Thursday, March 29th, 2007
At Buzzoodle, we encourage many of our clients to Blog. It’s a simple way to create a wealth of content at a fast rate that also raises your credibility. People seem to grasp the idea of posting frequently to generate content and improve SEO, but many seem to forget about one key thing. Networking.
Connecting with other Bloggers is the best way to increase traffic and extend your network. Always remember that blogging is more than just posts and articles, it is a highly social tool. Here are some things you can and should be doing to make your blog a success:
- Comment on other blogs - If you find a blog you like, and have something to say, then by all means, say it! Bloggers love having others comment on their blogs, especially if you have something meaningful to add. It provides a link back to your blog as well.
- Link to other blogs - If you read a blog or post that you like and is relevant to your site then spread the word about it on your blog. Bloggers who track their stats will check out who is linking them and check out your site. Think of it as a way of saying, “Hi, I’m a fan of yours”.
- email - If someone has their email posted, feel free to say hi. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. You can simply introduce yourself and express your appreciation for what they’ve done.
- Trackbacks - This is a powerful tool. They allow you to link back to other blogs, where a portion of your post will be shown and linked to. It’s best practice that your post is relevant to the source, provides a link, and proper acknowledgement, to the original site when doing so.
- Respond to your comments - If someone writes a nice comment on your blog, respond back! This is a part of what makes blogs organic. You can have a conversation building on your blog, and work on relationship building as well.
- Participate in contests - Some bloggers post blogging contests or projects for others to join in. For example, someone may post on the top ten ways to market to teens. The idea would be to have other bloggers write their top ten and link back to the source. The original blogger then posts the best results with a link back to that site. This is a great way to get exposure, meet new people, and have fun.
Remember, writing posts is just a small part of the big picture of blogging. By taking advantage of the power of networking that’s possible with this, blogging can be a vital tool for marketing you or your company.
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Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
A growing trend in the business world involves taking advantage of virtual back office assistants. They allow business owners to focus on their core competencies and have services take care of the rest. Affordable, one stop services make this a compelling option for startup businesses and small business owners.
Anita Campbell just wrote a nice article about one such company, My Business Assistant, on her Blog. Check it to find out more on this growing trend.
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Monday, March 19th, 2007
Shawn Hessinger at Bootstrapme wrote an interesting post on business mantras. He references work from Guy Kawasaki, and this is becoming a fun project. He mentions using mantras that are short, sweet, and to the point. Can you sum up your business in a few words?
Ron McDaniel said it best about our company, Buzzoodle, in his post when he said, “Everyone is a Buzz Marketer’. This is a philosophy we live by here. We believe anyone can create great buzz for their company or themselves. It just takes time, devotion, and lots of enthusiasm. We help other companies create that buzz, and get their employees motivated to create buzz as well (like the mantra says, everyone!).
What are some other interesting mantras companies can use?
- Gatorade - Quenching thirst.
- Nintendo - Whole family gaming.
- Arby’s - Fast Food made different.
- Apple iPod - Little big music.
Shawn Hessinger invites others to participate in this as well. Post your own thoughts on mantras, your own mantra, or ideas for other companies. Be sure to give a nod to bootstrapme for the great idea.
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Thursday, March 8th, 2007
One of the best things a company can do to create a lot of buzz is to exceed expectations. Recently, Sony did just that at the Game Developers Convention.
President of Sony Worldwide Studios Phil Harris was the keynote speaker that night and sent the message that had game developers and gamers alike floored. How did they do it? They introduced a robust new online system called “Home”.
Home is a system that combines the best of both worlds from Xbox Live achievement system and Second Life’s online world. Players can create and customize their own character and interact with others in a fully realized virtual world. Lounges with simple games like pool, bowling, arcades, and more are all fully realized and interactive.
Power is given to more than just the gamer, though, which is where the brilliance comes in. Game developers can use the virtual world to display trailers for their upcoming games, banner ads are literally banners in the virtual world and aren’t limited to just advertising in the game industry. Sony gave them full flexibility to create their own online environments for players to visit, lending itself to more creative freedom for marketing. Users will be able to navigate areas from their favorite companies and chat with other players inside, play games, etc. Sony gave developers full freedom to advertise and create as they pleased within this new system. This creates a very friendly, enticing platform to work for.
The introduction of a new trophy system gives a nod towards 360’s achievement system, gives a win-win situation as well. Players are happy to have their bragging rights visible in a room full of trophies, developers are happy because other players see it as well, bringing more buzz for their game.
I could go on and on about how Sony really listened to both game players and game developers this time and not met their expectations, but exceeded them and turned us all for a loop, but I’ll let the presentation do the talking. Check out the speech for yourself on Gamespot for a glimpse at the future of PS3’s gaming. As an added bonus, you’ll see footage of another innovative title, Little Big Planet, that shows the brilliance of giving people simplicity, flexibility and control in gaming. Sony has finally made itself a very strong contender for XBox Live, it will be interesting to see how they fare against each other. This is a prime example of creating huge buzz by giving us all the unexpected.
Disclaimer: The image in this article is from gamespot.com. Please visit their site if you wish to see more.
Posted in Buzz, Tech | 1 Comment »
Friday, March 2nd, 2007
I’ve been working with a client of ours, Matco, for some time now. They’ve been very good about updating their page, and because they work on it frequently, they ask me a lot of questions.
We’ve had numerous interactions and I’ve helped them with a lot of things. Each time, I receive warm, sincere thank you’s. There eventually became a running joke between both our companies that I would be receiving cookies in the mail from them because of my help.
Little did I know that I would receive them, and coincidentally, on my birthday! A big basket of cookies was sent directly to me with a thank you note attached.
So why am I mentioning this? This is a prime example of great relationship building between companies. By simply providing good, prompt customer service I was noticed. On the other side, by being great clients that are understanding, friendly, ask good questions, really try to learn more, and show great appreciation they earned a special place in my book. The cookies was a great way of showing they care, and helps strengthen good relationships. Customer service worked both ways here. Oh, and if you’re reading this, thank you Debra!
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