Listening to social media channels can offer new insights about the business challenges faced by your prospects and clients.  By addressing these challenges and providing relevant content and  resources, you can build stronger relationships and improve your website conversion results.

There are a multitude of  social media listening and monitoring tools out there. Regardless of your choice – listening to your audience can help:

• Improve sales or grow market share by using your communications to build your relationships and reputation
• Save time in the sales funnel by using content to address common questions your prospect and clients may have
• Identify new opportunities for new business relationships and review content strategies from competitors in your industry

How can you improve your social media listening to create relevant content?

I recently finished a great book about social media strategy  from David Thomas and Mike Barlow: The Executives’ Guide To Enterprise Social Media Strategy.  The book outlines how you can set up a simple listening framework to track social media conversations.

Here is an easy way to create a simple dashboard through Google Reader and Google Alerts:

1. Set up a Google account and Google Reader to combine and collate RSS feeds. (Check out this video on YouTube that explains how to get started)
2. Identify the for key search terms and topics for your industry, then set up a Google Alert.  You can receive them in your inbox or as a feed to Google Reader. (Here’s another video on YouTube)
3. Set up Google Blog Search and select the same search terms.  You can have those results sent to your Google Reader.

You can also create searches in Twitter for the same terms, create a RSS feed from the searches and follow the RSS feed in Google Reader.

Looking for one consolidated page to track your results?

iGoogle is a “landing page” for your Gmail, Google Reader and Google Calendar – offering a centralized location.  As an overview dashboard, you have the flexibility to add or remove different items for review.

What social media monitoring tools do you use?  How have you applied your research to your content strategy and development?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 Image Courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives

A person who practices content strategy as a discipline is referred to as a “Content Strategist.”

While content strategy isn’t “rocket science” according to Michaela Hackner, a well-known Project Director, speaker and writer, it does take time to learn the best practices behind content strategy.

Step one on a content strategist’s list is ensuring that website messaging is clear and consistent throughout the site. The next steps are more determined by the level of professional training and education of the content strategist.

Richard Ingram believes that although content strategy professionals come from a variety of backgrounds, the field can be broken in to three different approaches:

• Technical
• Editorial
• Web Strategy and Planning.

He has a developed a great info-graphic that shows the relationship of these approaches and the background of professional content strategists.

On that point, Hackner suggests that if you have a person on staff interested in the discipline, it might be a good investment to have them train to be a content strategist, too. However, content strategy is often a full-time investment and most employees don’t have time to add the responsibilities of content strategy on top of their existing day-to-day duties.

Hiring a content strategist may be the most useful and cost-effective plan for your organization.

A variety of content strategists exist. These include:

• Content analysis – which roughly describes work with metadata, taxonomy, search engine optimization
• Web editorial strategies, guidelines, and tools – the development of new forms of content, such as multimedia, or various “presence management” technologies like microblogging.
• Information architecture based content strategy – this may involve writing site copy for new website pages and adapting the content on existing ones.

All content strategists are familiar with a wide range of applications and tools, and frequently are responsible for implementing and training individuals to best use them.

When you next evaluate your website content’s quality, ask yourself Hackner’s top five questions in determining whether you may or may not need a content strategist:

1. Do you have all the content that needs to be there?
2. Is it up-to-date?
3. Is it clear and concise?
4. Is the tone and style appropriate?
5. Is it meeting your business needs?

If you’re feeling less than positive about your answer to any of these key questions, it might be time to hire outside expert in content strategy.

Unless you live on your own island or are a hermit in the wilderness, people generally live near other people, and our lives with our neighbours interconnect in various ways. In the past, people had to rely on their community to provide them with the necessities of life they could not raise, build or grow on their own. If your horse needed shoes, you went to the town blacksmith, if you needed flour you went to the general store because these people specialized in specific things, and as a result, people knew most of the businesses in town. Of course, with people commuting to work and the rise of the superstore, urban mall and chain outlets, we now have to make more of an effort to get to know the people who share our neighbourhood. But when we make that effort, the reward is a feeling of security and belonging that no alarm system or online chat room can match. Of course, building relationships within your community can also be good for your business’s bottom line.

We are fortunate to work within an incredible community of families and individuals who have made our neighbourhood a friendly and supportive environment to start and maintain a business, send kids to school and socialize with interesting and involved people from all sorts of different backgrounds and generations.

The first key to a functioning and pleasant community is always going to be communication. There have to be avenues where information can be freely passed between people. This can be something as simple as a message board at a community centre or coffee shop, or as sophisticated as a listserv or blog. Our community has both a listserv and a blog, and they have been invaluable tools for bringing people together, thanks to the devoted work of some very great volunteers.

When you work in a community you have the advantage of proximity and ease of access for your neighbourhood customers, and word of mouth is the cheapest marketing you can get! If you are active in other aspects of the community you also gain trust from your clients; if they don’t like something about what you’re doing, you are more likely to hear about it and be able to change it before you lose business. Your loyal neighbour clients can then tell their friends from farther away.

Some good ways to foster a sense of community where you live:

When you meet a new person in your community, find out what they do, and think of ways you can make beneficial connections between them and others.

Be socially responsible. Find a cause to support and volunteer, donate a percentage of your profits or have a fundraiser.

Send out press releases to local newsletters or small local newspapers, they are grateful for the free content, and you can promote both your cause and your business at the same time.

Say hello to people on the street as they walk by. Connecting with other people and making a difference often starts with a simple conversation.

Last, but definitely the most important: participate. Go to other businesses, spend time at the local café, go for a walk around the streets and meet people. It’s a little bit of effort but a vibrant community is a more prosperous, safer and happier community.

Get Writing!

For many of us, writing is challenging enough, but determining what to write is even harder. Creating new web content is often a case of looking outside of your immediate environment to connect with other people to get the ideas flowing.

Here are some tips to get you thinking about content that generates results:

1. Ask your Clients

Before you start writing, knowing what’s important to your audience is essential. If you’re short on time, contact your top 5 client advocates or “Raving Fans”. Prepare 3 – 5 questions that can get them thinking and offer some insight into what is important regarding your industry. Here’s some suggested questions:

• With the current website, what information has been the most helpful to you?
• What industry trends would you like to explore further?
• What do you think the results would be if we looked at discussing a new subject?
• What information would be valuable and important to you?

To get thinking about creating great questions, review your work from your client’s perspective.

2. Expertise | Benchmarking | Best Practice

Within your industry, discuss your experience and how you have achieved great results. Similarly, look outside of your industry to other industries to note best practice by other industry leaders. New ideas for content can be related to a process or simply small improvements on productivity, innovation or engagement.

Here’s a great post by Brian Solis about Social Media Best Practice.

3. Community | Partners

Sometimes, we forget the great resources we have within our own network. Look to your existing business partners or suppliers to offer complimentary ideas regarding your products or services.

In the end, great content is always about being clear, concise and relevant. By connecting with other people and stretching your ideas, generating ideas for content is far less challenging.

Image: ‘Writing‘  – J. Paxon Reyes

Chances are you have a profile on one or more of the following social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, YouTube, flickr, LinkedIn. There are others, of course, because the internet contains infinite possibilities to replicate a great idea. Social media sites are made for social interaction and allow users to post and curate and distribute user-generated content. Because of the ability to reach wide networks quickly, it’s possible to distribute your message quickly and inexpensively. It’s ideal for building a brand, and it’s not rocket science.

A key component to creating a successful internet marketing campaign is the use of social media. However, while the steps are straightforward – get online, create an appropriate tone, be consistent, respond to supporters and detractors – it does take time and effort to become an influencer in the field. A key to gaining followers and building authority in the social media world is to ensure your online voice is genuine, and to deliver knowledge and expertise about your field by continuously providing information that’s accurate and useful via your social media channels. In this way, customers will come to view you with trust, and be more amenable to marketing messages you distribute through your social media networks.

Social Media today recently posted some important points to remember about the culture of social media. Catastrophe does not equal opportunity. Selling is subordinate to helpfulness. Innovation is revered. A sense of humor is mandatory.

And while I’m a big proponent of the power of social media to connect audiences who are potential customers at very low cost and with a small amount of effort, it’s not a one-size fits all solution for those who simply want to reduce their marketing budget. Some businesses benefit from a blogging approach, especially if they address seasonal needs, like retailers, tourism and cultural businesses, garden shops and the like. But other kinds of businesses like consultants, manufacturers, and service delivery businesses might embrace different social media like Twitter or Facebook in order to curate and distribute information they deem important to their customers, or to create events their customers may be interested in.

Finally, there are others who may want to avoid jumping on a bandwagon that’s not ideal for their purposes. As I’ve said: it takes time and consistency. Without the ability to dedicate the appropriate amount of time and energy to your social media marketing, it’s difficult to build your authority. And businesses that have few differentiators and are less likely to build a customer base online, like auto repair businesses perhaps or drycleaners, may find that the effort is not justified. Not yet, anyway.

Keri Korteling

Interview Do’s and Don’ts

Tried and true, the classic five W’s never go out of style. Begin the interview or discussion with who, what, where, when, and why. Don’t forget to include ‘how’ in your list of questions.

Avoid asking limiting questions. It will undoubtedly lead to stifling an interviewee which changes the results for your content. Ask open-ended questions that allows clients to use their imagination, resulting in thoughtful, distinctive answers that are full of valuable information.

Staying away from loaded questions is also key. The interview process should never highlight how much the interviewer knows but rather the client or interviewee. Ask simple questions – again, back to the classics (KISS), but with a tiny twist: Keep It Short and Simple. Questions should be simply phrased to allow the client to feel free to expand and reveal how much they know.

Every article should have a goal and it is extremely beneficial to know the objective of the interview ahead of time. Is it to get more business or clients, or is it to increase subscriber numbers, or is to improve website functionality? The list goes on. Having a concrete purpose for your interview will make you better prepared during the actual interview process.

By asking open, neutral questions (as opposed to leading and poorly-worded ones) will lead to more sharing of information and, in the end, will result in creating a compelling and attractive piece. Interviews that are based on assumptions, ie through leading questions, can lead to a mistrustful situation in which no one benefits.

Interview Steps that lead to Glowing Results

1. Prepare Ahead of Time. No explanation required.
2. Allow Your Curiosity to Lead You. What do you believe people want to know about this person/product/idea?
3. Know the Source. Check out the person/product/idea and get to know it before the interview.
4. Know When to Interject. Some interviewees have an agenda to push, which may differ from your goals. Be shrewd enough to know when to politely cut the answer short. It can be awkward but necessary.
5. Relax. If you project vibes of cool, calm, and collected during the interview, it will rub off your interview subject.

Marlane Press

With so many messages out there, I think it’s important to consider the following key questions regarding your content:

• What makes our message different from our competitors?
• How do we connect with our audience in a meaningful relevant way?
• What information does our audience need to make a decision?
• What do we want our web visitors to do once they get to our website or connect with a marketing piece?

The first step to getting clear about content is to take a 1,000 foot view on your company and your content objectives. By reviewing and getting clear on your brand within the organization, you have a better way to approach the right way to connect the content with your audience.

Here are some branding questions to get the ball rolling:

1. Who are our clients?
2. When it comes to the brand, what word(s) come to mind?
3. What does our brand stand for in the minds of clients?
4. What do your clients expect from you?
5. What makes you different from your competitors?

Regardless of what you think, when it comes down to connecting with your audience, the critical things to think about is the all important – What’s In It For Me? If you don`t make it clear, then, your audience is lost and you have lost their attention.

Being different is about understanding the ‘Why’ before the ‘How’. According to Isabelle Mercier Turcotte of Leap Zone Strategies the real secret to building a powerful brand is to look at other brands that are making a difference and using their strategies.

By taking the time to really understand the purpose behind your content, you can create a focus on messages that are concise, relevant and most of stand out from your competitors.

Melissa Breker

The Business Challenge

In order to drive brand awareness, Fresh Spark Strategies worked with Strategic Investment Realty to create a content schedule for client newsletters to educate clients on a variety of real estate investing strategies.

Keeping content fresh and relevant, we worked with Strategic Investment Realty to transform the available information into detailed, articulate and precise copy to drive client engagement.

How We Helped

Ghost Writing and Corporate Newsletter Development

Fresh Spark Strategies has been working with Strategic Investment Realty for over three years.

Through a series of development and edits, Fresh Sparks created a key article regarding the real estate investing process for Canadian Real Estate Magazine for Strategic Investment Realty.

Here’s what we did…

• Content Development for regular client newsletters
• Ghost writing for key article in Canadian Real Estate Magazine
• Strategic marketing and Power Point messaging for Corporate Presentations

Measuring Success

By focusing on writing newsletters and articles that educate and provide quality information in a concise yet easy to read format.., Strategic Investment Realty has been able to support their brand message and care for new and existing clients.

Custom Landscape Design

Terra Luma Design is a landscaping design group that provides complete garden design for commercial and residential landscapes.
Terra Luma specializes in creating custom landscape design plans that stimulate the senses and reduces the hassles of garden maintenance.

The Business Challenge

Terra Luma Design and Fresh Spark Strategies worked together to build a series of marketing tools to improve organic search engine results and attract the right clients.

The key challenge was to develop a unique business voice that would help grow the Terra Luma Design brand and create a following of clients that became brand advocates.

How We Helped

Business Copywriting and Internet Marketing Communications

Partnering with Terra Luma Design, we worked on a variety of traditional and internet marketing communications that provided valuable insight into the process of landscaping design and the services offered.

With improved messaging and targeted pieces, Terra Luma is enjoying the benefits of larger projects and targeted clients.

Here’s what we did…

• Corporate Brochure
• Blog Scheduling and writing
• Press release writing
• Website copy writing
• Strategic marketing planning

Measuring Success

Terra Luma is currently enjoying one of its busiest seasons in several years. Working with Fresh Spark Strategies has meant that the tone and style of all client communication pieces are consistent and engaging.

The Business Challenge

Fresh Spark Strategies was asked to help create the web content strategy to assist in the launch of the SedTrend brand through a new website.

Shifting the corporate name from GeoSea Consulting to SedTrend Analysis, the launch of the new website and branding helped boost the profile of the group and the analysis it provides.

SedTrend needed to stay focused on the corporate groups that rely on its expertise, yet capture the interest of new prospects through the development of clear calls to action on the website.

How We Helped

New Web Copy and Persona Development

With a new clear focus on the business development goals in conjunction with a new strategic framework, Fresh Spark Strategies created a fresh understanding of the content requirements for the website.

Considering the key problems that the audience must solve, Fresh Sparks delivered concise relevant content that clearly describes the unique sedimentary analysis SedTrend provides.

Here’s what we did…

• Content Audit and Review
• Content Development
• Persona Creation
• Search Engine Optimization + Keyword Development

Measuring Success

By focusing on keyword rich copy writing, Fresh Sparks Strategies was able to improve results significantly. Together with SedTrend, we are excited to see improved web results as a result of work completed.

Visit Website