Klout, the tool for measuring and leveraging your social media influence, recently released an upgrade to its application programming interface (API) , as well as several new features.
Version two of Klout’s API includes several new features. The site is now “Klout-focused” instead of “Twitter-focused,” meaning that users now have Klout IDs separate from their Twitter handle. This change will help the site spread to more social networks moving forward. The new API is also faster, smoother and touts a new caching system. Finally, since the API is more in sync with Klout’s existing framework, they will be able to release new features more frequently and more easily.
Klout is still in the process of building scoring models for Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, WordPress.com, Blogger, Last.fm and Flickr, but these services are already integrated into users’ dashboards. Klout is also planning on adding Yelp, Posterous, Disquis, BranchOut, bit.ly, Livefyte and Quora. They are also expected to improve the recently released topics feature and the perks platform.
Klout is a great way for businesses to show customers that they know what they’re talking about. Klout measures influence online using data from social networks. The more engagement and actions your social media posts receive the higher your Klout score Read More→
To share or not to share? That is the million dollar question that has been dominating the social media world lately as more and more employers are asking their employees or potential employees to grant them access to their private social media profiles.
A new study from American Pulse reports that 40 percent of people would quit or withdraw their job application if an employer asked for social media passwords, 22 percent did not use social media at all, 10 percent would edit their profiles before handing over access, 16 percent would delete their profiles and only 10 percent would actually hand over the information.
Additional important findings are that 64.2 percent of people would give up their jobs to keep their lives private and 85.5 percent believe that asking for private access to social media sites is an intrusion on their personal privacy. Read More→
These days it’s kind of hard to ignore the Internet. It’s everywhere; from our smartphones, tablets, PCs, laptops and even in traditional advertising. More and more companies are also spending a greater amount of time harnessing the mass reach that the Internet can provide their company. However, using internet marketing to make a profit isn’t always easy.
Here are a few examples of how big businesses are increasing their return on investment using the web:
- Big businesses are constantly monitoring and moving to the areas where consumers are searching and shopping online.
- Most large companies have established a company blog to distribute press releases and news items. Blogs help build SEO and act as a strong communication tactic.
- Facebook and Twitter are a must-have. They are great social media tools for promoting products, services and events, as well as engaging customers in a conversation.
- Big businesses realize that online traffic equals increased profit, especially as online traffic continues to soar. Read More→
mRELEVANCE, LLC is pleased to announce the launch of the new, improved Locate It page on the Highland Homes website, www.highlandhomes.org/locateit.php. The new page features an interactive map of Central Florida with increased functionality allowing buyers to search for homes by city or area.
“We are so excited about the launch of the new Locate It page on the Highland Homes website,” said Kathie McDaniel, vice president of sales and marketing for Highland Homes. “This new search option makes it simple for new home shoppers to find where our communities are located. They simply click on the area where they want to live, and gain easy access to all the information they need.”
The new Highland Homes Locate It page is organized into five general areas where the builder constructs new homes including Orlando, Tampa, North Lakeland, South Lakeland and East Polk. Read More→
Google+ debuted for the general public in late September, and is already an eighth the size of Facebook. With 100 million users, Google+ could over time become the next hot social networking site. Mashable reported in February that Google+ users spend an average of 3.3 minutes per month on the site. Compared to the 7.5 average hours Facebook users spend per month on the social media giant, Google+ obviously has room for improvement. However, Google+ is continuing to gain users and is now a crucial aspect of Google search, so business owners should not ignore this social media platform.
The recent launch of Search Plus Your World, which tailors your Google search results to meet your needs, has made Google+ a powerful factor in Google search. Anyone who is signed into Google when conducting a search will notice that the top of their search results now displays a “personal results” section, which is derived from information on Google+. This means that companies need to step up their Google+ game, so that they too can appear in people’s “personal results” section during a Google search. Read More→
Have you Yelped lately? Yelp is a website that allows people to write reviews on local businesses. Your restaurant, shop or even real estate company may already be listed on Yelp and have user reviews without you even knowing it.
Yelp has become increasingly popular since its conception in 2004, and it had 66 million monthly unique visitors in the last quarter of 2011. Plus, Yelpers have written over 25 million reviews on the website to date. With a growing presence like this, you need to take the next steps in updating your internet marketing strategy to make sure your business has a positive presence on Yelp and the other review sites.
• Every business owner can create a free account on Yelp where they can post photos of their place or business or products, update their business information, track how many people view your page, create a deal and even message their customers.
• Businesses can also place an ad on the website for a small fee. Read More→
Have you ever wondered how social media, special incentives and coupons could help you sell more new homes? At the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show, Carol Flammer, MIRM, author of Social Media for Home Builders 2.0, will hold a presentation with all the best tips to help you successfully market new homes through a variety of ways to engage your customers.
Flammer, the managing partner of mRELEVANCE, will host an hour long interactive presentation beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 10. In the presentation, a part of Tech Friday, she will cover how to integrate coupons, contests, promotions and incentives into your social media program.
In a world where LivingSocial deals and Groupons flood our inboxes daily with some fantastic offers, who wouldn’t want to learn more about getting their products spotlighted? Learn how the power of the coupon can be harnessed to get customers talking about the deals on your own great products.
The presentation, like all the events at Sales Central, are free to the International Builders’ Show attendees. The talk will be held in room W311E in the Orange County Convention Center.
For more information about the International Builders’ Show, visit the National Association of Home Builders online.
mRELEVANCE managing partners offer their respective expertise in this ongoing, “He Said. She Said” column. Each post in this series focuses on answering a question about online marketing from two different perspectives.. Carol Flammer answers from the reader’s perspective, where it’s all about content. Mitch Levinson answers from the perspective of a search engine.
Q: Can you explain more about inbound links?
A: Mitch – Inbound links are links on other people’s websites that link back to you. They drive the search engines back to your site when they index the other sites. The more credible the site is that links to you, the more relevant you are in the search engine index. Try to build credibility and get links back to your site from outside credible sources. After all it is all about building RELEVANCE.
A: Carol – To build relevance, don’t only blog on your site, blog wherever you can. Comment and link where possible also. This helps to build brand and build recognition. Not to mention that it is a great way to syndicate your messages. When you repurpose and curate content to different sites, you will want to post a different version of the content to each site. Because duplicate content is bad for search engine optimization, it is important to keep this in mind.You’ll want to change 40 percent of the content by giving it a different lead or a different angle. Sometimes you can just put the words in a different order. Some writers are comfortable with creating varied versions of stories and others find it challenging. If you are taking time to create content, use it as many times as you can. Post it online via online public relations and blogs then link back to your sites with anchor text.
A: Mitch adds – No one knows the exact algorithm that search engines use, but it seems that they give more credibility to the site where the content is published the very first time. If you write a story or post, publish it on your blog first. Then rewrite 40-60 present of it, tease the article and link back to page where the article first appears so that it gets more power from search engine.
mRELEVANCE, LLC is pleased to announce the launch of Georgia Home Foreclosures, GAHomeForeclosures.com. The investor-owned residential foreclosure website is part blog and part foreclosure directory. Savvy home buyers have embraced this online resource for Georgia foreclosures.
“The new website provides homebuyers with a suite of tools to help them get the most for their money in these uncertain economic times. It also helps homebuyers find resources for loans, news about the housing market as it relates to foreclosures and featured articles on some of the best deals on foreclosures available today,” said Carol Flammer, managing partner of mRELEVANCE.
The GA Home Foreclosures site has information on the investor’s buyer incentive programs, from contributing to closing costs to a one-year warranty on any work done by their in-house construction team. Additionally, there is information about preferred lenders, a library of press releases, information about rental opportunities through WEGO Property Management, video home tours through YouTube and a portal to a full directory of online listings. All of this is tied together with social media functionality through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.
Georgia Home Foreclosures has been pleased with the development of the site, which has proved to be an effective tool for delivering relevant information to homebuyers. “We saw tremendous traffic the first month the site launched,” said Tara White, Sales Manager for Rialto Capital Management.
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