5 Steps to Ranking #1 on Twitter for a Keyword

Twitter is HOT, HOT, HOT! It is now a powerful and popular online marketing tool that everyone should be taking advantage of. We are going to be doing a two part series on twitter and the first part will cover details regarding optimizing your profile for SEO. It has been noted that twitter is ranking abnormally well in the search engines and if you use your company’s name or your personal name it can rank easily for those, but that falls under online brand management, which is a topic for another day.

Top 5 Twitter Search Engine Optimization Tips

The tips below are meant to help you optimize your profile for searches done directly on twitter. No matter what your target keyword phrase is following these tips below will help you show up at the top of the results for that phrase.

1. Your Username

When you sign up to twitter make sure your username include your keyword phrase or at least one or two of the words. If you Search for “Diet” on twitter and look at all the top results you will notice every username, which is on the far left includes the word “Diet”. FreshDiet holds the number one spot for this reason combined with the other reasons below.

2. Your Name

If you click on the Twitter Profile for FreshDiet you will notice their name is “Fresh Diet”. So be sure to include your keyword in your name, which can be adjusted in your settings when you log in. If you go back and look at the search results for “Diet” you will see your name appear to the right of your username.

3. Bio

You bio is another adjustable setting on your profile. Your keyword should be included in here as well. Don’t stuff this full of keywords though, it should be informative and natural looking, but also include your keywords. Remember everything needs to be done in moderation and user-friendliness is key. If your profile is super spammy no ones going to stay around to follow the link to your website.

4. Account Activity

If you want to make the most of your twitter account you should be active. Being active and posting useful content will get you followers and should also help you rank better in the results. Most of the accounts that show up when you search for “Diet” are active, especially the top 3. So post a few tweets a day and keep it up!

5. Number of Followers

This is probably the most important factor for ranking high. If you once again look at the search results for “Diet” it is clear the top results have the highest number of followers and as your scroll down the number of followers will get smaller for the corresponding profiles. Getting followers is the hardest part so Subscribe to Our Blog and we will teach you more about how to get followers in future posts!

For now just optimize your profiles and get them ready for promotion!

via 5 Steps to Ranking #1 on Twitter for a Keyword

Gosh Napoleon Dynamite’s Guide To Social Networking

If you’re not an idiot, you’ve seen the movie. Now, with even bigger hair and sweeter dance moves, five hints on social networking from the master, Napoleon Dynamite!

1. Give, like, creative and real compliments.

“You have a sweet bike. And you’re really good at hooking up with chicks. Plus you’re like the only guy at school who has a mustache.”

Take time each day to give genuine compliments to the people around you. Having trouble thinking of things? Make an effort to take joy in small things and you’ll soon find things to compliment. The barista who remembers what coffee you like? Say more than “thanks” next time you get a dark roast. The coworker who always adds a creative edge to projects? Take a moment to recognize the added value and share how much you appreciate it! Once you make a habit of giving compliments, you’ll find they flow off your tongue without much effort at all. When you are known for recognizing value in the people around you, your network will grow.

2. Don’t let other people take up all your time or space or eat all your steak.

“Well, I have all your equipment in my locker. You should probably come get it cause I can’t fit my numchucks in there anymore.”

In order to successfully pursue your own passions, it’s vital that you set limits on how you let others use your time. When your social network is small, it’s tempting to instantly pick up the phone, answer emails, IM, text, tweet, comment, Digg, Stumble, and give a video response to every nudge, ping, poke, and beg that comes across you table. This can grow into a monster that spreads you so thin that you no longer have energy for yourself and the people you hold most dear. The monster will also eat your steak.

3. Put your connections to work for others so they get sweet stuff, too.

“Pedro offers you his protection.”

You may not know somebody with skills to save people from certain destruction, but you might know the owner of the best place in town to get tots when you’re hungry! A great networker isn’t just a resource but a channel through which the needs and talents of others connect. A good friend comes to your house and tries to help you fix your toilet. A great networker knows a trustworthy plumber who will fix your toilet and takes you out for a drink to celebrate the victory!

4. Have a totally awesome story and tell it like its just happened!

“I spent it [the summer] with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines! [I shot] Like 50 of ‘em! They kept trying to attack my cousins, what the heck would you do in a situation like that?”

If you live an interesting life, your network will grow organically out of the connections you make in your travels and conversations with new people. It’s important to strengthen those connections by including others in your story and telling it in an exciting way. One of the powerful human emotions is the one that comes through reminiscing about past adventures. Make sure you’re a part of as many adventures as possible and share those stories with the people you meet. There’s no need to brag though. Not everybody gets to spend their summers in Alaska.

5. Find out what makes others happy and help them do those things.

“Sorry I’m late. I just got done taming a wild honeymoon stallion for you guys.”

If you take the time to learn about the people in your network, you’ll soon find that many people have dreams that are entirely possible given a bit of your help. They might not want to ride off into the sunset on a honeymoon stallion, and you might not be able to even tame a wild and dangerous horse. But you might know a realtor who shares great deals or a landscaper who can make a magical garden. Combine your talents with knowledge of the people you care about to create a strong and delicious network.

via Gosh Napoleon Dynamite’s Guide To Social Networking

Places to leave your stamp offline?

Obviously you can purchase advertising space in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc. But lets face it, paying for ad space can get pricey, so let’s look at a few cheaper ways to brand your business away from the computer, because shockingly, some people still don’t spend their entire day on the Internet.

Stickers

Giving your customers free bonus items such as stickers upon purchases, is an excellent way to get your brand out there in the physical world. Making the sticker-design appealing to the customer will increase the chances that they will actually use it somewhere, and wherever they stick it, your brand will be there.

This is a great opportunity to advertise your website to people that would ordinarily probably not find you online on their own. It can be just as effective for brick and mortar businesses as well, but even you guys should have websites, so I’d worry about that first if you haven’t already.

Flyers

Similar to stickers, flyers can provide a good advertising solution. However, they lack the longevity that a sticker can provide. Flyers can be torn down much easier than a sticker. You have to put them up yourself if you want them posted somewhere. If you just give them away to customers, they will most likely end up in the trash.

That said, posting them on bulletin boards, telephone poles, etc, can still attract some attention as long as they are up, and it shouldn’t be too expensive to print some up. If you already have a printer, it will cost you next to nothing. I would suggest again, including your web address or instructions on how to find you online.

Bulletin Boards

Bulletin boards are good places to post a variety of marketing materials. Not only can you post flyers, but you can post business cards, stickers (without sticking them, leaving opportunity for someone else to take them and stick them somewhere else), etc.

Lots of places have bulleting boards. The first ones that come to mind are libraries and supermarkets, but if you pay attention while you’re out and about, I bet you’ll find plenty of them.

A Live Person

You can have an employee (or yourself) stand alongside the road and do some physical promotion. I’ve seen other businesses use this approach. Often times, they will be wearing funny costumes and holding signs. While this may not be the best way to keep your dignity, sometimes business is about making sacrifices (besides, if you’re in a costume, nobody will recognize you anyway).

This can be an effective method particularly for brick and mortar business owners who have a store they can have somebody in front of or near, but I don’t see why someone running a strictly online business couldn’t go somewhere out in public and use the same strategy.

Attire

Another way to get some branding out of a live person that is a little less demeaning is letting them wear clothing with your brand on it. If you don’t want to give away t-shirts to you customers, you could at least consider giving them to your employees. Whether you require them to wear a uniform or not, a t-shirt is a t-shirt, and they may even wear them out in public on their days off. At that point, you’re not only getting free advertising, you’re getting some work from your staff off the clock!

I hate to drive a point into the ground, but again, include your web address!

Auto

Many businesses will pay ordinary people to feature advertising on their vehicles. This is something you could look into if you’re willing to put up the dough, but it would be cheaper to do it yourself.

This is another time when you are making a sacrifice, but you basically have a choice. Are you more concerned about your automobile’s appearance or having another way to attract customers? Just think about  how many people are going to see it on any given day while you are driving – to work, to the mall, to school, etc, etc, etc.

Google denies staff ‘brain drain’

Google has denied there is a brain drain of talent at the firm following the departure of its communications boss to social network Facebook.

Elliot Schrage’s departure as head of global communications and public affairs is the latest in a string of senior Google staff to have quit.

Google spokesman Matt Furman said: “Elliot was a valued member of the Google team and we wish him well.”

He added: “We have a deep management pool at Google.”

The Mountain View company says it gets 1,300 resumes every day. That adds up to nearly a half a million a year from people who want to come and work at the Googleplex HQ, famed for its free gourmet lunches and on site massages.

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg clearly sees its latest recruit as something of a coup, telling staff in an email: “Hey everyone. I am writing to you from India to share the really good news that Elliot Schrage will be joining our management team.”

“This is a really important role for us and one that we’ve been trying to find the right person for a while.”

“Elliot’s role will be critical to helping us scale based on our culture that values transparency, openness and honest internal communications.”

Exodus

In the last few months those that have jumped ship to Facebook from Google include leading executives such as Sheryl Sandberg, who is now the network’s chief operating officer, following time as vice president of global sales at Google.

Other hires from Google to Facebook include Ben Ling who is now director of platform product marketing and Ethan Beard, a former director of social media and now director of business development.

Gideon Yu was previously the chief financial officer (CFO) at YouTube who left shortly after Google acquired it in 2006 and has moved to Facebook to become its CFO.

Facebook has even managed to poach a Google executive chef, Josef Desimone.

A host of other senior engineers and managers have also left in recent months. Some have gone on to start up their own companies or join other early stage ventures such as Zillow, FriendFeed, Twitter and Xobni.

Such defections are being seen by some recruiters in a partially negative light.

John Pulsipher, president of Silicon Valley recruitment firm Wollborg/Michelson, told BBC News: “It does of course not look very good for Google.”

He added: “But for a start up company it’s great. They are always going to be attracted to the big names that helped take a start up like Google to the top.

“They are seen as stars given where they came from. They are like artists who have had a hit song and are also expected to have a hit song the next time out.”

The Google of yesterday

So why has Google lost something of its cachet among the technorati workforce?

Some commentators have noted that it is no longer the firm it once was.

Far from being a search engine firm with idealistic goals to ‘do no evil’, it has morphed into a behemoth that rivals other large tech companies.

It now has 16,800 employees worldwide. And the opportunities to strike it rich have diminished. Google’s stock option package is not as tempting as it once was now that shares are trading close to $600.

Perhaps more importantly for some, Google no longer has that “anything goes” approach that most start ups possess.

Senior engineer Justin Rosenstein sent an e-mail to friends describing his new Facebook employer as “the Google of yesterday, the Microsoft of long ago”.

He wrote: “That company where large numbers of stunningly brilliant people congregate and feed off each other’s genius. That company that’s doing with 60 engineers what teams of 600 can’t pull off.”

Another ex-Googler Chris Sacca, who was head of special initiatives, wrote in an email: “In a start up it’s easy and it’s encouraged for folks to wear multiple hats. As a company gets bigger, inevitably, it begins to organise itself vertically and employees are pushed to specialise.”

Mr Pulsipher says getting in on the ground floor with Facebook makes good economic sense if the share option package is sound but he believes it’s wrong for ex employees to put down the company that helped make them a desirable hire for someone else.

“That’s a mistake. The reason they got the job at Facebook in the first place is because of the chances they got at Google and the talent they worked with. People are not an island unto themselves.”

He added: “Facebook is hot just now but everybody knows that hot can get cold.”

Google denies staff ‘brain drain’

Top 10 Myths About Networking

Here are 10 of the worst myths about networking, and their current, more sensible replacements:

1. Networking means meeting as many people as you can.
If possessing a huge stack of business cards or having met every business person in your city was a ticket to riches, this might be true. But it’s not. Networking gives you a chance to meet new people, but quality trumps quantity in human relationships, every time.

2. Networking means telling people about your business whenever you get a chance.
There’s nothing wrong with letting the folks at your gym, at your place of worship, and at your book club know what you do for a living. But people will quickly forget the details of your professional life. What they’ll remember is you – if you approach them with a desire to learn about them, as well.

3. Networking is hard work.
It may be that you’re working too hard. Networking happens naturally if you introduce yourself to people, stay in touch with people you’ve met, and think, in every interaction, “How could I help this person?”

4. Networking should start when you’re job-hunting.
If you get the call that you’ve been selected to compete on “American Idol,” it’s too late to start an exercise program or go on a diet. When you’re out of work, it’s a bit late in the game to start networking toward your next job. If you have to start then, do it; but it’s far better to start networking now, and build contacts for the job search that will inevitably come your way if you’re a working person who isn’t close to retirement.

5. Networking is for schmoozers.
Schmoozing is by far the least important networking skill. Good listening is far more useful to a relationship-builder than the ability to spit a thirty-second elevator pitch into someone’s face.

6. Networking is only for entrepreneurs.
If you don’t believe that having business contacts and experts at your disposal would be useful for you as a corporate person, talk to any top business leader and ask his or her opinion. It’s essential to be connected to other professionals, not just for “it’s-who-you-know” reasons but in order to get perspectives on your business and career issues that are different from?your own.

7. Networking is a waste of time.
Your networking time will surely be wasted if you approach each interaction as an opportunity hawk your wares. Ditto if you believe that your job as a networker is to tell every person you meet all about your job search and express no interest in him or her. If you can get past these bad networking ideas and cultivate some relationships, your time will be well spent.

8. Networking is expensive.
Joining a Yahoo! group is free. The popular networking site LinkedIn has a free membership level and 15 million users. Plenty of face-to-face networking events in your town will cost you nothing more than parking or bus fare.

9. Networking is phony.
If you go to a party at your sister’s house and meet her boyfriend’s dad, is your conversation phony? Networking conversations need not be any different than any other interactions between new acquaintances. It’s up to you.

10. Networking is a thing of the past.
Person-to-person relationships are more important in business than ever. If anything, networking is a thing of the future.