Get Website Content

Posted on October 29, 2012 by dbuckl

I picked up this tip at a recent event hosted by Roger Hamilton (of Wealth Dynamics fame).

This is a cool little tool you can use to get website content using Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or any web content and turn it into an online newspaper.

An example how to use Paper.Li with Twitter would be to follow top people in your niche and add them to a list. You can then create a daily paper based on these people’s tweets.

Why is this good and how can you use it?

Well firstly you can treat your following to fresh news daily.

Secondly you can cut through all the clutter and noise out there to get to the thought leaders in your niche and have a concise collection of what is going on.

Finally, it is great to show up as someone who has their ‘finger on the pulse of what is going out there’ and it works as an excellent positioning piece.

You can either publish the paper whole or just use content as you wish, either by curating and adding your opinion or directly linking to news.

Here is a short video on it for you.  

 

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How To Get A Following

Posted on September 25, 2012 by dbuckl

The internet has changed our lives and our world.

It is no longer about forcing or coercing people to do things but rather a world where people become involved with you because they want to. They want to because you represent an idea that they resonate with and agree with. Better than that, you give them a platform, place or situation where they can meet others like them and form their own ‘tribe’.

It is not about the masses anymore. Now you just need to find the true believers, the ones who care enough about what you are saying to spread the idea so that it becomes bigger than you or them, it becomes a movement.

So how to get a following?  What is your big idea? What is your passion? What do you stand for?  More importantly, what are you doing to challenge the status quo and build a culture around it?

Here is Seth Godin expounding his idea on Tribes and what they mean for our society. Enjoy.

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Define Keywords

Posted on June 7, 2012 by dbuckl

define keywords 150x150How do you define keywords in a way that is engaging and useful to people searching for the answers they are looking for.  This is what I was thinking about when I stumbled upon the video below.

I saw these guys pitch a campaign to Kodak for their new slide projector and I got goosebumps while I watched them define keywords to the guys they had in the room.

When is a wheel not a wheel?  When it is a carousel and a time machine!

What is stronger than ‘new’?  “Nostalgia. It’s delicate but potent. Switch it on.”

How do you engage your audience with your product or service and find the right words to move and inspire them?

What story can you tell and what journey can you take them on?  What words do you use to draw them in?

Mad Men: The Carousel scene from dts on Vimeo.

If you would like to talk to us about your business online and your marketing messages, please contact us.

 

Mad Men ´The Carousel´ from Emilio on Vimeo.

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What Is Inspiration?

Posted on May 17, 2012 by dbuckl

what is inspiration 150x150

What is Inspiration?  Why marketing tactics may win sales but won’t gain you customer loyalty.

Discover the differences between the how, what and why of your business.  What is Inspiration?  Learn how it starts with the why and then moves on to the how and what.

The goal is to do business with those who believe what you believe.  How do you communicate your beliefs, your mission and your vision to your potential customers?

What is Inspiration?  It is being driven by belief and a strong why.  It is closing the gap between the early adopters and the mass market and it is when what you do is simply the proof of what you believe.

What is the why behind your business?  If you would like to discuss this further with us and how we can help you roll out your vision online, then please contact us.

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Why Social Media For Business?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by dbuckl

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Why Social Media For Business?  Good question!

The subject of why businesses should be using social media is a fast moving one and seems to change daily.  Unsurprisingly many businesses find themselves a little bit bemused and in the dark when it comes to understanding it all.

Biz4Web set up Social Media accounts for our clients on a regular basis.  However the fact is that not all social media platforms will be relevant to their businesses.  This is why we always work from an agreed social media strategy.

So what are the basics when it comes to why social media for business is a good thing for you?

Here are some of things you should be thinking about when pondering this question:

  • Have you focused on objectives, purpose and brand?
  • Have you given your business or your brand a voice?
  • Are you focused on your marketing objectives and results?
  • Have you created a place for conversations to land and expand?
  • Do you base your social media policy on your marketing strategy?

If you would like to know more about why social media for business could be of help to you, then please contact us.

 

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How To Search Keywords

Posted on May 14, 2012 by dbuckl

how to search keywords 150x150

So, how to search keywords?  Most people know that keyword research is the difference between being found online or never being discovered!

The bottom line is, If you are going to be found using organic search results or compete in the ’Pay Per Click’ world, you will need to know how to search keywords.

Thousands of books, websites and videos have been dedicated to this topic.  There are also some pretty cool software products that can help you along the way such as Market Samurai and SEO Powersuite.

However, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money or spend too much time on this, the video below shows you some easy, quick and cost effective tips to doing effective research. 

If you are going to learn how to search keywords, it does not necessarily have to be expensive in either time or cash!

However, if you would rather be spending your time on your business, please talk to us about doing keyword research for you.

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How To Be Happy At Work

Posted on April 24, 2012 by dbuckl

how to be happy at work 150x150

Is it possible to be happy at work?

Whether we run our own businesses or are working for someone else, our mindset will determine our happiness and our success. 

So being happy at work then becomes a matter of where our focus lies.

External circumstances can only account for a 10% chance of happiness and a whopping 90% is down to how we see the world.  Our ‘lens’ determines our perception.  If you change the ‘lens’ you can change the perception, the behaviour and the emotions. 

We are programmed to believe that success = happiness.  However when we achieve something we are usually quick to set another goal.  Essentially this pushes our happiness and chances of finding out how to be happy at work, further and further away.

Shawn Achor gives you the secret to how to be happy at work in the TED video short below.  Watch out for his top tips on changing your thinking and perceptions.

Shawn suggests that if you do the following for a period of 21 days you will see positive results as you begin to retrain your brain for happiness.

  • Write down 3 things each day you are grateful for – this will train you to start looking for the positive
  • Write down 1 positive experience from each day in your journal – you will relive it
  • Exercise – this shows you that your behaviour matters
  • Meditate – this will help you to focus
  • Kindness – write 1 email a day, praising or thanking someone in your social support network.

If you would like to know more about mindset and goal setting in your business or job please don’t hesitate to contact us.

“If we study what is merely average, we will remain merely average.” (Shawn Achor)

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Rent Website

Posted on April 3, 2012 by dbuckl

rent website 150x150Rent a Website!  Now there’s a plan.

We have noticed that quite a few start up businesses don’t have a lot of spare cash.  Cashflow is after all, King and even if a very new business needs a website or a Facebook page, often it is not in the budget.

Solution!  Rent a Website! 

How does this work?  Well we will design, code and build a 1-3 page site in the normal way but you will get it FREE.  You really need to be online, just like everyone else and why should being short a few quid stop you?

We design, code and build websites for a fee, generally speaking. However in order to help very new start up businesses we have a Rent a Website option for our clients.

What’s the catch?  Well, there isn’t one – you genuinely do get a fully designed and developed website for FREE.  However, there is no such thing as a totally free lunch!  As the title of this post suggest you will be renting the site.  So all you pay is a low ongoing monthly fee instead.

What are the two main benefits?

1. It’s great for cashflow
2. Your business gets a bespoke, professional looking site

If this sounds like it might work for you, then please contact us.

For fun here is a video I found about doing things for FREE…  Makes sense!

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Best Plugins For WordPress

Posted on February 13, 2012 by dbuckl

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What are the best plugins for WordPress?  This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does represent some really useful plugins for WordPress.

What are plugins?  They are pieces of code that give additional functionality to your website or blog.  How can you find the best plugins for WordPress?  Simple – word of mouth or try them out yourself! 

It is a good idea to get these plugins from the main WordPress plugin directory as these are  generally safer than other free plugins which may have malicious coding embedded.

It is also a good idea to make a back up of your site before installing or updating a plugin.  There are of course plugins for doing this!

So without further delay please find below a list of the best plugins for WordPress that we have found to date.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  All In One SEO Pack

This is the quickest and easiest way to get your on page SEO sorted especially if you are a newcomer.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Easy Privacy Policy

Google likes you to have a privacy policy page and this one includes an Adsense compliancy section   Google XML Sitemaps:  This helps search engines to better index your blog.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  My Page Order

Easy drag and drop feature to re-order your pages.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Sexy Bookmarks (Shareaholic)

Lots and lots of social bookmarking icons to add to your posts and static pages.  Just choose which ones you want.   WP DB Backup:  Imperative to back up your WordPress blog or site.  Hackers abound and seem to love WordPress blogs.  Having a backup means you can relax.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Google Analytics for WordPress

You need to see where your traffic is coming from, how long they stay on the site, which pages they land on and which pages they leave from.  All good stuff to know.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Ad Squares Widget

Useful and easy to display ads or affiliate links in the sidebars/widget areas.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  After the Deadline

Spelling, style and grammar a problem for you. Get this!

Best Plugins For WordPress:  All In One Favicon

Ever wanted to have your very own Favicon (Google it if you don’t know what I am on about), well now you can.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Aweber Integration

Place your subscription form into the sidebar of your blog or site.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Broken Link Checker

Broken links are a big no no…. make sure you don’t have any with this handy plugin.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  O’zh Admin Drop Down Menu

Get all your WordPress admin links in a horizontal drop down menu.  Super cool.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Photodropper

Stuck for photos and on a budget?  This plugin allows you to drop creative commons photos into your posts.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Pretty Link Lite

Your own link shrinker and tracker…. right from your WordPress site.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Robots Meta

Disable archives and nofollow unnecessary links.  Good security tool.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  SEO Slugs

Removes extra words from slugs which means better on page SEO.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  Simple Image Link

Ever been driven around the twist trying to get an image into your WordPress sidebar?  You will love this!

Best Plugins For WordPress:  W3 Total Cache

Super speedy page loading for your site.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  WordPress Database Backup

Backup as often as you need it.

Best Plugins For WordPress:  WordPress Firewall 2

Additional securty to stop the most obvious attacks.

Final thoughts

Instead of updating this blog post, we will, in time, make available a download of all the plugins we use and a description of these on the site.

Although there are the main plugins which we tend to use on our sites, many of the other plugins we use will depend on the required functionality of the individual sites built.

If you would like to discuss adding plugins to an existing WordPress site then please contact us.

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What is Content Marketing?

Posted on February 10, 2012 by dbuckl

what is content marketing 150x150What Is Content Marketing?  Well, you may decide to create a 400-600 word, keyword rich, article to post on an article site with a back link to your blog or website.  Good idea!  However, why stop there?  You can do so much more you can do with the same article.

Creating backlinks, driving traffic and getting your message ’out there’ is your main priority as a website owner and content marketer. 

What is content marketing?  In part, it is taking your message and making the most out of content distribution opportunities on and offline.

For example, taking the same article you can repurpose it by adapting it slightly to suit a number of different formats and then post these new files to the relevant high traffic areas on the web.  All of these sites will then have links back to your site! 

To further answer what is content marketing? – here are a few places where you can market your content across the web.

Top Article Directories

http://www.biz4web.com/article-directories

Step by step tutorials

http://www.biz4web.com/ehow

http://www.biz4web.com/tutorialized

http://www.biz4web.com/good-tutorials

Podcasts

http://www.biz4web.com/itunes-podcast

http://www.biz4web.com/odeo-enterprise

http://www.biz4web.com/podcast-alley

http://www.biz4web.com/podfeed

http://www.biz4web.com/odiogo

http://www.biz4web.com/read-the-words

http://www.biz4web.com/audacity

http://www.biz4web.com/podcast

Powerpoint slide shows

http://www.biz4web.com/slideshare

http://www.biz4web.com/slideboom

http://www.biz4web.com/authorstream

http://www.biz4web.com/empressr

http://www.biz4web.com/myplick

Videos

http://www.biz4web.com/yahoovideo

http://www.biz4web.com/videohp

http://www.biz4web.com/blip-tv

http://www.biz4web.com/ustream

http://www.biz4web.com/qik

http://www.biz4web.com/posterous

http://www.biz4web.com/open-my-video

http://www.biz4web.com/viddler

http://www.biz4web.com/dailymotion

http://www.biz4web.com/you-tube

http://www.biz4web.com/vimeo

http://www.biz4web.com/metacafe

http://www.biz4web.com/veoh

PDFs

http://www.biz4web.com/free-ebooks

http://www.biz4web.com/get-free-ebooks

http://www.biz4web.com/doc-2-pdf

Document Sharing

http://www.biz4web.com/scribd

http://www.biz4web.com/docstoc

http://www.biz4web.com/esnips

http://www.biz4web.com/calameo

http://www.biz4web.com/issuu

http://www.biz4web.com/yudu

http://www.biz4web.com/butterfly-reports

If you would like any more information on what is possible with content marketing please contact us.

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