Social Search went live this morning on Google.  No, not Google Plus – but GOOGLE, the mothership of the internet.  They’ve been hinting that social has been influencing the Google algorithm for a while and as of today there’s no more hinting.  It’s in your face.  Bamm!

Here’s how a search for an Irish Pub in NY looks to me.  Remember, I’m in San Francisco.  You can see there’s 30 of my friends that have recommendations for me.

Google has placed that right at the top!

I didn’t know I even had 30 friends in NYC, let alone personal recommendations for me.

The truth is, they might be friends, but they might also be friends of friends.  That means they might be someone you don’t recognize, don’t know and yet they just influenced your search result!  Wow!  They might have written a review on Yelp, or uploaded a picture to Posterous, or liked a YouTube video.  Those are the rare instances.  The majority of what shows up as a ‘recommendation’ in search is either a share to Google Plus or just a simple +1 by them.

That’s why, even though you don’t think you need another social network, you do need to understand what’s happening.  Lucky for you, we have help!

January 16th, 2012 1PM Eastern- Understanding The New Google+ with Mike Mueller

Join us with special guest presenter Mike Mueller for an in depth look at the Google+ social network including how to drive traffic back to your website as well as the NEW Business Pages. In this webinar we’ll discuss:

• What is Google+?
• Step-by-step walkthrough on how to get started
• Current useful Google+ applications for business
• How to keep Google+ from becoming a time suck.
• Understanding how to use this new Social Search to your advantage

With over 62 million users already on Google+, this is a network to definitely consider in your online marketing plan. This is a free webinar with limited seating, so sign up now! Register Here

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

This past year I've had the honor of traveling the country as a social media speaker sharing on all types of social media topics like using Facebook for business, how to blog, video basics, and many other topics.  One of the top statements that I've heard this past year while traveling is some variation of this: "Twitter is stupid, I don't get it" which normally leads into a discussion on how Twitter can be used to help your business.

Is Twitter Stupid or A Great Source of Traffic?

One of the things I usually try to point out to people is that Twitter is a great referring source of traffic to your site.  During this past year, it is responsible for 22% of referring traffic.  The only traffic referrer to beat it was Facebook at 33%.  The bounce rates as well as time on site are very similar between the two social networks.  So is Twitter stupid, or a great source of traffic?  I'd have to say the latter.

Twitter Is Stupid, Only Celebrities Are There.

This is another common complaint I hear.  Since you only hear of big name celebrities like Oprah or Justin Bieber on Twitter in the media, many thing that is the only people signing up and using the social network.  Here's a really great visualization of Twitter adoption in the US over the past few years:

As you can see, there are many more signing up for Twitter each & every day.  In fact, over 100 million users are active each month according to Mashable.

Twitter is Stupid I Don't Care What You Ate For Lunch

Why should someone care what you ate for lunch or what you did last night for fun.  I get it, not everyone is going to care about everything you do.  But, if you take some time listening to what others are doing, you can learn a tremendous amount of information about your sphere.  And, build some of the strongest relationships with people.  This past year I made a trip to Seattle to speak and while there some of my Twitter friends a meetup while I was in town.  Thanks to my friends Stephanie, Dale, Linda, & Debra, & Chris, I spent a wonderful evening with a great group of friends, all that I mainly communicate with just through Twitter. So while some may not care about those types of things, I cherish the friendships I have made through Twitter over the past year.  I know more about some of my friends on Twitter from the other side of the country than friends of mine that live within 5 minutes of my home.

So Is Twitter Stupid or Valuable?

I am not going to force you to use Twitter in 2012, but as for my business, I know I will be continue to integrate Twitter into my online marketing strategy.  If you are not sure how to get started there, that is understandable.  Here's a few great resources to get you going in the right direction:

• Get More Followers- Chris Brogan
• 7 Way To Be Hated on Twitter- 210 Consulting
• 50,000 Tweets and All I Got Was Everything- Scott Stratten

If you want to connect with me on Twitter, you can find me @JB140

Video, some love it, most hate it.  Why?  They don't like the way they look on camera, or hate their voice, or some other really bad excuse.  But, with 3 billion views daily on YouTube, video is something that your business can no longer ignore.  There are simple ways to incorporate video into just about any business that is out there.

As we all know, many people consume things better when they can either hear or see it instead of just reading.  Hence why you always should try to include images to keep the consumers interest in your blog posts.  However, when you embed a video into the blog post you increase this exponentially.

As I was scanning YouTube videos, I came across this one from a real estate firm in Australia.  They do a great job explaining the importance of video in their industry:

As the saying goes, proof is in the pudding.  Both the top sales person in the state & country are using video to promote their business.  Also, they discuss spending $1,000 on a newspaper ad versus spending $500-$1,000 on a professional looking video.  Let's look at this in detail for a moment.

The ad that you place in a newspaper runs for a limited time.  Normally only once or twice making it's shelf life very short.  Secondly, the reach of that ad is the audience in your city that gets a newspaper.  If this was my hometown of Myrtle Beach, SC, the circulation of the paper is about 50,000 daily.  So you would be paying roughly $2 per viewer if you are lucky enough to get 1% to view your ad.  Since it is not interactive, you would then have to rely on the consumer going to a computer visiting your website, or picking up the phone to call you.  Of course this also doesn't take into account those who are not in the market for your product right now, which would make that number dramatically less.

In comparison, if you pay a video company to design a dramatic video or create one yourself for your product/service you are offering the video can easily get thousands of views if you title & tag it properly.  The other big differences between the print ad & video is that your video doesn't have a shelf life.  Unless you delete the video or have your account suspended, the video can live online for eternity to be found by consumers moving forward instead of just those looking on that day.  Secondly, the people viewing your video are those who are typically interested in that thing.  They have done some sort of search and landed on your video.  So, conversion should be much higher than the print ad.

So, if you have not started with video yet, now is the time to begin.  2012 is a year in which video will continue to remain a strong tool to implement into your online marketing strategy.  To help everyone get started in the right direction, I've created a free webinar that will take place on Monday January 9th, 2012 at 1PM EST.  Seating is limited, so register now!

According to Google, mobile traffic queries are up over 4 times those of a year ago. More and more people are surfing the web from their smart phones every day for things. There should no longer be a question of whether or not you need a mobile version of your website.

Having your website mobile optimized means that it will load quickly & easily for any mobile device. If it takes more than five seconds for the page to load, consumers are likely to leave and move on to another site. Also, the amount of data required to open a non-mobile site can turn those with limited data packages away from becoming a regular online customer of yours. If you have images inserted, they need to load properly and I shouldn't need to pinch or zoom to view the items on a page.

Google believes that mobile sites are becoming so important that they recently launched an initiative to help people determine if their site is mobile optimized. HowToGoMo.comoffers you the ability to test your site, learn more about mobile websites and even get help if needed.

Here's a quick demo on how it works:

When you finish the test you will get a brief summary and also the ability to either email or download a Full Mobile Report. Also, if your site does not do so well in the test, they have some great developers available to assist you in building a mobile optimized site for your business.

As someone who uses WordPress and also builds Custom WordPress Sites, I install a plugin called WPTouch onto all the sites I build that helps turn them into a mobile optimized version for when your site is viewed on a smartphone. It is super simple to set up and can be done in less than three minutes. It will make your site look fairly similar to the way mine did in the video demo above.

So, go try HowToGoMo.com and see how your site ranks in their results. If you need help turning your WordPress Site into a mobile optimized version, just ask!

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

I don't normally re-blog things, but this is a pretty cool product from some of my friend Celeste & Dan.  Happy Birthday to the Happy Grasshopper team.  Now, if you haven't tried out their product, I'd HIGHLY recommend giving it a try.

It is a really inexpensive awesome way to stay in contact with your customers.  Remember a successful real estate business isn't all about the knowledge of the market, but also keeping your face in front of the consumer with solid relationships.  This product gives you an easy way to do so.  They have a 30 day free trial, so what's it gonna hurt to try. 

I was impressed that Todd Clark made 17K off the trial period alone!

This is part three in my series on creating better videos. In our first segment we covered indoor shots and how to keep the light balanced. Then, we discussed why using a tripod is crucial to the quality of your video. For today's segment, we are going to discuss audio.

Good videos are made up of two main components. The images on the screen and the sound that accompanies it. If one of these parts is lacking or missing, the quality of your video goes down. While you may think you need to spend several hundreds of dollars on a good microphone setup, you will be surprised what you can get for under $40.

Before I show an example, let's first discuss the different types of microphones that exist. There are three main types that you may want to use:

1. Shotgun Microphones- These microphones are highly directional and pick mainly the audio that is just in front of them. It is used many times on movie sets with a boom stand that hangs it overhead those speaking. They can get a little more expensive, but can be effective in situations where you cannot have a microphone 6 inches from your subject. They can pick up sounds usually within 10 feet. Unfortunately though, if you are trying to interview someone in a noisy room, it can be difficult to distinguish their voice and the noise of others speaking in the room.
2. Handheld Microphones- Handheld microphones are like those used by news reporters. They can be wired or wireless. They provide a good sound of those close to the microphone. If you want the ambient noise of others in the room, this may not be the best option. Also, if the person using the microphone has weak arms and the microphone moves away, you may lose some of what they are speaking.
3. Lapel Microphones- Lapel microphones provide very good quality audio that will remain consistent as you clip it onto the persons shirt or jacket. These microphones pick up only the person wearing it so if you are trying to interview someone else, this is not the option for you. Unless of course you use an audio mixer and two of them. In the example below, I use a simple $25 Audio Technica ATR 3350 wired version. (aff link)

Here's a demo:

As you can see, adding just a simple $25 microphone changes the quality of your video immensely. No longer do you hear the wind blowing and my voice faintly. Instead my voice now is coming through crystal clear. So, if your camera allows for the use of an external microphone, then put the additional investment into your videos and see the major difference. If your camera doesn't have the option for an external microphone, have no fear! I will have a guest post coming soon that will show you how you can accomplish the same type of audio quality.

To learn more on how to create better videos, check out this presentation that I have shared as a social media speaker on Video Basics.

photo credit: Mike Mueller Areweconnected.com

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

The other day I started a series of posts on creating better videos.  The series came from some recent presentations I have given as a social media speaker on using video more effectively in your online marketing strategy.  The first post dealt with picking the right angles for your indoor shots.  Today we are going to tackle another one of the issues I see in too many videos.  The fact that you feel like you are riding a roller coaster throughout the entire video due to the shakiness.  If you wonder what I am talking about, here's an example from one of my golf outings.

So how do we go about fixing this problem?  Well, absolute easiest is to just use a tripod.  It steadies your camera and removes all the shake.  You can purchase one for anywhere from $20 for an inexpensive one to some that can cost you several thousands.  Personally, I use a tripod/monopod combo from Sunpak that is around $85. (aff link) This tripod is a little taller than some of the others out there which comes in handy if you are taller or interviewing someone who is taller than 5'7".

In addition to this tripod, I also use a smaller lightweight one, but that can can be hard to use since it is so lightweight it causes some vibration when you try to do pan shots.  The third tripod I carry in my bag always is a small desktop tripod.  This one might get more use than any other tripod I own as it is with me all the time.  It doesn't always work the best with the DSLR camera due to the cameras weight, but with the pocket cameras it is perfect.

Here is a quick demonstration video showing the importance of steadying your camera:

So what if you want to shoot a video and do not have a tripod handy?  What should you do?  Well, obviously you wouldn't want to just give up on shooting the video.  Instead, lets think of some other ways to imitate the tripod.  Here are just a few things I have done in the past when I don't have a tripod nearby to steady my video camera:  

• Find a steady flat surface to sit/prop the camera.  I've used everything from sidewalks, desks, railings, you name it to steady the camera.  I've even used my wallet before to prop a camera up & get that perfect shot.  

• Put your camera strap on & pull the camera tight against your neck.  This will help to steady the camera more than just using your arms.  

• Find something to lean on.  If you can find something to lean your elbows against you can use your arms as a tripod fairly well.

These are just a few ideas, there are plenty more crazy things I've done in the past to try & get the right shot.  Have you ever used any of the things I mentioned in the past?  Or maybe you have another idea.  If you do, please share!

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

Wow! What a crazy month it has been here for me. Over the past few weeks I traveled several thousand miles to share as a social media speaker at many events around the country. One of the more popular presentations I have done recently has been on video in real estate. In that video I share several video demonstrations on various tools & tips. Things like the importance of using an external microphone, using tripods, etc.

I think these video tips are fairly important and could be useful to others, so I will be sharing these short video examples and tips over the next few weeks here on the blog. Today I am sharing tip 1 for creating better real estate video.

Getting The Right Indoor Video Shot

The biggest issue I have seen in most indoor real estate videos has to do with the camera position. Too many times I see the shot focusing on the windows of a room and shooting directly at them. While it is important to point out the lightness & brightness inside a room caused by a window when trying to sell a home, if you try to convey this the same way in your video that you do when physically in the home with a buyer you end up with all kinds of problems.

Because there is so much brightness, many ignore turning on the lights in the room to try to keep the shot from being over exposed which causes problem one. Then you have the unbalanced amount of light as you pan the room. Most cameras can not adjust fast enough as you pan so you end up with part of your shot looking fine, part completely washed out and then another segment that is so dark you may think you are in a real estate cave. Not to mention the fact that it looks like the room changes color from tans to yellows to grays to whites.

You can spend hours in the editing booth trying to adjust color and exposure in your shot causing you to want to pull your hair completely out. While this option is available, there are others that are much easier. The angle you choose to shoot your video at can fix all these issues almost instantly.

Instead of shooting your video directly into the windows with no interior lights on, move the camera to the other side of the room near your windows. Turn on the interior lights and begin your video shot there. By doing so you will see a more consistent amount of light across your shot without the white balance & exposure changing as many times as a chameleon.

Here's a quick demo video from my recent presentation on Real Estate Video Basics:  

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

Long Tail keywords are so important to your online business and how it is found in the search engines. If your business has been struggling to be found online, this may be something you want to look into. While you may think that you need to be page one for your main business terms, what you are missing is that it is normally much more difficult to rank at the top of the rankings for these high competition keywords.

However, if you focus on long tail keywords in your site, you will find yourself having a much easier time getting to page one of Google as the competition is normally much less. So, as I shared in the video, if AppliancePartsPros.com focused only on the keyword "appliance parts" in their site SEO strategy, there is a good possibility they would not have had my business the other day. But, because they took the time and wrote content about a specific part as small and inexpensive as it may be, it brought them in a new customer.

As a new customer that had an exceptional experience, I know that if I ever need another part for a small appliance, I know where I will start my search. I also know that whenever I hear someone mention needing a small appliance part, that I will send them over to their site. My guess is that it probably took them a few hours of writing on the specific part & model number to gain page one rankings on Google for the keyword. So in terms of investment, I would say the return has been great.

So, if you are trying to figure out ways to help your business online, maybe it is time to start writing about long tail keywords and let others fight over the highly competitive ones. If you are not sure how to implement this type of strategy into your business, let's schedule a personal coaching session today to discuss this further for your business.

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

As many of you probably know, in addition to presenting at conferences as a social media speaker, that I also do a good amount of social media consulting with individuals and small businesses. As we begin discussing how to use Facebook for business, the ins and outs of Twitter, how YouTube can grow their business, and several other platforms, I almost always get asked the question of how can they automate this content so that they can write it once and have it syndicated to all platforms. I understand the thought that by using a syndicator, it will spread your message across all the platforms quickly and make life easier for you. But, what you are missing is that this is probably one of the most ineffective ways to try and build your business online.

One Size Doesn't Fit All

Each social network operates slightly different than all the others out there. For example, Twitter gives you 140 characters and you must include the @ symbol if you want to have it mention someone specifically. When this publishes over to Facebook for example, your friends see messages like this: "That was very funny @jb140 @210consulting." which makes no sense to them if they are not using Twitter. Also, the frequency you tweet is more than likely going to be more often than you would update your Facebook status. In my case, I might tweet 25-30 times a day. I don't want all 25-30 of those showing up in my Facebook stream. Also, Twitter limits the length of your update to 140 characters, so you may be abbreviating words or using online jargon to make your update. Do I really want that going over to a platform like LinkedIn in which it's main purpose is a social network for business professionals? Needless to say, updates on LinkedIn that say "Way to go, @JB140, that is a definite #fail. I prefer cheddar cheese #FTW"does not always portray the image we would want on certain networks.

Because I See It On 4 Places Doesn't Mean I'll Read

One of the reasons I am writing this post is because of a post I recently saw on Google+: The person wrote: Sync Google+ to Twitter, Itenti.ca, & Facebook. I started reading the comments below and asked why would you want to do this though? And needless to say I then saw them along with many of their other friends that I follow had already set this up. So, when I went to their Twitter account, Facebook Profile, or Google+ account I saw the exact same status update. For those of us who have connected with someone on multiple platforms, I see this becoming a problem. You can actually annoy people by putting the same stuff all over the place all the time.

Take the Time, Post Individually

If you want to say the same sort of message on all the various networks, that is perfectly fine, simply copy/paste the message across and customize it to fit the platform. For example, as I mentioned the other day for my Facebook Page, I try to ask questions more than making statements. I found this to be more beneficial. So, I take that same statement I might have just made on Twitter, paste it to my Facebook Page and alter the text to turn it into more of a question. If I want to post it to LinkedIn, I would do the same type of thing customizing it to the audience on that network. To do this literally takes you an additional 18 seconds or so and will increase your interactions immensely. I tested syndicating my content across all networks for a three month period of time and had almost no business come from it. When I changed things to manually update I almost instantly saw an increase in all aspects of traffic, interactions, and engagement from my online community. For me, I'll spend an additional 3-4 minutes doing this to see improved results. Also, not everything I share on one network is necessarily worth of being posted to 4 other platforms. So, before you set up your account to share your content across multiple platforms consider whether it is a help or a hindrance to your business. If you don't agree with me, I'd love to hear why in the comments below!