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Social Media Cheat Sheet – Infographic!

Navneet Kaushal — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:41:27 +0000

Businesses of all sizes are now using social media. If you are still teetering on the edge of the social sea with no idea how to swim in it, let this highly informative ‘Cheat Sheet’ from Flowtown help you.

What do you think of this infographic? Do you think it’s useful for you or your clients? Do share your views.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Social Media Cheat Sheet – Infographic!

How to Leverage From the New LinkedIn Company Pages!

Navneet Kaushal — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:37:01 +0000

In the social media sea, LinkedIn is considered to be the truly ‘professional networking platform’. Company pages always existed on the network; however, it was only recently that LinkedIn announced an update to company pages facilitating companies and small businesses to become more engaged on the network.

What can you do with new company pages?

The empowered company pages allows businesses to make their individual company pages (quite like Facebook) and can have fans/followers interact with them; give out company updates and news; share new and existing employees’ profiles; as well as new job opportunities.

Apart from that you can put out interesting status updates, and basically network and interact like never before. Make a connection with prospective business clients, customers, vendors, industry associates and even new potential new recruits. Yes, all of this is now possible, all you need is a smashing business page on LinkedIn.

Why should you have a company page?

The sheer number of users on LinkedIn is the main reason you must make an effort to stake your space on the network. The network is expanding rapidly and the other reasons you must have a company page are:

122 million members to approach and connect with
People here mean business. Take your business forward. (A survey revealed 22.5 million people use LinkedIn and other platforms to research brands and products. In the year 2011, 21.3 million people came across a new brand through social media.)
Great spot for building a brand among peers and clients
Serious job seekers present here

A visit to the new LinkedIn Company Pages will give you a better view of what all possibilities are there for you to make the most of your LinkedIn company page.

How to make the most from your LinkedIn Company page?

Leveraging your company/brand is really easy. All you need to do is update a few details, and go all out with your ‘people approach’ to network better.

1. Update Your Profile- Begin with updating your Company Description, Company Specialties, Blog and other information fields. This is a great tips for showing up in search results too. With more content you show higher on search engine results for the services you offer. Make your profile a very rich informative one. It should stand its place between the 2 million or so business pages on LinkedIn presently. So you can use things like images, banners and links to your site and blog as well as videos from YouTube into your company profile. All these inputs not only provide great credibility in your brand but also make for rich and interesting content.

Words of advice here- while it is important to fill out the ‘Overview Page’ do not make it a replica of the content on your site. You have to give out the standard information about who you are and what you do and who you serve and how. But do this in an interesting and interactive manner.

Similarly, while filling up your ‘products and services’ page, list your key products, best sellers, but highlight the new offers here. Do not forget to link to your site, or to related videos on YouTube. You can also link to a positive product review you received. Basically try to integrate as much as you can, but do not duplicate your site on to the LinkedIn page.

Most importantly- while filling out the information, do not forget to use your company’s keywords!

2. Post Interesting Updates!: After you have filled out everything, then you must allow for status updates to be posted on your page. Apart from the regular updates about your new products and services and even job openings, post other interesting stuff too. You have to engage your fans/followers with informative and value-added updates. Give out industry updates as an expert and see your followers grow if they see you as a source of insightful news and information. Capture attention by posting videos/images to support your updates. You can save effort by connecting your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts so that the LinkedIn page is updated automatically when you send out a Tweet. Tools like HootSuite and Ping.fm are great for writing one update and updating it at the same time on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.

Most importantly- do not sound like a company news letter. Sound like and industry expert.

3. Try To Gather More Followers- Your updates and company page will flourish only when there is a decent and steady increase in the number of your followers. Yes, it is quite like getting fans for your Facebook page. So firstly, post your LinkedIn Company profile on other networks to get the followers there to follow you on LinkedIn too. With more followers, your updates will be shared more and your brand will truly spread. Building followers is an ongoing task that requires constant effort, as you have to try to get the relevant followers to reach your page. You have to be ready with the answers to ‘why should I follow you’ that the prospective followers have on their ming

Here are a few tips on the same:

You make the first move by following similar pages and other pages of your clients, vendors and customers.
Have all your employees join your page. Their contacts will see this can also come on board.
Invite your personal connections on your Page.
Add your LinkedIn page URL to your email signature.

Remember, the more relevant followers you have for your LinkedIn company page, the more opportunities you have to be visible and build influence with your target markets!

Network better and Connect with New Contacts in Groups and Answers – You must use LinkedIn Groups to get in with the industry peers and similar interests businesses. They are a great platform for learning more and even finding peers interested in your work. LinkedIn Answers allows members to pose questions and it is a great place for you to set yourself as an industry expert and highlight your ideas and insight. Explore Open Groups to take part in enriching discussions and benefit from them while being secure in the knowledge that these open discussions are mostly picked up by search engines.
Monitor Your Company Page’s Success- LinkedIn has a very useful Analytics tab for Company Pages that provides you with detailed data about the page. You can view the details and do an indepth analysis on who visited the page, what areas interest them, and how are you doing as compared to similar companies. These data graphs are a guide to help you work better to get more followers.

Follow these steps to get the maximum from your LinkedIn page. How has your experience been till now? Do share your views.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

How to Leverage From the New LinkedIn Company Pages!

Reputation Monitoring Made Easier By Bitly's New Search Platform!

Navneet Kaushal — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:42:17 +0000

When it comes to shortened URLs, Bitly is the undisputed leader with minimizing 80 million URLs a day. They have now launched a new search platform that allows them to crawl as well as classify these URLs. This means that users can now search for the most “clicked on” links on the internet.

The New Search Platform

Now you can search for the most popular links on this new social search platform. How it works? Well, Bitly explain the working of the search platform in this manner, “So instead of pagerank we’re using a different filter – for any given search query, we display the stories that we predict will get the most attention over the next 24 hours. Then we use bitly’s analytics to refine our predictions in realtime. Our search technology is based on the the most valuable measure of engagement: the click. ”

Bitly explained the working with the example of an “OnStar” search. How the Google search lacks real time results, which can now be monitored with the reputation monitoring tool and the new search!

The Reputation Monitoring Tool

A user can see these results only with the new “reputation monitoring” tool that Bitly has released with the search option. The reputation monitoring tool is being released to enterprise users. The tool has the potential to be of great help to the brand managers as Bitly has built an alert system that informs them what is being said about their brand/product/services. Anywhere on the social media, the minute the brand or keyword is mentioned, the brand manager gets notified in realtime, in other words, the Bitly reputation monitoring tool is like an early warning system.

As Bitly says, “Unlike a typical clipping service, which lets you know the things that people have already said about you on Facebook, this is an early-warning system, designed to alert you in realtime to swings in volume and sentiment related to specific keywords.”

This social search driven reputation management tool will be launched in a couple of weeks. What will be the brands' response to the same will prove the functionality of the tool.

For Google's lagging behind in real time search read this. For other reputation management tools in social media, read this.

Do leave your comments on this new Bitly tool. Do you think it will work?

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Reputation Monitoring Made Easier By Bitly's New Search Platform!

20 Free Best Press Release Distribution Sites!

Navneet Kaushal — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:09:32 +0000

We write press release to disclose and spread a news amongst readers. Press releases are becoming a successful way of Internet advertising. These not only provide valuable inbound links, but also increases traffic and thus your chances of getting located by search engines. But, all your efforts will get waste if the press release is not newsworthy or if it is distributed via a non-credible PR distribution site. There are only a few PR services providers who can provide you maximum visibility and credibility on the Internet. Follow these guidelines while choosing a press release distribution site:

You should use a site that has a Google pagerank of 4 and above because sites with no pagerank will lower the credibility of the PR.
Approach a site that allows you to optimize the press release for search engines by using header tags, tagging, anchor text and other SEO techniques.
Keep away from sites that use NoFollow tags. These tags are inserted into website code in order to stop the search engine from finding the site.

So, here are a few press release sites that provide both free and paid distribution services. The list will help you in finding a reliable PR distribution service provider who will get you maximum visibility on the World Wide Web.

Press Release Sites-

Free-Press-Release.com – PageRank 5- The best part of using it is that you can place banners on the press release that will point to your website. The paid service offered by this website has better ranking and many SEO benefits.
Free-Press-Box.com – PageRank 5- Submitting your press release on to this site is really easy. It accepts free submissions as well as paid submissions.
Free-Press-Index.com – PageRank 4- This PR site allows for instant submissions for free with inbound links to your site in place. For the paid service, they charge close $60, and distribute the release among 250,000 subscribers and journalists.
NewswireToday.com - PageRank 6- The design of website is not good and you will difficulty in navigation also. It offers common free distribution tools and the premium service will enable you to give logo, product picture and insert other features in the press release.
1888PressRelease.com - PageRank 5- The site has good page rank and also gets good traffic. Active links are allowed. If you opt for their paid service, the placement will be better and you will get features like image galleries & permanent archiving.
I-Newswire.com - PageRank 6- You get free PR distribution option to sites and search engines. If you opt for premium membership, the only difference is that you can add graphics on the PR.
SB Wire.com - PageRank 4- It is specially dedicated site to small to medium-sized businesses. With the free service you can submit your press release and get connected to bloggers in your niche. For the paid program, they offer many packages starting from $14.95 to $99.95 (for unlimited search engine friendly releases).
Free-Press-Release-Center.info - PageRank 4- It is a clean looking site and the increasing traffic level will increase the pagerank soon. You can do PR submission and distribution, include one link with the anchor text while availing free service. The paid service enables you to give three links, permanent archiving and has many more features.
Online-PR-News.com - PageRank 5- The free submission service allows you to give one live link in the contact information area, you can have a search engine friendly title and meta. These releases will be archived. The paid submissions include social sharing buttons, and you can place 3 anchor text links, and also spice up your release with a suitable image.
Add-PR.com - PageRank 3- This is a site, that allows only free PR submissions. You can leave a live link in the contact details section. The site is clean and crisp, and allows the exposure to potentially thousands of Internet media outlets.
Big-News.biz – PageRank 4- This free submission site allows for easy registration, and you can quickly start on submitting your release. It allows for a link in the contact details section.
News-By-Company.com - PageRank 3- This is free press release site, for small and medium business enterprises. It allows for a link in the anchor text and one in the contact information section. The interface is clean and the site has good credibility.
PRLog.org - PageRank 6- It is an ordinary and functional looking site but results are good. It gives free distribution service for Google News and other search engines. Inbound links are allowed and the site is also properly optimized for search engines. You can schedule the press release.
Wide-PR.com - PageRank 4- This free PR site is pretty good with its services, as with every free submissions, you get live links automatically integrated into your free press release. You can also load 3 images and also your company logo. Needless to say you can use optimized tags and keywords.
Press-Release-Point.com - PageRank 5- This is a free site where you can sign up for either distribution of the release or for writing releases or both. It allows for 4 links in the body and 3 links in the contact section.
OpenPR.com - PageRank 5-This service distribution site is based in Germany. It provides free submission and distribution along with SEO benefits.

Paid Press Release Distribution Sites-

PRLeap.com - PageRank 5-The site is said to deliver reasonable results. It is nice and clean. The price of press release starts from $49 – $149, depending on the level of service you have opted for. The distribution is done on search engines, RSS feeds and newswires. .
Press-Media-Wire.com - PageRank 4- This paid submission site offers three packages ranging from $19 to $99 per release. They assure you visibility with tools like video and pictures.
PR-Fire.co.uk - PageRank 5- This paid site offers tailor made packages from £299, where they do all the work from sourcing a story to the final copy. They also allow for a free submission onto their site.
PR.com - PageRank 6- The domain name is superb but you can say the services are not so appealing. The site has one free basic service and two paid services of $199 and $499. You can give full company profile by taking paid option.

Getting media coverage is the best form of marketing, but you need to make efforts to get good coverage. Choose the press release distribution site carefully, especially when you are paying for the service.

As an internet marketing expert, you must focus on the PR sites listed above to reap the maximum benefits of reaching out to the targeted audience.

To know how to write SEO friendly releases, see here.

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Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

20 Free Best Press Release Distribution Sites!

Give Your Homepage 7 Times More Exposure With Twitter Button!

Navneet Kaushal — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:53:43 +0000

Displaying Tweet buttons in your websites give them 7 times more social media mentions, is what concluded on a recent study by BrightEdge.

This September SocialShare report concludes that the usage of social media buttons is an enormous social marketing opportunity but only less than half of the 10000 top websites employ this process.

As said by Jim Yu, CEO of BrightEdge, “It’s clear that social sharing buttons can drive real social traffic that will inevitably drive sales, brand awareness or even affinity but it’s also clear that many brands are not taking advantage of this simple, cost free tool.”

According to the report, there was a slight increase in the installation of social widgets or buttons on the front page, from 52.8% in July to 53.6% in August.

The report also concluded;

50.3% added a Facebook Recommend or Like button.
42.5% added a Twitter button.
8.1% added a Google +1 button.
4% added a LinkedIn Share button.

Adding a social networking button on the homepage will increase the number of visitors on the homepage which will increase your brand awareness as well as sales. As per Ryan Sarver, Director of Platform at Twitter said, “These are simple, free tools that can drive real ROI for any site.”

Last year Exact Target conducted a research on consumers who follow brands on Twitter. The study derived;

72% publish blog posts at least once a month.
70% comment on others' blog.
61% write at least one product review a month.
61% comment on news sites.
56% publish articles for third-party sites.
53% post videos online.
50% contributes to wiki sites.
48% share deals found through coupon forums.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Give Your Homepage 7 Times More Exposure With Twitter Button!

11 Free Tools For Brand Monitoring On Social Media!

Navneet Kaushal — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:21:41 +0000

Brand Monitoring is a very essential part of social media. You need to understand the impact and influence of your brand on the customers/users- and then what sentiment this influence is generating. Yes- the term to keep in mind here is- "Brand Sentiments"

What do people say about your product/services?
How do they feel about the new thing you have introduced?
Is the response positive or negative?

This is what you have to monitor so that you can then give the required feed back or in some cases, get down to damage control. The responses generated on your brand name or on your keywords-and spread all over the internet- can be difficult to track. This is where Social Media monitoring tools come in. These tools are free and will give you a clear picture of audience response, so that you are up to date and don't lose any opportunity.

Here is a list to to 11 free social media monitoring tools:

1. Google Alerts:

This tool from the search giant is really helpful and easy to use. Once you sign in, you can register the keywords-brand name that you want to monitor. Google will then send you an email notification as soon as it indexes your keyword anywhere (on an article, website, blog, product review, etc). If you combine this with iGoogle , you can create an unique page that contains the latest findings for your selected keyword

So the Good Thing about this: Google Alerts provides you the access to brand and keyword/phrase mentions as they're indexed-anything new is published. The Alerts are time tested and reliable.

The Flip Side: If somebody mentions your brand name or keyword on a Note in Facebook or a Tweet, you will not know. Google Alerts does not scan Facebook or Twitter or Digg. So you are missing out on a lot of action there. Sometimes, the Alerts take nearly 24 hours to reach you. Now the time lapse is not good if your brand has been mentioned in unfavourable circumstances.

2. TweetDeck

This tool is a blessing if you are having trouble monitoring the various social media platforms all at once. Tweetdeck is a tool/browser that unifies Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Foursquare, Google Buzz and more. You can monitor all of them, and when your keywords are referenced (you need to store your keyword preference first), you can respond in real time. Work from anywhere, as the dashboard can be used on laptops, desktops, smartphones and tablets.

The Good Thing: TweetDeck allows you to monitor multiple sites from one platform. You can send out new updates across all sites. Also immediately see the comments or feedback on your chosen keywords or even your brand name in real time. It is one of my personal favourite!

The Flip Side: TweetDeck is sort of a one man show, so, it's not for you is you work in a team. It lacks a good work flow option. Secondly, doesn't run in a web browser and needs to be installed.

3. TweetBeep:

This tool is often referred to as Google Alert for Twitter! Well it is actually that. You get to track Twitter conversations that mention your brand, your products, your website or blog, or your keywords. You get hourly updates. Also, even if a shortened URL is used, you will be notified if someone Tweets about you.

The Good Thing: The hourly updates by email are really helpful- you will not lose much time-customer will find your response prompt. Hence, great for online reputation management.

The Flip Side: TweetBeep is available in free and paid versions. The free version can be limiting, as it allows your Alert to be set for 10 keywords only and to receive more frequent email alerts, and for emails to including more than 50 alerts each, you need to open a paid account.

4. Twazzup:

Twazzup- this cool sounding tool is another Twitter search engine. It has a good user interface and you will be furnished with any updates in real time. Sentiment, top links, and influencers are made available.

The Good Thing: It displays resulting tweets in a real-time stream, which is very good for companies. It can sort results by retweets and tweets- this is also a very useful feature.

The Flip Side: You may feel that there is too much information crammed into the display page. Also the ranking of influencers, may confuse you. The level of influence shown here does not match with Klout scores.

5. Social Mention:

Social Mention is a very powerful tool, as it monitors more than a hundred social media sites directly. Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google and the list goes on. It's very simple to use-you just have to type in your search keyword query and the chosen sphere and you will get the results mentioning you. With the results, you’ll be given with statistics of your mentions- also, you will get sentiment ratings-top keywords used for your brand- top users of your brand-reach, passion, and strength (volume/day)

The Good Thing: This is virtually the only social monitoring tool that includes a Facebook search Social Mention allows you to track and measure what people are saying about you, your brand. Also monitored is what the competitors are saying as well. Social Mention features social media alerts like Google Alerts..

The Flip Side: It does not give you real time information. So instant response cannot be conveyed.

6.Topsy:

This search tool allows you to do Real-time search for the social web. So you get to read the latest being said about your brand or keyword. What's more, it puts together the content related to your keyword, from different social platforms into a single stream.

The Good Thing: The search results are ordered according to the number of Tweets they have. So you can know what is the most talked about thing of your brand. Results can be filtered hourly. And you can trace the ones talking the most about you.

The Flip Side: Topsy shows metrics from the past 24 hours. However, the metrics -influence, velocity, momentum and peak, need to be more clearly defined. Also the duration of the metrics could have been longer.

7. Addict-o-matic:

This tool lets you search your keywords from Twitter, blogs, news, Flickr, Youtube and more. Search results are shown in individual boxes representing a social or news site. The results are put together very neatly.

The Good Thing: You can instantly create a custom page with the latest buzz on your brand. Also you may create a special box for your selected keywords. You can also add as many social sites as you want for the data.

The Flip Side: It does not include results from Facebook, Stumbleupon or Vimeo. The interface is too simple may be bland. It needs more tools to become perfect.

8. HowSociable:

HowSociable measures your brand's web visibility. It is a tool for a snapshot of a brand’s visibility on several Internet social venues. It also has the ability to expand results to view sources.

The Good Thing: How 'visible' you are is answered to the fullest by HowSociable.You can also get a monthly score alert that will help you monitor your brand for over a period of time.

The Flip Side: It cannot filter results by date, and can only monitor generic visibility. You cannot add or eliminate to the search in the event of more than one result being found for a "brand".

9. PostRank:

Recently acquired by Google, the platform tracks users engagements- where they are – what they do and what are they saying. PostRank tell you all that for your brand in Real Time. It ranks the posts in your RSS feeds and assigns each post a rating. The rating is on a scale of 1 to 10. There are a number of filters you can use to view posts. The ranking system is influenced by the number of times a post has been referenced in other posts etc.

The Good Thing: The major difference that Postrank offers is its ranking algorithm. The rank system gives you a clear picture and lets you work on the keyword/post/feature of your brand that is generating the most comments/activity.

The Flip Side: The score changes with user activity and it may need to be looked upon closely to understand if these changes actually mean something or not. The rankings may vary so much sometimes that you may question the trustworthiness of the system

10. NutShellMail:

This is one email that will help you a lot. You can monitor everything right from your inbox. NutshellMail gathers all the notifications from your social networking sites and sends you one interactive email. By interactive email, it means you can comment, reply, update your status, etc. directly.

The Good Thing: One email connects you to all the social sites. All interaction buttons in the email update will open a new window enabling actions- whether you want to reply, retweet or post an update.

The Flip Side: The email update interface and external interaction pages are not up to the mark as compared to other tools. However, with some design and usability improvements, it can be a powerful tool.

11. Kurrently:

If your brand monitoring requires a close watch on Twitter and Facebook, then Kurrently is a good tool for you. It is a real-time search engine for Facebook and Twitter.

The Good Thing: Kurrently is real time- you get to know what's happening, right there and then. Response can be fairly quick. It also allows searches from other sources.

The Flip Side: The data may be too cluttered to handle sometimes.

So, there you have it- the top 11 tools that are free! And can be used right now to help you monitor your brand. Keep in mind the term 'Brand Sentiment' and set out to capture your audiences.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

11 Free Tools For Brand Monitoring On Social Media!

How to Leverage Social Media for SEO!

Navneet Kaushal — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:31:21 +0000

Social Media is no longer for just social purposes. Search engines are taking the social explosion very seriously, and more and more social results are now included in search results. This changing pattern of search has caused a major shift in the basic orientation of SEOs. Now SEOs have turned or are turning really fast to social media too.

Search parameters have changed drastically. Now the organic results incorporate a whole lot of social media links too. And if you look closely, results from the social networking sites are usually on top, or in the top 10. Why is that? This is because, search engines give quite an importance to social websites. The engines trust the world of the “social web”, because the content and information generated here is interconnected with real people and real relationships. Every information shared, Liked or Tweeted has a definitive human touch to it that is what makes these results so much dearer to search engines. How social media helps you:

Social Media Gets You A Higher Rank- Search Engines view the social networking sites as generators of genuine content and information that real people share. That is why, if your brand is mentioned here, then they consider it worthy enough. So, if your brand/keywords related content is Tweeted enough or shared on Facebook, it will get a higher rank on search results.

Brand Domination- If you spread your brand on leading social sites, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace etc., then you will dominate the search results. The results from these sites are featured on the first page usually, that is why, you will come out as a dominant brand in the search results. You can imagine the impact that it will have on your users, when they will search for your brand on a search engine, and will come across your pages on various sites, and with real people talking about you. The presence of other users will constantly attract more and more users. Your base will spread, so will your brand domination on the Internet.

Deep Social Crawl By Search Engines- Search Engines crawl the social networking sites pretty often. So if you keep updating your profile there, or make sure that people talk about you or 'Tweet' your blog or 'Share' you on Facebook, the engines will consider it as fresh and genuine content. This way your keyword/ brand name will always show up with fresh results. Social platforms are always alive. People are constantly thronging them. New comments, responses are generated quite frequently and that is why, engines find something new every time they crawl.

The Key Is To Be Active On Relevant Social Networks- Be it Facebook, Twitter or the latest Google+ (they are still not open to businesses though), you have to make sure you find the right niche. Since these websites have a huge user base (facebook- 750 million and Twitter -200 million Google+ 20 million and counting), you will take some time to work your way to your target audience. You must spread your circle and gain the trust of the people there. The best part here is that these people are most related to your work. They interact with you as they share your interest that is why they will take genuine interest in what you have to say. This way, your content will be shared among the right audience and the traffic that you will get will be highly relevant and most likely to lead to conversions.

To Conclude-Raise Your Social Graph- Use social media to reach the target audience, and this will let your content gets read and shared. Search engines will notice, they will be able to judge the trust generated by your domain as opposed to others. You will rise up in the social graph, and so will your rankings.

Social Media is here to stay and is the biggest thing on the World Wide Web right now. With Google+ coming in, the search giant is also going social in a big way. That is why the need for SEOs to shift to social media is now imperative, to get better rankings that lead to conversions too.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

How to Leverage Social Media for SEO!

Top 5 Tips To Handle Negative Feedback on Social Media!

Navneet Kaushal — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:12:31 +0000

Social Media is a two way route. If you get to spread your word among your audience, the audience can also put forward their word to you. Well, after all, you do urge for a feedback after every little post you put up, don't you? What if the feedback you get is not what you expected? Infact, it's far from it. There is a loud grumble of complaints, criticisms and negative feedback that's coming in. And all of it is public-everyone can see (your competitor included), that you are at the receiving end of harsh words. What do you do then? How do you handle it? Here are the top 5 ways of damage control:

Be Quick: Your response has to be prompt. You have to address the grievance pronto. Delays will only lead to further criticism. So, if someone has posted about a problem they have been having about a certain product/service you offer, then steps should be taken to fix it and customers should be notified that those steps are being taken. Then quickly hunt for the problem's solution and inform the people.

Sometimes, the problem can be common for many- for example, a new mobile app, that is not functioning properly, then you can post a help center link about it, and notify the aggrieved parties.

In some cases, you customers may be using the product in an incorrect manner, and then blaming it for non functionality. Then also, point out to them the right way to use the product.
Avoid Delays at any cost.

Be Apologetic/ Be Polite: The first thing you must do when you come across a complaint is to react in an apologetic manner. A simple- “Thank You for identifying this issue. We are working on it, and regret the inconvenience caused” will work.

Your response must have a positive vibe – which means thanking for the feedback and then assuring them of action being taken. Even if a conversation starts on the comment, hold your cool and be polite to everyone involved. This positivity from your end will definitely have a good impact on the customers, and they may tone down their comments.

Be Public First- Then Take It Privately: Your first response to a complaint made on a public platform (like Facebook or Twitter) must be public. This means, you can do so via a tweet or a comment on their Facebook wall post. This will have a good impact on others as they will realise your sincerity towards solving the issue. Then, send a private message to the concerned person.

Again, keep the tone apologetic and helpful. Provide them with an e-mail id with a line like- “We deeply regret your inconvenience, however, please send the details of your problem to -email address. We will get back with a feasible solution shortly. You may also call us up at -number.”

On Facebook, you may attempt to calm them down through chatting with them too. Going for a public approach really helps. Those customers who received a reply in response to their negative review, 33% turned around and posted a positive review & 34% deleted their original negative review. This was published in a recent survey by Harris Interactive.

Be Open To Constructive Criticisms: Remember-customer is king. So, if they do give you a negative feedback about a product or a service, do not be hassled. Take it positively. Read and understand the feedback carefully. Their views do matter, don't they? So listen and analyse and implement changes after negative reviews as well. It is a known fact that the most loyal customers are the one, who bother enough to give a feedback. So value it. Your response should be tactful, and the approach should be one of support and improvement. Ask the customers on how can you work on a feedback. How can you make things easier for them? How can you help them? The responses may actually help you towards a better product.

Be aware of Spammers: You have to choose your battles, when it comes to damage control on social media. There are some people, who would create a fuss over nothing. They just make noise just for the sake of it. Some of them may be attention seekers, and not your real customers. So, monitor such people closely. Once you have identified that the person is not a genuine complainant, then do not respond further. Facebook and Twitter have the option of banning such miscreants. However, be completely sure before taking such an extreme step.

Some of these comments may be from paid spammers, who have been given the job by your competitors. So, do not waste your breath in interacting with them.

What is the gist of it all? Be positive. Do not be bogged down by any feedback. It's for your brand's good that you get to know what is wrong and needs to be worked on. Just arm yourself with tact and knowledge, and you can wave through any amount of negativity on the net.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Top 5 Tips To Handle Negative Feedback on Social Media!

Google+ Tips- Know Who Removed You From Their Circles!

Navneet Kaushal — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:32:05 +0000

Google+ is all about finding friends, connecting with them and Adding them to your 'Circles' and being added to their 'Circles'. There is no concept of a 'friend request' here. Just people and circles. So, the big question, 'how do you know someone has removed you from their circles?' There is a way, and you will get notified immediately, when that happens. Below is the 'How?'

This piece is about Google+, but it's the story of a 'minus'.

Yes, you are 'minused' from Google+ if someone removes you from their friends list , or as it is called on G+ 'Circles'

To begin with, here is a little on the Circle Systems in Google+. Firstly, there are no friend requests on Google+. You cannot send someone a request to be their friend. All you can do is, add them to your Circles. Now, when you do that, they get a notification that you have added them to your Circle.

This is the testing time. If you get a notification saying that you have been added to their Circle- Great! This is sort of accepting a friend request. But in case you do not get a notification about any Circle, well accept it- they don't want you.

Now on to the Google Minus. Now, this is a browser add-on that lets you know if you have been removed from someone's circle. To use the extension you have to install the Kynetx browser extension first. This runs on any browser (Chrome or Firefox or Safari). Now that you have the power of Kynetx with you, you can install Google Minus.

Warning here- You have to be patient, as this installation will take time. After installing the extension, you have to create an account on their site. TIP: Use your Facebook or Google ID for a quick account creation.

Now, you are ready. Your arsenal is in place. Explore Google+, ass people to your Circles, let them add you. But- the minute someone removes you from their Circle- you will get a pop up! Right there! Immediately.

This works how? Well, the Google Minus extension, creates a check-list of all the people in your Circles and those who have you in their Circles.The minute a name disappears from that check list, you are alerted.

This goes without saying that Google Minus will be used as readily as the Plus itself! Many users are Circle sensitive. Being in and our of Circles is becoming a prestige issue. This is ironical, as Google+ removed the idea of a friend request, for this purpose only-so that the “I am 'friended' or 'unfriended'”
issues do not exist. But it seems like, when you are social, such issues are unavoidable.

Do leave a feedback if you used Google Minus.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Google+ Tips- Know Who Removed You From Their Circles!

Helpful Google+ Tools To Make It More Social!

Navneet Kaushal — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:54:11 +0000

Google+ is expanding fast. Some social media barons have already classified it as the next big thing in social. Some have declared Google Plus as not only a Facebook rival, but a serious threat to LinkedIn and Twitter too. As it is not just social, it is professional media too. So, if you are exploring the Plus, here are a few handy tools, that will make your Google+ experience much better.

1. GoogleCards:
It is the WordPress plugin that adds a Google+ widget for linking the blog directly to your Google+ profile. It was developed by mabujo and can be downloaded here.

What this plugin does is, that it adds a widget to your blog which displays a link to google+ profile so people who visit your blog can connect with you. They can add you to their Circles, and generally get to know their preferred author as the link shows your name-profile picture and the strength of your social circle- i.e. the number of people in your Circles. The installation is pretty simple after you have downloaded the googleCards. You just have to click on 'Plugins' in WordPress and then choose 'Add New'. Then simply click on the 'Upload' link to add the plugin. Follow the simple steps there after and soon your WordPress Blog will have your G+ widget.

(Courtesy- Theme.fm)

2. Using JSON to get G+ feeds on to your Blog:
Now, if you are one of those, who have declared themselves addicted to Google+, then you must be spending all your time sharing posts with your chosen Circles. Too much time spent on G+ means your other platforms and blogs suffer. So, the best way out of it is to fetch your Google+ posts on to these blogs. You can do so with JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). This data-interchange format is pretty easy to read and write for us and easy for machines to generate. Here is a post that shows how you can use JSON to drag your Google Plus posts to other blogs.

3. Exporting Your Facebook Friends:
Last week, this handy app, really had people squealing in delight. They could straightaway export all their friends on Facebook to Gmail contacts, and from there, straight to Google+. However, Facebook banned this Google Chrome extension that allows you to export friends from Facebook. The author of this app, Mohamed Mansour said on his home page, “Facebook is trying so hard to not allow you to export your friends. They started to remove emails of your friends from your profile on July 5th 2011. (The extension) will no longer work for many people.”

So another option was put forward in a video by the Traveler, which guides you to export friends from Facebook. Want to have your LinkedIn contacts on Google+ too? Then this page here might help you.

(Courtesy- thenextweb.com)

4. Export Photos From Facebook:
You have all those pictures and album on Facebook, and you want to share them on Google+ too. How can you do it? It's pretty simple actually, thanks to the Picasa Facebook chrome extension. This exports your Facebook pictures to Picasa account. As Picasa is integrated with Google+, you will get your pictures on Plus in no time. Saves a lot of manual labour, this extension!

5. Add Colour to the Google Bar:
You can customise your Google Bar's colour to a shade that you prefer. If you don't like the Grey, or the Green, you may find other options quite easily. You need to have Chrome for the Color Plus App to work for you. For other browsers too, there is an option to change the colour of your Google bar.

(Courtesy: compixels.com)

6. Block The Google Bar With Block Plus:
Ok, we like the Google Bar and its integration with Google+, but honestly, we need a break sometimes. The bar with our G+ details/notifications, follows us on every Google Site! This may get unnerving sometimes. So, what is the way out? It's a little thing called Block Plus! What this magical app does is, that it disintegrates Google+ from the bar, and you are not bothered by Notifications, while doing important work. This app is also referred to as the Google Plus Notifications Blocker. This app can be downloaded for Chrome here . If you are on other browsers, get the Block Plus here.

7. Google+ Surplus:
So, this one is for the BIG TIME addicts of Google+, who want to see their notifications and keep up with their stream, even when they are on non-Google Websites. Enter- Surplus- this Chrome extension, makes your G+ notifications more pronounced and easily accessible. This enables you to view notifications with a sound and you can post or respond to the same within the pop-up. What's more, you can also switch between multiple Google accounts with the Surplus.

(Courtesy- skytechgeek.com)

8. Google+ Becomes Your Entertainment Hub With Google Plusbar:
If you are done for a while with the Sparks and had your share of the Hangouts, and have even sorted and re-sorted your Circles, then head on to the Google Plusbar. This little widget can turn our social into full time infotainer! Plusbar is a bookmarklet which transforms Google+ into an entertainment and information spot. You can listen to the radio, watch videos, watch any News, music or entertainment channel you want directly from Google plus.

9. Like +1 Button:
The name is quite self explanatory, this extension, combines the +1 button and the LIKE button into one. So, if you come across an interesting write up, you just have to click on 'Like +1' and your activity will be updated on both Google+ and Facebook. Here is how you can download it.

10. Find People On Plus:
Who are you looking for? Your long lost friend? Your like-minded co-worker? Or someone from your family who lives 3 continents away? If they are on Google+, you can find them very easily. Thanks to the Find People On Plus website. It detects your area and shows user suggestions. This directory also lets you know the latest Google+ statistics.

Explore these handful of tools and tips, and feel the difference yourselves. The Plus just might get much better for you!

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Helpful Google+ Tools To Make It More Social!

Top 20 Google Plus Tips & Tricks!

Navneet Kaushal — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:49:21 +0000

Everyone is on Google+ or G+, as it's fondly called now. If you want to master this newest social networking mecca, then you need to learn the tricks of the trade. As most of us are in the exploring and experimenting stage on G+, listed below are a few pointers, that will aid you in using the social platform better and faster.

Tip 1: Sorting Out Circles – The Circles are the center of attention on G+ (no pun intended here). The idea of sorting out people into 'can't live without them' – 'they make my work easier' – 'we guys think alike' – 'I don't know what to do with these people', is quite appealing to most of us. In other words, you can divide people into 'Family', 'Friends', 'Colleagues', 'Acquaintances' and almost any other category you can think of. You can add people from Hotmail/Yahoo contacts and also from the 'Suggestions' box displayed on the right hand side of the page. How to bring the Facebook contacts to G+ ? There are a few Firefox and Google Chrome extensions that will do the job. Move your contacts to Yahoo first and then bring them to Google+.

Tip 2: Sharing With Chosen Circles- You share 'posts' on Google+ (not status updates or tweets). Once you put up something, you can choose which 'Circle' you want to share the update with, their names will appear underneath the post in blue. If the post is 'Public' (it is written in Green), anyone can see it in or outside your circles. Once you have put up a post, there will be gray circle with a triangle in it in the top right corner. Click on it for the dropdown menu. From here you can- edit, delete or link to a post or disable comments on a post. More importantly, if you choose 'Disable reshare' then, no one can share it.

Tip 3: Handy Shortcuts For A Post: These are a few keyboard shortcuts, that you have seen before in Gmail too.

Hit the 'Space bar' to scroll down the news stream
Press 'Shift + Space bar' to scroll up the news stream
Hit the 'Q' button to move the page up or down. Allows you to see Chat Option.
Hit on 'Enter' to start a comment
Press 'Tab', and then 'Enter' to submit a comment
Hit 'J' button to go down one post
Hit 'K' button to go up one post

Here are some simple codes, that will make posting faster on G+
For boldface, put asterisks before and after the *Word* – Word
For italics, put underscores before and after the _Word_ – Word
For strikethrough, put hyphen before and after the -Word- ~~Word~~

Tip 4: Share Your Blogs: You can blog on G+ too. Start from concise 250 words posts. You can also redirect your domain to Google+. Redirecting your root domain helps you spread yourself. You may do so easily, as it's shown in this example- 'example-domain.com/+redirect'.

(COURTESY- toddrjordan.com )

Tip 5: Editing comments on others posts: You can see what are the people in your Circles up to, via the stream. You can choose the Circles you want to see on your stream or the news feed. This way, it won't be clogged with updates from people, you have no interest in. When you comment on others' posts, you can edit or delete them, from the icons given below the 'comment here bar'. So, if you want to edit what you wrote, maybe rectify spelling mistakes, then make use of the edit options.

(Courtesy- tech-exclusive.com )

Tip 6: Plus 1 A Post: Like a friend's post, or their picture? Then click on the '+1' to like it. Your name will be shown underneath the post saying that you have +1'ed it, and the author of the post will get a notification that you like their work. However, the post in question will not be shared on your news feed. For people in your Circles to see it, you must 'Share' it.

Tip 7: Muting a Post: Your stream showing one particular post all the time, then you can 'Mute' it. This means that it will no longer see it. This also works, if you have commented or +1ed a post, then you will get a notification every time someone else comments on the post. The flow of continuous notifications can get irritating. In this case, you can go to the 'Menu' in upper right hand corner of the post and select 'Mute this post'. This will tell Google Plus to stop bugging you with it even when there's new activity, and will prevent your ever seeing this post in your stream or notifications bar again.

Tip 8: The 'Limited' Sharing: You can know, whether something that was shared with you is public/open to all or with a select few. There will be a 'Limited' icon at the top of the post, click on it to see who all are in tune with a particular post, and seeing your comments on it.

Tip 9 Chatting Tips: Google+ allows you to chat with people in your Circles. The Chat application is at the bottom of the Left Navigation, and a simple click activates it. The application is very similar to G-Talk, and you need a Google Chat Plugin for the same. The most interesting feature is that you can choose who you chat with. Identify the Circles, with which you want to chat with. These people will be able to see you online, and chat with you. However, for the chat to take place, the other person must also have enabled Chat with you.

(COURTESY- wikihow.com )

Tip 10: Instant Messaging: This can be a bit tricky, as G+ doesn't have a direct personal message option like Twitter or Facebook. For this too, you have to take the 'Post' route. Key in whatever you want to message, like you would do, if you wanted to Post. After writing, click on the Share button and share it with one chosen person only. Your 'Post' will become a message as it will be seen by the concerned person only. Now, how can you make sure, they don't send it to someone else? Well, you can 'Disable Reshare' by going to the menu on the upper right hand corner of the post and selecting the "Disable Reshare" option.

Tip 11: Managing Notifications: You will see the new Notifications, when someone commented on your post, or added you to their Circle, or tagged a photo of you, on the Google+ Bar, right hand side. The number of notifications will be flagged in Red. Now, the amazing thing about G+ is, that you can comment on status updates right within the notifications menu-you don't have to go to another page for that! The drop down can display the entire stream on that post, right there in the notifications drop down menu. You can go right or left through new or old notifications if you want.

(COURTESY- snaphow.com )

Tip 12: Sharing On Facebook and Twitter: You can use Chrome Extensions to add functionality to Google+. You can share Google+ content on Facebook or Twitter. Let the old buddies know what you have been up to on G+. The Google+ Facebook extension lets you share and you can install the extension directly from Google Web Store. Just go to- http://crossrider.com/install/519-google-facebook and get extension.

There is another option for integrating G+ with Facebook or Twitter. Go to- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/oenpjldbckebacipkfbcoppmiflglnib
and download the app. This extension will add a 'Share On' tab below your posts. On clicking this you can choose, where you want this post to show. This little tab can let you share on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Tumblr.

Tip 13: Sharing Photos And Videos on Google+ : You can share a photo in many ways, wither through a post in the news stream, or upload them from the G+ bar (you need to click on the camera icon from the share box, then click on 'Share' to add it to the stream). You can also do it from the 'Upload Photos' option from your home page. You can add name tags to a photo by opening it in 'lightbox' view and roving the mouse over the picture will pop up a 'click to name' option. All you have to do is type the desired name in the box, and the picture is tagged. Google+ and Picasa Web Albums are connected. You can upload unlimited videos of 15 minutes duration each on Google+.

Tip 14: Managing Your Google+ Profile: Choose how you want to come across on Google+. Select the 'View Profile' option and then choose to 'Edit Profile'. Now, Google+ is preety amazing at privacy. You can choose to share every information on the Profile list differently. So, from your bio, to your photos, or your links, or to a very different – 'bragging rights' section; you can choose what you want to be visible to whom. Once you fill up any detail on your profile, you will get a drop down menu about who you want to share it with -'Anyone on the Web' or with , specific circles, extended circles, or even individual people or not at all. After Saving, do not forget to click 'Done Editing' at the top of your profile page, to successfully apply the changes made.

(Courtesy-tothepc.com )

Tip 15: How Others See Your Profile: Once you have done up your profile, you can easily see how it has come out. It's obvious that you have chosen different people to see different sections of your profile. You can see how each of them sees your profile, as a user. For the same, reach the profile page from the Google bar at the top- View profile route. There, you will see a 'View Profile As' box, in the category bar across the top. Now, key in the name of the user you want, and you will see your profile as they see it. Double check what you have shared and all.

Tip 16: Privacy Settings: Most of us need to control what we share, hence the need for better privacy. You can access your Privacy Settings by clicking on the tiny spoke wheel thing on the top right corner. You can change your notification settings by clicking on Google+ Settings. You can choose when do you want to be notified- when you are tagged in a photo, or someone mentions you in a post, or adds you to a circle. There are currently 11 notification options available.

Tip 17: Photo/Albums Privacy Settings: Once you share a photo, you can do it with anyone on the web, or with people in your circles as well as to anyone in their circles, or a customised list of people or only you. You can specify whether to include photos on your profile or not. You may also set up your photo tag approval settings, so that you know where you are when someone tags you in a photo.

Tip 18: Protecting Your Circles: So, you are worried what might people think, if they got to know what Circle you added them to? Then breathe easy, they won't know. People will be notified that you have added them to a Circle, but will not know which one. When someone visits your profile, they see 'Your name..has these in his Circles'- this is like a friend list that is displayed for visitors.

But, if you don't want people to know who all you are connected to, then you can Edit your settings. On the 'Edit Profile' page, there is a section- 'In circles.' ( your name). Click on the Globe icon there- to bring up an options box to let you customize who can see information about your circles. Unselecting the top box will make information about who's in your circles totally private.

(Courtesy- comptricks.com )

Tip 19: Creating your own URL: This one takes the cake for vanity.If the big, long URL of your Google Plus profile bothers you, then you can shorten it. You can customise your URL by signing up at Google Plus Nick.

Tip 20: Accounting Switching: The Google+ bar allows for multi account switching. For that you must have enabled multi sign-in, then you can switch between the accounts using the G+ bar. Click on your name on the Google bar and from the drop down menu, select 'Switch Account'

Google+ is working on other features as we speak-like integration with YouTube, or Options for business pages. But for all newbies, the social platform has quite enough options to keep busy for a while. The more you like the interface- the more 'plussed' you are!

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Top 20 Google Plus Tips & Tricks!

Top 10 Tips To Promote Your Business On Facebook!

Navneet Kaushal — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:38:05 +0000

With a user base of 750 million users, Facebook is like a huge-unexplored market for your business. There are millions of potential customers on Facebook that are waiting for you to reach them. So, in case you are wondering how to take your business to Facebook- the method is fairly simple. As, the social network allows you to put your business out there, and even provides multiple tools to aid you in spreading your business.

Here are the top 10 ways to use Facebook for business.

1. Create a Page- This goes without saying, that to have an impressive Facebook presence, you need to get there first, and create a 'Page' for your business. You have to choose the type of page you want to create. Your obvious choice here is the business page.

This has certain details to be ironed out-

Facebook vanity URL, which you have to claim for unique business identity. Initially when you create the page, Facebook offers each Page a “Vanity URL” once the page has 25 fans or more. When you set out to select one, be very careful as once you choose a name, you can't change it. You will be guided step by step to sign up for the URL here- http://www.facebook.com/username
Static FBML- Make sure to like this page on Facebook. Then with HTML, you can create your own personalised tabs. For example, if you are a boutique- the tabs could be- Womes' party Wear; Men's Section, etc. This will make your page standout.

Source- Blog Design Studio

Landing page- With the Static FBML, you can design your own landing page- which will be first thing people will see, when they come to your page. Now making this page as attractive as possible must be your focus, only then can you be certain of getting a 'LIKE' from every visitor. Here are a few examples of exciting landing pages, that are in tune with products and their target audience too.

For any confusions about page creation, please go here: http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages

2. Build Your Profile- Fill out the details about your business, location, contact details everything. Tell people what you are all about and what all services/products you offer. Fill the 'About' section completely. One thing that completes your profile information is a picture. The Profile Picture, has to be chosen smartly to fill in the more vertical space provided by Facebook. Here are some interesting examples.

For any confusions about page creation, please go here: http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages

3. Linking Your Page- Explore the multiple Apps by Facebook to link your page to Twitter, blogs etc. Integrate your Business Website to Facebook too. Add a LIKE button, so that people can be directed to your FB page. This is essential so that initial traffic on your website is directed to your facebook page too.

4. Explore Similar-Related Businesses- To make your presence known, search for similar pages, and LIKE them. Comment on relative posts there. Like what other people have written. The concerned parties will get a notification, that you have arrived. They will no doubt come to your page.
For example, if you are a Book Publisher Page, then go and LIKE the pages of authors you publish, interact with their fans.

5. Status Updates- What do you put up on your Facebook Page is of utmost importance. The key here is to be interesting-interactive and innovative. Do not brag about your services all the time. Involve people. Ask them a question. Invite them to share. For example, if you are a Chocolate Manufacturer- you could put up a status update like: “When was the first time someone gifted you a box of chocolates?” People will surely respond to that. This section also includes 'Polls' and 'Questions' and 'Notes'. Facebook has an excellent application for creating them.

Source: ideate.co.za

6. Post interesting videos. They may be related to your business, or may be something interesting you came across. The idea here is again- to generate curiosity, encourage audience participation and involvement. This also involves creating albums of your top/latest products or staff. For example, if you are a Shoe Retailer- Create an album of the latest shoes that have come in. Ask people to share them.

7. Keep Your Wall Open- Allow people to interact with you. Put out a status update, inviting them to clear all their queries. For example, if you are a Clothes Retailer, you can say, “Anything you wanted to know about our products and their warranty/exchange policies. Please feel free to ask. We will sort every query”. Allow people to interact with you, the admin, as well as each other.

8. Events- Organize events, and then promote them on Facebook with the 'Events' App. Put up pictures of these events. Spread the link as much as you can.

9. Facebook Ads- Facebook places your ads on relevant profiles. They promote it through various ways. For example, they show it as a page to someone as liked by a friend, in other ways recommending on basis of familiarity.

10. Incentives- Providing users with a reason to like your page by offering a free gift or a discount coupons works miracles. This will shoot up the LIKES on your page pretty steadily. A little investment can go a long way in creating a fan base.

Source: sincerelyfido.com

These are the basics that you must follow. However, you must base your strategy according to your target audience. Study their preferences on Facebook and work accordingly. Remember the mantra:

Interesting- Innovative-Interactive- is how your you Facebook business Page must be.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Top 10 Tips To Promote Your Business On Facebook!

Google +1 Beats Twitter In The Social Plugins Race!

Navneet Kaushal — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:04:56 +0000

It seems like not a single day goes by without Google being in the lime light. Following yesterday's stark criticism from New York Times over the Locksmith Scam in The Seattle area , Google has something to smile about today! It is all thanks to the recent study carried out by BrightEdge .

The Study reveals the growing popularity of Google +1 plugin on the home page of the top 10,000 websites. This was revealed as the plugin saw an all important increase of 28% on the home page appearance over last months stats. The figure stands at, 4.5% this month as opposed to last month's 3.5%.

Facebook's continued dominance:
Whilst Google +1 is doing good for themselves, it seems like nothing can hamper the dominance of Facebook in the social realm. It still very much dominates the top sites as, more than 10.8% of top sites include Facebook's 'Like' plugin. Whilst, Facebook's 'Like box' stands not too far behind at 6.1 % . Also from the Facebook clan, Facebook 'Connect' which is at 1.9%, and last but definitely not the least, Facebook 'recommendations' which is present at 1.2% in the top 10K top websites.

Twitter's fall back:
Despite the growth in Twitter plugins, it does not seem like their efforts are enough to match the two giants, Facebook and Google. Twitter 'Share' seems to be more popular than 'Instant Follow' as the former appeared on 2.1% of the top sites, whilst 'Instant Follow' appeared on a mere 1.3% of the top sites. Perhaps these figures might ring alarm bells in the Twitter household. Maybe little Tweet needs to fly faster and higher if it is looking to survive in the big bad world of the Social dominance.

As for the Google +1…
Slowly but steadily it seems like Google is getting a hang of this Social game. Whilst Facebook and Twitter have been around for a while, let's not forget Google +1 was launched earlier this year in the month of March . Definitely the Google Marketing heads are doing something right here! And despite Facebook's continued success, if Google's +1's share continues to rise, soon Facebook too will need to compete fare and square to retain its number one spot amongst the top 10K websites on the web. As for Twitter, it will need to hang in there tight and work harder as it is not out of the race just yet.

According to the CEO, Jim Yu, of BrightEdge"Overall, this inaugural version of our SocialShare Site Analysis shows huge opportunity for brands to engage more socially. Fewer than half the largest sites on the Web offer any kind of social link at all on their front page and these sites represent a massive slice of Internet traffic on any given day. We would expect to see a land grab effort this year as plug-ins vie for placement on this very valuable Web real estate."

As the battle for the top 3 plugins becomes fierce, lets see what the future will hold for them. It will be interesting to see if Facebook's social dominance will be ended, and if so, by who?

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Google +1 Beats Twitter In The Social Plugins Race!

Yahoo! Buzz Finally Open for All!

Navneet Kaushal — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:07:05 +0000

So far the stark competitor to Digg, Yahoo! Buzz that was launched in February this year was available only to a handful of invited publishers who were able to post news to Buzz. This was seen as a completely biased move, as those stories that did make the Yahoo! home page saw incredible volumes to traffic to that particular website.

However, now via Yodel Anecdotal, Yahoo! has announced that Yahoo! Buzz has now been made available to every user publisher on the Internet.

According to Yahoo!, "We started with about 100 publishing partners, which quickly grew to more than 400. Sites like Salon.com and GigaOm immediately saw an impact as their traffic soared when content climbed up the list and got selected for Yahoo.com. Now that benefit can come to any site online, making it possible to give as much visibility to extraordinary content from an obscure site as major news stories from big publishers."

Interested publishers can submit and publish their stories on Yahoo! Buzz by clicking here. If you are a Webmaster and wish to add the "Buzz Up" to your website, then you can simply visit this link http://buzz.yahoo.com/buttons and add the button of your choice to your website.

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Yahoo! Buzz Finally Open for All!

Listas: Microsoft's Social Marketing Tool

Navneet Kaushal — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:16:55 +0000

The Microsoft Live Labs blog announces Lista's, Microsoft's Technology Preview Tool.

â€œListas is a tool for the creation, management and sharing of lists, notes, favorites, and more. It allows you to quickly and easily edit lists, share them with others for reading or wiki-style editing, and discover the public lists of other users. We encourage you to try using it for meeting notes, bookmarks, shopping lists, to plan a night out, or whatever other creative ways you can think of.

In the Listas Community Section, you will find a number of highlights of the most popular and random items from around the community of public lists such as the most used tags, the hottest lists, and prolific contributors. You can even add othersâ€™ lists (or any RSS feed) to your own Listas so you are always up to date. â€

You can even create lists from all the things you find on the web, like search results, wish lists, videos, or all or part of virtually any page with the Listas Toolbar for Internet Explorer.

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Listas: Microsoft's Social Marketing Tool

SMX Social Media New York Day 1 Sessions Coverage!

Navneet Kaushal — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:51:55 +0000

Below is our coverage of Day 1 of SMX Social Media New York

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SMX Social Media New York Day 1 Sessions Coverage!

Top Ten Social Media Sites

Navneet Kaushal — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:35:37 +0000

EbizMBA has a list of top ten social bookmarking sites ranked by a combination of Compete and Quantcast data. Digg has expected tops them all.

1. Digg.com
2. Netscape.com
3. Del.icio.us
4. StumbleUpon.com
5. Reddit.com
6. Slashdot.org
7. BlinkList.com
8. Furl.net
9. Newsvine.com
10. ShoutWire.com

For a detailed analysis checkout the complete post.

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Top Ten Social Media Sites

Social Media Marketing: The Media And Being Social About It

Navneet Kaushal — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:10:30 +0000

The social media has emerged with a boom during the past few years. The social media sites enables a website or a blog with good content to generate traffic as well as create awareness.

Lee Odden in his post on Social Media Marketing informs about the essential characteristics of a social media community.

Create profiles/accounts
Grow a network of friends
Submit content or collaborate
Vote on content
Tag content

Lee Odden rightly says that the above factors are what 'social' stands for. The 'media' is the platform and the content. Like wiki, forums, threads, blogs, audio-video sharing etc. social news sites are largely used today to generate traffic to a post. Many bloggers have gained popularity owed to the social media sites.

Back in August 2006 Rohit had a good post on Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO).

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Social Media Marketing: The Media And Being Social About It

Serph Leaves Beta To Take Over Social Search Media

Navneet Kaushal — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:24:56 +0000

In January we informed that 'ACS is launching a new personalized social media search tool, Serph, which will enable the users to know what other people are commenting over the web at the moment'. Cameron Olthius informs that Serph has left beta.

Cameron says, “We're bringing Serph out of beta today. We first mentioned our reputation management tool; Serph, a couple of months ago and we're now ready for it to be open to the public.”

When i searched for my name i got 22 results. Mostly they are the recent posts done by me. Check out what Serph comes up with for your name or your company's name.

Marketing Pilgrim also has a good post on it.

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Serph Leaves Beta To Take Over Social Search Media