Why Google Needs Buzz – Kevin Rose

If you haven’t heard about Google Buzz yet then it is time to learn what and how you can use it. Watch this video from google:
YouTube – Google Buzz

Start conversations about the things you find interesting. Share updates, photos, videos, and more.

Check out Joel Comm’s Buzzing With Google Buzz | Top One Report

When it comes to social media, it’s not the numbers that count. You can have a Facebook page with tens of thousands of fans and a Twitter timeline with.

Now I know this post is way overdue but let’s be honest we all needed some time to learn more about how Google Buzz was going to change the Social Media industry. In my honest opinion I don’t think it has really changed much at all other than become another tool or channel to share content.

Here are some Google Buzz Tips and Tricks

Doriano “Paisano” Carta made a short video tutorial in which he show how you should setup ping.fm and Google Buzz if you wish to distribute content.

Give your comments below on what you have thought about Google Buzz so far. I plan on posting my thoughts here soon.

Post from: Social Media Vision

Google Buzz, Kevin Rose and Joel Comm

The growing topic on Twitter and the Blogosphere is how Online Marketers are becoming very bitter with the increase competition in Social Media Marketing.  You may have witnessed statements like “Everyone is a Social Media Expert” or “I hate how everyone thinks they are a Social Media Marketer”

Put Away The Social Media Hatorade

There seems to be a lot of animosity going on lately but the Top Social Media Strategists in the Web 2.0 world doesn’t seem to care to be affected by this battle.

The truth of the matter is this and its quite simple really.

“Social Media Marketing is the new standard and instead of fighting it, we must embrace it or be left behind”

Embracing Change

Remember back then in the DOT.COM boom where supposedly have a Dot.com business will make you MILLIONS & MILLIONS of money for everyone!!!  Well of course we found out the hard way just because we got online does not mean it’s instant cash.  Keep in mind everyone back then was gunning for a dot.com business, it was a race more or less.  Back then, entrepreneurs were hating on the competition and wanted to be the first to win the race.  However, the race and dot.com business bubbled and simmered down and now everyone is online.

The same concept applies to this day, who cares if everyone is using Social Media Marketing tactics.  Guess what, this is starting to become the normal practice and eventually everyone will use Social Media Marketing tactics in their business.

This is Business 101 folks, instead of being paranoid and bitter about competition.  Embrace competition and find ways to improve yourself and focus on how to be successful rather than pouting and complaining because your Mother is right, “It won’t do you any good”.

So what can we do while the Marketing Revolution shifts and starts conforming the entire world to this new change?  Instead of whining about the competition lets focus on these aspects, shall we:

• Start building your online presence in full affect to get a head start from your competition who hasn’t signed up on board with Social Media Marketing yet.  We are at an advantage while most people are afraid to embrace this new change, why not start building a great gap in your head start before your competition wises up and hops on the bandwagon.

• For your current competition who use Social Media Marketing now, constantly learn and read new things on how to improve your current marketing methods,  You can never learn too much.  Also, learn from the best even if it’s your direct competitor.  Just like Microsoft and the great painters in the world, they steal great ideas, upgrades it, and make it their own.  Sometimes to be successful you have to mirror the best but make it your own.

So let’s all put away the Social Media Hatorade and re-focus our efforts on how to be successful instead of focusing on things we can’t change.  Social Media Marketing is here to stay and we can either embrace it or be left behind.  Whats your decision?

Post from: Social Media Vision

Put Away The Social Media Hatorade

Call To Action In Social Media

Techniques to boost your conversion

You bought a new office, a high-tech laptop, and a spanking new leather chair for your hiney.  On top of all the new things you just bought for your new blog adventure, you also have written the best blog article you have ever written, your blog post is so awesome it just screams to be ReTweeted by Guy Kawasaki.

The blog post is getting many hits but why aren’t you converting the new visitors to stay longer, click on your ads or even subscribe to your RSS feed?

Many blog sites out there have trouble converting traffic to loyal visitors, revenue generators and subscribers because of a lack of call to action.

A Call To Action is a simple method to show your readers the next step for your blog like clicking on subscribe, clicking on affiliate links or reading a next post etc etc.  Its the driving force for your readers to click on something you persuade them to.

Below are some simple techniques to use for your Social Media site to incorporate Call to Action

Banner – Your banner or header is the easiest and most important Call to Action to incorporate.  A simple change of getting a logo designer to create an attracting header for your Blog or Social Media profile will do wonders and will brand your site to the visitors.  Make sure that your new header is click-able to go back to your homepage and is large enough to be clicked.

Complete Profile – As with any social media site out there, make sure you try to have most of your profile complete.  There is no penalty in having too much information filled out for your profile.  Visitors will want to find more information about the Author and if they come to a blank page then the visitor will unlikely return.  On your blog make sure that readers can find a spot to click on to get more information about you somewhere.

Vanity URL – Most social network sites will allow you create a unique custom vanity url to link to your profile.  Most recently Facebook just launched vanity urls for your personal page and fan page.  Having a Vanity Url will brand yourself and is much easier to remember/click/drive to your site than a bunch of numbers.  It’s like remembering your friend’s car’s license plate because of the vanity plate, it just makes it easier to direct your reader to your site.

Easy to find links / RSS – Easy as pie right? Make sure your links are easy to find, you won’t believe how many sites out there still have the RSS Subscribe links hidden and the archive links no where to be found.  If anything make sure your subscribe to rss feeder link is visible and on the top portion of your site.

Next Post / Related Posts – A nice little plug-in out there is having all your footers in your posts show relevant posts and next post option.  This is a great call to action due to making your readers explore more of your website and thus hopefully capturing them as loyal readers instead of just stopping in to read 1 post.

Motto / Mantra / Theme – Whats the point of your site? Whats the main theme of your site? If you don’t know then what makes you think your readers will.  Somehow incorporate a Tag Line or Theme for your site.  Stick with it to help brand your site and capture new readers.  Most blogs out there are sporadic in just throwing everything at the site and not being unified.  A simple theme like Mashable’s “The Social Media Guide” works wonders.

Contests & Free Gifts – Nothing attracts readers more than free gifts and contest give aways especially if you are just starting out.  I seen some viral contests out there that spiral into a huge snowball effect thus attracting vast amounts of new readers and more than likely capturing new subscribers.  I gave away 2 books on my Financial Blog and my traffic spiked 200% and I received 22 new subscribers that day.

Limited / BETA – Most sites out there take advantage of the limited hype or the secret beta club hype that makes people want to come to your site even more because of the illusion of exclusiveness.  Remember when Brightkite and Gmail were invite only, this made users go crazy in trying to get invites to these sites and thus hyping up the exposure.  A great simple method is ping your social network sites saying something in the lines of “Created a brand new blog, click here to get a secret beta preview before it goes live” see how that works?

6 Second Window – They have a saying for most websites out there that new readers will only take 6 seconds to browse your site and if not interested they will move in.  This is very important to have all you key call to action methods in place.  If you can’t find anything to keep you staying longer on your site then you need to reevaluate your site to include better call to action items.

Location – Finally make sure that all social media links are filled in everywhere this includes Myspace, Facebook, Friendfeed, Mybloglog and Twitter.  Simply by adding your link to all your online profiles out there will get you more exposure and allows you to connect with your readers more successfully.

There is no secret method here as you can see most of these methods are common sense but still most people fail to incorporate a call to action.

Post from: Social Media Vision

Call To Action in Social Media

Lil Wayne has a saying about why he believes he is the “Greatest Rapper Alive”

“I don’t think I’m better than anybody personally. I don’t think I’m better than anybody spiritually. I don’t think I’m better than anybody in any way or form or fashion. But as far as this rap thing, I think I am better than everybody. I’m a competitor and I hope everybody feels the same way about their craft.“

Love him or hate him there is one thing about Lil Wayne that makes a good point and that is believing you are the best in your craft will make you the best in your craft especially in competition.

Regardless of Lil Wayne saying this and self-proclaiming it, most people in the music industry will tell you that they agree with the saying. 

You know sometimes a little confidence can exuberate you to another level, just look at Mohammad Ali who repeatedly called himself the best fighter there is and it shows.

So as a business professional we have a saying as “Dress for Success” that means dress the part, act like a million bucks and be a million bucks.  Well hand-in-hand should go the saying “Be the best” Believe you are the best in your craft and become the best.

Although I may not particularly like Lil Wayne, his saying does capture my attention and I believe its a good one to go off by.

Post from: Social Media Vision

How Business Professionals Can Learn from LiL Wayne

Social Media can be time consuming

There’s an old saying that goes “Too much of a good thing can be bad for you”.  This is basically addiction.

Addiction can lead to loss of work, sleep and losing track of time.   If you are an employer, chances are that you do no wish for your employees to be engrossed in avenues other than their job when they are at work.

Let’s face the facts, Social Media can be very time consuming if you are not too careful.  Social Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are breeding zones for social engagement and interaction. It’s quick, easy and fun. This can be very easy to get caught up in.

Many users also put a lot of time and effort in creating  a very power Social Marketing presence in their business plan.

For Self-employed individuals this many not be an issue because you have a much more flexible schedule than the corporate day job users but this can also hamper with your personal life and other high priority activities like family time that is being stripped away from.

Curiosity kills the cat

In the Web 2.0 world users sometimes have a serious condition called the “Vain User”.

The “VAIN USER” likes to constantly have reassurance and monitor themselves at all time. 

• They check to see if any one has commented on their blog or social networks.

This feeling of the need to monitor themselves can disrupt their work time and being productive.  I understand the curiosity if any one has commented on one of your remarks you made on Twitter or Facebook but do it efficiently.  Just like with any other addiction you have to make sure your habit or hobby doesn’t consume you to a point where you are losing sleep, job production and other high priorities in your life.

Below I have found some great Tools, Apps & Tips to help you use your Social Media Time more wisely.

—————————-

Tools to help use Social Media effiencently

Twitter Mail [http://twittermail.com/] – Twittermail is a highly popular sight that help reduces the “Visiting Twitters Site” addiction.  Twittermail lets you e-mail your Tweets on any e-mail account and also has the ability to receive e-mail updates on any replies you receive on Twitter.

I actually do use Twittermail quite a bit when I am work because it prevents me from seeing other users on Twitter updates which can lead me into responding to them or just getting grossly involved in viewing Tweets that can make time fly and ultimately hurt your work performance.  The added e-mail update from Twittermail also helps with your Twitter Vain status of constantly needing to know if someone has replied to you yet.  Check it out.

Brightkit / HootSuite [http://hootsuite.com/] – Brighkit was the previous name of HootSuite which not to be mistaken of Brightkite.  HootSuite is also another Twitter Favorite who even Guy Kawasaki even uses.  HootSuite is a website most notably known for the multiple account and future Tweet website.

I use Brightkit when I may not have time to Tweet lets say tomorrow and want to still get my Tweets out.  I can schedule future Tweets by picking a Date and Time and also my Tweet message.  This can become very handy when you have a busy schedule and can’t focus on Tweeting.  Finally the Multiple Account feature is great to also manage more than one Twitter account.  For example I have a business and personal account.  

Digsby [http://www.digsby.com/] – Digsby is a great Software Application for your computer that helps organize all your Instant Messages, E-mails and Social Networks in one.  Digsby has a great concept but in the beginning they did had some flaws with memory leaks and errors but the new version of Digsby is excellent and I am sure with the future version they will only improve.  If you haven’t checked out my detailed review about this App yet, check it out here.

Ping.Fm & Friend Feed [http://ping.fm/ & http://friendfeed.com/] – Ping.fm and Friendfeed ultimately helps you update all your Social Networks all at once, thus helping you reduce time in logging in different sites.

Ping.fm is a stright forward and bottom line updater for all your Social Networks focused on getting your information out to everywhere.

Friendfeed is just like Ping.fm but also focuses on what your friends are doing and discovering.

I highly suggest checking out both as they are both valuable time savers.

Mobile Text – Texting should be the lifeblood of time savers which is by far the easiest to do and can be less cumbersome if done correctly.  Updating your social networks via Text gives you the flexibility of not being engrossed with other content out there if you text on the fly.  Texting can lead to addiction still if you use Web Enabled phones like the Iphone where even though you are still texting your updates you can see your friend’s Twitter updates too just like you would normally do on a home computer, so be careful.

Tips to help use Social Media effiencently

Twitter Break – Web Strategist Jeremiah Owyang has been the biggest advocate of preaching to all about taking a Twitter Break.  Twitter is a great Micro Blog service that helps connect networking, communication and business but just like any other social network platform out there if used too much can be an unhealthy habit of addiction.

Jeremiah in his blog post here shows that sometimes you must put the “Twitter” down and step away from it all and evaluate your priorities from an outside perspective without Twitter involved.  Taking a break does not mean you will stop using Social Media entirely, it just gives you time to re-evaluate your schedule and habit and make minor tweaks if necessary.  This comes highly recommended.

Schedule – Just like with any activity you want to try to incorporate into your life you might want to develop a strict schedule you can base your hobby/habit into.  I know some Twitter users won’t Tweet during work and only Tweet at night from 5-6pm.  Others have been known to only Tweet on the Weekends and others only check their Facebook profiles on Mondays, whatever your preference may be just make sure to stick with your scheduled plan.  The moment you start getting sloppy and taking over your normal schedule is the moment you take the Twitter Break step and re-evaluate.

Priortize – Now to put all the pieces together you have to come up with a game-plan in finding out your highest priorities and working your Social Media time around this, you don’t want to make Social Media your utmost priority when it really isn’t. For instance most users say that “Family comes first” and that’s great you should have time devoted to your family activities and never make Social Media take away from your family time.  Others may be work and that’s fine too never get too involved in Social Media where it prevents you from making your living and paying your bills, if you can’t pay your bills then how can you use Social Media if you can’t get on the net?

In conclusion whether you need to take a Twitter Break, Re-Schedule or Re-Prioritize, do what you got to do in order to have a healthy Social Media habit.  Social Media is great and should not treated like a bad thing but as with anything that consumes you too much or overpowers you, it can be an unhealthy habit.  Use your time wisely and Have fun!!

Post from: Social Media Vision

Being Productive In Social Media and Using Time Wisely

“Surrounding Yourself With Successful People” should be a familiar saying in the business world of successful entrepreneurs.  This goal is built up surrounding yourself with positive energy, wisdom and influences.  You learn from the best who are successful and you mimic or reflect that success when you position yourself in with them.

Whether you are trying to learn about Social Media, running your own business and just want to expand your network; Here are 7 strategies to help get you started.

1.)  Meetups

Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.

Meetups are a great way to find “LOCAL” successful people in your area.  This is a great change of pace of always being in celebrity awe online, now you can meet the true local successful people in your area through Meetups.

Many Twitter users are incorporating Tweetups in which its a meetup for Twitter users.

2.)  Join Groups/Associations

This may sound like common sense but people tend to join the wrong groups or don’t even join in the first place.

Join groups that provide value in your niche and show highly updated activities within the groups.  If your looking to connect with other Social Media experts, you would want to find groups with active members and are committed in helping other members.

By joining effective groups, you are gaining exposure and wisdom with other successful people in your group.  This will allow you to see what the experts are up to and what top new stories are being published right on your social network.

If you don’t know where to begin, start with the top with the most active members.

• Facebook Social Media Top Groups

Social Media Measurement

Social Media Marketing Mastermind

PRISM – The Secret Social Media Alliance

• LinkedIn Social Media Top Groups

Pro Marketers – For Marketing Professionals

Social Media Marketing

Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo

3.) Friend/Fan

Follow the top experts in your niche on the top social media sites out there.  It’s ok if they don’t follow you back or even engage conversations with you personally.  The point is to add these experts into your arsenal.   This is like a blogroll where people can view which powerhouse experts are associated with you providing you with more authority.

Go ahead and friend the experts on Digg, Myspace, Facebook & LinkedIN and Follow on Twitter.  It doesn’t matter if they friend or follow back, the point is that you added them to your knowledge rack and branded yourself with a power presence in your niche or field.

Who would you think has more authority as a Lawyer on Social Media, a user who has just personal friends and family or a user who has the top 50 Lawyers in the US along with personal and family friends?

Perception is key.

4.)  Subscribe to RSS Feeds

If you don’t know what a RSS feed is yet, I suggest you do so.  A RSS feed will replace your over abundance favorite websites and e-mail subscriptions.

Start subscribing to as many top expert’s sites and blogs out there in your niche.  The beautiful thing about RSS readers is that you can add many sites/blogs without sacrificing organization and value.

Get your dose of your updated daily wisdom in your niche with beautiful top stories of experts in your area. Below are sites to help get your started in searching for experts and successful people in your field to follow

http://alltop.com/ – Has great categories to help you find the top expert bloggers in that area.

http://popurls.com/ - Another great Buzz Aggregator

http://blogsearch.google.com/ – Google only uploads links in the blog search that have great value and authority.  An excellent place to find niches within the first 10 results.

Find a top successful blogger in your niche find out who’s on his blogroll and follow those people.

5.)  Build a comment community

Commenting on other blogs in your niche is not only a good way to build SEO backlinks and Google pagerank but is also a vital role in networking with your niche blogger community.

When you focus on your niche, for example Social Media and you just comment on the top Social Media blogs, you are gaining exposure, authority and building a great presence for new associates and friends that will come out of commenting on blogs.

This can go hand in hand with your RSS reader where you would have all your all star RSS feeds in your niche and just remember to comment as much as you can to start building that presence and surrounding yourself in successful environments.

6.)  Chat

Utilize the Chat tools like Instant Messenger, Ustream and Hashtag chats to find and follow some amazing people in your niches.

The most common rule in Social Media is to always have your contact information displayed so you can engage and connect effectively. Displaying your IM screen names on Social Sites can help you connect with some successful players in your field.

A good tip in how to become a Power User on Twitter is to actively engage the top Digg users via instant messenger.  IMs are fast and easy access to get advice and start building a great relationship with the top experts.

Another great method is to find Ustreams and like Vidcasts that are going on within your niche.  A great way to start is finding when the next big vidcast will begin on Social Networks like Facebook, Myspace or Twitter.

Vidcasts are great because not only you can really kick it up a notch in the engagement level but once again show your presence in building a stronger community with the top experts in your field.

Finally #Hashtag chats are found on Twitter.  These chats are formed on Twitter and are engaged on Twitter.  Once you determine which #hashtag chat to join, go to the Twitter search page http://search.twitter.com/ and start tracking the #hashtag in the timeline.  These are becoming more and more popular because anyone can join the fun at anytime.

7.)  Conferences/Shows, Seminars & Barcamps

This is no secret, the most active, enthusiastic and successful people in their niche follow shows, seminar and Barcamps to gain more knowledge and networking exposure.  The weakest links will not devote their time to join these events and this is a great avenue to find your successful associations.

Barcamps are community content driven workshops.   These organizations are largely formed on the web and exposed mainly in Social Media.  This is the underground hype you may not find out on the streets but only in web 2.0.

You don’t have to leave your house to join these events you can join Web conference calls as well.  Web conferences are excellent resources for events on the fly and ease of accessibility.

Focus

The secret of success is focusing on goals and visions of success.  Surround yourself with successful people to help influence and inspire you on this path of success.

Post from: Social Media Vision

7 Ways To Surround Yourself With Successful People In Social Media

ReTweeting

Lately the Twitter world has been buzzing over the art of ReTweets.  Let’s quickly look at the facts on a ReTweet or RT.

• A ReTweet is based upon the word Tweet.  Tweet is slang used in Twitter that means whatever message you post up on Twitter is considered a Tweet.  Hence a ReTweet is a Tweet that is re-copied that begins with either a RT or ReTweet. Dan Zarella researched that “RT” is used 4 more times than “Retweet” in his article “Whats in a Retweet?”

• Techchrunch wrote a post on how ReTweets are viewed as a proxy for Authority in the Twitter world.  This means that the more Retweets you gain from other Twitter users based on the article you have written or have found and submitted to the Twitter world, will prove that you are an Authoritative expert in Twitter.  This can be viewed as a very helpful contributor in Twitter, A guru/enthusiast/expert in that field that consistently Tweets & Retweets about the same subject i.e Social Media.

• Viral communication.  Retweeting is the spread of communication quick, for example when the Twitter phishing scam first appeared, Retweets helped spread awareness across the Twitter community to effectively nip this sucker in the butt before it got too ugly.

Are you a Retweet thief?

Before explaining what a Retweet thief is, I want to point out that a Retweet thief is not a user who legitimately found the article outside of Twitter and on their own.   This can be very hard to determine and should be based on the Twitter etiquette or respect, should you follow the code or not is up to you.

The best way to explain why a Retweet thief maybe frowned upon is comparing it to Digg.com.  When a user submits an article to Digg they have 1st authority and users on Digg constantly submit new articles to be viewed as the authority figure or respected within the community.

In essence in the Twitter world, when a user submits a Tweet with a shrink url (bit.ly, is.gd, Tinyurl etc) that user got 1st dibbs in becoming an authoritative figure.  Regardless of if the article is yours or not, you still in essence was the original Tweet which can actually be tracked with the Twitter Search feature and URL shrink stats (bit.ly has a great Retweet tracker).

Now people may say that it shouldn’t matter if you steal credit for the Tweet aslong as the article gets exposure.  This is very true, the article deserves the viral exposure and is the main forefront in ReTweeting but keep in mind there is a 2nd reason in Retweeting.

The 2nd reason in a Retweet is the Social Aspect.  The original user who submitted the article should also deserve the credit for putting it out in the Twitter community.  This will allow the contributor to gain more of a solid reputation and more people can find to connect with you, which in essence is what Social Media is all about right?

So to give credit or not to give credit….that is the Retweet Thief’s agenda.

Examples

Below are examples of  Twitter Retweet Examples based upon an article that I was first to submit about the 18yr old Twitter hacker who got caught.

*Now keep in mind I am not pissed if you ReTweeted and didn’t give me credit because you could of legitimately found the article without seeing it on Twitter first, but do keep in mind karma is a b*tch!*

The Original Post – 1st posted the breaking news story of the Twitter Hacker getting caught

The ReTweets soon follow - This was breaking news.  Wired actually got the Twitter hacker to explain in detail how he accomplished the hack.

The combination Retweet - This retweet copies their friends name but still gives the original poster credit.

The shorten URL switch - This retweet changes the shorten URL link with a better preference of the Twitter user but still keeps the original credit to the contributor.  I respect this retweet to still keep the credit even with a new URL.

The ReTweet Thieves – Now here is the shorten URL I have used for my original tweet.  Due keep in mind if the user used the same url shorten service then it will populate with the same url.  Below is just an example that could very well be innocent and decided to submit the same article using the same url shorten service.  There has been plenty of times where I have seen though a Tweet gets hijacked because the person would expose themselves because they are stealing the tweet from a friend or a high profile celebrity that you know he would of seen.

(*Educational purposes only examples and I am not calling out anybody, all examples can be perfectly legit)

Again this is just a learning purpose example and not really to place blame.  Below is an example of a combination where Beverly stole the “shorten url switch” guy (scroll up) but also didn’t give no credit to anybody.

Zaibatus credits himself even though I highly doubt he was not aware of all the Twitter alerts going off in the Twittersphere.  All the social media rockstars have already Tweeted about this and its highly unlikely he has not seen 1 single tweet about it.

(*Again, these are just examples and I am not placing blame to certain individuals used in the examples)

Conclusion - The art of ReTweeting to build relationships and promotes social media while giving the original submitter credit.  If you do ReTweet hijack, please be mindful in giving credit to the original submitter.

Your thoughts?

Post from: Social Media Vision

Are You A Twitter ReTweet Thief ?

Google PageRank

December 31st marked the day where Google updated the PageRank numbers for websites and blogs.

A PageRank is a metric measuring tool created by Google to measure reputation and importance content.  The last PageRank update occurred on September 2008 and usually occurs every 2-3 month intervals.  A wiki of PageRank can be found here.

There is however a lot of controversy over PageRank because webmasters are more focused on A search engine results page, or SERP.  The thing about Google is that they are very hush hush on the algorithms and formulas used behind their metrics including PageRank.  Webmasters have often experienced disappointment and frustration when determining PageRank and have often lashed out online with the results they have received.

The bottom line about PageRank is that its just another measurement tool used in the online world.  This may not be used to gain better search results but here is what it may be used for …

• A statistic used by Domain sellers & buyers.  Like it or not, domain buyers will want to know about your PageRank. 
• Can Deliver traffic based on PageRank worship and comment love.  Bloggers love finding high PageRanks to subscribe and leave comments on so that they can build their own backlinks through your PageRank Juice.  You will also gain traffic through un-marketed blogrolls, bloggers will more than likely list a high PageRank than a low PageRank.
• Google’s highly secretive search results formula still might be influenced by PageRank whether its a very small amount or a high amount.
• Overall PageRank is a measurement number widely viewed by the online world to determine rank.

So whether you like it or not, the best suggestion would to have a high PageRank anyways instead of complaining about it.  It’s best to have a good rank rather than be left in the dust and lose out on opportunities on a simple PageRank upkeep.

So below are tips and advice that I have done just in the matter of 1 month.  Social Media Vision opened up on 11-06-2008.  My other blogs based on Finance & Sales are all in the PR3 range and took many months to achieve that rank.  In the forum world people have also said to wait at least 1 year or so to even see a PR1 change, so I was very humbled and surprised when I see a Google PageRank 3 achieved in this PageRank.

Now there is no exact formula out there and guarantee due to the complex nature of Google but feel free to follow these tips below to help gain some tips on achieving a higher PageRank.

Google PageRank Tips

1. No BlackHat Advertisements

Google will penalize for unlawful selling or buying links.  Another blackhat ad trick is selling your posts on your blog for profit or Pay Per Post.  If you are going to do these ads on your site, use the “no-follow” code rel=nofollow.  This will allow Google to not track that you are following these ads or links.  I would suggest even using it on all your 125×125 Block ads.

2. Use Do-Follow Forums utilizing forum signatures

Forums are great resources for hidden promotion gems.  You can create a signature that displays your website/blog on ever comment you make in the forum.  I was commenting on forums that were in my niche “Social Media” like

• SitePoint forums, DigitalPoint forums and Warrior forums

You can use a do-follow search engine like DoFollow Forums to determine if the forum will give you PageRank juice with your signature links.  It won’t make any sense to start commenting like crazy expecting results if the forum is a no-follow forum.  

3.  Comment on Do-Follow blogs

Just like with forums, search and find Do-Follow blogs to comment on.  A good way to see if they follow a do-follow rule is look the blogger’s comments page and notice where the user will leave a website in the comment field, do a right click –> view source to look at the code to find the website of that commenter and if you see a no-follow code right next to the commenters website then that blog is a no-follow blog.  

There are many search engines out there that you can Google Do-Follow search.  I have found that commenting on the Do-Follow blogs has also upped my community experience too in getting to know my blogger niche community.

4.  Comment on Commentluv blogs

You may noticed my blog is commentluv enabled which allows my commenters a display of the last blog post they wrote if they opted to display their website link.  This is a great link love where you can gain great authority and new readers with commentluv.

5.  Find blogs with top commenter widgets

I have also found that finding blogs that display the Top Commenter widgets that show the top 5 or 10 commenters on the sidebar is another way to gain PR link juice.  Since this will be static in showcasing your site, the main website is giving your site a major boost in back-link juice.  I have found that major websites with high PR is very beneficial to get on the top commenter list even though it may be difficult to achieve.

6.  Submit site to directories

First rule is to develop content first within your website .  I wrote a good 10 articles before I started submitting to all the major blog and website directories out there.  It may be tedious but its worth it.

7.  Use social bookmarking

Social Bookmarking sites have really helped me with SERP and Google organic search results.  Use Social Bookmarking tools to get your blog indexed fast and start gaining authority in the Social Media world.

So even though you may hate PageRank and don’t think its worth it.  I highly suggest that you may reconsider and hopefully these tips/guidelines may help on your next PageRank update.  It’s only 2-3 month intervals so if you were disappointed on the last update, hold your head up and make a major bounce back.

Build rapport with a global audience and have your brand known, hire a social media agency today.

Post from: Social Media Vision

How I Got From Google Pagerank 0 To PR3 In 1 month

The 80/20% Statistic is used in Social Media to be used as a guideline when promoting your self or your business.

Many users and sites have developed similar guidelines like 1 out of 4 promotion or every other promotion.  The bottom line is that most guidelines and roles to follow can be based on the 80/20% rule in Social Media.

80% Portion

80% of your sociable content should not be based on your shameless self promotion.  This content should be used to engage other people’s work you have liked or content that has nothing to do with your promotion but rather gray area and safer subjects.

An example of a gray area content would be talking about a subject that is in your niche of field but you haven’t specifically said your own brand.   This is like going to a Mustang convention and talking about cars with people without having to notify people you are a Car Salesman.

20% Portion

This portion is where you can start promoting your content or talk about your brand.  Keep in mind, nobody likes a door-to-door sales man who constantly throws up shameless marketing that is unwanted.

Keep it simple and use common sense.  How would you like to see content in Social Media that does nothing but shamelessly promote their business and provides no substance in interaction and contributions?

Throw in your stuff sporadically and enjoy Social Media without making this a difficult task at hand.  Don’t focus on over analyzing your contributions, just keep it minimal and you will do fine.

Below are ways to incorporate the 80/20 rules in your Social Media sites

Social Bookmarking – Social Bookmarking sites like Digg have a built in community of users that engage in Social Networking on a daily basis.  These sites are not just for sharing content but also social networking.  Do not just shamelessly Digg your own content and prove no real value of other websites you find useful.  

This will blackmark you in the community and you are doing nothing but hurting yourself.  If you allow yourself to help contribute more often and become a better community member chances are you will gain more friends and better results in getting more votes.  This is a win/win situation, don’t forget to help promote your friends or your own favorite articles that is not your own.

Twitter – Twitter is crucial for real time results because users can see your Twitter persona fairly quickly and if they notice you are doing nothing but promoting your blog or not providing any value in your tweets, you will notice a decrease in followers and will gain a reputation online as a spammer.  You will see HUGE results if you apply the 80/20 rule here or 1 out of 5 tweets here. 

Social Networks – Networks like Myspace and Facebook may not be built on heavy contributions like Social Bookmarking, Twitter and Blogs but the same rules apply here if you are constantly promoting your content via wall posts or shared link content.  This is by far the most powerful way to get your promotion out there if done correctly.  

Forget about trying to sell your image and just focus on building a relationship with your new online friends.  Chances are you will get results without having to promote or ask for it by the sheer fact of online trust and reputation gained.

Blogs - Granted your blogs are whatever you want it to be and can be just a sole money making machine site that all it does is self promotions but keep in mind the most successful Bloggers out there gain much success when they don’t focus on selling and just writing valuable c0ntent.  

Once the content is established Professional Bloggers find ways of implementing their business and sales in posts sporadically and never continuously.  The 80/20 rule is being used by professional Bloggers for a long time now and you may not of realized it but the best advertising are not the ones that are most obvious.

Post from: Social Media Vision

The 80/20 Ratio Promotion Marketing In Social Media

The Movie

He’s Just Not That Into You is an American romantic comedy film of romantic misadventures of several individuals in their twenties and thirties.

The main plot is based upon the theme of Sex and the City Dialogue in which Miranda asks Berger to analyze the post-date behavior of a potential love interest. Because the man declined Miranda’s invitation to come up to her apartment after the date, stating that he has an early meeting, Berger concludes that “he’s just not that into you,” adding that “when a guy’s really into you, he’s coming upstairs, meeting or no meeting.”

The Social Media Reference

So this book has made some waves and is finally turning into a movie, sounds cliche right?  Well the whole main idea behind this book is that if a guy doesn’t ask you out, it’s not because he’s dumb, confused or scared.  He’s just not into you.

This concept can be applied to Social Media in which a user may feel rejected by not adding them to Facebook, Myspace or Twitter.  They just may not be into to you and don’t take it to heart, there are many Social Media Superstars out there that are known to ignore the vast masses and has the persona of the Social Media Snob.

It’s ok, don’t over analyze and don’t be afraid of social media.  Instead of focusing on things why you are being rejected, focus on these suggestions

• Focus on becoming a better blogger
• Focus on connecting with more people
• Focus on improving your Social Media presence
• Focus on maintaining and engaging more with your friends

Suck it up, Dry your tears and move on in your cyber world to people who will accept you rather than rejecting you

The Social Media Quotes

It’s no surprise that Social Media is popping up more pop culture and more main stream better than ever.  Below are actual movie quote references from the movie. Enjoy

Post from: Social Media Vision

He’s Just Not That Into You Social Media