Social Bookmarking | Mirna Bard

Poll: Will you be backing up your Delicious bookmarks?
Posted Dec 22nd, 2010 By Mirna Bard in Polls, Social Bookmarking With | 3 Comments
As you may know, Delicious, the social bookmarking service will soon be shut down by Yahoo! in an effort to cut costs. Of course, I was sad to hear the news because for years I’ve used Delicious to bookmark and tag a lot of the useful content I find on the social Web. Now, I will sadly have to go through and back up all the important content that is worth holding onto.

Will you do the same? Also let me know in the comments how you feel about Delicious going away and if you would’ve paid a monthly fee (if given the option) to keep it.
Will you be backing up your Delicious bookmarks?
Yes

No

Haven’t decided yet

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7 Ways to Make StumbleUpon More Useful for Small Business
Posted Oct 5th, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, StumbleUpon With | 4 Comments

Of all the social media sites available, StumbleUpon is perhaps one of the most complex bookmarker available. It allows you to connect with others, message them, send links to friends, vote up and down and a myriad of other actions. If you are using SU for business promotion, chances are you’re missing out on a few of the better methods of using this handy tool.

1. Install the toolbar. If you really want to make good use of this social bookmarking site, you’ll definitely need the toolbar. It will let you rate and share the best websites as you find them, without having to log into StumbleUpon each time to mark a site. After all, let’s face it, you probably won’t bother to do.

2. Discover new sites. While giving sites thumbs up after someone else has already marked them, being the one to actually discover a webpage and give it the first review is good for two reasons. First of all, it puts your avatar at the top of the page as the one who discovered it. That means others who enjoy the site will want to click on you and find out what else you have found. The second reason is that StumbleUpon itself is on the lookout for those who are discovering numerous sites, so you will get a better status by providing quality content.

3. Deep link to your site. If you do link to your own blog or site, never go for the home page. Instead, make sure you link to a deeper internal page or specific blog post. This not only means you have a lot of options when it comes to stumbling, but you will boost SEO in a more natural way. Keep in mind that you should only stumble your own stuff once in a while. Most of the time you will be far better off giving someone else’s content thumbs up in exchange for them rating your pages.

4. Write a real profile description. Entirely too many people put an ad in place of their profile. Instead of frightening off potential followers, try being more realistic and personable. Tell a bit about yourself and then introduce what you do. This will work far better than a straight up ad.

5. Stumble posts that link back to you. If you are writing good, consistent content, chances are your URL will end up on a few other blogs, whether in context or a list post. The important thing is that it links back to your site, so stumbling that post will help you out, as well as the blogger who was nice enough to give a linkback.

6. Thank the person who discovered your site on SU. They’ll keep you in mind next time they’re looking for great content to stumble.

7. Build up that friends list. If you look for friends with similar interests, chances are much higher that they will want to help you out and link to your content or give it a thumbs up. It’s fairly easy to find friends because if you find a page that relates well to your business, you can simply look at who else liked the page and then add them as friends. You already know that they are interested in the same things and if you stumble their picks from time to time, they will start to notice you, as well.

Are you using StumbleUpon to its full potential? The social bookmarking site is one that offers a lot of value if you use it right, but so many people never realize how to maximize their use of it.
Are You Making These 10 Social Media Business Blunders?
Posted Aug 26th, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking With | 10 Comments

Small business owners are discovering the power of social to promote their products and services every day. While tweeting or stumbling can be an excellent method of getting your business name out there and gathering fans, it is really only powerful when used correctly.

Unfortunately, many small business owners are eager to take part in this free method of promotion but fail to understand exactly how to make use of it. Here are some of the most common blunders made in social media.

1. Bookmarking every single blog post. Stick to promoting the best content you have and people will pay a lot more attention. As a side note, you should be bookmarking other people’s great content, too, not just your own.

2. Asking for help to promote a website or blog post. This is usually done once the post has been submitted to every social bookmarking site under the sun. Again, stick to only your best posts or people will quickly become jaded.

3. Add everyone as a friend. Having the most friends doesn’t mean you’ll get more clients. It does mean you will sort through more spam and if you spam thousands of people, you could destroy your business reputation.

4. Advertising in blog comments. Everyone loves a comment on their blog, but when you leave a business ad instead of a legit comment; many blog owners will just delete it or mark it as spam.

5. No image branding. Not only is your profile picture important on social media sites, but some allow you to have a background image that can be put to good use, as well, such as Twitter. Make sure you use the opportunity.

6. Leaving holes in your profiles. Completing all your social media profiles with all the important information (hobbies, your business info., etc.) helps you attract like-minded members but it also shows people that you’re not only here to spam.

7. Not interacting. Social media, by its very definition, requires interaction. If you are just posting and ignoring everyone else, you will end up with fewer interested followers.
8. Taking on too much. There are hundreds of social media sites, but you won’t be able to effectively use them all, or even a percentage of them. Stick to just 2-3 quality sites or get some help.

9. Hard selling. Direct marketing can work in social media, but you need to create the relationships before you try and call on them. If you immediately start selling, no one is going to listen. You will be know as spammer and damage your reputation. Trust me, you cannot afford to do that with social media because the news spreads fast online.

10. Not measuring your results. You need to review your strategy and know what your goals are. Then through your metrics you have to see if you are meeting these goals. Otherwise, there really will be no reason to jump into social media.

Social media can make or break your business. With more and more consumers online these days, it is the perfect opportunity to present your small business as a human business and offer your services to a willing audience. Doing things the right way will pay off.

What other social media blunders you have seen businesses make?
Gettn’ The Buzz Goin’ With Social Media
Posted Jul 6th, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking With | 2 Comments

A quick & easy social media guide to get you started

Last month, we covered the very basics and benefits of social media and why it is essential for every business to be visible across a multitude of web sites. If you did not read last month’s article, please visit our blog. You will want to read it before you continue with this article.

In this article, we have listed some tools that can help you position your business above competition. Please remember, do not jump into anything before strategizing first. A strategy will save you from wasting time and going in circles.

Social Bookmarking

When you find a great web site that you want to remember in the future, you usually bookmark it, right? Well, social bookmarking is simply sharing your favorite sites with everyone else. There are literally hundreds of sites that do this, but some are more important than others when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and traffic. Popular social bookmarking sites, such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Del.icio.us, Mixx, and Newsvine allow you to nominate and bookmark your favorite web pages or news events that you think are worthy of attention.

With nearly all of these social bookmarking sites, there is an option to approve or disapprove other people´s selections and comment on pages that others have bookmarked, while adding a plug for your own businesss. The most popular bookmarks get seen more often. This can lead to increased traffic and more backlinks coming into your site; therefore, higher search engine rankings.

Social Networking

Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, and Plaxo platforms are often what we think of when we hear “Social media” and many businesses have made great use of them. However, a surprising number of business owners have still not touched many of these sites, despite the fact they could be of great use in boosting SEO, increasing visibility and the bottom line (SALES!).

There are also virtual worlds, such as Second Life that allow users to socialize with each other in different online environments that resemble little cities. Businesses can meet up with employees and can create stores within these worlds that anyone can visit.

With Twitter and Tumblr, members can follow each other’s activities or posts. Whether personal or business, post about what you are doing and thinking. This allows others to keep tabs on you (only of you want them to, of course .

Yammer and Jive SBS allow employees to keep up with their colleague’s activities and ask them questions. Orbius is a social marketing platform that provides a set of tools to help brands and organizations set up social networks.

LinkedIn and Ryze offer professionals a place to congregate, find people they know, link up through the recommendations of others, and search for jobs and employees.

Social Answers

Did you know that asking and answering questions is also another form of social networking, and it is so useful, that we have classified it as an area of its own. Web sites like Yahoo Answers, Answers.com, and Askville are social sites where someone asks a question and anyone can join in and answer. The best answers often get links back to the recommending site. Your profile can also link to your website. When you answer a question, you can offer further information or quote your source, which is where you get to link to your blog or business site.

Also note that LinkedIn has the powerful “Answers” feature too.

Social Content Sites

Social content web sites exist because of their participants. Everyone who joins, adds to the community at large. These are usually excellent ways to increase backlinks to your site and can be very rewarding if you really get into the networking aspect of the content site. Squidoo is Google´s favorite content site where you can create a “lens” or website that lets you earn money, link out and get top place in the search results with your keywords. Wikipedia is an ever growing knowledge site that relies on its users to create new articles and edit the ones that already exist.

Social Photo Sites

Not all content is necessarily written, so it´s not surprising that photo sites are a great addition to social media. Among the most popular photo sharing sites are Flickr, Picasa, and KodakGallery. On these sites you can share your best photos, comment on other people’s photos and generally make friends.

Social Video Networking

With Internet connections getting faster, more and more people are looking to video to keep them abreast of the latest information. Now you can even create video responses to blog posts and other videos, turning this into one of the most interactive social media types ever.

YouTube is the forerunner video site for posting homegrown videos. Many businesses are using YouTube and similar sites to post videos of product demos and information. Video watchers can comment and interact with a community of other users, exchanging thoughts and ideas about the clips they have seen. Other popular video sites are Joost, MetaCafe, Revver and Viddler.

Blogging

Last but not least, we cannot forget to discuss the importance of blogging for any business. Web logs (known as blogs) are a big part of the social media mix. Blogs should be your hub that you direct people back to from the social media sites. We recommend adding blog posts a minimum of twice per week (3-4x/week is great!) to keep people coming back.

To direct traffic to your blogs, use other social media sites, social bookmarking as well as creating hyperlinks to your blog on other blogs and discussion forums.

There are literally hundreds of social media sites out there! You do not have to use all the above options, but social networking strategies have certainly worked for many businesses. All of the social media sites mentioned here can be excellent ways to not only get links back to your business website, but also to improve your online visibility. Reputation is everything and by getting out there and becoming more transparent, you are going to find your business growing and your reputation improving.

Every business is crying about the economy, but you do not to one of them. The Internet gave us all the opportunity to grow our business in ways that no one thought possible. Don’t procrastinate, get started in putting your social media plan together. If you are still lost and confused on where to start and what works best for your business, please get help from the experts.

Remember, you are never alone when it comes to growing your business!
Social Media: What’s Buzz’n on the Web?
Posted Jun 21st, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking With | No Comments

Are you on Facebook or are you on Friendster? Twitter or Yammer? On LinkedIn anyone? Do you Digg or Delicious it? All of the above?

The most important question: Do you know what all this means or are you confused? In this article, we hope to clear the confusion and help you understand the importance of using these sites for your business.

All the above sites mentioned are called social media sites. Social media is defined as:

The use of Internet destinations to connect with people socially and generate publicity through online communities.

Social media is the most effective way to publish and promote content in the form of press releases, PowerPoint presentations, viral videos, articles, podcasts, photos as well as whitepapers and ebooks.

If you visit and connect with people on these virtual destinations, you are social networking. For business owners, social networking is similar to a business networking event without constraints of time and space. We call it networking on steroids because you can rapidly connect with people globally 24 hours a day.

Social networking is about:

• Building relationships
• Starting conversation & creating word-of-mouth or buzz
• Answering questions/helping others
• Asking questions/trusting recommendations or advice from others

If you share interesting content on social media networks, you will get a bunch of fans and friends who will comment on it, share it, blog about it, tweet it (Twitter lingo), Digg it. Sites like Delicious and Digg are what we call social bookmarking sites. These web sites allow you to nominate and bookmark web pages or information that you think are worthy of attention.

How is this important to your business? By sharing your content, you are going to provide a link back to your hub (a blog or web site). Thus, increasing your visibility, boosting web site traffic, and ultimately growing your business.

It is no longer enough for your site to be visible on search engines such as Google. The key to any Internet marketing is ubiquity: being everywhere across a multitude of web sites. In today’s virtual world, if your business is not transparent online, you do not exist. With perseverance and patience, you will be able to create buzz and soon your online friends will start sending leads and referrals your way.

In summary, how does social media marketing benefit your business?

• Manage your reputation online
• Build recognizable identity or branding of your products or services
• Establish yourself as an expert in your industry
• Create “Buzz” or online conversations about products or services
• Form relationships with customers, prospects, employees, business partners, investors, colleagues, or friends
• Invite positive or critical feedback, dialogue, and discussion
• Speak directly, openly and honestly with your customers
• Articulate your viewpoints, knowledge & expertise pertaining to your industry
• Reach millions of people globally who could potentially become customers
• Set yourself apart from competition

Social media is here to stay so you can no longer afford to ignore it for your business. You can jump on this OPPORTUNITY or sit back and watch your competitors take all the fame and fortune. What steps are you ready to take?