Tag: Social Media

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Myth – Don’t Use HootSuite As You Will Get Dinged With Your SEO

HootSuite will not damage your SEO rankings!
HootSuite will not damage your SEO rankings!

Okay, this is a myth! I have now heard from two different webmasters that “Oh no, you can’t use HootSuite for social media updates, the URL that HootSuite uses and the branding tag they add will impact your SEO efforts in a negative way.”

Hmm, my firm uses the HootSuite Pro control panel for our social media work. We employ 10 writers and do a significant amount of work for clients in the social media space. I have never seen any clients take a nose dive because of our social efforts or the use of HootSuite.

However, to be fair to the naysayers, I did some research for this post to find out just where has this myth come from. First, by default we, personally, use the ow.ly link shortener in the HootSuite control panel for our clients. It appears that for some using the ow.li link shortener that an additional behind the scenes 302 redirect is done. This may be where some have grabbed onto this concept of SEO damage and smeared HootSuite as an agent of that can crash your SEO results.

Here’s what I’ve found, first, use the ow.ly link shortener by clicking the gear button next to the link shrinking field in HootSuite. What happens when you link is shrunk is that a 301 redirect is done pointing to the real URL. As a 301 redirect passes link juice and is not penalized by Google, there is no damage to your rankings.

For more information on this important topic here is some background information that you can read to understand more in-depth.

http://moz.com/community/q/myth-or-fact-social-media-dashboards-bad-for-seo
http://moz.com/blog/url-shortener-owl-li-indexed-in-google
http://searchengineland.com/analysis-which-url-shortening-service-should-you-use-17204

I personally love HootSuite and have been using the portal for years to grow our social media business and that of clients. I find it easy to use and have three social media specialists and 10 writers using it for a wide variety of clients. I have never had a client’s site or rankings be damaged by using this excellent tool that helps us to be productive and on-time for clients.

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Social Media Services

Social Media Addressed in a Smart Way by McCord Web Services.
Social Media Addressed in a Smart Way by McCord Web Services.

Social Media has now become an important part of every business’ overall marketing program. Search engines and site visitors consider social media activity important and are site visitors are using the ability to share content with others using these platforms; making participation in social networks more meaningful for businesses. As a result to keep up with current trends, our social media programs are being improved to serve your needs better.

We have hired special social media specialists to curate the content that is used for social media and have employed specialized content writers to write your updates. When you work with us, we think that you will find that the content for your social media networks is improved to is more meaningful and targeted for your own audience. For Facebook, our content is standardized to show around 50 to 60 words in each update.

We’ve listened carefully to what our clients want and need when it comes to social media. Here’s what our clients tell us.

1. I understand social media and its value to my business. I want regular updates and I have the budget to spend to support quality writing and a cohesive strategy across all my properties including blogging. (Consider our Gold and Silver Plans.)

2. I need to not spend more money, in fact I need to spend less when it comes to social media. Although I have not seen leads from social media, I know I’ve read that it is important and I want to make sure I am doing a little there but don’t really want to spend a chunk of change on it. (Consider our Bronze Plan.)

3. Although I don’t see business from social media, I have the icons on my website and do not want to be embarrassed by client’s clicking these links and seeing that I have not updated that platform since December 2013. I just want a little bit of work to keep my toe in and make sure I appear up-to-date. (Consider our Mini Plan or our Minimalist Plan.)

For each special customer, we now have programs that cater to your specific needs and budget constraints. You’ll find that we provide a range of services with quality writing that will target social media in a smart way without breaking your budget. Visit our social media page to find out more.

 

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Social Media and the Invisibility Problem

“Very few of your fans see your content in their news feed and even fewer people are seeking out your page. This is yet another reason you’re better off linking to your campaigns from everywhere.” Read the full article.

Be Strategic About Social Media - We Are!
Be Strategic About Social Media – We Are!

In a nutshell, the above quote is why I like clients to use a variety of social media for promoting their content and the reason why it is important to have a strategic plan on how you will be promoting the content that is written.

Today social media is much more than Facebook, it is about connecting on a variety of platforms, blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and your website. With our new social media programs for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn we work to create a strategy that is not Facebook-centric but rather works synergistically with your website and your social message.

Our social media specialists decide topics we will use for the week or month and focus on what hashtags and focus we will take across all the platforms we write for in your project. With cross-linking and cohesive hashtagging across properties, we strive to build more than just likes to a Facebook page, but rather a cohesive message across all platforms that helps to win you additional online exposure.

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New Social Media Services

Grow prospects into customers with social media updates.
Grow prospects into customers with social media updates.

Social Media has now become an important part of every business’ overall marketing program. Search engines and site visitors consider social media activity important and are site visitors are using the ability to share content with others using these platforms; making participation in social networks more meaningful for businesses. As a result to keep up with current trends, our social media programs are being improved to serve your needs better.

We have hired special social media specialists to curate the content that is used for social media and have employed specialized content writers to write your updates. We think that you will find that over the last several weeks to month that the content for your social media networks has improved to be more meaningful and targeted for your own audience. For Facebook, our content is now standardized to show around 50 to 60 words in each update. We have already started to supply content with these new parameters.

Social Media Rates 

Facebook Gold – $15 per day for two updates five days a week

Facebook Silver – $8 per day for one update five days a week

Twitter Gold – $22 per day for five updates five days a week

Twitter Silver – $14 per day for three updates five days a week

New – Twitter Bronze – $9 per day for two updates five days a week

Google+ Silver – $8 per day for one update five days a week

LinkedIn Silver – $9 per day for one update five days a week – specially curated by Nancy McCord

We even offer low budget services with our Minimalist Program.

The Minimalist – $260 Per Four Week Month

Just for clients who have existing Facebook and Twitter profiles and simply want to budget a small amount of money to maintain these platforms; so as to have up-to-date content when prospects click in from their website, we have created a program for these special needs. Please note, we do not recommend this program level for follower growth or for best practices, it is a simple maintenance only program.

We can provide Facebook and Twitter account updates. Updates will consist of status updates, links to articles, updates pointing to items on your website you sell as products or services, and interesting informational content that builds value for readers.

Included in our Minimalist Level is the following:

  • Three statuses per work week for your Facebook Business Page on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Updates are typically 50 to 55 words long.
  • Five tweets per work week for your Twitter account; one tweet a day Monday through Friday.

Please note at the Minimalist Level you will incur a onetime $50 set up fee to connect your existing Facebook and Twitter accounts to our writer’s control panel in our corporate HootSuite account.

Find out more about our Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn update services.