Whose Facebook Page Do You Follow?

                                     

Facebook to date is the world’s biggest social networking site with an estimated 819,000,000 unique monthly visitors according to newsroomfb.com as of June 30, 2013. I supposed you are one of these visitors. So am I. In this aspect, Facebook has indeed succeeded with its purpose as a social networking site.

Without a doubt, we have different reasons for joining Facebook. For me, I have an account just to experience how it feels to have one and somehow I liked it because of its unique and entertaining features. Some people joined this to meet new friends from other parts of the world. Other people opened an account as a cheaper mode of communication with their family and friends abroad. Still others entered in this online craze to make business through it. How about you?

Whatever the reasons may be, one thing is sure; there are times that we are following some Facebook pages. With so many members in this famous social networking site, the questions now are: Who are you following? Why are you following them? Maybe you are hooked on following one or all of the names mentioned below with the most likes to date.

Celebrities
Certainly, people are going gaga over the famous celebrities – actors, musicians, and all other personalities in the entertainment field. This is not surprising as each of us simply wants to be entertained, thus we tend to look after these entertainers about their schedules so that we will not be left behind with their latest undertakings. It came to a point that many people are already emulating them; the way they act, sing, dance, talk and almost everything about these celebrities.

To my surprise, the celebrity having the most followers on Facebook with approximately 74 million likes at present is Eminem.

I thought the biggest Hollywood stars occupied the top spot but it was Slim Shady who topped them all followed by Rihanna who got at an accumulated 61.6 million likes. Rounding off the top five with the most page likes are Shakira with 68 million, The Simpsons with 65 million and Lady Gaga with 58 million.

World’s Most Famous Brands
Apart from these celebrities, Facebook members are also following the world’s most famous brands. Probably the reason behind following these brands is to be updated with the latest product lines offered and of course the advertising campaigns for these new product lines or even the repackaged existing products.

This only shows that these famous brands have effectively used social media to their advantage in strengthening their position in the industry.

The top spot is being occupied by Coca Cola garnering a whopping 71 million likes. There’s no question about it since they have a really vibrant events page that is regularly moderated by their very competent social media manager.

Furthermore, their page is very interactive; it allows users to post their moments with Coca as well as comments on their experience with it. Other brands that belong to the top five with the most likes are Disney with 44 million, MTV with 46 million, Converse with 37 million and Starbucks Coffee with 35 million.    

With the continued patronage from its members by supporting each other through clicking the like button, it is safe to make a bold declaration that Facebook is truly phenomenal. It has certainly lived up to its name of being a social networking site with a purpose. Thanks to Facebook, I’ve learned to appreciate social media now more than ever and I super-duper LIKED it alot.  

Image Source:  carolrivello

The 2012 Link Building Strategies That Still Works in 2013

                                           

There are a lot of things that have changed when it comes to link building today and since the new updates have been passed on by Google to the websites. The search engine giant has already given up on the importance for blog networks and this includes the Internet directories that have been removed from the Google index. Link building ethically has been doing a lot of wonders today in its place which is why people should focus more on providing brand promotion and keeping away from spam link building methods.

Below are some of the link building techniques that are going to be effective with the algorithmic changes that have been applied this year by Google. Take a look at these:

Competitor Links to be Studied
One of the first things that you should do is to study the links of your competitors and start creating a list of the trusted websites wherein they are obtaining these links. You may utilize Open Site Explorer which will help you find the backlink information for the websites of your competitors.

After you have acquired the list of resources from your current competition, you will have to analyze them and see if they are able to get links out from these websites. For starters, you may want to follow the same kind of processes that these established competitors are using for their sites.

Partially Matching Anchor Texts Usage for Linking
Exactly matching anchor texts are gone nowadays as Google has penalized websites that do this. That is why people should start using partially matching anchor texts instead while they are creating backlinks to their websites or pages in their blogs.

Let us assume that you want to develop backlinks for pages that you are targeting a keyword such as banana pies in Philadelphia. You should make use of several keyword combinations for these such as Philadelphia banana pies or banana pie companies in Philadelphia as the anchor texts that you will be using in your backlinks. This will make it look natural for the Google bots to see.

Start Guest Blogging
One of the best ways that you can do in order to build your trusted backlinks for a website is through guest blogging. There are great positive impacts generated by the links that are acquired through blogging as a guest in other websites, as it will go around and push your targeted keywords around the search engines. Make sure that while you are guest blogging, you should work on blogs that are based on the same niche you are in right now.

Start Publishing Articles
One of the best ways to get targeted and contextual backlinks for the websites that you are promoting today is through article publishing. Start writing articles that are based on targeted keywords and have them submitted to websites that publish them. Make sure that you do not submit the articles that you have already published to other article directories as this will be seen as plagiarism by Google and you will be penalized instead.

Image Source :  linkwheel

Email Marketing Trends Marketers Should Capitalize On

                           

Even today, email marketing is still a thriving strategy that many sales and marketing personnel use. This is especially true for businesses that can easily adapt to the fast-paced world today. This article will discuss about the latest email marketing trends available for marketers nowadays and how they can capitalize on them.

Social Media

As the influence of social media continues to increase throughout the years, more and more businesses will start to integrate email marketing with the social networking sites in order to keep up. Ignoring platforms such as Facebook is a mistake for marketers and businesses because it is the future. There is nothing that anyone can really do about it.

That is why in emails, marketers should start adding social media icons and footers. Branch out of the traditional newsletter strategy by allowing people to start “liking” the content that the company has in Facebook, publish or tweet them online or forward information to friends. 

You can use platforms such as Facebook by adding emails of existing clients and customers where people have the opportunity to opt-in as well. You would want to use this strategy in order to reach out to as many people as possible.

Mobile

Think back on the last time that you were waiting for someone or something. There is a high chance that you took out your mobile device and started checking your email while you are waiting. Emailing using mobile devices is by far one of the most popular activities that users spend their time on. This is because emailing has been made especially for mobile devices nowadays.

In order to capitalize on this trend, email marketers can start designing their content which will be applicable for multiple devices and mobile and touch screens. The idea in this means that you should be aware of the snippets of text or links that can be touched, including scalable images and fonts. 

Do not just visualize that people will only be reading your emails in their offices. Think about them waiting in line just like you or grabbing a spare moment to check on their email while they are on the move. In simpler words, picture them wherever they go and start applying your email marketing strategy accordingly.

Smarter Inboxes

Email communications will always have to fight with spam content in order to grab the attention of the inbox of a subscriber in the Internet world. The main battle for email marketing nowadays is against the changing content within the inbox. This is due to the fact that the filters being used in these email servers are evolving, and consumers will start to avoid spam altogether as well. 

Users will more likely prioritize their mails according to the reading habits that they have. And with the more unified inboxes today, users will just check one inbox for all of the messages that they receive online.

For marketers, you will also be competing with the content coming from other channels to these subscribers. This can be in the form of RSS feeds, chats, SMS, social messages or videos. That is why email marketers should start focusing on producing content that is engaging and relevant as these are two of the main requirements for emails.

Image Source: opportplanet

How to Become a Responsible Blogger

                                             

Information technology has tremendously affected almost everybody who knows how to use the computer and the internet. In fact, the evolution of the so-called social media has created public awareness faster than the conventional media we know. In effect, it makes our work easier more than we used to. Gone are the days when we have a lot of paper works to facilitate every transaction. With just a click on the keyboard, you will go places.    

Blogging is definitely one of the best by-products of the advancement in information technology. This innovative social media platform seems to be part of every netizen, almost! It is very influential especially if the one who blogs is a public figure. It feels great when you will be able to interact with other people in cyberspace, giving your thoughts, point of views and ideas on everything. You have the opportunity to share, to impart knowledge, to learn from others, to grow as a person, and even earn from your blog. Isn’t it amazing?

However, it’s sad to note that not all bloggers are responsible enough with their blogs. They simply write blogs without even thinking of the possible impact it would have to potential readers. Knowing the power of social media nowadays, it can be beneficial or detrimental to other people. As a concerned blogger, you should take it as a responsibility. Therefore, in doing so, you must do the following tips.

1.  Post only verified information, otherwise you will be spreading false information

2.  Be smart enough to post only relevant information and drop those useless items

3.  Bear in mind that you’re accountable for your blog so see to it everything’s fine

4.  Show respect to other’s point of view and take it as a constructive criticism instead

5.  Monitor reader’s comments for you to determine which areas need improvement  

6.  Give credit to the source of your information and do not claim it solely

7.  Always include a disclaimer to avoid any unnecessary outcome along the way

8.  Be transparent with sponsored posts and affiliate links for you to gain their trust

9.  Know the basic copyright laws to avoid problems along the way

10.  Try the products first before promoting an affiliate to maintain your credibility

Once you will be able to do all of these and establish yourself as a blogger, make sure to

1.  Keep doing these all the time and maintain the quality of your posts

2.  Do not seek advantages at the expense of other people

3.  Be updated with the latest news, events, trends so that you will not be left behind

4.  Keep on learning and improving to keep abreast with the stiff competition  

5.  Keep the passion alive for you to keep going no matter what

With the way things are going in the Internet, more and more people are hooked on blogging. If you only know how to play the game, you will win more friends, learn more new things, and on top it all, you will earn a lot. Just be fair enough and be responsible a blogger.

Image Source: diTii