use those accounts to “like” businesses that the individual didn’t have any interest in.  Some businesses, and charities, will pay marketers for generating Facebook likes. The problem is that some other ‘businesses’ take advantage of this by using shady and illegal approaches like hacking people’s accounts.  A recent organization called the “Charity Engine” fell afoul of this problem recently.



Stealing from Charities



The Charity Engine has an aim of trying to raise money for charities by taking advantage of unused processing power in people’s PCs and then selling that ability to other organizations that would need it.  The company spent tens of thousands of dollars getting to half a million likes.  Then, it turned out that many people who had liked the charities page didn’t have any personal information, and had just wandered around Facebook, liking random pages. It soon became obvious that the likes weren’t real, that they didn’t represent interest in any serious way, and instead were just a way for criminals to scam money from those who though they were getting real marketing.



Fake Marketing is Bad for Everyone



The problem is, scams like this one hurt anyone connected to social media marketing, including the criminals who perpetrate it since they destroy directly the credibility of the system. Measures like “likes” on Facebook are supposed to be an accurate way to measure interest in a particular product or brand. If people start to doubt that this is the case, then social media marketing quickly becomes ruined. If no one believes these measures have any power or any truth to them, then marketing becomes impossible. Marketers can’t sell their efforts to businesses, and businesses can’t benefit from the advertising.



The Best Approach



The truth is that people won’t ultimately stand for cheap tricks. Many people have developed ways to tell when “likes” on Facebook are happening naturally and when someone is trying to game the system. That’s why sites like Webds and others can be of help. They do things the old fashioned way, by actually creating real support, real hits, and real traffic. This leads to real increases in sales. However you do it, you can’t trick your way into real interest in the end, and you can only do the hard work to reveal the inherent value of a site and product. This is exactly why having a trustworthy company, with a proven record to do marketing is so important in the face of events like these.


This is a guest post by Lilly Sheperd, a freelance writer who shares her thoughts on various blogs. When not blogging she likes to play netball, ravel and read a lot, especially about technology and social media.


How Are Facebook Likes Are Killing Social Media? – Click to Tweet


Fake Facebook Likes Are Killing Social Media

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

How To Use Facebook Hashtags Effectively | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Facebook HashtagsThe jury’s still out as to the effectiveness of Facebook hashtags, but regardless of whether or not they change the face of social media marketing, you can still harness the power of this new tool to help you build and promote your business.


By bookmarking relevant hashtags, you can keep a finger on the pulse of topics relevant to your company.


Research on your customer base and demographic is key for knowing what they’re talking about right now, what’s trending for them, their likes and dislikes. Track hashtags that are relevant to your company and your target audience to listen in on the conversation.


You can easily monitor consumers’ responses to the latest campaigns, promotions, and products, or services by creating unique hashtags for each new program and monitoring thoseindividual feeds rather than parsing through each timeline or wall post.


Additionally, you can listen in on what your competitors are doing by following their hashtags.


Be cautious selecting a hashtag, however. Do a little hashtag research prior to committing to one for a particular launch. You don’t want to accidentally step into a conversation that isn’t appropriate for your brand or image.


source user-generated contentHashtags on Facebook are a good way to source user-generated content.


If someone posts something pertaining to one of your brand’s hashtags—either one you created for a campaign or product, or one that you’re following because it relates to the brand—you might be able to repost that picture to your company’s page (depending on legal guidelines). This is a great way to let your fans see that you’re listening to them and/or generate new fans by promoting their content. It also adds fresh content to your brand’s Facebook page—important for keeping your page fresh and at the top of your followers’ feeds.


Facebook hashtags can expose your business to a previously untapped audience.


Depending on privacy settings, you don’t need to be a friend, follower, or fan to see a brand’s hashtagged post. This means that your post can be seen by the entire Facebook community, and potential customers who previously might not have heard of your company may suddenly become a fan due to an interest in a trending hashtag topic.


Be judicious in the use of hashtags—they’re better for a targeted approach than shotgun style.


Facebook Hastag SEOHashtags are best used wisely—a scattershot approach to hashtags (tagging every post with every keyword tag that you can think of) will result in alienating fans and potential followers alike. Too many hashtags, and they become little more than spam. Remember that your content is king and hashtags are just the PR machines designed to draw people in. Make sure the hashtags are ones specific to the conversation and not just generic keywords.


Be aware of the hashtag’s limitations and keep that in mind when gathering your data.


Right now, hashtag search applies only to public posts. As the majority of Facebook posts are private, you may not be seeing the whole conversation when following a hashtag feed as many of the posts may be hidden due to privacy settings.


Additionally, hashtags search only applies to status updates and not comments (yet), so if a fan or follower responds to someone else with a hashtag, it won’t show up in the feed. So while hashtags are a good way to gauge trends and impressions, it doesn’t quite show the whole story.


Created as a way to quickly follow topics of interest on Twitter, hashtags are a great way to follow a conversation on any social media platform. Used wisely, Facebook’s newest tool can help you build your brand and improve your exposure.


Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer in Southern California and currently writes for PlanetTelex. As the founder of Gryffin Media, she understands how important it is for companies to use social media to engage with their audience.


How To Use Facebook Hashtags Effectively – Click to Tweet


How To Use Facebook Hashtags Effectively

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Doing the Mompreneur Time-Juggle: 5 Apps to Make Your Life Easier | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Mompreneur TimeWith little ones underfoot and a thriving small business to run, you likely feel so pressed for time that even 10 more minutes in a day would be a relief. In the past decade, the number of women owning small businesses grew 40 percent, according to Denken Research. Many of these women are working mothers struggling to balance their passion for their careers with the challenges of raising a family. In a situation where every second is precious, structuring your work day with efficiency-boosting apps is a smart way to free up time to spend with your kids.



Toggl



The first step in streamlining your work is to know exactly where your time goes. Enter Toggl, a free app available for Android devices or your desktop. Toggl enables you to keep track of every minute of your day by providing reports of what tasks you spent the most time performing. This helps you spot trends in time mismanagement. Perhaps you take a “quick” break after lunch that turns into 30 minutes of surfing the Web. Or, you think that you’re starting each work day at 8 a.m., when you really don’t get anything productive done until 8:45 a.m. Use Toggl to identify areas where you can change your routine and recapture lost time.



Evernote



Rather than leaving a trail of sticky notes or scribbled messages in your wake, gather all of your thoughts in one place with Evernote. This free app, available for Windows Phone, iPhone, Android and Blackberry, is the ultimate note-taking helper. Any information you save in Evernote is automatically shared with all synced devices. Record audio messages, save important Web pages, share notes with work colleagues or even sync your grocery list with your husband’s mobile device. By keeping all of your important information in one place, you’ll be able to access old meeting notes or your daughter’s report card all at the tips of your fingers.



Mint.com



Tracking business finances can be a nightmare, but Mint.com makes it easy to know where your money is going. The popular personal finance website is a favorite among small business owners for its ability to track income and expenses. Mint will import every transaction from your cash back cards, allowing you to cash in those rewards to reinvest in your business. The site also creates handy graphs to help you visualize your business growth. A free Mint.com app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.



Universal Password Manager



As the complexity of your business grows, you have more and more passwords to manage. Each time you sign up for a new online account, you’re prompted to enter a unique password. More capital letters! Remember numbers! Include a symbol! Keeping track of each password is a major hassle and drain on your time. Universal Password Manager, available for Android, allows you to set a single password to access your diverse account information. The free app uses a secure, encrypted connection to ensure that all of your data remains safe.


Doing the Mompreneur Time-Juggle: 5 Apps to Make Your Life Easier – Click to Tweet


Doing the Mompreneur Time-Juggle: 5 Apps to Make Your Life Easier

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Why Links Within Google Webmaster Tools May Or May Not Be Enough | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Links Google Webmaster ToolsIf Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) Link data is worthy enough for a for having a successful link cleanup is not relatively new topic in the SEO industry. To understand the point in a better way it is essential to go into the background of the topic.


Background History


From various discussions and debates held on the topic last year it emerged that it was enough if one used the GWT data. Another point that came into focus was that the links which went missing from the report were not significant enough.


Later it was also added that using the third party tool was not necessarily a bad idea,  as by using the same a greater ability to process the link data can be achieved and it becomes relatively easy to look out for problematic areas. These problematic areas might include issues as spammy patterns and anchor text abuse issues.


The Present Scenario


Since the introduction of Manual Action sections, the debate over GWT data reliability has been re ignited and this at times shows webmaster offending links which were earlier not a part of the GWT link report.


Google is showing examples of manipulative links


Google’s Manual Action Page examples have been used to give one an idea of the type of links that have been used in breach of the guidelines. This can be perceived as an educational device that helps one recognize bad devices as one sees them.


It has happened that on more than one occasions the Google’s search quality team has been able to lift the manual penalty for various websites that have shown great progress in the cleanup program.


The best course of action to follow is to document the link cleanup process and give genuine results to the Google’s web spam team when one thinks of filing the reconsideration report. Even if one or two links are missing from sample link report, this would not be a problem for the Google web spam team.


The Real Challenge


The real challenge that still persists is the issue of link data for large websites. Efforts are always on to bullet proofing big websites so as to ensure that links remain clean all the while. It emerges from all the research conducted that the sample of links that Google provides is less in proportion to the true link profile of the gigantic task at hand.


The need of the hour is to scale the amount of links present in the Google Webmaster tools and to make them in line with the real size of that particular website’s link profile to ensure that enough data for working on is available.


However, despite all these assumptions one might consider that links within webmaster tools are not sufficient. It can be safely said that links within webmaster tools are sufficient enough as now Google has dumped much of three quarters of link profile as is evident from the latest link report that has come in Google webmaster tools.


However this link cut by Google does not seem to be intentional. It is more likely due to presence of a bug in Google Webmaster Tools rather than link cut that has been done intentionally.


Another relevant question that arises here is if using Google Webmaster tools for link clean up is enough. It emerged that finding all the links that one needs for algorithmic reasons or webspam are available in webmaster tools. Ant third party or external tool is therefore not required for the same.


However an interesting fact that has come to notice is that Google does ignore some links even at times when the website is not being penalized.


Link Cleanup Tips


One this that definitely can be done is Link Cleanup. One needs to identify suspicious or shady links through GWT and look for some usual suspects that can come in form of article, comments, forums, directory or comments.


One might need to dwell a further deep and if it is found that GWT is not solving the problem. In such cases alternate tools as Majestic SEO and moz can be used. Specifically one needs to look for anchor text over optimization and other related aspects.


One should also be looking for grey areas and removing anything suspicious that one might find. You can also consider flagging low level links focusing much attention to those that come with commercialized key phrases.


Links within Google Webmaster tools may be enough considering the kind of scenario in which one might be operating. Follow the above listed cleanup tips regularly and is safe.


Guest Post by Alyssa, a writer/blogger. She writes articles on Technology, social media, WordPress, Gamification, website development and online development etc. These days she contributes on seomorpheus


Why Links Within Google Webmaster Tools May Or May Not Be Enough – Click to Tweet


Why Links Within Google Webmaster Tools May Or May Not Be Enough

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

6 Productivity Tips for Bloggers | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

 6 Productivity Tips Bloggers Are you having difficulty meeting schedules? Are you struggling with time, feeling frustrated and worn out feeling that there’s too much to do with so little time? Do you find yourself unable to finish projects or lagging behind schedules? Are you getting tired of not meeting deadlines? Or maybe you are tired of the feeling that you are not accomplishing enough in a day. If you are, then be assured that you are not the only one going through such difficulty. Many bloggers are also experiencing some down time when it comes to meeting deadlines and schedules. Truly, being in this situation is really frustrating, but there’s a way out, but only if you want it bad enough. Below are some tips on how to effectively improve your productivity as a blogger.


Tip #1 Plan Ahead and Make a Schedule


This may be cliche but it’s true: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So if you want to succeed, say on a daily basis as a blogger, plan your days well. How will you do this? Well, start making plans for tomorrow the night before. Successful people are known to make plans before they go to bed at night. They think about what they want to accomplish the following day and they come up with a written to-do list and a written schedule to follow. So as a blogger, plan well what you want to accomplish the following day, and put your plan in writing.


Tip #2 Follow Your Schedule to the Letter


It is important that a set schedule is followed to the letter, or else why make a schedule in the first place? Thus it is important that when making a schedule, the time allocation must be realistic and achievable. For example, when doing research for a particular topic that needs to be written, bloggers allocate a specific amount of time for the research process. Stick to the schedule prepared.


Tip #3 Schedule the More Urgent Tasks First


Schedule the More Urgent Tasks FirstBloggers have to attend to so many things online hence it is essential to know which of the activities are urgent and important, important but not really urgent, not urgent and not important, etc. For example, it is just normal for bloggers, at the beginning of the day, to start opening emails and checking which emails need immediate response and which of them can wait later. Now whether doing this task early in the morning is wise or not really depends on the blogger.


Tip #4 Avoid Social Media Early in the Morning


For so many bloggers, social media is one of the culprit why there seems to be “not enough time to finish tasks” on time. This is a sad fact but it is true and very rampant. Bloggers simply lose themselves and their valuable time checking out profiles and updates in Facebook, Twitter, and other social media that before they know it, so much time has passed by. Social media is important, but it can wait, and it’s not urgent (unless the social media is part of a job responsibility) and it can be given a good ‘time slot’ in a person’s schedule within a day. Some bloggers who have overcome social networking site addiction have shifted from ‘first-thing-in-the-morning Facebook’ to ‘last-thing-in-the-evening Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook’, and this move helped their work productivity a lot. In a nutshell, it simply means setting priorities straight.


Tip #5 Set Your Mood Right


Blogging Social Media Day NightThink about this for a moment: what time of the day do you function best? Are you a morning person or a night person? People are wired differently; there are people who work well when it’s nighttime and then there are those who work well during daytime. How about you? Knowing when you are most productive can help you arrange your work schedule so that you can maximize your productivity. For example, if you are a night person, do all your writing in the evenings where your brain will function the most. Schedule all your other chores during the day so by the time evening comes, you’re free from burdens and you can start writing or blogging without any unfinished business. If, on the other hand you are a day person, then there’s not much challenge on your part. Morning or daytime people are known to manage well even when there’s noise or other distractions around him or her.


Tip # 6 Turn Off Chat, Skype, and Messenger


When you’re writing or blogging, make a schedule to turn off your chat, Skype, or messenger, at least for a period of time. For example, some bloggers say that when they begin blogging in the morning (or whatever time they have set for themselves), the turn off their chat, messenger, or Skype for 4 or 5 hours straight. They do this so they can go about their tasks without interruptions. In order to avoid offending others, they inform their associates and friends when they will be available for chat or Skype or Messenger during the day. They follow this schedule religiously and its working wonders for them. These 6 tips are not really difficult to follow. They are guaranteed to improve blogger’s productivity as long as they are followed conscientiously. Visit http://manifestconnection.com/ for more productivity tips that really work. Image Credit: 1, 2, 3. About the author: Anna Fox adores traveling and hiking. Also she is running a blog about productivity and self-improvement. For making her blogging process more productive she is using free high quality photos and graphics from Smart Photo Stock.


6 Productivity Tips for Bloggers – Click to Tweet


6 Productivity Tips for Bloggers