Sam Laird writes for Mashable about how fans are getting one step closer to the game they love. Laird says, “Ever wonder what athletes blast in their headphones to get hyped before big games? Well, wonder no more thanks to a Facebook post by New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley. “Super Bowl Pre-Game Mix!!” Ridley wrote on his Facebook wall on Monday, accompanying a 12-track Spotify playlist. Ridley’s New England Patriots face the New York Giants on Sunday in Super Bowl XLVI.”
Here are 5 tweaks you can make to improve branding on your YouTube Channel.
#1: Add Your Custom URLs in the Newly Placed Description Area
This option is now at the top on the right of your video. Talk about brand power. Previously, only partners could take advantage of this prime channel real estate.
However, you don’t have to be a partner to place your URL links in plain sight to the right of the video. Before, your links were drowning below the fold (scroll down) to the left. Now your channel description area is to the right of the video above the fold. That means a higher potential click-through rate to your outside sites.
Plus you can add your social media links in the description area, such as Facebook, Twitter and now Google+.
Check out this graphic from Monetate!
In you’re not pinning, you’re not winning! I just made that up.
Scott Forshay posts on briansolis.com about the value of mobile marketing.
Forshay says, “In the early stages of mobile marketing, the value exchange was almost exclusively defined through promotional-based marketing. Consumers were asked to share their mobile numbers in exchange for coupons. While seemingly primitive by today’s standards, text back couponing remains an effective behavior stimulus for many brands and retailers, but for luxury brands discounting flies in the face of the intrinsic value of the brand. The challenge for innovative prestige brands is defining how best to create a true value exchange with their most loyal advocates while remaining true to themselves and not cheapening the brand in the process of attempting to deepen relationships.”
Social Media Today has talked to the biggest name in the business about what trends we should expect in 2012. We’ll give you an idea of what the experts had to say…
“The Year of Integration – Paul Gillin, the author of Social Media Marketing for the Business Customer, sees 2012 as the year when social marketers would stop delegating social to junior managers. He predicts a new generation of integrated marketing programs that will be “much more sophisticated that anything we’ve seen in the past.””
“The Social Business Revolution – Brian Solis, the author of The End of Business as Usual, joins Matthew Grant of MarketingProfs in saying that in 2012 companies of all sizes will need to “transform their business and existing infrastructure, and reverse engineer the impact of business objectives and metrics.” Matthew goes on to predict that corporate sites will be better and more deeply integrated with social media properties “bringing with it a more seamless experience as you move from the social media spokes to the proprietary hub.””
Check out this inforgraphic below from The Search Engine Journal. The growth curve on each of the major networks demonstrates their rapid growth and overpowering user base. Undoubtedly, they are going to be around for a while!
Facebook is releasing a Parent-Child system for Businesses with multiple locations, according to Josh Constine of InsideFacebook.com. In the past, businesses with multiple locations have had to set up Places pages in addition to their Business Page. Facebook’s new tools, which they have released for testing to select companies, creates a Locations sidebar to their Business Page in which each location can be listed: maps included.
Facebook reports We’re testing new ways for businesses with more than one location to develop a localized presence on Facebook. The tools launching this week…make it easier for businesses to begin to localize their voice at scale.
In addition to simplifying and aggregating pages for the user, there is an unexpected advantage at the corporate level. Currently, administrators would need to go through each “Places” location and change a slogan or brand image. With the new system, a single change at the corporate level would take care of all of them.
These changes will help simplify and improve the user interface for businesses of all sizes!
Mashable is looking out for you, the entrepreneur. Just to give you a taste-
Nellie Akalp writes, “If you’re not seeking outside funding at the start, it’s tempting to forgo writing out a formal business plan. However, taking the time to write out your business plan, forecasts and marketing strategy is a particularly effective way to hone your vision. All planning should center around two essential questions: How is my business serving a particular need or pain point, and does this represent a major market opportunity? In addition, don’t overlook the exit strategy at the beginning. Do you want your children to take over the company? Do you want to sell it? It’s critical to think about these questions from the start, as the building blocks of your company (such as legal structure) should vary depending on your preferred final outcome. ”
The Social Media Examiner throws down the ABCs of blogging. That means 26 tips on making your blog even better. In honor of Brand Adoption – We’ll highlight the B and A from their list.
By knowing the ins and outs of your blogging platform, you’ll ensure that your posts look as good as they can. Take the time to master the visual editor (or raw HTML, if you prefer) so that you know how to format a post, insert an image and embed a video or podcast.
Whether you’re working in platforms such as WordPress, Tumblr or Posterous, it’s good to stay up to date on the features and new versions.
If you’re not comfortable with the more technical aspects of blogging, try to find someone who can be a resource for you to answer questions as they arise.
A blog post contains several areas that require our attention and care. Pamela Seiple refers to six parts of the anatomy of a lead-generating blog post:
