Byte of the Week

Last week I had an opportunity to try out a new presentation tool – Prezi http://prezi.com – it’s akin to PowerPoint, but different. I created a Prezi on improving your search engine ranking:
http://prezi.com/fl4ydtu2etnt/top-10-tips-for-seo/

Prezi is free. You use it online. You can post your presentation online and/or download it to access later. Here are some of the things I liked about it:

• It’s different from PowerPoint (not that there’s anything wrong with PowerPoint, it’s just a nice change)
• It’s easy to set up
• You can access it online (no more flash drives)

I did find it a little tricky to use once on front of a group – but that’s because the computer was about 10 feet away from where I was talking so there was a lot of walking back and forth. That probably would have been as true with PPT, but because I was new to the tool I was sensitive to any hiccups.

Prezi does a very nice job of walking you through the tool when you first sign up so I won’t try to replicate that here – but I will say it’s worth a shot. My presentation was brief (25 minutes); it took me 90 minutes to create the presentation – half of that was probably learning to use the tool. So the learning curve – at least for a quick presentation – was quick to overcome.

Definitely worth a test if you’re going to be creating a presentation soon.

Today I gave a presentation on QR Codes. It was supposed to last an hour, it only lasted 30 minutes. That’s how easy it is!

QR Codes are those geometric squares that are popping up in magazine and even billboards. You can scan them with a smartphone – they will store over 4000 characters. So the creators could include a web site address or link to directions from Google Maps.

You can access the presentation here: http://www.mnrem.com/blog/?p=364 It walks through a demonstration of scanning a QR Code as a consumer and creating one. Or you can cut to the quick and check out this free QR Code Generator, which I think does a good job of laying out the options:

http://www.qrstuff.com/

I’ve always said that search engines look at three things:

• Keywords in content – do you use the search terms your potential clients use on your pages?
• Popularity as defined by links – do other, quality sites link to your site?
• Freshness of content – are you updating your site regularly

I just read a statistic that increased my interest in fresh content. Google’s VP of Engineering recently reported that 20 to 25% of the queries they see are brand new. He was talking about how Google uses context to understand searches. (You can see more here: http://tinyurl.com/2xsaoa.)

I think it also feeds into a popular idea of the long tail search engine optimization. The long tail search focuses on multiple-word phrases [st paul dry cleaning open Sunday] as opposed to single phrases, such as [drycleaners]. (Here’s more info on the long tail search http://strategizer.wordtracker.com/.)

If you are a drycleaner in my town that’s open on Sunday, you could see where showing up for the first search is even more important that showing up for the second if you are focused on making a sale.

In some ways the goal is easier when you just pick the most popular terms and focus on using them, although the competition is getting increasingly fierce. I think the best way to reach those or long tail searches is to provide as much information as possible.

On traditional web sites this can be somewhat difficult as there is realistically only so much space for info. That’s why I’ve been becoming a bigger and bigger fan of blogs. Blogs are easy to maintain. Each blog acts as its own page in terms of SEO – so that if you write all about your adventures in dry cleaning on Sundays, you can do well for the search above. And writing about your industry and what interests you and your clients, I think you increase the odds of using other long tail search terms.

Also each blog post feeds into providing fresh content for the whole site.

Writing blog posts takes time – and sometimes it makes sense to hire that out – but I think in terms of SEO it can be money well spent.

Kind of long this week – I hope that’s helpful.

In September I am giving a free webinar on QR Codes for Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace. You’re all welcome:

QR Code: What, How Why?
Have you noticed barcode matrix graphics in magazines, ads, even billboards? Have you wondered how they work and how you can use them to reach your audience? We’ll talk about what they are, how to use them and how to create them.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/197549182

Also for Minnesota folks, I wanted to share my annual State Fair scavenger hunt: http://wp.me/p48Vv-18X

Last year I got a Droid. I’ve been pretty happy with it and it takes decent video – but I can’t upload them directly to YouTube, which is kind of a pain. Luckily I found a free and easy video converter.

DVDVideoSoft http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/ has a series of free downloads related to video and video conversion. I downloaded the Free Studio. It allows me to use the following tools:

• Free Video to DVD Converter
• Free Video to Flash Converter
• Free Video to MP3 Converter
• Free Video to JPG Converter
• Free 3GP Video Converter
• Free Video to iPod and PSP Converter
• Free Video to iPhone Converter
• Free Video Flip and Rotate
• Free Video Dub
• Free Screen Video Recorder
• Free DVD Video Burner
• Free DVD Video Converter

The 3GP Video Converter is the only one I use. I open it up, add my file (which I have downloaded to my laptop) and click convert. Then it’s saved to a local folder and ready to upload to YouTube. Here’s my latest upload http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wka2xIeCOCA. I’m only adding it so you can laugh at the sort of videos I upload. (It’s a reenactment of the Battle of Clontarf!)

I know I’ve been MIA for a while. My good excuse is that I’ve been traveling (http://10questionsabout.com/) – although that really only covers me for the last couple of weeks. I’m trying to get better about sending posts again.

I’ve been kind of curious about Google+. I’m not a user – but I did look into it a little. It sounds like a new social network tool – kind of like Facebook. There are a few features that differentiate it:

• Circles – are used to create mini-social networks within the larger scope. Put positively, you can focus your conversation based on circles. Put another way you can filter out people when appropriate. So no need to tell your work buddies you’re weekend plans – even if you let them into one of your other circles.
• Sparks – are more public groups built out of shared interested. So if you’re into dogs or foreign films, you can always find a friend to talk to about it.
• Hangouts – are video chatrooms. It seems like they are built from your known friends (or circles).
• Mobile – uses GPS and easy photo-sharing to enhance your experience
• Huddle – sounds like group texting

As I said I haven’t tried it yet – but I got the rundown on the Google blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-google-project-real-life.html

Two Bytes in a week? Maybe I’m back on track. One item was timely so I wanted to get this out in time for folks to enjoy the poster!

First – I work with some folks who have put together a cute Earth Day Poster that you can download for free http://www.learningzonexpress.com (scroll down to find it). With their permission, I’m sending the link with best wishes for a happy Earth Day (April 22)!

Second – do you have a friend on Facebook who is bugging you with her updates, yet you don’t want to deal with the politics of un-friending her? Well you could block her instead. The next time you see an update, just hover your mouse over the upper right hand portion of it. You’ll see a small X. Click on the X and you’ll get a dialog box asking if you want to 1) Hide this post, 2) Hide all posts by this person or 3) Mark as Spam. Choose the second option.

There you go – the person is hidden and none the wiser of your censorship.

Now what do you do if ever want to unblock those posts, just go to the very bottom of your Facebook homepage to find the older posts option. Just to the right you should find a “more options” button. If you click on that it will bring up a box with all things you have hidden and you can choose to unhide.

I wanted to thank folks who attended the free webinar earlier this month on search engine optimization. If you didn’t get to attend and want to see the presentation or listen to the recording, you can check them out here:
http://www.mnrem.com/blog/?page_id=53

We’ve set a date for the next one-hour webinar and I wanted to invite you to attend – Thursday April 28, 2011 at 10 am. The topic is Social Media for Industry. Here’s a description…

Join us for an introduction to social media strategies for renewable energy businesses. Learn how other businesses are using Blogs, Twitter, Video and Social Media networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook. We’ll talk about how to use social media to other businesses and consumers.

No need to pre-register, simply join the webinar immediately before the webinar:http://connectpro31594469.adobeconnect.com/r53173140/

Today’s Byte is a little geeky. So for folks who aren’t involved with Facebook pages I have a quick hit. It’s my new favorite non-techie TED talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwrV5e6fMY – Jamie Oliver on the importance of teaching kids to eat and cook healthily.

On to Facebook Changes…

Facebook just made a bunch of changes – for the most part it seems as if the changes relate to the pages more than personal accounts. At this point if you are a page admin, you can opt into “upgrade”, but on March 10, all pages will be upgraded. I administer a few FB pages. Here are some of the changes I’ve noticed:

• The layout of the page has changed. It now more closely mirrors the personal profile pages. That includes increased prominence of images – so perhaps an incentive to get more pictures on your page.
• You can modify the posts on your wall even more. You can have the most popular posts rise to the top.
• Pages now can act like personal accounts to some degree. My favorite change – it’s easier to get notifications when someone posts on your page or posts. Also you can now “like” other pages and posts comments on other pages as a page. I like this change a lot too. I think it will make it much easier to interact with other pages, which should make it easier to promote your page with thoughtful interactions.
• If you are Admin to multiple pages, you can still login as page to choose featured likes and make comments as an individual page.

So if I’m administering a Facebook Page/Strategy, what does this mean? To start, my plan is to like, feature and comment on other key Facebook pages. The first step is to find the pages that I think are good links, which means my fans will be intersted in what they say and their fans are people I want to reach. Then find an organic way to interact with that page (as a page). I’ll probably start by sharing their posts. Who doesn’t want to be sahred?

Foursquare (http://foursquare.com) is a fun mobile app that allows you to check into a business using your mobile phone – if you have a mobile phone that can handle apps. I joined a while back – but the beauty eluded me until I got a better phone. Now when I’m going places I can “check in”. Then everyone knows I’m there – which I’m sure is a treat for them. But I can see who else has checked in, which is sometimes a treat (or warning) for me.

Some businesses will reward you once you check in with a coupon or tip. If you have checked into a given place more than anyone else you are the Mayor! Some businesses offer special rewards to the Mayor. It’s kind of fun. I could definitely see it be more fun back when I had a crowd I might meet up with on a regular basis – maybe that feature will come into its own for me during the State Fair.

Foursquare for Businesses

Not all businesses participate – but they may have a presence regardless. If you have a business that caters to end customers you might want to look into it. It’s a fun way to reward frequent visitors and it’s a new way to promote your business for free. Claiming your business is free and easy.

To claim your business, you find it on Foursquare. If you’re not there, you can add yourself. Once you see your listing you’ll see the big “claim your business” link. You can confirm your connection by having them call you (if your number is in a business directory) or via mail. Then they will walk you through creating your first specials.

If I were downtown selecting a bar in a new town, I might try Foursquare to see what was near me. And all things being equal I would be tempted to check out a place with a Foursquare special. Or in my own town I might strive to become a Mayor if I was rewarded. It’s kind of silly – but it just might work with the right sort of customer.