thinks

I ran across this fascinating list of links looking at 11 ways the Internet will change everything. What, you mean it hasn’t already? Of course, it’s changing everything. It has been for the last decade plus.

In particular, I found Wired editor Kevin Kelly’s section about lifestreaming prescient, in that more of us are making more of ourselves available to more people every day. Which is what leads sites like Salon’s The Big Money to publish fancy-sounding articles like “The Battle for the Soul of Social Media,” which looks at whether businesses should use social media as a “channel” or as “a way of life.” Of course, it asks the question of what customers want it to be…

Still, here’s the pragmatic part. Social is important for your business, because it is changing your customers’ behavior. For instance, eMarketer finds that social fans are more likely to buy. Which is nice, but how do you get more social fans? These tips will help:

• I really love Social Media Examiner. First, they’ve got that quirky background. It’s unquestionably the most distinctive look on the web today. Second, they keep putting up great content like these 5 easy steps to creating reusable social content. Very cool stuff.
• I’m also a fan of Mashable. While they don’t have any quirky backgrounds, they do have great content like their 4 easy ways to engage Facebook fans.
• B2B marketers aren’t left out in the cold on this. Mashable also offers 10 essential social media tips for you, too.
• Finally, one of the best ways to engage your customers in a social dialogue is via your blog. We’ve got our guide to how to build your small business blog. And Freelance Folder has their list of 5 kinds of blog posts that attract clients. Sure, it’s targeted at service providers. But the tips would work well for many types of businesses.

OK, so it’s not the future of the whole Internet. Or even social. But it is something you can put to use today. And that will help you create your own future.

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Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

Or subscribe via email.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Technorati Tags:
e-marketing, social, social marketing, social media, social media predictions, social strategy

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Sure, measuring the success of your online marketing can be tough. But, you know more than you think you do. Seriously. You’ve got plenty of simple, low-cost ways to measure your success. How?

• Update your web analytics. Tools like Google Analytics let you easily report on customer activity on your website. You can then translate those reports to your business metrics.
• Ask your customers. Surveys don’t have to be sophisticated. Just ask your customers where they found out about you. Was it on your website? Facebook? Or maybe your last email? Even better, ask whether they’d recommend you to a friend when they’re settling up. If the answer to that second question is “no,” you’ll want to ask them why not, too.
• Coupons. Put a printable coupon on your website good for a discount or value-added offer. While it doesn’t always scale well, it will give you some insights into whether your message is reaching the right customer.

None of these are foolproof. And they require some thought about what you’re looking to measure. But, if it helps you make better business decisions, isn’t a little bit of information better than none at all?
Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today. Or subscribe via email. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: metrics are good. At least if they’re done right. Here are several ways to make sure yours are.

• Drowning in data? Want to make sense of it all? Flowing Data offers a great look at how to think like a statistician – without the math.
• Mashable has some great data showing how small business is using social media. But, how can you track its value? Well, Social Times suggests 10 Social Media Metrics Your Company Should Monitor, that’s how.
• Twitter can tell you a lot about how people talk about your brand and John Jantsch offers 7 Insanely Useful Ways to Search Twitter for Marketing.
• And, finally, for a contrarian point of view – albeit a useful one – AdAge offers this view of Why Measurement Alone Will Not Lead to Better Marketing

Hope you’ve had a great week, Big Thinkers. See you right back here next week. You can count on it.

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Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

Or subscribe via email.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Technorati Tags:
analytics, E-commerce, e-commerce, e-marketing, ecommerce, measurement, metrics, performance, social, social marketing, social media, social media predictions, social search, social strategy, twitter

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How’s business? We’re closing in on the end of the first quarter, so you’re looking at how you’re doing, right? Just imagine looking back on the first quarter and realizing you’re ahead of your goals and set up for success through the rest of the year. That sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Here’s one way to get there:

1. Pick one page on your site. Don’t know which page? Find the best candidate with our “Lost Prospects” calculator.
2. Pick one metric (bounce rate is a really good one) to focus on.
3. List three things you can do right now to improve that metric. (Perhaps an A/B test on your call-to-action, headlines or benefit statement)?
4. Do those three things.
5. Measure your results.

Seriously. That’s it.

It’s way too easy to overcomplicate the process.

So don’t.

To quote Saturday Night Live, “Fix it!”

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Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

Or subscribe via email.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Technorati Tags:
a/b testing, analytics, bounce rate, call-to-action, continuous improvement, conversion, conversion rate, E-commerce, e-commerce, e-marketing, ecommerce, goal setting, internet business, internet marketing, landing page design, landing page optimization, marketing, marketing best practices, measurement, metrics, online marketing, page design, performance, strategy, success

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