Having the best plugins to assist you to smash your blogging goals, keep your readers coming back for more,  and sharing your content is essential! Thinktank Media are big fans of wordpress as it’s clean, simple and easy to use.

I have been searching high and low for the best plugins for this blog and by golly, at last……. I have my trusties. So soak these up and save the many hours of work I have spent plugging into the net!

Got your straw…start slurping!!!

Akismet

A must have for any wordpress blog. Its anti-spam blogging armour blocks the weaseliest little spammers!

http://akismet.com/

Google analytics

Get Google to track all your pages with this neat little plugin. Google Analytics provides you with highly advanced website tracking and management information.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress

Feedburner

Staying in close contact with your readers is a must! Feedburner is your blog promotion machine. Install this plugin to automatically feed your posts to your subscribers and more!

www.feedburner.com/

All in One SEO Pack

This nifty little pack optimizes your WordPress blog for search engines by automatically optimizing your titles and META tags.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/

Google XML Sitemaps

Generates a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog. This format is supported by Ask.com, Google, YAHOO and MSN Search.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/

Tweetmeme

I love this plugin! Make it easy for your readers to share your posts on twitter by adding Tweetmeme. It also shows how many people have RTed the post making you look pretty popular!

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tweetmeme/

Twitter tools

Pull your tweets into your blog with Twitter Tools. You can also create new tweets on blog posts and from within your WordPress site.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/twitter-tools/

Facebook Connect Community

Pop this little gem on your blog to encourage users to sign in from their facebook accounts. It supports comments to be sent to the users news feed, which can bring you some tasty viral traffic.

http://www.sociable.es/facebook-connect

Share This

An easy way for readers to share your blog with their social networks and bookmarking sites. They can also send a link to your post via email, AIM, Facebook, Twitter and more.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/share-this/

Digg Digg

Adds Digg, Reddit, Yahoo Buzz buttons with counters for your readers to easily vote for your posts from your page. Great for organic SEO!

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/digg-digg/

cforms II

A neat little plugin that makes it easy for readers to contact you with their questions regarding your services, blog posts and more.

http://www.deliciousdays.com/cforms-plugin/

Well, these are our top 11 wordpress plugins…full yet! There are heaps more yet these ones are great to power your blog up!  If there are any of your favs that I have not mentioned then please share share!

Twitter can be a very lonely place when you first start out. I like to compare it to my first day at school. A very unfamiliar experience! I felt a bit lonely, a little unsure of what to say or who to be friends with. I also didn’t want to look stupid and ask questions I thought I should know.

If you are feeling like this then it’s completely normal, we all had to start at the beginning, and we are all human – phew!

This post is aimed at the freshies.  I trust I can clear a few things up for you straight away, saving you time and enabling you to dive straight into this powerful business tool!

Firstly let’s look at twitter talk:

1.      Tweet:  a tweet is a short message of 140 characters or less. In your tweet you can involve links to pictures (twitpic), music (blip.fm), your blog/site, other peoples, articles, pretty much anything you want to share. This builds up the whole connection process and enables people to really get a great understanding of who you are and what your business does. Once you start to build up quality relationships leading to trust, then you are well on your way to utilizing this space in its most powerful form! 

2.      You can also read tweets of the people you follow.

2. Follow: You can choose to follow people who take your interest. You can follow anyone. These are going to be your twitter buddies. You can learn from these people, connect with them and their follow base, plus they may want to follow you back (if they believe you will provide great content /will be beneficial to them in some way). Remember on twitter, people usually think “what’s in it for me” (well, that’s actually in life). I follow people who provide quality content, entertain me, engage in conversation with me, help me, who I can outsource work to, who I see as being potential clients, who make me laugh!

3. Un follow: You do this if you do not want to see these people’s tweets anymore. If people are not providing the quality of information I’m looking for, do not engage or just promote their product most of the time, I tend to hit the unfollow button.

4. @ : This symbol appears in front of the name of the person you want to alert, eg. @sammutimer (that’s me). If you want to talk about a person or get their attention then use the @ then their name. This comes up in their twitter stream (see explanation below). I would use this if I wanted the person to see my tweet about them, gaining their attention. It can also be used in an RT “re-tweet” (see explanation below). In a nutshell it highlights to the person you are tweeting about them!

5. RT :  This means “retweet”. It means that the person who read your tweet thinks it would be great to share this with their follow base. I RT great content and also RT links from followers who I have a close relationship with (supporting them). I RT great messages about me at times (because I can)   I also RT clients tweets!

6. Twitter stream : This is a flow of tweets from all the people you are following.

7. DM :  This means direct message and is used to personally send a message to the follower without the rest of the twitter world seeing it (it usually goes straight to your email account also, if you have set this up on twitter).  You cannot DM someone if they are not following you. This can be annoying at times yet there are subtle ways of getting around this if you really do want to connect with them. You can use the @ signal to notify them.  My usual line to grab attention here is eg.  “  @name, I went to DM you yet you were not following me, tissues please..sniff sniff!” or something like that! I have then been followed back 90% of the time by these awesome people and gained some great exposure from them. I use this strategy with people who I believe have a big influence over the traditional media and social media crowd – it’s a winner.

8. # -means hashtag  : You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. The hash mark (#) before a word in a tweet allows you to tag that tweet. Why would you use a hashtag? Use a hash tag if you want to track a conversation. An example of a popular hash tag is  #followfriday. Every Friday people nominate quality tweeters – eg. #followfriday @beebow @steitiyeh @mr_billiam  @a_web_designer@alblack @trevoryoung @robhartnett    @ rebeccamezziono @kirsty_wilson etc . You can then check out the hashtag and see if you want to follow these people, adding them to your follow base. Many #followfriday people I have followed from the request of others have been fantastic people, so it’s totally worth spending the time to do. These people above are great people to link up to for first follows! Gold!

So, I trust this post has made you feel a little bit more comfortable in your first few weeks on twitter – stick at it. You need patience, authenticity and most of all, you need to be yourself to get the most out of this powerful space (well that’s my opinion, and it’s working a treat)!  ;-)

One last thing.

Once you have signed up for twitter, install either 1) www.tweetdeck.com or 2) www.twitzap.com  . These platforms make it easier to manage twitter in real time. 

Has this post helped you to get started on twitter? Do you feel ready to get stuck into this heart pumping tool? I would love to know in the comments section below - click comments. 

FACEBOOK…a mere distant tool in the past for young people to connect with their mates on! This super sized platform is bursting at the seams with quality tools to assist small business to get their message out there.

The three power platforms on offer to all small businesses are:

1)  a profile page

2)  a fan page,

3)  a group page 

There are  more business power applications up and coming yet let’s keep this post simple!

Now, I’m guessing that some of you may be sitting on the fence here, others are biting at the bit to dive in and the rest…..well, you are already there!

This post aims to touch the surface of the many benefits in having a Facebook Fan page for your business.

1)      EXPOSURE EXPOSURE  EXPOSURE…..and it’s all free! Yipeeee! When you have a Facebook fan page (these pages have been specifically designed for business use by Facebook) more people get to find out about your business. How? Well, your page gets indexed (eg. on Google) and is searchable both inside and out of Facebook. Most savvy business owners are now adding their Facebook fan page link on the landing page of their website too! What a great way to build up your list, growing a stronger relationship with visitors to your site, plus the old trusties too!  There are many other ways you can promote your fanpage, to name just a few…. Twitter, Youtube, Myspace and Linkedin.

2)      Do you remember when you were at primary school,  and at some point of the day (usually the end) there was a slot allocated for reading time! Our reading time consisted of the teacher grouping us all together, getting us comfy then reading an exciting and mind fizzing book to us (usually Roald Dahl!)  I used to go away in dream land and couldn’t wait for the next session. Well, a Facebook fan page is like this! You give some fantastic content or information that would be of great value to your target market then keep them stimulated, hanging out for the next reading session! Remember brand loyalty is one thing yet you really need to add value to your fans to keep them coming back for more.

You could possibility offer something when consumers join (eg. a free e-book). This can help boost your fan base.

3)      CONNECT!  You can send messages and updates to your fans! What a rippa way to build up a strong database of valuable followers.  Keep them engaged by holding competitions here, send them messages about your products, ask what they would like to see in the next months edition newsletter, or what new products they believe you could offer.

Remember people are always looking for “what’s in it for me” and they love to feel like they are giving back!

4)      Power to the people! You get to control the page, from the applications and content to the pictures and videos you upload. No need to pay out $$$$ for a web developer, this page is all yours! So go ahead and add your personal touches.

5)      Viral marketing!!! Each time a person joins your Fan page, it’s published in their News feed for all their followers to read. This is another simple way to attract attention to your page.

6)      It’s FREE and EASY! You can whip up a fan page in a matter of minutes! Also check out this hot chickie babes video for a quick  ”how to set up your very own facebook fan page”.

Remember, setting up a Facebook fan page is simple, yet getting it to be super productive takes time, dedication, enthusiasm and some planning. Don’t expect to create a page and then have a huge following straight away. Build good content, make it easy to share, and let people know about it, and over-time your fan base will grow.

One last note! When using social media tools like this always remember that the relationship comes first, then the business opportunity second! 

Was this post informative, I wanna know? Are you inspired to make your own? Or do you already have your own? Simply post a comment below as I’m always looking for feedback!

High fives !

Ps. Just added a new web2.0 feature! You can now record a video comment by hitting the seesmic button below this post! Who’s gonna be my first!

I am always looking for quirky and powerful ways to market the business online, whilst exposing our clients too! WIN WIN!Being a Web strategist, I need to keep it fresh, original and catchy for my target market and reader base. I also need to think about how I can increase good quality traffic to my website via the platforms and keywords I choose to use – then capture the viewers interest so as they keep coming back for more.

Last week I had a MASSIVE brain energy surge (thanks to my broken leg).You know the ones I mean right? Those entrepreneurial light bulb moments, that wake you up like a bolt of lightening…usually around 3.30ish in the morning! Shazam!  

Here is what the early morning hours injected me with. Why don’t I utilize my supportive leg cast as a means of advertising space? Here I can softly promote the outstanding businesses I consult for (Rob Hartnett and Think Tank Media) ah, and of course Let’s Refresh too!  This strategy could be used to gain exposure via all the juicy web2.0 platforms in a unique, catchy and extremely powerful way. Now stick with me here!

Click here to see how we did this. It was such a fun and entertaining ‘cast paint branding session’ guys, with a few gin and tonics thrown in….because we can!

We used many platforms to expose the leg cast in a text based, picture and video format, this gained us an unexpectedly high amount of traffic and attention! We received a whole bunch of emails, tweets and we even saw people sharing this with their friends .Yet why? 

I put my inspector cluedo hat on (I do have one you know!)   and delved deeper.  I asked my trusty followers on twitter why they were sharing this. Here are some of the answers I received:

1.       Business owners saw it as a way to gain THEMSELVES attention-immediately (on twitter). Interesting hey!

2.        They wanted to help me out (sometimes people love to assist others, they find it easier to promote other people rather than        themselves-gotta love human behaviour for this-use it to your advantage guys!)

3.       Using our quirky pictures and videos got them more click throughs to their own websites.

4.        They believed their follow base on twitter increased due to “retweeting  this” (sharing my post on twitter via their tweets) .

5.       It got them thinking outside of the box, with new ways to promote their own business.

6.       They had a resource, some material and content that they could write about in their blog posts. Blush blush!

We even got asked how much would it cost to advertise on the cast! Hmmm… interesting!!!!So, they were using our pictures as a way to gain themselves attention yet at the same time, they were passing on our message (WIN bloody WIN)!

This is why social media and social networking works – I love it!  It’s all about word of mouth (and THAT my friends is one of the fastest ways to gain exposure, attention and build up a trust worthy fan base for you business – then drive traffic to your site).

What did I (as a small business owner) take from this, apart from a whole bunch of ideas and some quality feedback? Plain and simple – a new strategy to our business plan.  Let’s Refresh can now utilise Web2.0 even more. By using this strategy we can add value to our clients by gaining them some powerful and free exposure, yet at the same time we get a healthy promoting session too.

Each month we decided we would offer one of our lucky clients the opportunity to be promoted exclusively in an extremely quirky and catchy way- I’m excited already! When I say promoted, what I mean by this is giving them viral exposure, growing their presence through the wonderful web2.0 platforms (eg. on our blog, twitter, facebook, flickr, bookmarks, youtube plus many of the video platforms we use and drive traffic to their site too). It will be unique, catchy, and different! It also raises my heart rate above 100BPM, and I’m guessing you now me by now, I love that!

 Have a think about what you have just read!

How can you use web2.0 to shamelessly market your business?

How can you add value to your clients/target market through the Web2.0 platforms?

How can you make it fresh, different, catchy and at the same time make it a win win?

Click the comments section below-I’m really interested to hear what you come up with. If you need any quick ideas then feel free to comment too and I will get straight back to you!

I’m in England right now – God save the Queen…and all that Jazz!  (If you are curious to know why – then click here – Sam’s youtube video  ).

Any how, I have many friends in the UK that own their own businesses, from small business start ups to companies increasingly expanding. Now, I must say, if I’m passionate about something and know it works then you can’t shut me up….I’ve been told I can be a little full on at times! FULL ON…come on…..if you’re passionate about something and know it works then why not share, especially if you know it’s going to boost their business and gain them more exposure!

Right now,  one of the strategies I am utilising with my clients (to gain exposure and push them up the Google rankings) involves blogging. I luuurve da blog –   INNIT!  (said in a cockney London accent!).

Why???? Well, I’ll go into that on my next post, yet firstly I’m guessing some of you may not know what a blog is, so I will break it down.

What is a business blog?

A business blog is also known as a web blog. It’s basically a journal with software that is installed into your computer.  It has a content management system (a system where you can control the content) and uses a data base and a scripting language….blah blah. Yet, the main feature of a blog is that YOU can contribute messages (posts) into this and have full control over it. POWER TO THE PEOPLE – AKA – WEB 2.0!

A blog is like a website yet far more powerful (in my eyes) as it’s interactive and engaging (Web2.0), that’s if your website hasn’t been all web2.0ed up yet!

Your business blog is like a diary. It can contain tips about your products, success stories about your clients, quality information about what your target market would like to read, who is in your team (a personal version from the heart..with pictures or video) etc.  It’s you – you are your brand! Remember, you are helping people and engaging them in the conversation, you are giving them previews of what’s new and what’s coming up – there are so many exciting things a business blog can write about. I’m going to burst!

So why blog?

As mentioned above, a lot of my friends run businesses, and the usual questions they ask  me are :  “what shall I do to increase traffic to my business web site” and  “what shall I do to let people know my business exists” “how can I sell more  and position myself as an expert, whilst banding  myself”, to name just a few! My first answer..honestly…  START A BLOG!!!!

So, why am I so aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee  about  blogging?

Ok, think about a normal website for a sec, (static website) that has not been web2.0ed up…by us  :-) ! It’s pretty much like a brochure, wouldn’t you agree? So many websites we upgrade are like printed brochures in an online form (web 1.0). BORING! There are usually a few pages that describe what the business does, how they do it and their vision/mission along with the services they provide. The language is usually in marketing speak; you know the ones, right? Can I be honest and straight to the point?  People get bored and distracted by this; they’re more interested in how you can help them (what’s in it for them), how can you relieve their pain! Or fulfil their pleasure!

Think about this..then read our “Why blog?” and “How to blog for business success” in the next coming blog posts – be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!

If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave comments below (you can leave comments by clicking the comments link under the tweet this link) – I can assure you I will get back to you in the shake of a lambs tail …or something like that!  (Also share this on facebook and/or tweet it)  if you believe it’s a great post using the buttons below!) I will be tracking these!  :-) Whoop whoop!