Last week, I read this blog. It inspired me to think about the value of social media, e-readers, and e-publishing. As writers and thinkers, we have a responsibility to the future. Or more accurately, we have a responsibility to preserve history. We must make published documents accessible for future generations.
Do you think they’ll use the same technology in 2511 we use now? Is publishing our most valuable information in such a way that is likened to thousands of authors 500 years ago writing a trillion documents on papyrus, shredding each document into 10,000 pieces, and strewing those documents across the earth the best way to preserve our history?
In that blog, the author jokingly theorized that perhaps future generations might study Kanye West’s tweets. Do you think civilizations 500 years from now will consider what he tweeted, in the midst of zillions of gigabytes of information, that valuable? I’d argue that in the 26th century Kanye West and Lady Gaga will be celebrated, if they are known, in the same way we celebrate minstrels. Do you consider lyrics of a minstrel from 500 years ago valuable? Do you know any?
I theorize ancient civilizations had better means to preserve their most valuable documents. Though, just as we publish in a way that is the most convenient and cost saving for us, perhaps they published in the same way.
What do you think? Is e-publishing likened to thousands of authors, writing trillions of documents, shredding each of those docs into ten thousand pieces, and strewing them across the earth? Or is e-publishing likened to the advent of the printing press? I’d love to know your thoughts.
Recently, I read an article that purported that studies showed social media did not increase traffic to websites. Of course, that was a generalization and is not true of all websites. Though, for the average website, I am not going to argue with it. The purpose of social media is not to increase traffic to websites. If people go to your website because of your social media campaign great, but that should not be your primary focus for delving into social media.
Think of your website like a Starbucks and your website traffic as the foot traffic. Now, lets say because you had a sign spinner or a giant banner or some other means of advertising your store, 1,000 people come into your store on a particular day. 450 of those people buy coffee, 350 come and sit with friends or just read, and 200 just get water or use the restroom.
Of course, you have your overhead, you need to pay your employees, and there are other expenses. Only those 450 people on that particular day paid for all of your expenses for that day. That banner or the guy spinning the sign or whatever other method you used to drive traffic to your site may have driven that traffic to your location, but those 450 who paid for something that day also paid for the 550 who bought nothing or used something without a cost.
Now, think about why you do or do not go back to a particular coffee house. Perhaps its because of good prices, good product, good service, ambience, convenience, you’ve developed a relationship with the baristas, or other. The bottom line is SEO, like that sign spinner or the banner, is about driving traffic; social media is about building relationships and developing loyalty.
No matter whether you’re a social media novice, aficionado, or expert, there is bound to be something in this book you can glean from. It’s a great resource for teachers and students, and it covers all of the basis from blogging to the importance of a social media plan.
If you’ve read this book, let me know your thoughts. I’d love to glean from you, and learn what has and has not worked. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, you can buy it below.
If there are two things you like, it’s free and it’s lists. Blogs with lists of free stuff always get the most views. I try to write my blogs in list or bullet point format as much as possible, but I don’t list free resources (i.e. other sites) as much as I once did. If I list a social media or related start-up and that start-up goes under or is acquired by a larger company, I am left with a broken link. And that’s not good for SEO.
Recently, someone contacted me about trying their site and writing a review. Someone else asked me to review their book on social media marketing, which I will post within the next week or two (e-mail erick @ seobridges . com if you’d like me to review your book, site, or product).
I stopped focusing on posting lists of free resources because while it is great for my initial SEO because it attracts visitor, it is potentially bad for my overall SEO because those sites may cease to exist or the URL may change.
While I may post the occasional review of a social media or social media related site, which has been around for a while, that’s not my focus. My focus is to help you understand the principles of SEO and social media marketing. Yes, I will continue to give you tools, when it’s appropriate; but understanding those principles will prove of higher value to you over time.
Hootsuite uses it, Scribd uses it, and several other sites use it to be more search bot friendly and interactive for users. Here’s a list of the most social link types, attributes, and elements in HTML5.
Article Element – This tells search bots when content is related to other content, such as with blog comments.
Cite Element – This cites sources and is a great way to give credit where credit is due.
KBD Element – Under certain circumstances, this can be used as a voice command.
Embed Element – This represents integration with non-HTML points, such as applications or other interactive content.
Link type “Author” – This can be used with link, a, or area elements and creates a hyperlink. When used with the a or area element, it indicates further information about the author of the article. When used with the link element, it indicates information about the author of a page.
Link type “Help” – This can be used with link, a, or area element and indicates that the referenced document provides help. When used with the a or area element, it indicates help for the article. Within the link element, it indicates help for the page.
Link Type “Pingback” – This may be used with the Link element and creates an external link resource to let authors of other blogs or articles know you referenced their information.
Accesskey Attribute – This generates keyboard shortcuts that activate elements.
If you’re an SEO, you should know the basics of HTML, and you should be aware of the upgrades in HTML5. If you don’t, W3 Schools is an excellent place to learn.
For SEO and webmasters concerned about recent updates to Google’s algorithm, I recommend reviewing Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Google favors well designed websites, original content that adds value, and links to reputable websites. Think of a website like a house.
An architect doesn’t design a house so a person walks into the garage when they open the front door. In the same way, a website should welcome visitors, let them know what the site is about, and encourage them to discover more.
An architect designs every room with at least one door to and from another room. In the same way, each page of a website should be accessible from at least one static text link; and the page titles should tell users where those links lead.
Just as an architect designs a house with windows to allow visibility, an SEO should submit their website to search engines and link to relevant websites. This will allow potential visitors to see your site and current visitors to find relevant information.
And just as a contractor adds certain appliances to certain rooms, you should add content that is relevant to specific pages. Don’t talk about widgets if the title of your page is gadgets.
Finally, just as any good contractor should make sure all of the plumbing and electrical in the house functions right, you want to use good coding and make sure all of the links work.
If you follow these rules, your site will maintain its integrity no matter how often Google changes its algorithm.
With the rise of social media curation tools like Storify , the value of what you tweet and post on Facebook is becoming largely dependent upon the relationships between the category of your website and the categories of the website(s) your tweeting or posting about.
Right now, if I Google ‘Social Media,’ I receive 161,000,000 hits. If I search for ‘Social Media’ within the last 24 hours, I receive 56,400,000 hits. It would take countless wasted hours to sort through all of those hits.
Google categorizes your site according to the anchor text, title, and keywords in the URL of your site’s pages. They also use the anchor text, title, and keywords in the URL of sites you link to to determine how relatable your site is to that topic.
So, if you want to find the most relevant blogs and articles on any given topic within any period of time, use the search parameters allinanchor:seo+content, allinurl:seo+content or allintitle:seo+content. You can also use a combination of those three if you want very specific results.
The Web is becoming more and more dependent upon relationships. Not just relationships between people, but also relationships between websites. Go through your website and consider the keywords in your anchor text, url, and title. Consider the same of sites you link to, tweet, or post on Facebook. Finally, consider their relationships and the the relevancy of their relationships to the overall message of your site.
For more on how to get the most out of Google, check out this Free Search Guide.
Yesterday was the 159th anniversary of the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book Uncle Tom’s Cabin (UTC). Let’s look at three social media lessons Stowe used to spread her anti-slave message to millions of people.
Lesson 1: Create responsive and innovative messages that inspire change
Written in response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, UTC was influenced by the stories of escaped slaves, including those of Josiah Henson.
Today, many are capitalizing on the rise of social media by suggesting ‘search is dead.’ Those who understand social media best realize search and social media have and will continue to integrate. They inspire change by looking beyond the horizon rather than at the horizon.
Lesson 2:Don’t try to create an audience around your message, rather create your message around a listening audience
Before it’s book publication, UTC appeared in a 40-week serial of an abolitionist periodical called National Era. Stowe found an audience sympathetic to her anti-slave message.
That doesn’t mean let your audience influence you, rather it means tailor your message to the needs of your audience. Listen to and engage with that audience, send a relevant and identifiable message to that audience, allow your message to attract that audience, and trust that audience to spread your message.
Lesson 3: We are responsible for how our messages influence others
Uncle Tom’s Cabin inspired the Republican party to change its stance on chattel slavery, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. And those three books have inspired political and social movements, including the civil liberties, feminist, and green movements.
I’m sure we can learn more lessons from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but those are the three I find most relevant. Are there any lessons you’d add? BTW, all historical information is taken from Wikipedia, so any arguments against any historical information in this blog should be taken up with the editors of Wikipedia.
If you read the most recent issue of Poets & Writers, you know if you are an author and want a Web designer you want Jefferson Rabb. He doesn’t design sites with a traditional call to action, rather he designs them with the goal of letting the user get to know the author better. Most, if not all, of the sites he creates he creates for Hachette Book Group or Random House.
His site features what appears to be four subway lines running through Manhattan. In the middle of the map is the front page of one of those sites—Nameberry.com. That site deserves to be featured in the middle of Rabb’s rendition of Manhattan because it is that site, and that site alone, that Alexa ranks the highest out of all of the sites Rabb designed. According to Compete.com, Nameberry received 98,064 visits in January, which was a little more than 10,000 less visitors than in December.
So, what are they doing right with Nameberry.com that’s not going so right with those other sites? Yes, social media. Facebook sends the third highest concentration of visitors (5.61%), and Nameberry.com has a Twitter account with a decent following. Yes, SEO content. Google sends the highest concentration of visitors (44.86%). Though, Nameberry receives 6.54% of its traffic from Parents.com and Babynology.com, which combined makes them more lucrative than Facebook to Nameberry.
Even though Parents.com is not a social networking site, they offer a community where expectant parents can interact with one another. Babynology does not offer any type of social networking, but they do have photo contests, articles and tips, and easy to use search features. So, what’s the point? Simple, you need something more than a fancy Web design; you need to find your audience and engage.
Yesterday, I went to Panera Bread in Vista, CA. I’ve only been to about half a dozen of Panera’s 1300 US locations, but their Vista location is my favorite. I’ve also been to the original Panera in Boston, which is much more compact.
Every once in a while, I like to explore new places and find quaint coffee houses or cafés where I can sit and write, read, or just relax. For me, the quieter and roomier, allowing me to spread out my work, the better.
San Diegans are a laid back, casual group. When we go to Padres games, we don’t go expecting them to win the world series. We go because Petco Park is one of the nicest baseball parks in the US, and it’s an enjoyable place to spend time with friends and family. Likewise, when we go out to coffee, we go to relax.
I am not going to say Bostonians are not a laid back casual people, but Boston is a subways culture and San Diego is a beach culture. That culture reflects well in the Panera Bread at Boston’s Coolidge Corner. That location, like many Boston cafés and coffee houses, is much more compact.
I prefer the more spacious Panera’s, cafés, and coffee houses of San Diego. That’s probably because I’m a San Diegan. People who live in subway cultures, and are used to rubbing shoulders with other train riders, probably enjoy bumping elbows and getting into conversations with new friends at cafés and coffeehouses that cram as many tables and chairs into their establishment as possible.
When you’re writing content for your website or working on your company’s social media marketing plan, consider your audience. Sure, your clientele may consist of people from beach cultures, subway cultures, and various other subcultures, but they all have one thing in common—You. And how you brand yourself and/or your business matters.
