Squidoo Lens Strategies

Posted on 13. Jul, 2010 by sandra in News, Social Media

Squidoo lenses have nothing to do with seafood and calamari.  Squidoo is a powerful social media site that allows users to create “lenses” about themselves, their business and/or their interests. A Squidoo lens is similar to a blog post except, rather than being hosted on an individual’s blog, it is posted on a community site to share with the rest of the world. Would you like to have your blog posts listed on a site where more than a million users are looking for a quick way to find answers to their questions?  Squidoo offers that and more.

Here are 4 strategies to make the most out your Squidoo lenses and get the visibility you desire for your business:

  1. Ensure you include a compelling description and table of contents in your lens. It is your description that will draw people in and ensure that they will want to read more.
  2. Take full advantage of Squidcasting. Squidcasting is they way you let your readers know that you have published a new lens, update readers about an upcoming event or announce the results of a contest or special promotion. Anyone who has joined your fan club, signed up for your Squidoo RSS or favorited your lens will receive your Squidcast.
  3. Cross promote. In order to maximise your efforts you should promote your Squidoo lens on Facebook, Twitter and your blog or website.
  4. Make sure you add a Guestbook to your lens.  This will help to increase communication between you and your readers.

In addition to generating traffic and helping to establish yourself as an expert in your niche, Squidoo shares profits with its lens creators. A great way to generate some extra cash while building your business.

Next we will learn about how creating your own social group on Ning can positively impact your business.

Facebook: Pages vs Groups

Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by sandra in News, Social Media

I am always being asked ” What is the difference between a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group?”.  Many people are confused and cannot decide which is best to use for their social media marketing.

There is no hard and fast rule but if you are a business or organisation that wants to build your brand and engage with your targeted audience, it is best you have a Page. If you are a community-based enitity wanting to promote your particular group – then a Group is for you.

One advantage is that a Group can send messages directly to their members, but this is limited to 5,000. Pages cannot send messages directly to their Fans, but their updates (notifications) will appear in their members’ stream and they do not have restrictions of the number of Fans they can have.

In my opinion, one of the most significant advantages of a Facebook Page is that you can use applications to extensively customize your page. Pages can also have a Vanity URL (once they reach 25 Fans).  If a Page wants to convert the visitors to their company website, Facebook provides a Fanbox Widget you can use.

If you would like more in-depth information regarding Pages vs Groups, read these two great posts:

Facebook Pages vs Facebook Groups: What’s the Difference?

Facebook Page Or Group: Which Should You Use?

With over 400 million active users, and 50% of those logging on every day, Facebook remains a powerful Social Media tool to build your brand and engage with your followers.

Useful StumbleUpon Tactics

Posted on 04. Jul, 2010 by sandra in News, SEO, Social Media

In many ways, StumbleUpon is very similar to Digg. Users rate content based on how valuable they find it and if they think others will want to read and learn from it as well. In order to get the most out of StumbleUpon, make sure that the content that you are sharing is valuable, that your site is worthy of a thumbs up and that you spend time providing feedback and thumbs up to sites you value as well.

Here are a few tactics that you can use to maximize your StumbleUpon efforts for your business.

  1. Complete your profile thoroughly. Your profile will help the StumbleUpon database identify which niches are of most interest to you and what you will likely have to offer visitors. In addition, when someone clicks on your profile, you want them to have a good idea of who you are and what interests you.
  2. Install the StumbleUpon tool bar. When you review a site that is of interest to you, you can add it to StumbleUpon via this toolbar. Your StumbleUpon friends will then also be alerted that you have added new content.
  3. Be active. Stumble around, add links, review sites and give thumbs up. Always remember to reciprocate and thank the people who stumble your blog posts.
  4. Diversify. Regularly add content, photos, video and audio. The more diversified and interesting your content is, the more traffic you will receive.

Using StumpleUpon is a proven wayof increasing your website traffic and thereby the visibility of your business. Over time, and with a good strategy, you will reap the rewards of being an active member in StumbleUpon.

Next we will talk about creating Squidoo lenses and how they can positively impact your business.