The DNS DIRECT Blog

Google's Matt Cutts Shares Experience of Being Hacked - SiteProNews

By Jennifer Cowan in Breaking News Google

via www.sitepronews.com

Google: Ready to Penalize Non-Mobile-Friendly Sites? - SiteProNews

By Adrienne Erin in Featured Google Smartphones/Mobile Applications Technology

via www.sitepronews.com

Mobile Friendliness Now a Google Ranking Signal - SiteProNews

By Kalena Jordan in Featured Google SE Positioning Search Engines

via www.sitepronews.com

Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83 - NYTimes.com

Hi everyone it's a sad today, if any of you are a Star Trek fans the great actor and one of the main characters. Leonard Nimoy Mr Spock died today.

I am a big fan of Star Trek and have met all of the cast from the original series Next Generation, Deep Space nine Voyager and Enterprise bar Scott Bakula and Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine)
He will be sadly missed from the conventions. God Bless you Mr Nimoy and thank you for giving us all that great Vulcan character Mr Spock.

So Live Long and Prosper!!

Vince Bailey The Mad Hatter

Helping Employees Be More Productive with BYOD

So you have a tablet and you want to bring it to work instead of using the laptop. So Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

So Have a read

 

Download Helping employees be more productive with byod

The Mad Hatter

Preparing for CRM

BBC News - Sim card firm links GCHQ and NSA to hack attacks

So much for the tech then what next?
The Mad Hatter

Google caves to privacy demands after UK investigation - SlashGear

OPTIMISING SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD GENERATION

Hi Everyone and welcome to part 2 of "Using Social Media to generate leads for your brand"

Using Social Media to Generate Leads for your brand!!

But before we get right into it just a sort tip on 

Driving Traffic to Your Landing Pages.

As you walk through the tactics to help drive more traffic to your landing pages, make sure at the VERY LEAST you are “checking” one suggestion from the following 4 buckets.

Bucket 1: Calls to Action

•   Calls to Action on your homepage (learn how to create a Call to Action)

•   Calls to Action on your blog (either on the side of your blog, or embedded at the end

  of a relevant article)

•   Calls to Action on your most visited pages (use the Visits by Page tool to sort for your

  busiest pages)

  Bucket 2: Email

•   Email Marketing (use List Manager to segment your leads/customers, and then send a targeted email with a link to your landing page)

•   LeadNurturing(create a lead nurturing campaign that includes an email with alink to your landing page)

  Bucket 3: Social Media

•   FacebookLandingPage(learnhowtosetthisuphere)

•   LeadNurturing(createaleadnurturingcampaignthatincludesanemailwithalink

  to your landing page)

•   Social Media Sharing (share this link with your network through social media

  channels)

  Bucket 4: Other

•   Thank you page (set up a thank you page with a link to your landing page)

•   Guest Blogging

•   Paid Search 

OPTIMISING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LEAD GENERATION

Okay so let's right to it. Now using social media to brand your business isn’t groundbreaking anymore. Been there, done that?

But although social is still important for branding and generating buzz, it’s increasingly used for lead generation. So we’ve found that tapping into social media channels can transform your lead generation efforts . 

“For successful lead generation on social, equip your buyer for success. Be personable, connect with your prospect’s challenges, and give them a next step to move forward.” 

Lead Generation Power Tips 

1. Don’ttakeyourselftooseriously

2. Organic isn’t enough on its own; don’t be afraid to pay to boost your presence

3. Focusonvaluablecontentand solid offers

4. Createstrongcalls-to-action (CTAs)

5. Always add value

6. Never forget that socialising two-way street 

Another thing is getting the right content when writing and posting your messages. Now this is very important and weaving words of inspiration is so important so lets a few words from Zoe.

Copy is anything written with the intention of encouraging the reader to buy the product or service on offer. It’s only by getting to know the intended audience that you can understand how to present your message in the best way possible and inspire them to interact with you further. Social Media has rapidly become an important aspect of every marketing strategy for any business over recent years.

It’s crucial that you get it spot on though and that means using the right words in your tweets and updates. That’s where I can help. By planning your social media strategy based on your intended audience and subtly written updates that will steer them towards the content you want them to see; you’ll find your online presence is enhanced, your business reputation improves and an overall increase in sales.   You can follow Zoe on twitter  @ZoeWordsmith and you know who i am @dnsdirect (The Mad Hatter) and we will be talking about Words in other blog so keep an eye out for that.

 

 

PEER-TO-PEER INFLUENCE MARKETING 

Social marketing is shifting away from company-to-buyer marketing, and toward peer-to-peer influence marketing.

A recent Forrester survey which is US based but i believe it would be the same in the UK found that only 20% of buyers believe what a brand says about itself, because people view any brand-to-buyer communication as an advertisement. Conversely, 70% of buyers trust the recommendations of their friends and family. 

“To what extent do you trust each of the following types of advertising/promotion?”

(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [do not trust at all] to 5 [trust completely]) 

When people learn about your brand through social, it gives you the opportunity to turn those “Likes” into leads. By adding elements of social to your campaigns, you empower customers, prospects, and fans to become brand advocates.

Leveraging the power of peer-to-peer communication delivers no- or low-cost brand lift and increased brand authenticity. Because your audience’s peers have nothing to gain by recommending a product, peer-to-peer word of mouth is one of the most credible forms of “advertising”. 

You may need to click on image to see it better folks.

SOCIAL SHARING utilising the 80/20 Rule for social media

You may be saying to your selfs social share what 80/20 rule. Has the Mad Hatter lost his marbles?

So what kind of content should you post on social channels? Social media has many different functions, including lead generation, brand awareness, and relationship building. To be effective, you need a good balance of promotional content and thought leadership. We advise you to use the 80/20 rule—80% of your content should be informational/educational, and 20% should be self-promotional. 

 

Social sharing amplifies your message and your lead generation efforts, but getting people to share isn’t easy. So people are motivated to share in a number of ways.

1. Reputationenhancement

2. Access to something exclusive

3. Opportunities for co-creation/authorship

4. Competitions

5. Altruismss 

 

“When it comes to sharing on social, pick the channel where you can best tell your story. If you’re better in video, use YouTube. If you’re brief and quippy, use Twitter. Pick what you like.” 

So her are some tips for you keep these motivations in mind, and try to align them to your social offers. Consider adding some extra oomph to your social campaigns and messaging by employing one of these tips or tactics.

Refer-a-friend:

Create a compelling offer for both the referrers and referees. This taps into the same power as peer-to- peer recommendations—people are far more likely to trust their friends. Of course, this is also a fantastic way to collect lead information. 

 

Polls and voting:

Everyone has an opinion, and most people are happy to share. Build relationships with campaigns that engage your audience and compel them to share their opinions. You can also gain valuable information about your leads’ likes and dislikes, which can help you plan future campaigns. 

 

 

Sweepstakes:

Create a contest and get your entrants to spread the word on your behalf. Everyone loves winning, and contests are highly shareable on social channels. You can also gain important lead data through entry forms. 

Flash deals:

Create a sense of urgency with a strong CTA and a time limit—these cause leads to act quickly. Flash deals can quickly increase brand awareness and bring in new customers. 

That's it from me this week follow that man Vince Bailey  "The Mad Hatter" Next blog will be about FACEBOOK LEAD GENERATION have a great weekend.

Tips for Integrating Social Media on Your Website

Hi everyone i think this blog should be a good read, sorry for the delay in getting out the second Blog "Using Social Media to Generate Leads for your brand!!" But it is coming this week guys!!

I tell my clients that the use of soical media with there website is very important and that they should make every effect to do this we provide basic social media with all our websites.

So hear are some tips that will help you and we tell this to our clients there are also some hyper links as well for you to follow so let's get to it.

re you leveraging the power of social media on your website?

Together, social media channels and your website should work seamlessly to promote your online brand.
However, if you’re like most businesses, you’re probably missing out on potential interactions, impressions and ultimately sales.

In this article, I’ll dive into a quick how-to guide to ensure your business website and social media platforms are working together to maximise your online exposure.
I’ve included examples from small- to medium-sized businesses that specialise in a whole host of fields to illustrate that you don’t have to be one of the big players to take advantage of these simple tips.

#1: Include Visible Social Media Buttons

This seems like a no-brainer, but double-check. Best practices suggest that social media buttons be displayed on the top, bottom or along the side of your home page. Links or buttons that remain in your navigation as the user moves from page to page are optimal.

To ensure that users don’t exit your web page altogether, you may want to create the buttons or links so that they open your social media pages in new windows.
Also, do not feel obligated to link out to all social media channels you’ve created or dabbled in. If you’re fonder of Twitter and have completely abandoned your Facebook page, there’s no reason to link to any outlet that is not being actively managed. In fact, linking out to inactive channels can ultimately cause more harm than good.
There are several ways in which to display your buttons or links and none of them are wrong. In this case, it is more of a design preference focused on how the user will be interacting with the site.
Below are some examples of ways in which websites have successfully displayed their social media outlet(s).

Big and bold button catches your eye.
This eCommerce site specializing in alternatives to dog and horse supplements only links out to Facebook and chooses to do so in a big and bold manner.

Subtle buttons suit some sites well and the eaxmples are from second home back in New York USA as they were the best eaxmples.

This farm credit services business subtly displays their social media buttons at the bottom of their page.

Front-and-center buttons ensure visibility.
This artist decides to feature his along the top.

#2: Integrate Social Where it Makes Sense
If you use social media to keep your customers or clients apprised of your recent happenings and are actively managing your outlets on a daily or bi-weekly basis, it might be wise to showcase your Twitter feed or Facebook posts directly on your website.
Linking out or displaying inactive social media channels will only cripple your online efforts. If you choose to go this route, it is important that you maintain your presence.
Below are two examples of how vastly different businesses (a web design firm and an online gift card site) have integrated their social media feeds into their websites.

On this site, tweets are visible along the right-hand side throughout the website. Tweets vary from deals and contests to interactions with followers and customer service responses.

On this B2B site, recent tweets are found at the bottom of the homepage and are mostly comprised of industry-related blogs, recent events and projects in which they've participated.
These businesses vary significantly in what they do and the way they make use of social media, but both have found a logical method of incorporating social media into their sites.

#3: Include Up-to-Date Buttons
Social media changes fast—dare we say in real time? So if you added your buttons a year ago, they are probably palling around with the dinosaurs. Facebook fans morphed into Likes, group pages died, +1 is spanking new and LinkedIn improved significantly. Do research to find the most current social media terminology so you don’t get caught mumbling about “The Facebook” and “The Twitter.”

Social Media Examiner stays up to date.
In order to maintain credibility within this ever-changing realm, it is important to stay with the times. However, staying up to date with your terminology does not mean that you need to jump on every platform that springs up. It is important to be tactful with your social media choices and do your research before blindly forging into unknown territory.

#4: Include Share Buttons
If you sell a product or run a full-fledged eCommerce site and you haven’t added share buttons to your product pages, you are missing out on a whole host of potential social impressions.

Share buttons should enable website-goers to seamlessly share or recommend a product.
If you find yourself hard up for a broad solution for this, check out AddThis or ShareThis. Both provide efficient and easy-to-use solutions for social media sharing across eCommerce sites with the added benefit of analytics to see how the content is getting shared.
As illustrated below, these buttons are easy to see.

The easier you make it for customers to share your product, the better.
Similar to eCommerce sites, if you have resources, articles, a blog or other valuable content on your site, you should attempt to make it as simple as possible for readers to share it with others. Social media share buttons should be displayed somewhere easy to see. Nicholas Creative does a decent job with this, as seen on their blog below.

If you enjoy an article, you won't want to keep it to yourself.

#5: Use Analytics
Pay attention to the way in which individuals are using your social media buttons by tapping into Google Analytics. How many people are actually clicking on your outbound social media links?
An easy way to explore this is by setting up Event Tracking in Google Analytics. If you’re unfamiliar with Event Tracking, Google provides a step-by-step guide on how to incorporate the correct codes into your site.

Google Analytics allows you to track the number of individuals who click on outbound links by setting up Event Tracking.
If you find that few individuals explore your social media outlets once landing on your page, perhaps your social media buttons aren’t in a convenient location. It’s always best to have actual numbers to back up your choices.

#6: Pay Attention to Terms and Conditions
This goes hand in hand with staying up to date and knowledgeable, but I continue to see major brands using social media in ways that violate platforms’ terms and conditions.
You cannot use Google+ for contest entries, a personal Facebook page shouldn’t be used to operate a brand and there are certain rules to adhere to when running a promotion on Facebook.
The way you use social media reflects on your website, as well as your brand as a whole. If you’ve accidentally violated some terms and conditions in the past, delete those pages and do not link out to them even in the interim.

I'm not sure what Pita Pit is doing with this personal Facebook page or if it was created by an unaffiliated party. Whatever the case may be, steer clear of using a personal page as a brand page.

#7: Don’t Over-Do It
You want to make sure that compelling information is easily shareable, but littering social media share buttons all over your webpage isn’t the way to go. Before adding share buttons to a page, ask yourself, “Is their information here that people would find worth sharing?”
If you find yourself on your “About Us” page and don’t see any added value to website-goers being able to share your administrative assistant’s contact information, then forgoing buttons in this instance is totally acceptable.

#8: Stay Knowledgeable
Don’t get it twisted. With the changing social media landscape and array of rollouts these days, it is easy to confuse social media features.

Keep in mind:
    •    You won’t be directing individuals to your Facebook page by installing a Facebook “Like” button on a specific website page. Instead, you are allowing individuals to “Like”/share the information, content or product that is found on that specific website page. There is no correlation between Liking a specific website page and directing users to “Like” your branded Facebook page.
    •    Similarly, directing individuals to your Google+ brand page is different than adding a +1 button to a page. At this time, there is no correlation between the two.
As illustrated below on this pool supplies website, social media pages and social media share buttons can be found on the same page. Verbs such as “Tweet” and “Share” often help distinguish between share buttons and social media pages.

Be sure you know the difference.

#9: Use Social Media Insights Alongside Google Analytics
Many types of software allow you to see your social media insights alongside your web analytics in order to pick up on trends and to better understand the successes or failures of campaigns.
SproutSocial allows users to compare web analytics and social media reporting information from specific timeframes side by side. Being able to see the way in which your social media and website analytics relate proves useful in establishing goals, measuring successes and identifying areas in which you can improve.

More on this in my next blog so these are immediate steps you can take to make your social media and business website play nice.

Oh check out these links on the tools

Social Media Examiner which is a great place for information.

Tools to Drive Conversions From Your Social Traffic

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tools-to-drive-conversions-from-social-traffic

Google Analytics Tips to Improve Your Marketing

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/google-analytics-tips-to-improve-your-marketing

Hope you fined some useful tips, that's it from the Mad one follow me for the next update Using Social Media to Generate Leads for your brand!!"

The Mad Hatter @dnsdirect

 

 

 

Related articles

How to use social media advertising to increase traffic

How to Track Visitors and Sales from Facebook with Google Analytics

Google Analytics Simplifies Remarketing Set Up With "Instant Activation"