Another weekend, another wrapup. There were so many intriguing blogs to choose from this week that it took longer to pare them down than to write them up! I hope you find something to love here because they’re all gems.
How To Beat Hubspot At Its Own Game
Written by Mark Schaefer
If you’re familiar with Hubspot, you probably know them as a content-generating machine. They constantly churn out some amazing, valuable content for free – and some for the price of an email address – that may leave you wondering, “How the heck can I compete with that??” Fear not, says Mark, because not only can you compete but you can get noticed in a way that even Hubspot can’t. And it has nothing to do with how much content you can spew onto the internet on any given day. My favorite point in this post? “Hubspot has no soul.” I’ll leave you with that because you have to read the rest to understand that you do have something your audience wants. YOU. No matter your niche, take this advice to heart and stop worring so much about the big guns.
Read the article at businessesgrow.com and follow Mark on Twitter @markwschaefer
Legal Problems In Instagram Photo Campaigns
Written by Kyle-Beth Hilfer
Well this one’s gonna be a downer… but if you’re using Instagram as part of your marketing, take heed! There are actually some pretty thorny issues that can haunt you unless you’re mindful. Kyle-Beth points out a few things that can land you in legal hot water from content concerns to copyright issues and even hashtag conundrums. They’re not so hard to work around once you know about them, but first you have to know about them! Read more to get an idea of what you should look out for and how to be sure your marketing is on the right track.
Read the article at maximizesocialbusiness.com and follow Kyle-Beth on Twitter @kbhilferlaw
3 Things You Surely Should Not Include In Your Twitter Bio
Written by Mitt Ray
Besides the fact that I completely agree with Mitt, it was pretty cool that he featured my bio in his post on the “good” side of Twitter bios. I won’t ruin the suspense and tell you what the three things are but let’s just say that there’s a good chance that if you’re doing any of these things, I know of at least ONE person right here who won’t follow you. Now, you might be a perfectly wonderful person but the truth is that social media is a busy, busy place. And somehow we have to parse it down into people we’ll pay attention to and people we won’t. And sometimes… that decision is made on the fly, based on the simplest of factors. So if you want to make a good split-second impression, work on your bio. And don’t do these things.
Read the article at socialmarketingwriting.com and follow Mitt on Twitter @MittRay
How To Transition Your Fans Away From Facebook
Written by Jenn Herman
You almost had to be living under a rock this week if you haven’t read about the outrage concerning Facebook’s statement to businesses, which boils down to “thanks for the likes, now pay up.” It’s not a surprise and it’s not even wrong for Facebook to want to make money from its platform. But what IS a bit aggravating is the fact that they’ve essentially shut out small businesses with nary a “thanks for coming”. I won’t go on any more of a rant here but suffice it to say that if you’re a small business, you may want to take heed of Jenn’s words and take your marketing and your audience elsewhere. If you’re thinking Facebook marketing is a thing of the past for you, here is an escape route that won’t leave you starting over.
Read the article at jennstrends.com and follow Jenn on Twitter @jennherman31
Stop Saying Thank You On Social Media & Say Something Meaningful!
Written by Ian Anderson Gray
This is a fascinating article with a philosophical bent. If you, like me, are one of those people who can’t leave a retweet alone and just has to thank the retweeting party, this post will give you lots to think about. Ian contends that a long string of thank-yous is not particularly meaningful or even thankful. Instead, he offers alternatives to that somewhat automatic (and even robotic) response. The best part is that if you take his suggestions to heart, you’ll expand your relationships and really make your social networking count. Give this one some thought and figure out how you can make your responses more meaningful.
Read the article at iag.me and follow Ian on Twitter @iagdotme
If you’re snowed in this weekend, I hope these great posts keep you company. If not… lucky you! Either way, enjoy!
Hi Carol!
You have got a great list of articles here! Thank you for including mine.
Mitt
You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed them!