The Best Small Business Marketing News & Blog Posts of the Week — February 17, 2012

Posted February 17, 2012 by DIYSEO Team (0 comments)

This post is meant to be helpful for all levels of SEO expertise. You can also find DIYSEO posts classified by level of expertise on the following pages:

Valentine’s Day, SuperBowl…a lot of the big events are over and hopefully things are starting to return to normal for you. Or, at least as “normal” as normal is going to get for you. Let’s get to the good stuff!

This week, social media really dominated the blogosphere. Whether it was product launches, joining a new network, or incorporating these networks into the core of your business, it’s all here. There were also some interesting news items we think you’ll find interesting.

Beginner SEO and Marketing

How to Use Social Media for New Product Launches — Product launches are a lot like driving up a really big hill. If you want to make it over the top, and into the land of success, you need to take a bit of a run at it. You need some momentum. This piece from Big Marketing for Small Business will help get you the momentum you need to get started on the right foot and on your way to where you’d like to go.

Top 9 Facebook Page Questions — Facebook marketing is one of those things that’s like regular search and social marketing, but not quite. It has just enough differences to make it difficult and requires a bit of a learning curve when you first start. Masterful Marketing looked at 9 of the questions businesses ask when they first start with the medium and we hope it will answer some of your questions, too.

12 Steps to Becoming a Natural at SEO – Part 2 — Vertical Response has begun on an amazing journey through the basics of SEO, presenting the various techniques in a way you can easily understand. They also show you how you can incorporate these techniques into your existing business, without spending hours tearing your hair out.

Intermediate SEO, Marketing & Business Tips

Google+ Vs. Facebook for Small Business With Chris Brogan — If there’s one thing Brogan does know (aside from where to find the best laughing dog videos), it’s social media. Deluxe for Business featured one of his videos this month that does a good job at giving the strengths and weaknesses of these two giant networks and how you can use them in your marketing strategy.

8 Simple Strategies: Take Your Blog From Blah to Brilliant — Have you ever noticed that a new blog just seems to feel different from the big successful ones? They just never seem to have the same shine. Small Business Trends’ Ivana Taylor may have unearthed the reasons why and how you can blog just like the big boys. You’ll like this one. We sure did.

Like It, Pin It, Sell It – Why Pinterest Matters for Your Business — Pinterest is still creating a buzz in the marketing world. Here, Vertical Response earned another spot in our roundup for its great coverage of the social network, tips for using the network, and a great infographic.

Online Video Streaming Options: Easy or Control — Video marketing can really intimidate even the gutsiest of marketers. After all, it can be a huge time and money investment. And it’s not like most of us regularly create videos. It’s a new territory and well out of most of our comfort zones. Then, there’s the nightmare of deciding how to do it. Small Biz Bee has a good list of options here.

5 Reasons SMBs Need Content Marketing – We all work hard to make sure we’re producing a large amount of content and keeping things going, but it’s easy to get burnt out after a while and forget why you’re doing it all. If you’re not doing any content marketing, or if you’ve reached the what-the-heck-am-I-doing-this-for stage, have a read. Lisa Barone of Small Business Trends will help make it all clear for you.

Advanced SEO, Marketing & Business Links

Essential Resources on Social Business for Online Marketing — Social media has consumed so much of our marketing budgets, it’s almost scary to think using it internally and integrating it into the core of your business. But just because something’s scary, doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no value in it. Here, Lee Odden collected together some amazing idea-loaded resources for incorporating social media into business functions, earning spot in our roundup again this week.

How to Reel in Your Readers With a Table of Contents — If you’ve been creating newsletters, you know that it’s all a bit of an experiment. It takes time to get it right. Vertical Response has another good idea to try, especially if your newsletter is more like a newsbook.

What Is the True Value of a Facebook Like? — Everyone doing Facebook marketing pushes for Likes, but are they really worth the effort? You’ll have to read this post from Deluxe for Business to find out what they discovered.

Great Posts Published This Week Everyone Should Check Out

17 Google Search Quality Changes From January — While a few Google updates seemed to consume a lot of bloggers’ time last month, there were more than just one or two of them made last month that you should be aware of. iNeedHits has a good list here.

LinkedIn Hits 150 Million User Milestone — LinkedIn may be behind some of the other social powerhouses in terms of user numbers, but 150 million users is still nothing to sneeze at. V3 covered this important event and supplied a number of details about the network you might find interesting.

Google the Biggest Winner From SuperBowl Searches — It was marketer’s Christmas this past weekend. That’s right. The SuperBowl. And while we were all abuzz with the game, entertainment, and of course, the ads, iNeedHits looked at who benefitted the most from the attention the event garnered.

Bing Extends Lead Over Yahoo! Even Further — Bing recently overtook Yahoo! in terms of market share, and according to iNeedHits, it’s showing no signs of slowing down. It’s pretty interesting to watch.

Facebook to Release Timeline for Brands Later This Month — Love it or hate it, Facebook’s Timeline feature looks like it’s here to stay. In fact, it sounds like brands will have to make the change soon. V3 covered this news item and has all the information you’ll need to know about the switch.