Curatti Best Articles of 2015 – Part 1
As 2015 draws to an end, all of us at Curatti would like to offer a big thank you to all of our readers and advocates. More than anyone, however, we’d like to thank our great writers, who make this site what it is.
Happy New Year to all!
Here is Part One of a recap of original content by our regular contributors (2 or more original pieces). One piece per person – not an easy task – chosen to complement each other, and presented in alphabetical order. There’s a little comment from me, followed by an excerpt. Some very interesting and helpful stuff here! Enjoy!
Scott Aughtmon
4 Ways to Make Your Marketing More Effective
Some people write about storytelling, Scott just tells stories
Eugene Schwartz book, Breakthrough Advertising is considered a mail order classic. In this book Schwartz reveals something very important to business owners, copywriters, and content marketers.
In a section called Mass Desire: The Force That Makes Advertising Work Schwartz says something pretty powerful about desire.
He says, “This is the copy writer’s task: not to create this mass desire—but to channel and direct it. Actually, it would be impossible for any one advertiser to spend enough money to actually create this mass desire. He can only exploit it. And he dies when he tries to run against it.
“Let me repeat. This mass desire must already be there. It must already exist. You cannot create it. and vou cannot fight it. But you can—and must—direct it, channel it. Focus it onto your particular product.”
Andy Capaloff
There have been many articles talking about aspects of IT which have crossed over into Social Media. This one is written by a career IT person:
What Can IT Teach My SMB?
The Systems needs of very large companies, can be huge. I work on various aspects of systems, which can involve multiple departments, spread over 3 continents. It will not come as a newsflash to anyone that this requires specialised job descriptions and some really strict processes. What may surprise some people is that these skillsets and processes are scalable and can help their small and medium sized businesses (SMB).
The aim of this article is as much to put thoughts into the minds of people currently employed in Big Business, as in those of the SMB owners I am convinced they can help. In my experience, this will be no small task!
Reginald Chan
Which Social Media Platform Is Best For Me?
Being very chatty, this piece lends itself more to curation than excepting:
Reginald says that before you choose your platforms, you need to decide if you will complete head on with your competition, or ‘sideways’ – reaching out to your potential readers by sharing specific information related to your subject matter.
“Perform split testing around major social platforms; for me, I go with Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter. The testing should take around 2 to 4 weeks and the longer the testing is, the better the results will be like.”
After 3 weeks of split testing, using statistics gathered from MavSocial, Reginald concluded that:
- Facebook works better when I share personal information (pictures of me having lunch, dinner, shopping etc)
- Twitter is better for promoting an article or podcast
- LinkedIn is better for quotes
- Google+ is awesome for discussions (and some quick and temporary search ranking)
But there is the caution:
I can’t guarantee you that what works for me will work like charm for you.
However, what I am absolutely sure is that you can’t just focus on one social media and assume it as a Swiss-army knife.
Paolo Fabrizio
How to Ignite Trust with Social Customer Service
Paolo is our resident Social Customer Service expert. I chose to select an article with the big ‘T’ word in it, as Trust was a major talking point during 2015
Do not over-promise
“Don’t leave your luggage unattended” they say at the airport…
The same holds for any channel you provide the customer with. Any channel is a promise of assistance, care and resolution of issues; so if you’re not there to help or if you do not respond to customer queries in a timely manner, his/her perception will be negative and that will influence his or her overall customer experience. When customers contact you they want to be heard and helped, so that listening becomes paramount for caring (in much the same way as in any human relationship). Back to trust. How would you feel after being invited to a new shop opening party which you’ve unexpectedly found closed? I guess you may react just like 78% of consumers after experiencing a bad customer experience….
TIP: Don’t create a fake sense of availability. because customers will not forgive you if you fail at delivering.
Susan Gilbert
Turn Your Content into a Lead Magnet for Your Business
Seriously folks, isn’t this what it’s all about in the end? As Susan says, before giving the how to:
By taking a look at what your readers are asking you can provide helpful and engaging information that provides a high level of value. This strategy sells your products or services for you as your audience begins to trust your business as a go-to resource.
Fresh, original content will garner the most attention from your readers. Your business does not need to project itself as a “guru” or “expert.” In fact, transparency goes a lot farther as you begin to relate to your audience on their level.
Bryan Goodwin
Unlock the Power of LinkedIn
Certainly, Bryan is known primarily as a podcaster. Here, he extols the virtues of LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of those social networking sites that never fails to offer up little surprises. Whether it is their discoverability that has been improved, to new ways to engage people outside of my immediate group of connections. LinkedIn is one of those hidden gems that keeps proving you do not want to ignore the social network for the business suits.
Benefits of LinkedIn Posts
- People are always looking for information and Pulse helps direct people to find your posts. As one person reads a post yours could very well be the very next inline. Because the posts are not on individual pages they flow from one article to the next so it keeps people reading. Which increases your chances of being read
- The more people that come across you Post the more people are likely to engage with what you have written.
- The more people that engage in your posts the wider range of people outside of your connections will be reached.
Jennifer Hanford
Using Social Media Listening Enhances Business Conversations
This was one of the hottest topics of 2015.
Social media listening (aka social monitoring) is really an extension of the greatest tool in communication: Fully listening to those you converse with or who wish to open a dialog with you. It often uncovers extremely valuable insights into the purchasing habits and behaviors of potential clients. Monitoring conversations takes businesses beyond the conversations and allows them the opportunity for even greater engagement with their audiences.
In other words, listening helps businesses better understand their audiences, and consequently helps their audiences feel as if someone is really hearing what they have to say.
Randy Hilarski
How to Get a Website Ranked Without Knowing SEO
Randy puts the emphasis on local content, which works for his tourist based company:
Back on November 17th we had a thought. Why not use daily content about Panama and Costa Rica to rank our website higher. Since we are involved with the tourism industry here in Central America it made sense. The website is our business High Impact Media Group Panama. Our business website went from being ranked over 15 million on Alexa to just over 2 million on Alexa as of January 18th, 2015. Yes that was 8 weeks to get a website ranked. For the hot shots in our industry that may not seem amazing, but I know many bloggers who would like to accomplish that!
What we did-
- 2-4 pieces of daily relevant content.
- Promote on social Media.
- Utilize communities and groups.
- Total cost was 1 hour of time Monday-Friday.
Image: Copyright: ‘http://www.123rf.com/profile_pixelsaway‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
Jan Gordon
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