Make It With Michael

By Evan LePage Having your brand on social media is a no-brainer. With enough how-to and best practice documentation out there to exceed Gmail’s current inbox capacity, the vast majority of organizations know what they need to do to build an active and healthy social media presence. What isn’t so obvious, however, is what not to do. We asked our Twitter followers what they felt are the biggest social media no-nos that brands commit. This is what they told us. Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence with Hootsuite. Too much focus on self-promotion over engagement @hootsuite Those who have one-way communication with viewers. Never responding to concerns or comments, where negative or positive. — Austin Fisher (@Stuxain) May 15, 2017 Of all answers provided by our Twitter followers, this was the most common. People are frustrated by brands that treat social media as a firehose for one-way promotional mate...

By Sharon Conwell It is a truth universally acknowledged that blogging can be extremely advantageous for your business. In fact, there are few reasons not to keep a business blog. A blog can drive traffic to your website by incorporating SEO-friendly keywords and skyrocket your search engine rankings. It also opens up a valuable channel of communication between you and your clients, builds trust, and generates new leads that translate into tangible business gains. Even better, a blog can help you establish yourself as an expert within your field, and share your knowledge and experience in an engaging manner. While creating content for a business blog undeniably requires considerable time and effort, there are a number of free or low-cost ways to optimize your site for search engines . Here are 10 effective and economical ways to become an SEO superhero. 1. Outsource the work Producing a blog isn’t a part time job – if you really want to optimize your website for search engines,...

By Sarah Dawley Social media data on followers, likes, comments, and shares are often dismissed as “vanity” metrics—meaningless figures that one should avoid when trying to prove the value of social activity . At the same time, these metrics are the currency of social media. As the person responsible for your organization’s presence on social media, these metrics are critical indicators of whether your hard work is paying off. And therein lies the debate. To some, the number of likes on a post is meaningless. To others, it means everything. Are all social metrics “vanity” metrics by default? No. But how you use them makes all the difference. Let’s dig into why these metrics matter, and how to avoid using them in vain. Why these social metrics matter Without followers, you have no audience. And without a steady level of engagement, the algorithms of many social networks begin to work against you—making it harder for your social content to even reach that audience. These metrics qu...