For me, one of the most exciting parts about buying a home was that I was going to have a yard. A yard probably isn’t as high on everyone’s list, but many of us will end up with one at some point in our lives. What we do with our patches of land can make a positive difference for the environment, wildlife, and us.
What I’m talking about is planting native plants. Nothing crazy, just choosing local plants for your yard. Continue Reading…
We’ve had a lot of heartbreaking news stories in the past few years, and for many Twitter users that social network was the first place they heard about some of them. It can get emotional and a little overwhelming on Twitter as these tragedies unfold, and it’s a good time for your personal and company brand to make a positive impression and contribution to the conversation – and avoid a negative one.
If you want to hang on to your followers and sound like a real and thoughtful human (or a company ran by thoughtful humans), follow these tips for tweeting during a sad news event. Continue Reading…
When many businesses start out using social media, they often focus on their number of Twitter followers, Facebook likes, etc. and desperately want to increase those numbers. That’s why “services” that offer hundreds of thousands of new “real” followers for $5 or $150 can look like a good idea. (Spoiler alert: They’re not.)
Increasing your number of followers – or reach – can be instrumental in making your social media marketing more effective. But, having more followers only helps if those followers are real people. You want followers who will notice you in their stream and be interested in what you have to say and sell. Continue Reading…
Back in March 2012, some website owners started receiving unnatural links warnings via Google Webmaster Tools. Often, their website’s rank in Google search results would plummet shortly after. Naturally, these people – and many other website owners who weren’t affected – freaked out. (Exhibit A: The 100+ comments on my post about it back then.) Continue Reading…
Blogs aren’t exactly the new kid on the digital marketing block, but boy, they sure do get the job done. Here’s why I think you should seriously consider adding a blog to your company’s website. Continue Reading…
I received a great question from one of our customers at AboutUs: What is the best Twitter URL shortener?
As I dove into writing an answer, I took a step back and pondered whether it’s actually a good idea to use a URL shortener when posting in social media. After all, Twitter now has a built-in URL shortener, so you no longer get extra characters by using your own shortened URL when you want to include a link in your tweet.
Here are the pros and cons I came up with for posting shortened links in social media. Continue Reading…
We all love our cats, but their litter box is another story. We put up with the tracked cat litter, smell and eyesore because the cat box is one of the few downsides to owning a cat. (And I think it’s much better than picking up a dog’s warm droppings in the rain.)
I’ve tried many things to make my cats’ litter box less annoying, and I was so impressed and inspired when I saw the handy work of one of my cat sitting clients. Their solution made the litter box as subtle and out of the way as possible. Continue Reading…
Yesterday I was amused by a post about how Facebook was testing paid post promotion in New Zealand.
I thought it was a bit crazy, but dismissed it as not all that important. After all, the company was just testing paid post promotion, and I bet Facebook tests all sorts of things that never see the light of day outside the test market.
But I was wrong to dismiss Facebook’s paid post promotion. Today, as I was posting to the AboutUs Facebook page, I was introduced to the new “Promote” option that’s now been rolled out worldwide. Continue Reading…
Putting your contact information out there and inviting sales questions and customer service can feel unimportant — or downright scary.
But making contact information visible on your website can get you more leads and improve your sales, conversions and search engine rankings. Continue Reading…
In the past year or so, my favorite radio station has really been stepping up their social presence on Facebook. They went from infrequent posts about concerts, music news and the like to something completely different.
The transformation started slow. I started noticing – and liking – their Facebook posts featuring pictures of one of their DJ’s cats. Because I’m a cat lover, I didn’t notice or mind how off-topic they were. Continue Reading…