Filter The Noise

Facebook has become a huge part of social media these days.  This tool that was designed back in 2004 for college students has grown to 300 million users.  Mark Zuckerman who at the time of inception was a college student who wanted a way for college students to be able to communicate with each other.

It is reported by The Daily Mustang, that each day, people around the world spend more than six billion minutes on Facebook, where they post 40 million status updates and become fans of 10 million pages.

When Facebook started out, it took almost 5 years to grow to 150 million users.  In nine months, Facebook has grown from 150 million users to 300 million. 

Growth of Facebook is being attributed to the 35 and older crowd.  The fastest pace of growth comes from older Americans according to iStrategy Labs.  People 55 and older grew by 513 percent since July of 2009, and now that group makes up 8 percent of all active Facebook users. 

A lot of 55 and older people enjoy Facebook because of the distance between family members.  They can see their grand kids growing up right there on their screen instead of waiting to have the family visit.  Speaking as a Facebook user in the 35 + group, I have tried to get my Dad and Mother-in-law to get an account and they both seem uninterested.  I have express the fact that they can see pictures and only let the family be their friends.  But to no avail they have not yet become Facebook members.  Maybe I can make them a profile and show them how easy it is to use. 

According to some polling of SMU students, they are a little disturbed at the older crowd using Facebook.  In fact Since Jan 2009, student only make up 25% of the Facebook active members.  Users aged 18 – 24 have fallen from 41% to 25%.  This is still an increase of 1 million users in 6 months among that age group.

Facebook, I believe is becoming more than a social networking outlet.  Yes, most people use it to keep up with their friends and family, but Facebook also provides a business aspect that can be used to capture leads by "word of mouth" so to speak.  This could be the reason for the increased number of 35+ people.  They are using Facebook Fan Pages to get people to notice their brand and to become known.

Kudos to the 35+ people who have transformed what was once only for geeks and college kids to something useful in every day life and business.

Did you know just how much Social Media is taking over our everyday lives?

These numbers are staggering! This is another official update to the original "Shift Happens" video. This completely new Fall 2009 version includes facts and statistics focusing on the changing media landscape, including convergence and technology. It was developed in partnership with The Economist. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit http://mediaconvergence.economist.com and http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com.

The Government has finally accepted that "Cloud Computing" is an acceptable form of doing business.

If you have been involved in some shape or form with the Government, you know that Cloud Computing was something that was just not an option.  Too many hoops to go through, too much information that could be lost, etc.  Well hold on to your hats.  The White House has just announced that the Federal Government is going to go to the clouds.  This will save the taxpayers money and make the government more efficient.  It means no more costly servers for every office, no more purchases of software that is not needed.  It means that the different offices can actually communicate.  Cloud computing allows you to get what you need.  Now the Government can be up to date with the latest technology that we in the private sector enjoy. 

Apps.gov is an online storefront for federal agencies to quickly browse and purchase cloud-based IT services, for productivity, collaboration, and efficiency. Cloud computing is the next generation of IT in which data and applications will be housed centrally and accessible anywhere and anytime by a various devices (this is opposed to the current model where applications and most data is housed on individual devices). By consolidating available services, Apps.gov is a one-stop source for cloud services – an innovation that not only can change how IT operates, but also save taxpayer dollars in the process.

What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as a computing model where IT capabilities are delivered as a service over the Internet to many users. Like a utility such as electricity or water, cloud computing allows users to only consume what they need, to grow or shrink their use as their needs change, and to only pay for what they actually use. With more rapid access to innovative IT solutions, agencies can spend less time and taxpayer dollars on procedural items and focus more on using technology to achieve their missions.

Although this is in its beginning stages, the U.S. Chief Information Officer of the White House is very confident that soon they will be in the clouds.  Stay in touch with this topic by subscribing to their blog.

Okay, so it has been a week since I blogged, I am already behind the 8-ball since I try to blog at least three times a week, I think that has happened once. Instead of accepting defeat, I am making the best of my lemons.

This blog post is purely a personal opinion on my short experience with blogging, social media and inbound marketing.

I subscribe to a lot of blogs and give tons of credit to those of you who blog frequently. I love reading all you have to offer. I have taken the Inbound Marketing Classes and I have been certified. I have a facebook profile, a business page, and a twitter account. A lot of time I fall short on those as well. Why is that? Oh because clients need me. That’s a great excuse, right? Well no more excuses. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Okay so here I go.

So, do all your efforts of blogging, inbound marketing, and social media work? YES! I can say that without hesitation. Why can I say that? Well, if you keep track of your rankings before you started your endeavors with all the blogging, social media, and inbound marketing like we did, then you will realize how. I can tell you we were not on the first 5 pages. In one of my IMU classes the speaker made a comment “If you don’t show up on the 1st page of the google search, you are insignificant”. Harsh words, but when you put it into prospective, how many times do you do a search and look past the first page? Be honest!

So, I have taken all that I have learned and put it to use. We have optimized our site, put in those great keywords, put in awesome content, blogged, facebooked, twittered and guess what? It’s working. We are getting found. Now, it is not an overnight success story, oh no, this took about a month of diligently working at it. Now we come up on the first page, depending on what you are searching for.

How can you make the most of your experience? Take a Webinar, educate yourself, Google it, hire someone to help you understand what all this blogging, social media and inbound marketing means. Yes it is work, I am not going to lie to you, but even if you got 1 lead from your site from your efforts, wouldn’t you consider that a success? We got our first lead from our site just the other day. That is what convinced us that it is working. There are more leads out there; we just have to bring them to our watering hole.

So, if you are reading this, which would be cool if I still have your attention, then you are either shaking your head front to back or side to side. If you are the front to back, good for you and keep up the good work and don’t stop. If you are a side-to-side, then keep at it. Like anything, the effort you put in, is the effort you get out. If you are having trouble, find someone to help you. There are over 600 of us IMU graduates who know what we are talking about. Try it for a month. What have you got to lose? NOTHING. What have you got to gain? EVERYTHING!

Happy blogging, Tweeting, and Facebooking
I hope that this was somewhat inspirational to you and if it was or you think someone you know can benefit from it, forward it or tweet or comment about it and pass it on.

I welcome comments and suggestions. I am always looking for the next best way to do things. Work smarter not harder is my motto.

Blogging is as important as eating 3 square meals a day. You need the fuel for your body just like you need the fuel for your business.

Search engines love original content and blogging is the easiest way to get original content on your site. 1) It's in your own words and 2) By providing the ability to comment, you enhance your ability of staying original.

Blogs provide a perfect opportunity to use targeted keywords of your site by skillfully using them in the content of your blog entries. If a particular business blog gets high rank in search engines for a particular keyword, the links from the blog can lead traffic to your main website.

Blogs provide for a two-way conversation to take place between the business and consumer. It allows for valuable feedback that you may not otherwise hear about.

Blogs play an important role for branding a company. Not only should you be blogging, but become part of the blogging community. Get out there and comment on other blogs. Subscribe to RSS feeds that are relevant to your business. This is always a good way to get content.

If you aren’t blogging, you can bet your competition is. Blogging not only provides good content, but it also lets you know who else is blogging about your industry.

Now, all this said, if you don’t blog, like if you don’t go to the gym, you won’t get any results. So just because you have a blog or a gym membership doesn’t mean it will do you any good if you don’t write or go. We recommend blogging at least 3 times a week, but depending on your market you may want to blog more often.

I was recently asked if it was "ok for a business to have a Facebook profile", as opposed to a Facebook page. Aside from the obvious challenges with this, like assigning your business a gender...the simple answer is: If you are a business, you need to create a page, not a profile. That said, you will need a profile first in order to create and administer a Facebook page.

According to Facebook:

"Facebook profiles are meant to represent a single individual. Organizations of any type are not permitted to maintain an account under the name of their organization. We have created Facebook Pages to allow organizations to have a presence on Facebook. These Pages are distinct presences, separate from user profiles, and optimized for an organization's needs to communicate, distribute information/content, engage their fans, and capture new audiences virally through their fan's recommendations to their friends. Facebook Pages are designed to be a media rich, valuable presence for any artist, business or brand. If you create a profile for your business, your account may be disabled for violating our Terms of Use."

Ok, so that last sentence is a bit scary, but the bottom line is: Facebook Pages were designed for businesses and they work better. There are more tools and opportunities for you to promote your business via "pages". If you currently have a profile setup for your business, setup a page for your business today! Then notify your "friends" in your profile that your business has a page. Encourage your "friends" to become "fans" of your page.

You might even come up with a clever contest to encourage people to become fans.  

• Facebook Page Product Guide (PDF 2.44MB)
• How to create a Facebook Page
• Become of a Fan of HighTouch Marketing & Web Design

Change is to do something a different way. Why is CHANGE so hard for some companies? It's hard because we get so use to doing things one way and are convinced that if we just keep trying at it, it will eventually prove a different result. This is the definition of Insanity. I think we have all been there at one point in our life. We are creatures of habit.

Change is a scary and exhilarating experience. Even people who like change still complain every now and then. Sometimes it can be hard to see the reward of the change. In the end, change is GOOD! It shakes things up, evens the playing field, makes everyone perform at their highest level and in the end you see the fruits of your labor.

Take Social Media for example. I can tell you when I say Social Media or Inbound Marketing to my clients; they have that look of “what is that”? Or “oh yeah, I have heard of that but what is it”? Digital Marketing is hot and I don’t expect it to cool anytime soon. Newspapers and magazines offer online subscriptions, coupons are being sent online, and stores are sending their weekly advertisements via email. This is the future so we may as well start the embracing now so as to not be left behind later. CHANGE, is good. Think of it this way, we are saving trees and the ozone.

How can you change the way you think about marketing your company? How can you change the way you reach your clients? Step outside the box and see if Traditional Marketing can be replaced with Digital Marketing.

How do you change? Get a Facebook page for your company, get a twitter account, start a blog, get on Linkedin. You would be amazed at the amount of people you can reach just by utilizing these tools (Facebook has over 4 million users, Twitter has 14 million, and LinkedIn has 35 million). You have a marketing department, right? Get them to CHANGE their way of doing things. Get them engaged to market the company online by talking about the company.

Small businesses need to take a risk and change. Get your employees involved with Digital Marketing. Engage them to get more friends, followers, and connections. You will be the talk among their peers. Some CEO’s think their employees are wasting time on the Internet or doing personal things, but if you make it their job to do those things, I bet they spend more time working for you. Take a risk!

To many times people worry about “what if it doesn’t work”? Instead worry about “what happens if it does work”? What a problem to have!

Here's a great video comparing the punk rock movement of the 70's to the social media movement today. The video is well-done and thought provoking. Enjoy.

Looks like we are trying to get our point across today with music... Here is another great one!

This is a great story of how media is changing (and has changed within the past year or so).