They don’t Like. They don’t Retweet. They don’t do nothing. They just.. keep… rolling alonggggg…

They are not doing what you had hoped they would do, which is Like your darned social media post!

Wikipedia says:

“In Internet culture, a lurker is typically a member of an online community…who observes, but does not participate.”

Lurkers avoid the tools they are supposed to use to let you know their reaction to what you are spending a not inconsiderable amount of time to put out.

Is a Like too much to ask?

They stare at your post. They might cringe. They might laugh. They might get mad at what you are saying.

But in the end, they just scroll or swipe away to the next bright shiny posting.

Come On, Do The Lurk

Why do Lurkers Lurk?

For some Lurkers I know personally, they simply don’t trust anything online.

That is a valid point in this age of privacy concerns.

Some think any action they take will put them immediately on the radar of a Government Agency.

Or worse, somebody they had a grudge with in High School!

The 90-9-1 Lurkers Rule

This article by Jakob Nielsen,  from the Internet of 2006, is still relevant to social media today.

“In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action.”

What Do Lurkers Mean To My Business
Or
When A Tree Falls In The Forest Does It Land On A Lurker?

Lurkers are still a good thing for your business social media campaigns.

If the Lurker clicks through to your website from a Facebook or Twitter post, your website Analytics will pick them up in a way that lets you know where they came from. (Don’t have Analytics on your website? Contact Me).

Since Lurkers represent the largest demographic (90%) you will definitely want to keep posting on social media to connect with them.

Even if the relationship is very similar to Unrequited Love. If you are persistent, it might someday get upgraded to Pen Pal!

Measuring The Lurk

Social media platforms can now tell you through Analytics or Insights the likely quantity of Lurkers you are attracting.

For most of your postings it will be a much larger amount than Likes.

But even if you have not yet attained that level, consistency will continue to be your best ally, so keep right on posting.

If you keep up with your social postings on your chosen platform, you will someday Convert a Lurker with that Irresistible Post!

The post Lurkers Rule! appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

• Post new content on your website regularly
• Share that content on your social media in a way that brings people back to your site
• Use ‘offline’ activity and print promotion to further your recognition for people who may not be online

For small business owners, you can handle these tasks on your own, and there are also ways to get help that is affordable.

First comes the website. Websites are vital because it’s your one place online where you have complete control over your message and presentation.

If you think about it, places like Twitter and Facebook make everyone fit into the same format, so identity is not a priority for these platforms. You can upload photos, you can make brief statements but it’s all inside a container that is ‘one size fits all’.

A WordPress site, under your domain name is the economical way to go. There’s a ton of self-help material online, and there’s people like me, if you are too busy.

Once you have your website up and running and have started adding content, you’re ready for organic promotion via social media. Here, I encounter folks who don’t really know what to post about on their website. I have the same problem myself!

Some clients have eCommerce sites with product. Well, that’s content! Share links to these products on Facebook on a regular basis.

Sharing products is good, but it’s also nice to post content about other things besides what you might be selling. Envelop yourself in your business persona. What do you talk about with your customers? What interests you about what you do? Sometimes, personal interest posts on a business page are very effective at generating replies.

If you really don’t want to write, or don’t have time to write, it’s a good idea to look into ‘proxy posting’ services that will do the writing and posting for you. These services provide unique and interesting content for your site designed to have the proper ‘hooks’ for your market niche. It’s not as good as something you might come up with, but it’s better than no posts!

Costs for ‘proxy posts’ range a bit, but paying $100 for a well-formed website post is not a bad deal. I would avoid the ‘posts for a buck’ services.

Cross promoting your website on social media works best as a routine task. If you can do it once a month, that’s great. Maybe you can do it once a week or 10 times a day, but you need to post on social media in a way that brings people back to your website. I see all the time that social activity leads to sales, and other indirect benefits (more on that in a future article).

There is a difference between using social media as a person and as a business. The best way to get an understanding on this is to post on your personal social media as frequently as you can to ‘learn the ropes’. Many business owners are not that crazy about social media, but you can bet that the person doing their business posts got their ‘chops’ by being socially active via a personal account. Hmmm, ‘socially active’ sounds like not a good thing!

Then there is the ‘offline’ or traditional promotion. Some of the people I work with are public speakers, some are authors who do book signings, some have ‘brick and mortar’ stores or booths at Farmers Markets. Any way you can interact with the public is an opportunity to build recognition.

Print advertising is important since, if you can believe it, there are still people who aren’t on social media or websites! The Local Shoppers Guides or Pennysavers on a rack at the coffee shop or in the bathroom is their preferred reading. And someday, if you follow my tips, you may be able to upgrade your print budget to advertise in the New York Times!

The post The three steps for effective promotion appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

Virtually every snap virtual judgement can be backed up with a compelling set of facts. On the internet, everything is true.

It can be confusing for a busy small business owner to know what exactly to make of all this. They understand that the internet is the most economical way to promote business.

However, owners are more comfortable with real world interactions over digital. Think of business deals struck on the golf course.

Because it’s essential to be where the eyeballs are, owners need to commit to at least one social media platform. It’s a good idea, and I recommend it to all my customers.

No Website?

Some owners may opt to only have a Facebook Business Page. No website. But think about customer service and Facebook. There isn’t any! If your Facebook Business Page is hacked or spoofed, there is no one to talk to.

I like the Facebook Page for a famous 60’s rock group. The admins of the page posted daily. The page had thousands of Likes. Then the page was hacked. The page managers abandoned the page and started a new Page. Since suffering this defeat, the new page is much less active. Garnering thousands of Likes takes time and great effort. I would call this a customer service failure.

Remember also that no Facebook Page has ever won a design award that no other Facebook Page has won.

Organic Process

The ever upward trajectory of the web makes what worked yesterday seem terribly old hat today.

Every social media/website integration success I have seen has been an organic process, evolving over time.

There is no playbook with all the steps set out for you. You strive to maintain more hits than misses.

You can’t always get what you want

Sometimes the benefits are not what you thought you wanted, but they can be something you need. Say you have trepidation about committing to host a weekly BlogTalkRadio show. You may worry what the benefit will be for your career or business.

But, why not proceed with the assumption that it will be a lot of work, and be largely ignored?

You will have had experience managing a challenging app, scheduling content, and developing a persona.

All great skills for your next online steps.

Tom Stier is someone business owners in The Berkshires region of Massachusetts (and other regions) can talk to about their social media/website strategy.

The post Facebook Training, Websites And Getting What You Need appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

I do know what I do, however.

This post focuses on Tom Stier/Promote Globally, so I will not be mentioning any client names. Also, I don’t wanna get in trouble!

Many years ago, a web developer designed a site page by page in Dreamweaver. Now, with WordPress, a website IS the software.

Site owners can add and edit posts or pages if they have the time or inclination to do so. This has moved some of the work I used to do to more of the set-up, function, troubleshooting and strategy areas.

Elsewhere on this site I talk about the whole social media/website posting synergy, so I won’t go into that here. In a nutshell, if you build a website, they won’t come until they see a link to it on social media.

Communication is essential, and I do a lot of it. I respond to client-related emails continually through the day. I’m happy to answer a quick technical question, then some discussions develop into step by step tutorials or my preparing detailed options for the best way to implement some function or strategy. I’m a fan of getting verbal discussions preserved in an email thread. Email & phone interaction takes up several hours of a typical workday.

Last month in web development

I’ve enjoyed an association with a New York City-based online retailer going back almost ten years. The continuing work for this retailer involves collating product information – descriptions, pricing, and images preparation – from several manufacturers, then populating the retailer’s online shopping cart. The site owner is preparing another project for which I am creating branding, and consulting with him on social media strategy for the project.

I built, host & maintain several sites for an alternative education initiative. Last month I created a new education program page, updated registration forms and the connected payment processors, and updated an integrated site bulletin board. The organization has a dedicated social media/eblast person and we coordinate when new posts are added on the site.

For a health services website, I created a banner (Client reaction to first pass: “It is just right!”) & information page for a fundraiser, and reconfigured the site home page to include the new banner. We also set up a new Facebook page for the organization and, as Admins of the new page, created the first post.

For an author, I updated their website header, re-configured the home page, and added a banner w/rotating testimonials to help promote a new novel.

For a small press publisher, I fixed problems with PayPal orders not completing, isolated a php version mismatch, and updated their site & shopping cart software. They asked that I do the same on another site they owned.

For a commercial artist, I did the WordPress, Theme & Plugins update on her site. One of the downsides of using any dynamic website software is that the base software and additional bits of coding (Plugins) sometimes don’t get along. This is why you always backup before updating.

Last month also saw the same variety of work done on sites for another author, an intuitive, a land conservancy and an opera composer!

The business of business

When you are in business for yourself, you have to keep bringing in business. To that end, I prepared two estimates last month. One of them was quite involved, going through a few re-configurations and then meeting in person with the organizations’ members.

Billing for work that is done is also essential. I spend some time every day notating work and populating invoices. Yawn.

I host sites, so there are occasional maintenance interactions with my server providers. Hosting has become much more reliable than it was in the past, and we are very happy with our current choices.

My domain name provider, however, began sending renewal notices for my domains to somebody who should not have received them! Many phone calls were required to get them to stop doing that.

So, that’s what I did last month…oh, almost forgot, I may have also done a LOT of lighthearted, persuasive posting on Facebook for my favorite candidate for President

Make sure you voice your choice!

The post Tom, What The Heck Does A Web Developer Do? appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

I have seen many instances of established companies’ Facebook pages where a social media team blithely grind out breezy PR babble, only to see the Comments and Replies on these posts resemble a cauldron of bitter humanity.

Strangely enough, it can be quite entertaining, and it might even provide benefit to the company or politician as supporters and detractors battle it out.

This generates passion which can effect a positive result.

I have recently experienced this heat supporting my pick for the next President of the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

I had been posting items on my personal Facebook page, both public and view-able only to Friends and eventually commenting on posts from the New York Times, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker and other Facebook sites with a heck of a lot more Views.

Boy, did that unleash some demons!

I had now left the protective cocoon of my Facebook friends and entered a world of decidedly different viewpoints. For instance, on the right is a screenshot of my rather innocuous comment on a post on Bernie’s main Facebook page. As you can see, my comment has 943* Likes (some of my other Posts have hundreds of Likes, so I’m rounding up to a thousand ;)) and 114 Replies.

The Replies to my Comment generated quite a bit of heat as supporters and detractors posted replies, when at one point the thread devolved into 2, and then 3 individuals getting very very personal and attacking each other in their replies.

At various points in this 114 reply thread I would add my own blithely positive interjections, gathering more Likes, and further inciting the detractors.

At the apex of the most heated personal attacks I posted a cheery “And Now A Message From Our Sponsor.  President Bernie Sanders! ” garnering Likes even from some of the combatants!

Now, you may question if this activity accomplishes anything. I do see Sanders is gaining in some polls, but don’t have access to any data the Sanders campaign may be gathering from their social media efforts.

I like to think that my tactics in supporting something I believe in are maybe very slightly bringing a positive consciousness in the minds of  folks that happen to see my posts…and laugh.

02/04/16 Update. The Facebook posting referenced above now has 1,001 Likes!

The post One Thousand Likes, For Some Dislikes appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

It could be a request from the New York Times (but that’s a story for another post!).

An interview can be a great opportunity for both the interviewee and the interviewer to generate interest and traffic to their social media and website. A seasoned interviewer will take care to have a relaxed, informative session with the interviewee.

One of the most popular web-based interview platforms is BlogTalkRadio, which to quote Wikipedia “allows podcasters and talk show hosts to create live and on-demand talk format content for distribution on the web and podcast distribution channels.”

If you do find that you will soon be on the phone with the host of a BlogTalkRadio podcast, we have a few tips.

A few days before showtime, promote the show with a post on your website, and also on your social media. If the BlogTalkRadio host has already created a page for the interview, it will be possible to post a live player on your Facebook wall prior to showtime.

This can build anticipation for your interview as some folks will enjoy hearing it live, right there on your Facebook page. They might even be motivated to call in during the show.

After the show airs, BlogTalkRadio generates an embed-able player that can be placed on your website. This will give your email or post subscribers the opportunity to come to your website and hear the complete interview.

We always recommend sending potential listeners to your own website, rather than the BlogTalkRadio page.

The post Getting Interviewed on BlogTalkRadio? appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

These kind of events only come around once in awhile for most of us, but if you have advance notice that it will be happening for you, keep the following in mind.

If you are being interviewed or your work reviewed by another site, especially a higher traffic one, insist that a link to your website be included.

And, because some sites have a subscription or member protected content setup, make sure that your website link appears ABOVE any “login to read more” area.

Don’t be shy, ask for the contact info of the ‘webguy’ for the site and tell him you want this

Remember that Google sees links TO your website, especially from high quality, non phoney-baloney sites, as independent verification of quality.

Don’t Leave Your Website Out of the Loop

Some folks are much more active on Facebook or Twitter than they are on their own website. It’s much easier to come up with one or two short paragraphs and post a link there. But, if you are linking to an article about yourself on another website, hold on!

Ask yourself this question every time you know that a book or product that you have worked so diligently to produce is getting mentioned somewhere on the web. “Am I leaving my website out of the loop?”

If you post your one or two short paragraphs and link to the site that has the story about you (the source site) then you are definitely leaving your own site out of the loop. Your Facebook friends or fans will click the link and go to the other site where there may or may not be a link to your own site and most likely no way to purchase your product.

The source website is getting most of the benefit when you do this. Your own site is essentially ‘orphaned’ in this scenario.

A much better method would be to login to your own site (you are using WordPress, of course) and using those same one or two short paragraphs create a post there about how pleased you are to have this very nice review.

Then, you can use the same short bit of text, or maybe a little bit different text, as a teaser on your social media post. And then at Facebook, instead of a link to the SOURCE website, paste in the complete link (make sure to include the http:// bit) to the new post on YOUR website. On your page, you can link to the full story on the source website.

Always post it on your website first, then post a link to the story on your site at any social media spaces.

The post Are You Leaving Your Website Out of the Loop? appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

What are the reasons for this?

Social posting tends to be shorter faster thoughts, with less composition involved.

Sometimes it’s just a picture. Cute kitty!

The interactivity factor – knowing that your friends will see what you are sharing, and possibly comment on, is an exciting proposition.

However, when faced with the prospect of doing the same kind of thing on their own domain, their own website, they might feel daunted.

One common complaint I hear is “I’m not a writer.”

In fact, I actually hear this from people who have published!

I believe that the average person may be writing even more than they did years ago, due to the explosion in blogging and then social media.  And, what’s tucked away in your email folders?

I am also seeing development in ways to merge the social interactivity element between social media sites and yourownwebsite.com.

The instant feedback is coming.

For business websites this also presents opportunities.

Business owners view what appears on their product or service website as a more formal endeavor than just posting a photo with a short caption.

A ‘hard sell’ element can creep into their message.

Hard sell definitely does not work in social media.

What does work is friendly, non-political (or political if you want to define yourself that way) and interesting.

The post Social Media and Your Website appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

Recently, a friend wrote to ask me what she should do with her old record collection. Since it’s OK with the management if this blog is used to discuss topics that might only be tangentially related to web design, promotion or hosting, I have decided to share. Here is my slightly abridged answer:

First, we really should discuss this somewhere privately, like on Facebook or Google+/-

The RIAA actively seeks out people who engage in the HIGHLY illegal act of selling or, heaven forbid, SHARING, of purchased LPs with friends or STRANGERS. Allowing your LPs to circulate means one more person might not purchase that LP or 8Track and, it is KILLING MUSIC.

Look at what NAPSTER did to sales of Compact Cassettes! Perfect Sound FOREVER, wiped out completely!

Still, the practice is becoming popular among many folks nearing retirement age that have been fired after their 30 or 40 years at the company. They set up a little blog where they post their Loverboy or Metallica LPs for $10 or $20. Whoops did I say METALLICA! Watch out, they filed a lawsuit against sharing of their demos! OOPs too late, here comes that RIAA demand for $3500 to avoid litigation! Best to sell those puppies in a dark alley, somewhere in South America.

Seriously though, as someone who has a barn-full of legally purchased LPs, who innocently tried to sell used LPs by mail order in the 80’s, I have been meaning to look into this.

My best guess is most LPs are so worthless, it is not even worth the effort to look at them, except:

To hoarders, and young folk who are going retro phase and have a Minny Mouse Record Player and some Go-Go boots.

Some LPs are rare because, perhaps 100 copies used a rejected cover photo of the drummer beginning to explode.

Some nuts like looking at a decent sized image of the recording artist and reading text that is not 2pt sized. What nuts!

Salvation Army, Hadassah and Goodwill stores are almost completely staffed with undercover RIAA agents, so that is OUT.

I’m also pretty sure that researching, googling, Goldmine Magazining, music blogs, forums etc for each disc and then looking into the sales channels, and then grading, organizing the stock and then packing and taking those rare trips to the Post Office….. WHOOPS where did my Post Office go, it was here yesterday!...and then avoiding the wrath of the RIAA……… it’s probably safest……easiest……and bestest to just………

keep them forever!

Note: Since I have a lot of old records, I certainly don’t consider them worthless! This post is meant to be totally tongue-in-cheek! I take certain liberties in describing events in piracy issues also!

The post What Should I Do With My Old Record Albums? appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.