Quality Time with our Social Media

As we are spending all this time deciding how to crank up our markets I wanted to start to set the stage about what we should and should not be doing in Social Media.  Sometimes people I work with misunderstand the difference between Push Media, which is like TV, Radio and email vs Social Media which is about engagement.

I often talk to companies about their social media play and often get this kind of sickly sweet response that actually turns into PUSH advertising… Of course my major markets have been real estate brokers and automobile dealers… so what was I expecting?

I thought that this article was a good “do’s and don’t” overview

http://searchengineland.com/google-growing-your-social-network-quantity-vs-quality-109210

REF: Google+ Growing Your Social Network: Quantity vs. Quality Jan 31, 2012 by Aaron Friedman Search Engine Land. http://tinyurl.com/6vqrrg7

I wrote an overview of this in my blog outlining a guy who I think really says it all by Gary Vaynerchuck on  who just wrote a great book,  "The Thank You Economy"

http://torreyrussell.blogspot.com/2011/03/thank-you-economy-are-you-part-of-it.html

To Post on Zillow or Not to Post - That is the question

In a recent article by John Cook on Geekwire (January 31, 2012 at 9:23 am by John Cook ) he talks about Jim Abbott, president of the Abbott Realty Group in San Diego, who recently announced plans to pull listings from Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow, 


The best quote here is:
“All listing syndicators have one thing in common: They act as middlemen and post our valuable listing data alongside the contact information of other agents and brokers who rent ad space on their sites,” Abbott said in the video. “Usually, they do this with our permission, while claiming that exposure of our listings in any way on the Internet is a good thing. Time and results prove that it is absolutely not.”


So if this isn't working for him... why are you still doing it?
Giving away your front page position to a 3rd party is not becoming the wrong thing to do.  For them to use your listing to pump up their site... how does this make sense for you.  If instead you put your efforts into creating your own SEO (Search Engine Optimization) program your benefits far outweigh the negatives.  


Every study shows that consumers start at a search engine and then find these 3rd party sites.... they don't start at these sites.  The question is, are you, and everyone else in your office, going to band together to fight this?


Read more about this:

http://www.geekwire.com/2012/hear-real-estate-vet-pulled-listings-biggest-real-estate-sites-internet-zillow-ceo-spencer-rascoff

Tablets are Mobile Devices! Now owned by 20% of Americans

The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to e-book readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period. The number of Americans owning at least one of these digital reading devices jumped from 18% in December to 29% in January. http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/E-readers-and-tablets.aspx

Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, tells msnbc.com’s Technolog they’ve “never seen growth quite like this” in the history of  conducting surveys on digital technology.

http://www.geekwire.com/2012/gadgets-galore-quarter-americans-ereader-tablet

Mobile search results are different than desktop

“Mobile search results not only produce different rankings from desktop search but can also vary based on the mobile device type that the query was performed on” http://searchengineland.com/how-to-achieve-mobile-search-ranking-clarity-108635

“Search Plus Your World” Google Socializes Search

“Search Plus Your World” This is a fundamental change in the way that google returns search results When you conduct a search now, currently just in the US and only in English, you will see this new header...

This new idea is where you are now looking at the search results of your Google+ network.

There are good and bad issues around this ... for one it will change SEO rules at its core.

SEO and Search Plus Your World means that your network of friends and family will drive what you see in a search result instead of  the world.  Google can now rank and rate YOU against the interests of your network of co-workers, friends and family to profile what you are interested in viewing... think Panda [define] rules tied to social graph.  

Genius, maybe, intrusive, absolutely.  Should you care... yes, your world just got smaller.  And while it may be great to share restaurant ideas or movie reviews... do you really want your boss or your brother in law commenting on every search you do?

Read this for more: 

http://searchengineland.com/googles-results-get-more-personal-with-search-plus-your-world-107285

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YouTube Video Dominate in Google's Results? [Study]

Google launched universal search in 2007 and changed the world forever. How? Well, basically they started mixing in non-link content from a variety of sites. This content included videos, images, maps, shopping products, and beyond.

"It makes sense for marketers to increase the volume of video and image content they’re creating and to optimize it both on their own sites and on third party sites such as YouTube and Flickr." Dr. Horst Joepen, CEO of Searchmetrics.

Read more here:
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2099640/Universal-Search-Which-Formats-Dominate-in-Googles-Results-Study

Search is about Local

When you are creating a program to gain SEO for your company make sure you are also listed in all the local directories. These are natural ways to build back links to your site or business name... these are often called "Citations". As search engines start to concentrate on delivering local search results this approach provides a legal (white hat) SEO way to have your business appear high on search results on Google. So while our blog often focuses on getting what you sell listed on the front page of Google like a car or a home, this is about getting to the top of the list for your brand or your category heading on local search. Of course you need to be registered with Google Local Listing service called Google Places first. www.google.com/places You also need to think about how to get your listing in the top 5 or 10 of your Places search result.

Then you need to get some people on Google+ to rate your business as the old YELP and Angie's List are not visible any more... however, don't be fooled. These sites and the list below are considered valid and trusted sites for listing data so Google uses them as a basis to determine if a business address is really where you say it is and is involved in what you are saying you do... Here’s a list of the biggest general ones that you need to be listed in: Yelp Superpages City Search Urban Spoon and OpenTable (for restaurants) Yellow Pages Angie’s List Express Update USA (formally infoUSA) Yahoo Local Trip Advisor Merchant Circle Dex Knows Insider Pages Localeze Shop City Judy’s Book Yellow Bot Kudzo Do a test and search for your company. Usually you can get a basic listing for free.