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Google+ Local Replaces Google Places

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It was only a matter of time but Google Places is no longer. Say hello to Google+ Local, as of this morning over 80 million business pages on Google were replaced with Google+ Local pages. This seems to be a change that many expected for a while as Google seeks new ways to insert their social platform into our every day web habits. In addition to this important change, Google is also leveraging their acquisition of Zagat in 2011 by incorporating their ranking system and wealth of data and reviews for local restaurants. Now, when you access a Google+ Local page, you’ll find a new 30 point scale a la Zagat rankings. A better explanation of the ranking system here.

Google+ Local pages are certainly more dynamic than the old Places pages, with the ability to add pictures, make customizations, etc. It also provides more opportunities for interacting with customer similar to Facebook or Twitter, but with that added functionality new burdens are placed on small business owners to understand how Google+ works in order to maximize those opportunities.

I’ll be following this change closely as small, locally owned businesses will need to find strategies to adapt to the changes and take full advantage of this new functionality.

7 Free Ways to Become Smarter About Marketing Today

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Get Smart about MarketingWe live in amazing times, there are efforts all over the world to democratize education by making it available for anyone willing to seek it out and put in a little effort. While it might not come with fancy degrees or initials to put after your name there are tons of resources out there that will help you become smarter about marketing (or just about any other subject) for free! Below is a list of just a few resources to consider:

Khan Academy:

This is an incredible project that is bringing word-class education to anyone willing to put in the time. For marketers looking to brush up on statistics (that’s what I’m working on), or even if you want to learn more about venture capital markets, finance, economics, or a myriad of other subjects you need to check this site out.

 

From their website:

All of the site’s resources are available to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy’s materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.

Watch Salman Kahn’s TED talk:

Blogs:

You’re reading one right now so you’re probably pretty aware of the value that blogs can bring, but just in case here are a few resources that you might find helpful.

Check out the Ad Age Power 150 to get started.

Check out Guy Kawasaki’s incredible resource Alltop where he seemingly aggregates everything and everybody including perennial favs Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, Copyblogger, and Mashable.

Business 2 Community has become a content juggernaut with great marketing articles being generated by a powerful community of marketing pros.

You can always count on Technorati to find the most popular blogs on the intertubes.

Podcasts:

It’s amazing to me that so many great marketing pros are willing to share so much knowledge with the rest of us free of charge. Here are a few that I listen to regularly and love.

Marketing Over Coffee: Christopher Penn and John Wall share their musings and knowledge in roughly 20-30 minute chunks in this casual podcast.

Six Pixels of Separation: Mitch Joel brings marketing insights through interviews with some of the most influential minds in digital marketing.

The Accidental Creative: Todd Henry shares powerful and digestible ideas to help bring out the creative genius in all of us.

The BeanCast: A powerul mix of serious and hilarious marketing analysis, worth every minute.

Quora:

Quora has become an important source of information with a community of experts that answer specific questions about organized topics. Perhaps their website can describe it better….

Quora is a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it. The most important thing is to have each question page become the best possible resource for someone who wants to know about the question.

I use quora to follow some of these marketing topics, web analytics, inbound marketing, branding, personal development, web marketing, Google Analytics, and personal branding. Quora is also social in nature and allows members to build credibility in topics of their choice by answering questions posed by other users.

Social:

Social media is a fantastic way to stay on top of the latest marketing news. If you have a preferred platform, go find the marketers you like and follow them, they are constantly posting relevant information that can help you move forward in your career, and who knows, you might find a connection that you never expected.

Twitter: Social Media Magazine has some great lists, but here is one that has the top 100 marketing authors on Twitter.

Facebook: Many companies have very informational Facebook feeds including the American Marketing Association, Hubspot, Marketing Profs, and Guy Kawasaki, but I reserve Facebook for mostly personal purposes so I don’t go too overboard there.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is another great resource for learning. Search for marketing groups that interest you (there are tons of them out there), hop in and contribute and you’ll be learning while building your personal brand!

TED:

TED talks are an unbelievable resource about all kinds of ideas, from technology to education, science to global development, art to medicine, and of course business. Started by Chris Anderson a few years ago, TED talks are going on all over the world, with ordinary people now organizing their own smaller, independant conferences called TEDx. TED talks usually come in bite size 5-15 minute chunks and are full of incredible ideas from some of the most fascinating minds in the world. If you want to become smarter about a range of topics, try listening to one TED talk a week and there is no doubt you will be blown away.

Library:

I don’t want to insult anyone’s intelligence, if you haven’t been to your local library to see what books are out there you’ll probably be surprised by what you find. Take a trip and find out for yourself.

What other ideas do you have for becoming a smarter marketer for free?

Roundup of Google + Reviews

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Google + reviews

This week Google launched their Google + social sharing platform, which many are characterizing as a warning shot across Facebook’s bow. The consensus is that it’s way too early to tell  if this is a flash in the pan like Buzz, or a legitimate rival to Facebook and Twitter. It’s in limited release right now, but many influencers in the digital and social marketing sphere were granted access, here is a roundup of first impressions.

David Meerman Scott wanted to hate it, but just couldn’t pull himself away, read his thoughts here.

Chris Brogan says it’s way too early to know where it will go, and lets us know his impressions on whether it will work for business or not.

Ian Lurie pontificates on the reasons it might be a winner, and why it could be a loser.

Mashable has a straightforward review of the many features available in Google +.

As most of these folks have summized, it’s pretty early in the game to envision the impact that Google + will have. The rest of us will just have to wait and see for ourselves once it’s in full release.

5 Tips to Make Your Press Release Strategy Work Harder

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5 tips for press releasesPress releases have been an important tool for marketing pros for a very long time. While the old days of a busy press room filled with eager reporters clamoring for a scoop may seem antiquated in today’s digitally syndicated world, press releases have never been more essential in getting the word out to your audience. With the right strategy in place your releases will allow you speak directly with your buyers, without being filtered by the media. Here are five tips you that you can put to use right now to help make your press release strategy work just as hard as you do.

1. Press early, press often:

With distribution services costing so little and online press releases providing significant search benefits you can’t afford not to be producing press releases as much as possible. Big news is great, but small news can be just as powerful in the new world of PR. So what news might warrant a press release? Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Add a product feature?
  • CEO speaking at a conference?
  • Win an award?
  • Publish a white paper?
  • Win a new customer?
  • Hire a new superstar?
  • Recruiting new talent?

2. Speak directly to your buyers:

One thing that publishers do that marketing pros often don’t is understand their audience before trying to fill their informational needs. Press releases provide an opportunity to speak directly to your buyers. Try to speak their language and help them solve their problems. Remember that you’re not writing for the media, so don’t try to make things sound more complex or sophisticated than they really are, unless your buyers share that erudition (means sophistication…see?).

3. Remember the keywords:

When writing your press release make sure to focus on phrases that your customers use to search for your product or service. By working these phrases into your copy you’ll have a better chance of your release showing up in search engines for the phrases that are most likely to convert potential prospects into customers. Headlines are crucial, do what you can to make sure the most important keyword phrase appears in the headline.

4. Link back to landing pages:

Links are essential to beating out the competition for SEO supremacy. If you’re writing about a particular service or product feature that your buyers will find interesting don’t just link back to your home page, direct that link to a landing page within your site containing the specific information you’re referencing. Better yet, use links to push potential prospects into the buying cycle by using landing pages that have a specific call to action.

5. Include social media tags:

Most distribution services have the ability to add social media tags to your press releases, take advantage. They might charge extra for this service so if you’re on a tight budget use this feature for more important news. Allowing your “fans” to share your news with their own social networks improves visibility and raises your credibility.

Why Inbound Marketing Matters

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People now shop and learn in a fundamentally different way than they had ten years ago, simply put they are turning to the Internet to seek out products and information, usually starting with Google or another search engine, or by seeking out advice from friends on social sites. Inbound marketing may be a relatively new concept to most, but with the rise of the Internet it has become something that every marketing professional must have a strong grasp on, otherwise you’ll be letting potential customers fly right by your offering for another. As consumers have become more adept at avoiding traditional “interruption” or outbound marketing, marketers and communication professionals have had to find new ways reaching and attracting customers and donors, effectively “pulling” people in by making the right strategic moves and creating lots of “remarkable” content, after that those relationships need to be cultivated effectively and genuinely.

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