Clicktale is an Israeli company which specializes in webpage heatmaps and web analytics. After signing up and embedding their tracking code, Clicktale starts to track your visitor sessions and provide you with impressive information about your visitor sessions. The most impressive feature that Clicktale offers is recordings of your visitors sessions. Every action taken by the visitor (every mouse click and scroll is recorded!) on your website is recorded like a screen captor and can be viewed at any time. The major benefit of this to marketers is that these records can help paint a picture on why certain pages are top exit pages, or why conversion rates are below expectation.

Clicktale provides its users with an impressive range of web analytics from real-time monitoring and mouse tracking reports, to conversion funnels and link analytics.

Clicktale provides 3 standard price plans (Bronze, Silver and Gold) starting from $99/month to $990/month. Their free plan allows recordings of 400 page views per month.

Clicktale is a must for every online marketer to better understand visitor behavior and improve conversion rates. For regular updates on Clicktale’s product line and other news check out their blog.

Over the last few years social media has become a corner stone in online marketing. Hootsuite provides its users with an easy to use platform to control and handle their social media accounts. Users of Hootsuite can add their Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many other social networks to a personalized dashboard to easily manage their social media web presence. Hootsuite’s Pro and Enterprise accounts allow for team collaboration, messaging between colllaborators and even Google Analytics integration. The most impressive aspect I found when using Hootsuite is its design and ease of use. I also liked the notifications built into the different feeds which made it easy to see updates and comments.

Social media will continue to be an integral part of online marketing which makes Hootsuite an online service every marketer should be using.

Twitter has become one of the most important weapons in the online marketing arsenal, but using Twitter effectively can be challenging. A recent study conducted by Kissmetrics.com, showed that tweeting in the afternoon resulted in the highest percentage of retweets compared to any other time of the day. The study also showed that tweeting between 1-4 times within an hour resulted in the highest click-through-rate. Buffer is an easy to use, free tool which allows users to send out tweets at a pre-defined time and frequency. Buffer helps prevent you from spamming your followers and results in your tweets receiving more attention.

Twitter continues to grow in size and importance online and as a result Buffer is a online service every marketer should be using.

Note: I have not received any financial benefits for promoting these companies.

However, have you ever noticed how the most successful companies on Facebook realize it is more than simple dialogue that keeps customers interacting and coming back? Customers want more than company updates; they want interaction, freebies, contests, and games that capture their attention.

Fostering strong connections with customers takes creativity and can be difficult, but has the ability of resulting in a vocal group of brand advocates.

As Facebook continues to grow, so does the ingenuity of branding campaigns that can reach these members.

Some of the most successful campaigns captivate users through:

Being Creative

Since Ford Motor Company’s widely successful use of social media to aid in the release of their 2010 Explorer, social media managers have had to consistently raise the bar to get fans involved.

For instance, take the Hotels.com Trip Your Face campaign, which allowed fans of their page to upload their own picture into one of three destinations and would produce a short video staring the fan.

Hotels.com used their creativity to not only gain fans, but to become viral by automatically posting the video to the customers wall, encouraging friends of that Facebook member to visit the page and produce their own video.

Offering Exclusivity

Would you join a community if they offered exclusive content that interested you? Content can include media, discounts, prizes, in-store coupons, and even sneak peeks at new and upcoming products.

For example, Beats Electronics, maker of Beats by Dre headphones, provides exclusive and inspiring content in the form of YouTube videos that gives the stories of musicians who came from modest beginnings.

Similar in exclusivity, VA Mortgage Center (VAMC) offers the Military Education Program, which is a scholarship exclusively for fans of their page that have some connection to the military community. VAMC developed a tab for users to submit their application through the Facebook page only after they have liked the page.

Building Loyalty

We all know a “like” isn’t enough. Pages such as Nike, McDonalds, or Coca-Cola have millions of “likes”; however, do you think the majority of these customers actively engage with the page? Of course not.

Constantly ask yourself, what keeps your fans coming back? Or how can you maintain constant engagement? When you add value to your page, you give your fans a reason to come back and engagement becomes much simpler.

Domino’s Pizza UK launched a campaign last year to build brand advocates by using their “Superfans” application. The application rewarded Domino’s most engaged customers with special offers, promotional codes, and they even displayed their top fans on the application tab.

Another great campaign that offered value was Kohl’s Cares campaign. In this campaign, Kohl’s Department store gave away $10 million to various schools decided by fans voting on their fan page. The top 20 schools with the most votes were given $500 thousand each. Kohl’s fan base also jumped well over a million due to this campaign.

While forming creative campaigns that add value and offer exclusivity is great, keep it mind it is necessary to be relevant. If your campaign is blatantly off topic or out of your niche and only has the goal of building the most fans, there’s a good chance you’ll have low engagement and low fan value. Simply ask yourself, would I rather have ten thousand fans that are actively engaged in my page or a million fans that lack interaction or a strong connection.

Just pause for a moment to take in these classic headlines.

Man’s head explodes in barber’s chair.
Woman with 4 legs opens dance studio.
Skiing squirrel dies trying to break 196 M.P.H. speed record!
Cow crashes domino game.

Incredible, unbelievable, over-the-top headlines work. The proof is in the fact that you still see them week in and week out at the supermarket and newsstand. They get noticed. They grab the reader. And – although you may not understand why – they result in serious sales.

For a quick and highly unorthodox education in writing headlines that demand attention and get people to read them (which is JOB #1 of every headline), spend some time with these memorable and mesmerizing headlines.

Use them to inspire you to create tweets that refuse to be ignored. Observe how they are concise and specific. Notice how they generate a vivid image in your brain. Admire the deep thought that has gone into the selection of each and every word.

Inspiration comes from unexpected sources. Let these be a source of insight that powers you to a new level of mastery of the headline and the compelling tweet.

Pig-nosed man roasted alive in fire-walk tragedy!
Headless ghost haunts railroad tracks … looking for his booze and smokes!
Ghost airliner brings back dead rock starts
Rub the famous magic fish … and get anything you want!
Half of U.S. hookers are space aliens – and they don’t have sex organs!
Man makes $60,000 a year as human lawn jockey
Secretary lifts car off boss – and he fires her!
Supreme Court judges are naked under robes!
Chain-smoker kicks 30-year habit … then chokes to death on wad of nicotine gum!

So next time you get caught staring at the tabloids, just explain your reasons for doing so with pride and lose that guilty expression on your face.

1. Your Twitter Page Is Boring. You know who doesn’t customize their Twitter’s avatars, backgrounds, and bios? Spambots and grandparents who don’t understand the internet. If you haven’t spent the time adding pictures and links to your Twitter profile, you mine as well forgo tweeting until you do. You wouldn’t go to a business’ webpage and be okay with no logo, information, or links, so don’t neglect any branding opportunities (or in this case, necessities) on your social media pages.
2. Your Twitter Page Is Ridiculous. Did you go and customize your page after reading #1? Good, now check and make sure it isn’t a mess. Neon font, animated backgrounds, or ALL CAPITALS WITH LOTS OF COOL PUNCTUATION!!!1! are just as bad. Unless you are selling totally radical energy drinks on skateboards in space, avoid the dazzle.
3. Your Tweets Are Self-Indulgent. Look, we know you love your business and think it is uber-awesome, but no one wants your ego filling up their Twitter feed. While your Twitter does exist to promote your brand, it also serves as a way of engagement with customers, lead generation, and branding. Take the time to talk about the industry, respond to fan’s tweets, and ask questions rather than talking about your own company all the time.
4. You’re A Spammer. What?! You, a retched spammer?! It’s more likely than you think. Do you message your Twitter followers links and promotions? Do you tweet your website 80 times a day? Do you follow 11 thousand people and send them links? Stop it! No one likes that, and even if your product is awesome, no one appreciates it shoved down their throats.
5. You Don’t Actually Understand Twitter. Yes, Twitter can be confusing when you first begin using it, but if two months down the line you still don’t understand replies, links, and character limits, it’s a bit embarrassing. Moreover, if you can’t respond to questions or tweet correct links, followers are going to quickly become unhappy. Even if it means spending a few hours learning the ins-and-outs of Twitter, it’s worth it to avoid potential PR disasters, annoyed fans, and of course, looking like you don’t know what you’re doing.

You Don’t Understand Your Customer Base

Are you interacting with your customers? When you ask questions, do they respond? If the answer to this is no, then you had better dig deep and find a true understanding of your customer base. Realize that if you are targeting your products to a certain demographic, such as college age users, then you may want to hold off posts until noon and not be afraid to use some slang terms occasionally. Just as on the flip side, if you plan on marketing to a white-collar worker, then you may want to hold off posts till after five and be more professional in your speech.

You Don’t Use Your Imagination

Customers love being able to interact with the businesses they love, use your imagination and give customers a reason to visit your Facebook page. For instance, VA Mortgage Center.com uses Facebook to administer their scholarship program, asking applicants to “like” the page first, then to submit their scholarship form directly on the Facebook page.

You Don’t Include a “Call To Action”

Do you notice that your customer engagement is low? Ask a few relevant questions to spur engagement. Keep in mind that Facebook users comment more on topics that they feel strongly about. Another tactic is to guide customer’s actions through telling them to do something. For instance, you could tell your fans to click “like” if they had a great weekend. Simply saying “click like” is a sufficient call to action; however, using the “click like” tactic more than once a week can lead your customers losing interest.

You Don’t Keep Up With Traditional Marketing Efforts

Facebook ads aren’t the only way to get customers to like your page. Don’t give up on your traditional marketing efforts, whether that is an email campaign telling customers to check out the special on their Facebook page, or simply having a Facebook logo and URL on your business cards.

You Don’t Build Relationships With Your Followers

Get to know who your top fans are, these are the fans who have the most influence on your group. Once you have established this, be sure to provide them with rewards. A simple badge for their blog or giving them the first look at product can be a great PR tool, especially when your top members have blogs of their own.

You Don’t Think Hiring a Social Media Expert is Important

Keeping your visitors engaged is critical in the success of any social media campaign and if you don’t have the time or know-how to accomplish this, then hiring a social media expert is a must. As I’ve said in previous articles, a neglected Facebook page will only lead to negative PR and a hurt image.

Engagement isn’t the only reason to hire a specialist. Facebook’s ad system is great way to target your specific customers and if you plan to use them, a specialist should have the know-how to keep the cost per like to a minimum.

In short, if you take the time to produce a Facebook marketing plan, don’t skimp on the small things. Although it may seem costly at first, spending the appropriate time and money on your Facebook campaign can yield positive results and money well spent.

The best practices of Public Relations remain much the same: it’s all about networking and spreading the word about your products or services. However, there are new tools available that can get you ahead of your competition, provided you know how to use them.

There are three general guidelines to keep in mind, while engaging promotional efforts: all your actions should be consistent; all your tactics should be interconnected; the whole of your focus should be on giving value, rather than leeching away some attention.

You need to establish your authority within your niche, rather than come across as an aspiring brand craving for attention. This can be naturally achieved if you are only concerned with expressing your expertise, rather than claiming it. You need to walk the walk, and avoid talking the talk. Show that you know your industry, without ever pointing it out directly.

Getting Exposure Is All About Networking

There is much you can do to get the message out, without leaving your office. Courtesy of the Internet and the Social Media, you can succeed in having customers come to you without ever having to go out looking for them.

Let’s now outline some basic strategies you should include in your promotional efforts:

Press Releases

This is a classic way of getting press to a business, but it still works brilliantly. Provided, of course, you can write news-worthy content, otherwise you’ll be wasting your time.

Content Marketing

Do not create a website that’s essentially a brochure or advertisement. You need to write – or get written – actual content that your target customers will be looking for. You must be able to give them what they need (information, reliability), so you can sell them what they want (products, services).

Facebook Page

Do not underestimate the power of a Facebook page promoting your business. It’s a great opportunity to grow your network and keep in touch with your audience, and it can be easily integrated with your website.

Twitter Profile

Likewise to a Facebook page, having a presence on Twitter is a great way to raise awareness towards your brand. Look up the market leaders in your industry and interact with them. Show them you mean business and you’ll earn attention and respect, which will pave the way to your prosperity.

Your website should be the main hub connecting all your promotional activities. These days, having a proper website is just as important as having a proper business office… perhaps even more so. As such, you need to make sure your website has a professional look, and you should educate yourself in the processes of search engine optimization, social media promotion, and even on-line advertisement.

Do not assume these new tools are mere gimmicks, because when used right they can be extremely powerful. They can make all the difference between a struggling business and a fledging start-up. Master the tools available in the present and you’ll be well ahead of your old-fashioned competitors, in the foreseeable future.

The main problem small businesses and entrepreneurs encounter is not only knowing where to start when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), but also having a game plan to reach their goals. Following these tips can help boost rankings and establish a stronger online presence:

Set Your Goals

Write down your goals and be sure to ask yourself, why are you doing this? Why do you want people to find your site? Is simply a customer viewing your site enough or does your site need a stronger call to action? A similar goal could be “I want local pet owners to find my website and be persuaded to register themselves and their pet.”

Next, brainstorm and make a list of search queries that customers would most likely use when searching for your company. For instance, with the pet store example, search queries could range from “Pet Suppliers in Colorado” to the brands of pet supplies the store will carry. However, do not rely solely on yourself when establishing search phrases and keywords, use analytics tools like Google Adwords and survey a third party to see what keywords they would use.

Be sure that during the research phase you also create a list of your competition and take note of who they are linking to and who is linking to them. This list will be useful later when you search for links.

Build Links to Your Site

Link building is the process of building links to your site from other reputable sites. This can be difficult, but is also one of the best ways to boost your search rankings. When Google recognizes quality sites linking your site, this can automatically help turn your site into a higher quality site. Legitimate strategies for building links include:

• Simply asking for the link
• Giving away content or tools
• Developing a widget
• Social media campaigns
• Using public relations

Other important strategies to add to your link building would be to submit your site to industry specific directories and take advantage of your list of competitor’s links and go after those sites as well. Keep in mind that buying links is frowned upon by Google and if caught, Google will penalize you in the search rankings.

Content is King

After Google’s Panda update, content has become an important ranking factor; however, not just any content will do, Google expects original, relevant, and fresh high quality content. A company blog is a great way to keep new and fresh content flowing on your site. Remember to make sure the content is relevant, for example, the pet store from above should post pet related topics. A blog also provides the opportunity for you to show off your expertise in an area, which gives other sites more reason to naturally link to you.

If you are not that great of a writer, it is a good idea to hire a freelance writer to produce the articles you request. You can expect freelance writers to charge, on average, anywhere from $10 to $30 per article.

Is Social Media the Future?

Social media has recently become an indexed factor for search engines such as Google with the +1 button and Bing with Facebook likes. As SEO moves forward it is a good idea to establish accounts on the major social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google + once business profiles are allowed. Be aware that social media SEO moves from keywords to conversations. The more interactions you have the better.

Social media not only helps your search strategy, but also doubles as a great way to connect with customers and build brand advocates. For social media to succeed, you will need to post frequently and respond to any comments placed on your sites. Customers like to be a integral part of your brand and this is a great way to connect with them.

SEO is constantly changing and can be a difficult task to master, but with patience, the right keywords, and keeping up with the latest trends, your business can land at the top of search results and stay there.

What is the toughest thing about SEO for your business?

However, getting to the top and maintaining a positive image isn’t always an easy task.  Although small businesses can now compete with large online companies, the competition is fierce. Larger companies have teams of individuals working hard to manage SEO, social media sites, and the company’s primary website; however, that doesn’t mean that all hope is lost for the little guy simply because he doesn’t have the extra personnel.

Simple online brand management techniques can greatly strengthen a small company’s brand, and can make them a noteworthy competitor. A few easy techniques that a business owner can perform without a team include:

Open an account on each social networking site

Any business needs to have accounts on all major social networking sites. Seventy-eight percent of all consumers search the internet for information regarding a business before giving it their patronage, and most of those consumers go to third party sites, like Facebook, for information and not just the company’s primary website. Not only do social networking accounts make you more accessible, but they also open up small businesses to thousands of potential customers that traditional marketing would have never been able to reach. However, simply opening an account isn’t enough. A company needs to post to these sites daily to keep potential customers interested, and make sure that they image they convey on each site is consistent throughout.

Monitor forums and discussion boards

Forums and discussion boards, such as Angie’s List, can be a great way for your small business to be positively promoted through word-of-mouth advertising; however, these sites can also be a hot bed for negative comments if not properly monitored. By properly monitoring popular forums and discussion boards, a business owner can immediately spot negative press when it arises, and deal with it accordingly. These platforms are also a great way for business owners to gain insight into which direction their products or services need to take.

Maintain an open dialogue with customers

Whether negative press arises on Facebook, Twitter, Angie’sList, or any other platforms, business owners need to be ready to actively find solutions. Not only do they need to be quick on their feet, but they also need to keep customers updated on the company’s product or service improvements while they are in motion. Customers like to know that they are being heard and like to feel as though a company actually listens to their needs. By maintaining an open dialogue on Facebook or Twitter, customers will feel as though they are actively participating in your company, and will be more inclined to increase their brand loyalty. Keep in mind that not only negative comments need a response. Positive reviews and comments also provide a great opening to thank a customer and create a brand advocate.

Online brand management isn’t just for large businesses with high levels of visibility. In fact, online brand management is just as important for small business as, should they grow, it will protect and promote their brands along the way. Small businesses simply need to remember to be proactive when it comes to their protecting their image. It takes time when building a brand and only moments to blemish it. Don’t let your brand fall by the wayside, take control today through online reputation management.

Respected brands like Lexus, Ritz Carlton and Klout have all benefited from the value of a tweet chat and there’s no reason why you should miss out on all the action.

Here are four different ways you can use a twitter chat as a marketing tool for your business.

1. Customer Service

If your customers gather online, Twitter can be a great vehicle to answer questions and immediately eliminate problems. Aside from answering the day-to- day inquiries you can also dedicate 1 or 2 hours per week to host a more intimate and in-depth chat with customers and your organization’s senior leaders. Or, you could tweet about your business’ successful customer relations strategy using the #custserv hashtag.

2. Business Development

Providing relevant insight and information in chats that relate to your industry is an easy way to turn your social media contacts into contracts. Similar to networking events, tweet chats provide a great platform to demonstrate your expertise to prospective clients.

3. Thought Leadership

Hosting, or appearing as a guest during a popular twitter chat is the digital equivalent of doing a keynote presentation or appearing on a panel of industry experts. You have an hour or more to share your unique perspective about market trends or hot topics with the potential to attract an audience that wouldn’t normally attend annual conferences or workshops.

4. Breaking News

If you’re still in start-up mode, jumping into a chat for entrepreneurs (#entrepchat) is a great way to get support from peers and discover new resources or potential partners. Using a hashtag to break news for your small business is also a great technique if you don’t have the budget to hire a PR firm. You can simply invite journalists on Twitter to be online while you’re making your announcement and hope that it inspires them to follow-up for a future story.

How are you using hashtags and Twitter chats to brand yourself or your business?

What is article marketing?

Article marketing is when you write about topics in your expertise and then put those articles on popular article websites such as HubPages.

Who should use article marketing?

Anyone who has a business to promote, should be writing them. You want to be known as the expert in your field, right? Well, what better way to do that than to write about it and spread it across the web.

People are in love with reading articles in their favorite niche. The more original articles you post, the more you’ll be noticed, and inevitably the more sales you’ll generate from it.

How should I write them?

Make them as informative as possible. It’s been said that you should give away all of your knowledge in order to gain the trust of others and I completely agree with that. Even if you give away everything you know, when someone needs help in your niche, you will be the first one they go to since you were kind enough to give away such valuable information.  Best of all, make the articles original! No two articles should be the same. Try to stay away from being too “advertise-y”, but I do suggest hinting to your brand in there as much as possible.

Where should I post them?

The best websites to post your original content are:

• Hubpages
• Squidoo
• Ezinearticles
• Knol
• Associated Content

There might be other niche blog sites that you’ll want to consider posting your articles to, but those above are the main ones to focus on, and get the most hits. Plus, you’ll be able to add links and a detailed profile.

You’ll notice I said ‘original content’ quite a bit above. That’s because Google loves original content. Even if you need to change around the paragraphs and words, before posting the same article to other sites, try to make them as original as possible.

Once you’ve posted your article, don’t just run away and never return. Comment on other similar niche articles within the website to get the word out that you’re an active member and an authority in your field. Also be sure to promote your article through popular social networking sites.

How do you use article marketing to your benefit?