Image by Mike Rohde via Flickr

We consult with clients all the time on optimizing their web sites, creating new and fresh content and tips on making their web sites “sticky” and encouraging visitors to return to them time and time again. One of the best ways to accomplish all of these goals is to write a blog.

I know, you just asked yourself what in the world you have to write about. And, how will you ever find time to write a blog? Well, it’s truly as easy as this blog post by Jim Osterman makes it out to be. Just write it.

Sure, you’re first few posts may be short. They may not offer a lot of depthor comment-inspiring content, but they are a start. And, once you begin to blog, it will become easier and easier. You’ll then start reading other blogs; you’ll find out what others in your industry are saying; and then you can write about or disagree with their ideas. Other blogs are a great way to find inspiration, and there’s no easier way to find content and writing ideas. Before you know it, people will be visiting your site to see what you’re writing and reading about. They will see you as a leader in your industry.

So take our advice, and that of Jim Osterman. Just write!

Now that you’re ready to blog, read more blog tips:

Related articles:

• The 3 Main Pillars Of Blogging (shoutmeloud.com)
• The Benefits Of Business Blogging (slideshare.net)

I’ve been a busy bee!

Wow, I didn’t realize how much of a slacker I’ve been at getting something out here lately.  With everything else going on lately, the blog has definitely fallen down on the list of priorities.

To recap:  we’ve had some smashing victories in February.  Valeo inked our deal with Boom, LLC and have begun production on a new LMS system that is going to be revolutionary.  We’re all very excited about this, becuase it represents some of the most cutting edge work that we’ve ever been able to take on.   I have to imagine that any of our (at least local) competitors would be crushed by a project of this magnitude- 2000 hours of development time to be delivered for an August 1 go-live (that’s a 6 month turnaround!).   The ideas are flying like crazy around the office, and working on the UI/UX (user interface/user experience) for this project has everyone here really excited!  More to come on that down the road.  As soon as we get past the initial UI designs we’ll begin work on the demo commercial that will be showcased on the site and in our other marketing efforts.  This project is going to be the JAM!

We’ve also had some victories internally on completing some processes that were long overdue, and we’ve had a promotion!  Matt Mauck has been promoted to his new position that is going to give him more responsibility and will put him in a role that entails more client/dev team interaction.  Its time for me to step into a more passive project management role as I’ve been busy on my own.

I had several proposals for some meaty projects to get out this week, so that has been a struggle to fit into the schedule along with my presentation that I had to get done for the Sales & Marketing Society on ROI Marketing for your business:  driving top-line growth through your website. As soon as I can, I’ll get that up on here since I know several of you who attended were requesting a copy of the PowerPoint.

That lecture was also a success – I had a lot of fun with it, and have subsequently been asked to join the Sales & Marketing Society as a board member to fill a position that is being created for me: director of social media.  I’m thrilled to be asked to join this organization and I’m excited about what I can bring to the board in the coming year.   In similar news, I was accepted as a Fellow into the 2009/2010 class of the Leadership Academy.  This is an amazing opportunity and I’m so honored to be chosen.  I think that is going to teach me a lot about being a leader in our organization, as well as in the community.

Some of you may be aware, but community support is very dear to me- which is why I founded the MemphisCares.US program.  Unfortunately, running a business and trying to get a community support program off the ground at the same time in a down economy has been difficult, but I refuse to give up because I believe that we have a responsibility to give back.  I hope to learn how to more effectively do that through the Leadership Academy.

I’ve been talking to some people about getting a new marketing/PR person to come into the organization and help us continue to grow, and I think that the time for that is drawing near.  Hopefully sooner than later- I need a break and some help would hopefully do that for me!  If you’re a local and you know of anyone who would be a good fit for what we do then please contact us!

I will get back to the blog soon, I promise.  I have scores of great content that I want to get out to you- just finding the time is tough sometimes. I know every person reading this can relate!  For the moment- this is my blog post, read me search engines.  I think I used a keyword or two in here =)

If you’re like me (and 90% of other people out there) and you don’t have your entire day to play with social media sites and read blogs so you need to maximize your time online and still find and digest large amounts of information that is relative to you or your business.

One of the problems that I come across is just the amount of time that it takes to find the great blogs to follow. Weeding out the ones that are irrelevant or a waste of time can be a time-consuming and frustrating process, so you need some help.

A cool tool that I came across is called Toluu which let’s you add a feed that you like, and it will find the best results for other, similar blogs. Unfortunately, you have to get invited at this point- they are trying to control the number of registrations so that they don’t overload their system, but that’s how Gmail started out and it won’t last long if they keep up the good work. You can check the site out and request an invite and they will send you one when they have the capacity.

I think this marks the beginning of yet another new breed of web based applications and SaaS (Software as a Service) that will cater to the exponentially growing number of blogs and other social media content that exists. To see a really cool video of the times we live in and how quickly our world is both shrinking and expanding then see our post from a couple of weeks ago about The Speed of Things

The first time I wrote about a three-step process for organizations to participate in social media was in February of 2007. While my thinking on how it works has gotten much more complex over time, it still is a simple framework by which a company can start think about social media strategy.

I would love to hear what others think each of these steps should entail. What does it mean to listen? How can you participate? What can a company do to contribute?

I will be covering these concepts and more at my upcoming half-day seminar at the PRSA International Conference in Detroit, Building Integrated Social Media Campaigns: How to Leverage New Media in Existing Communication Plans. I will also be doing a master class on the Strategist and Social Media during the conference itself, so your advanced input is welcome. [From Three Steps: How Companies Can Participate Successfully in Social Media]

Are bloggers members of the “media?” That’s a tough question.

The blogging trend is still fairly new (in the grand scheme), and bloggers are as often considered “snarks in bunnyslippers” as they are legitimate information sources. In a recent tweet, Paul Gillin (who has the credentials to know) made a compelling distinction: “Most bloggers know more about a topic than reporters, who switch beats all the time. Reporters are resourceful; bloggers are knowledgeable.”

Geoff Livingston agreed: “Bloggers are not media, and should be treated differently. Different goals, readership, rules.”

In other words: the question of whether bloggers are media is moot.

Bloggers are DIFFERENT from the mainstream media. They are smart, expert, passionate, independent, talented, and cantankerous. They have their own agenda, whereas journalists (while they share many of the traits listed above) are beholden to a publisher’s agenda.

More to the point: whatever else ya call them, bloggers are influential.

We’ve evolved (quickly!) from a situation in which the mainstream media complained about having their content “scavenged” by bloggers, to an era in which reporters look to the blogosphere to vet the facts, themes & memes of their own prospective stories.

A so-called “hit” in a blog is often as valuable as a “hit” in a mainstream publication. (In fact, we recently placed a client story in a national morning show AND in the Perez Hilton blog, and consumer response to the latter outstripped traffic gains from the “big” hit in the mainstream outlet!)

So – no, most bloggers are not media. (I would argue, however, that blogs like TechCrunch, Huffington Post, etc. do meet that gold standard.) But, they are just as important as media. From PR pros, bloggers deserve and require different approaches that are more creative and respectful than anything that’s gone before.
The most common area where this “bloggers as media” question comes up is at trade shows. Do you give ‘em a press badge?

Yea, you set some minimum requirements for longevity and authority, but you do give them a press badge. They have knowledge, enthusiasm, a publication (of sorts) and readers. Those characteristics alone may not make them “press” in the traditional sense, but these are untraditional times: rather than penalize someone for not fitting established norms, why not encourage their passion and creativity, which only help promote the industry and the event?

Are bloggers media? Maybe not. Maybe they’re better. [From Are Bloggers "Media?"]

I attended a Small Business Chamber function tonight and met some interesting new people.  What’s more interesting to me, though, is how few people that I come into contact with are making any kind of effort in regards to their online marketing.

It’s easy to understand why a start-up would not rank their Internet marketing efforts as an absolute necessity:  budget and time constraints are typically pretty obvious reasons.  I think the other main reason that I seem to pick up again and again is that there are so many people out there who simply do not understand what it takes to market their business online, and they don’t have anyone to explain it to them.

I believe that so many of these individuals wish they could “harness the power of the internet” and turn their organization into an online marketing juggernaut that realized dreams of enormous profits and growth, but it is almost like these people put that in the same category as winning the lottery as far as the liklihood that it can happen.

This is so unusual considering how tonight i spoke to 2 different business owners who are each in a very unique, niche industry which would offer tremendous opportunity for growth online.  Of course, that’s what I’m here to help them with but I just find it odd that in today’s web-driven world that there are still so many out there who feel that successful online marketing is like Sasquatch or the Holy Grail.

Not true, people!  I’m here to tell you that you, yes YOU, can be successful at marketing online.

For some, that is going to require a healthy marketing budget, patience, and a lot of luck due to the incredible competition out there.  For others who are in some niche industries that have yet to really jump in and start marketing online this can be accomplished with a relatively small budget and a modest investment of your time.  That’s one of the points that I mentioned several times over the course of the evening- that even if you don’t have the budget to implement a full-blown and comprehensive e-marketing strategy then you can still do things on your own time to increase awareness of your product by simple and effective means such as…. BLOGGING!

I suppose, at this point, it would be wise to point out my own shortcomings in this regard but I must reiterate something that I have been told incessantly throughout my life:  “do as I say, not as I do”!

If I could convince each of our clients to start blogging away about their business, market, or industry then that could do wonders for what we are trying to accomplish for them.  Something for you to think about!

Well I suppose it’s time that I finally start practicing what I preach and get a blog started.  How many times I’ve belabored the point that blogging is an important part of how you position your organization online, as well as an important part of good organic SEO. So let’s talk a little bit about why I would mention that to our clients and let that lead us into who we are.

I am the Managing Project Director at Valeo Design & Marketing, Inc. which is a Memphis, TN based Internet markeitng agency.  We are one of the few firms in our area that offer such a comprehensive array of services designed to drive traffic and increase conversions for our clients’ sites as well as providing web design and development services to exceed every need.

This company started for one reason:  because there is a lack of people out there who understand what it takes to meld the business sense that it takes to grow a business with the technical savvy that it takes to actually pull it off.  And, of course, we try to throw in a just a little bit of ’sizzle’ just for good measure and to make our clients stand out.  Which actually leads us to our company motto:  “Stand Out Among Millions”

In this uber-competitive landscape where everyone online is competing for first place in the largest marketplace that has every existed, we understand what it takes to succeed online and we have the vision and the resources to make you stand out among millions on the Internet.  If you even want to find out more then check out our site at www.valeomarketing.com

If this were a whitepaper then I would say that over the course of this, I plan to cover the following topics….  but that is not really the reason for this blog at all!  I plan only to journal my thoughts and experiences as the Managing Project Director for an Internet marketing firm and talk about what that means in regards to new ways to think about your approach to marketing our business online.  So pay attention because I’m certain that you’ll be able to learn something; I know I am and will!