I just found this great interview with the Joe Pulizzi, author of Get Content, Get Customers, an expert in the world of content. He talks about why just creating content isn’t good enough, you have to create the strategy to get that content into your customers hands and then let it spread naturally because of the plan you put in place.

Listen to Joe explain why you must have a content marketing strategy before you have a social media strategy. Joe connects the dots between content and social media.  Be sure to check it out, I found it most enlightening.

This great article by Julie Niehoff  applies to us all and not just Not for Profit organisations.

For nonprofit organizations, exposure to potential donors, supporters, and volunteers is critical to success and sustainability. Social media marketing is a great way to gain that much needed visibility at virtually no cost. The biggest hurdles for many organizations are figuring out which social networks are right for them, getting started, and then maintaining their presence on a regular basis. She gives some ways to do all three.

Read the full article : Use social media marketing to spread the word about your organization and cause

Need a picture for your next blog post, webpage or mailing?

You could do what most people do: go to Google Images and grab an image there. But you should be aware that you are literally risking tens, maybe even millions in legal fees and damages every time you do so. But there is a way to get free images quickly, easily,  freely that you can freely use on and off line!

Check out Don Crowthers How To Find Free (And Legal) Pictures Online video here.

add blurb about Istockphoto here

This is an extract from an interview with Michael Stelzner, social media expert and ReelSEO's Grant Crowther. Michael also shared some exclusive Facebook video tactics and business success stories and gives 10 reasons you should definitely consider Facebook as part of your online marketing mix.

1. Audience – Facebook is the 2nd largest trafficked website, with over 500 million active users.
2. Referrals – Facebook is the 2nd largest referral source for video.
3. Mobile – 150 million active users take Facebook with them everywhere they go.
4. Time – Many people spend a lot more time on Facebook than on Google
5. Versatility – Many video formats are supported for uploading
6. Length – Facebook allows up to 20 minutes, 5 minutes more than YouTube
7. Connectivity – A wide range of sharing features and engagement opportunities. While Facebook doesn't let you share it's content onto other social networks (like YouTube and Twitter), because of its large member base, you will certainly have many more connections from the onset that may lead to better sharing potential.
8. Search Engine Visibility – Facebook videos are visible within Google Search.
9. SMO (Social Media Optimization) – Excellent keyword encoding (aka, "tagging") capabilities.
10. Conversions – Hot triggers around the video for taking an intended action.

Read the full article at ReelSEO

This article is a great reminder about what to think about when recording video to go online on Youtube or on your own website. It's written by Mitch Joel, who is the president of Twist Image, a digital marketing agency. And it's written—by the author's own admission—by a guy that doesn't do much video production. But he watches plenty.

Things to think about are:

• Lighting - don't need to spend lots, just be creative
• Audio - needs to be good
• Don't Fidgeting
• Keep Eye Contact
• Rehearsal before you record
• I'll add one of my own - if you don't have a tripod to keep the camera steady, sit it on a table, if you're outside sit it on a fence post or somethng so it doens't move all the time!

Check out the Joel's full article Do's and Don'ts for OnlineVideo Production

Just recently Limelight Networks shared some pretty cool data facts. The major one is the online video bandwidth usage is over half of all bandwidth usage in the USA! Online video is obviously the market to be in so get some videos online asap! If you need help getting your videos online contact us and we can help.

Check out the full article Online video is over 50% of Bandwidth Consumption in the US