Social Karma Media » Blog

Tips For Facebook Marketing Success

Scott — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:43:19 +0000

Use Photos & Videos – Use pictures and videos as much as possible. When you write a post, by attaching a relevant picture along it is more
likely that you will catch the attention of your fans. It can sometimes be
difficult to cut through the noise on Facebook and photos and videos are
proven to be more attractive to people.

Be Original – It’s important to be authentic on social media because if your posts are a constant sales pitch, people will ignore you, or worse
“unlike” you. Add as much personality and creative spice to your
Facebook Page as possible. Be sure to spice things up with new content,
otherwise users will grow bored of your page and their attention will turn
off like a switch.
Recognize and Reach Out to Loyal Fans – Create incentives that reward loyal fans and encourage users to be active on your page.

Create a Custom Landing Page – Entice users to like your profile with some sort of incentive that is feasible for your company but attractive
enough to easily garner a “like” from them.

Be Active – Comment on other people’s pages, “like” other’s posts and pictures. It is also important to respond to everyone’s replies and comments on your wall…are you starting to get the picture? A community can’t be a community unless everyone participates, including you.

Before Creating Your Landing, Sales and Squeeze pages

Scott — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:02:46 +0000

THE 3-PART LANDING PAGE FORMULA THAT ALWAYS WORKS

What You Will Learn in This Post

This post intends to shatter the myths that hover around the concept of “landing pages.” We’ll dissect the myths of landing pages and explore the background of landing pages through the following four sections:

I. Background

We’ll take you through the background of landing pages, the definition and why people frequently over-complicate their understanding of landing pages.

II. The Man Who Was Stranded in The Desert

We’ll introduce the concept of the man who was stranded in the desert to exemplify what types of landing pages work today.

III. Landing Page Flowchart

We made an info-graphic for you to print out and put on your wall. Make sure you’re following the correct path before creating a landing page.

IV. The 3-Part Landing Page Formula That Always Works

Finally, we’ll dive into the actual formula for crafting kick-ass landing pages that actually work.

Let’s get started.

Background

Today, more than ever before, complexity rears its ugly head even in the simplest concepts. We see unnecessary complexity more and more–especially when it comes to the field of marketing.

To give an example of unnecessary over-complication, let’s talk “Business 101.” The fundamental formula of a good business centers around one formula:

Revenue – Costs = Profit

You can gauge how well your current business is doing by applying that formula to it. It’s simple. It’s business. Yet, many elect to over complicate business and stray away from this formula. While many stray away for logical reasons (need time to invest in business), if one strays away for too long from that formula, it becomes a habit.

You tend to see a lot of such behavior arise in the Silicon Valley (*cough* twitter *cough*). Instead of following the very basic guideline above, many companies replace the formula with the latest buzzwords and trends. They talk “investing in the long-tail,” “freemium,” and “building to sell, and focus on monetizing later.” If your company begins talking like this, run. Because pretty soon, you won’t have a company.

Just like building a business, buzzwords and unnecessary jargon can creep into the topic of landing pages.

Before discussing how to improve your landing page, let’s first define specifically what a landing page is.

Defined:

Defined, a landing page is a document (either virtual or real), that has one goal.

Pretty simple definition, eh? Yet, when you Google “landing page,” you’ll be flooded with articles that suggest there are over fifty checklist items you should think about when creating a landing page. You’re presented with hundreds of tools that propose to optimize landing pages (e.g. pop-ups, auto-play videos, live chats, etc.) While those tools are well-intentioned and neat, 90% of your optimization success has nothing to do with what cool nifty element you add to your page.

Your goal when crafting a landing page

90% of your ability to convert a visitor depends on your business, and if it’s actually pursuing a easily-communicated, meaningful need. When crafting a landing page, your goal should center on communicating your solution to the customer as quickly and clearly as possible. 10% of the other stuff is what you can improve, which is what you’ll learn how to do after reading this post.

The Man Who Was Stranded in a Desert

Bill Neizling was on a camping trip with his buddies. It was a retreat of sorts. A retreat for his friends to get away from their wives, drink beer and ride ATV’s. They were having a good time. A good time up until Bill took off riding and got lost in the middle of Death Valley.

The next day, Bill woke up. His friends were nowhere to be found. He was all alone. Sand covered his face and was in his mouth. Must’ve been the result of a sandstorm he slept through in his sleep. It was now just Bill all alone. Well, just him, an empty bottle of scotch and his wallet. The ATV was out of gas. The sandstorm whipped away any and all tire tracks. So, he did what any other hung-over dude would have done–he chose one direction and started to walk.

For the next nine hours Bill was wandering aimlessly in Death Valley. His iPhone wasn’t with him, which meant, no Google maps, no compass and, of course, no Angry Birds to get him through this experience.

Before he knew it, night came, exhaustion came, and Bill dug a little hole in the ground to protect himself from the dozens of wild animals that lingered around after dark. The next four days proceeded in similar fashion.

On the fourth day Bill was so exhausted, so tired, and so thirsty that he started having illusions. He became distracted, anxious and on-edge. Nothing could hold his attention. He needed water, and time was running out.

Bill pressed forth and kept on walking. After another half hour of walking Bill noticed two objects on the ground about thirty yards directly in front of him. He made his way over to the mysterious objects.

When he came upon the objects, he discovered that they were two documents.

Document #1

The first document was 46 pages and started off with a headline that read, “Have you ever wanted water that was so good, it would make you feel better, but also takes into account those with an organic lifestyle and third-world countries?…” It then read, “Dear Friend…” The document continued on like this for 46 pages, and then transformed into a long list of bullet points, super bonuses and other stuff. Bill didn’t know what this thing was getting at; in his exhaustive, anxious state, threw it down and picked up the other document.

Document #2

The second document was one piece of paper that had three things on it:

A seal from the regional Rescue and Wilderness Preservation Society
A sentence that read, “14 Bottles of Water are Buried 2 Feet Below Where You’re Standing”
A Call to Action That Said “Start Digging”

Which document do you think converted?

Moral of The Story

Yes, we made this story up to deliver the point: the point that your customers have a painful need (they’re thirsty) and it’s your job to quickly and clearly communicate your offer (water). We’ll show you how to do this below.

The Flow Chart

Before we dive into the 3-Part Landing Page Formula That Always Works, follow the flow chart below to make sure that you’re ready to build a landing page:

You can grab the PDF/printable version here.

Now that you’re ready to create a landing page (being that you have one goal), let’s dive into the three-part formula.

The 3-Part Landing Page Formula That Always Works

The 3-part landing page formula is built on three basic ingredients:

Ingredient #1: One sentence that describes precisely what you’re offering.

People aren’t dumb. The tech-savvy generation is crowding out the less savvy tech generation. Do your prospects a favor and tell them precisely what your offer/product/service is in one sentence.

A couple examples:

“14 Bottles of Water are Buried 2 Feet Below Where You’re Standing”
“15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance by switching to Geico”
“Elegantly launch products and build a membership site with Kajabi”

Ingredient #2: A Call to Action Tell your visitors what to do.

Taking the desert example into account above, the call to action in the story above is simply “Start Digging”

Ingredient #3: Credibility

Credibility makes your visitors more comfortable in acting on your headline and your call to action.

Some Credibility tools may include: testimonials, a guarantee, a phone number, a picture of your office or team, logos of trusted partners, etc.

Bottom line:

Focus primarily on those three factors, and your landing page will work.

Summary

In this post, we covered four areas:

I. Background

We looked at the unnecessary complexity surrounding business and landing pages; and we defined what a landing page is.

II. The Man Who Was Stranded in The Desert

We learned about the story of the man who was stranded in the desert who came upon two documents. One that was filled with marketing jargon; and the other that cut straight to the point.

III. Landing Page Flowchart

We prepared you for the 3-part formula by walking through the Landing Page Flowchart.

IV. The 3-Part Landing Page Formula That Always Works

Finally, we dived into the 3-Part landing page formula.

Please share your thoughts, experiences and any insight you have with optimizing your landing page in the comments below.

Using Kajabi, you can create proven funnels to warm your visitors before they even reach your 3-Part Landing Page. By using Kajabi to give users free information and content, you’re gaining their trust. When combining trust with the credibility on your landing page, your conversion rate will rise significantly.

Combining Social Karma Media marketing funnels and the three-part landing page formula has revolutionized the way marketers use landing pages to convert users. To learn more about how Kajabi can help make you money, click here.

This is a Great Article from the People over at Kajabi!

We have our own platform that work just like Kajabi and we manage it for you!

How Google’s +1 Button Affects SEO (Mashable)

Scott — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:34:00 +0000

by Keith Kaplan

Since the days of Google Buzz, the +1 button has been a mystery to users and content producers alike. It’s different from Facebook’s “Like” button, in that it doesn’t directly share content to a user’s social stream. But the cultivation of a social graph has long been the goal of Google, and its connection to search was likely inevitable.

Google defines the +1 as a feature to help people discover and share relevant content from the people they already know and trust. Users can +1 different types of content, including Google search results, websites, and advertisements. Once users +1 a piece of content, it can be seen on the +1 tab in their Google+ profile, in Google search results, and on websites with a +1 button.

The plot thickened last month when Google launched Search plus Your World. Jack Menzel, director of product management for Google Search, explained that now Google+ users would be able to “search across information that is private and only shared to you, not just the public web.” According to Ian Lurie from the blogConversation Marketing, in Search plus Your World, search results that received a lot of +1s tend to show up higher in results.

Google has come out and described the purpose of a +1, but hasn’t necessarily explained the direct effect a +1 has on search ranking. Here’s a breakdown of what we currently know.

Does a +1 Affect my Site’s Performance in Social Search?

The +1 has an indirect effect on your site’s search rank. This does not mean the more +1’s a link has, the higher rank it achieves in traditional search results. Take this scenario:

When a Google+ user +1’s a piece of content, he gives it his “stamp of approval.” Then, say one of his connections from Google+ searches for the same or related topic. Because of Search plus Your World, his friend is more likely to click on the same link the original user +1’d (when a signed-in user searches, his Google results may include snippets annotated with the names of connections who have +1′d the content). This is because content recommended by friends and acquaintances is often more relevant than content from strangers, according to Google.

This is also true for users who are not signed in to their Google account when they search. When a user searches for the same phrase, the results might display the total number of +1’s a link has received, which is another validation that it’s a relevant link.

How Does This Relate to SEO?

Since the +1′d link has a chance at a higher Click-Through-Rate (CTR), there is a greater potential the link will be shared, whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or any social network. An experiment by Rand Fishkin, CEO and co-founder of SEOmoz, tested the relationship between Twitter and Facebook shares and search results in Google. He found a positive correlation between the number of retweets and shares a link received and its search ranking. This means, the more the link was passed around on Twitter and Facebook, the higher the search rank of the page. This in turn led to better SEO.

What’s the Take-Away?

A Google +1 can indirectly lead to a better page rank. A greater number of +1’s increases a link’s potential for a high CTR, which could lead to increased social sharing, and in turn can increase its Google search rank. What’s important to note here is the correlation, not causation, between +1′s, other social shares, and search rank.

The bottom line is, the SEO effects of a +1 are very indirect, which means traditional SEO practices should not be ignored. SEO methods such as link building, relevant keywords, and URL structure have a more significant impact on page ranking.

The Google +1 feature is still in its infancy of course, and more data needs to be gathered to draw a statistical correlation to search. As Google said, “For +1′s, as with any new ranking signal, we are starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality.”

SEO experts, such as Erin Everhart from 352 Media Group, have a positive outlook on the future of social search. She says, “I don’t think we live in a world, nor will we ever live in a world, where any social cue doesn’t have influence over SEO.”

Are you seeing the effects of Google +1 on your SEO? Will the +1 eventually have a direct effect on search rank? Share your experiences in the comments.

Facebook to bring Timeline to Pages this month (rumor)

Scott — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:43:23 +0000

I just wanted everyone to see this! This could change the way we all market on Facebook. What do you think?

By Emil Protalinski | February 15, 2012, 5:54pm PST

Summary: The new Timeline profile is mandatory for almost all of Facebook’s 845 million users. Next, Facebook plans to move all its Pages to the new design as well, meaning brands will have Timelines too.

We’ve known for a while now that Facebook is planning to bring its new Timeline profile to Pages. Now we’re hearing it will happen as soon as this month in the U.S., starting with a beta for a handful of partners and a gradual release to more marketers, according to executives briefed on the company’s plans cited by AdAge .

More specifically, the most likely date for Facebook to unveil Timeline for Pages would be the last day of the month. Since this year is a leap year, that means February 29, 2012. That’s when the company’s first Facebook Marketing Conference (fMC) is taking place. The day-long conference in New York is specifically for marketers.

“We believe that consistency in both functionality and appearance increase use of Facebook,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “We hope to make Pages more consistent with the Timeline in the future, but we have nothing further to share at this time.”

It’s not clear what Timeline for Pages will look like. One can assume, however, that brands will be able to add information to any point in time, including historical events for a company, as well as feature apps they build. Some companies have already created Timelines for marketing purposes, but this upcoming update will give them specific tools to do so, meaning they won’t have to create a new user account and a new profile; they’ll just have to update their current Pages.

Last month, Facebook started rolling out Timeline to all its users. Pages will likely get the same treatment: a mandatory move to the Timeline look.

See also:

Social Media Week 2012 begins This Week!

Scott — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Social Media Week 2012 begins on Monday, Feb. 13 and extends to 12 cities worldwide. Social Karma Media staff will be watching and learning as usual like we do every year to find out what is coming next and what is going be obsolete.

Now in its fourth year, Social Media Week continues to grow, with 60,000 people attending events annually.

We invite you to attend the event or stay tuned for more updates from Social Karma Media.

Check out who, what and when things are going on —–> Social Media Week calendar.

Mark Zukerberg: Inside Facebook (BBC)

Scott — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:00:03 +0000

This is a Must Watch VIDEO!!

In just seven years, Mark Zuckerberg has gone from his Harvard college dorm to running a business with 800 million users, and a possible value of $100 billion. His idea to ‘make the world more open and connected’ has sparked a revolution in communication, and now looks set to have a huge impact on business too.

Emily Maitlis reports on life inside Facebook. Featuring a rare interview with Zuckerberg himself, the film tells the story of Facebook’s creation, looks at the accuracy of The Social Network movie, and examines Facebook’s plans to use the personal information it has collected to power a new kind of online advertising.

Benefits of Blogging

Scott — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:29:57 +0000

Differentiation: Does your competitor blog? If the answer is no, that may be the best reason to start on!

Blogging may create a point of differentiation for your company and an opportunity to establish industry through leadership

Help customers find you: Powerful benefit of a content-rich blog is the advantage you receive through optimized search engine results. Search engines such as Google & Yahoo will credit your site for fresh content laden with important keywords resulting in better search placement for you.

Multi-media broadcast channel. Embed video, photos, audio and slide presentations in your blog. Don’t think of it as just words on a page. A blog is your

What Do I Need To Start My Social Media?

Scott — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:24:59 +0000

The first thing you will need
for a solid social media
presence is a Website

The Second thing you will
need for a solid social media
presence is a Blog

Why Should You Care About Social Media?

Scott — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:21:19 +0000

93% of social media users believe a
company should have a presence in social
media!

Because 3 out of every 4 Americans use
social media technology!

Time spent on social networks is growing at
3X the overall internet rate, accounting for
10% of all internet time!

What Real Estate Social Media Tools Are Out There?

Scott — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:37:44 +0000

Trulia: Create your profile, post Short Sale tips to your audience, answer Short Sale questions.
Show your audience that you are the short sale expert in your area!

Active Rain: Create your profile, join forums with your peers and potential client base, build your
presence and again become the expert that clients will want to use for their short sale.

Linkedin: Build your profile, keyword load your description so that you are found easier. Join groups
that are filled with potential referral sources, post educational and informative information so that you
can receive referral sources on a continuous basis.

Facebook/Fan Pages: Build a profile that stands out above your competition, don’t blend in! Create aneducational atmosphere that your fans will continue participating in and sharing with their friends and
families that may be in need of a short sale.
Post important news updates and content from your blog
to build your brand and reputation.

Youtube: Create videos and show people who you are, what you provide and why they should cho
you! Make educational videos based on the short sale process, so that potential clients learn more abou
you. By doing this it makes it easier for them to pick of the phone and call you because they feel as if
they already know you!

Twitter: Build your followers! Research your local areas, find their Twitter accounts!
Create content that builds engagement and education for your local followers to share with others that may need your
service.
Become the source that everyone goes to for short sale need to know information, which will
allow others to get to know you, and once again want to use you for their short sale process.