Customers are always the core of any business. However, in 2012, customers will require more personalize attention than ever before. Luckily, businesses can easily accomplish this by embracing analytics and new technologies that will help them build unprecedented relationships with their customers. Here are Truaxis’ top ways to increase sales in the new year while giving your customers exactly what they need, when they need it. 10 Ways to Increase Sales in 2012

Darren Capik is the founder and President of Watch It Now Entertainment.  His business philosophy and his personal philosophy are closely aligned with the ideology that by pursuing a solid goal of bettering yourself through quality fitness and nutrition you can live a longer and more fulfilling life.  In an age of processed everything the process of fitness remains true and strong and Darren is committed to creating the best quality products to help others achieve a higher level of fitness and health.

You can also join us in the DK New Media office on Friday for the show by registering here. We are offering 10 tickets, so get your ticket before it is too late!

This interview was about targeted towards Corporate Blogging and our blogging book. I think it’s important to note that, while many are struggling with hanging onto a blogging strategy… the strategies still work. The problem with many corporations is that they lack any incentive for long-term gains. As a result, programs like blogging which build authority and an audience over time often are tossed aside while other strategies are deployed for short-term gains. It’s unfortunate.

I also share a lot of personal advice and information regarding why I blog, how it’s impacted my life and business, and what I’ve learned from 30 or so years of working hard – in the military, in corporate life, and now – for myself. Listen to Break Through Business on Blog Talk Radio.

With that in mind, social sharing sites are fantastic traffic generators, so why not make it easy to share your content? Today, we’ve added a Pinterest Pinit button to our WordPress theme. It was pretty simple to do… and we even incorporated pulling the featured thumbnail button as the image URL.

If you would like a Featured Image to display, here’s theme code to add a Pinit button to your theme within the Loop:
<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=<?php the_permalink(); ?>&media=<?php $thumb = wp_get_attachment_image_src( get_post_thumbnail_id($post->ID), 'thumbnail' ); echo $thumb['0']; ?>&description=<?php the_title(); ?>" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal">Pin It</a>

If you don’t want to specify the image, here’s the alternative code:
<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=<?php the_permalink(); ?>&description=<?php the_title(); ?>" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal">Pin It</a>

Also – be sure to add the Pinterest script to your footer.php
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>

For additional information on generating a Pinit button or to take a look at their other apps and features, take a look at the Pinterest goodies page.

Resources are a challenge for everyone… including my small business. Our goal is to put put an email a week, two blog posts a day, and carry on conversations throughout Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook. We’re failing miserably! It’s such a challenge that we’re hiring another resource soon at our social media agency just to try to keep up. That’s a direct expense to the company that probably won’t directly result in a return on investment… but over time, I’m sure it will.

There are a lot of resources out there on the topic. I tend to lean in favor of Jay Baer, Jason Falls and Michael Stelzner over folks like Hubspot for social media advice. While I think the folks at Hubspot are brilliant, their content strategy is an overly-charged inbound marketing strategy. They share information to drive leads to their own company. Jay, Jason and Michael do a great job of staying someone vendor averse (they’ll openly describe their sponsors) but focus on the issue at hand and possible resolutions.

In fact, the timing is great for Alex – to attend Michael’s Small Business Social Media Success Summit at the end of this month. The summit stars 22 social media pros teaching business owners and marketers how to master social media marketing (brought to you by Social Media Examiner). Presenters include Jeremiah Owyang (Altimeter Group), Brian Solis (author, Engage), Frank Eliason (Citigroup), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Erik Qualman (author, Socialnomics), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner), Dan Zarella (author, The Social Media Marketing Book), Andy Sernovitz (author, Word of Mouth Marketing), David Meerman Scott (author, Real-Time Marketing & PR); experts from Boeing, Intel, Cisco and Verizon; Jay Baer (co-author, The Now Revolution), Hollis Thomases (Author, Twitter Marketing), Steve Garfield (author, Get Seen), Mario Sundar (from LinkedIn), and Ann Handley (MarketingProfs)–just to name a few. (Disclosure: That’s my affiliate link).

Here are my tips on managing social media without resources:

• Exposure to many resources is much better than one. Don’t follow any one so-called guru. We all work with different companies and have seen some strategies win, some lose… and many times the same exact strategy win AND lose. Spend 15 minutes a day perusing their articles and conversations.
• Find your audience. Following leaders, colleagues, and even competitors in your industry is a fantastic way to gain access to the audience you’re looking for. Follow them on Twitter, Like them on Facebook, add them to Circles in Google+, and even join some LinkedIn groups. The opportunity to join conversations once you do this will be enormous. Spend 15 minutes a day in the conversation that’s important to you and your business.
• Plant your flag. If you want to be a leader, tell folks you’re the leader and why. You don’t have to wait to be named… you’ll be waiting for a long time. I encourage the small businesses that I work with to blog, speak, and display their authority. A blog provides a central repository for people to visit and read more about you and your experience – so they can determine whether or not to do business. Speaking instantly provides recognition of your authority… even if you suck at first at it! And displaying your authority through sharing sites like Slideshare are fantastic. Spend 20 minutes a day creating content.
• Promote yourself. Don’t just write a post, tweet or update and expect people to come. You have to take the reigns of your own promotion. Spend 10 minutes a day promoting your content. At first, this may even be soliciting opportunities to guest blog, speak or even buying advertisements to get the word out!

I don’t spend all day on Social Media… although it may look like it. I schedule blog posts and deploy tools like Buffer to trickle out Tweets and Facebook updates at optimal times. Having a smartphone with all my social media apps updating is great – when I can squeeze a few minutes here and there between meetings, on the road, or having a cup of coffee I can participate a little bit.

Lastly, this is an investment… not a purchase. Spending an hour one day isn’t going to get you the results you’re looking for. But spending an hour a day for a year will given that you’re worth the attention! I tell people to think about it as they would any other investment… each post, each tweet, each update, each fan, each follower… they’re all pennies in your account. If you stop investing, you won’t get the compounded interest you need for the investment to pay off.

From Jascha:

But as we all know, it’s not just the volume of information that’s grown, but also the speed at which it’s delivered. The morning and evening papers have given way to a news cycle where stories break across social media and online outlets in mere minutes, leaving even cable news behind. We’ve reached a point where the channels through which news and information are delivered are almost limitless: email newsletters, live online content, web cams, constant streaming, instant messaging, RSS feeds, Twitter, etc.

This explosion of available information made possible by the Internet is amazing. But it’s simply not true that this all leads to better productivity. In fact, in many ways this information deluge produces the opposite result.

This isn’t just information, it’s also our reporting. As we work with more and more marketing departments, we’re finding a common thread is analysis paralysis… an old term that is alive and well when it comes to modern reporting and communications. We are tending to focus attention in areas where data is readily accessible, but not necessarily that impact the bottom line of the company.

Overload image from JESS3.

• Expertise: Connect startups with training, mentors, advisors and accelerators
• Services: Provide startups with access to critical services at reduced costs
• Talent: Assist startups in recruiting, training and retaining the people that can help them grow
• Customers: Help startups through acquisition of new customers and expansion into new markets
• Capital: Highlight sources of capital available to startups in various regions and sectors

With the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, more than 30 local startups are trying to get exposure through a Super Bowl-based competition sponsored by the Startup America Partnership and Develop Indy, an economic development organization helping regional companies succeed or other companies to move to Indianapolis.

Our clients, Tinderbox, a software as a service proposal software, put the following spectacular video together that tells the story of Tinderbox in under a minute and wraps a great message around it with their desire to get selected!

BTW: We’re not just a client of Tinderbox, we’re also a very, very happy customer. We’re a small agency that does a ton of proposals. Being able to put together a grant proposal or RFP in a matter of minutes has saved us countless hours. As well, I almost always get a compliment on our proposals from our prospects. And… it’s always a plus to put a proposal out and get an alert when the recipient has opened it!

After a year of ripping through what Google deems as “spammy” sites, how has Panda affected you? There has been non-stop chatter between Internet marketers and SEOs about how to protect your site from Panda, but with all of the updates and revisions to this algorithm change, things can get confusing quickly.

This infographic, Google Panda in Plain English, may be one of the clearest infographics I’ve seen on the evolution of Google Panda and subsequent advice for companies who have to aggressively pursue search engine optimization tactics.

A few minutes ago, I just had a business partner contact me that when they searched their name on Google, a report from Toutapp appeared in the results. Sure enough, I tested it and there was the report in all its glory! This particular business partner’s industry is severely restricted by regulations. The fact that his name could be associated with our business could raise questions and, now, impact whether or not we continue to do business with them.

I didn’t expect this. When I read the FAQs and Privacy Page, it was quite clear that the data was only available through a private URL that I could share with others.

Well, that’s obviously not the case. My guess is that I may have shared the link via social media and now the page is being indexed by Google. In viewing the page contents, there is not a NOINDEX meta tag… and worse, the Robots.txt file appears to be totally commented out. As a result, Google has full permission to index the site and pages… your data… and the data of your email recipients.

A simple search of the site shows a number of the Year in Review pages have already been indexed by Google. Worse yet, there’s no way for me to unpublish my report. I’ve contacted Toutapp through their website to immediately remove the report.

Was it my fault that the data got published? I suppose it could have been… but ToutApp needs to make it very clear in their instructions if this information AND the information about your email recipients is going to be published. Also interesting is that they’re publishing email addresses out there unobfuscated… great for SPAMMERS to pick up and run with.

Toutapp needs to immediately offer a means of deleting a report. Otherwise, this may be a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Today, the Marketing Technology blog was named as one of Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Social Media blogs! Here is the entire list:

#1: Social Mouths

Social Mouths, the brainchild of Francisco Rosales, provides deep and honest looks at social media marketing and trends that impact our industry.

The site contains detailed posts with real-world examples, and addresses new and difficult topics.

#2: ViralBlog

ViralBlog provides a daily stream of social media trends and inspiration through case studies and other interesting articles.

The site has excellent content with useful tips and advice.

#3: Jeff Bullas

Jeff Bullas takes a close look at how businesses can get found online through social media.

The site has excellent content with solid social media insights.

#4: Hubze

Hubze has built an audience by focusing on social media trends and tips on social media marketing tactics.

The site contains a nice variety of media, including articles and podcasts.

#5: The Sales Lion

The Sales Lion from Marcus Sheridan is a blog that seeks to build community around inbound marketing, blogging, business and life.

The site fosters strong community with great participation through comments.

#6: Pushing Social

Pushing Social from Stanford Smith provides practical blogging tips and resources from a fresh perspective.

The site contains creative, informative and readable posts with deeper-than-average advice.

#7: Heidi Cohen

Heidi Cohen provides intelligent insights on social media tactics and trends, all while making the complex simple.

The site contains comprehensive and thoughtful content.

#8: MarketingTech Blog

MarketingTech blog provides a technology-focused approach to new media marketing.

The site covers a variety of topics and media, including radio and video.

#9: Likeable Media

Likeable Media keeps readers current on industry trends and new tools while also providing strategies and tactics for using Facebook and social media marketing.

The site contains very current information on new tools and platforms.

#10: SplashMedia

SplashMedia provides interesting takes on strategy, tips and trends, while their SplashCasts offer some great success stories.

The site features great use of a video show as well as diverse postings with good in-depth content.

Thanks to the staff and judges from the Social Media Examiner. I’m absolutely humbled and appreciate all the support you’ve provided us over the years!

A homepage needs to wear many hats and serve many audiences who come from many different places. It’s unlike a dedicated landing page, where traffic from a specific channel should be given a specific message to take a specific action. Landing pages have a higher conversion rate because they are targeted and most relevant to the visitor.

We help our clients in building inbound marketing strategies… and I have to say that I think Hubspot missed the mark on this infographic… there are some very key elements and strategies missed in this infographic:

• Contact information – calls-to-action are vital pieces of information, but not everyone wants to click through to a demo or additional resources. Sometimes your customer is ready to buy and simply needs a phone number or signup form to get started.
• Social Icons – the importance of social media in nurturing a client can’t be underestimated. Sometimes folks will land on your site, but they simply aren’t ready to buy yet… so they’ll follow you on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter to get to know you better.
• Newsletter Subscription – perhaps the most underestimated element of any homepage is the newsletter subscription. Providing a means for a prospect to enter their email address and be repeatedly touched with news, offers and information from your brand is priceless. Capturing an email address is invaluable – make sure it’s simple and obvious on your homepage.

I would argue with using the term features on #5 as well. It’s been proven over and over that users are more attracted to benefits rather than features. Talking about your new-fangled reporting isn’t important… but showing the actionable data that you’re presenting so the company can make money is!

Lastly, your homepage must be optimized for the keywords that will index your site appropriately and ensure your site is found as it grows in popularity. SEO should always play a role in your homepage design and development.

Yuri Wright, the 4-star CB from New Jersey, was once though to be headed to Michigan in the 2012 class. Earlier this month, the Michigan coaching staff took a deeper look into the prospect after a concerned alumnus sent the school verbatim tweets that Yuri had posted on his Twitter account that were both racially and sexually unacceptable.

I’ve actually spoken at several universities about this and told students that everything they’re recording in social media today is something that will impact their job prospects down the road. Some are shocked, many think it’s unfair… but the fact is that who Michigan recruits is a direct reflection of their university.

Michigan chose the appropriate action based on the situation. I believe Mr. Wright learned a tough lesson, too. I’m sure was just mouthing off to score some points with his followers and get a few laughs. If he were a comedian, he’d be okay… but since he’s a recruit of a University with high visibility, this is what happened.

Every activity you take online has consequences. It’s why there’s really no such thing as transparency… it’s more opaqueness. I don’t go out of my way to offend people online, but even I lose followers from time to time that don’t care for my sense of humor.

When I tweet something risque, I’m not just risking a follower, I’m also risking the sponsors of my blog and the clients from my inbound marketing agency. There’s no way I can be totally transparent! I love off-color jokes… the more politically incorrect, the harder I typically laugh. It’s just my opinion, but the fact that everyone is so damn oversensitive these days is terrible – especially as our lives play out online.

I can live with the fact that I lost a follower and, perhaps a reader, but it still bothered me. It bothered me that there was someone out there who I thought I was someone that I wasn’t. But I have to put it behind me and move on. I’m not perfect, I’m going to slip up once in a while. And… some people simply aren’t going to like me. It’s just a simple fact.

But I’m lucky… my career isn’t starting. I’m not the recruit or the employee of anyone. I can’t imagine where I’d be in life if there were Facebook pics, Twitter – or worse – YouTube when I was in my teens. I was completely out of control. I’d probably be doing hard labor somewhere!

Did he deserve a second chance? Yes… we all do. Thankfully he got one when CU picked him up:

I made a huge mistake,” Wright said. “I definitely learned a valuable lesson, and I promise nothing like that will ever happen again. Everyone that knows me knows that’s not my true character or who I really am. I’m not going to sit here and try and make excuses for what I did. I’m just going to be a man and say I was wrong and I learned from it.

Who knows… someday you might need a second chance, too. Let’s not do anything crazy out there, folks! People are watching… and many don’t have a sense of humor.