How To Add Questions to Your Facebook Page

With Facebook’s new version of Questions, brands and publishers now have a quick and easy way to survey customers and/or crowdsource information from readers. Page owners can pose questions with a set list of answers, as well as allow users to add additional answers for which other users can vote. Additionally, when a user responds to a question, it appears on their personal feed which allows their friends to respond as well and broadens overall reach

Many prominent brands have already begun implementing Questions on their page to interact with customers as part of their social media strategy. A great example is the Buffalo Wild Wings Facebook page, for which you can see an example question above.

To begin using Facebook Questions on your own page, follow these steps. (Please note that this feature may not yet be available in all countries.)

Step 1: Sign into your Facebook Page.
Go to the “Account” tab at the upper-right side of your Facebook account and click “Use Facebook as Page.” Click “Switch” next to the page you would like to be signed into, which should be the page where you want to add Questions.

Step 2: Go to Facebook’s Questions Page.
Go to Facebook’s Questions page, which both outlines the product and is where you add Questions to your Page. Once there, click on the bright green button that says “Get Questions Now. This action will apply to the Page you’re logged in as, so if you’d like to add Questions to multiple Pages, repeat step one and two for the specific Page in question. A pop-up box will open confirming that Questions have been added to your Page.

Marketing Coaching: Understanding the Basics of Google PageRank

You've just built your website and you want to show up on the search engines. You start reading about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and one of the first things that jumps out at you is something called "Google PageRank". You know about the big dog of the search engines, but what is Page Rank and why is it important in what you're trying to do?
Any good marketing coach can explain that easily. If your site is placing high in free (organic) search results, you're getting free advertising. Notice the word "free". That's always a good thing. Building a strong PageRank (PR) by getting good quality links coming in to your site takes time, but it isn't going to eat a hole in your pocketbook.
You want to work on raising your site's PR to get "authority" with the search engines. A site with "authority" gets better visibility in search results. Really understanding the algorithm behind your site's PR will likely have you reaching for a bottle of aspirin. In the beginning, just concentrate on understanding the basics and how they relate to your efforts to promote your site.
How Is PR Defined?
Google says PR is all about the "uniquely democratic nature of the web" and "using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value". Basically, a link from one page to another is a vote for that page. However, not all votes in this democracy are equal. Some votes come from higher quality pages and are weighed more heavily. (Other factors in determining PR include the relevance of search phrases on a page and actual traffic to the page.)
How Is PageRank Expressed?
PR values are expressed on a scale of 0 to 10. Sites from PR0 to PR2 are probably pretty new to the Web and have few incoming links. Sites that have made it to PR3 to PR5 are fairly well established; PR6 and above are really popular and have a lot of high quality links. There are very few sites that make it to the PR7 to PR10 range.
The ones that are ranked that high are usually owned by big corporations or major media outlets like the Wall Street Journal (PR8). Improving your site's PR by getting relevant, high-quality, incoming links is one of the most affordable SEO methods at your disposal. Rather than trying to get to a specific number, just concentrate on improving your number.
My Site's Homepage The Only Page With PR?
No, each page in your site will be assigned a PR, something that is emphasized in marketing coaching as a valuable tool. You can use relevant interlinking to distribute PR throughout all your pages.
Huh? Well, just hang on to that thought for a minute. For right now, just understand the concept that some pages in your site may earn a higher PR than others, and that you can use that to your advantage.
PageRank Passes From One Page To Another
Here's how it works. A page with a high PR passes some of its value to a low PR page over a link. You can use this to promote your site in a couple of ways. When your site's pages are interlinked in a relevant way, PR gets distributed more evenly throughout the site. Also, you can "court" relevant sites that belong to other people through your link building campaign. This is really how your site starts to gain "authority".
Start By Building Your Index Page's PR
Generally, marketing coaches will tell you to begin by working on your home page's PR. This can be time consuming, and not just because you'll be building relationships with other site owners. You have to do your time in what's popularly called the Google "sandbox". This just means that new sites like yours probably won't get any PR at all for the first few months you're on the Web.
How Do I Check My PR?
There are a number of free, online tools for checking PR including PRChecker (http://prchecker.org/) and SearchStatus (http://www.quirk.biz/searchstatus/). At PRChecker you type in a page's URL to see its PR. SearchStatus is a FireFox extension that shows a site's PR at the bottom of your browser. (It also shows your site's Alexa rating, another method to measure online "importance".) You can also install the Google Toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/) for Firefox or Internet Explorer and enable the PageRank function.
Is Building My PR All I Need To Do?
A marketing coach will tell you that having a strong PR is only one part of your SEO campaign. For instance, say you're looking around for a site to link to yours. You find one with a high PR, but it's a site that sells links. Move on. Their high PR number doesn't do you any good because a link from that site to yours will have a lower quality and will pass less authority to you.
Understanding the basics of PageRank is essential in putting together a high-quality link-building campaign for your site, but don't get fixated on the PR number and ignore other important facts. Just gain a basic understanding of what PR is and how it functions and use that to your advantage in building a reputation of authority for your site.
Written by Paul Marshall   

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The 10 Basic Rules of Social Media Marketing

Articles - SMM Social Media Marketing

Written by Allison Kahn

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Social Media Marketing is the act of using social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) in order to promote a business. Many companies will want to start their own social media marketing campaign and create a Facebook page or Twitter account. The problem with is they don't have a clue on how to run a successful social media marketing campaign. Here, I have listed 10 of the most basic rules when it comes to social media marketing. Follow these rules in order to have successful accounts with Facebook, Twitter, etc. The 10 [basic] Rules of Social Media Marketing 1. Update! I should not even have to list this as a rule, but many forget how important it is. You should try to update daily because when consumers visit your page and it has not been updated in over a month, they will assume it is inactive and decide not to follow your business. Also, they could easily go with your competitor because their page is so active they feel that business will give them better service. You do not want that to happen, so update your social media accounts regularly! 2. No pitching! You are not Billy Mays. Therefore, you do not need to yell at consumers telling them to buy your product or use your business. Social media is meant to connect, not pitch. If your consumers feel they have a connection with your company through your Facebook page or Twitter feed, they are more likely to use you over another business that does not make an earnest effort to connect. 3. Communicate with your audience. If you do not feel it is necessary to reply to comments, answer questions, or join in on conversations on your page, then social media is not for you. You need to be a part of the conversations on your page. If not, you will lose touch with your customers and what they want. 4. Choose Wisely. What you say will forevermore remain public record on the internet. Choose what you post on your page wisely. I cannot stress that enough. If you hire a company to post for you, be sure to hire someone you can trust. And remember, if you manage your social media outlets yourself only post what you would want to see on the front page of the New York Times (or the Huffington Post). 5. Handle angry customers with class. Some customers will just have a bad day and want to take it out on your page and blame you for everything. Do not delete any negative comments. Instead, ignore it if it is only one comment (unless the comment has foul language and is completely inappropriate). If you are in a predicament like Nestle was about a year ago where everyone protested on their Facebook page, post an update saying your business is making moves to fix the problem. Never directly respond to one individual, you will never win. Also, never make promises you cannot keep. 6. Link to others. If you find something interesting (and relevant) on the web, link it on your Facebook or Twitter page. Explain why you find it interesting (and relevant) and ask for their input. Link to other companies, articles, cool websites, whatever. Just be sure to ask yourself before posting, is this relevant to my business? 7. Share! Don't be afraid to show your consumers what your company's employees are doing when they are not in the office. Take photos of your office picnic, philanthropic event, or even a run/walk for a good cause. These photos create a positive image about your company for your consumers. They want to know you're human and don't wear ties all the time. If it's casual Friday in the office, take a group photo of everyone wearing the company polo and post it immediately so others know what is going on in your office in real time. 8. Start a weekly trend. If you do something once a week, on the same day each week, your followers are bound to come back that day every week. For example, if you own a shoe store, every Monday you could post the shoe of the week. Include an image and a promotion for the shoe, such as a percentage off that week only. If you posted every Monday, consumers are bound to check every Monday to see what pair is being promoted that week and come into your store to buy. It's a great way to get customers onto your social media pages as well as into your store. 9. Link to your blog. You put so much effort into writing that awesome post about trendy heels for the spring, but no one ever reads your blog. Link it on your Facebook, Twitter, etc. Don't do it all the time, because if that is the only thing you do to update your social media outlets, people will get bored with you very quickly. But at the same time, don't be afraid to link back to your blog. You put a lot of hard work and effort into it, and you want people to read it! 10. Spread the word! If you have a Facebook, Twitter, blog, YouTube channel, etc. you really need to tell people. They are not just going to assume you have them. Put them on your company website, on your business cards, put a sign up in your store saying "Add us!" with all the little logos for each site next to the copy. Don't be afraid to tell your customers you're on Facebook. If they like you and your product, they will share it on their Facebook account and say, "Hey, I'm a fan of Sally's Shoes and I want everyone to know!"

Marketing Coaching: Understanding the Basics of Google PageRank

Articles - Google

Written by Paul Marshall

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

You've just built your website and you want to show up on the search engines. You start reading about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and one of the first things that jumps out at you is something called "Google PageRank". You know about the big dog of the search engines, but what is Page Rank and why is it important in what you're trying to do? Any good marketing coach can explain that easily. If your site is placing high in free (organic) search results, you're getting free advertising. Notice the word "free". That's always a good thing. Building a strong PageRank (PR) by getting good quality links coming in to your site takes time, but it isn't going to eat a hole in your pocketbook. You want to work on raising your site's PR to get "authority" with the search engines. A site with "authority" gets better visibility in search results. Really understanding the algorithm behind your site's PR will likely have you reaching for a bottle of aspirin. In the beginning, just concentrate on understanding the basics and how they relate to your efforts to promote your site. How Is PR Defined? Google says PR is all about the "uniquely democratic nature of the web" and "using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value". Basically, a link from one page to another is a vote for that page. However, not all votes in this democracy are equal. Some votes come from higher quality pages and are weighed more heavily. (Other factors in determining PR include the relevance of search phrases on a page and actual traffic to the page.) How Is PageRank Expressed? PR values are expressed on a scale of 0 to 10. Sites from PR0 to PR2 are probably pretty new to the Web and have few incoming links. Sites that have made it to PR3 to PR5 are fairly well established; PR6 and above are really popular and have a lot of high quality links. There are very few sites that make it to the PR7 to PR10 range. The ones that are ranked that high are usually owned by big corporations or major media outlets like the Wall Street Journal (PR8). Improving your site's PR by getting relevant, high-quality, incoming links is one of the most affordable SEO methods at your disposal. Rather than trying to get to a specific number, just concentrate on improving your number. My Site's Homepage The Only Page With PR? No, each page in your site will be assigned a PR, something that is emphasized in marketing coaching as a valuable tool. You can use relevant interlinking to distribute PR throughout all your pages. Huh? Well, just hang on to that thought for a minute. For right now, just understand the concept that some pages in your site may earn a higher PR than others, and that you can use that to your advantage. PageRank Passes From One Page To Another Here's how it works. A page with a high PR passes some of its value to a low PR page over a link. You can use this to promote your site in a couple of ways. When your site's pages are interlinked in a relevant way, PR gets distributed more evenly throughout the site. Also, you can "court" relevant sites that belong to other people through your link building campaign. This is really how your site starts to gain "authority". Start By Building Your Index Page's PR Generally, marketing coaches will tell you to begin by working on your home page's PR. This can be time consuming, and not just because you'll be building relationships with other site owners. You have to do your time in what's popularly called the Google "sandbox". This just means that new sites like yours probably won't get any PR at all for the first few months you're on the Web. How Do I Check My PR? There are a number of free, online tools for checking PR including PRChecker (http://prchecker.org/) and SearchStatus (http://www.quirk.biz/searchstatus/). At PRChecker you type in a page's URL to see its PR. SearchStatus is a FireFox extension that shows a site's PR at the bottom of your browser. (It also shows your site's Alexa rating, another method to measure online "importance".) You can also install the Google Toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/) for Firefox or Internet Explorer and enable the PageRank function. Is Building My PR All I Need To Do? A marketing coach will tell you that having a strong PR is only one part of your SEO campaign. For instance, say you're looking around for a site to link to yours. You find one with a high PR, but it's a site that sells links. Move on. Their high PR number doesn't do you any good because a link from that site to yours will have a lower quality and will pass less authority to you. Understanding the basics of PageRank is essential in putting together a high-quality link-building campaign for your site, but don't get fixated on the PR number and ignore other important facts. Just gain a basic understanding of what PR is and how it functions and use that to your advantage in building a reputation of authority for your site.

Marketing Coaching: Understanding the Basics of Google PageRank

Articles - Google

Written by Paul Marshall

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

You've just built your website and you want to show up on the search engines. You start reading about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and one of the first things that jumps out at you is something called "Google PageRank". You know about the big dog of the search engines, but what is Page Rank and why is it important in what you're trying to do? Any good marketing coach can explain that easily. If your site is placing high in free (organic) search results, you're getting free advertising. Notice the word "free". That's always a good thing. Building a strong PageRank (PR) by getting good quality links coming in to your site takes time, but it isn't going to eat a hole in your pocketbook. You want to work on raising your site's PR to get "authority" with the search engines. A site with "authority" gets better visibility in search results. Really understanding the algorithm behind your site's PR will likely have you reaching for a bottle of aspirin. In the beginning, just concentrate on understanding the basics and how they relate to your efforts to promote your site. How Is PR Defined? Google says PR is all about the "uniquely democratic nature of the web" and "using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value". Basically, a link from one page to another is a vote for that page. However, not all votes in this democracy are equal. Some votes come from higher quality pages and are weighed more heavily. (Other factors in determining PR include the relevance of search phrases on a page and actual traffic to the page.) How Is PageRank Expressed? PR values are expressed on a scale of 0 to 10. Sites from PR0 to PR2 are probably pretty new to the Web and have few incoming links. Sites that have made it to PR3 to PR5 are fairly well established; PR6 and above are really popular and have a lot of high quality links. There are very few sites that make it to the PR7 to PR10 range. The ones that are ranked that high are usually owned by big corporations or major media outlets like the Wall Street Journal (PR8). Improving your site's PR by getting relevant, high-quality, incoming links is one of the most affordable SEO methods at your disposal. Rather than trying to get to a specific number, just concentrate on improving your number. My Site's Homepage The Only Page With PR? No, each page in your site will be assigned a PR, something that is emphasized in marketing coaching as a valuable tool. You can use relevant interlinking to distribute PR throughout all your pages. Huh? Well, just hang on to that thought for a minute. For right now, just understand the concept that some pages in your site may earn a higher PR than others, and that you can use that to your advantage. PageRank Passes From One Page To Another Here's how it works. A page with a high PR passes some of its value to a low PR page over a link. You can use this to promote your site in a couple of ways. When your site's pages are interlinked in a relevant way, PR gets distributed more evenly throughout the site. Also, you can "court" relevant sites that belong to other people through your link building campaign. This is really how your site starts to gain "authority". Start By Building Your Index Page's PR Generally, marketing coaches will tell you to begin by working on your home page's PR. This can be time consuming, and not just because you'll be building relationships with other site owners. You have to do your time in what's popularly called the Google "sandbox". This just means that new sites like yours probably won't get any PR at all for the first few months you're on the Web. How Do I Check My PR? There are a number of free, online tools for checking PR including PRChecker (http://prchecker.org/) and SearchStatus (http://www.quirk.biz/searchstatus/). At PRChecker you type in a page's URL to see its PR. SearchStatus is a FireFox extension that shows a site's PR at the bottom of your browser. (It also shows your site's Alexa rating, another method to measure online "importance".) You can also install the Google Toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/) for Firefox or Internet Explorer and enable the PageRank function. Is Building My PR All I Need To Do? A marketing coach will tell you that having a strong PR is only one part of your SEO campaign. For instance, say you're looking around for a site to link to yours. You find one with a high PR, but it's a site that sells links. Move on. Their high PR number doesn't do you any good because a link from that site to yours will have a lower quality and will pass less authority to you. Understanding the basics of PageRank is essential in putting together a high-quality link-building campaign for your site, but don't get fixated on the PR number and ignore other important facts. Just gain a basic understanding of what PR is and how it functions and use that to your advantage in building a reputation of authority for your site.