Just about everyone and their mother (especially mothers) is on Pinterest these days, and we can’t blame them: it is a really cool resource for finding the very best ideas, inspiration, and all around neat stuff. So we are not at all surprised to find out that colleges and college students are joining in on the fun, too.

Many colleges and universities have jumped on Pinterest to create their own boards for prospective and current students, alumni, and other interested parties, and lots of them are doing a really great job. From game day fashion to alumni baby photos, college pinboards are full of some really fun and useful stuff. Read on, and we’ll share 20 of the college Pinterest boards that we’re most impressed with.

1. Adorable bulldogs

Drake University is doing great things with their Pinterest account, including Celebrate Drake, Study Abroad, Ultimate Fan, and Bulldogs Without Borders boards that are truly outstanding. Our personal favorite is one that highlights photos of bulldogs, Drake’s official mascot. This is a really fun and lighthearted way to bring school spirit to Pinterest.

2. Future Aggies

We’re big fans of the way that Texas A&M makes being an Aggie a family affair. In their Future Aggies Pinterest board, TAMU shares cute clothes, baby photos, and a celebration of everything that Texas A&M kids might like.

3. Famous Maryland Alumni

The University of Maryland makes their educational value stand out by highlighting alumni that have gone on to make it big. The school boasts graduates including Google’s Sergey Brin, Connie Chung, and Jim Henson, fun facts that we were oblivious to before Pinterest.

4. Eat for $5

Obviously catering to the poor college crowd, Multnomah University’s Eat for $5 Pinterest Board shares great eats that students can pick up for a fiver or less. Have a little more wiggle room? They’ve got a board for $10 meals and even $10 Portland activities.

5. Bikes & Bike Style

On the bike-friendly campus of Oberlin College, two-wheeled love doesn’t stop on the bike paths: it goes on Pinterest, too. Cool bikes, inspiring bike style photos, and even great ideas for never losing your bike key again are available through this college pinboard.

6. Flip Flops & Long Boards-Campus Style

California Baptist University embraces California style in this pinboard. Check out Flip Flops & Long Boards to find cool dorm ideas, shoe styles, and even rad skateboard designs.

7. Weekend Adventures

Stockton College has found a great way to motivate students, highlighting awesome adventures that they can look forward to each weekend. With a location that puts students close to the beach, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, and even New York City, Stockton’s collection of weekend adventures on Pinterest is impressive.

8. The Treasures of Yale

On Pinterest, Yale is able to highlight some of the most amazing artifacts in the university’s collection, posting videos in The Treasures of Yale. This video series and Pinterest board goes in depth to explore arts, humanities, and science treasures from Yale, including rare paintings and art pieces.

9. Nowhere Like Here

In this Pinboard, Bennington College does a great job of highlighting what makes their school unique. Photos of interesting spots on campus, unique activities, Bennington-only moments, and cool projects make this college look like a place you want to be.

10. William Woods, the man

Dedicated to the namesake of William Woods University, this Pinterest board has photos of Dr. William Stone Woods, as well as photos of his gravesite. We really enjoy the way that William Woods University celebrates its heritage here on Pinterest.

11. Global Like No Other

Although some colleges might say they offer a global education, Concordia College really backs it up with this Pinterest board. Through links, photos, and stories, the Global Like No Other board from Concordia offers extensive proof of why this school regularly ranks among the top 15 colleges in the country for global study.

12. Historic Boston

As a women-centered university located in Boston, Simmons College has a lot to offer when it comes to the history of the city. Old photos, maps, and historic architectural projects can be found in the college’s Historic Boston pinboard.

13. Jobs, Careers, & Internships

We’d like to see Folsom Lake College really explore all that Pinterest has to offer, but their Jobs, Careers, & Internships pinboard is off to a great start. Sharing relevant articles, news, and even the latest job openings, Folsom’s pinboard is a great resource for students to check out.

14. True love

Sometimes, true love happens on a college campus. This is evident at Illinois College, and they’ve dedicated an entire pinboard to highlighting Illinois College sweethearts, married couples who met and developed their relationships at the college. Newlyweds, families, and old married couples contribute to this pinboard’s warm and fuzzy feeling.

15. People of Elizabethtown College

Just who makes up Elizabethtown College? This pinboard offers an answer, sharing links to stories about students, alumni, faculty, staff, and others in the Elizabethtown community. We love how Elizabethtown offers this pinboard to help outsiders get an idea of what the college is all about.

16. Things to do at Carleton

We’re sure there’s no shortage of things to do at Carleton University, and this pinboard does a great job of pointing out several of the fun activities that the school has to offer. Through Things to do at Carleton, students and other interested parties can learn about art galleries, talent events, a butterfly exhibit, and even a magic show.

17. Maymester Destinations

Students at Piedmont College enjoy the opportunity to participate in a “Maymester” travel abroad experience, and the college highlights some of the possibilities in their Maymester Destinations pinboard. We’re impressed with how the college has found breathtaking photos of several different European, South American, and Asian locations, enticing students to take advantage of this great program.

18. Creative Thought Matters

As a college with a reputation for creativity, Skidmore College is staying true to its roots with a pinboard dedicated to creative thought. This collection of pins shares interesting exhibits, projects, and social proof that Skidmore is a hub of young creativity.

19. Major Profiles

Before actually heading off to college and choosing a major, it can be difficult for some students to imagine what their life might be like. With the Major Profiles pinboard, Hanover College allows prospective students to understand more about where various major paths can take them, relying on the experiences and firsthand accounts of actual Hanover students.

20. FC Traditions

Every campus loves to celebrate its historic traditions, and Franklin College is no exception. On the FC Traditions pinboard, visitors can check out fun activities like Grizzly Grandparents, fall tailgating, and the homecoming privy burn.

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20 Interesting Ways Colleges are Using Pinterest

A client and I were Skyping this week and the topic inevitably turned to Google Penguin and the impending doom of link building *tactics*.

This particular client has been having issues with rogue affiliates setting up fake link networks in order to boost their sales for my client’s products. Despite repeated warnings and/or promises to clean up their act, some of these affiliates have continued using dodgy practices for years, managing somehow to avoid Panda, Panda II and even Panda III. But their house of cards came tumbling down with the implementation of Penguin and with it went over 30 percent of my client’s traffic.

The problem is that, ultimately, my client has NO CONTROL over the tactics used by persons linking to their site. If they spot dodgy tactics being used, my client can alert or even ban the offending affiliate, but what of all the affiliates spamming under the radar? All the education in the world isn’t going to stop spammers using whatever tactics they can if they are rewarded for those tactics in cold hard cash. And who can blame them?

This is inherently the problem I have with Google at the moment. They still claim it isn’t possible for spammers to hurt innocent sites using SEO spam but guess what? There are many, many examples of exactly that happening. Heck, this guy is offering a $10,000 reward to find the persons responsible for link bombing his site. Do you think he’d offer cash if the issue wasn’t crippling his business? There are even public projects set up encouraging people to use SEO spam in order to influence the Google SERPs in a positive or negative way for political purposes. And what about super competitive industries like the PPCs – porn, pills and casinos? I can assure you that competitor sabotage is alive and well and flying business class.

Now I understand that Google are concerned enough about the issue to roll out updates like Penguin to try and punish persons using obvious SEO spam. Comment spam is evil! they warn. Artificial backlinks are evil! they say. Use of these tactics is a violation of our guidelines! But don’t be alarmed if others build backlinks to your site. Just concentrate on making your site the best that it can be.

Why or why do they keep insisting that competitors can’t harm your site using those same methods? Asked the question, Can competitors harm your ranking?, this was Google’s reply:

Google works hard to prevent other webmasters from being able to harm your ranking or have your site removed from our index. If you’re concerned about another site linking to yours, we suggest contacting the webmaster of the site in question. Google aggregates and organizes information published on the web; we don’t control the content of these pages.

I look at these posts and this is what I’m hearing:

“Don’t be evil. Don’t do this, this or this. Doesn’t matter if your competitor tries that, they can’t hurt you. Oh look at these naughty spammers ruining your SERPs. We’ve got an update to fix that. What? Your legitimate site was smacked down? Not our problem. Don’t be evil.”

Well Google may not want to admit it but here it is: Competitors CAN harm your Google ranking. Of course they can.

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Can Competitors Harm Your Google Ranking? – A SPN Exclusive Article

Promoting a business can be extremely taxing, especially when you’re just getting started. If you’re into checking out marketing blogs, you’ve probably come across some information about YouTube marketing. This form of advertising falls under the umbrella of video advertising, which falls under the even larger umbrella of Internet marketing. Take a look at some specifics of this business strategy to deepen your understanding about its importance and utilize it to help popularize your products or services.

Why Online Video Advertising?

Video marketing is one of the leading advertising platforms on the Internet. People of all ages and from different backgrounds are taking advantage of this promotional opportunity in an effort to maximize the visibility of their business. It falls under the concept of showing rather than telling and continues to draw an abundance of viewers if done correctly. There are several types of video marketing. The primary kinds include article video marketing, viral video marketing and social video marketing. Individuals can utilize one or multiple forms according to their specific needs and intentions. If you’re not certain about how to implement videos, it’s a good idea to consult with a professional or consider audio production schools in your area that’ll provide thorough instruction:

Article Video Marketing

This type of video marketing typically interests those who prefer the less time-consuming practice of watching informational videos rather than reading articles. Video marketing involves businesses or individuals developing numerous short clips that display the contents of articles written beforehand. Most videos are between two and five minutes and cover a wide range of topics. After the videos are created, they’re uploaded onto popular video-sharing websites to target an audience.

Articles can be converted into videos in a number of ways. One of the most popular ways is to turn the written pieces into a PowerPoint presentation or animated slideshow. Pictures and a voiceover narration are usually added to the presentation before it’s recorded via screen capture software and put on the Internet for viewing pleasure. An alternative involves recording an article and saving it as an MP3 file. Afterwards, video layout software is used to change the audio to a video. The finished product is then exported and uploaded to relevant websites for exposure.

Viral Video Marketing

Another form of online video advertising is viral video marketing which contains humorous events, eyewitness incidents or clips from comedy sketches on television. Many clips are shot by amateurs on mobile devices and edited with the use of economical tools and software before being published on video sharing sites, social networking sites and personal websites.

Most viral videos are created as a dialogue and shared with the intention of entertaining family and friends, although many people use it as a way to engage prospective customers. This option has benefited word-of-mouth marketing and was preceded by email-sharing. These videos continue to increase in popularity in a variety of sectors, including education and music. However, fans of this concept must be careful not to violate copyright laws, as this has been a major downside to viral video-making and has been the result of several problems within the entertainment industry.

Social Video Marketing

This choice is equally significant. Social video marketing (SVM) is similar to viral video marketing in that it engages a wide audience through the distribution of video. However, the notion of self-expression tends to be more evident. This form of video marketing relies heavily on social theory, consumer culture theory, and economic theory.

SVM also intends to leave a deeper contextual message, rather than simply being a pass-along model between sender and recipient. In other words, a more individualistic approach is taken and the finished product tends to have more depth as it forms solid relationships and builds trust between publishers and viewers.

Introducing YouTube

Despite the kind of video marketing used, many advertisers can attest to the benefits of sharing their clips on YouTube. This video-sharing site attracts millions of visitors on a regular basis and contains a large host of products, including music videos, TV clips, movie clips, video blogs, and original clips. Although mostly individuals upload videos on the site, several major corporations have been known to make contributions as well.

Content is constantly investigated by YouTube’s employees. Explicit or offensive material can only be viewed by registered users. This group also has the privilege of uploading videos, as well as watching them. Unregistered users, on the other hand, solely have the right to view distributed clips.

Besides uploading, YouTube also contains other valuable features. Playback is a major attribute on the site and enables users to view finished products if an Adobe Flash Player plug-in is installed on their computer. Browsers that support specific HTML5 versions, such as advanced video coding and WebM, also afford individuals the opportunity to view videos, although some clips are still inaccessible with this alternative. Additional features include 3D videos, various platforms and a new localization system.

How it All Began

At the beginning of 2005, YouTube was established by three former PayPal employees. The entire concept of the video-sharing website was developed over the course of a few months and started out as a technology start-up company. Its headquarters were initially located in San Mateo, California.

After its inception, the site grew faster than anticipated. By the summer of 2006, it was reported that thousands of videos were being uploaded every day and millions of viewers were watching clips per day. Numbers continued to increase and moved into the billions by 2010. Since then, YouTube has embarked on several new concepts, such as the ability to upload full-length videos and the free streaming of specific content. A new design was also launched to provide additional benefits to users.

Today, YouTube is headquartered in San Bruno, California. After being acquired by Google, the Google+ social networking site was integrated with YouTube which allow the site’s videos to be viewed from Google’s interface. YouTube is a dominant force in the online business market in the United States and it also ranks relatively high in other regions, including the United Kingdom. As of 2012, more than 4 billion videos are streamed per day.

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All About YouTube Marketing

We are already seeing new trends and developments in social media this year with the significant growth in popularity of interest-based sites like Twitter and Pinterest. Consumer purchasing is moving towards, and becoming increasingly influenced by, websites and social sites that share people’s passions and interests as well as customer reviews of products and services.

These are the new frontiers for customer-engagement which are already affecting your business and which your PR and marketing strategy needs to prepare for and embrace.

1. More User Reviews and Ratings on Websites:

Reviews are becoming extremely influential in consumer purchasing decisions. Groups like TripAdvisor on which no hotelier wants to get on the wrong side, already have the capacity to make or break a business. The adage, ‘you’re only as good as your last job’ reflects how companies and service providers are increasingly being seen by the public. A bad review has significant commercial implications for the organization involved. The trend now is to gather as many ‘good reviews’, ratings and product endorsements as possible and post them where they can be seen on your website.

2. Information / Social Media Relevance:

With access to over 98,000 tweets, 695,000 Facebook status updates, 79,364 Facebook wall posts and 600 new YouTube videos uploaded every minute of the day (not to mention the average 147 daily emails we receive in a working day), consumers are clearly suffering from ‘white noise’ and information overload. What they want now is to be given the information they are interested in immediately or they’ll look elsewhere. The ability to match your business/product information with the right people is becoming
the major driver of success.

3. Social Reputation Management:

It’s staggering how many UK organizations don’t have a tried and tested crisis communications plan ready to deal with social media relations when disaster strikes. However, the recent example of the Costa Concordia cruise disaster has woken many up to doing something about it this year. The ship’s sinking and the incompetence of the captain has been widely broadcast, embarrassing and costing the Costa and Carnival brands dearly in terms of public confidence and also, the reputation of the cruise ship industry as a whole, forcing it to re-evaluate itself.

4. Social Media:

Social Media is having an increasing influence on search results. It’s already happening with search engines like Google crawling social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. This includes user generated reviews and ratings from social media consumer conversations.

5. Social Customer Relations Management (SCRM):

Truly customer-centric companies are recognizing that social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and social interest sites like Pinterest, are cost-effective and quick ways to ensure their customers always keep them ‘in sight’ and ‘in mind’. Social customer relations have become an integral part of their customer relationship management activities. This year, however, we’re going to see more social media ‘newbies’ catching-on and reaping the rewards.

6. Social and Website Competitions:

These have become a great way to make your company stand out from the crowd and drive people to your website and product offerings. The US and Canada do this very well and UK/European organizations are starting to pay attention and enjoy the benefits as well.

7. Do-It-Yourself TV:

Smartphones, tablets, YouTube and Skype which allow people to visually communicate and share information and experiences are starting to take-off in a big way and will need to become an integrated part of the ‘customer experience’.

8. Real-Time, Geo-Marketing Promotions:

More retailers and high street service providers will be starting to use geo-marketing techniques to connect to consumers shopping or visiting their neighborhood and offering deals and incentives directly to their mobile phones.

Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

Internet Trends That Will Affect Your Business This Year

As the new #3 social network, Pinterest’s growth is meteoric and previously unheard of. Businesses can’t get there fast enough. But how should they promote their products and services without offending the calm, grazing culture of window-shoppers delighting in gorgeous, lush photographs. It’s a challenge. Here are 5 thoughts to get you off on the right foot.

1. Use Pinterest to Demonstrate Your Authority

Pinterest offers an ideal opportunity to demonstrate your authority in an area you know well. By breaking up the topic into specific “boards” you can show what is important to know and illustrate accordingly. It won’t be long before your point of view becomes obvious and your expertise respected.

2. Create A Photo Contest Of Customers USING Your Product/Service

Since Pinterest is all visual, it is an ideal platform for a photo contest. We’ve all heard that before. The best way to use a photo contest is to have customers (and/or clients) using your product, happily and creatively! This way you are promoting your product, for sure, but in a more subtle way. You are also sharing other ideas on how your product can be enjoyed, and in the best way possible, getting a 3rd party endorsement. All of which is Marketing 101. This way it’s fun. Don’t forget to offer a really good prize, though, that fits in with what your clients would truly appreciate.

3. Think Shopping List

So, if you are a party supply store, you might want to offer a board for every party theme you offer. Then, within that board, put up pictures of each thing that the host will need. For example: invitations, plates and cups, table decor, thematics, games, goodie bags, etc.

Don’t forget to upload your pictures in reverse order, as Pinterest doesn’t yet allow us to edit our boards. The photo of the invitations, therefore, should be the last upload, and the goodie bags (the “lovely parting gifts”) first.

4. Deploying The Gift Feature To Get Listed Twice

When you add the $ sign into the comments section of your pin, a snipe (or banner) appears across the top left hand corner with that price on the photo. So two things to keep in mind here: #1 don’t put any text on an image you’re going to snipe and #2 once you have put a price on something, that item shows up in the Gift Section, in addition to whichever board you pinned it on. Good, eh? You get double the exposure.

5. Research What Your Customers Care About

How well do you know your customer? If you know their names you can look at what they’re up to on Pinterest and see what they appear to care about. What they love and pin; what comments they make on their friends’ pins. This tells you important information about your tribe. It tells you their inner dreams (hopes, perhaps) and current passions. You are now better able to present your product or service in a way that either solves a problem or offers a delicious alternative to something already in play. If you search with a #, Pinterest will return every pin that has been identified with that phrase. This is usually a good place to start.

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5 Creative Ways to Use Pinterest for Business

I have been doing this online marketing thing full-time for over 10 years. I have failed hundreds of times. One of the huge advantages of internet marketing over traditional offline marketing is that you have room to make mistakes since the entry cost to start a new venture is usually just web hosting, a domain name, and some time.

So, what have I learned in 10 years of trial and error (mostly error)? I make 90% of my money promoting my own products and services. Even the funky products which do not have the most professional of websites do better than most of my affiliate promotions. Can you make money with affiliate programs? Sure you can. I do it all the time. But do you know why I can make money from affiliate programs and most of you cannot?

I Am Able To Make Affiliate Commissions Because I Have Created My Own Products Which Generate Traffic And Lists
Because I have developed my own web properties (products themselves) which generate traffic and a list for me, I can then market a variety of quality products and services to this audience that can be either affiliate promotions or my own products. Which ones do I make the most money on? I make, by far, more money from my own products and services than with affiliate programs. I have been making money with some sites every day for over 10 years!

I Make 90% Of My Money Promoting My Own Products And Services
One of the services I provide is a classified ads submission service. The vast majority of the ads that I submit for people are business opportunity-type ads, which in themselves are affiliate programs. It is very rare that somebody is asking me to promote their own original product. The sites are all relatively the same, promising some variation on the theme of “make money do little or nothing.” “This is easy, no tech experience needed etc.” Basically broke wannabe internet marketers are trying to sell a business opportunity to other marketers who know very little – who then in turn will try to sell the same prepackaged, unoriginal biz opp to others.

I am not judging or criticizing anybody who is trying to sell business opportunities. I have tried with varying success to sell many myself. I am saying that if you are selling the same unoriginal product as everybody else you will generally have the same mediocre success. You need to think out of the box and come up with an original product or service to sell. You need an edge! You would be better off just selling a unique product off of some simple, easy-to-read website than trying to pump up another wannabe internet marketer with your self-replicated, selling-the-dream, type of website.

I Want You To Think Out Of The Box And Create Your Own Original Product Even If You Fail!
I used to practice grappling art of Judo. It is a very rough contact sport where you take lots of falls. My teacher would always say “I guarantee that you will get hurt doing Judo.” You see there is no money in this sport. So consequently there is no B.S. either. “It is tough, it hurts, and you will get hurt. Are you in or out?”

If You Try To Come Up With Original Products I Guarantee That It Will Require Thought, That You Will Have Problems And That You Will Most Likely Fail Many Times.
Yes, coming up with an original product or idea can take some effort but it is here that you will find your success not in being a sales person for somebody else. But the very fact that creating an original product takes effort and time, immediately eliminates competition that is too lazy to do the same. This is turn gives you an edge in the marketplace. Congratulations! You are moving up the food chain!

The Very Fact That Creating An Original Product Takes Time And Effort Immediately Eliminates Competition That Is Too Lazy To Do The Same. Congratulations! You Are Moving Up The Food Chain!
So what type of product or service to create? I suggest staying away for the saturated “biz opp” market. My girlfriend loves cats. I can’t stand them. Just for fun she started making these cat toys using wine corks and yarn and started bringing them to a shelter for the stray cats to play with. They loved these toys. She then brought a few to her hair dresser. Sold out! Now every time she gets her hair done she comes back with money. People love their cats and are willing to spend money on their toys. I am going to set up a website for her. I am actually starting to like cats!

You May Have Many Great Ideas Right In Front Of You
You may have many ideas for products and services that you could sell – right in front of you. Have you recently purchased a product or service that you were disappointed in? Maybe with a little research and help you could do a better job and/or even add an additional twist and sell this product or service yourself.

Have You Recently Purchased A Product That You Were Disappointed In? Ask Yourself The Question “How Can I Add More Value For The Consumer For This Product Or Service?”
Here are some more concrete ideas about products or services that you can sell relatively easily:

Software.
“Wait a second you say..I do not know anything about creating software.” Have you ever used software? Have you ever used software that you wished had additional features? Well, write those features down, head on over to Scriptlance.com or one of the many other freelance coding sites and hire a programmer to create your own original software that does exactly what you want it to do. You will be surprised how reasonable these software developers can be.

Software is a great product to sell because:

1. Software is almost 100% profit after you pay for the developing costs.

2. There are no delivery fees with software. Most software is instantly downloaded at no cost to you.

3. There are thousands of software directories where you can distribute your software. There is even automated software like Robosoft, which will automatically distribute your software for you to these directories.

4. There are many software affiliate networks where you can recruit affiliates to sell your software for you. Just a few are Clickbank.com, ShareA Sale, Regnow, and Avantgate.

Ebooks
Ebooks are becoming more and more popular with readers such as the Kindle. Do you have an area of expertise that you could write about? They key with ebooks is that they should solve a problem. Have you recently done some research to solve a problem online? Maybe there are many other people who need similar answers. Google the search terms and use Google keyword tool to see if there are other people looking to solve the same problems. Maybe you could put together a simple affordable guide and sell it as an ebook on Clickbank and/or on other ebook marketplaces. Here is an article on 18 places where you can sell your ebook.

Online Services For Local Businesses
If you are reading this article, chances are that you know 100 times more about online marketing than most local business owners. Google has recently made a huge push to go after the local advertising market because that is where the big money is. Why not come up with web promotion service that helps local businesses? How many local businesses have videos on YouTube that are poorly optimized, hardly distributed or are getting no views. Why not check out some of the video promotion services being offered and see if you can improve on what they are doing?

Think Out Of The Box. Even Get A Little Crazy If You Have To! Maybe You Have A Special Genius That Nobody Else Has!
If you look at the success of Apple it is based around innovative products. Maybe we do not have the genius of Steve Jobs but then again maybe you have a special genius that nobody else has. Let’s see what you got!

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If You Really Want To Make Money Online You Have To Create Your Own Products – A SPN Exclusive Article

One thing I have learned since I have been in internet marketing is that you have to “brand yourself” in order to become successful. Branding yourself means to make yourself stand out from the rest. Be the one people remember and go to when they need your products and/or services. Build your reputation as the go to person in your field.

Branding yourself will take work, time and commitment, but it is essential for your business success. Below are some things you can start doing to start the branding process.

1. Have a Motto - Choose a motto to live by personally and professionally. This will stick in people’s minds and help you focus as well. My motto is to treat others as I would want them to treat me. I try to live everyday by the Golden Rule!

2. Connect with People – Don’t just get through meetings, calls, appointments, etc. Take the time to really connect with the people you are talking to. Be open and listen intently to what others say. Make the time with you memorable and satisfactory so people will be sure to return.

3. Personalize – Anytime you send emails, postcards, letters or anything, make it personal. Use the person’s name to show them they are not just another number or sale to you. Send birthday and/or holiday greetings. People need to feel like people and not just a dollar sign!

4. Professional Networking - Join some good networking sites, groups and clubs. Make yourself available for advice, help, and guidance. Be sure to participate often.

5. Always Be Honest and Upfront – Be honest with people. Don’t use deceptive lines and tricks to get people to buy from you. Let people know, honestly, what you can do for them. If you cannot meet their needs, point them to someone who can. They will remember your willingness to help and come back to you when you can meet their needs.

6. Body Language – Using body language effectively can have a real impact on how people perceive you. Always make direct eye contact. Let your eyes show friendliness and interest. Use your eyebrows to show openness and understanding. Don’t scrunch them disapprovingly. Keep your brow relaxed. Smile and don’t purse your lips or tighten your mouth. Keep your arms unfolded and sit in a relaxed manner with good posture. Don’t slouch or fidget. The art of using proper body language is quite real so do some research and learn all you can.

7. Go the Extra Mile – Help people whenever you can even if you don’t see a sale happening. By offering extra help and support you are sending a message about what type of person you are and what kind of business you run.

8. Believe in Yourself - If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to. Always be positive in mind, spirit and attitude. Be professional, and always create a positive image as well. This will be a big factor in what people think of you.

9. Email and Phone Etiquette – Write your emails with proper spelling and grammar. Be courteous, friendly and helpful. Do not use offensive words or phrases. This goes for talking on the phone as well. Using vulgar, offensive or unprofessional language will definitely be something people will not forget!

10. Be Yourself – Don’t try to put on a façade. Relax and let the person know how unique and authentic you are.

Branding yourself will help build your business success, but it will help you in other ways as well. You will form lasting and beneficial relationships with others – both personally and professionally. You will learn more from the experiences of others and you will also learn more about yourself and how special and unique you really are. And that, my friend, could be the biggest reward of all!

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10 Ways to Brand Yourself for More Success

Then a few months ago, in response to an article here, a W3C Responsive Images Community Group formed—and proposed a simple-to-understand HTML picture element capable of serving responsive images. The group even delivered picture functionality to older browsers via two polyfills: namely, Scott Jehl’s Picturefill and Abban Dunne’s jQuery Picture. The WHATWG has responded by ignoring the community’s work on the picture element, and proposing a more complicated img set element.

Which proposed standard is better, and for whom? Which will win? And what can you do to help avert an “us versus them” crisis that could hurt end-users and turn developers off to the standards process? ALA’s own Mat Marquis explains the ins and outs of responsive images and web standards at the turning point.

On reviewing digital business trends this year, it was interesting to discover there are three main areas that could unalterably change the face of business communications, the very future of the internet and how we use it.

It was Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable, who wrote towards the end of last year that “the pace of change has become blisteringly fast, with traditional industries – bookstores, video-rental chains, newspapers – crumbling more quickly than we could have imagined and predicted.” Looking at the trends he predicted were to take shape in 2012, the first was that tablet computers such as the iPad will become replacements to desktop computing and that the mouse will soon be “superseded by touchscreens”.

Another development, embraced wholeheartedly by heavyweights such as IBM, concluded in its report that of 2,000 medium-sized companies it surveyed, two-thirds were planning or had already deployed cloud-based technologies and 70 percent of businesses are either using or investigating cloud computing solutions.

For the past six months we have been heavily involved in the production of a new website, VoIP4Cloud, that offers an advanced, feature-rich, cloud-based VoIP IP PBX Unified Communications system for progressive businesses. The site was released earlier this month. However, in developing the site, there were two concepts, relating to cloud computing and mobile apps, that we found were gaining real strength in the market and in business communications models.

There is another part to this triumvirate of change and that is email marketing. These days, it’s not just about sending endless newsletters to clients, who barely read the traditional tomes of self-congratulatory corporate-speak, but about the way it integrates with social media; an ideal and “compelling” medium on which companies can relay their “brand voice” on social networks.

These days it’s much more about personal connections and dialogue in communicating information that counts and companies at the forefront of email marketing have already recognised this and have moved forward in their communications strategies also.

Mailigen is one such company that has grown from a small business email marketing service into an international company, and accredited by TopSEOs as the fourth best email marketing company and sixth by TopTen Reviews.

This method of marketing opens another platform to connect and communicate with your customers, so as to integrate your marketing message via email, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs. This enables businesses to interact and engage their company or brand with their customers on different channels and by a variety of methods.

There are a huge number of media channels to exploit these days, from Pinterest to video, all with a different approach and style as to how the marketing message is portrayed. But to really gear ourselves up for the year ahead, it’s worth taking the time to look at how these trends will affect business and what our competitors may be doing to embrace these trends.

It’s a real shake-up in the manner in which businesses interact with their customers, which makes for very interesting times ahead for all.

In summary, digital business trends this year include:
•    Windows 8 is a complete re-imagining of Windows and the Metro interface takes a traditional Windows users into the realm of the mobile: instead of files and folders, there are touchable tiles that fire up your apps.
•    There have been a host of analyses recently that point out that cloud computing has taken a significant hold and that its efficiency and economies of scale means that companies are racing ahead in the cloud.
•    Social media integration provides an ideal and way for companies to convey their brand voice on many different platforms, with email marketing now part of the overall convergence of discourse between company and customer.

Brand Reputation Management is comprised of a professional team of writers, journalists and reputation management specialists with years of internet marketing experience.

Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

Digital business trends 2012

I’m sure by now you’ve heard all of the hoopla over Google’s recent Penguin Update. The forums are buzzing with SEO-ers up in arms over the carnage. Matt Cutts has been whisked away to an undisclosed location (not really) while Internet Marketers by the gigabyte are showing up at his front door with torches in hand looking for an explanation.

At least that’s what you might think if you were to read the forums. Believe it or not, there are plenty of people benefiting from the Penguin Update as well. It only makes sense. For every site that gets bounced off the page there is a new site replacing it. Yes, they are out there and they are quietly celebrating Google and their beloved little monochromatic friend. So, how can you be one of those celebrating? Easy, sort of. Here’s a little something to get you started.

Step 1: Stop Complaining

Let’s get this out in the open first and foremost. This most recent update to Google’s search engine algorithm is not perfect. That’s right. Google did not take the time to personally test all 88 billion possible searches that take place over the course of the month to make sure each one is ordered exactly as you would like. This was a sweeping change that touched pretty much every possible term searched. Of course, if you are going to cast out such a big net, you are bound to catch a few shopping carts, tires, and dead bodies. Over the next few weeks the algorithm will likely be tweaked and things will begin to settle a bit. It happens every time. Stop whining about it. Google isn’t going to all of a sudden reverse the update because Bob from Nebraska isn’t happy.

Step 2: Get To Work

Whether or not you have been affected, if you are currently residing on the dark side, it’s not too late to join us over here on the light side (or whatever the heck you call the opposite of the dark side). If you were not given a smack from Google this time around, your day is coming if you think you are going to keep getting away with shady link building, keyword stuffing and spammy content. You are going to have to change your ways at some point, so why not now? If you are looking for a bulletproof solution to your search engine woes, here it is – Become an expert.

That’s it. It’s simple logic. These updates are nothing more than Google’s commitment to return the most relevant results for the term being searched. If someone is searching for a dentist in Hopeulikit, Georgia (yeah I know, that’s a real town – I actually looked it up) Google is not going to want to show 10 dentists that are the best at link building. They want to show the 10 best dentists in town. The experts. As an expert in your field you can’t be ignored – not even by Google. Here’s a start on how you do it.

Write Extraordinary Content

You are not going to be able to get away with that same old regurgitated drivel if you want to be an expert. You are going to have to come up with extraordinary content on a regular basis. It’s tough. Not everything you write is going to be a Pulitzer Prize winner. We’re all guilty of writers block or phoning it in every now and then, including me – I mean, have you seen this post? The important thing is that you can regularly get some wood on the ball and write a really valuable blog post, e-book, white paper, or case study that you can post on your website at least once or twice a week.

Give It Away

Stop acting as though you are solely responsible for splitting the atom and that you can’t share your secrets with anyone. You should be giving away as much content as you can through blog posts, e-books, webinars, videos, podcasts, seminars and workshops. Get your message out there so people will know who you are but more importantly so Google will know who you are. If you have hundreds or even thousands of pages of QUALITY content with your name all over it, isn’t it safe to assume that you are going to be seen as a valuable resource by human and robot alike? Don’t just take my word for it, in his post entitled “Where Should You Put Your Content,” Chris Brogan puts it best in saying “I tend to put my content out here as a faith walk, I give away 90% and charge for 10% – it’s the Open & Free Business Model I preach & teach.”

Social Media

Get out that flute and start practicing your pied piper routine. You need to be leading the charge towards a better tomorrow and social media is a great tool to get you in front of the proverbial room and preach your gospel. That doesn’t mean to oversell, harass, annoy or “friend collect.” It means to build a substantial community. Then be an outstanding member of that community. Be the one giving away tons of good information. Be the one that helps others get what they want. Be the one that is always accessible. Be consistent in your message. Eventually, they will hold you up as their expert.

Build Quality Links for the Right Reason

Like it or not you still need other sites linking to yours. It’s one of those things that still stands at the core of the Google algorithm. That doesn’t mean that you have to hire a link farm to create a bunch of spammy links. I know that’s the easy way out, but experts don’t take the easy way out just because it’s easy. Start visiting blogs in and around your industry and start commenting on their posts. But here is the key – sound intelligent, create value and add to the conversations in all of your comments! This accomplishes a few things. It creates a link to your website on a like minded blog with a lot of valuable content. It also introduces you to a new audience that wouldn’t normally have found you had you not said something that triggered them to want to check you out further.

Write for Human Beings on Your Site

The content on your static pages like home, about us, services and products needs to be compelling and written for a human being. Don’t over SEO these pages by stuffing them with keywords, making them longer than they should be or linking every other word or phrase to another page on your site. Google won’t like it and your visitors won’t understand it. Google is smart enough to understand what the page is about if you write it well without having to drill it into their heads.

Step 3: Keep Going

Look, this whole expert thing is not the easy route, I get that. In fact, I’m sure there is a short cut in the Penguin Update just waiting to be found and exploited. Don’t fall for it. What happens when that hole gets filled by the next update and you’re back to fighting for your life again? There is one thing that short cuts, gray areas, and questionable techniques will never have that being an expert will always. Sustainability. In the end, there will never be an algorithm update that removes websites for being too valuable. That’s your goal.

Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

Bulletproof Strategy to Benefit from the Google Penguin Update