Digital Internet Marketing is a key component in the Marketing strategy for any business and SEO is the key technique for online business marketing...more to follow
Friday, 31 December 2010
Privacy in the Social Economy - who cares?
I don’t peruse random people’s profiles. No one else I know does either. I don’t see identity theft being a major issue, if at all. So who are these mythical people who you don’t want to allow them to see your vacation photos.
The tech space has been up in arms over Facebook’s seeming disregard for user privacy, yet are we making much ado about nothing?
Before you jump on the Facebook-bashing bandwagon, ask yourself these three questions:
1. Is anyone forcing you to be on Facebook? Probably not. Then stop using it.
2. Do you share anything on Facebook you feel is too private? Then stop doing that.
3. Who the hell is looking at your Facebook profile anyways? Not many, if anyone.Read more at notaproblog.com
The WikiLeaks Story… So Far [INFOGRAPHIC]
Who is your person of the year? Here are three good candidates
Besides Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, Julian Assange is another ‘Person of the Year‘ frequently named by our readers. In fact, he is readers’ choice for Time’s magazine Person of the Year 2010.
Read more at www.penn-olson.com2010 has been an exploding year for Assange and WikiLeaks. Almost every day we are hearing news about WikiLeaks. From whistleblowing, boycotts from Paypal and other partners to hacker attacks, WikiLeaks has snatched the headlines.
17 Reviews on Technology, Business and Media in 2010
Amplify from Anthony Burke, WSI
It is the last day of the year so it is in order to review what has happened this year
The last of day of the year never fails to keep me reflecting how time has passed. Our team has covered numerous year-in-reviews and ‘best-of the year’ as 2010 slowly fades away.
This post will summarize and consolidate what were shared.
Read more at www.penn-olson.comWe have also grouped these reviews under three category: (1) Technology, (2) Business and (3) Media.
Internet Television: The Future is Now Here
Jim shares how Revision3 came about in 2005 and how the web allowed them to create television without the overhead of a cable network. You’ll hear how Revision3 uses the web and social media to find an audience.
Read more at www.socialmediaexaminer.comIn this video I interview Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision3, an internet television network. Revision3 produces 20 shows for 18-34 year old guys (think technology, music, and culture) which are distributed online.
How the Internet has Changed the Way we Communicate
As a linguist and an ex-English teacher, the evolution of language has always fascinated me. Since the 15th century, the English language has evolved under the influence of technology but I would argue that this has been more in terms of style than structural changes to the language. The first big change came in the 15th century with the use of printing presses which introduced new standardised grammar, spelling and punctuation styles. In the 19th century, telephony brought in new patterns of dialogue as people could speak to each other at greater distances. Radio and TV broadcasting in the early 20th century introduced us to new styles and brought us sports commentators, chat shows and interviews. However, it is the internet that has had a massive change both in the way we speak and how we write English.
Who could have predicted that internet technology would have brought us so much diversity? For example, just think of the different technologies and the way we communicate in English using these technologies:
* the world wide web itself
* chat rooms
* instant messaging
* the virtual worlds of games
* blogging
* twittering
* mobile phone texting
* social Networking
We do not speak or communicate in the same way when we are blogging as when we are texting and each technology has its own style of the English language. These different styles of communication have exploded and will continue to evolve and you can see it in all forms of online marketing or offline marketing materials
Whilst the internet has produced some new vocabulary or “internet slang”, there are only a few hundred new English slang words in a language which has over one million words. So the 20th century slang of "groovy" and "funky" has given way to phrases like "lol" (laugh out loud), and "brb" (be right back) in the 21st century - but they are still relatively few.
So, although there are some new punctuation formats, e.g. emoticons, there have been no significant changes to grammar patterns or verb endings. The main change has been the style of language that we use when we communicate.
Lots of purists and people would like to preserve the correct way to speak English. However, no one can stop trends in style and slang from changing the way we communicate. Whether it is cave men's drawing on walls, writing in sand with a stick, or sending a "tweet" to the other side of the world, the English language is something that will never be permanent and will be constantly changed by technology.
Thursday, 30 December 2010
How to stand out from the Blogging Crowd
With billions of blog pages produced weekly, here are some great tips on how to make your blog stand out from the ever increasingly crowded blog space.
It’s no secret that the amount of new bloggers entering the blogosphere has made it both incredibly competitive and difficult to stand out.
By Nathan Hangen
Published December 9, 2010
Read more at www.socialmediaexaminer.com5 Ways to Make Your Blog Stand Out From the Crowd
5 Ways To Integrate Social Media Into Your Company’s DNA
Social Media is where SEO was 3/4 years ago and should be embedded into any strategic marketing plans. Make sure your business can leverage the power of the internet and social media to improve brand,increase sales,reduce costs,make operational efficiencies and help your business communicate better with prospects and clients.
Read more at www.jeffbullas.comSocial media is embedding itself in the human DNA as we connect and interact globally in an increasingly mobile social web. We have it wherever we go, on our iPhone, iPad or laptop. If we aren’t connected we feel isolated, not in touch and feel like we are missing out. We are are social and the companies that we work for are social and there is a growing awareness that we need to weave the social media DNA into the fabric of the corporation.
Make your business more productive
Can crowdsourcing work for your business and save you time? This is a great way to make you more productive. Check it out!
One thing I’ve learned while running a small business is that it’s hard. Another thing I learned is that it doesn’t always pay to do everything yourself.Read more at outspokenmedia.com
Small business SEO Go local!
Local market dominance enables global reach ...optimize your online presence for local SEO
Until a few years ago when the Internet wasn't an omnipresent, all powerful phenomenon, the Yellow Pages used to be the golden goose of lead generation. Particularly for small and medium sized businesses, these local business directories worked wonders. While the medium of search has changed from offline listings to online business listings on search engines, the fact remains that people like to do business with local companies. Of course, every business owner wants to expand beyond the horizons of their physical geographic market, but dominating the local space is the stepping stone to big business outside.
With sustained online marketing, you may have gained an edge over competition in another city, country or continent. That's great. The thing to remember is that your biggest (and often seemingly "silent") competitor may be in your backyard! When your customers are searching for your products and services online, search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing are serving up local results to make things easy for online users. Does your business figure in the top ranks of these search listings? It's not difficult or expensive to get there; you just need to know how and must make efforts to stay there once you rise to the top.
Why the need for local brand building and visibility? ...it's not mere eye-candy; it might just be chocolate!
It's easy to be tempted by the sales volume and revenue that comes from out of city / country customers. But ignoring the potential of the local marketplace is not an option. The importance of local customers and regional sales is evident in the way global brands too are customising their marketing and product offering. Although implemented in an offline situation, a relevant example is that of the Kit Kat chocolate bar from Nestlé. At the start of 2010, the company launched 19 different Kit Kat flavours in Japan to suit diverse tastes across districts in that market. Clearly, this is an example of trying to penetrate every little local pocket of the chocolate consumer market in Japan – dominate and rule!
In an online example of local marketing, the city of Manchester in Northwest England introduced a signature holiday gift wrap in late 2009. The multi-hued limited edition paper matched the city's logo. It was heavily marketed and sold on their tourism website's online shop. Without a doubt, the profits from online holiday season sales spiked by local customer activity.
How to use local search engine optimization for your business? ...harness local leads, nurture local customers, leverage local customer reviews
There are several simple ways to increase local search traffic and enhance credibility in your region. You can read detailed tips in the WSI Whitepaper titled "Driving Business with Local Search". Here’s an overview of how to implement local SEO for your business:
- Use business mapping applications to get your business listed on search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Bing and so on.
- If your website and contact information has already been included in local business databases online, verify that all the details are accurate and up to date. Never thought a postal code would be useful in Internet marketing? People are Googling these days for local businesses with postal / zip codes in the search window!
- Make sure that your business listings drive search traffic directly to relevant pages on your website instead of leading visitors to yet another information site or portal.
- Leverage content marketing - professionally written copy, photographs and videos about your company, products, services, people, etc. can have a huge impact on helping you dominate your online business listings.
- Even in the absence of a website, your business (with a valid phone number) can get listed in local search listings. So while your website is in the works, get the ball rolling and start driving local customers to your door.
The more local business leads you gain with your SEO efforts, the greater your chances are to expand and nurture a strong database of local customers. Use social media and online reviews to leverage all the wonderful word-of-mouth publicity from these happy customers. There can be no greater referrals than glowing testimonials from local clients who are proud of their local business / service provider, i.e. YOU!
Here at WSI our WSI Digital Marketing Consultants are your best resource for local SEO; and your Internet marketing and local search traffic expert is only a phone call or click away. Call now on 01580 819529 to set up a free, no obligation "Local SEO" consultation for your business. Or fill out a simple online form to get in touch.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
General Insurance Systems for Brokers – minimum requirements for the UK Market
General Insurance Brokers need a system that:
- provides the broker with full front office and back office functionality
- fully automates settlements with carriers
- enables full policy administration life cycle; including quote, binding, rate, issue and service
- provides claims management from first report and detailed point in time coverage verification
- enables claim settlement through fast track and full-scale settlements with salvage and subrogation capabilities
- includes billing collection and disbursement system with a flexible, dynamic payment schedule
- has an advanced integrated workflow system that manages all follow-up activities as well as all marketing and cross-selling initiatives.
In summary a general insurance solution for brokers needs to provide distributed access to users, partners, associates and customers while facilitating the ownership and control of data, operations and processes.
General Insurance Systems for brokers need to support the definition, rollout and introduction of traditional as well as innovative and unique pre-brokered insurance products for the general insurance market. This will enable Insurance Brokers to leverage the advantage of green-field niche markets in a strategic way. These relationships will include affinities and selective clientele, while collaborating with pools of carriers via diverse sales and marketing channels.
JMR Consulting UK Ltd and IDIT IDI Technologies are working together to bring the IDIT general insurance software solution to the UK Market. To find out more about the IDIT solution, please get in touch by using the contact form, sending an email to info@jmruk.com or calling us on 0845 052 0900.