Help People Find Your Web Site for Pup's Sake!

The last time I checked, the purpose of your business web site was to make money. Either through direct online sales (eCommerce) or new business acquisition, your web site is your ultimate sales tool.

Web sites do not sustain themselves, however. If you don't give mysite.com some TLC on a regular basis, it won't sustain your business either.

Allow me to clarify this hardened fact with a soft and cuddly example:

Imagine your dog just had puppies - if you don't have a dog, indulge me. A litter of beautiful golden retriever pups that are just the cutest things you've ever seen. The little girl puppy with the white mark on her paw is one of a kind!

Reality check: You've got a full house and an empty wallet, so you understandably need to sell some of them to good homes. How do you do that?

Not a trick question. You tell people! More specifically, you tell people you think will be interested in buying puppies or who may know people that will be interested in buying puppies. You create fliers with contact info and puppy pics. You update your Facebook status to say "Puppies for sale!" In short, you help people in the puppy-buying market find your puppies.

Marketing concepts are no different online. You still have to help the right audiences find your business to make sales, period.

Now to tie it all together: Having a web site does your business no good if nobody knows about it or - here's the kicker - people can't search for and find your web site.

Search engine optimization, or SEO, helps your target audiences find you online. Why is that important? Think of how you look for a specific service or product (like a puppy) - you Google it. Heck, most people do.

Pew Internet & American Life Project report 81 percent of people research a product online that they are considering purchasing. Bottom line: If they can't Google you (70+ percent of online searches), they won't buy your puppies.

By helping the people that want your product find it, whether it's a puppy or not, you're bringing pre-qualified traffic to your doorstep.

Some basic SEO steps:

• Identify the situation - your goals, messages, target audience(s)
• Develop keywords/key phrases - if you think you have these already, match them against your messages and audiences. Do they make the most sense? Can you compete for them??
  
• Perform a web site audit - review your site to measure the current level of optimization based on your messages, audiences and keywords/key phrases
  
• Take action - develop optimized content, create attractive and relevant source codes, and make your site more dynamic by starting a blog, newsletter, etc.
• Engage public relations - take your optimized web site and business to new audiences in a credible and compelling manner - marry SEO & PR
  

Check out SEO Chat for quick web site optimization Q&A's, or SEO Pro Book for a helpful, easy to read, and decently priced how-to/intro SEO book.

Good luck selling your puppies!

Power of Perception

I had a conversation this week with Brent Friar, an everyman web programmer and owner of BNR Branding (that's a compliment by the way), regarding online networking and the use of social media in Charlotte. We both are fairly frequent Twitterers (@tjustinmoore and @bnrbranding) which led to the question: "What makes someone an expert online?"

The question holds extra weight in today's technology and social media driven society. The face-to-face, although the most authentic and effective means of communication, is losing ground as people rely more on hand held devices to do "hands on" work. How can I trust someone I've never met or barely know with my business interests?

It reminds me of the scene from Dumb & Dumber when Lloyd (Jim Carrey) tells the little old lady in the motorized chair to watch his stuff while he breaks a dollar - he returns to no old lady and no possessions. Funny, but real.

What identifies someone as an expert? More specifically, how do you accurately judge someone's level of expertise based on their social media status/profiles alone? Maybe I'm a trust Scrooge, but that doesn't tell me much.

Is it their thousands of followers on Twitter? Is it their name appearing high on Google's SERPs?

Thousands of followers implies credibility and expertise - sense enough - but who accredited that person and why? How responsible is it to take a stranger's word when it comes to the expertise of someone who communicates in 140 characters or less?

It boils down to one word, one concept, one phenomenon: Perception.

Human beings live, breath, purchase, eat and communicate based on how they perceive a given situation, item, product, person, etc. So what determines our perception?

"Motivation affects perception," according to psychologists. For example, if a person is driving down Main Street with an empty stomach, they'll notice all of the restaurants. If their "check engine" light is on, they'll spot all of the gas stations. If it's Valentine's Day and they haven't bought their significant other a present (be honest), the jewelers will likely jump out.

The moral of the story: Be mindful of your motivations. Yes, it sounds like something Yoda would say. No, I didn't steal the line from him.

Whether you're job hunting online, expanding your social network, looking for a garage door repair service (Charlotte seems to have enough of those), or just absorbing local news, take into consideration your current state of mind and why you're pursuing that information.

A few additional tips for prepping your perception:

• Google it - yes, this is somewhat contrary to one of my skeptical statements above, but you need to acquire as much info about this person, product, place, etc. as you can before making a final decision.
  
• Create a measuring stick and use it! If the person doesn't meet your expectations at first look but they seem to have a lot of "street cred," go with your initial reaction.
  
• Follow their followers - if the endorsement comes from someone who has nothing to do with the industry, is it really an endorsement?

Good luck and may the force (of perception) be with you!

Online Social Networking in Charlotte

If I had a dollar for every hour I've spent engaged in online social networking endeavors, well, I'd no longer need to worry about social networking. Alas, the big picture, or in this case a smaller picture, has appeared before me...

Twitter, LinkedIn, Guru, Facebook and similar social media sites have been my primary focus of online networking. This is not a bad thing. You, me, we all want and need visibility on these sites for various reasons, but I had overlooked vast and valuable local social networking opportunities in Charlotte and the surrounding areas.

As a result, I've transitioned my efforts towards local online networking groups the past couple of weeks. Yes, the light bulb came on a little late (should be using CFL's!), but it's burning bright now.

A sampling of good social networking sites in the Charlotte area:

• Charlotte Online
  
• Social Media Charlotte
• Pitch Engine (more of a social media PR service, but it's well worth a look)
  
• Social Media Club Charlotte
  
• PRSA Charlotte

Some great Charlotte area public relations professionals and social media gurus on Twitter:

• Jason Kintzler @pitchengine
• Harry Hoover @MyCreativeTeam
• Buck Lawrimore @bucklawrimore
  
• Charlotte Observer @theobserver
  
• Lisa Hoffman @lisahoffman
  
• Brandon Uttley @brandonuttley
• Justin Moore (me!) @tjustinmoore
  

My Creative Team has a great list of Twittering journalists from around the globe.

Cheers and congrats to the fine folks in the Charlotte area who help the public relations, marketing, communications and general social media family grow on a daily basis!

Wanted: Public Relations Pro in Dallas

Dallas has become a bright spot in a dim economy with the announcement of a new corporate division with the city's cherished Cowboys: Public relations. High time I say.

One position of particular interest in my field is the "PR Coordinator." I've copied the job posting below; it turns out I was overqualified.

Job Description:
NFL franchise Dallas Cowboys seeking public relations and marketing professional to redeem America's Team. Successful candidate will work with star-caliber athletes who forget they're football players. Team management are naive and head coach knows only one aspect of the game. Image management, brand positioning and public perception are at critical levels.

Examples follow:

• Terrell Owens reality show
• Dan Reeves bolts from 'Boys
  
• Roy E. Williams underachieves and oversteps
  
• Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson celebrity relationship
• Adam "Pacman" Jones fired
  
• Martellus Bennett fined by Cowboys - Rap video apology on YouTube (original R-rated version "removed by user")

Requirements:
High school diploma, GED or equivalent. No experience required. Introductory level knowledge of football. Common sense a plus. Experience working with convicts and mentally challenged adults preferred.

Submit resume, a cover letter and three references ASAP at DallasCowboys.com. No drug testing. EOE.

Sincerely,
Jerry Jones aka Al Davis Jr.

What is Social Media?

Definitions often differ depending on the source. Ask any two people what "green" means and you'll get two different answers. "Social media" is no different.

Much like "sustainability," "green,"
"conservation" and "eco-friendly" are interchangeable to the average person, so are "Web 2.0," "new media," "blogging" and "social media." Social media can refer to anything from MySpace to my phone. Seriously, you could fit King Kong under that umbrella.

Wikipedia defines social media as "primarily Internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings." Although as broad and undefining a definition as that may be (I love the use of "primarily"), it is overall a safe synopsis.

That said, do you ever get the feeling this is a fad term? One of those phrases that's all-encompassing because nobody "owns the market" yet, hence it hasn't been branded and defined? I do.

Part of the problem with defining social media is that it's the sum of many individual parts, or media "micro-markets":

• Publishing - Blogger, WordPress, Wikipedia, Digg
• Social Networks - LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook
• Virtual Worlds - Second Life, IMVU, Habbo
• Discussions - Skype, Phorum, Google talk
• Microblogs - Twitter, Pownce, Plurk
• Oh, there's much more.

Even these micro-markets are not set in stone. Over time they'll shape shift and shrink as players fight to the death for social media supremacy. While they all may have unique features within unique categories, as with any market, the invisible hand will smack them around until only a few select sites claim the majority of visitors. We've already seen this happen with search engines...

As this digital Darwinian evolution continues over the next few years, definitions will change and "social media" and its many parts will become more clear. In the meantime, the number of social media sites will continue to increase daily, with definitions emerging and expiring all the while. Give it time and we'll get our real definition.

Other resources and defintions:

Just What is Scoial Media, Exactly?
Social Media Marketing Campaigns: How to Set goals and Define Your Target Market
Social Media in Plain English (YouTube video)