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Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category

Link Building Tips for New Websites

Posted on by Tamara Brooks

In today’s online and connected world, linking between sites on the net is fundamental (in fact, it’s what makes the world wide web a, well, web!).

This relationship is so crucial that it determines which sites we think are important and which are not. It’s kind of like how we choose who we interact and network with – simply being out there is not enough. For example, if you were looking to hire someone for your business, you wouldn’t just go out and choose random people on the street; you would ask for recommendations from people you knew first. Or if you do find a good candidate, you’d check up on references.
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Video Killed the Blogging Star: Getting Started with Video Marketing

Posted on by Tamara Brooks

Internet Marketing Health CheckVideo Killed the Blogging Star: Getting Started with Video Marketing

It’s no secret that videos are an essential part of any online marketing campaign. Online videos are relatively inexpensive to produce and even easier to propagate through sites like YouTube, Vimeo and Veoh. Videos can also promote heavy traffic as well as organic search results – Google loves videos and more often than not, videos are some of the first results that pop up on top. Besides, multimedia presentations are much more engaging than plain text and pictures. In fact, in a study by research group BIA Kelsey, it was concluded that 55% of participants visited a website after viewing a video, and more importantly, 24% of them actually bought something from the website.

So anyone with a camera and an Internet connection can make a video – but that doesn’t mean you should just shoot a video without rhyme or reason. A bad video can backfire – many badly written and produced videos achieve Internet infamy and end up as laughing stocks. If you’re thinking of creating your own online video to promote your business, the following are some tips to get you started:
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Have Your Business Make the Most of Out of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Posted on by Tamara Brooks

inukshuk
There’s no doubt about it, Olympics fever has swept over Vancouver! While activities are in full swing, there’s no reason for you (and your business) to be slacking.

Don’t just spend the next few days in front of the TV, watching the Ladies’ Ice Skating (we know you do, even the guys!). You and your business can make the most of the Olympics (and the millions of visitors) while they’re in Vancouver. Of course, not everyone can spend millions of dollars on advertising and sponsorship deals. But, no need to worry! You can still take advantage of this once in a lifetime event to hit our fair city.

First of, make good use of the downtime, if business has been slowing down or if you’re just too impatient to deal with the tourists who have descended on Vancouver. Stay inside the office, sit back on your comfy office chair and get to work online.

Check out your website – when was the last time it was updated? Something as simple as the date (if you have “copyright 2009” somewhere) can easily be changed and will signal to new visitors to your site that your site is current. Have you been active in terms of social media? Perhaps you’ve been meaning to put up a Twitter account – now is the time to do it (and use those #olympics hashtags!) Or you might want to put up your own Facebook group or fan page so your customers can find you on the popular social networking site.

Next, if it’s relevant to your business, try creating some Olympics-related specials or promotions. For example, you can give away free products for the first 20 people to come into your store every time Canada wins a gold medal (to drive traffic) or perhaps create a trivia contest in which winners can get gift certificates or (if you can find any) tickets to Olympic events.

It’s also important to let your customers know if you have special business hours during the Winter Games. There are many reasons to close early or open late (and not just because you have tickets to the Luge event). If the event affects you negatively (i.e. less traffic because of diversions) then closing early or opening later may be to your advantage. On the other hand, if you expect more people coming in because of the games, then you may want to stay open at least until the last event of the day is done.

Of course, you should definitely go out and support Canada in the Olympics, when you can. While you may be tempted to just close shop and watch the games the whole day, you can still do something so your business can benefit from the Winter Games.

No Time to Blog? Let Us Do It For You!

Posted on by Tamara Brooks

Getting your blog feed going
It seems everyone from your teenaged niece to your grandma in Calgary is blogging these days!

Setting up your own web log and telling the world about what’s happening with you is easy enough and definitely much simpler than writing emails to your family and friends.

It was only a matter of time before businesses began to get into the act as well, and many have found that blogging really can change your business, how people view your company and how they interact with you. BusinessWeek, in their May 2005 cover story “Blogs Will Change Your Business,” agrees:
They’re [blogs] going to shake up just about every business — including yours…Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite.

However, if you’re busy with other things (let’s say, uh, running your company), then you might not have the time to update your blog with fresh content on a regular basis. If this is the case, then you may consider getting some outside help, which is where October 17 Media comes in. We offer many social media and internet marketing solutions, including creating relevant content for business blogs.

First off, why should you hire an outside company to write your blog? Think of the opportunity cost. While it would be nice to have the CEO or Vice President of your company personally writing your blog posts, it means taking time away from more important tasks. With many companies under the gun to produce these days, that extra hour or so to create a blog post could be spent making money for the company. Having someone do it for you can help delegate one more thing off your busy plate and leave you with time to spend on other tasks.

One of the great things about blogs is that they can be about anything and everything – there’s no strict rule about what you can discuss. However, it should definitely be focused on promoting your company, for example informing people about a new product or how a certain service benefits your customers. You might also consider sharing a case study or a testimonial from a current client! (Check out one of ours here).

Industry news and media highlights are also good blog subjects and provide useful and timely information for readers. We ensure that any topics employ user-friendly keywords that make your post easy to distribute via other social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook (Read “A beginners guide to Twitter here“). That means more eyeballs viewing your blog (which is hopefully located on your business website) and more potential customers to learn about your products and services.

But why hire us to blog about YOUR company?
Put simply, we take time to get to know you and your industry. We learn about your business, about your customers and, more importantly, about YOU. That way, we know what’s important to you and your audience and are able to write (and respond) in a voice that appeals to them. We can get your blog going with just one or two posts per week (more if needed) and we ensure you’re comfortable with the content by including 3 rounds of revisions before your post is published.

So why not give it whirl? Just contact us via email or call us at 604.688.7616 and if you have any questions or comments, we can answer them and get your company blog set-up today!

Updates and Upgrades: Keeping Up Your Home on the Web

Posted on by Tamara Brooks

If you’re a homeowner, then you know the importance of maintaining your house. As long as you keep your home from deteriorating, you’ll be taking care of that long term investment. There’s always something you need to add, subtract or repair around your house.

A good business website can be the same. You don’t just put up all your information on your website and sit back and relax. Like a home, there’s always one, two or twelve things you may need to do. Maintaining your website is a good practice for any business. Aside from having a better page ranking on search engines, a dynamic website also attracts visitors and keeps them coming back for more.

So once you’ve had your website up and running, what exactly do you have to do?

Here are some tips: (more…)

October 17 Media specializes in website development, paid search advertising, social media and viral marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and email marketing.