Reaching All Users Library Journal Article

I just read a great article by Michael Stephens in Library Journal titled Reach All Users. It really makes me excited to see the transformation of thoughts and processes that are traditional to the library expand to the general marketing practices of listening to your user's needs and accommodating those needs despite what is the "normal" practice.

Building a Brand Online: The Golden Age of Digital

This post is based on a talk I gave at our SearchLove conference in Boston last week. It ties quite closely with the post my colleague Ron Garrett wrote last week: Search Marketers Need to Evolve. You can probably tell we've been doing a lot of thinking about this.

When I gave this talk at SearchLove, I hoped that it would put in context why we bring such a range of speakers and topics together at our conferences and to inspire the attendees to go back to their companies and make real changes. I hope this post will do the same for you.

http://moz.com/blog/building-a-brand-online-the-golden-age-of-digital

A very long, but very good article. Covering the starting of SEO Moz and how it started as a CMS, content development, SEO machine and evolved into always being ahead of the algorithm as they came. I like how he articulated well that SEO companies aren't leading the industry, but brands are leading the digital age.

Trust your Organization

I recently read a wonderful thought from the Dalai Lama. He said that companies are living, complex organisms - not profit making machines. Therefore, profit shouldn't be the object of a company, but rather a result of good work. Just like a person can't survive for long without food and water, a company can't survive without profits - but no one would ever reduce the purpose and significance of human life to only eating and drinking. 

Servant Leaders know that financial success is a byproduct of how their people and their customers are treated.

Hubspot GENERATE LEADS USING FACEBOOK

Content is king on Facebook, too.

• Update Your Facebook Status
• Launch Facebook Ads
• Share Information With Fans

Within these three buckets and more, think about why you would visit
a website. Usually, it’s to find answers or tips for some question or
curiosity consuming your time. Use Facebook Pages as your means
for answering such questions or curiosities through any variety of the
following content types:

1. Blogging
Blogging can be extremely helpful in these content creation efforts. Fresh
content not only engages your Facebook community, but it also has the
potential to bring more SEO love to your website. Google loves fresh posts
and will display them higher in the search results. A blog also gives you a
reason to send people to your website on a regular basis, which is why many
corporate brands blog.

2. Frequently asked Questions
Every business has ten or more frequently asked questions. Rather
than retyping the answers every time someone posts the question on
your Facebook Page or asks you via email, list the answers on an easily
accessible page on your website.

3. Relatable Examples
Examples are a great way to connect with your audience. Whether this is a
case study on how to use your product better, an inspirational example
of how to be a more efficient cookie eater, or a testimonial left on your
website.

4. Visuals
Just one month after the introduction of Facebook Timeline for
brands, visual content — photos and videos — saw a 65% increase in
engagement. Whether this means creating images, purchasing images,
or sharing graphics with proper attribution, there’s endless opportunity
for image variety. You can see some examples of visual variety in our
Facebook photo stream.

5. Pose Questions
Here’s the thing with questions: They give as much as they take. Asking
questions on Facebook, according to research from Social Media Scientist
Dan Zarrella, is an excellent way to generate more comments. Just keep
in mind that while questions do encourage comments, they tend to garner
fewer Likes and shares.

6. Videos
Videos involve a longer commitment from your Facebook audience. But
when it comes to having content variety on your page, a video can be a
nice change of pace. Just be sure that when you do post a video, it’s good
enough to merit a reader’s time.

7. Quotes or Facts
Sometimes the easiest way to garner attention from your audience is
to simply post a statistic relevant to your industry or a quote from an
influencer in your industry. This type of short-form content is very low
commitment for the reader, making it easier for them to accept and act
on the message via a Like, comment, or share.


Hubspot - http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/file-66196909-pdf/offers/how-to-generate-leads-using-facebook-intermediate.pdf?t=1371069609000

Building Engagement

How did you feel about coming to work this morning?

I’m sure many factors influenced whether you felt like digging right in, but one of the most significant was almost surely your boss.

It seems obvious: Direct supervisors who set their teams up for success, observe them in action, ask for feedback, identify the root causes of employee concerns, and then follow through with meaningful improvements have happier, more engaged employees.

Why, then, do senior executives who tout the value of employee engagement so often delegate it to the HR department? HR serves an important function, but not even the best HR staff is in a position to take the actions required to affect the attitudes of individual employees or teams.

And employee engagement remains a challenge for companies worldwide. Recently, Bain & Company, in conjunction with Netsurvey, analyzed responses from 200,000 employees across 40 companies in 60 countries and found several troubling trends:

• Engagement scores decline with employee tenure, meaning that employees with the deepest knowledge of the company typically are the least engaged.
• Engagement scores decline as you go down the org chart, so highly engaged senior executives are likely to underestimate the discontent on the front lines.
• Engagement levels are lowest among sales and service employees, who have the most interactions with customers.

Yet some companies manage to buck these trends. IT-hosting company Rackspace, for instance, has a mantra of “fanatical” customer support. Energized, motivated “Rackers” put in the discretionary effort that creates a superior experience for customers. In turn, customers reward Rackspace with intense loyalty, contributing to the company’s 25% compound annual revenue growth and 48% profit growth since 2008.

Rackspace and other leading companies invest heavily in creating a culture of employee engagement. But what are their secrets?

Line supervisors, not HR, lead the charge. It’s difficult for employees to be truly engaged if they don’t like or trust their bosses. Netsurvey’s data shows that 87% of employee “promoters” of their companies also give their direct supervisors high ratings.

That’s why it’s critical for supervisors to treat team engagement as a high priority — and why their bosses, the senior executives, can’t merely prescribe rote solutions. Instead, senior leaders give supervisors the responsibility and authority to earn the enthusiasm, energy, and creativity that signal deep employee engagement.

Supervisors learn how to hold candid dialogues with teams. Not every supervisor is a natural at engaging employees, so leading companies provide training and coaching on how to encourage constructive discussions with team members. Trainers prepare them to handle sensitive topics like requests for better pay or worries about outsourcing. The training also stresses the importance of taking the right actions quickly and then telling employees how their input contributed to the improvements.

They also do regular “pulse checks.” Short, frequent, and anonymous online surveys (as opposed to a long annual survey) give supervisors a better understanding of team dynamics and a sense of how the team believes customers’ experiences can be improved. What matters most, however, is not the metrics but the resulting dialogue. At AT&T, executives don’t distribute survey scores to line supervisors or their bosses; instead, they show only trends and verbatim feedback. This signals that discussing and addressing the root causes of issues — and seeing steady progress — matter more than any absolute score.

Teams rally ‘round the customer. Call center representatives, sales specialists, field technicians, and others on the front line know intimately which aspects of the business annoy or delight customers. The companies that regularly earn high employee engagement tap that knowledge by asking employees how the company can earn more of their customers’ business and build the ranks of customer promoters. And they don’t just ask; they also listen hard to the answers, take action, and let their employees know about it.

For example, AT&T has built a digital infrastructure enabling all employee suggestions to be logged online. A small, dedicated team regularly reads and triages the suggestions, sending each promising one to a designated leader or expert who is obligated to consider it and respond. Employees can see the progress of each suggestion and log comments. Other companies have developed systems that enable employees to “vote up” or “vote down” the ideas suggested by others, with the best ones getting the attention of the leadership team.

Most companies today spend tremendous amounts of time and effort measuring and addressing issues related to employee engagement. But the results are generally underwhelming. To get a higher return on these resources, it’s time for executives to turn their current approach upside down. Open up the dialogue between employees and their supervisors. Put teams in charge, and let the center provide support. That’s what it takes to help your employees get so fired up that they approach their jobs with energy, enthusiasm, and creativity.

Jon Kaufman, a Bain & Company partner based in New York, contributed to the research and analysis mentioned in this post. 

Quixey

About Us

Building the Future

Your devices are all like magic genies. With the right apps, they can help you do whatever you want. Imagine a world where you can describe any need, at any time, and find the right app to help. We’re building that world.

The Future is Apps

There are millions of apps available and thousands more being created every day. Whether you’re looking for mobile apps, desktop software, browser extensions, or web apps, we seamlessly connect you with the right tools.

The Best App Search

We invented Functional Search™ specifically for apps. Functional Search™ revolutionizes the way you find apps by allowing you to describe what you want to do. Whereas other search engines require you to know the name of the app you’re looking for, with Quixey you don’t need to know the name of an app to find it. Simply describe your task and we’ll return a list of apps to help.

Purely Algorithmic

If a friend asks you to find an app to “stream music online,” you’d research online to find the best one. Why not let Quixey quickly do it for you? Our proprietary system automatically gathers millions of pieces of data from across the web, including blogs, reviews, articles, and tweets, to learn exactly what each app can do. Since we know what each app does, we deliver the best results for your query. Quixey is purely algorithmic.

5 Google+ Tips to Help Local Businesses Thrive Online

Being a local business has a lot of perks, while carving out an online niche may not be one of the first to pop into your mind, maybe it should. Social networks, especially Google+ are filled with potential customers looking for local businesses to interact with. Consider the following 5 tips for thriving as a local business on Google+.

1.    Think About Your Customers

Yes, the current online trend is to optimize listings and websites for search engines. This is important, without SEO, it’s hard for customers to stand a shot at finding you, and organic searches are less likely to pan out in your favor. 

However, in this piece, we’re talking about Google+, not the Internet at large. Because of this, it’s important to optimize your site for your customers—the people you’re hoping come across your listing and take the time to look into what you have to offer. Use natural language and focus on what your business has to offer. Engage, share new content regularly and work to build connections. This is what really matters.

2.    Customize

One thing is for sure, the more personal you can be, the more appealing your brand will look online. Take the time to customize your Google+ local page to differentiate your company from your primary competitors with great photos and a fully filled-out profile. Think about it, what makes one Amish furniture store in Smithville, Ohio stand out from another? What does one running shoe store in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania have that another does not? Customization can go a long way.

Consider using banner ads, photos and videos that give an idea of what your brand is all about, tailor your content toward your local community and promote relevant information. Customization matters for local businesses looking to get ahead online.

3.    Don’t Waste Your Time

This should go without saying, but, if your target market doesn’t spend their time on Google+, all of the tips in the world will not help you grow your business on the network. Just do the minimum required to make your listing look good and move on.

Do a little research. Find out where your customers spend their time online. For example, if you’re looking to connect with crafty stay at home moms, Pinterest might be more appropriate. It all depends on what you have to offer, and who is a part of your target demographic. Know this before placing a strong effort on Google+ or any other social network, but, remember, Google+ can influence search results, so do not discount it; use your research to determine how much time the network deserves on your end.

4.    Keep Up With Your Listing

Like all other social networks, or most of them at least, a successful Google+ account is dependent upon commitment. If you’re not willing to put time into updating your content and modifying your listings, it might be better not to create an account in the first place. 

Take the time to update your listings on a regular basis and to monitor that listing’s performance to determine whether your efforts are paying off or not. If a listing has a high page rank, let it be; there’s no reason to mess with a good thing. In either case, keep up with your account, this is critical.

5.    Use Reviews to Your Advantage

Customers, especially local customers, tend to rely upon online reviews when choosing new businesses to work with. This is where your Google+ account can really work to your advantage; these reviews are also helpful for improving your search rankings.

Take the time to request reviews from your customers, in person and through an email marketing campaign. Thank those who take the time to recognize your business; they’re doing more of a service to you than they’re probably aware of.

Whatever you do, Google+ can play a major role in increasing your online presence, especially if you’re a local business. Get started by taking full advantage of the network and following the tips above.

April 2014 Analytics Update

April 2014 Product Update

This month in Google Analytics: Universal Analytics leaves beta, new video campaigns reports show the full value of TrueView ads, App Analytics gets better, steps on how to get started using Remarketing with Analytics, and tips on telling your story with data.

New Features

Universal Analytics Leaves Beta: Feature Parity With Classic Analytics, New Reports

We’re happy to finally announce: Universal Analytics is out of beta and along with it come new reports and features for all Analytics users, including cross-device reports. Universal Analytics is the re-imagining of Google Analytics for today’s multi-screen, multi-device world and all the measurement challenges that come with it. Since we launched UA in beta, we’ve seen some exciting use cases. Learn more.

Understand The Full Value Of TrueView Ads With The New Video Campaigns Report

We’ve heard lots of feedback from loyal Google Analytics users asking for better TrueView reporting, which is why we’re so excited to announce a new Google Analytics Video Campaigns report that focuses on your TrueView ads. With this new report rolling out over the next few days, users can now see in detail the effects of their TrueView campaigns on their website traffic and revenue. Learn more.

Mobile App Analytics Get Better With New Tools

We’ve launched 2 new updates to Mobile App Analytics. The first: Analytics is fully available in the AdMob interface on a new Analyze tab. App developers now have a one-stop way to measure success and adjust their earning strategies. Second: we are enabling content experiments for apps: an easy way to set up and run experiments to change anything from in-app promotions to menu layout. Learn more.

Tips and Best Practices

Get Started with Remarketing With These Simple Steps

Dynamic remarketing lets you create and deliver beautiful customized ads that connect visitors with their unique past shopping experiences on your site. Get started with Remarketing in Analytics today with these quick steps and reconnect with your users. Learn more.

Learn How To Tell A Meaningful Story With Data

Most organizations recognize that being a successful data-driven company requires skilled developers and analysts. Fewer grasp how to use data to tell a meaningful story that resonates with an audience both intellectually and emotionally. Googler Daniel Waisberg explores this important topic on the Think With Google site. Learn more.

Thanks for reading our monthly update. Don’t forget to share your thoughts with us through the feedback link below. Tell us what you’d like to see in future updates! .

Warrior Form to Freelancer

Hi Lechlak,

I started Warrior Forum back in 1997 with the goal of creating a community of like minded internet marketers to share ideas, learn from each other and build their online empires. In 17 years I am proud to say that our community has grown to over 732,000 members strong, making us the world’s largest internet marketing forum.

Today I am happy to announce that Warrior Forum will become part of the Freelancer.com family. I’ve spent a long time thinking about what the best next step should be and I feel certain that Freelancer.com will be able to provide Warrior Forum with the resources, energy and time required to continue the community and improve it to make it even bigger and better.

Freelancer.com is the world’s largest outsourcing and freelancing marketplace with a community of over 10.8 million skilled professionals from all over the globe. They are growing quickly and have participated in forums just like you and I.

Warrior Forum will remain independent to Freelancer.com and will have a separate dedicated team to better support you. I know they are excited to be joining our great community and will be working alongside us to take Warrior Forum to the next level. You’ll receive an introduction email from Freelancer.com shortly.

For those that haven’t been on the forum for a while, come back and check it out. There are millions of threads and a wealth of information being shared everyday.

http://www.warriorforum.com

I look forward to this exciting new phase of Warrior Forum and hope you can join me in welcoming Freelancer.com!

Google Glasses Flub Wub Dub

From LinkedIn:

http://www.google.com/glass/start/how-to-get-one/

I've been deep in tech innovation world since 600 baud. I still have my Apple Quick Take camera. I remember Bill Gates in a bandana at Comdex wandering around the Memphis booths. In all that time, I don't remember anyone paying for the privilege to test a product. Or paying an "entry fee" to be part of a not-ready-for-prime-time program. In fact, one of the impressive innovations of recent years is the growth of crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter which give the little guy a chance with people-powered money. If some of these innovators had asked testers for a fee to experience the prototype, this necessity would at least be understandable.

But Google? Google doesn't need anybody's donations. And if for some bizarre reason they did, for god's sakes, get the big bucks from specialized potential users like the military or even medicine. When I first heard about Tuesday's sale, I was sure they'd be selling the gadget at a discount. I figured this was a fire sale: the typical strategy of a company clearing the "shelves" in anticipation of the new product line. While that move still wouldn't have jibed with my tests-should-be-free conviction, it would have made sense.

I'm no Google hater. I'm merely a beta tester and researcher who believes in the well-honed new product testing methodologies. For the majority of my career as a market researcher, we've paid the participants. Not the other way around. I've heard stories about the number of Google Glass buyers who returned them and got a refund. I'd love to know how many decided not to pay Google for studying them.

http://www.google.com/glass/start/how-to-get-one/

Visitor Flow - Google Analytics

What is the Visitors Flow Report?

Visitors Flow is a graphical representation of the paths users took through your site, from the source, through the various pages, and where along their paths they exited your site.
A node represents: one value of the dimension by which you’re filtering the visualization (first column); or a single page or collection of pages (for example, all pages in the wearables directory).
A connection represents the path from one node to another, and the volume of traffic along that path.
This visualization lets you see:

• The relative volume of traffic to your site by the dimension you choose (e,g., traffic sources, campaign, browser)


• The relative volume of pageviews per page or collection of pages


• Specific metrics for connections, nodes, and node exits when you hover over them

The Visitors Flow view provides a graphical representation of visitors’ flow through the site by traffic source (or any other dimensions) so you can see their journey, as well as where they dropped off. You’ll find this visualizer on the left hand navigation menu, where you’ll see a new “Visitors Flow” link under the Visitors section.



Nodes are automatically clustered according to an intelligence algorithm that groups together the most likely visitor flow through a site.
 

Visitor Flow

A useful feature of the Social report is being able to visualise the exact flow of visitors through your website from their original social source.

Starting with the social network on the left, it provides a flowchart showing where audiences clicked next and whether or not they dropped the site entirely. You can use this to identify how your website is being viewed and make adjustments to the visibility of certain links. In particular it will show whether or not visitors arriving via social media are finding their needs met on the first few pages they come to.
- See more at: http://www.avatar.co.nz/blog/google-analytics-measuring-social-media.html#sthash.ZAAaeJxr.dpuf

Visitor Flow

A useful feature of the Social report is being able to visualise the exact flow of visitors through your website from their original social source.

Starting with the social network on the left, it provides a flowchart showing where audiences clicked next and whether or not they dropped the site entirely. You can use this to identify how your website is being viewed and make adjustments to the visibility of certain links. In particular it will show whether or not visitors arriving via social media are finding their needs met on the first few pages they come to.
- See more at: http://www.avatar.co.nz/blog/google-analytics-measuring-social-media.html#sthash.ZAAaeJxr.dpuf

Social Activities - Google Analytics

Overview

Today it is often the case that engagement with content — e.g. sharing, comments, likes, votes, etc. — doesn’t always take place on the website from which the content originates. Instead, in many instances these activities take place "off-site" on various social networks, unbeknownst to the author. Google Analytics allows you to track and gain insight into the off-site social activities related to the content on your website.

What is a social activity?

A social activity represents a social action (e.g. +1, comment, vote, share, etc.) that references content on your website but does not originate from your website. Instead, the social action originates off-site, on a social network. Social activities also include additional metadata related to the action, such as: the social network, user, time, photo, comments, etc.
Example: Social activity on Google+

The aggregation of social activities related to a particular piece of content or a website is referred to as an activity stream.

 

https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/platform/social-activities

 

Auto Event Tracking with Google Tag Manager

Originally, I manually tracked clicks and links via a custom JS call that pushed events to Analytics. It required a manual method (unless db driven) to attach the onclick event to every single freaking hyperlink - what a PITA. Google developed Tag Manager and it wasn't until recently that I realized what I had been missing. It allows you to track every event (or filter them) by linking your account and asking it to create events for you based on your criteria. The graphic and snippet below do a good job explaining and you really should visit Justin's site.




Implementing analytics, or any type of conversion tracking, is a big pain in the ass. There, I said it! But it’s been getting easier and easier with adoption of Tag Management tools. Google Tag Manager is going to make it even easier with the introduction of a new feature called Auto Event Tracking.

Auto Event Tracking let’s you track almost any user action without any additional JavaScript. It automatically captures user actions like clicks and form submissions.

TL;DR: http://cutroni.com/blog/2013/10/07/auto-event-tracking-with-google-tag-manager/

Premium Advertising - Invite Only - Network

I ran into a very interested concept early this week while browsing Bootstrap. Carbon - an invite only advertising platform. Exclusivity has worked for other companies (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram) so I don't see why this would be different. Everyone wants to be a hipster or part of something that is unique and new.

http://carbonads.net/

About Carbon Ads

Carbon Ads is an ad tech company behind a new kind of advertising network. Carbon connects advertisers to highly-relevant users through targeted verticals we call Circles. These circles are made up of influential publishers who lead or are engaged within their industries. To their audiences, Carbon brings well-designed, value-focused ads, displayed one per page above the fold, for quality brands, products and services that readers actually need and want.

Carbon targets these quality brands and services through the curation of relevant audiences. This curated grouping ensures that impressions achieve powerful impact, resulting in clicks and conversions today, while also maximizing long-term brand and customer lifetime value. By giving (shockingly effective) attention to ‘the metrics’ without making them the focus, Carbon fosters lasting and valuable relationships between advertisers and publishers, and through them, consumers.

Carbon focuses on value, not just monetary but also lasting brand messaging, brand integrity and demand creation. In this way Carbon is producing online advertising with a long-term goal, different from the quick consumption, “Click here! Click here!” ethos that has become the norm.

Carbon Ads was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneurs Joshua Smibert and Adelle Charles.

Internet Explorer 11’s compatibility Mode Emulation

IE 11 has been driving me nuts. It decides to default to either IE5 ( WTF ) or IE 10 Compatibility IE 7 ( Also WTF ). Totally ready to throw it into the wall and just build 3 PCs for IE 8, 9 ,10 - I'm unofficially done supporting IE 7 - if we don't make a move to stop supporting it, people will never change. The web is about innovation and creating a better user experience. You will still get your backwards compatibility through HTML5 Shiv, but the need for IE7 special tags isn't worth the time invested.

Internet Explorer 11’s compatibility improvements let older websites just work in the latest standards mode, by default, without requiring emulation of the previous browser behavior. Because older websites are now just working, we’ve decided that Internet Explorer 10 document mode will be the last new document mode. Instead, developers will need to move to Internet Explorer 11’s Edge mode.
 
If you decide that you still need to emulate a previous browser environment, Internet Explorer 10 or older, you can change your server configuration to add X-UA-Compatible meta tags into the HTTP header. Changing this content value lets your site show up as it would appear in the selected version of Internet Explorer.

For example, if you wanted the content to look like it did in Internet Explorer 10, you'd specify the value of IE=10 in the X-UA-Compatible metadata. All of the other supported values are here:

 

Content value	Meaning
IE=5	Renders using Internet Explorer 5 Quirks mode.
IE=7	Renders using Internet Explorer 7 standards mode.
IE=8	Renders using Internet Explorer 8 standards mode.
IE=9	Renders using Internet Explorer 9 standards mode.
IE=10	Renders using Internet Explorer 10 standards mode.
IE=Edge	Renders using the latest mode. This mode is the recommended for all websites.