Paulino from Social Media Travellers is a man who likes to try out new approaches to social media and he does it with a liberal dose of fun.

His latest creation is Flash Mob Monday and it’s starting to take off.

Who says that you have to all get together in one place at one time to create a flashmob?  Paulino is getting everyone together in a video clip instead.  It’s flashmob via video and it’s a novel promotional tool.

If you’d like to find out how it works, visit the Social Media Travelers website.  Just imagine how many people will see you dancing around with your logo!

Of course, being a mum of boys I remember the series well.  So did Amanda Cox of Real Mums, who is mum to three boys.

The conversation went like this:

Amanda – Got that one – and Bummageddon and some other one. Captain Underpants is also much fun!

Me -Captain Underpants and the Wicked Wedgie Woman?  Hehe

Amanda -Captain underpants and Professor Poopy Pants, Super Diaper Baby … can’t remember the rest LOL

Amanda -Zombie Bums of Uranus??? Was that one? Something like that, anyway

Me – Along with matching sound effects and assorted smells….

Me – All those bum books were funny.  His books are actually really good for boys who, typically, don’t like to sit and read.  If they are going to read a book it might as well be about bums, farts and other disgusting stuff that they’ll love

Amanda -  I nearly turned into a ten year old boy a few years back … it was touch and go there for a while

Me - Gotta love boys.  Big, smelly, loving and enthusiastic like labradors.

It’s true that there is a stage in every boys life where the power of the bum and it’s associated products does rule their minds.  Andy Griffiths has either figured it out or remembers that stage very vividly.  (Do men grow out of it?)  Either way, he knows exactly what to write to appeal to the age group and gender he is targeting.

Gillian and some of the other commentators on the post are mothers of girls so they had never been exposed to this kind of writing before.  Amanda and I clearly remember how our boys reacted to it.  Those books hit the spot like no other books did.  Getting your boys to read isn’t always easy but if it’s a topic that appeals to them, they will do it.

It occurred to me that this was a really good lesson for us all.  As business owners we don’t have to write about bums (unless bums are our business) but we do have to write about the things our ideal client wants to read.  If that means using bum references, then do it.

They don’t always want to read, either, especially if it looks or smells like advertising or promotions, but they will stop to read something that appeals to them.

Now use your imagination. What kind of topics would appeal to your ideal client?   How could you use that to help you in your business writing?

You never know.  You could become the Andy Griffiths of your world.

Working from home suits me. With my son turning 2 and my oldest daughter of 7 – I love the fact that I am able to stay home and work around their schedules. While it may not always be this way, I am happy that I don’t have to pay childcare fees and can fit my career around the hours I have available (albeit sometimes very few).

Although my online career started as one thing and morphed into something different altogether, I think that it is important to find the business that suits your lifestyle and skill set; and sometimes the business you end up with is something entirely different from what you set out to do altogether. In my mind, I envisaged running a gift store complete with gorgeous products at affordable prices but my lifestyle complicated my dream. While I started out down that route, constant moves on an international level interrupted the flow.

Setting up a business is not easy and to date I have set up two online gift stores only to find that while that is something I enjoy doing, it is not practical for me on a long term level. However my experience and skills were not wasted throughout this work-at-home journey. I learnt many skills – in particular online marketing, blog writing and social networking, in addition to my experience in administration and recruitment already gained – and over time I discovered that these skills were useful to others.

It took me a number of years but now I have a career in which I can operate from wherever I am located – to date China, Australia and Canada – and all I need is internet access and a laptop.

Michelle is the Blog Manager for Clever Streak, has a varied background in administration, teaching and recruitment and has been involved in writing and blogging on a professional basis since 2005. She loves to see small businesses achieve success and looks forward to assisting as many businesses as she can.

It boosts social interaction through the commenting system which in turn helps you to build a community which can then result in your site receiving more traffic.

Many bloggers use plugins including Akismet in order to block spam and CommentLuv is often used to’share the love’ for comments. However even though these plugins enable you to have far more interaction with your readers, it is true that the more plugins you are using the higher the chance of you experiencing blog problems.

With the Disqus plugin readers can like a comment, find out more information about a commenter and subscribe to that person’s comments.

Readers of your blog will basically be able to comment the same as they normally would, however they can also login through their Facebook or Twitter account. How easy is that?

If you create a Disqus profile then you will be able to add all your various social networking profiles to this one link.  This effectively means you will be able to link your Facebook, Digg and Twitter accounts to your profile. It is also easy to add your website and other details and this can help lead readers to the sites you want them to find.

There is evidence to suggest that growing comment communities tend to receive more traffic. Research has also found that comments have a clear SEO benefit and that comments can actually improve search accuracy by as much as 15%.  That means that the better the conversation you have in your comment stream the more potential there is for a boost to your SEO.

The comment system is live.  You can moderate comments via your blog, the Disqus site or even via email.  The more prompt your response, the more likely the comments will become a discussion!

The new version of Disqus includes a Community view which shows off the website’s top participants as well as some of the hottest discussions happening right now.  What a great way to encourage interacton.

We use Disqus here on the Clever Streak blog and much prefer it to the standard blog commenting system.

Have you tried Disqus?  Leave me a comment here and tell me how you find it.

If you struggle with keywords and working out how often to use them in your text, have a look at this clip. Matt Cutts from Google tells it the way it is.

Just think… He might save us all from some of those dire sites where the text just doesn’t make sense because it’s filled with the same word again and again whether it fits or not!

A couple of years ago Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li created social technographics which is a way of classifying the social behaviour of people within your target market.  This is what they came up with.

It’s a ladder based on the level and type of social media involvement that different sectors of your market have and it forms a social profile for you.  The best thing about it is not just that it categorises people but it shows you how best to approach them through your marketing efforts.

  (source: Forrester)

Each rung on the ladder belongs to a different group and beside is the description of the kind of activities that group performs within the social media.

“At the top are activities that demand a lot of participation and creativity, like the Creator group that blogs or uploads video. In the middle are activities that are easier, like reacting to content (Critics) or Joining a social network (Joiners). Near the bottom are the people just consuming the stuff, the Spectators. The Inactives do none of these activities. The groups overlap — most Creators are also Spectators, for example.”

Just imagine how you could use this information to spread the word about your business or new product.

But what do you actually know about your own target market?  You know your ideal clients but where do they sit on the ladder?

This Social Technographics Profile Tool will show you.   It’s based on research throughout the world and it is intended to help you plan a targeted social technology strategy.

Enter your data at the top and you will find a breakdown of the behaviours of the different genders and age brackets within your market.

Have a play.  It’s a great head start to planning your next campaign.

 

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

You can install a simple social media plug-in on your website, or create a company profile on the popular social media platforms to improve your Google ranking, boost your market positioning and eventually increase your profit margins. Social media has become part of the daily activities of many people, and most these users are also your target customers.

If you want to be found online, start using social media but you need to know how to use social media for SEO purposes.  That way you will get the best results for your efforts.

Here are some SEO tips for social media purposes:

Optimize the titles
When people are searching the internet, it is the title of your article or website that will appear. One of the rules of SEO is that you choose the right keywords for your titles and headings. Every article you post on your page should have the most relevant search words. Having a simple but unique keyword will improve your ranking and drive traffic to your business website or page on social networks. For example, give a keyword rich tip, followed by a link to where your readers can obtain more information.

Tag photos appropriately
Make sure that all the photographs uploaded on your social media site have tags. These tags should be optimized for easier searching. Ask yourself which keywords you would type in the search box if you were looking for the products you are promoting. Use both primary and secondary keywords as photo tags and people will always land on your homepage every time they search using any of those keywords. Many experts advise us to include your brand name in photo tags.

Include the keywords when creating back links
Sites such as twitter and LinkedIn are very useful for back linking. When sharing content from your website, do not use the automated summary and description. Always create a unique description that is keyword rich. Remember that your customers search for specific key terms and so you need to write a catchy description which incorporates those terms and that will bring more people to your website.

Assign each photo an appropriate caption
Whether the photos are on your official website or on your fan page, make sure they have captions. Don’t use captions to jsut to describe what is happening, but also to draw the attention of your readers. Remember that your photo captions have the potential to generate traffic for you. Use the most appropriate keywords to improve your page ranking in the search engine.

Be keen when writing content for your profile and about sections.
Your profile text or about sections introduce you to your readers. This is where you need to show your personality but also include keywords. It can be hard to condense all of that information into just a few words but remember that you have limited space on your social media profile pages.  If you can do it and sound natural, try to include your main keyword early in the text.

That should give you something to think about but I can’t end without reminding you that your writing should be natural.  Don’t just fill it with keywords because, while the search engines might find you quickly, your readers will take one look and head for the hills.  SEO will work for you if you don’t overdo it.

Last year’s event attracted around 19,000 attendees and raised awareness of babies born prematurely. It raised much needed funds for five different charities all which support children.

In mid-January this year a Facebook event page was launched in an effort to reach as many families as possible in the lead up to April with over 3,000 already ‘attending’ the event. Word has spread through social networks of the fantastic work being done to raise funds through the “Wear Green for Premmies” Day. Ms Toivonen is expecting that this year’s event will attract an unprecedented number of attendees.

Funds will be raised through the sale of green wristbands sporting various premmie support messages chosen by the websites members. Funds will then be distributed amongst charities that support children throughout Australia. Attendees are also encouraged to fundraise on the day in support of the National Premmie Foundation.

Attendees do not attend a physical event but simply sign up to the event on the Wear Green for Premmies Day Facebook Page and encourage family and friends to wear something green on the 4th of April 2012.

L’il Aussie Prems was launched five years ago to provide families with an interactive online community that they can access anywhere anytime. Ms Toivonen gave birth to her first baby thirteen weeks too early with her son spending 110 days at Monash Medical Centre in Clayton, Victoria. He started his first day of primary school this week. Ms Toivonen knew that her experience could help families like her own through her online support network which now reaches thousands of families each month. Subsequently, with the launch of social media, the Facebook page has also developed and has given L’il Aussie Prems the ability to reach a far wider audience of families needing assistance.

The website and Facebook page provide families with information and resources as well as the support needed through each stage of a premmie baby’s growth.

For further information about the Wear Green for Premmies Day, please contact Julia Toivonen, Founder, L’il Aussie Prems on 0412 248 583 or by email at admin@lilaussieprems.com.au.

Building your list can be difficult. It seems to take forever to get people interested in what you have to say, especially if yours is a new business. What can you do to encourage them to subscribe and why bother?

You’ve probably heard about the sales funnel. That’s something that every business should have in place. The top of the funnel is the wide mouth that collects as much as it can and for most of you, it’s where you collect subscribers to your list. Once they are in your funnel you can market to them. Just think about it. The more subscribers you have, the more likely it is that someone will buy your goods or services.

This is where the Client Catcher comes in. It’s the lure at the top of your funnel. It’s the tempter that visitors to your site just have to have.

A Client Catcher is a free report, product or ecourse that you give away in exchange for a subscription to your newsletter. It will only work if you are offering something that the client wants. That means that it has to be of interest to them – perhaps it answers questions, solves problems or teaches them something that they want to know.

Remember, these people aren’t likely to know you and may know nothing about your business so the odds of them spending a fortune with you straight away are small. By offering a free giveaway you are allowing them time to get comfortable with and learn more about you and that ultimately leads to sales.

Once they have subscribed it’s your job to make certain that your newsletter is full of useful and valuable content. That’s how you’ll keep your clients and encourage them to shop with you.

We can create your Client Catcher for you. We use a simple process to help you work out what you need so that you can start capturing leads quickly. Lead generation has never been this easy!

Contact Anne to get your Client Catcher straight away.