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Foursquare and Your Small Business – A Quick View on Advertising your Brand

Written August 15th, 2011 by Da Li Social

So far we have talked about the basics of Foursquare use and the new features for businesses. What I would like to go into today is your Business Page on Foursquare.

For over a year businesses would fill out an application, supply graphics and then wait for Foursquare to approve their application. Once the application was approved, Foursquare would create the page rather than the business.
This process could take weeks and even months of back and forth communication before completion. With varying results in the last year they have helped over 3000 businesses by building pages for them on Foursquare. Originally this feature was first only offered to companies like Intel, MTV, the New York Times, Tiffany & Co. and NASA to name a few. This summer, however, the decision was made to open it up to all small businesses. What we are going to focus on today is a 25,000 foot view of business pages and how they can help your business succeed.

Creating Your Page

Firstly, creating a business page takes less time than it does to brew a pot of coffee. (Seriously) The directions are quick and easy to follow. To create your own Foursquare page, you will need the following:

A Foursquare user account – if you don’t have one, you can sign up here.
You need to agree to the terms of Service
A twitter account for your business. Your new page’s link will be Foursquare.com/twitter_name

Once you have these you can go here to create your own page by following their directions.

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What Your Small Business Can Learn From Google and Apple

Written August 1st, 2011 by Da Li Social

For most small businesses the challenge is to stay viable. These days with social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare this goal is easier to achieve. Coupon sites like LivingSocial, Groupon, Dealtificate and TravelZoo allow businesses, big and small, to offer specials that when combined with Facebook and Foursquare, let you reach more clients than ever before.

The biggest challenge for a business of any size is to stay ahead of their competitors and more importantly, stay in business. Everywhere we look companies are thriving and failing. Two of the world’s most successful companies, Apple and Google, can teach small businesses about succeeding in their own markets.

Keep Improving Your Products and Services

Every successful company knows that a product that is not updated soon outlives its usefulness. One of the oldest man made products in the world, books, are now available in digital and audio as well as on the written page. In some cases this has caused the demise of brick and mortar bookstores, but in truth it has evolved them.

Take for example, Apple. Every year or sometimes even twice a year, Apple “refreshes” their product line. We get new computers, iPods, iPads and iPhones. Some of this is to keep up with their competitors, but most of this is to stay ahead of their competitors and to drive the market. That’s the key. Whoever drives the market can control what everyone else does and you will find very few people who don’t think Apple does just that.

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Understanding Foursquare’s Enhanced Specials & Deals

Written July 20th, 2011 by Da Li Social

One of the more resourceful things about social media is the ease it which to get the information we need as quickly as possible. Facebook really kick started a trend that had been laboring under the days of MySpace. Now Twitter, Foursquare and Google+ continue the trend, taking Location Based Marketing to a whole new level. In an earlier article this year I talked about the basics of Foursquare and it’s practical uses for businesses both large and small. Since then however we have seen a few changes come to Foursquare and I’d like to take a brief time to go over them.

As mentioned previously, Foursquare has three basic functions. The first and the most popular is a location based mobile application. You check in at a location and let people know where you are. These checkins can be posted to Facebook, Twitter and even LinkedIn. In recent months this type of reporting has caused quite an uproar, with websites like “Please Rob Me” which scour the public Twitter feed for Foursquare check-ins and posting them, thus pointing out that thieves could use the information to know when you were not at home. With any technology there will be always be issues and that is as much as we will say on the matter.

The second is the fictional race to be Mayor of as many locations as possible. This one is rather self explanatory, check in more to a location than anyone else consistently within a certain time frame and you can be Mayor of your local bar, restaurant, library, airport, etc. For some people this even supersedes telling your friends where you are, for others it’s about the perks the establishment may offer its Mayors.

Foursquare’s Enhanced Deals & Specials

It is the last function that I wish to focus on today however. The specials. In the past these specials were offered by the individual location. Things like a bottle of wine with your third check-in or 5% off you meal with your first check-in. In late June, after reaching 10 million users however Foursquare decided to up the ante a bit with a few new changes to the specials format. Read the rest of this entry »

How to Create a Google Ad Campaign, Part 3

Written July 6th, 2011 by Da Li Social

In our first two articles we went over how to write a PPC ad and use the web version of Google AdWords to put that ad to work. Now that you have learned the basics, I am going to show you a few more tools to use to make your job easier. The first has to do with keywords.

In previous posts, you have seen how keywords narrow things down, but what happens when you don’t want certain words to point to your website, for example?

Let’s imagine you have an ad that uses the keywords free and trial in various phrases. Let’s take two of these search phrases – free tour and one day trial. Each of these phrases can lead searchers to your ad. What you don’t want to see is any search action containing free and trial leading to your ad. So a search for free one day trial should NOT trigger your ad. The method you use is adding negative keywords.

What are negative keywords?

I. Definition

Negative keywords are a core component of a successful keyword list. Adding a negative keyword to your ad group or campaign means that your ads won’t show for searches containing that term. By filtering out unwanted impressions, negative keywords can help you reach the most appropriate prospects, reduce your cost-per-click (CPC), and increase your ROI.

II. Example

The negative keyword –free trial would prevent your ads from showing on any searches containing the terms free and trial. It wouldn’t prevent your ads from showing on variations of these terms, however. It also wouldn’t prevent your ads from showing on searches that only contain one of the terms. For instance, the search terms one-day trial and free test could trigger your ads, while free one-day trial could not.

Negative keywords are the best way to reach your appropriate prospects, reduce your cost-per-click (CPC) and most importantly, increase your ROI. It is important to note that when writing your first campaign you really want to see what works before adding negative keywords. Yes, this may be a little costly at first, but it will save you money in long run.

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How to Create a Google Ad Campaign Part 2

Written June 20th, 2011 by Da Li Social

In the first part of this series I talked about how to create ads that get clicks. Any good advertiser will tell you that it doesn’t matter how much you spend on ads. It’s creativity that counts.

We discussed how content for ad writing is vital, and you can get some ideas from studying how other ads are written. Next, now that we have our ads, we are now ready to put them in AdWords and start generating revenue. First, you will need to create a Google AdWords account in order to run your ads. Go to Google AdWords and sign up. Once you are finished with that you are ready to begin placing your ads.

Once you have setup an account it is important to know that there are two ways to set up your ads. The first is via the AdWords website, which is a WYSIWYG/GUI interface, which in real time, shows you what your ads will look like right and doesn’t require anything more than an Internet connection to work. There is nothing to download.

The second option is to download Google’s AdWords Editor to your computer. While not pretty in its appearance it is in my opinion the better tool for both newcomers and veterans. It allows you to easily copy ads, campaigns, keywords, etc. to make your process move a little a faster. It is also the more efficient of the two since it will not allow you to upload your ads unless you have filled in all the required boxes.

In this post we are going to focus on the AdWords website and setting up your campaign this way. The first time you log in to your new AdWords account you will be brought directly to the Campaign Tab (you will also see a Home, Opportunities, Reporting and Tools, Billing and My Account Tabs) with a Welcome to AdWords heading. This will take you through the steps of creating your very first campaign. When creating you first campaign you are then taken to another screen where you are required to fill in the following information. Again we are going to use our travel agency example to fill this out.

Campaign Name – (Keep in simple remember this is just for you) Tuscany Tours

Location – (Where do you want your ads to appear?) Miami, FL, US

Languages – (What Languages do your Customers Speak?) English, Spanish

Networks and Devices – (What sites and devices do you want the ads to run on) for both say All (as recommended) Later on you can decide to adjust this as your comfort level increases.

Bidding option – For this we are going to stick to the basic options but this determines how much per click you are willing to bid on each ad. So select Automatic and then select CPC bid limit. Let’s say $2.00

Budget – How much per day are you willing to spend? They recommend $25 US. A good rule of thumb here is to keep adjusting this over the course of your campaign as you start accumulating data.

Hit “Save” and Continue to move on. Now that your Campaign is created we need to put in the ads we wrote. So going to the next screen you’ll see “create ad” and “keywords”. Taking the ads we wrote before we can start to fill in the blanks.

Headline – Wine under the Tuscan Sun – 25 Character limit
Line 1 – A beautiful Tuscan walking tour – 35 character limit
Line 2 – sample some wineries SAVE up to 20% – 35 character limit
Display URL – www.tuscansuntours.com/wine
Destination URL – http:// www.tuscansuntours.com/wine

If you noticed, I changed the ads a little for a few reasons. I had characters to spare and nothing attracts customers like savings. Once you have plugged this in, the preview will show you what your ad will look like as either a

Side ad
Wine under the Tuscan Sun
A beautiful Tuscan walking tour,
sample some wineries SAVE up to 20%
www.tuscansuntours.com/wine

or a Top ad
Wine under the Tuscan Sun
A beautiful Tuscan walking tour, sample some wineries SAVE up to 20%
www.tuscansuntours.com/wine

Next up are your keywords. Choose how you describe your products or services. It’s important to add specific keyword phrases (usually containing 2-3 words) that will help your customers narrow down their search to your ad.

So for this example we will add 11 keyword phrases
“Walking Tuscany”
“Tuscan Wine”
“Under the Tuscan Sun”
“Tuscany Tour”
“Tuscan Wine Country”
“Wines in Tuscany”
“Wines in Italy”
“Italian Wines”
“Italian walking tours”
“Wineries in Tuscany”
“Wineries in Italy”

Notice the “” around the phrases. These insure that the keywords are a phrase match. There are 4 different kinds of matches.

Broad Match: keyword
Allows your ad to show on similar phrases and relevant variations
(The broad match modifier may also be used to further refine your broad keyword matches: +keyword.)

Phrase Match: “keyword”
Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase.

Exact Match: [keyword]
Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively.

Negative Match: -keyword
Insures your ad doesn’t show for any search that includes that term,

Once you have entered your keywords you may check your estimated search traffic. However since this is your first campaign you may not get enough data to give estimates.

Next up is placement. Do you have specific places where you want to place your ads? Here you can put your ad on sites that also run GoogleAds. This takes a little bit of research and is very much a hit or miss proposition. Now you are ready to go on to billing. Once you have put in all your billing information, you will be brought back to your campaign screen where you can see your Ad and your keywords. It is important to note that your ad will not run without billing and your ad will not run without the status saying “Eligible”. Congratulations you have created your first Google Ad.

Next time we will go over negative keywords, how to use the Editor Application and reporting and tools.

Business Blogs, Part 3: a Genuine Voice

Written June 17th, 2011 by Da Li Social

How is the voice of a business blog different than the voice of a personal blog?

Claim a Voice

The first-person voice is powerful and familiar – a natural super power of the well-written personal blog. Businesses often speak with the “we” voice, from the more diffuse point of view of a group, brand or entity. Individuals can speak with the “I” voice, from within the business. I think both voices are important. A strong “we” voice is a reflection of a strong brand with a real identity. Not all brands can do a good “we.”

I think the “we” voice develops over time and should not be too hampered with blogging policy decisions. Businesses need some norms to live within, in order to present a cohesive and trustworthy presence, but the “we” voice doesn’t come from policy. I think the “we” comes from having a specific message, presented in a way that demonstrates a business’s personality. Businesses don’t come with personalities. Businesses do develop a sort of body language, based on the way they interact and the sorts of goods and services they supply.

Relevance

Personal blogs only have to be relevant to the person doing the writing. A business blog’s content has to be relevant to the business. I’ve joked that bloggers can write about anything, as long as they don’t go off on bunions or muckraking, but that’s not necessarily so. Business bloggers can write about bunions and foot fungus – you name it – if the business is related to foot care and the content is written in a way that will interest the business’s audience and be appropriate for the business. Muckrakers can muckrake, if that is within the “we” voice of the business. Almost anything is OK, as long as it’s relevant and the voice is genuine. Personal content can appear on a business blog, if focused on the needs of the audience.

A business blog’s content must be filtered and focused.

Don’t be Generic

First off, use concrete language. It’s good for SEO, but more than that, concrete, specific language can help to keep people on your site.

Users who come to a site via super-specific search terms know what they’re hoping to see. They need a destination that will verify the existence of real information for those terms, or at least for related terms.

Give Validation

If one of the super-specific search terms leading to a page is likely to be a model number, give users the number in an easy-to-see place, with an easily recognizable image or three – an image of what the box looks like, an image for what it goes to, maybe a way to get to others in that line. Label the images with succinct text links.

Don’t assume that even super-targeted content is always the landing page for exactly the right Search audience. Visitors may be using terms that are slightly off, or they may know enough about one specific thing to believe that term will lead to the next step. Showing users they have arrived at a destination with value is important, especially if they’re not arriving exactly at their final goal. Super-targeted pages that are thin on content are a dime a dozen. Demonstrate the opposite. Show substance.

Blogging is good at building out substance, in ways that would not be appropriate for a product catalog. Create targeted pages that show substance and have easy access to associated information.

When creating a path to more information, create a scent trail. Don’t just say “click here for more,” when you can say “more about hedge trimmers,” or “see hedge trimmer reviews.” Better yet, if this is content on a business blog that is cool with the “I” voice, experiment with how your readers relate with content like “my adventures with garden tools.”

Specific language from a real voice that is not too full of marketingspeak can be very compelling.

Be Genuine

A personal blog naturally comes from the voice of the writer. Finding a genuine voice in business blogging can be more challenging.

It’s like the breakup line, “It’s not you, it’s me.” For most of us, a natural response after that point is to trust nothing from that person… or to suspect the opposite. “Trust me” can work the same way.

Here’s an experiment for you. Try writing a few sentences of business-related content in the most general terms possible, then take a step back and re-read with a skeptic’s eye. Imagine a competitor has written it. Imagine an unknown entity who could be a scraper has churned it out. Double-check what you’ve written for believability. Yuck, huh? The wordier and more glowing the generalities, the worse it will be, no matter how carefully it is written.

Writing with a genuine voice is challenging. Being specific to your industry is an important place to start. Go further. Write out the details. If it’s bland, don’t hesitate to start again. Go back and pump up the voice, then re-read what is already written and cherry-pick the most genuine parts. Don’t fall into the trap of embellishing a “trust me.”

Claim a voice.

Google Ads for Dummies – Part 1

Written June 12th, 2011 by Da Li Social

I am sure you have seen the ads that appear in Google when you are searching for that recipe for apple pie or looking up something you saw on TV. These ads, called Google Ads, offer an alternative to the regular searches that we do. Sometimes the ads are useful and sometimes they’re not.

Good Adwords Generate Clicks

Have you ever asked yourself why, if you asked for things to do in Rome, you get two ads for sightseeing and then ads for Hotels? One of the main reasons is that unlike with search, PPC (Pay Per Click) ads such as like those you find on Google, rely mostly on that old adage – money talks. The higher you are willing to bid on a keyword, the more likely you are to get your ad to show up higher in rank.

Now this is not to say that even the worst ad will get ranking if you are willing to pay. This will just get you in the door because your ad still has to be one that will get people to visit your site. After all, clicks do count. The more your ad gets clicked on, the more likely that it will rank better. Sounds simple right? In its basic form it actually is.

How to Create Ads That Get Clicks

Today we are going to cover creating your ad. Before you even go to Adwords you should have an idea of what you want to say in your ad. Sometimes the best way is to do research, do a couple of searches and see what similar companies are doing. For this example, let’s say I run a Travel Agency and I am looking to advertise one of our new tours to Tuscany. The first thing I would do is see what’s already out the by going to Google and typing in “guided tours Tuscany”. My search shows the following ads. I am only including the top 4 ads for the purpose of this exercise.

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Business Blogs, Part 2: 66 Content Development Ideas

Written June 3rd, 2011 by Da Li Social

Writing a list of blog post ideas is not the same thing as creating a content development strategy. Lists of ideas are like potato chips – nobody can eat just one… and no amount of potato chips can add up to a high quality meal. You’re getting the loose list before the focused strategy because the real vital nutrients of written material are easier to come by if there is already real writing going on.

Love the Topic

It’s very hard to make good progress on something that you do not like. Remember what is wonderful. If you can’t think that way at the moment, devote a few seconds to getting up and stretching like a cat who hasn’t quite found the right place to settle in. Seriously – actually get up, stretch, walk around and stretch again before writing.

A Preamble: Perspective, Passion and Quality

Start by getting out of your head and envisioning the perspective of the viewer. Rattle off some typical characteristics of your target audience. Are they early adopters who are willing to pay a premium? Fans who will devour and evangelize good information? Are they kids who eat cell phone connectivity for breakfast, or “older” folks like moi who had to be dragged into getting a cell phone? Are they professional bloggers who have a high tolerance for marketing speak, or are they of the sort that expects all email marketing to be spam? Notice what characteristics seem to co-exist within the same demographic. Then, use that insight to create imaginary users, otherwise known as personas. Writing, even writing abstract poetry, is all about the reader.

Put yourself in the user’s shoes. Write about what users are interested in – don’t count on them reading anything else.

Blog Topic Ideas for Business Blogs

Keep a running list of keywords that show up in your web traffic logs.
Take keywords a step further. Look for interesting issues connected with super-specific search terms like model numbers or book titles.
Notice dinner table conversation topics. Is “how was your day?” followed by questions?
Mine and keep customer email correspondence – each customer issue can be at least one blog post.
Save and re-use customer service type answers.
Write about other people’s complaints
Write about your own pet peeves.
Write for the reader. Customer service contacts and search traffic both come from users who already know what they hope to find.
Write for users who are about to make return trips through your sales funnel
Write for the curious who are in the first stages of research
Write about what makes you curious… and why
Write about research in your niche
Describe bleeding edge research
Don’t forget to have fun – tell jokes or funny stories!
Share a list of top tools
Write a checklist for how to tell it’s time to get a new one…
…or how to tell that what you have can work until the new model comes out.
Describe a need.
Describe how to tell which model will fit a specific customer type’s needs
Get seasonal – September may be a good time to send a college kid off with a new laptop, June may be a good time for a cute write-up about novelty ice cube trays. It all depends on what you have.
Describe a trend
Survey the facts
Write case studies
Imagine the future of your industry
Speculate about current developments in your niche, both good and bad
Make predictions
Report on new, real-world research
Announce when something will be on the market
Describe the thrill of getting your hands on the first iterations of something new
Write a review with first impressions of a new thing.
Write another review once you know how the new thing holds up
Compare the pros and cons of something
Write about the history of your niche
Share a personal story about how you first became interested in your niche
Describe the coolest thing about getting a new (fill in the blank,) speaking not as a marketer, but as a fan.
Did you just get a big shipment of the new Brand X Widgets? Describe one, from stem to stern. Imagine you are describing it to a Brand X Widget enthusiast.
Describe a problem. Tell people why they should care.
Describe a worst case scenario – is it likely?
Describe misconceptions.
Solve a product-related problem.
Write about how your product or service can solve a well-known person’s well known-problem
Make public service announcements – find a bug, help to publicize a product recall, warn about a scam.
Ask questions. Imagine the “why.” This would be a fun place to tuck in some tightly targeted search terms.
Answer questions. What would the Brand X Widget enthusiast want to know? Is it backward compatible with last year’s model? Is it a must-have for this particular customer? Is it a better bet for the casual user? Is it an entry level thing? Is it a good first purchase for someone who is new to Brand X widgets?
Tell the story of how you and your organization solved a problem.
Think of different ways to describe solving problems! Challenge yourself to show, don’t tell.
Give kudos to others who have done something admirable
Describe how a nonprofit has benefited from your goods or services
Describe differences between now and then, here and there
Describe what you like
Make a wish list
Invite others to share their wish lists
Interviews! Interview fans, experts, customers
Diversify. Write for now, while also keeping track of ideas for the future. To get new ideas, work at using existing ideas. For example…
Analyze the past. Let’s say that some of a gift shop’s hand-crafted jewelry is created using ancient techniques. People who are interested in the jewelry may enjoy in-depth information on topics related to ancient techniques. In the future, that information may draw in search traffic from people who are interested in those ancient techniques – those same people may be interested in buying that sort of jewelry.
Help readers do research. Compare and contrast products.
Write a tutorial
Propose a change
Discuss a possible code of ethics
Describe ideal customer service policies
Describe a customer’s crisis resolution
Give thanks
Describe a dream
Describe philosophical values
Assess monetary value – analyze and give a cheer for getting a bang for the buck
Tell a story of satisfaction – what are your most favorite experiences in this industry?

Post 3 in my series will be about putting the content development strategy into business blogging. Personal blogs don’t have to have a content development strategy beyond whatever it takes to keep the writers going. Business blogs can totter along without a cohesive strategy, but with goals, interesting, targeted useful goals, so much more is possible.

Promoting Your Blog: Not Too Late to Start Over

Written May 23rd, 2011 by Da Li Social

Over the average course of a person’s life he or she will reinvent themselves a few times; usually in High School, then College and again a few more times in the real world. We’ve all done it as individuals, but what happens when in comes to your company’s marketing strategy? Are your present strategies working out for you? Are you feeling stuck in a rut?

For the most part a good promotion strategy or ad campaign could last forever, but as the times change so should your thinking and planning. Granted, there are those campaigns out there that are timeless gems. Nike’s “Just Do It” is a slogan that has lasted for over 20 years and doesn’t seem to be losing steam anytime soon. In fact, their competitors are finding that they need to keep changing their slogans just to keep up.

This simple slogan. Still going strong.

Currently, the phrase “Just Do It” is so synonymous with Nike that really at the end of the silent, visual ad, all they say sometimes is “Just Do It” and you find yourself amazed that they did it again. In February we talked about the Super Bowl ads, what worked, what didn’t and why. One of the greatest strengths a company or even a blog should have is to know when it’s material is getting stagnant. For the purpose of this post we are going to focus on blogs.
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Author Archive

What Your Small Business Can Learn From Google and Apple

Keep Improving Your Products and Services

How to Create a Google Ad Campaign, Part 3

What are negative keywords?

How to Create a Google Ad Campaign Part 2