Printing Hub » Social Media

Gaining a Better Understanding of Your Blog Readership

Hub Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:22 +0000

When writing for your printing company’s blog, you’re writing not only for your current customer but also for prospects. Are you appealing to both demographics?

Chances are, these groups intersect—they’ll have similar needs if they’re either doing or looking to do business with your company. But to appeal both groups, you need to intimately know your audience. What are their needs? What do they want to read about? What problems are they trying to solve with your help?

Check out the article below to learn more about writing for your audience.

5 Things Every Copywriter Needs to Know About Their Prospects [Copyblogger]

Social Media vs. Face to Face

Hub Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:20:16 +0000

More and more often we’re meeting and getting to know people online before we ever step into the same room (or rather, even if we never end up being in the same room).

On one hand, this is awesome because it busts down walls and allows us to create connections that never would have been possible otherwise. Think about all the celebrities on Twitter–or even those niche printer celebrities. You can tweet directly at them without any other connection–they don’t even need to follow you back! Now that’s access.

But on the other hand, while these new connections are possible, they aren’t always as strong as face to face. It’s like digital vs. print: one is extremely convenient and accessible, but the other is real.

In less words, don’t forget the value of real, face to face (or even voice to voice) interactions when selling and building your printing brand.

If you’re interested in reading more, click through the link below:

Forget Facebook – try face-to-face [Flying Solo]

Don’t Stop, Don’t Give Up—Why You Must Keep at Your Printing Blog

Hub Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:47:44 +0000

“A recent survey stated that the average person’s greatest fear is having to give a speech in public. Somehow this ranked even higher than death which was third on the list. So, you’re telling me that at a funeral, most people would rather be the guy in the coffin than have to stand up and give a eulogy.” — Jerry Seinfeld

Public speaking is a very common fear. Perhaps equally scary is writing for the public. You’re not even there to deliver the message (in your tone of voice, using the correct pitch inflection and emphasizing the correct key points).

But much like public speaking, there is no cure (picturing readers in their underwear is somewhat implausible). You simply have to keep doing it until you get better. You might not publish the most stellar posts to your blog every single time, and that’s okay. (This post might even be a little lackluster, but we’re still going to click “publish”).

Bottom line: keep writing. Keep posting. And your blog readers will thank you for your dedication and regularity.

Learn more about the power of vulnerability from TED talk speaker and sociologist Brené Brown in the video below.

Why We Still Need to Write, Even When We’re Scared [Copyblogger]

Photo Via: Salon.com

Blogging the Basics—Why Your Basic Knowledge is So Valuable to Readers

Hub Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:14:09 +0000

1 + 1 = 2. “I” before “e” except after “c.” And as hard as we try, cats and dogs rarely want to be best friends. We’re going back to the basics—back to what we know.

When looking for something to blog about, don’t overlook the basics. Often we wrongly assume that our readers have a thorough understanding of the basics, and we miss out on countless blogging opportunities.

As you continue to grow and develop as a businessperson, your knowledge of the basics evolves. You can offer new insights into the most basic information by reexamining your understanding of basic printing subject matter.

Learn more on blogging the basics in this article linked below.

Blog This! Sometimes Going Back to Basics Leads to the Best Posts [ProBlogger]

Why Haven’t You Started Interlinking Blog Posts?

Hub Staff — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:31:02 +0000

Forget the incredibly logical reason for using backlinks (if someone is already reading an article about a topic, they’ll likely be interested in a related linked topic), you should link to other content because Google loves it. Google partially determines your ranking by site layout, and interlinking can improve your site layout.

In addition to improving your printing website’s SEO, drawing in readers for multiple articles will improve your bounce rates. And Google also uses bounce rates as a metric to determine how useful your site is—users spending longer amounts of time (as opposed to searchers jumping into a single post and right back out of the page) are clearly being enticed with more useful content.

Learn more about the complexities and secrets to successful backlinking in the article linked below.

Why Interlinking Your Blog Posts is a Must (and Not Just For SEO) [ProBlogger]

How Your Business Can Use the New Video App Vine

Hub Staff — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:23:00 +0000

It almost seems like a joke—6 seconds. What can you really tell someone in only 6 seconds? Surprisingly, a lot.

When we first explored the newest chart topping app Vine, we thought the creators were slightly cruel for limiting the video length to such a degree. But yet again, as with Twitter, there is value in the constraint and standard of such a short clip—it forces you to get to the meat of your content instantly. No fluff allowed.

So, how can your printing business embrace Vine? Check out the article linked below for 11 possibilities (and be sure to peruse the comments for a few bonus ideas!).

11 Things A Business Could Do With the New Vine App [Chris Brogan]

Photo via: Business Insider

Have You Been Making These Embarrassing Errors on Your Printing Blog?

Hub Staff — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:11:49 +0000

We’d like to think of ourselves as pretty intelligent people (that’s what our parents tell us anyway). But even the brightest bulbs can flicker on occasion.

Professionality on your printing blog is key. Any grammatical, spelling or usage errors could cause readers to stop enjoying your otherwise lovely article because your credibility has been damaged.

But we’re humans. We understand that mistakes happen. So we found a list of common compound word errors that could cost you readers—and we’re not about to let that happen. Check out the linked article below to learn more:

11 Compound Word Errors that Might Make You Look like a Numbskull [Copyblogger]

Getting Your Printing Company Social Media Back On Track [INFOGRAPHIC]

Hub Staff — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:40:08 +0000

When social media first rushed onto the scene, the possibilities for customer service and connection seemed endless. Instead of a call center, you could actually reach out to potential customers and solve their problems before they knew you existed! How cool is that?

But as more and more people crowded into the space, social media got less personal, and more mass media-like. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Want to get your printing company social media back on track? Click below to view the full infographic:

When Did Social Media Lose Its Way? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Great Social Media Takeaways from Bloomberg’s New Guy: Jeffrey Hayzlett

Hub Staff — Sun, 05 May 2013 15:24:24 +0000

In a world where more and more people are online via their mobile phones, Facebook is moving where the flocks are. But that’s not all. Recently, a Bloomberg roundtable discussion aired on Facebook’s earnings and trends. And PrintingHub 2012 speaker and Bloomberg Contributor Jeffrey Hayzlett was there on Street Smart to weigh in.

“They’re [Facebook is] really moving to where the people are. People are on mobile [devices],” Hayzlett said. “That’s where it’s at, that’s where they’re going to go.”

Furthermore, Hayzlett went on to discuss the concept of turning Facebook ads into sales.

“You can’t buy ads to convert to sales,” he said. “You can only convert them to ‘likes’.”

To watch Hayzlett and the rest of the roundtable discussion, click the video linked below.

Jeffrey Hayzlett on Street Smart—Facebook Earnings [YouTube]

Companies Beware: Flash-in-the-Pan Trends

Hub Staff — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:57:44 +0000

New social media tools act like a new toy. At first, you direct all your time and attention to the toy. You play with it night and day, seemingly exhausting yourself out with it, until it becomes just another piece of your collection.

For businesses today, going all in with new social media tools can’t be a short-term obsession. The site has to show true benefits for your business to warrant your full engagement. As new social media outlets continue to pop up, you simply need to be wary. Don’t focus time and energy on the tool if your customers aren’t using it.

For more on being wary of using new tools and trends, read more after the jump.

How to Resist Shiny Object Syndrome [Bill Prettyman]