Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Email is still the killer app of the Internet. I wrote about unleashing your message a couple of months ago but forgot to include one important method – including social links. It’s easy to take email to the next level by adding social media friendly links to your messages.

In the example below, the EDC-VC (Disclaimer, I’m a business advisor there) is sharing information about an upcoming workshop for startups in the Ventura County, CA area. The EDC-VC uses Contact Contact for its email services.

Let’s take a closer look at the social links at the top of the email:

By adding an offline version of the email newsletter, you unlease the email content to be shared across the Web. That means allowing people to:

* Share it on Facebook. When someone shares an item on Facebook it will be added to their Profile page. Or, they can take the web URL and share it on any of their Facebook Pages.

* Tweet out a link on Twitter. You don’t even have to be active on Twitter to allow people to share links to the offline version of your email newsletter! I just tweeted out a link to the email below. Wouldn’t you want someone with over 8400 followers to be sharing your content?

I customized the default message that Constant Contact provided after clicking the little Twitter button. Here’s the tweet:

* Post to LinkedIn. More and more business users are posting information to LinkedIn. For some, LinkedIn is the only social networking site that they are allowed to post to during the work day so they like to share great and relevant content.

Viewing the email online

The other powerful link on this email message is the “Having trouble viewing this email. Click Here” section. By clicking the link, viewers are able to go to the online version of the site then use all their usual methods of sharing information. This is subtle feature but extremely powerful.

The power of content re-use

By adding social links to your email newsletter, you extend the reach of your message and are reusing that content for different platforms. How awesome is that?

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So if you’re building an email list for your business, I strongly suggest you look into any feature that allows you to share your content via social networks. It will help your messages run wild!

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At meet and greets, presentations, and during client meetings, small businesses are talking about Facebook. Facebook is quickly becoming the face of small business.

Why? I think there are three reasons why Facebook is now the third most important tool in the small business’s marketing arsenal:

1. That’s where the people are. Bank robber Willie Sutton was asked “Why do you rob banks?.” His famous reply was, “Because that’s where the money is.” The same thing applies to Facebook. With over 500 million users, Facebook is definitely the biggest watering hole on the planet.

2. Facebook fan pages are much easier to set up and update than Web sites. If you want to build a serious Facebook page you might need to hire some help. But for a basic setup you can crank one out in no time. Here’s a video tutorial on how to get started on your own Facebook page.

3. Facebook allows small businesses to reach out and directly connect with customers, with limited resources. I recently spoke to the owner of Bobbi’s Mexican Restaurant and Grill who manages to post menu updates every day at noon. She doesn’t pay anyone to do the posts, she does them herself. Small businesses have limited time, money, and personnel to do Web updates, so Facebook is a great way to push out information to a large group of hungry fans.

According to a Constant Contact poll reported by eMarketer, Facebook is the third most important marketing tool for small businesses.

The eMarketer article also points out that small business is actually adopting social media marketing slower than large companies.

Do you think it’s smart for small businesses to move to Facebook, or is that a recipe for disaster?

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The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Los Angeles held its year-end event in Santa Monica this past Tuesday. Center directors, business advisors, staff and SBA staffers were all there.

I’m a marketing and social media advisor at the SBDC center as part of the Economic and Development Center in Ventura County (EDC-VC) and this was the center’s first trip to the year end event.

I was inspired after speaking with many of the talented and caring business advisors and staffers who are responsible for providing free and low-cost business services to the 17 million residents of the greater Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties.

I was also impressed by the amazing client success stories. One client went from having sales of $200K to 1.2 Million after 2 years. Many of the SBDC clients worked with several advisors per site, getting help with capital infusion, business plans, marketing support, and foreign trade assistance.

Have you had any experiences working with the SBDC? Please share you stories in the Comments section below.

Here are some photos from the event. Enjoy!

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One of the greatest benefits of video is its ability to end up all over the Internet. You post a video to YouTube, the message resonates with viewers, and they share the video with the world. For example, after helping my nephew tie a tie before his first job interview, I decided to do a video of the process. To my surprise, the video took off and now has over 5,500 views.

Now imagine these 5,500 people were viewing and sharing your small business’s content.

Some users will share your videos on other social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Others will actually embed the videos in their blogs – very common on video and music blogs. Then there are blogs that automatically display your videos on their site for the sole purpose of driving traffic to their site. There may be little or no attribution on these different posts.

Note: In this post, I refer to YouTube content but most of the tips also apply to other video platforms like Vimeo, Viddler, and Animoto.

Here are five tips for taking control and branding your video content.

1. Mention your name and company Web site at the beginning and end of the video.

I learned this tip from video blogger Steve Garfield. You’ll always hear Steve’s video start with “Hi this is Steve Garfield from SteveGarfield.com.” If your video ends up at the far reaches of the Internet, away from the main YouTube site, this tip can help connect viewers to your brand.

2. Actually display your name and company URL in the video.

Feel free to be creative here. Write your name and URL out longhand as part of the video, spell it out in the sand on a beach walk, do some animation, whatever. Just make sure your company information is visible and a part of the video. Once again, as your video runs wild, viewers will be able to refer back to your site.

3. In YouTube, start your video Description with your Web site URL.

This little trick is amazing at connecting your video content with your company site. If you start the description with the URL it also creates a clickable link.

4. Once you start adding your site URL to your Description field, you can start to track mentions of your video.

I use Google Alerts to check for mentions of my different blog sites. When I receive an alert over “jesseluna.com” and see the name of a video next to it, I know someone embedded the video or linked to it.

If your company strategy is to let your videos run wild, then tracking where they end up isn’t as important. However, I personally still get flustered when I see my videos being sucked into a site that is obviously using the content for the sole purpose of driving users to click on ads. Basically, they’re using my content to make tiny sums of money.

But that’s the balance video producers must make. Do we share and let the content spread or do we try to over-control it and keep it from getting out? The answer will depend on your own strategy.

5. Maximize the way videos are presented on your own site.

In the mad rush to prepare quality videos, sometimes they only end up on YouTube. Using video on your site or blog is a huge opportunity to extend the reach of your video and brand. It will also provide compelling content for your blog.

I just relaunched this blog to help highlight my video tutorials. I’m displaying “featured videos” on the right widget bar and I created a page that displays a 20-video playlist of tutorials. The Tubepress WordPress plugin is an excellent tool for displaying YouTube and Vimeo videos.

Ironically, the Tubepress plugin can be used to suck in other people’s content as well. But you don’t have to use it that way.

Do you have any extra tips?

We’ve just stepped through five ways to brand and take control of your videos. This is not an exhaustive list but should get your brain juices going. Take control of your content and maximize its use.

Did I miss any obvious items? Please share your experiences and tips in the Comments section.


Photo Credit: Cookieevans on Flickr - License

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The secret is out. Video blogging is a powerful way to engage blog readers. Video adds another multimedia dimension to a blog, it helps create a closer bond to readers, it reinforces your blog’s message, and it is great for expanding your message to other social networks, especially YouTube.

I started messing around with Web video back in 2005 while testing out the kids toy, the Vidster. At the time, I had no idea how to embed the video into a site or blog (I wasn’t on YouTube until 2006). Now, things are much easier and there are a variety of ways to get started.

Getting Started

If you don’t already have a YouTube account, do yourself a favor and go create one now. I’ll add you as a friend and subscriber if you drop me a message (I’m @cinemaluna on YouTube). YouTube is a top 5 global site and has its own rich ecosystem. And, you don’t have to “live there” to get many of the benefits.

Equipment

Dude, I dont’ even have a camera.

If you have a computer and an Internet connection, you can start recording video right now. You don’t even need a camera. You can go to Screenr.com, and do a screen recording of your computer. I do this all the time to create video tutorials and it’s a great way to add video to your site. Screenr allows you to record, embed, tweet out the video link, download the video to your computer, and upload the video to YouTube. Screenr has a 5 minute maximum on screencasts.

The process of recording your screen is called “screencasting.”

Here’s a screencast I did for a WordPress.com tutorial. This video content was actually featured on the WordPress.tv site.

Or, you can go to Animoto.com and create a video based on photos. Animoto uses an ingenious system that can combine photos, video, and text then “automagically” generate the video by matching the multimedia elements to the selected soundtrack. Here’s a simple video I created using pictures (plus a micro video) from my “staycation” a few months back. The free version of Animoto limits the video to around 30 seconds.

Wait a minute, I have a little video feature in my digital camera. Can I use that?

Many newer digital cameras have a video feature. You might only be able to record a few seconds but that’s all we need to get started today. I have an “old” HP Photosmart 320 digital camera that I bought years ago and even that has a 30 second .AVI video feature. You can use a site like http://media-convert.com/ to convert from older and non-YouTube supported file formats to a more current format. Note: I haven’t actually used Media-convert.com so use at your own risk.

In case you’re counting, this is our third way to get video up to our blog today.

I also have an old-school digital video camera. But I’ve only used it to edit things in my computer. Will that work?

If you have the right cable connection for your older digital video camera, you’re in business. I have a JVC digital video camera (model GRDVL517U) that I bought around 2000, that’s 5 years BYT (Before YouTube). I can plug in the digital video cable and connect it to my PC and have access to all the video files.

If you’re going to use an older camera like the JVC then you may run across issues like missing cables, lost mini-dv cassettes, and missing user manuals. If that is the case then you can still find many of those items, but the older the digital video camera, the higher the price you’ll have to pay. My JVC user manual is over $10, and that’s from the JVC site.

That would be the fourth way to add video to your blog.

Wait a minute, we gave my kid a little camera a while back. Would that work?

There are actually several toy cameras out there that record digital video. Cameras like the Vidster by Mattel and RipRoar’s Creation Station sold for around $80 and they both record digital video. I purchased the Vidster, uh, for myself, back in 2005. Both of these toy video cameras come with cable connectors and you’ll need them to access the digital video files. You may also need to download the software for each.

Even though there are two cameras here, I’ll only count this as one way. We’re up to five ways to get video onto your blog.

I do have a web cam, but I’ve never used it.

Now’s the time. Fire up the Web cam, go to your YouTube account, click on “Upload” at the top of the page, then select “Record from webcam” and you should be able to connect and record your video. Your cam will also come with some kind of software. You can use that if you’re not ready to dive into the YouTube pool.

A web cam is the sixth way to add video to your blog.

My cell phone records video. I assume that’ll work?

You betcha. You can record on your video-enabled cell phone and send it to your email or you can post it to one of many video posting services. I’ll list those sites towards the end of this post. I use my iPhone video as a promotion machine.

That was the seventh way to add video to your blog.

I’m hip, I use Flip. Don’t hate, I also use the Kodak Zi8

Flip video cameras are small, easy to use, and very powerful. I’ve been using a Flip Mino HD for the past year and it’s served me very well. Even though the Flips have been out for a few years, they are still very cool and discreet. There’s a big difference between recording using a Flip vs. one of those huge paparazzi cameras. You’re less likely to get the stink eye from people if you’re out recording in public.

I just got the Kodak Zi8 (thanks again @sugarjones) and so far it’s the bees knees. I’m still testing it out and have only posted one video to the site so far.

Once again, we covered two cameras but we’ll count that as one more way. That was number ocho.

How To Embed Video Into Your Blog

Thanks to YouTube, embedding videos into blog posts is super easy. Once you get your video uploaded to YouTube, all you have to do is get the Embed code and add it to your blog.

Here are some blog by blog specifics.

WordPress.org (custom install) blog

Just paste the embed code into your blog post area and Save. That’s all you need.

WordPress.com

Paste the embed code or paste the video page’s URL into a shortcode field. Actually, if you paste in the Embed code then save the post, WordPress.com will turn it into a shortcode for you. This is an example of the YouTube shortcode:” [ youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1zJJGLJ714&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0 ] ” .

Tumblr

Log into your Tumblr account, click on the “Video” button then paste in the Embed code and create the post.

Posterous

Log into your account, click the Settings button in the upper right part of the page, then click on the “Posts” tab. You’ll see a big “Post by Web” button, click on it. Paste in the Embed code and add a Title then click on the huge “Post” button.

We’ll count each blog type as one way. We’re up to twelve ways.

Blogger

Log into your account. Create a new post, switch to HTML Edit mode, paste in the Embed code and you’re all set.

TypePad

Log into your account, create a new post, click on the Edit HTML tab, paste in the Embed code and that’s it. I haven’t used TypePad for a while so please correct me if this process has changed and I’ll update things.

And, we’re at fourteen ways to add video to your blog. But wait, there’s more!

How do I resize the YouTube player. No offense, but it looks horrible in my blog at the default sizes.

You’re in luck. I wrote a blog post entitled, “How To Create and Resize A Custom YouTube Player.” The YouTube interface changed since the blog post so there may be some differences in the way things work though.

Other Very Cool Video Sites

Do I really have to use YouTube for everything? What are some other options?

You don’t have to use YouTube. There are many other video sites out there. I’ll list a few (so I can get to 20 ways )

12Seconds.tv

This is a great site and one that I have used many times. 12Seconds.tv allows users to record, upload, or post mobile uploads of 12 seconds of video. If you’re intimidated by the camera, this is a great way to do a super quick post. You’ll have to be brief!

Vimeo

Vimeo is similar to YouTube only it’s a smaller community. The Vimeo video player is less clunky looking than the YouTube one.

Viddler

Viddler, a favorite site of mega video star Gary Vaynerchuk, is also a smaller video community. A smaller site means you can build a stronger following and have a chance at communicating with the company.

We’re at 17 ways!

I do everything via my iPhone. What do you have for me there? Any mobile app suggestions?

Once again, you’re in luck and these iPhone apps will take us to the end of this post’s journey.

Animoto

Yup, Animoto has an app that allows you to create videos from your iPhone. It works almost exactly like the Web version that we discussed above.

Qik

We didn’t really get into streaming video but the Qik iPhone app allows your 3gs phone to stream live video. You can then log into the Qik site and access the video and add it to your blog. Or, you can get crazy and embed a Qik player on one of your blog pages and have it stream live from your blog!

UStream Broadcaster

UStream is another streaming video site and it has an iPhone app.

Reel Director

Reel Director is a paid iPhone app. It allows you to edit video and combine photos, video, and text. It’s similar to Animoto but bumps things up a notch. This is a bonus “way” to add video to your blog today.

I’m looking forward to seeing your video creations, whether they are life vloggings, sales promos, tutorials, documentaries, or interviews.

I appreciate your feedback and look forward to continuing the conversation in the Comments.

[Originally posted on jesseluna.com]

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[Originally posted on jesseluna.com]

Facebook Pages allow businesses and individuals to create rich branded pages within Facebook. Every major brand in the world is running to build engaging and “sticky” pages on Facebook, because that’s where the people are.

Are your customers, non-profit supporters, constituents, and neighbors on Facebook? You betcha. So why not give them an opportunity to connect with you and your brand?

This tutorial will show you how to get started on building your own Facebook Page (I refer to them as “Fan Pages” in the video). This is Part One of the Facebook Fan Page project so make sure you bookmark this page, subscribe to the email blog posts, and/or subscribe to the RSS feed to keep track of further developments.

Your feedback is golden. I love Comments like a fat kid loves cake.

And don’t forget to view the full Transcript below.

Transcript

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Your assignment: Report back on how people are finding their way to your blog via Web searches. Take that information and make a change based on that finding.

You could dig into your blog’s built-in stats feature (if it has one) and find one or two interesting tidbits about keyword searches. Or, if you’re a masochist, you could try to access your raw log files and parse out referrer search strings. Lastly, you could walk into your sophisticated analytics program and start running massive reports and get deluged with data.

But, there is a simpler way. Enter Wordle.net. Wordle.net is a word art site that works by analyzing text. Paste in a set of words and it returns a beautiful word cloud. Simple.

I created this first word visualization by pointing Wordle.net to my jesseluna.com blog URL. This won’t tell me about visitors to the blog, but it will give me a quick look at what the blog is really offering up in terms of content. The larger the word, the more times it is being used throughout the blog site.

Now that you know what you’re serving up to search engines, you can see what web searchers are really looking for based on keyword data.

These are the steps I took:

1. Log into Google Analytics account.
2. Navigate to the site you want to analyze.
3. You’ll be on the Dashboard. Go to Traffic Sources > Keywords
4. You’ll see a list of keyword phrases under the “Site Usage” tab on the main part of the page.
   
   
   If you’re using Google Analytics or any other stats tracking system, you should become very familiar with this keyword information. These are the words and phrases that people are searching over to get to your Web site.
   
   
   Go to the bottom of that data table and select “500″ from the “Show Rows” drop down menu. The page will refresh and you’ll see the top 500 sets of keyword phrases.




5. Export that view by going to the top of the page and clicking on the “Export” drop down and selecting .CSV or .XLS. Download it or just open up the file.







6. In the Excel file, scroll down until you get to the Keyword data and copy all the keyword phrases in that column.
7. Go to Wordle.net’s “Create” tab then paste those keywords phrases into the “Paste in a bunch of text:” text area.
8. Click on the Go button and in a few seconds your word art will appear.
9. Use the tool bar to filter for language, change the color scheme, layout, and color and explore.
10. You can now save the image to the Public Wordle gallery, take a screen shot of it and save it on your computer, or if you have Adobe Acrobat installed, you can print to Adobe Acrobat and save it as a high resolution image in PDF format.

This is the resulting keyword visualization.

From this visualization, I can tell which of my blog posts have driven the most traffic to the blog. I can see words related to my How To Add A Facebook Fan Badge To Your Blog post which included “Facebook”, “Tumblr”, and “Badge” keywords. When I compare the first visualization at the top of this blog to the one just above, I see that there are a lot of matches between what I’m writing and how visitors are reaching the blog. That’s what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about.


Take Action
If you do try out Wordle.net and analyze your site’s keywords, don’t just sit on any new insights, take action. For example, I rarely write about Tumblr because I primarily focus on writing and teaching about WordPress blogs. But now, I’m going to schedule a couple of Facebook + Tumblr blog posts this month. I’m always looking for good tutorial topics.

Review
In this blog post we learned how to create a word visualization of your site’s content using Wordle.net. We also learned how to create a visualization using actual keyword search data from an analytics program. Lastly, we learned that we have to take action on our insights.

I hope this blog post was useful. If you created a visualization, feel free to comment below or post your Wordle.net art to the JesseLuna.com blog Facebook Fan Page.



Image Credit: Wordle.net

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Please excuse the dust.  We’re revamping the JP Luna Web Design site.

If you have questions or assistance, please visit my other blog, http://www.jesseluna.com.

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