Tweaking

By on April 15, 2012 in Content Strategy

You strive. You stretch to create something of beauty, whether it’s copy, a new product, a customer experience. You show up and do the best you can at any given moment.

However your best efforts are usually improved by Tweaking. Polishing, refining, adding more value, subtracting the unnecessary.

As you write content, copy, headlines, blog posts, emails for today’s environment of Infinite Information, Tweaking allows you to reward your reader’s attention with succinct value.

One Writing Environment To Rule Them All

Byword is a writing ecosystem.

There is the Desktop and Laptop version in the Mac App Store, and there is the iPhone and iPad versions in the iOS App store. All of these instances of Byword on each of your devices can be connected (an important characteristic of an ecosystem) by iCloud or Dropbox.

At first glance that might seem excessive. However great writing requires Tweaking.

Tweaking means capturing great ideas when you have them, and polishing them in stolen moments after they have had an opportunity to ferment [1].

Writing with the full Byword ecosystem in place (synced via iCloud) has allowed me this morning to write email copy by a river, while taking my son to the playground, in a camping chair and in my office. Tweaking one piece of copy on 3 different devices, never missing a beat or losing a word.

For that, I am extremely grateful to Jorge and Ruben from Metaclassy for developing such beautiful and affordable apps. Needless to say this post was written in Markdown on an ecosystem of Byword apps.

If you write content or copy on Apple devices my sincere recommendation is to Tweak your Tweaking by trying out the Byword ecosystem. There are no affiliate links or renumeration received for this post I simply believe the product can help a lot of people.

Image Credit: Byword Press Kit

  1. Creating Great Content: Get Out Of The Way  ↩

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Google Is Moving The Cheese: The Winter Of Search Engine Ranking Is Upon Us

By on March 21, 2012 in New Media
Ed Dale

This is not a short read, however it’s a little bit shorter than the full article. While I recommend a full read and some related points of view, it’s important to understand the shifts that are taking place in the way people discover your content online.

Full credit to Ed Dale who has been promoting a far more substantive approach for some time, while warning of the reckoning which appears to have arrived.

Small problem, in 2012, the only people who are creating links that Google can read are;

  • SEO Types creating links of dubious quality
  • Digerati – they still remember how to blog and create links – how quaint.
  • umm, that’s it.

Let’s contrast to people who hit the like and retweet buttons.

Everyone and your Momma!
This is a big problem and to Googles credit they know this – the famous “URS Quake” letter sounded the alarm bells.

Google’s results have been getting worse and worse and with the lack of compelling backlink data and a complete freeze out of everything happening in Castle Facebook they have resorted to the Search Engine equivalent of “No one got fired for buying IBM” by heavily favouring brands in the top 10 of their search results. This by the way is such a dumb move – but their hand has been forced.

WINTER IS COMING.

Just yesterday Build My Rank was obliterated off the face of Google. By all accounts – Build My Rank was pretty benign – but at the end of the day you were paying money for links and that brother, is going to get you put up against the wall when the revolution comes.

It’s not like Google has been keeping quiet on this. At SXSW Matt Cutts announced a major shake up in “overly optimised” websites was coming…

Yup.

WINTER IS COMING!

Here’s what’s going to happen.

Google is about to go scorched earth. In a night of the long knives a Lannister would be proud of, they are going to go postal on these link farms that have been making a mess of the google results.

Then we are going to see the major change Google themselves have already foreshadowed. For the first time since Larry and Sergey made the authoritative backlink the cornerstone of Google, the backlink will be demoted. The Google Plus, The tweet, The Like, The Pin will be the new indicator of choice.

You’ll have a rank of sorts, the more likes your content receives, the more followers you have (without engaging in the piss weak follow you follow me shenanigans) will give you an authority on what should appear in the search engine.

Everyone’s search will be different – if one of your friends have recommend something – you’ll see it.

This is ultimately a good thing. Once this winter is over, your great content with your raving fans will see you thrive on the other side.

Just like the last long winter, for many, it will be unpleasant, in some cases tragic.

But it will ultimately be worth it.

HOW CAN YOU SURVIVE THE WINTER.

Create content that delights your audience (actually, makes them feel any emotion is a start) on a CONSISTENT basis
Become one of the top 20 influencers in your niche
Understand that in winter the nights are long and the arbitrage opportunities are scarce. Build a business not a shortcut.
Do you only have one source of traffic…If the answer is yes getting others is job 1!
WINTER IS COMING.

The summer of shortcuts is almost over in online marketing. Those that get this will survive (and Thrive) in the Winter. Those that don’t will end up like Ned Stark in Kings Landing.

Read The full article Winter Is Coming…

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Should Your Business Be on Pinterest? [Infographic]

By on March 21, 2012 in Social Commerce

I do enjoy a good flow chart, this one is not only beautifully designed, it’s quite helpful. It was created by the good folks at Intuit and makes a nice companion for The Beginners Guide To Pinterest Infographic we recently posted.

Should Your Business Be on Pinterest? Find Out [INFOGRAPHIC]
via: Should Your Business Be on Pinterest? Find Out [INFOGRAPHIC]

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LinkedIn Visualization Tool Allows You To Eyeball Your Network

By on March 19, 2012 in Social Media Tools

Deano Power_s LinkedIn Network Map

If you’re Network is your Net worth (thanks Robyn Pulman), LinkedIn has just created a map of your piggy bank.

InMaps is a Visualization tool that allows any LinkedIn user to map their network. Once you click on the link and authorise the activity InMaps will create a attractive map of your network. More that anything else this tool is a reminder of the thin threads that tie our businesses and our lives together.

LinkedIn is a rapidly growing professional social network and is particularly useful for anyone building a B2B business or targeting a corporate market.

3 Simple Suggestions For Building Your LinkedIn Network.

One way to keep your LinkedIn network growing is to have a goal to invite 2 or 3 people each day, if you haven’t connected with anyone to day send me an invite and let me [Deano Power on LinkedIn]know you read this blog post (that will be one connection for you today).

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The Levers Of Attention

By on March 17, 2012 in Social Business

Forget the Mothers Of Invention, in the age of Infinite Information, what are the Levers of Attention?

Relevance

It’s been said more than once before that good marketing is the right message, at the right time to the right person.

When most of your audience are experiencing information overload relevance is the way to their heart.

Brevity

Say what needs to be said to serve your audience, your community. Serving your ego with thinly disguised self promotion is a waste of their time and yours. Trim mercilessly.

Visual Stories

A picture is worth a 1000 words so illustrate your story if possibile. At least avoid the big block of text.

Relationship

If someone you loves rings will you be more likely to answer the phone than if your bank, insurance company, or telco calls? You betcha.

“They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”.

Build relationships with your community and they’ll give you the attention you need.

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Social Commerce Psychology of Shoppers [Infographic]

By on March 15, 2012 in Social Commerce

Social Commerce is as 3 primary dynamics;

  • Technology – the component that we then to focus on.
  • Community or Social – which we ignore at our peril.
  • Commerce – the business end, the trade or sale which tends to get most of the focus.

However before the first click, before the first recommendation is made, before the credit card is entered. There is a powerful unseen force at play; Psychology.

Social Commerce Psychology of Shoppers

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A Beginner’s Guide To Pinterest Marketing [Infographic]

By on March 13, 2012 in Social Commerce

Marketer's Guide To Pinterest: Pin It To Win It [infographic by MDG Advertising]
Infographic by MDG Advertising

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The Trouble With Attention

By on March 11, 2012 in Social Commerce

Exclusive access to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the next 90 seconds of your life.

Attention doesn’t scale.

We now have more channels, more non-stop hits, more news you can use, then ever before and most definitely more than we can ever hope to consume or comprehend.

Businesses as usual. Commerce facilitated by assaulting attention in 30 second spots is on its knees, why?

Attention doesn’t scale.

Relationships on the other hand grow and forgive. It’s our impending Attention Bankruptcy that ushers in the era of true Social Commerce. An era when those who build relationships will win.

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Want Work Satisfaction; Progress Trumps Productivity

By on March 9, 2012 in New Media

Progress

Productivity has become an obsession.

With all apps, books and systems we collectively “buy”, we should be a planet of overachievers. Alas most of us don’t feel that way.

In Tony Shiesh’s book (some might say manifesto) Delivering Happiness, he reminds us that from the field of positive psychology there are four keys to happiness;

  • Perceived control
  • Perceived progress
  • A feeling of connection
  • A feeling of contribution>

If you I feel happy, whole and productive try keeping score.

Focusing too heavily on productivity can lead to feelings of inadequacy and failure.

Focusing on how you moved ahead often feels a lot better.

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The Trouble With F-Commerce; Why Facebook Stores Are Closing

By on March 7, 2012 in Social Commerce
Unknown
Unknown

Some big brands are scrambling to close down their Facebook Commerce Stores.

“We just didn’t get the return on investment we needed from the Facebook market, so we shut it down pretty quickly,” Sheetz said in a telephone interview. “For us, it’s been a way we communicate with customers on deals, not a place to sell.”

via Ashley Lutz :: Gamestop to J.C. Penney Shut Facebook Stores: Retail :: bloomberg.com

Why?

Facebook Is New Media With An Old Media Business Model

Old Media Business Model - Interruption

Facebook has allowed about 850 Million people to connect and interact in new and exciting ways. They have pioneered so many advances in the Social space and are clear leaders. However there is a difference between the social dynamic at the local pub and the town square where markets are held.

The pub (Facebook) is a social environment, you wouldn’t expect someone to set up a product display on the dancefloor at the pub. The town square is also social, however when people go there on Market day, they know it’s a market place.

Context is everything. As it turns out most people are on Facebook to hang out. They might be happy to be notified about offers and discounts, they might even like to talk about their favourite products, but they are not there to buy.

New Social Marketplaces Will Emerge

As **Social Commerce** matures new digital marketplaces will emerge, which are more like the Piazza or town square than the pub. Users there will socialise, they will share recommendations, plan real world get togethers, and connect. In these places they will also trade, shop, and buy, because these new online places have a context of commerce, **Social Commerce**.

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