Social Media How-To | DonCrowther.com

QR Codes – 21 Ways To Use Them To Build Your Business

You’re probably familiar with QR Codes – those barcody-looking things that allow you to communicate additional information about whatever you wish.

You can use them anywhere, for lots of great uses. Here’s a video that describes 21 of them!

Here’s my favorite QR Code creator (some elements are free, others cost a bit): http://www.QRStuff.com

And here’s a list of QR Code readers / decoders / scanning apps for iPhones, Androids and more: http://www.qrstuff.com/qr_phone_software.html

And finally, here are the items included in the list

Business Cards
Put a code on your business card containing all of your contact information
Put It On A T-Shirt
Then people get sent where you want them to go
Put It On Price Tags In A Store
Taking them to a specs page online
Best Buy does this
Put It On Your Website Contact Us Page
People take a picture of your page on the screen, put you in their contact list
Put It On Your Instruction Sheet
People scan it to get step-by-step instructions
Or maybe a video
Put It In Print Ads
People scan to be taken to a specific landing page on your website
Put It On A Campaign Sign
Taking people to your website
Put It On A For-Sale Sign
Take them to a website with video and information about the item being sold
House
Car
Bulletin Board
Put It On Your Luggage
If your luggage ever gets lost…
Send a Tweet
Scanning it sends out a tweet
Do A Location Login
Put on every table and the walls of your restaurant, does a foursquare login or a Facebook location login
Add To Your LinkedIn Page
Passes your contact information or website
Call Us To Place Your Order
Scan dials their phone
Send a Teaser Postcard
Send a QR code to a potential client, which takes them to your website
Put It On Your Conference NameTag
Contact information or website
Put A Backsell On Your Invoice
Taking them to a landing page making a special offer
Put One On The End Of A Video
Takes them to a landing page, can pass source codes
Paypal Buy Link
Scanning takes them to Paypal to buy your item
Promote An Event
Scanning the code puts it on their calendar
Announce Your Free Wifi
Scanning logs them into your wifi account
Put It In Your Powerpoint Presentation
Build your list by sending them to a special bonus offer if they sign up

What ideas do you have in addition to the ones listed in the video? Share them by leaving a comment below.

And don’t forget to Like and Tweet about this video!

Finally, if you’d like more information on mobile marketing and how to use it to build your business, check out this Step-By-Step Mobile Marketing webinar replay.

Filed Under: Business, Featured, Marketing, Posts, Social Media How-To

How to install supercharged Google Analytics on your Blog

Did you know that there is a whole set of additional analytics data you can get from your WordPress blog that you probably aren’t accessing now?

Information about your traffic, where it comes from and what it does while its on your site?

Information that’s key to building your business?

Like the ability to group data by:

Categories
Tags
Authors
Publication year
Authors

But to do so, you have to use a cool, free plugin.

Of course, all of this data is in ADDITION to the all the powerful data you’re currently getting from Google Analytics.

Or, perhaps (gasp) you may not even have Google Analytics installed on your blog!

You’ve come to the right place. Here are two videos that will walk you through how to install and configure an incredibly powerful, yet simple WordPress plugin that will give you full access to the amazing power of the free Google Analytics tool.

Here’s the first video that shows you:

How to find and install the Joost de Valk’s Google Analytics for WordPress plugin.
How to set up a Google Analytics profile for your blog
How to tie the two of them together, so that everything works

So that you know, this video is specifically designed for someone who is inexperienced in the process of installing and setting up WordPress plugins. So, if you’re already an experienced WordPress plugin installer, skip this one and watch the next one.

But if you’re at all uncomfortable installing WordPress plugins, watch it now!

Now, here’s the video that everyone, no matter what your level of experience needs to watch. It shows the key settings in the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin that allow you to get a bunch of incredibly valuable information that you’re probably not getting from your blog right now.

So, no matter how advanced you are with WordPress,
And even if you’ve already got Google Analytics installed on your blog…
You need to watch this one!

So, what did you think? Are you running out right now to install it?

I think you should!

And don’t forget to Like, Tweet and leave a comment. We LOVE feedback!

Don

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Featured, Online Marketing Strategies | Online Marketing Solutions | Tips & Training for Online Marketing at DonCrowther.com, Posts, Social Media How-To, Social Media Tactics Tagged With: analytics, google, Wordpress

5 Ways To Make Your Blog More Popular

There are some insanely popular blogs out there. You probably have heard of the biggies, like: The Huffington Post, Mashable!, TechCrunch and Gizmodo. But today let’s talk about a more achievable, lower case P “popular blogs,” and how to make your blog one of those.

Every blog has a shot at gaining a big readership. Here are few great ways to make sure that your blog posts are influential, tweetable and hopefully – even a bit addictive.

Make sure that your blog is…

Plugged In
Networking counts and it counts big in the Blogosphere. The first and best way to drive folks to your blog is to be an active participant on theirs. Comment frequently on a blog whose readers you’d like to attract. (But always add to the conversation in an genuine way. Spammy comments will only hurt your brand and actually repel readers.)
Scintillating
Don’t trump up fake controversy, but you also shouldn’t be afraid of the real thing, either. Controversial topics and debates can make your site the go-to place for readers. Who doesn’t love a heated debate? It’s human nature to want to ‘watch’ one, so capitalize on it.
Takeaway Heavy
I always make sure my blog posts don’t just ‘sit there’, passively, on the page. They should be alive …they should get into the readers brain and linger there, long after they have browsed away from your blog. When you write a post, think about it from the readers’ point of view. Are you just talking about stuff or are you giving your readers something they can act upon and improve their lives with?
Detailed
Do your homework, back up your point of view with facts. Talking in generalities about your industry will still gain you readers but if you can include references to research and if you go a little deeper, it will up the chances they can return. It will also up the chances that you will be quoted and linked to, by other bloggers!
Personal & Passionate
“Write what you know” is age-old writing advice. Your best, most compelling blog posts will happen when you write about topics that are near and dear to your heart. Don’t shy away from writing with passion, either. Seeing you care about a topic will make readers care about your posts!

What blogger has inspired loyalty in you? Who do you follow and recommend your friends to? Why? What specifically made them stand out in your mind?

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Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Featured, Internet Marketing Strategies | Internet Marketing Training & Tips | Solutions for Internet Marketing at DonCrowther.com, Posts, Public Relations, Social Media How-To Tagged With: Blogging, blogs

6 Sexy Ways to Write Great Blog Headlines

It’s the first thing your readers see. It’s how you get those readers engaged and reading your posts. It’s how you get them to go ahead and just please click…that…link. It’s your blog post headline. And it’s important.

If you want to write a great blog, with a great big readership, you have to write great blog post headlines. Okay, but how?

Here are a few tips and tricks I use. See how many you can spot in my own blog:

Link Up The Chain – Remember that even though you should be tucking a few keywords into your blog post headlines, your headline really has one main purpose. And that is to get folks reading the first line of the post itself. That’s it. Ask yourself, when you write your headline, if it does that job passably well. If it’s too clever or too cutesy and self-enclosed – fix it.
SEO It Goes – As I said above, to not put a keyword or two in your headline is madness. It’s a missed opportunity to pull in new blog readers. So try to sneak one or two in when you can. When it’s natural and when it obeys the guidelines below.
7 is a Lucky Number (so is any number, in fact!) – You’ve seen it a million times, and there’s a darn good reason. Studies show that placing a number in your headline ups it’s chances of being clicked upon. What’s more compelling: “Awesome tips for awesome headlines” or “5 Easy Ways to Write Great Headlines”?
Curiosity Creates Readers – Get your readers wondering. Ask questions that they can’t resist knowing the answer to.
It’s ALL About Them – You know that copywriting principle that tells you to never put “Welcome To My Site” on your site’s home page? Why? Because it’s not about your site. It’s about your customer’s needs. Same goes for your blog. Pack a lot of You and Yours into your headlines, making them interesting, keyword heavy and clickable.
Be Timely – If you attach your blog to the latest news event, you’ll not just gather more readers. You’ll brand your blog one with its finger on the pulse of your industry. There’s nothing worse than an out of touch blogger. And, there’s nothing better than one who is cutting edge.
Don’t Ask How They’re Feeling. Tell Them! - Get in their heads, in other words. Address how they might be feeling. Like “Knockout Your Tension Headaches with These 3 Tricks” or “How to Convert Your Unruly Children Into Angels in Just 48 Hours”

What secrets have you discovered for crafting great headlines? Share them with us by posting a comment below.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Featured, Internet Marketing Strategies | Internet Marketing Training & Tips | Solutions for Internet Marketing at DonCrowther.com, Marketing, Posts, Social Media How-To Tagged With: blog, headlines, SEO

How to untag yourself from Facebook posts and pictures posted by others

It used to be when someone said “Facebook” – people instantly thought of “status updates”. Or that trademark blue color. Or funny pictures from your friends.

But these days, the latest news headlines have a lot of folks instead thinking words like “invasive” and “no privacy”.

I’ve said it before but I’ll repeat it here. The only way to truly remain private on Facebook…is to not be on it at all. That’s not just true of Facebook, that’s true of all things Internet. You just never know where your photo might one day show up, so if you don’t want it everywhere – don’t post it ANYwhere.

Okay, fine. But what to do when someone posts a photo of you on Facebook? And – what if they tag you? Even worse, what if it’s a horrible photo that you never want any of your friends, parents and prospective employers (trust me, they ARE looking) to see on your profile?

Because, it’s a law of nature that every time you do something stupid, somebody’s going to take a picture of it. And social media makes it possible for that picture to be in the hands of millions in hours…

But you can do something about it! (That is, after you yell at your tag-happy buddy.) You can untag yourself and then you can even set your profile to be ‘untaggable’ from then on. Here’s how:

1.   Once you are logged into Facebook, click on your Profile page.
2.   Once there, look at your profile photo. Just beneath it will be a link called “View Photos of Me” Click on it.
3.   Locate the ‘offending photo” and click on it.
4.   In the caption under the photo you’ll see your name and just to the right of it, the phrase “remove tag”. Click on that and presto! No more photo tag.

To turn off tagging from your profile and prevent anyone from ever tagging you again:

1.   Go back to your profile page.
2.   Click on the top right “Account” link.
3.   A pull down menu will appear. Locate the “Privacy Settings” on this list and click on it.
4.   Then click on “Applications and Websites”
5.   Now, to the right of the “What your friends can share about you” option, is a “Edit Settings” button. Click on that.
6.   Find the checkbox next to the “Photos and videos of me” and UNcheck it.
7.   Save Changes.

When you complete all these steps, your friends will never be able to tag those horrible photos of you again. Then again, neither will your high school buddies be able to tag you when they scan in that great old team photo from the yearbook.

What do you think? Are people who turn off tagging smart and savvy about their privacy? Or are they vain killjoys who need to loosen up? Which camp do you fall into?

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Filed Under: Facebook, Featured, Posts, Social Media How-To, Social Media Strategy | Social Media Marketing Plan for Business | Social Media Marketing Training at DonCrowther.com Tagged With: Facebook, photos, pictures, tagging, video

6 huge social media mistakes businesses make

The promise of ‘free’ advertising and easy PR draws business owners, both big and small, to the social marketing arena.

They think that all they need is to establish a Twitter account or set up a Facebook and LinkedIn page and it’s off to the races. They’ll just get going, get posting, and figure it out as they go. If they don’t know what they’re doing quite yet, who cares, right? Any social networking is good social networking, right?

Wrong!

There are common social media misconceptions that can actually hurt your online relationships with your customers. Here are just a few to watch out for:

Hi…now BUY!
I’ll start with the most obvious. It’s not okay to push your products the second you get online. It’s just not. You need to take the time to make a connection with your readers and your prospects. If you’re lucky and you do it right, soon you will be calling them “clients and customers.”
No Turning Back Now
If you want to profit from being online and in front of your customers 24/7…you need to deal with the added demands. If a customer tweets you a concern or leaves a question on your FB page, you can’t ignore it and just focus upon the raving fan posts. You have to deal with the good and the bad.
Cohesion , cohesion, cohesion
Scattershot marketing efforts won’t work. And they will turn off most customers. You have to be consistent and you have to have a plan.
Big Fat Arrows Towards the Shopping Cart
In the midst of your conversations, remember that, if you want to make any money from this, you need to let them know that they can actually buy from you. Always make it clear how they can do so.
Know Thyself
If you hear negative feedback, it’s not okay to simply shut them out, block them or move on. Find the right tone to deal with detractors and always make sure you look within to figure out if maybe – just maybe – what they’re saying about you might have a hint of truth to it.
Extend Your Brand Online
Don’t Replace It Going online doesn’t mean reinventing your brand. You.com should still be YOU.

What mistakes have you made in social media? What else should we warn people about? Let us know by posting a comment below.

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Filed Under: Business, Featured, Internet Marketing Strategies | Internet Marketing Training & Tips | Solutions for Internet Marketing at DonCrowther.com, Posts, Social Media How-To, Social Media Strategy | Social Media Marketing Plan for Business | Social Media Marketing Training at DonCrowther.com Tagged With: business, mistakes, Social Media Strategy | Social Media Marketing Plan for Business | Social Media Marketing Training at DonCrowther.com

9 Ways to Get More Blog Readers From Twitter

Twitter has it’s rabid fans.

It also has it’s eye-rolling detractors. But whatever your take on Twitter might be, the truth is that – used correctly – Twitter can be a great way to gain fans, open doors, and really drive traffic.

In fact, today I’m going to talk about using Twitter to drive traffic to your blog. Here are nine quick, easy Twitter guidelines that can transform your casual Twitter followers into fully-engaged blog readers.

Persist.
The first thing you need to do is to not judge Twitter by the response you do (or don’t get) after your first few posts. Twitter’s a long distance run, not a sprint. You need to tweet subtly and constantly. Don’t give up if you post once or twice and no one runs over to your blog. They will, just give it time.
Fill Out Your Profile
No one cares about, or wants to engage with, a blank avatar and an empty profile. Take the time to add in your blog URL and a quick write-up on what you want your followers to know about you.
Brand Up Your Background
Your Twitter profile is a free billboard. Why would you leave it blank or cover it with photos of your favorite flower? Instead, make sure your logo and blog URL is prominent. Make sure your brand is instantly identifiable.
Tweet Your Photos
A 140 character description of a sumptuous dessert might pique your followers’ interest, but a photo of that decadent cheesecake will make their mouth water. You want that mouth-watering response. Use photos often. And here’s another great way to get free and legal photos to tweet, use on your blog, or your site.
Get Followed
It’s like the New York Times Bestseller List. People are always curious what other people like. So to attract followers, you need to have them. The best way to get followers is to follow others – most will follow you back!
Spam Not
It’s okay to be proud of your company and what you do. It’s not okay to crow about it every other tweet. People will visit your blog because they like what you tweet and want to read more on your blog. (They won’t visit just because you repeatedly tell them to. Again and again and again…)
Be Real
Hand in hand with the no-spam rule is the no-lie guideline. If you’re not in Hawaii, don’t say you are, just because you think it sounds more interesting. If you’re new to the industry, don’t fake that it’s old hat to you. You’ll risk getting caught and your credibility will suffer.
Bigwigs and Their Big Audiences
Like I said earlier, Twitter is fantastic for opening doors you might otherwise never have access to. So try to get the attention of your industry’s thought leaders via Twitter. Questions, suggestions and (sincere) thank you’s for what they do are all great ways to show up on their radar. Then, once you have their attention, eventually ask if they might tweet about one of your blog posts. You’d be surprised how many do!
Get Trendy
Pay attention to the top trending topics on Twitter. Then find a way to incorporate those hashtag phrases into your tweets. Doing so can land you on some of the most viewed search pages on Twitter, worldwide! (Just make sure your tweets are really relevant to the discussion.)

What tips would you give to others about building blog traffic using Twitter? Share them by posting a comment below!

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Filed Under: Featured, Online Marketing Strategies | Online Marketing Solutions | Tips & Training for Online Marketing at DonCrowther.com, Posts, Social Media How-To, Twitter Tagged With: blog readers, traffic

How To Stay Focused In A Social Media World

You already know time is money. Wasting time online doing things that distract you from your core business is tantamount to throwing money away. But human nature takes over sometimes and you find your mind wandering, and your mouse surfing, when you should be working.

And it’s especially bad in the world of social media. Social media loves to grab us with something interesting (and hey, it’s even worse because your friend recommended it, so you’re even more likely to click), then suck us into an abyss from which we won’t exit for hours…

Guilty, as charged!

Enter Google Chrome’s simple yet ingenious plugin “Stay Focusd”. Cutesy spelling aside, this might be one of the most seriously powerful — and simple — tools you’ll use all year.

StayFocusd is the digital version of blinders.

It quite literally blocks any site you think might distract you from getting your work done. Once you install StayFocusd, the functionality is fairly simple. You set your preferences by choosing the sites you find particularly distracting (YouTube, ESPN, Hulu and the like) and the length of time you’re ‘allowed’ yourself to stay on that site every day.

Once you hit that time limit — its game over. You’re quite literally locked out of that site until the following day. If you find your time limit too draconian, you can go in and alter it. But only once 24 hours passes.

Basically, StayFocusd really means business when it comes to keeping you focused on your business.

What do you think about ‘accountability’ tools like StayFocusd? Would you ever use something like this? Or do you think it’s a crutch for business owners who just need to get a lot better at time management? Leave us a comment below and let us know!

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Filed Under: Featured, Life, Posts, Social Media How-To, Social Media Strategy | Social Media Marketing Plan for Business | Social Media Marketing Training at DonCrowther.com Tagged With: focus, google chrome, productivity, stayfocusd

5 Reasons You Must Use Video in Your Social Media

Bold statement: If you’re not using video in your social media, you’re

Making a huge mistake
Being penny wise and pound foolish
Not truly understanding where social media is, and where it’s going.

Choose any two.

First there was the radio, an experience that was eventually improved and enhanced (some say) by the invention of television. Fast forward about 50-60 years and the personal computer begins to emerge. Then came modems – linking them all together. Soon there’s there BBS method of communication, then the ‘world wide web’ and then email. Email soon is improved and enhanced (some say!) by social media and chat.

So where are we now? We live in the age of Social Media. People have settled in and now tweet and update their statuses all very comfortably. But don’t get too cozy. Because the next enhancement and improvement to your social media efforts is already here. It’s called video.

These days if you’re only using text in your status updates, or DMs, or tweets – you’re really missing an opportunity to grab your customers and prospects attention. You need to get good at incorporating video in your social media. To do anything less and you might look like the rotary phone of the internet!

Here are 5 reasons to embrace video in your social media campaigns:

It’s intimate. Videos give you a chance to really let your customer get to know you. Even if you balk at the idea of you yourself being on camera, you can still get so much more of your brand across via a video than you ever can via text.
It’s fun! Putting a video together using Animoto or iMovie is far more fun than staring at blank screen with writer’s block.
It’s educational for them. If you are trying to teach your clients or prospects anything complex, a video can do in 2 minutes what might take you 1000 well written words to achieve. And, btw, that’s assuming they’d bother to ever READ 1000 words.
It’s educational…for you. Creating video is the perfect reason to really think about how you really want to come across to your clients. What tone of voice you want your brand to convey, what kind of music you might choose. It all goes to strengthening your brand. So if you never thought of these things before – videos will force you to take this very important step.
It works! Video sells better than text ever could. In fact, Internet Retailer “reports that visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not, based on OnlineGolf.com results.” (Internet Retailer, April 2010)

That alone should convince you. But if it doesn’t, I’ll soon be posting 5 more reasons. I’ll have you using online video if it’s the last thing I do!