In this video, my friend Carolina will show you how to build your brand and generate leads to your online business with YouTube. If you’re not using YouTube as part of your marketing, then you are really missing out on some great leading generating and branding opportunities. Start your YouTube channel now.
Social media has changed the way people promote content. What once took several months to build exposure can be done within days. On social media you’ll find relevant people who are itching to find valuable content which provides them substance. The problem before was simply content didn’t provide what people were looking for, and this was a complete waste of time. People found creative ways to manipulate the SERP’s boosting poor and irrelevant content up the ranks. It just lowered the user experience and Google decided to change this. What does this all mean? I’ll sum it up quickly within a few sentences…
First, Google introduced several updates which cater to improving the user experience. They have certain signals in place that differentiate content based on valuable. They have left value to be determined by users which leads me to my next point. Social media is the best way to understand the valuable of content. How? Great content gets “shared” and “tweeted” while others no longer get attention at all.
Social media has changed the way we interact with content and our audience however we need to still test along the way. Once you find out what social media strategy is working you can than optimize for higher results. I’ll be discussing what social signals to pay close attention to which will improve your content marketing, and ultimately your conversions.
Let’s get started…
Here’s what I’ll be discussing:
I’m going to make this brief and tell you the “3” major social networks you have to pay close attention to are: Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Each year they are growing and have millions of users from different niches. All allow you to share images, videos and text content which is perfect for testing purposes. The trends are growing and here’s a quick screen-shot:
From the image you’ll notice “Facebook” is definitely dominating however keep in mind the stats are showing volume in the millions. This means Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest still have enormous volume heading their way. It’s about finding and attracting targeted people to your blog which I’ve done effectively on these networks. There are going to be other networks which you’ll find useful however I would recommend starting with these “3” then moving to the others.
Once you have setup an account on these networks it’s time to move into the next step – #hashtags. For those of you NOT aware of #hashtags, it’s the social media’s way of organizing content so it can found easily.
The power of #hashtags cannot be underestimated because knowing how to use them correctly will help your content get found. The good news is you have many tools available at your disposal to help you out. Before I get into the tools, let’s discuss how you would use #hashtags. If I wrote content relevant to “SEO” or “link-building” than when I share my content I would include something like this: #seo or #linkbuilding with the text posted on Twitter. Facebook.com might have their own way to use #hashtags so you’ll have to do some research. When someone searching for the top “SEO” articles skim s over to Twitter they would simply search #SEO and your article will pop-up with the rest. It’s an amazing method to organize information, and a great way for people to find relevant information they need.
The next question is: How do you find popular #hashtags to add to your content while sharing. You obviously don’t want to use tags which no one searches because this won’t increase the likelihood of your content being found. http://hashtagify.me/ is one of the best tools which I’ve been using for years. Here’s a quick overview on how to use it:
Start by type in a keyword, for example: SEO, link building, content marketing, etc and make sure it’s as relevant to your niche. Then click “Table Mode” and the graph will show you the following information:
I usually sort by popularity because this shows what tags are searched the most and increase the likelihood of your content being found. Here’s an example using the hashtag #SEO.
You can see from the image other tags displayed are relevant, and can be used when sharing as well. Once you use this tool a few times you’ll perfect what tags to use and have yielded the biggest results for you. It’s all about testing and tweaking until you find what works.
Here are some cool statistics which I know you’ll love to know about. The next time you share your content it’s important to keep these in mind.
Out of 3 billion internet users around the world, nearly 2.1 billion have social media accounts. This means with the right social strategy you can potentially tap into a huge market. The people are scattered out in the top “3” networks which I’ve discussed above.
47% of all internet users are on Facebook.com and have accounts. What does this mean? If you know how to choose the right times and days, you’ll be able to tap into a massive market. 4.5 billion “Likes” daily which means people are actively sharing on Facebook.
Twitter is not as big as Facebook, but can still generate targeted traffic. It has some cool facts which I’ve listed below:
Google + is a growing social network, and the stats are low compared to the others. However, here’s something interesting you might want to pay close attention to. First, having a Google+ account for your blog or website helps rankings simply because Google runs the entire program. The question has been asked if Google rewards you more for having an account with their social network. With that said, did you know 5 billion people hit the Google + button daily.
If they ever decide to make it part of their ranking factors and give it more priority, you’ll already have an account which is means less work for you going forward.
marketing you have the option of sharing text content, videos, images or even infographics. Each method will bring a diversity of people to your blog, and this is great for your brand. However, keep in mind traffic leads to profits bringing you closer to accomplishing your bottom line. Let’s explore this question so going forward you can optimize your sharing strategy.
I’ll list these in order.
Infographics –
First, keep in mind NOT all social media networks are compatible with infographic sharing. However, the ones which can like Pinterest and Twitter have done very well with these types of shares. People all over the world use social networks so infographics provide a visual and comprehensive understanding of the topic. It’s also important to mention that infographics provide value quickly which is what people are looking for. Millions of people share content and others are in a hurry to read it all so why not post an infographic which is short and right to the point.
Images –
Images, like infographics, are awesome because they illustrate your point more quickly. Visitors can quickly skim through pulling out the value saving them time. However, you have to find social networks which display these images correctly and allow you to add some text below. From my experience Twitter and Pinterest are awesome especially when you utilize #hashtags when posting. Make sure before you post your images, you have tweaked them to stand out by adding borders, bright colors, buttons, etc. You’ll have competition so find ways to dominate them within social networks.
Video –
These are very powerful however many social networks will NOT allow them to its entirety. They are massive in size and slow down networks so you might have a problem embedding them into your social “sharing” strategy. However, don’t forget you can make use of YouTube.com which is very powerful and allows you to add links within your video and description. I would create an awesome video and post it within YouTube.com because this can generate enormous traffic to your blog too.
General Content –
The type of content MOSTLY shared online and is the bulk of “re-shares” on social networks. However, again your going to have competition so it’s important you share only the best. Keep in mind, social networks are a great way to build loyalty, and a huge following which is why I recommend you following this:
One of the main things with social media sharing is picking the right days and times. I’ve noticed it all comes down to getting your content in front of people on the right days, and around the right times. Every nice will obviously be different so you have to test and tweak until you find what works well for you. In the next section you’ll learn about some tools to test performance.
No matter what your strategy it’s important you have a solid testing and tweaking tool in place. You don’t want to waste time on techniques which produce no results because this would be a waste of time and effort. However, you have so many FREE tools which can help you out that NOT making use of the is completely stupid. Let’s look at the top “2” tools I use to track my conversions and traffic sources.
Google Analytics –
Free and absolutely one of the best tools I’ve ever used because it gives you everything you need. For example, you’ll know location, referral, landing pages, average time on site, and how many pages visited during each session. The most important column for me in Google Analytics is the “Referrals” because it shows where the traffic is coming from. If you have a social media campaign in place then it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on this section. For example, if you are promoting your content on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google, then look for these referral sources within Google Analytics.
BitLy.com –
This is another awesome tool which allows you to shorten the URL you are sharing and keeps track of how any click-through. I’ve been using it for years and have found it to be very useful to see what shares get the MOST clicks. I then have a better idea of the type of content popular on social platforms, and can continue to share this type going forward.
ButLy.com is FREE and very easy to use because it does all the work for you. By shortening your URL, it’ll give you more room to add text right before you share content.
Both of these tools are valuable and are absolutely FREE which is hard to find especially when they provide so much important insight into your traffic. Make sure you use them and see how you like both of them, and keep in mind there are several other options available however some might require a monthly subscription.
There is a lot of information here so go through it one more time and start implementing the strategies mentioned. It will definitely take some time to gather the data you need so you can tweak at a later time. The important thing is once you know what’s working you can stick to the technique and ,if needed, make slower adjustments.
Social media is NOT going anywhere and statistics show networks are growing each year. This means you have to start making use of them because your competition is definitely utilizing them to generate traffic. To get the upper edge on your competition it’s important to stay one step ahead. I recommend starting with Facebook, Twitter and Google+. After, you can start adding more networks for testing purposes.
Do a quick Google search right now to find all the popular networks and tools. Here is a solid collection of 1000+ Online Marketing Tools to help you get started.
During a break at the Affiliate Summit, we had lunch at by CHLOE. The restaurant aims to share delicious, wholesome, plant-based food that fuels and energizes without compromising flavor, taste or satisfaction. That’s what they claim anyway. Does it live up to the hype? Watch the video and find out.
I absolutely believe that there is tremendous value in following people that you admire in your industry. If you’ve been involved with Internet marketing and professional blogging for some length of time, then there are a few big names in this business that are probably familiar to all of you. Most of you probably know about Shoemoney, Darren Rowse, Zac Johnson and Neil Patel, among countless others.
Maybe you look up to them. Maybe you look up to John. And that’s all great, because they can provide you with tremendous insights into how you can better achieve success in your own career. But if you were to perfectly emulate exactly the same path, making exactly the same decisions along the way, you might not end up in the same place, holding up a seven or eight-figure novelty check for a photo opportunity. The circumstances are different. You are different.
And if you were to do something completely different, embarking into totally uncharted territory with a brand new idea and a totally new vision, you might actually achieve far greater success than you could have possibly imagined. Or you could just fall flat on your face. You never know.
Because of this incredible uncertainty, not only in Internet marketing but in the world of business in general, there are countless hordes of people out there who just want to be told what to do. They want to be provided with a step-by-step tutorial that they can follow to a tee to achieve the kind of success they desire. But that kind of perfectly rigid and defined road map simply does not success.
There is no single recipe for success.
Some people might read those words and feel discouraged. They might feel like even if they do what they think are all the right things and follow all the right steps, they still might not get to the level that they want to get to. Because there is no recipe for success. You can’t just follow a pre-defined set of steps and expect to be showered with rainbows and cupcakes and rainbow-covered cupcakes. That’s just not how it works.
But you’re not just some people, right?
If there was a single, pre-defined recipe for success, don’t you think everyone else would have already followed it? And if everyone else was following exactly the same recipe, the market would get saturated with exactly the same things over and over again to the point where they would no longer deliver any value to anyone. The recipe would become obsolete, and then you’d be left with no recipe again.
No. That’s not the point. And even if you got your hands on this secret recipe that no one else knew about, life could get boring awfully quickly, because you’d be following exactly the same formula every time to achieve exactly the results you predicted. That’s not the kind of thing that would get most people out of bed in the morning.
Instead, recognize that the lack of a single recipe for success is not a point of discouragement, but rather a source of inspiration and creativity. That fact should invigorate you, because it means that your day and all the days ahead are filled with boundless opportunity and possibility. You get up each day to take another creative crack at it, not completely certain how it will turn out. That’s the thrill of it and that makes the reward that much more rewarding.
Yes, you may approach these challenges with a similar set of tools and ingredients and resources. Yes, you may follow certain best practices to give yourself the best shot at success, but at the end of the day, it’s about putting yourself out there in new and imaginative ways. This is true whether you’re writing blog posts, putting together videos for YouTube, designing landing pages for affiliate campaigns, or any number of other creative and potentially lucrative endeavors.
Because when you achieve a certain level of skill and expertise in the kitchen, you don’t need to be following the recipes in someone else’s cookbook anymore anyway. You’ve got your own dishes to create. Go crack some eggs. Bon appetit.
At Affiliate Summit, we hard but we play harder. After a full day at the show, it was time to kick back, relax, have some drinks and beat each other at bowling! Check out the video to see all the action.
Blogging and building an online presence is about dominating your competition. I must admit one thing I learned over the years is that “content is king” because it’s a channel to provide people with value. However, I’m surprised at the amount of people who fail to understand the importance and get swept away by their competition. It’s doesn’t have to be this way because you have full control over your success, but you have to stay focused on your end goal.
These days because of the ease to start an online website it’s no surprise that every niche has competition. More content is popping up then ever before so you have to find creative ways to leverage what’s already available online. If you can outshine your competition then you won’t have any problem succeeding where others have failed.
I feel as though bloggers simply give up because they don’t know how to generate the right content ideas or use what’s already available online in their niche. Today, I’ll like to go in-depth into how to dominate your competition through compelling content and boost your rankings at the same time.
Let’s get started and your feedback will be appreciated in the comment box below.
Content is the life line of every blog and people flock to find value because it helps them with their bottom line. For example, through content you can provide relevant readers a glimpse into the trends within your niche. You can inform them of changes, developments and factors which will effect them going forward. In content marketing I was able to prepare myself for changes within the niche by simply following a handful of successful relevant blogs. Next,
Content allows you to successfully get your point across in your own words and establish an identity. Blogging is just as much a brand then it is a business and I believe they connect with each other right in the middle. Just by writing in your own words you can translate difficult topics into a language which others can understand. In the next example, you’ll learn the most important role of high value content.
One of the most successful ways to build a following is through tutorials. You have two options: Video and Content. Both have been proven to be amazing, but content is a much older format which people still appreciate. Writing lengthy tutorials in content format also give you more flexibility when it comes to SEO because you can incorporate more keywords into the body. However that’s not all…
Tutorials build credibility because you are showing people how to accomplish something. They are easily picked up by search engines and even easier to share on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Finally, content tutorials can easily be updated when they need to because all you need to do is click “edit” type what you need to and then hit “update”. It’s that simple!
Since the growth of “Content Marketing” you can now transform your content to generate even more profit then ever before. Through strategic content writing and marketing you can promote products, advertising opportunities and build links which add more value then before. The point is content marketing has allowed us to market what we know how to do best quickly and efficiently, but a lot of credit must be given to social media too.
So, how do you find the best content ideas then write compelling content? Here are the top “3” ways I’ve used to dominate my competitors and the search engines.
One of the best ways to dominate your competitors is to find out what’s trending before they do. Google has done a great job providing you with tools to find EXACTLY what you are looking for quickly and efficiently. For example, Google Trends is a website which allows you to type in a niche related keyword and find out the search pattern over a given time. Before I show some examples I want to tell you why this is important.
First, It allows you to shift your focus and generate some content ideas which will resonate with readers in the future. Technology changes quickly and readers are always attracted to updated news compared to that which is becoming obsolete. By doing a simple search in Google Trends you can find keywords which have increased in search volume over the years and start to incorporate them within your content.
Here’s a quick example using the keyword “content marketing”…
Head over to Google Trends and type in “content marketing” within the search field….
You can see from the example above that the following queries have been gaining traction. You can filter the trends by month or custom dates to take you back even further. However, the point is with this tool you can find what phrases people have been searching more over a given time period.
Recently, Private Blog Networks have been gaining traction so check out the popular of this type of content.
Over the years I have learned a lot from other niche relevant blogs and recently even my competitors. First, simply by looking at what content they’ve been publishing I’ve been able to generate my own content ideas. Secondly, my looking at the social activity on different content pieces which I know will resonate well with readers. Third, I have been able to find creative ways to write even better content so mine stands out dominating the rankings going forward. Here’s how each one works in more detail…
1. Research –
If you’ve been reading my previous content then you know everything starts with a solid research campaign. Head over to Google and search the best blogs within your niche. If you’ve been blogging for years then you’ll have a good idea of the major players within your niche. Write down a list of these blogs making sure you have anywhere between 5-6 to start with.
Skim through these blogs looking for the following:
How often blogs are updated
Number of comments per post
Number of shares per content
Some blogs will have a popular post section which is perfect to generate this list
2. Use Free Tools Available –
Did you know you have a handful of free tools available which can help you out. For example, the two which I’ve been using for years are: Topsy.com and Buzzsumo.com. These are very easy to use because all you have to do is type in your “target” keyword and click “Search”. These tools will generate a list of most popular content and TOTAL shares. Here’s an example using keyword “content marketing tips”
From the example above you can see the top “content marketing tips” content and how many social media shares they have. In the next step you’ll be visiting both the blogs and content to find ways to outperform each of them.
Here’s a quick search of CDL Practice Tests which has been a huge industry for trucking.
3. Write Something Better –
This step is the trickiest because you have to do in-depth research looking for ways to improve existing content. You have to write content in YOUR own words, but find what’s missing in your competitors at the same time. It’s time for you to visit each piece of content on your list and find what’s missing by doing the following:
You can even write lengthier content by explaining the key points in more detail. Here’s why this will work so well afterwards…
You know your competitors have relevant content which have been shared by readers online. The premise is that if you can write something more in-depth then you should be able to gain way more traction then your competitors. Google has over 200 rankings factors and most of them will be achieved simply by writing valuable content. Valuable content equals…
4. Outreach –
Posting the high quality revived on your blog should be good enough however there are some tricks to get the content in front of the right people. For example, how cool would it be to get your refreshed content in front of those people who shared your competitors? Here is the way you can do exactly this…
First, find the people who shared your competitors content by simply pasting the URL into Buzzsumo.com or Topsy.com. Remember to grab the URL of your competitors content.
Here’s an example using my expert post…
When you click on the social shares it will generate a list of the people who have shared this content. You can then visit their profiles to find their website information to contact them directly. Let them know they shared similar content and they might find what you have written interesting since it provides more depth into the topic.
Start by contacting 5-6 daily and keep track of who has responded or not so you can keep following up at a later time. Keep in mind you’ll have success with some and others won’t, but even if 4-5 major players in your niche share your content it’s good enough to create a buzz.
Authority Bloggers –
If you have been networking with other bloggers within your niche then you’ll be able to gain traction to your content more quickly. I have been writing for many bloggers throughout my career and these same people are more then happy to share my content once I’ve published it online. However, you have to keep in mind building relationships with these bloggers is a complete “strategy” in itself. Even if you don’t have relationships then you can use some creative marketing techniques to have them share your content either way.
First, the best way to build a network of authority bloggers for outreach is by guest blogging on their website regularly. You can email them to pitch some ideas and along the way build a solid relationship with them. Always be genuine in your approach and the content you write should be valuable and lengthy so they will appreciate the effort you put building more solidarity going forward. This is a strategy I’ve used on my own several times and has worked amazing.
Second, writing unique content for your blog can help build relationships with influential bloggers going forward. For example, about a year ago I put together an “expert post” where I asked bloggers a simple question then posted the results on my blog. In the end, I had 14 answers and bloggers I was able to reach out to so they’ll share my post with their following. The fact they were mentioned in the post added reason for them to “share” my content with their followers.
The “share” count on this post keeps growing and continues to build brand awareness and loyalty from people.
Third,
Whenever I reach out to other bloggers I ask myself this question: What’s in it for the other person? The answer to this question is very important because just like any other business “blogging” is about give and take. This means I have a better chance of building momentum to my content if I can offer the person whose sharing an incentive. This especially matters if I’m a newbie having no previous relationship with them before. So, how can I offer an incentive?
Commission –
If in my content I’m promoting a product then for sharing my content I can offer a percentage of the profits generated through them. I’ll have to use a tracker to analyze how many people clicked-through, but there are many tools available to help you accomplish this.
External Links –
Boosting your rankings and content exposure is about building links to your content. A great incentive to offer those who are sharing your content is 1 external link embedded within the body. Once the content is shared, readers will click-through and visit other content which offers a chance of higher social shares and content exposure.
High value links is something which you cannot put a price on so this incentive has worked well when I have done outreach throughout the months.
Product Reviews –
Very rarely do I review products, but this is a great way to get your foot in the door. I’ll contact influential bloggers asking them to share content where I’ve mentioned their personal product. Who doesn’t want free marketing and exposure where no monetary value is involved….right? These bloggers will share my content and achieve the following:
I would recommend to try different strategies because you don’t know which ones will work the best. Always keep track of your results and tweak along the way so you know which ones to carry on with going forward.
Great content is the lifeline of every blog so it’s important you know how to find, revive and optimize before publishing. Throughout this post I have discussed cool strategies you can implement going forward to dominate your competitors and stand out in the search results. As mentioned it all starts with research and finding what’s trending so you can write content which resonates well with your readers. If you don’t then your competitors will start to take your loyal readers because there is NO shortage of valuable content. You just have to be better and know what’s missing to tweak before you publish your content.
To summarize, here are the key points…
Always start with research and use the tools available to you. From my experience the best way to find valuable content ideas is to use: Google Trends, Topsy.com, Buzzsumo.com and Google search.
Create a list of the top content so you can refer to them when it’s time to analyze for social shares, comments, views, etc. Calculating total shares is a great way to find content already published that resonates well with readers.
Go through your list and visit each page looking for ways to improve content. For example, ask yourself these questions…
Topsy.com and Buzzsumo.com both provide a cool way to find those who have shared identical content. Email them with your content asking them to take a look and share if possible. If you provide more value the conversion rate will be very high.
The last part is to do some strategic outreach so you can get influential bloggers to further add momentum to your content. Keep in mind these bloggers have a huge following with over 20,000+ followers and a single tweet can generate enormous traffic to your content.
Staying on top of any emerging or growing social media trends is an absolute must for any successful Internet marketer. You need to know how to best utilize Instagram Stories to build your brand, for example, or how Facebook Live video can be immensely useful in reaching out to your audience on a much more authentic, genuine level.
Things don’t always work out, of course — does anyone still remember Ello? — but even if you don’t hurl yourself deep into these new channels, it pays to know about them in case they do take off… even if it’s just to squat on your preferred username or vanity URL. And it’s even more important when these new platforms are backed by some of the biggest names online.
A somewhat perplexing example of this is Amazon Spark. It was quietly announced to the world in summer 2017, but barely anyone has noticed. Everyone knows about Amazon Associates at this point, but not too many people know about the Amazon Influencer Program either. Maybe they’re still testing the waters before they want to gain more visibility. What this means, though, is that you can get in on the ground floor and get a head start on all the other influencers and Internet marketers out there.
Seemingly inspired by Instagram, Amazon Spark enables users to post stories, ideas and images to their feed. This can include informal polls too, and then users can “smile” the post (i.e., “like” it) and add comments. The key difference is that Spark is very much product-focused with direct product links for where people can go to buy the products mentioned. That seems like such a natural fit.
There’s a little bit of a Pinterest flair to this, because it is about product recommendations and it’s integrated with the Amazon review system, but the single column feed layout is more like the web-based Instagram. Amazon has been paying influencers to populate the platform with compelling content, but there does not appear to be any built-in monetization at this time.
That seems like a wasted opportunity, given how much more Amazon integration there is already, so why wouldn’t you link an influencer’s Spark profile with his/her Associates account for some product affiliate links? The hope is that this will be implemented at some point in the future.
Another big sticking point is that it’s actually quite difficult to find actual user profiles on Spark. Instead, the platform is much more product focused. You enter the product categories that interest you (kind of like following hashtags on Instagram) and your feed is then populated with relevant posts. You can’t actually search for specific users and, as far as I can tell, no vanity URLs have been issued. Instead, if you see someone that interests you show up in your feed, you can then click on their name to follow them. That again feels like a wasted opportunity.
Despite some negative initial experiences by people who have been using the platform, there is definitely a lot of upward potential here, especially if you’re already heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem.
For starters, while the official page says that Spark can only be accessed through the Amazon mobile app on iOS and Android, it does seem to load in any web browser at amazon.com/spark too. That’s at least a step in the right direction.
And one of the potential drawbacks of Spark could also be one of its advantages. You need to be an Amazon Prime member to post anything on there and, in effect, to have a real Spark account. This limits your reach, to be sure, but it means that everyone on there has already self-identified as a frequent Amazon shopper (or at least frequent enough to warrant a Prime account). There are about 80 million people with Prime membership and that number continues to grow.
For now, it’s probably not worth your time to dedicate too much time, attention or resources to Amazon Spark. The platform is still in its infancy and there’s really no money to be made until they (hopefully) integrate it with the Associates program. However, you should definitely keep it on your radar, because with Amazon’s backing and solid infrastructure, Spark could prove to be the next big battleground for influencer marketing.
