A lot of copywriters these days not only are content writers, but SEO specialists as well. (Hi, remember me?)

What I mean by this- is a new term hitting the “web waves” called a content strategist. I won’t bother filling this blog with technical terms on what a “content strategist” is by dictionary definition; BUT, I will do my best to clearly explain why you need one. 

It’s one thing to know how to write, it’s another thing to know how to write in a marketable way that makes people want to take action.

I like to call a content strategist a “word ninja”. I will defend your site against spam, skillfully and effectively promote your business, slash pages of useless stuff (if necessary), and use my special powers (SEO skills) to lure your target audience to your site. A word ninja rises above enemy lines (competition) proving to visitors of your site they came to the right place to find what they were looking for. And maybe I’ll throw a few ninja stars in there to boost the traffic too. Ninja stars = shurikens = what I call your social media outlets.

CONTENT IS KING: My ultimate goal with every client is to make them MONEY. Money can’t come if awareness is absent. How do you make your company known? By drawing people to your website and keeping them there. I know a bunch of SEO (search engine optimization) tricks to tell the web crawlers that your site is the one that viewer is looking for. (The Word Ninja’s Mission)

You would be surprised how important it is that the right words come across in the right way when compiling the content for your site.  If it’s not done right, your business could suffer. This is why hiring a copywriter could very well mean the difference between success and failure. Word ninja’s often work alone on their mission, but they train (prep/brainstorm) with other ninjas (web designers<– I like to call them web wizards) all working together toward same goal – ultimate success of assigned mission.

Some businesses don’t realize that you can’t simply create a website and think that’s good enough. Just because you’re on the World Wide Web doesn’t mean that your potential customers are going to find you. A copywriter ensures they will.  We know the right words to use and how to use them with an advantage to your business in a very marketable way. We drive traffic to your site through back links, social media, keywords, and… content, content, content. Did I mention CONTENT? Ninja style.

Personally, I like to really get to know the company inside and out. I want to know all about you, why you’re doing what you do, where you’re from, who is your client base, how big is your staff, what do you want from your website, what do your clients want from you? No matter what kind of industry I am working with, language is a key element. Words are what drive interest in any business, and ultimately words are what drive people to your site.  We work closely with the clients and pick out– sometimes the smallest thing you may mention– and turn it into an entire marketing campaign, maybe even a slogan or logo.

Hopefully you get the idea of why it is important for you and your business to focus on content. Keep up to date with blogs for continued advice and links to tools that will help your business and drive sales to your website.

Til next time………..
NiNjA exiT —-

]]> http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/09/content-is-king-hire-a-word-ninja/feed/ 0 http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/09/new-addition-to-the-keyweb-team/ http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/09/new-addition-to-the-keyweb-team/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:42:55 +0000 Erin http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/?p=1107 Hey there, my name is Erin and I am very excited to join the KeyWeb team as their copywriter.

The welcome I received here is just what I needed to assure me I made the right choice in coming on board. To top it off, I received the phone call from our company president, Jim Thomas, on my birthday! (talk about a “happy birthday”)

@ebthatswho

Little background on me:

I am a Mass Comm graduate from VCU with a concentration in Public Relations, and a minor in Marketing and Business. I have worked for production companies in the past as an Account Executive, and have over 5 years experience in PR and Marketing.

I am also the Co-Director of Marketing and Public Relations for RVA Fashion Week and have been since 2008. My experience with account management and campaigns will prove that I am the right person to meet our clients needs, and help continue the success of all projects that come through our door.

I am very appreciative of this opportunity and look forward to many days to come! I hope to contribute more to our blog and post some interesting as well as fun information for business and for leisure.

Let’s start with a nice little blog about the “dying press release” , still debatable? (figured this was specifically appropriate coming from me)

See you soon!

PS- Go Redskins!

]]> http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/09/new-addition-to-the-keyweb-team/feed/ 1 http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/08/8-facebook-resources-for-businesses/ http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/08/8-facebook-resources-for-businesses/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:32:57 +0000 Shannon Sullivan http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/?p=1075 With more than 750 million active users, and people spending over 700 billion minutes per month on the site, Facebook is no longer something businesses can balk at. It is a tool that you can, and probably should, add to your online marketing arsenal.

But where do you get started? How can a business use social media?  What are the benefits? What are the best practices?

With the recent launch of Facebook For Business, I decided to round up some of my top picks for tips, tricks and advice for using Facebook for your business.

1. Facebook For Business

Straight from the horse’s mouth – a great place to start to get insight into using Facebook to market your business. The Facebook For Business center compiles a bunch of great information from setting up a Facebook Page or creating a Facebook ad campaign to using the Facebook platform to add a social layer to your website.

2. Mashable

Mashable is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to social news coverage. Looking for up to the minute updates, as well as a great store of articles covering the basics? Check out Mashable’s Facebook Guide Book.

3. HubSpot

HubSpot is a big name in internet marketing research. Their Facebook For Business Marketing Hub has everything you need to know (and more) about creating your Facebook presence–and taking it to the next level.

4. All Facebook

AllFacebook.com is an “unofficial Facebook resource” with posts covering a wide range of topics, including how-to’s, updates about Facebook scams and analyses of the most popular Pages and apps.

5. Inside Facebook

Inside Facebook professes to “tracking Facebook and the Facebook platform for developers and marketers.” They have a robust article archive brimming with insights, data and advice.

6. Social Fresh

Social Fresh takes a fresh look at using social media for business. Check out their various articles about using Facebook for your business; they also have their own list of  Facebook marketing and training resources.

7. Social Media Examiner

Social Media Examiner is your guide to the social media “jungle,” offering up how to advice, reviews, case studies, videos, interviews and other resources to help your business make the most of Facebook.

8. Kiss Metrics

Kiss Metrics is all about analytics. The Kiss Metrics blog is a hotbed of data, and there are some great Facebook resources here. Take a look at their beginner’s guide to Facebook marketing, or check out this sweet infographic about the science of social timing.

What resources do you use to stay on top of your Facebook game?

Do you have any tips for using HootSuite and programs like that? I’m not as familiar with them as I’d like to be, and I hear they make social media much easier. Thanks!

Let’s dive in! But first things first:

Hoot-what?!? What’s HootSuite?

HootSuite is an example of a social media dashboard.

social media dashboards: tools that allow you to manage all of your social media activities from a single location.

Rather than having to access Facebook and update your Page, and then log into LinkedIn and post an update after that, you can monitor and update your various social media profiles from a central place.

Social media dashboards can be online programs or a desktop application that you download, and many also have apps that you can use on your mobile devices.

What are some other social media dashboards?

There are TONS of social media dashboards out there. This list is not, by any means, all-inclusive, but it does give you a taste of what’s available:

• TweetDeck (recently acquired by Twitter!)
• Seesmic
• SocialOomph
• Ping.fm
• Radian6
• SpredFast
• MediaFunnel
• Unilyzer
• Netvibes
• Trackur

Why use a social media dashboard?

Social media dashboards offer users a variety of benefits:

Save Time

Your time is valuable! A social media dashboard can make social media management less time consuming.

After you’ve set up your various profiles in your dashboard of choice, you can access and check on your social media activity from one location. Just one. You can sign in and get to work…rather than signing into site after site after site.

Ping.fm allows you to manage your social networks from one place.

Monitor Trends

Social media dashboards enable you to easily track what topics are important to you and to your online networking sphere. Whether you’re monitoring brand mentions or you want to stay on top of industry developments, social media dashboards have the tools to help you do that.

Check out how TweetDeck lets you “follow topics in real-time with saved searches.”

TweetDeck lets you track topics that are relevant to your business or industry, and are being discussed on social networking sites.

Share Responsibilities

Ever feel like you don’t have enough time to handle your company’s social media account(s) on your own? A dashboard can help you tackle the workload and spread it out over different people.

With a tool like CoTweet, you can let multiple employees contribute to and manage your social media profiles. Plus, you can assign tasks (and note their completion) to keep your workflow moving and organized.

You can assign--and respond to--different tasks using a social media dashboard like CoTweet.

Track Metrics

So you’re Tweeting. You post updates to your Facebook Page. But what of it? Are people clicking your links? Are customers interacting with your brand? Do they like one type of content (say, photos) better than another type (text-only posts)?

Social media dashboards can be a great way to track data and see what results you’re getting across different social channels. And, depending on the service you pick, you can also generate reports that you can share with your co-workers.  With numbers in tow, you can really evaluate your social media activities and see what you do that makes people tick–or what areas you need to work on.

HootSuite offers tools that give you an in-depth look at the numbers.

There are so many dashboards to choose from! How do I know which one to use?

Part of selecting a social media dashboard comes down to personal preference. You may have to try on a couple sites for size before you find “The One.” Experiment. See what site has the user interface that you prefer. Try an online service; take a desktop app for a drive. You’ve got to like and be comfortable with the provider you choose before you make a long-term commitment.

Budget can be a deal breaker too. If you’re a small business with little to no funds for social media, you probably don’t want to sign up for an enterprise-level (read: super expensive) social dashboard. Or you may want to explore dashboards with tiered pricing options so you can pick the plan that’s right for you.

Seek other users’ opinions too! Check out online reviews to get an idea of what’s available and what works better for your particular situation. VentureBeat published an article on 4 “must-have” social media dashboards; Social Media Examiner also has various articles, blog posts and tutorials on the different dashboards that are out there. What better way to find out how something works than seeing what the community has to say?

♪ Wah Wah Wah ♪

Houston, We Have A Problem.

Since Sunday, I’ve been plagued by the worst thing you can imagine: a lifeless Internet connection (okay, well, I’m exaggerating a bit, but the situation really is inconvenient).

My Internet service provider happens to be Comcast.  Due to previous experiences with Comcast customer service, I was a little agitated by the prospect of getting the runaround again.  I’ve been hung up on and flat out lied to; call me crazy, but those kinds of actions don’t make me very eager to give Comcast a ring.

Rather than take a shot in the dark with the dreaded customer service hotline, I decided to try something different.  I whipped out my phone and embarked on a quest to get my Internet back, social media style.

Social Media: Better Customer Service?

As Twitter and other similar sites have grown in popularity, many companies (Comcast included) have started using social media to improve customer support.  Comcast has been big on Twitter.  @ComcastCares is their main customer service hub, with other team members like @ComcastMelissa and @ComcastWill providing backup.

Though I knew I had a new channel to be heard through, part of me was still leery. Would anyone even respond? And how responsive would he or she be?

Listen Up!

Well, here goes nothing. I took to Twitter and fired off my first missive, complete with the hashtag #comcastsucks (I was feeling crabby).

Supposedly, the problem was fixed late Sunday night/early Monday morning. It was 8, 9 o’clock on Monday night. I missed that boat apparently. Not okay. [Side note: my cable went out Monday night too.]

I also decided to call out Comcast directly.

There. I told them.  Would someone help me?

Someone Is Listening!

@ComcastWill noticed my Tweets.  And answered me.

But he was not curt or dodgy.  @ComcastWill was extremely polite.  In his series of 140 character messages, I received better service than I’ve ever gotten on the phone.

I wasn’t the only person @ComcastWill was patient with.  A bunch of angry customers have flocked to Twitter over the course of the past few days, and each one has been treated with respect (even the people who were more colorful with their descriptions of Comcast’s shortcomings).

Cautiously Optimistic So Far.

I’ll admit it: I got a pleasant surprise. And some faith in Comcast has been restored.  Comcast is taking customer complaints seriously and is actually using Twitter as a tool to listen to and address problems (no lip service here, it seems).  Well done, guys and gals.  Well done. *Thumbs up*

We did manage to get my cable fixed.  Internet is still MIA, but I was told that a solution is actively being sought.  While I didn’t get an immediate fix for the Internet, I do appreciate that the Comcast representative was upfront with me.

Takeaway: If a company makes a true commitment, it can use social media to deliver real results and answers.

Have you ever used social media to solve a problem? Did that work out?

**Disclaimer: This is completely and entirely a personal experience that I have elected to share and reflect on. I am speaking only for myself, not for my workplace or any of my co-workers.**

No One My Age Uses Facebook

While perusing the comScore Data Mine, I came across this great infographic about Facebook visitor demographics. Though most people tend to think that teenagers dominate the popular social networking site, your typical Facebook visitor is actually older than that.

Teens In Minority; Facebook Users Getting Older

• 25 – 34 year olds make up the biggest percentage of Facebook users! They come in at almost 21% of total visitors.
• The second largest group of people on Facebook are in the 35-44 age bracket.
• 18 – 24 year olds account for 17.9% of Facebook users.
• Visitors age 55+ come in at 13.1% of all Facebook visitors.
• Only 10.1% of Facebook visitors are between the ages of 12 and 17.

So, what does this all mean?

Facebook isn’t just for kids; you don’t have to be a teen movie idol or pop start heartthrob or some other teen-centric entity to have a successful presence on this popular networking hub.  There is the potential for your business to find its audience on Facebook.  The “age” of Facebook doesn’t have to be a deterrent.

Share information creatively – but make sure to stay on topic. Irrelevant posts, Tweets and status updates could turn customers off and leave them wanting more.

So, how can you use social media to reach out to customers and give them the best experiences possible? Consider …

Sales, Specials, Deals
Give customers the inside scoop on a special at your store, or offer them an exclusive incentive for being a Facebook Fan or follower on Twitter.

Example: A store offers 10% off any purchase for the first 25 customers who come in and say “I love [your store’s name] on Twitter.”

Company News
Share your excitement when great things happen with your company. Talk about a new hire, significant milestones, special occasions. Show how proud you are of your business. Invite people to be part of the celebration, but don’t turn them off by bragging too much.

Resources
Social media is about sharing with your community. Help them learn new things. Show them great resources for information.

Are you a roofing contractor? Post a link to a new article about tips for caring for a roof after installation. A green clothing retailer? Share your latest blog post about the newest “green” fabrics.

Research
Ask your customers what they’d like to see next at your company. Is there a new service or product they’re interested in? Do they want you to open a new location? Give customers a change to be heard, and take their input into consideration. That way, when your business makes its next move, you can be sure that you’re responding to people’s actual needs.

Feedback
Seek customer feedback! Give your customers enhanced support. You can use social media to answer people’s questions or address their complaints. Let customers know that you’re actively listening and eager to respond.

Shannon
New Media & SEO Specialist, Copywriter
http://www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
http://twitter.com/keywebconcepts

But why? Getting involved sounds like a good idea, but what kinds of benefits are there to social media?

Increased Visibility
A presence on a site like Facebook could substantially increase your visibility on the Internet. There are millions of users looking for and sharing information across these platforms. By being there and providing engaging content, your company can gain more exposure…exposure that could drive more traffic to your website, or lead to new customers.

Business Networking and Collaboration
You can find and interact with other professionals in your field by:

• trading tips.
• recommending resources.
• offering advice.

LinkedIn’s Answers is a great place to talk to new people, as well as establish yourself as an industry expert.

Stronger Customer Relationships
Social media offers the chance to connect and work with clients to bring them better experiences with your company. By interacting with them directly, through media they like and use, you remove distance and bring the company and customer closer. People can put a face with a name.

You can also get feedback directly from your customers. Poll them about a new service or product they’d like to see – then act on it! You’ll show that you really do listen, and that you’re committed to meeting customers’ actual needs.

Shannon
New Media & SEO Specialist, Copywriter
http://www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
http://twitter.com/keywebconcepts

Not only are people using social media a lot, but they’re starting to expect others (especially companies) to start using or already be using Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other social media sites.

How many people use social media?

• 60% to 75% of Americans use some form of social technology
• 2/3 of the global Internet population visit social media sites
• Visiting social networking sites is the 4^th most popular online activity – it’s more popular than checking personal email!

“Cone Finds that Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media”
“What the [Expletive] Is Social Media: One Year Later”

Facebook Statistics

• Facebook has 300 million+ active users
• More than 5 billion minutes spent on Facebook every day, worldwide
• 40.2% of Facebook users are 35+ years old

“Statistics”
“Facebook Demographics and Statistics: 55+ Grows 25% in One Month”

Twitter Statistics

• Over the course of 1 year (February 2008-February 2009), Twitter grew by 1,382%
• 35 – 49 year olds make up the largest user group on Twitter
• The average number of Tweets per day is 3 million

“Twitter Now Growing at a Staggering 1,382 Percent”
“What the [Expletive] Is Social Media: One Year Later”
“SMX Sydney: Twitter Tips and Etiquette”

Other Interesting Numbers

• LinkedIn boasts 45 million users
• Over 3.5 billion photos are archived on Flickr (as of June 2009)
• It would take 412.3 years to watch every single video uploaded on YouTube

“About Us”
“What the [Expletive] Is Social Media: One Year Later”

New Media and Business

A study by Cone showed that

• 60% of Americans utilize social media

Of that 60%

• 93% believe a company should have a presence on social media sites
• 85% say a company should not only be present, but interact with its customers using social media

“Cone Finds that Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media”

Shannon
New Media & SEO Specialist, Copywriter
www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
twitter.com/keywebconcepts

But what is this “social media” phenomenon?  Facebook, Twitter – what are they to us?  Why are they such a big deal now?

Social Media really defines what the Internet has come to look like.  It ranges from a blog or a video posted on YouTube to networking communities like Facebook and LinkedIn.  Nowadays, most everyone has heard of and/or uses at least one of these kinds of Social Media.

People aren’t just “googling” information any more.  They’re turning to Social Media to find what they’re looking for since they feel more comfortable getting input from people in their personal and professional networks.  Social Media facilitates word-of-mouth in the digital world—it’s like an extension of the daily, offline conversations we’re already having with our friends, family, neighbors and coworkers.

Also, people are looking for more personalized experiences and interactions on the Web.  There’s a shift away from one-way communications.  Merely receiving information isn’t cutting it any more – people want to be involved.  They want to know their opinions count.  They want to contribute to the conversations they see happening.

Social media is especially starting to change how companies and consumers interact.  Companies are starting to use Twitter, Facebook and the like to communicate more directly with their customers.  Businesses want to break down the wall between Company and Client, in order to form more of a community between the company and its clients, as well as between customers themselves.

So, what is social media?

Social Media Is:

• Interactive.
• Digital.
• Based around sharing and forming communities.

Examples of Social Media Are:

• Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace.
• YouTube Flickr, Vimeo.
• Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts.

Shannon Sullivan
New Media & SEO Specialist, Copywriter
www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
twitter.com/keywebconcepts