blogging helps business success

I wanted to put up some blogging statistics. Blogs are a key business, as you'll observe.

• 6.7MM people publish blogs
• 12MM write blogs using their social networks
• 81% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice they get from blogs
• Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links
• The projection is that there are 128 million blog readers in the U.S.
• 92% of companies that post multiple times on their blogs acquire a customer from their blog
• B2B marketers get 67% more leads than businesses that do not blog
• 23% of online time is dedicated to social networks or blogs
• 61% of U.S. online consumers made their purchase based on a blog recommendation

Blogging helps you exceed in business.

An article from writtent.com was the inspiration for this post

that "something special"

Challenge
Create content that stands out. Blogs, news, videos distribute content.
Content must have that "something special" to get noticed.

That "something special" is high-value, interactive content.

It's content that:

• Incorporates dynamic elements such as videos, animations, and image carosels.
• Involves the participation or feedback of the end user.
• Engages the viewer by giving them a role to play in the unfolding story.

Brands are leveraging the power of interactive content. They are telling their story.

One of there interactive approaches is the e-magazine (interactive magazine). This way, cool features are shared. The latest news is published. The users get a great feel of the brands presence.

5 ambassadorship lessons

Jaguar's story is one of age. It's your story and my story. More on that later.

When I was a kid, back in the late 60's, I'd seen about five Jaguars. Of course that was the muscle car era. I had ridden in several of those, much to my delight. When I'd looked at a Jaguar, it caught my eye. It was different. It was unique.

 I, to this day, have not ridden or driven a Jaguar. I'd ridden in several muscle cars and was delighted. I went on to own three. The innovation was special and it still is. However, I haven't "clumped" innovation into one big category, even when it comes to cars.

To me, Jaguar's innovation is different. Maybe it's Europe. Certainly the advertising has made the difference. This difference has been over many years. The product has lived up to the billing. You might be thinking that I'll never own a Jaguar. I'm thinking that now. But I can still admire the brand.

The Jaguar brand has given us many lessons in promotion and admiration. They create the content. Their recent content creation is the Jaguar XE. The car is elegant and fun. Know the experience better by following the #FEELXE hashtag.

Through the years Jaguar has made their brand "knowable" to many throughout the world. They did this by making their story my story. Now my Jaguar story isn't the same story as an owner, but I have a story just the same.

They did this by ambassadorship. And we can learn 5 items from this to promote our brand:

1. Make people feel special. Make your customers feel fan special. Produce content that is sharable. Give something that is worth remembering.
2. Keep your friends close. To be successful in influence marketing groom the relationship with your online customers and prospects.
3. Conversations are everything. Jaguar keeps the conversation moving. They respond, thank, and share.
4. Give them something to talk about. And we talk about it.
5. Listen to your fans. Yes, a conversation overload.

Jaguar's effort is impressive for sure.

12 business strategy failures

Adopting a business strategy is great. The key to this success is adopting the correct business strategy. To simply try a strategy on for size often doesn't succeed.

Here are 12 reasons for top business strategy failures:

1. Not understanding what a strategy is.
2. Focusing on results first, not focusing on the strategy.
3. Just going through the motions of developing a strategy plan.
4. Not being passionate about the strategy.
5. Not understanding the target audience.
6. Not understanding the environment.
7. Not recognizing market trends.
8. Overestimating the capacity of the business.
9. Not having a clear focus on a powerful, value proposition.
10. Lack of broad involvement.
11. Resisting change.
12. Having the wrong people in leadership roles.

Focus on the knowledge of the topic. When change happens quickly, opportunities once presented can vanish fast. Keep your options open.

Strategy-Keys.com was the source for this entry.

instagram use

I came across this post on socialmediaexaminer.com which gives a great overview of Instagram marketing.

Most people would probably think of Instagram as a personal platform. The home of the selfie. But the post points out that this platform goes much deeper. Visual content is huge. There have many articles posted on visual influence. You've probably read several yourself. Stories are fortified with pictures.

One item I learned from the article I mentioned earlier, is that Instagram is used to create visual content for other sites. Instagram engagement is detailed by Jenn Herman in a podcast that is very helpful. People can be reached better with Instagram. You'll learn profile optimization and strategic hashtag use. You can use as many as 30 hashtags per post! Keep in mind created images, as popularity is gaining.

many filters to choose from on Instagram

Exploring Instagram is fun and a neat learning experience. Make the time to get more familiar.

create customer reach

Brainstorming sessions point to a simple reality: The mobile and social Web has changed how companies interact with customers. The "look-ahead" conversation can risk missing the important, engaging business opportunities. The risk is being to cautious.

The mobile Internet is powerful. Businesses can reach customers at the ultimate decision point - shopping, buying, installing, using, fixing, criticizing, or bragging about your product.

Is this a leap into the unknown? It isn't if you make a lasting impact.

Think like a customer. 

Focus on the customer conversation to ignite the spark of possibilities. What used to be optional social features are no longer optional. Share activity and locations to better recognize customer engagement. Be part of the product experience to think more like a customer. Get a sense of positive and negative sentiments. See the opportunity to provide your influence by responding to relevant social network comments and customer reviews.

Deliver the messages that motivate your commitment to your product. This fortifies your customers' commitment as well.

5 development activators

If you are in a situation in which you haven't given Social Media for business a thought, I have found a story to share for you. It is from WalesOnline : 5 Ways To Develop Your Business On Social Media.

Here is a summary of the five items worth noting:

1. Listen. Social Media platforms need "listened" to. Find the influencers in your industry.
2. Analyze. See the conversations.
3. Create. Add value to the conversation.
4. Engage. Find the conversations to put your product in.
5. Start again. Put your product out and start listening.... again.

Again... the link to the story.
Follow Wales Online on Twitter. @WalesOnline

networking with influencers

The Influencer is important. A term, that perhaps is overused, but nonetheless, is here to stay. We know who they are. You may be one yourself. That's good. We like goodness. And we need to cultivate goodness, so therefore cultivate the Influencers.

We must form the connection. That's not difficult. We first follow an Influencer on a Social Media platform. That's simple enough. However what happens after that and then after that is key.

Pay attention what Influencers are doing. They generally blog. Read their blogs frequently. Comment on their blogs. Tweet their blog posts. Give them credit by using their Twitter handle. This often times can be done easily, but you'll find from time-to-time that their Twitter info is not available on their blog. This makes a difference if you are not following them, as you'll find out. That' ok... do a search later. I do not always use Twitter handles when tweeting. I have been getting better lately.

Retweet what they have tweeted. This is natural if a post of their has motivated you.

You may e-mail them to ask if you can contribute or if they would follow you on Social Media. This is a good way to tell them why you like their content and how they have influenced you.

The big item is paying attention. Pay close attention to their craft and what they have achieved. This will influence you and help you with your business and career. Make networking an important part of your Social Media strategy.

Here is my Influencer Page on this blog.