Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankblacknoir/

Once you determine goals for your Web site and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to drive and measure that goal’s success, the next step is to create goals and KPIs for your supporting Internet marketing efforts including content.

Content includes everything from the text on your Web site pages, to your blog, video, Tweets, white papers, case studies, calls to action, forms, AdWords campaigns, e-mail campaigns, PowerPoint presentations, news releases… Whew! It’s no wonder content is so vital to online success and precisely why you need a strategy!

A sample content goal: Company ABC is a leading online resource center for energy-saving ideas in your home.

Who are you writing for?
Company ABC must first clearly understand its target customer. What words would this customer use online to search out this kind of information? How basic or advanced is the customer’s understanding of in-home projects? What are the key demographics for your target group? Any details you include help you choose the right kinds of content and speak in the language of that customer.

What do you want them to do?
Once you understand the target customer, decide what types of content work best. You also need to decide what outcomes you desire. Do you want a visitor to simply read, listen, or watch your content? Or do you want the prospect to take additional action and pay for a service? Watch this Internet Marketing TV video for an in depth look at cross promotion ideas.

Key points to remember…
Set a goal.
Know your target audience.
Plan your strategy.
Map it out on the calendar.
Cross promote.

For an in depth look at content strategy, follow Joe Pulizzi’s blog.

If you want to read some fantastic writing advice, watch Copyblogger.

The Google Business Solution Center lists several options for getting your content out through Google.

DoshDosh wrote an article about content strategy with some great suggestions.

Search Engine Optimization Fundamentals | Stacey Morgan Smith

Yeah, sorry to say it, but please — don’t get hung up on your rankings. Just because you are number one in Google for your search doesn’t mean you’re number one in Google for your customer’s search.

As I mentioned in my post on personalized search, Google customizes your search results based on your search history.  Test it yourself. Google something. Now find a friend and Google the same thing on her computer. Most likely your results are different… unless you’re both in the same field and mostly do the same searches.

The point is (and I do generally have one) — your site content has to sell your product, whether you show up above the fold or below in the rankings. If the 5 sites above you don’t help a searcher solve his or her problem and you DO, you get the sale…and the 5 competitors get the honor of “being ranked top 5″ Great. Let them take that to the bank while you close another sale.

Stacey Morgan Smith is the director of search engine optimization for Northern Virginia Internet Marketing Company NetStrategies. With over 14 years’ experience as an editor and proofreader, she brings a different viewpoint to SEO. Along with the rest of the NetStrategies team, she can help you increase your leads from search!

A press release is a great way to present newsworthy content for your readers. However, the cost can be prohibitive for a small business or association to subscribe to the big press release distribution sites. Before you shell out $350 or more to get your news noticed, you might consider registering for a few of the free directory websites. While the free sites do not normally contain links, video embeds, or graphic images, they do receive notice via Twitter, blogs, and search engines.

Before you launch into submitting your press release to any directory, ensure it is well written and targeted directly to your key online audience. David Meerman Scott writes extensively about online press release value. Here is a link to his blog post, the new rules for press releases.

Once you write your release targeted to your key audience, using your keywords, you can use hubspot’s press release grader to determine whether you have some revising to do.

If your social media budget is tight, register for free press release directories to share your content online.

www.24-7pressrelease.com
www.i-newswire.com
www.pr.com
www.pressbox.co.uk
www.przoom.com
www.free-press-release-center.info
www.clickpress.com
www.prlog.org

If you use a free press release directory and would like to share its domain, please add to the list!

Next we’ll take a look at distribution for high value “big news” announcements.

Photo credit: mykpwedding, Flickr

Your organization’s Web site is often your first chance to impress. Since thousands of Web sites clamor for your visitor’s attention, you need your site to entice in a number of ways. This checklist covers the minimal basics for a healthy Web site. If you cannot answer “yes” to each one, your Internet marketing team has some work to do!

1. Does your page load quickly?
Don’t count on a busy Web surfer to patiently wait while your site loads. Beware of the back button!

2. Does your text speak to your customer and his/her needs?
A Web surfer visits your site looking for specific information to solve a problem, not to discover that your organization is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Your text should include more you’s and yours than we’s and ours.

3. Can your visitors find useful and relevant content in your Web site?
As in #2, your visitor came to your site seeking specific knowledge. Today’s online surfers are researchers. Discover what information they seek and provide it. If you don’t, someone else will.

4. Is all the important information on your home page “above the fold?”
Again, Web surfers love the back button. Make sure it is obvious your site contains the solutions they seek.

5. Do you add/update your content on a regular basis?
Ideally, regular is weekly. If “regular” means only when you perform a complete redesign of your site, meet with your team and develop a more prolific content plan!

6. Is your text legible?
A 10-point font is too small for most readers. More than three fonts on a page are too many. ALL CAPS ARE DIFFICULT TO READ.

7. Is there a clear call to action on every page?
Don’t expect your visitor to “figure it out.” Make very clear what you want them to do.

8. Do all your links work?
Broken links frustrate visitors and scream, “We don’t navigate our own site, why should you?”

9. Do you have an easy to use site search?
This is another usability feature that makes your site easy to navigate. Visitors can use site search to quickly find the exact information they seek without delay.

10. Does your Web site pass the 4-second rule?
In other words, do your visitors know what you do and how to contact you in the first four seconds of entering your site? Make life easy for your site visitor!

11. Can visitors navigate your site on a PDA?
Many Internet surfers use their PDA rather than a computer for online activities. What does your Web site look like on a PDA screen? Can your visitor still perform all your site’s functions from a PDA?

12. Do you use Web analytics to measure success?
This critical measurement tool allows you to see which pages succeed and which ones do not. You can set benchmarks, monitor key performance indicators, and work toward your goals with real concrete data. Otherwise it is all guesswork!

13. Is your site indexed/crawled by Google, Yahoo!, and Bing?
Don’t leave indexing to chance. You can submit Web pages to the search engines proactively.

Your Web site is more than a business card. It can set you up as a leader in your industry. However, first your online presence must stand on a solid and healthy foundation. What basics do you look for in a healthy Web site? Add your comments and help this list grow!

The social media sandbox might feel a tad intimidating at first – especially if you are not a 20-something, fresh out of college, tech-/Web 2.0-saavy go-getter. Before your eyes glaze over and that Twitter-twitch sets in, relax! You too can use social media to cross promote your content or event.

While this post will not provide a specific fill-in-the-blank formula for how to promote your event or product, I want you to expand your thoughts about targeted cross promotion.

Let’s take an example event and explore ways to promote it using social media: Your business is participating in a tradeshow to promote its latest product.

Ways to Use Web Sites for Publicity
First, use your own company Web site to highlight your participation in the tradeshow. You can do that in a number of ways…maybe you add a news release, make a calendar note on your home page, discuss it on your product review…you might want to add a downloadable .pdf file to your site that highlights the tradeshow…you certainly want to link to the tradeshow’s Web site and ask them to link back.

Blog to Spread the Word
If you blog, write a post or two about your upcoming participation. Consider adding a special offer to those who read your blog. This could be an incentive to attend the event and redeem the code for a discount or free gift. Establish Google and Twitter alerts to track conversations about the tradeshow and your product. If you see other people blogging about the event or your product, jump in and remind them of your participation and booth number. (You can set up alerts through Twitter when you type a word(s) into Search and then Save This Search, or use a separate program like TweetBeep.)

Are there appropriate industry blogs you can read and submit comments about the tradeshow and your participation? Remember that the idea is not to spam by simply adding your company link. Rather, you want to listen to relevant conversations and add valuable input whenever possible.

Video Makes it Visual
Video is another form of social media. Create a video that highlights your new product and invite customers to personally check it out at the tradeshow. Remember to distribute your video in places like YouTube and TubeMogul, as well as on your Web site.

Jump into Facebook and Twitter
Ask the tradeshow organizers whether they established a Facebook page and Twitter #hashtag for the event. If so, participate in those social media forums. You also want to create your own Tweets and Facebook status updates within your profile discussing your participation and product. Once again, these are both great places to make a special offer to create buzz. Tweet a discount code to be redeemed in person…or a special gift code available to Facebook fans. Remember, the value of cross promotion is to get your message out in as many targeted outlets as possible. In this case, you want to draw people to the tradeshow and to your booth where you can meet them face to face.

Delve even deeper into Facebook and Twitter by finding local businesses or people that are potential customers. What I mean is, maybe the tradeshow is in Chicago and your product is for restaurant kitchens. Search out Facebook fan pages for Chicago-based restaurants, the Chamber of Commerce, Chicago small businesses, etc. Become a fan of those pages and leave status updates about your participation in the upcoming tradeshow and how those fans can benefit from your product. Then, invite them to stop by your booth.

Likewise through Twitter’s advanced search…find appropriate Twitter profiles in Chicago and become a follower.

Participate in Forums
Search for appropriate forums and start commenting. Using the previous example, it might make sense to find forums that discuss Chicago restaurant reviews and join those discussions…even better, find a forum for restaurant owners!

I hope this discussion about using social media to cross promote sparked a few ideas and helps you find a way to integrate this neat medium into your publicity plan. Read the NetStrategies blog or watch Internet Marketing TV to learn more ways to improve your online presence and drive measurable results to your Web site.

Passion: You’ve either got it or you don’t.

Passion means different things to different people. But one thing I think we can all agree upon is there is no such thing as lukewarm passion! Your social media presence cannot be lukewarm and still produce success.

Don’t over-extend yourself. Unless your organization employs a sizeable social media staff, chances are you’re a one (wo)man social media show. Rather than dabble in 20 different platforms at a minimal level, select the few that best reach your target audience and maximize your efforts. If your customers participate in a few forums on LinkedIn – get hot! If none of your customers Twitter, hold off and participate in the platforms they do use.

Don’t dilute your message. People will seek you out for your expertise on a topic. Exploit that expertise and be a passionate leader who stays on topic. Informing your followers that you just boarded a plane to Washington, D.C. is pointless, unless of course your expertise is travel, and you take your followers along on your trip, sharing with them your experiences, tips, and expertise.

Passionate leaders never stop learning. You must continue to stretch your knowledge in your area of expertise so that you can lead others. Read books, blogs, and articles about emerging technologies in your field. Every time you read something worthwhile, share that source with others.

An Eyeore attitude won’t cut it. (Do you remember A.A. Milne’s famous pessimistic donkey?) When you project enthusiasm, others will be drawn to your message. Make sure your social media voice represents your organization in a positive and professional way. You must put your best foot forward each and every time you use social media. Remember to clearly exhibit your passion, knowledge, and leadership in your industry!

How do you show passion in your work? Please share your ideas.

Everything is measurable in Internet marketing. That’s the mantra my company NetStrategies stands by! Analytics is the tool by which we measure. In following the data, a smart content writer can determine what a target audience does and does not respond to. The data helps you understand who your visitors are, where they come from, and where they exit during the buy-in process.

A good content writer understands how analytics works even if they are not certified experts on the topic. I’ve studied the educational modules on Google Analytics’ Web site called Conversion University. I recommend anyone working with Web sites at least reads through the material to gain a baseline understanding of what data is available through analytics and how you can use that information. (Actually my boss “encouraged” me to enroll for that very reason, and I’m grateful I did!)

Google Analytics is one example of data tracking and measurement. If used and interpreted properly, it is a fantastic way to track your online progress and make changes based on real data.

Here are two other very simple ways to measure your social media efforts if they are included in your content delivery plan, Facebook Insights and YouTube Insight.

If video is part of your content plan, you can upload to YouTube as a free delivery method. It helps that YouTube is also a household name! Did you know you can access Insight through your account see the analytical data on how your video performs?

Insight, YouTube’s analytics and reporting product, allows you to view detailed statistics about the videos you upload to the site. It charts video views on an interactive time line and map, letting you drill down into different geographic regions and see the viewing activity in those regions over selected time periods. You can also compare the relative popularity of your videos in a given region to all other videos in that region.

To see Insights on your own videos, log on to YouTube and click on the “Insight” button under “Account” > “My Videos” > “Insight.”
YouTube plans to launch new features and additional analytics including viewer demographics, how viewers are engaging with videos (playback length, ratings, comments), and a breakdown of how viewers are discovering videos (e.g. search, email, embeds etc.).
Insight includes a report download section so you can easily share the numbers with your boss or your customer!

For more in depth reporting, Google Analytics integrates with YouTube brand channels, giving partners and advertisers more analytical data by fully enabling Google Analytics reporting. Brand channel owners can track metrics such as how long visitors stay, repeat visits, bounce rates, and page views per visitor.

If a Facebook Fan page or movement is a way you deliver content to your stake holders, use Facebook Insights to dive into the context of those interactions with analytics. Insights illustrates how users are interacting with your page, broken down by Wall posts, likes, and comments. Your Post Quality shows you how engaging your posts are to your fans, and your star rating compares your Post Quality to other pages of similar size. Your Fans Over Time graph allows you to track when users decide to unsubscribe from your posts in their News Feed. It also includes statistics on where your fan base is located and which languages they speak. To export your reports, click “Switch to the Old Insights” in the menu and follow the Export link. Facebook plans to add new metrics in the coming weeks and months.

Your stake holders determine the quality of your content when they engage and follow through. Follow the numbers to better tailor your content to what your stakeholders want.