Blog Archives

History of Social Media

Posted by on May 9, 2011

Each day, we Facebook, use Twitter, instant message, read blogs, email, share photos on Flickr and Instagram, watch videos on YouTube and Vimeo. I use technology for just about everything, from exercising and mapping to cooking and reading the news . But do you ever wonder: “How did we get here?”

What does the future hold? Quora, the people questions and answers forum may replace Google as we count on our friends recommendations a lot more than on robot suggestions. There probably won’t be any more PCs and laptops, just smartphones and iPads/tablets.

I created this short video on social media history, trying to fit the last 40 years in less than 4 minutes to put into perspective where we came from. Let me know what you think.

Categories: Blog Business eMarketing Facebook LinkedIn Marketing Photosharing Small Businesses Social Bookmarks Social Media Social Media Marketing Technology Twitter Video Web 2.0 Web 2.0 tools | 1 Comment »

5 reasons a business needs a blog?

Posted by on November 3, 2009

20000blogSocial media is changing they way businesses do business and people are demanding this change. Companies no longer have complete control over their brand. Some very savvy companies and CEOs are turning to blogs as a way to create online communities, communicate with their customers and employees and bring transparency to their business. Below are 5 reasons why a blog is a good idea:

  1. Listening tool: It creates online space for people to interact with your brand. They can leave comments on your posts and allow you to get feedback. Although there are better ways to listen to what people are saying about your business, your own blog provides one more channel to receive feedback.
  2. SEO: A blog can help you with search engine optimization. By continuosly adding engaging and fresh content, while still incorporating your main keywords in your posts, your positioning on the search engine will improve. Google, Bing and Yahoo will rank your website higher with your blog (make sure your blog is connected to your domain) thanks to your content and it will improve your overall search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
  3. Create a vibrant online community. By providing interesting content, uploading videos and photos and writing often about topics of  interest to you, you will create loyal readers on your blog. By building trust with these people, they will be most likely to purchase from you than from a competitor business that doesn’t show interest in engaging with their customers.
  4. Expert positioning: By writing a blog about the topics you are knowledgeable and expert in, you will position your business as a leader in the industry. You don’t always have to write about your business, products and services. If you represent a hotel, you can write about the surrounding areas, special events and happenings, local tips, shopping places, ways to save when you travel, and anything else related to general travel or the activities that your customers mainly engage with why staying at your  place. You can highlight your chef’s specials, contribute some specials recipes and cocktails and make people feel at home before they have even arrived. When people start looking for a place to stay,  they will consider your hotel first because of the existing relationship they already have with you.
  5. Engagement & Transparency: You are not afraid to put yourself on the web and open up to people’s feedback whether that’s positive or negative. You embrace the fact that people now have a lot more control over your brand than they used to. You are open to receiving feedback, you are listening and hopefully making changes to your business based on customer feedback.

These are my 5 reasons why a business can benefit from a blog. There are many more reasons why a business blogs. What are yours? What do you think abusiness blog can do for the bottom line of an organization? What are your favorite blogs? Why?

Image used under creative commons license: Annie Mole

Categories: Blog Business eMarketing Interactive marketing SEO Small Businesses Social Media Technology Web 2.0 Web 2.0 tools | No Comments »