Google loves YouTube. That's something to keep in mind

September 12, 2016
YouTube is a fantastic platform, and one that's often overlooked. Perhaps that's because people tend to think that they need to have slick promotional videos up there, which would of course be expensive and time consuming to create. But they don't have to be big productions to work. You can very quickly and easily put very shareable nuggets of content up there that you record on your smartphone and upload straight away.

The other advantage is that Google loves YouTube. And the video sharing site is the world's second most popular search engine in its own right anyway.

I was reminded of this recently a couple of times. Being a blogger in various niches, my name along with the word "blog" does get enough Google searches per month to appear in the drop down menu . Of course my main blog, which has been going for years and has hundreds of posts on it, does rank highly for this.


But what I noticed was that a YouTube channel that I had just created for this blog also ended up on page one for this search, at the bottom. And it's only got one short video up there so far.

Now, obviously that's not a highly competitive term. But it's not like there's no competition at all, either. I do have several blogs, and there's that famous cricketer who shares my name also. 

So, the fact that it appeared so quickly there was a not insignificant sign of the value that Google gives to video content, particularly on that platform.

A similar thing happened with the channel I created for this site. I uploaded one video to it as I was doing a flyer drop in Vaucluse. That now appears on page six or seven, I think, for searches for "flyer distribution Sydney". Now, that's a long way down the list, of course. But that is a competitive, commercially oriented search term. So, the fact that a little 2 minute video is ranking above some dedicated websites for it says something, surely.
 

How to use Facebook to build targeted blog traffic

August 3, 2016
There are many ways to use Facebook to get traffic to your blog posts. For example, you can join a whole slew of blog marketing groups and share your latest work. Every now and then you'll get clicks coming through. And given that these groups are also full of other bloggers, you may end up getting the odd backlink from one or more of them, which is still valuable for SEO.

Needless to say you should build up a following on your own Facebook page for your blog, and share the links there. Somet...
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In online marketing emotions are powerful. Fear can be a big obstacle

July 22, 2016
I'm accumulating more and more knowledge of how newbies perceive online marketing (especially using social media) by offering lessons to Sydneysiders. And I keep coming to the conclusion that the biggest blocks to success in this field are emotional.

Clearly, before they have any experience of this method of promotion, many people think that it is primarily a technical process. But while it obviously requires stunningly advanced technology, in the end it's still used by people. (This is partic...
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Customs House Library is another one with good free wifi

June 27, 2016
Customs House library just opposite Circular Quay is another good library. Surprisingly spacious, it covers three floors. Best of all is a separate quiet room. And people really are quiet there!

This is something old fogeys like myself really appreciate. In the past people used to be quiet right throughout a library. But now, it seems pretty much accepted that you can happily talk inside a library at the same volume you do outside.

So, it's great when you actually find a place where people are ...
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Facebook marketing tip: Think of your page as an online cafe

June 19, 2016
One thing that really stands out on Facebook is how good cafes and pubs are at using it to market themselves. I think this is because they know the value of emotion. Their business depends on making people feel welcome, after all. So they find out how to do that with their FB pages as well. 

So learn from them and think of your page as an online cafe. Be welcoming with it. Give it a warm atmosphere. The visual appeal of it is of course a factor here. So uploading appealing photos of your offic...
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Rise of emojis, Facebook video confirm power of visuals in marketing

June 19, 2016
I posted earlier about the intriguing rise in emoji marketing that's been happening lately. This clearly isn't just a passing fad, as I'm sure some would have suspected. It's actually starting to become a marketing genre in its own right.

Confirmation of this is the fact that Twitter will soon enable advertisers to target people according to their emoji use when creating campaigns

This says a lot about the power of visuals in marketing. And the reason visuals are powerful is because they conv...
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Local Facebook marketing tip: Engage with pages managed in-house

June 12, 2016
Without a doubt one of the best ways to build up a quality Facebook page following is to use it to engage with other local pages. If you keep liking and commenting the updates of popular pages in your area -- such as news outlets -- your page will be seen by many locals, some of whom are sure to like it. So this is definitely worth doing. 

However, it's best not to put all your effort into the popular local pages. It's also worth engaging with those of smaller businesses in your area. And whil...
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A Facebook page like is valuable, but it is just the start

June 9, 2016
Facebook page likes are certainly important. They are tangible, social proof that people have a positive view of your page's content and want to see more of it. So, obviously you'll want to amass as many of them as possible. 

But they must be genuine, resulting from users' organic interaction with your content and offered freely. Otherwise they are pretty much meaningless. (That's why you should never buy likes in bulk. These may be from real people. But they have no real desire to engage with...
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YouTube tip: Keep your video camera with you at all times

April 27, 2016
Now, I know that if you've got a smart phone, which many people have, you're doing what I recommend here already, since they've all got video cameras built in. Still, if you prefer to use a standalone camera to make YouTube videos with (as I do -- dinosaur that I am!) it's a good idea to get into the habit of keeping it in your pocket or bag. 

That's because you just never know when you'll see something useful, interesting, or amusing that you can capture and upload. Being prepared to record s...
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Some social media companies show little engagement themselves

April 12, 2016
One idea that is often repeated in relation to social media marketing is the importance of engagement. It's definitely a bit of a buzzword. Of course, they do tend to be overused. But not in this case. Engagement really is crucial. The whole point of using Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and the like is to start up and maintain conversations -- to engage with others.

Unfortunately there's a widespread belief that you can employ social media marketing and avoid that particular element! It's seen as...
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