Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’

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Hootsuite Gets Down To Business

View CommentsPosted by ISP Media on July 14th, 2010


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From enterprises to start-ups, HootSuite has been helping businesses and organisations reach out to spread messages, monitor conversations and track the results of corporate social networking.

They have recently reported that they are excited about releasing paid plans in the coming weeks. Keep in mind, HootSuite will remain free for an estimated 95% of users based on current usage patterns. Meanwhile, premium users will enjoy access to extra features, high limits and prioritised support.

While they haven’t released full details just yet, they have divulged a preview of what the paid plans will offer:

* Unlimited social networks
* Unlimited RSS feeds
* Team members on social networks
* Advanced analytics & reports
* Expedited support

Will you upgrade your free account to take advantage? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Posted in: News, Social Media Tags: , , ,

Is SEO Still Relevant in the Digital Marketing Mix

View CommentsPosted by ISP Media on June 11th, 2010


I read an interesting article recently comparing the search volume for SEO Vs. Social Media overseas and this got me thinking about what these trends are for us Aussies!

I guessed prior to searching that Social Media searches would far outrank SEO, however, I was somewhat surprised when the results came back …

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Now you can see in the news reference volume (bottom graph) that Social Media has taken the lead, however, my interest is peaked and more centred on the search volume (top graph) where SEO is still being searched more often than Social Media.

It is interesting that even during the hype and immense news coverage of Social Media, that Search Engine Optimisation is still a force to be reckoned with!

So what does this mean?

While interest in Australia is growing on the Social Media topic, ranking in a top search result position on Google or Bing is still higher on the agenda for most Australians and with the number of small businesses in Australia, I would hazard a guess that it is the business community that is the driving force behind this search trend.

Social Media is emerging as a fantastic opportunity for the small to medium  business to compete on a level playing field with large budgeted business, but maintaining the basics of web marketing should still be high on the SMB agenda. And, since the advent of social appearing on searches, combining the two could be the internet marketing answer that most businesses are looking for.

What about you?

Are you a small to medium business utilising the web as part of your marketing mix? Do you combine your SEO with your social media and your email marketing to achieve search result domination?

Or have you chosen to focus your digital marketing efforts in one place?

We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

ISP Media Internet Marketing Services

Posted in: Search Engine Marketing, Trends Tags: , , , , , ,

TweetMeme Is Good For Business

View CommentsPosted by ISP Media on March 15th, 2010


“This post was originally written for and published on the Womens Network Australia Blog“

Since Twitter has reared its popular head around the web, there seem to be more chicklets (A chicklet is a feed button that normally contains a feed reader logo and has a specific blog or feed information attached to it. It is coded to easily allow users to subscribe to a feed), plug-ins , buttons and widgets than you can poke a stick at! One in particular that you may have noticed popping up on many a blog or website is the ReTweet button!

 The ReTweet button (FYI – ReTweets are like personal recommendations of valued information on Twitter) and the TweetMeme aggregator service are very nifty little tools for the savvy social marketer and are slowly gaining popularity around the webisphere!  Together, they are the brain child of a web company called fav.or.it, located in London, who says that they are passionate about Twitter, Social Media and whole lot more!  I tend to agree with them.

What the site developers believe the purpose of their site is.

“TweetMeme is a service which aggregates all the popular links on Twitter to determine which links are popular. TweetMeme categorises these links into Categories, Subcategories and Channels, making it easy to filter out the noise to find what you’re interested in.”

How easy it is to open an account, use the site and what does it cost?

Joining and using TweetMeme is as free and simple as logging into Twitter! You will, obviously need a Twitter account up and running to use this service, however, if you do not have one they will happily redirect you through to Twitter to sign up (also free).  

The site is very simple to use and has a familiar aggregator layout and feel to it, so if you are comfortable  using feed readers and twitter – it should take you no time at all to get tweetmeme”ing”. 

Will this site bend the time space continuum to suck my valuable time into a vortex?

No … well it shouldn’t (warning – online aggregator addiction could be an ugly side affect of using this site). This site, like any other aggregator platform (e.g. Digg, Feed Burner, Google Reader, etc) is purely a place for you to categorise your interests and find what you need quickly, with less noise and clutter.

How can I use this site to benefit my business?

The TweetMeme site not only acts as an excellent aggregator service, the team behind the site is also the brain child behind the ReTweet button that you would have seen on many blogs and websites.

Different ways to take advantage of TweetMeme and the ReTweet button:

  • Using the TweetMeme button you can discover new content and tweet about it, allowing you to get valuable information to your followers in real time.
  • The button provides a fully integrated URL shortener and the title of the story on each page.
  • Each link that is posted to Twitter adds one ‘vote’ to the tweet count for that story, the more ‘votes’ or retweets you get the more people are likely to be interested in what you have to say and then retweet it themselves.
  • If a story gets enough tweets (or as they say, “reaches critical mass”) then it makes it into their top 10 on the front page of TweetMeme and receives a tweet through the TweetMeme account. (If you get on the front page of TweetMeme you can be seen by millions of web users, a great way to increase your brand presence and online credibility)
  • Each story on the TweetMeme website has its own retweet button which integrates both the current number of tweets that a story has, and easily allows you ReTweet the link through your Twitter account. (Kind of like having double the ReTweet power, i.e. you get twice as many opportunities for people to retweet or recommend your information.)
  • Once again, the conversation is as important as the information. You can leave comments on every story featured on TweetMeme, with the option of retweeting the best comments out to the Twittersphere (yet another opportunity to provide value and confirm credibility).
  • Searching on the site is handy too! You can look for stories posted on Twitter, and discover and share new content – whether you wrote it or not!
  • By installing the retweet button on your blog or website, you can allow your readers to easily share your information and ReTweet them direct from your site.

The Skinny!

This is a simple and easy to use website, with a fantastic tool that every business owner who blogs or posts information online should be using.

It integrates with almost every platform (e.g. Wordpress, Blogger, etc) and will take next to no time for your web developer to add it to your site. Once it is there, it becomes an automatic generator for your content to the world!

There is no perfect formula to get people to ReTweet your posts, however as always, if you provide good quality information that is relevant and appealing, you can use this online vehicle to drive quality traffic to your Twitter account, which will in turn direct users to your blog and website.

Posted in: Business Tips, Networking, Social Media, twitter Tags: , , , ,

Entering The World Stage

View CommentsPosted by ISP Media on March 10th, 2010


It can be an intimidating endeavour, putting yourself out there and communicating publicly on the world stage. So just remember when you enter the Social Media scene … take a deep breath and don’t be afraid.

It really is just like any other activity in business:

  1. First you work out your strategy
  2. Then you back it up with a concise plan
  3. Next, you roll it out in stages
  4. And finally – test, monitor, report and adjust (repeat this step as often as needed).

Having a digital marketing strategy ready that addresses social media, coupled with the technology and the tools, will save you money and open your business up to new and potentially untapped opportunities.

Big business is already changing the way they approach marketing – small business can and should be doing the same.  

And I can use this how?

Social Media has a whole swagger of great benefits, a few of my favourite ways you can use social media to enhance your business is to:

  • Drive targeted traffic to your main website
  • Grow your web presence
  • Build awareness of yourself, your company, product or service
  • Launch new products or services
  • Position yourself as an expert in your field
  • Keep in real time touch with the people that matter most to you (your current clients and stakeholders)
  • And meet new people (potential clients, business associates, mentors, peers) you may never have been able to gain access to in the past

Just to name a few!

So as we said in the beginning, take a deep breath and don’t be afraid to step away from the off and into the online!

Posted in: Business Tips, Social Media, The Basics Tags: , , , , ,

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

View CommentsPosted by ISP Media on March 5th, 2010


hannibal - The A TeamWhen it comes to opening a new retail store or a corporate office, you would spend big dollars on the geographical research, store layout, phone lines, decor, and signage – you would literally plan the entire operation from start to finish.

There is a well thought out strategy, clear budget and time allocation to ensure that the store or office is perfect in every way to appeal to your staff, clients, walk-ins and key stakeholders.

So why would you not do the same when planning and preparing your social presence?

The internet is growing rapidly and while I will not bore you with yet another round of online statistics, I think it is pretty fair to say that this medium is rapidly becoming the most cost effective and profitable place to do business on the world stage, begging the question – why do the majority of businesses not treat it with the respect it deserves?

Before you even open your first social media account you should have, at the very least:

  • Thought about what you want to get out of Social Media (your goals)
  • Researched platforms of interest (and taken a quick look up their kilts to find out their secrets)
  • Developed a brief strategy or plan
  • Discussed the ongoing costs and time you can commit
  • Agreed on who is going to manage and monitor your presence

 It is important not to do it just because “everybody” is doing it – Social Media is not a one size fits all strategy – browse the store, try on a few social outfits and then make sure you take home your perfect fit!

Posted in: Social Media, The Basics Tags: , , , , , ,
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