Short Message Service

Facebook and Twitter are great channels that marketers can use to reach new audiences and participate in two-way interactions with consumers. Unfortunately, both social networks are also undeniably scattershot as marketing tools. Segmenting and personalizing your communications effectively using either one is difficult, and even your most dedicated fans and followers will likely not read many of your messages.

The chronological layout of Twitter timelines, coupled with the sheer volume of tweets many users receive, makes it almost inevitable that your followers will miss some of your tweets. And Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm can prevent your posts from appearing in your fans' News Feeds if you're not creating content that's consistently interesting to them.

Those facts make a good case for the need to write compelling social media content. They also underscore the value of converting your social media followers into SMS- and email-marketing subscribers. As people who have a genuine, expressed interest in your products and services, your fans and followers are the perfect targets for those efforts.

By recruiting your social fans and followers to your email and SMS lists, you can forge deeper relationships with them by offering more personalized and targeted content than you ever could via social media alone.

You can also increase the likelihood that your communications will be read—particularly in the case of SMS, since 83% of all text messages are read within an hour of being received.

For more information regarding branding your business.  Contact me at db@davidbadajoz.com or visit www.davidbadajoz.com.

Building your Brand with Google+

 

Navigating a new social platform can be challenging, especially for larger brands that have a global presence, multiple brands and millions of fans. Last week Google announced its relationships with a handful of third-party social media management software companies that will provide tools for brands to manage their presences on Google+, including the ability to manage Circles, publish to Google+ and access analytics. These tools will help streamline publishing to multiple Google+ pages and effectively manage Circles in a scalable manner, while enabling access to analytics across a brand’s Google+ presence.

For more information regarding branding your business on Google+ for business contact me at db@davidbadajoz.com or visit www.davidbadajoz.com.

Optimizng PDF's for SEO

 

The debate rages on about whether or not your marketing content such as ebooks and webinars should be gated behind lead-capture forms. However, there is plenty of content such as case studies, FAQs, fact sheets, and brochures that aren't very suitable for lead generation and can benefit from being ungated and readily available in organic search.

This type of content is frequently published in PDF form, and as an important part of your inbound marketing strategy, it should get the same SEO treatment as everything else you publish. The next time you're ready to release new PDFs out into the world, follow these 5 steps to quickly optimize them before you publish to ensure crawlers can find and index them for searchers.

01. Create your PDF in a text-based program.

When you use Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat, crawlers can read and index the content.

02. Follow SEO best practices when writing your content.

Optimize your content as you would any other content for your site. Use relevant keywords in your content, H1 and H2 tags in the copy, and make sure your images include alt tags.

03. Crawlers can read links in a PDF, too.

Build in links to relevant pages on your website so readers can get back to your site from the PDF. This is particularly important if your PDF is shared via email or social networks, as those readers may not have been to your site before.

04. Save the file as a PDF with a relevant file name.

For example, my PDF on vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes would be called Vegetarian-Thanksgiving-Recipes.pdf. This will also help users identify the content of the PDF if they share it with others or save it for later use.


05. Find popular pages on your site.

Once you click OK, publish your PDF to pages on your site that are frequently crawled so it's easier for search engines to find and index the PDF.


Pretty easy, right? Optimizing PDFs is a quick, simple step you can take to make content like case studies, fact sheets, brochures, product overviews, and other valuable content assets more search engine-friendly.

HubSpot

For more information regarding SEO campaigns contact me at db@davidbadajoz.com or visit www.davidbadajoz.com.

Daft Punk Coca Cola Box Set

After the Daft Punk inspired Club Coke 2011 bottles launched earlier this year, here is the official Daft Punk x Coca Cola collaboration bottles.
The classic Coke glass bottle comes with gold and silver Coca-Cola logo application and matching Daft Punk bottle crown sitting on top.
The silver one is actually 925 silver and the gold one features 18k yellow gold. Hand finished the bottles are sitting in a box designed by Daft Punk.

 

The signed box set is limited to only 20 sets worldwide. You can enter to win a box set, which is signed by the artists, at www.daftcoke.com.

 

The Story Behind Ferrari's Famed Prancing Horse Logo

Ferrari has one of the most recognizable logos in the world, a mark that today would precede from endless market research and hundreds of iterations dreamed up by some savvy corporate-branding agency. The genesis of Ferrari’s leaping black stallion, though, was distinctly more spontaneous, as this fascinating video from the Italian carmaker reveals:

According to Ferrari, Papà Enzo took the logo from an image of a red horse painted on the fuselage of Count Francesco Baracca, an ace pilot in the Italian air force and a World War I hero. Apparently, Enzo only ever spoke of the logo’s provenance once. And this is what he had to say:

"In ‘23, I met Count Enrico Baracca, the hero’s father and then his mother, Countess Paolina, who said to me one day, ‘Ferrari, put my son’s prancing horse on your cars. It will bring you good luck.’ The horse was, and still is, black. And I added the canary-yellow background, which is the color of Modena (Enzo’s birthplace)."


What the film leaves out - and what Wikipedia filled in - is that Francesco Baracca died in action, possibly after his airplane got shot by ground troops and crashed in a fiery mess. The reason Ferrari's horse is black, not red, is because it was meant to be a symbol of mourning for the fallen pilot. It’s a touching detail, but one that the big PR machine of modern-day Ferrari chose to omit. Guess they don’t want anyone to hear Ferrari and think “death by burning vehicle.”


For more information regarding professional identity campaigns contact me at db@davidbadajoz.com or visit www.davidbadajoz.com.

Ferrari's World Design Contest 2011

First Prize:
'Eternità' by Kim Cheong Ju, Ahn Dre and Lee Sahngseok from the Hongik University, Seoul


Ferrari World Design Contest is a competition - launched by the marque from Maranello in collaboration with Autodesk, the project's technical partner and official sponsor – for schools and universities from the automotive and design sectors in Italy and abroad to create the Ferrari of the future.

The participants are asked to create a pure hypercar with technology and materials from the latest generation, a car with an extreme architecture, while functional under every aspect. The contest runs until July 2011. The jury, under the presidency of Luca di Montezemolo, will award an internship at Ferrari's Centro Stile, lead by Flavio Manzoni, to the first and second placed participants as well as monetary prizes.

Second Prize:
'Xezri' by Samir Sadikhov from IED Turin, Italy

Third Prize:
'Cavallo Bianco' by Henry Cloke and Qi Haitao, from the Royal College of Art, UK

'Ferrari Achilleo' by Jose Casas, from the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, USA

'F80' by Jae Han Song, from the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, USA

Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries - including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects - use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com

Autodesk Education Initiatives

Autodesk wants students of all ages to imagine, design and create a better world. By partnering with academic leaders and institutions, Autodesk is helping educators to build skills and engagement, both in and out of the classroom, in order to prepare for successful careers in architecture, engineering, and digital arts. Autodesk offers the technology and learning resources that inspire the next generation of professionals, while providing institutions with educational pricing, training, curricula and community resources. For more information about Autodesk education programs and solutions, visit www.autodesk.com/education.

10 Social Media Mistakes Small Businesses Can Avoid

No. 01: Not Having a Plan

Even though many social media applications are free, they still cost small businesses time – and time equals money. To avoid wasting valuable time and money, start by putting together a social media marketing plan. Ask yourself what you hope to achieve from social media and how you plan to get there. Determine the amount of time and resources you are willing to devote to the program.  Once you have a plan in place, it will be easier to focus on achieving the results you want. 


No. 02: Too Much Too Soon

After establishing a plan, often small business owners jump into all aspects of the social space at once. This can be a huge mistake because it’s easy to get overwhelmed very quickly.  Not all social networks make sense for every business or business owner. Do some research to determine which platforms best fit your business goals. What sites are your competitors and customers on? Consider starting with a platform you are familiar with and that you already have established network on. 


No. 03: Not Measuring Your Success and Return on Investment

As a small business, you have limited time and resources, so it’s important to measure every aspect of your business to be sure it’s worth the investment. A social media program is no exception. Make sure you set goals for your program and that you have ways to monitor these. Most social media applications have some type of analytics associated with their platforms, as well as help sections that explain how to use the tools. 


No. 04: Underutilizing Social Platforms for Branding

Every social media platform includes multiple fields for businesses to insert their brand messages and images. Many small business owners will leave multiple fields on their profiles blank. This is a big mistake. Your company information, logo, and any other links or images on your profile are the sales tools you have to pique a potential customer’s interest in your business.  If your profile is half complete it reflects poorly on your company. Plus, the more complete the information is on your social profile, the more likely you are to be found in search results. 


No. 05: Promoting Without Listening or Engaging

Have you ever been to a party and met someone who constantly talked about themselves? It’s a real turn off. Social media is very similar; if you constantly talk about your business and what your business offers without listening or engaging with others, your network will fall flat.  Don’t be afraid to jump into conversations with new people or to ask questions. Likewise, if someone asks you a question or makes a comment to you, make sure you respond. 


No. 06: Not Addressing Negative Comments or Feedback

Occasionally, business owners will have disgruntled customers and clients who post negative messages about their business or services. The initial reaction is to immediately delete the post. Do not do this! Social media is based upon transparency and authenticity. When you delete a post, you indicate to others that you are uncomfortable with what your brand is doing or represents. Instead of deleting the post, face it head-on and fully address the concern. Dealing with it will earn you more brand loyalty than you had before. Remember, these are the people who essentially pay your bills; if you believe in your product and service; you have nothing to hide from them. 


No. 07: Not Claiming Existing Profiles

Did you know that a lot of your company information is a matter of public record? This means that regardless if you want to be involved socially or not, your company might already be. Services such as Google Places and Yelp may list information about your company whether you’ve created a profile or not. Don’t feel violated or angry; use this as an opportunity to expand your Web presence. All of these services give you the option to control what’s shown about your company and how it’s shown. Claim all of the profiles that mention your company and update the information. Be consistent on each network so the same information is listed. 


No. 08: Skimping on Time

Building an online presence takes time. If you are truly interested in expanding your network online, you need to be prepared to put in the time. For your social media marketing plan to succeed, it’s crucial that you consistently interact online; even if it’s just 10 minutes a day. If you can’t put in the time, it’s best not to start. 


No. 09: Lacking Passion

Social media marketing requires passion to be successful. As the owner, you know your brand better than anyone else, but if you aren’t passionate about interacting online, your social media efforts won’t work. If you have the resources, consider having one of your employees or an intern run the program. Social media can make a big impact on your business, but (like anything) you need to have a certain level of interest and passion to make it successful. 


No. 10: Not Knowing When Social Media Isn’t Right for Your Business

Just because lots of businesses are using social, doesn’t mean you have to. For many small businesses, social media isn’t the right outlet, and you can waste a lot of time on it. If you decide social isn’t your forte, that’s fine. At the very least, make sure you heed the advice in Mistake No. 07.

Social media marketing can do amazing things for small businesses, but only if it is utilized properly. Whether you like it or not, your brand is online, so even if you aren’t ready to create a full social media program, you should at the very least make sure you take control of sites you are already listed on.

Written by Pamela Springer


For more information regarding Organic SEO campaigns and social media contact me at db@davidbadajoz.com or visit www.davidbadajoz.com.