6 Blogging Tips for the Newbie & the Veteran!

Is there anyone without a blog these days? It's estimated that 6.7 million people blog through blogging sites and over 12 million people blog via social media networks. But with all those blog posts floating around, are we writing the best content we possibly can? The truth is whether you're a blogging newbie or a seasoned veteran, we can all learn a thing or two about writing better blogs!

Here are some tips on how to write a great blog-post:

1. State your purpose.
This may sound obvious, but it's truly astonishing how many blogs aren't clear about what it is they are writing and why. With so many blogs out there it is important to know what your blog is going to be about from the get-go or else your reader may just advance to GO and collect information from someone else's blog.

2. Be authentic. Be yourself.
Whatever you do, always remember to be YOU. Write about things that inspire you - that you love and take an interest in. Write about things that matter. Having this focus will help enhance your writing.

3. You can't win them all!
Remember that not everyone will love what you write about and it really doesn't matter. While keep your audience in mind is important, writing to please everyone is impossible.

4. Your title and/or headline should not be lengthy and boring - they should instead grab people's attention.
Be honest. Was that headline not painful to read? Were you not praying for it to be over? Exactly. I believe in keeping headlines simple but smart. Blogger Jeff Goins has a great blog-post with 5 tricks to help you catchy headline!

5. Design has it's place.
Aren't we all a sucker for beautiful things? Well, blogs are no different in my books. Even if your content is amazing, if it's being overshadowed by a hideous, dysfunctional and cluttered design then you might as well never hit the publish button.

6. We're visual creatures.
adding relevant visual components to your blog will only further enhance it. Don't bog your reader down with unrelenting text!

Now let's look at 3 Blogging veterans and see how they measure up!



1. Bernadette Jiwa, TheStoryofTelling.com
    Blog-post: "Being Undervalued vs. Being 'The One'"

I absolutely loved this post and love her blog in general. There are always catchy titles and headlines, visuals in all of her posts. She writes honestly and opening - almost conversational - and has a clear focus and purpose at the beginning of her post. The design is also clean and simple with a uniform color scheme throughout. Bravo Bernadette!




2. Mitch Joel, TwistImage.com
    Blog-post: "Watching Me Blog"

While the headline might not be catchy, it is concise and to the point. Mitch is clear with his message and writes from an honest and authentic point of view. The design of the overall blog and blog-post is also neat using bolded headlines, italics for better readership. However, Mitch fails to use any visuals in his post which makes it a little boring - but who am I to say anything?



3. Seth Godin, SethGodin.com
    Blog-post: "Understanding Luxury Goods"

Zzz... Ok. While the post is focussed, written authentically and has a straight-forward title, there are absolutely no headlines, no visuals (or anything visually interesting for that matter) and the design is lacklustre to say the least. The post goes on seemingly forever that I lost interest. But I suppose his blog fits in with tip #3 - you just can't win them all, can you?



So, what have we learned? Blogging isn't always easy and no matter how experienced you are as a blogger we can all improve our writing. What are some of your blogging tips? What rules do you live by when writing? Love to hear your thoughts!

Top 5 Social Media Trends for 2014

While the importance of social media for Millenials is pretty self evident, employers and businesses are quickly seeing the merit in a social media marketing strategy. However, with so many platforms to choose from it can be difficult to determine where to allocate resources. Where is social media going?

I have searched high and low, and thanks to Jayson Demeyers, contributor at Forbes, here are some 2014 Social Media marketing trends that you can start thinking about!

1. Investing in Social Media will be a NECESSITY, not a Choice.

Many companies are seeing the value in social media and are allocating time and resources into forming comprehensive social media marketing strategies. However, in 2014 it is likely that we will see a shift from wanting to invest in social media marketing to having to invest in social media platforms.

And this is not surprising as social media offers a variety of benefits including:

• Increased exposure & traffic
• Company branding
• Develop loyal fans
• Generate Leads
• Improved audience reach & influence
• Word of mouth

Social media is also one of the pillars of SEO!

2. A Picture says more than 1000 Words!

There's no denying that photo-sharing (and video) platforms have been all the rage this year. Marketing with social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are great for companies to produce shareable non-text based content!

As Jayson Demeyers points out:

Visual content will increasingly become a critical piece of any solid content strategy, and social networking site Pinterest will continue to shed its reputation as a ‘women’s only’ network and become an integral part of retailers’ marketing strategies.

3. The Rise of Google+

Google+ may not be new, but the social network has found its purpose now that the "+1" button is linked to Google's search rankings and is becoming an integral component of SEO and personalized search. And for those of you still wrapping your head around this whole Google+ thing, Here is a Quick Guide & How-To from Lisa Myers, CEO of Verve Search.

4. Foursquare who?

With platforms such like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offering location-based "check-ins", Foursquare very well might become a thing of the past. It won't be long before Foursquare users (many of whom are already using the other platforms) will be absorbed into other location-based features of the networks mentioned above.

5. Are you LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is undoubtedly the most successful social networking site for professionals with an impressive 225 million users to date. LinkedIn is positioning itself as "one of the largest sources of content creation and curation for professionals."

Conclusion
So, for those of you who have yet to invest time and resources into a social media strategy - it's not too late! Do some research and see how you can best incorporate social media into your marketing strategy this year.

Mobile Sites: 5 Tips to Convert Visitors to Customers

With a nearly 125% increase in mobile usage, brands are experiencing higher traffic to their company websites via mobile device - primarily smartphones and tablets. What is interesting, however, is close to 90% of websites are not ready for optimization!

In an article from search engine watch, a study concludes that although mobile usage has sky rocketed, in most industries conversions are a third lower than that of desktop conversions. The truth is, marketers "need to do a better job at addressing the user experience on smartphones."

Furthermore, companies really need to capitalize on the missed opportunity in mobile traffic by "ensuring sites are following [the] best practices for mobile optimization" (a great resource is Google's Guidelines on Mobile)

So, what does this mean? Is there an opportunity for mobile sites to convert its visitors into customers? The answer is ABSOLUTELY! In fact, in an infographic from Sanera Camp it was estimated that by 2015 the expected U.S. revenue from online mobile sales will reach $31 billion, up from $11.8 billion in 2012.

Here are 5 tips to help convert those visitors into customers from Social Solutions Collective:

1. Create a clean and easy to read mobile website. You really don't want to clutter an already limited screen with too much information up front. Instead, you should include your important information and try and build your site as if YOU are the mobile user on a mobile device. This information can include: location, phone number, "contact us" button, and a brief overview of who you are and the products and/or services you offer.

Are you mobile ready?

2. Offer multiple payment options. If you want  people to buy from your  mobile site you need to pull out all the stops and give them various payment options - and don't forge to make those payment options visible with user-friendly and easily accessible clickable icons.

3. Provide security to your customers! Make sure customers know that your site is secure enough for them to actually feel confident - and comfortable - enough to make a purchase. Be sure to include any Chamber of Commerce of industry-related organizations you are a member/involved in.

4. Stay up-to-date. Let's face it - customers (including myself ..and probably you) have no time for a site that is out of date or simply serves as a catalogue. Ensure that when your customer is visiting that they know  immediately that your site is up-to-date.

5. It's all about the call-to-action. What is it you want your customers to do? It sounds basic - but you should be telling them what it is you want them to do by asking them to buy, to take advantage of a limited time offer, or to prompt them to ask for more information. Those who do not ask shall not receive!

It's time to take advantage of the power of mobile sites in converting visitors to customers - I hope that this post has helped!

Why Content Marketing Reigns Supreme

In the last few years there has been a real shift in how people consume information and communicate with one another. In a world where the flow of information was once published and controlled amongst a few, now, anyone with an internet connection can produce and publish content. And this certainly has its consequences.

On the one hand, consumers now have a vast and sophisticated landscape whereby they can search the web, connect on various social platforms, as well as educate themselves on potential purchases. But this now crowded and saturated place called the internet makes it much more difficult for people - and businesses - to be heard.

What the Heck is Content Marketing?

content marketing:

"...is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable consumer action."

It's purpose?

"...to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy, and it focuses on owning media, not renting it."

Now that we know what content marketing is and it's purpose - let's gain a little understanding in how it has evolved. Here is a brief video from the Content Marketing Institute about the history of content marketing:

It becomes clear that content marketing is not new. In fact, it has a history that dates back as far as 1895!

Why Content Marketing Reigns Supreme

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is not only the present, but the future of marketing. Marketing is impossible without great content. It's that simple. Quality content is "part of all forms of marketing" including: social media, search engine optimization (SEO), public relations (PR), Paid Per Click (PPC) and inbound marketing.

In addition, in an article by Jonathan Lister from Fast Company, Lister highlighted that content marketing was the leading tactic for 18.9% of marketers worldwide in 2012. In 2013, this percentage has grown to 34.8% which shows that marketers really are seeing the value in creating quality content.

1. Content is Forever

While it may seem as though content marketing may only provide short-term value - the truth is that once you publish content on the internet it really is forever. Even if you decide to take down published content there is always the possibility that your content has been shared, curated and thus archived in some fashion elsewhere.


2. Good for Consumers, Good for YOU

Content published is not only valuable in engaging with consumers, it's also good for you as a business and helps improve your search rankings.

Essentially, producing high quality content amplifies your authority within your specified industry.

3. Content Gains Trust

What is any good relationship without trust? But really. Companies like Apple understand how fundamental trust is in their relationship with consumers. Trust gains consumer loyalty. Content is designed in order to usher consumers through the buying cycle by educating them on your industry, product and/or service

4. Skeptics Who?

According to an article posted in Business Insider "not only do [Millenials] not necessarily trust traditional advertising anymore, they don't even see traditional advertising anymore." Thus, while advertising doesn't speak to Millenials - content does.

And why are Millenials so important to content marketers? Because the Millenial generation (the nearly 80 million people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s) are expected to yield a purchasing power of $170 billion per year in the United States alone!

When content is valuable, reliable and easily found on the platforms Millenials spend the most time, then marketers can better tap into this truly massive market!

5. Content is Constant

Although the popularity of social platforms will rise and fall, content is constant. Content is easily transferable between platforms and networks.

"Creating quality content that has longevity will continue to bring value to your brand long after customers have moved on to new platforms or have downloaded newer social apps to engage with."

Some Thoughts from the Leaders

So, now that we know what content marketing is and why it plays a crucial role in engaging in conversations with customers the question remains: how do we create quality content?

Here are some tips from content marketing thought leaders from Michael Aagaard, a blogger for Content Verve

1. Sean Work, KISSMetrics

Don't publish junk. Pretty self explanatory.

Yearn for beautiful layout and design. "Having great content is one thing, but ugly packaging can really ruin the experience. Ask yourself, would Steve Jobs approve of our “content packaging”? How would he “box” it?"

Be consistent! If you're going to publish content, you need to maintain a regular momentum. And if you're involved with a brand where it's difficult to stick to a regular process, Sean suggests outsourcing your content marketing.

2. Oli Gardner, Unbounce.com

Make your content last. According to Oli you should "use social recycling to ensure you get a consistent flow of shares. You can also add a few of your latest posts to the footer of your emails to help with customer retention."

Effective blogging. "For your own blog, reach out to subject matter experts in all the categories you discuss on your blog to build a stable of “paid” writers, and create an editorial calendar to ensure both you and the writers are prepared." Oli also suggests that planning content in advance is ideal.

Be a curator. Much like this blog you don't always have to produce your own content. Once people realize that you're a source for sharing relevant content, people will keep coming back for more.

3. Marcus Sheridan, TheSalesLion.com

Don’t be afraid to address any and every possible question a consumer might ask. "if someone asks you to compare yourself against your competition, that’s a blog post you should write...if someone is asking it or thinking it, we need to be writing and teaching others about it. That is the essence of a great content marketer." Nothing is off limits.

Content is key. "It should be used again and again and again throughout the sales process. The more content a prospect reads, the further down the sales funnel they go, which is why it is a must that we as sales professionals and marketers make sure they are viewing, reading, and consuming out content."

And here are a couple more industry thought leaders that are worth looking into!

4. Mitch Joel, TwistImage.com

5. Seth Godin, SethGodin.com

6. Daniel Burstein, TheMarketingSherpa.com

So, what have we learned? Content marketing is king. Without good content marketing is impossible. Good content is consistent, reliable, valuable, transferable, trust building and forever.

#McDStories & The Dark Side of Social Media: When Hashtags Become Bashtags

While social media gives companies the opportunity to promote itself and engage with it's customers, the reality is that the social media universe isn't always rainbows and sunshine. In reality, social media users control social media - not companies. Social media really is a two-way street and often times your social media initiative - like using a simple hashtag can quickly turn against you if you're not careful. 

Enter the bashtag - that worst-case-scenario where your seemingly innocent hashtag is highjacked with messages that don't resonate with your brand and turn your social media campaign on its head. A bashtag is defined as:

"...the use of an organization's hashtag in a negative, critical, or abusive fashion. In the majority of cases, the hashtag being hijacked is one used in a corporate marketing campaign but can extend any organization."

Here we learn that social media really is a double-edge sword. Just as a company can tweet a hashtag - so can everyone else. The most obvious case of the hashtag turned bashtag is undoubtedly McDonalds' #McDStories social media catastrophe. Here are a couple of the most infamous of the #McDStories bashtags (There's so many to choose from.)

So, what do you do when this happens? Are bashtags simply a fact of social media life? The truth is, there isn't a ton of literature out there about what to do and how to avoid such an occurrence. However, here are two of the most important tips (although they do have more) that I found from a few bloggers including Shama Kabani, Rashmi Jha and Benjamin Rieder!

1) Know your role

I hate to say it but how could McDonalds not have known they were a perfect target for something like this? Even people who indulge in their food (why, I'll never know) still make fun of it. Everyone has a fast-food story. Everyone. I can't help but think that brands like McDonalds are so much more vulnerable to this type of hashtag highjacking than a brand like Apple and therefore need to be much more cautious when they embark on a campaign that allows others to share their stories.

2) Prepare for the worst!

Like all things in life nothing is never guaranteed to go as planned. Things can go awry. Hashtags can quickly become bashtags. In light of this, companies must be able to think of the worst possible outcomes and create a contingency plan in order to deal with any possible backlash.

In the case of McDonalds, their social media director Rick Wion issued a formal statement and expressed that they had set up a plan in the event that things didn't go as planned:

"Within an hour of pulling #McDStories the number of conversations about it fell off from a peak of 1600 to a few dozen. It is also important to keep those numbers in perspective. There were 72,788 mentions of McDonald’s overall that day so the traction of #McDStories was a tiny percentage (2%) of that.

“With all social media campaigns, we include contingency plans should the conversation not go as planned. The ability to change midstream helped this small blip from becoming something larger."

Not only did McDonalds have a plan, but they acted almost immediately. And sometimes acting promptly could mean the difference between a small "blip", as Wion suggests, or a possible catastrophe - which I would argue this was for McDonalds.

So what have we learned? That the social media universe can be a scary place. User generated content does not always work to a brand's advantage. Something as simple as a hashtag can prove to have irreversible - and damaging - affects on a brand's image which is why knowing your role and preparing for the worst are important in order to avoid a hashtag highjacking!

Using Google AdWords: the Case of Farm Girl Mobile Food Co.

For my Interactive Web Marketing class, we were asked build a successful AdWords campaign using Google's step-by-step guide. The Google package is a very helpful resource to help you build a successful campaign!

Below is an example of how to build a campaign using Farm Girl Mobile Food Co., a local mobile food truck serving up some truly delicious - and locally sourced - gourmet comfort food in Kingston! 

WORKSHEET 1: Organizing your Account

Step 1: Design your advertising plan by answering some questions about business needs

What do you offer? Gourmet locally-sourced comfort food
Who do you want to target? 
- Kingston/surrounding area
- young professionals
- students
- individuals who care about sustainable food practices

What's your budget? $5 per day > $35 per week > $140 per month

Step 2: List campaign goal (which can be used as your campaign name)

Campaign Goal: Increase Lunch Sales

Step 3: Create at least three ad groups for your campaign (optional)

WORKSHEET 2: Picking the Right Keywords

Step 1: Expand - list keywords that relate to both your business and campaign goal. Use the keyword Tool for ideas.

catering Kingston, local farms, mobile food, gourmet food, comfort food, locally sourced, sustainable, mobile food truck, home down food, homemade menu items, homemade menu

Step 2: Group - separate keywords into ad groups by common theme

Theme 1:

- local farms
- locally sourced
- sustainable
- local private catering
-catering Kingston

Theme 2:
- gourmet
- gourmet food
- comfort food
- delicious food
- gourmet food Kingston
- comfort food Kingston

Theme 3:
- food truck
- mobile food truck
- food truck Kingston

Step 3: Refine - cut out any irrelevant, unclear, generic or too-specific keywords from the list above.

(Will see when we develop the ads)

                      WORKSHEET 3: Write Targeted Ad Copy

In this section Google AdWords has you create 3 sample ads for each Ad Group! However, I've simply included a few examples along with the breakdown of how Google formats your targeted ads.

Google Ads consist of 3 parts:

1. Headline - A 25-character headline
2. Description - You get 2 lines of 35 characters each to describe what you have to offer
3. URL - www.your-35-character-URL.com

Examples:

Private Lunch Catering

Looking for a customizable menu for your event?

Contact us today!

www.farmgirlfood.ca/index.cfm/catering 

(destination URL)

Gourmet Comfort Food

Fresh locally-sourced homemade menu options.

Come visit us today!

www.farmgirlfood.ca

Gourmet Comfort Food

Homemade, locally-sourced menu options.

Join us today!

www.farmgirlfood.ca

So, there you have it! A sample of how to build a successful Google AdWord campaign using their easy step-by-step guide. Don't forget that whether you're brand new to Adwords (like me) or are an AdWords veteran, getting the most out of Google AdWords requires ongoing experimentation! 

'Oh So Pinteresting': How & Why You Should be Marketing with Pinterest!

I was having trouble thinking about what to write this week so I asked a friend of mine something that she would like to see a blog-post about and she asked if I would write about how to market using Pinterest. Challenge accepted! 

I'll be honest, I haven't been highly active when it comes to Pinterest. While I absolutely love looking through the fashion, home decor and - of course - DIY boards, I rarely pin things and my personal account is a little ...well, bare boned. However, I was completely blown away with just how many resources I found about the topic that are really helpful! So Kaitlyn, this one is for you!

First, it's important for marketers - and people alike - to understand the fundamental inner workings of Pinterest. For those of you who don't know Pinterest acts as a massive virtual pinboard that allows people to look through interesting pictures, pin them and leave comments below items that were pinned. The most important feature then is undoubtedly all the captivating pictures Pinterest has to offer - the trick as a marketer is to get your visuals pinned as much as possible!

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Here are some mind-blowing facts about Pinterest!

1. Pinterest is the 3rd most popular social network in the world (source: shopify)

2.  Pinterest is more effective at driving traffic compared to other social media sites - even Facebook! (source: Hubspot)

3. Pinterest is 80% more viral and three times more effective than Twitter

4. 69% of online consumers who visit Pinterest have found an item they've either bought or wanted to buy (source: social annex)

5. An estimated 47% of U.S. online shoppers have made a purchase based on a recommendation from Pinterest

6. Pinterest users spend more than 2x as much as Facebook users. Average order value when a user follows through on a purchase from a product seen on Pinterest is $179.36 (source: fastcompany)

7. Pinterest buyers spend more money, more often and on more items than any other top 5 social media sites (source: COMSCORE)

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Now that we understand the power of Pinterest as a social media force - how do we develop marketing strategies around this platform? Where do we start? Here is an incredible - and beautifully designed - Pinterest marketing strategies info-graphic I found that was designed by Maria Peagler, founder of Social Media Online Classes, to help you get started!

In addition to this info-graphic, there is a really helpful blog called, "Oh So Pinteresting" who not only provide the tactical steps to gaining success with Pinterest, but also who provide an abundance of resources to gain inspiration and information on how to enrich your own business and marketing initiatives! They are definitely a MUST READ for all looking to enrich their personal and professional Pinterest profiles!

I hope that this post has helped shed some light on the inner working of Pinterest and why it might be a great opportunity for you and your business to meet your marketing initiatives! Happy Pinning!

*Additional Resources:

- Pinterest Marketing Tips: 20 Things you can Learn from 20 Big Brands (entrepreneur.com)

- A Brief Guide to Pinterest Marketing (HongKiat)

- Pinterest Business Accounts: The Definitive Guide to Getting Started (SocialMediaExaminer)

Run-of-Site Advertising & The Case of the Queen's Journal

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - and an info graphic ..well, I don't actually know. But here is a little info graphic I whipped together to help explain Run-of-Site advertising from Easel.ly, a really helpful and user friendly site to help people like me create one seamlessly.

Now that you've read what ROS advertising is and when it's useful, I was thinking about if I knew of any sites that host this type of ad space.

After some thought I realized the Queen's University Journal, the university's main student newspaper, has an online site where they sell ad space to advertisers at a lower rate. These ads are randomly dispersed on the site and rotate between pages.

Here is actually an example of a couple ads I created for the companies I work for Megalos Restaurant and The Harbour Restaurant, that are featured on the Journal website to give you an idea of what these type of ads can look like (see below)

In this case this ROS ad is useful for these companies, particularly Megalos because no matter what page the company's ad is on they are still reaching one of their primary targets - Queen's students. 

So there you have it! I hope that this helped make ROS ads a little bit easier to understand!

Using Meta Tags for SEO & CTR Maximization: The Case of Farm Girl Mobile Food Kingston

Meta tags are dead I've read. And while it's true that meta descriptions and meta keyword tags aren't necessary for higher webpage ranking in the natural SERPs - this does mean that we should rule them out entirely. Despite what you've heard, meta tags still have their place in both Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Click Through Rates (CTR).

Page Title - 70 characters
Title tags should include the page title, your brand name as well as a phrase that includes your target keyword phrase. Here is the current title of Farm Girl Food, a gourmet food truck in Kingston with a modified version, as well:

<title>Kingston Ontario Gourmet Food Truck Kingston - Farm Girl Food</title>

or

<title>Kingston Ontario Gourmet Locally Soured Food Truck - Farm Girl Food</title>

*Remember, titles & meta-descriptions often end up forming the your company's snippet in the natural search results.

Meta-description - 160 characters
Now here is where the work - and fun - begins! Here is an excerpt from a great blog post from Search Engine Journal, Maximizing Your Meta Tags for SEO & CTR, about how to write your meta-description section:

• Add a call to action.  Asking people to do something (as in the case of “Find out how” in the example above) often results in readers taking the action you’ve requested. Other possible calls to action for your meta descriptions include “Discover how,” “Read more about,” “Click here,” or other related variation.
• Use cliffhangers. Use cliffhangers in your meta descriptions to encourage viewers to click through for the full story.
• Write your tags for yourself. Once you’ve come up with a possible meta tag, ask yourself, “Would I click through based on this information?” If your tags don’t yet seem compelling, rewrite them until you come up with something more enticing

Here is an example:

<Farm Girl Mobile Food Co. is the first gourmet locally sourced comfort food truck of its kind representing Kingston, in the evolving food truck movement in Ontario/>

3. Meta-keywords - no more than 10 keyword phrases
SEO for Restaurants is great for increasing sales, customers and reservations to their restaurant. An example of 5 starter keyword/phrases suitable for restaurants like Farm Girl include:

Restaurant name: Farm Girl Mobile Food

Type: Gourmet Comfort Food

City: Kingston

Type of food: Locally sourced

Atmosphere: Family Friendly

So, there you have it! Meta Tags aren't dead - they are alive and well and still have a place in any SEO strategy. For more information visit Google's Ad-words and if you're in Kingston be sure to visit Farm Girl Mobile Food for some delicious, locally sourced, down home comfort food - Yum!

5 Tips to Becoming a Twitter Champion!

Of all the social media platforms Twitter is undoubtedly my favourite - it's straight forward, simple and it doesn't completely change every time I log on (I'm talking about you Facebook). But are we using our personal twitter accounts to their full potential? The truth is, probably not. I know I'm not.

Instead of frantically wondering what I've been doing wrong, I decided to do the only logical thing there is to do: I Googled, "How do I maximize my Twitter Account" and lo and behold I stumbled upon a really helpful article with 10 tips to maximize your twitter account from Business Insider!

I've decided to focus on the tips I felt most useful!

1. Pretend like you only have 125 Characters
I break this rule almost always. In an ideal world, tweets should be kept to 125 characters or less. This allows others to easily RT with just enough room to comment or provide a short lead-in.

2. Follow the Right People
I think at some point everyone has been guilty of following anyone and everyone in hopes that they will follow you back. However, people who actually share your interests will be more likely to engage your content than @teamfollowback

3. Content, Content, Content!
After reading this tip I looked at my twitter and realized about 90% of what I was tweeting were insiders that my friends and I would share amongst each other - who really cares right? Building solid content, content that has value (but still interests you) is how to engage followers and build an audience.

4. Use URL Shorteners
While there are many URL shorteners out there that are FREE including Su.pr and Ow.ly through Hootsuite, I personally really enjoy using Bit.ly! In addition to shortening URLs, many can also help you measure the click-through of your links!

5. Pictures & Videos
People like pictures. People like videos. Don't only bombard people with text-filled tweets - makes sense right?

So, there you have it. Some quick tips on how to maximize your twitter account - you're now on your way to becoming a twitter champion!

WWJD?: The Digital Marketing Trifecta - Search, Display & Social

What would John Wanamaker think of this thing called digital marketing? I mean, what is it? Your guess is as good as mine. Digital marketing certainly encompasses a multitude of things, chief among them jargon, acronyms, and let's not forget complete and utter confusion. In an attempt to help untangle the web, Mediative, one of North America's largest integrated digital marketing companies, uploaded a video to help make sense of this thing called digital marketing!

In it's journey through the evolution of digital marketing, the video concludes by discussing the current digital marketing trifecta: search, display and social.

Path to Purchase - Targeting

Paid media - refers to AdWords or bing, advertising through social channels and/or display channels.

Earned media - include viral marketing and gaining traction (what most brands strive for)

Owned media - refer to a brand's website/blog

Bringing together paid, owned and earned media enables marketers to best reach the most "contextually qualified consumers" - and these are gold to marketers.

Late to the blogging game.

So, it's 2013 and I am just getting a blog now - better late than never, right?

I'll be honest - the thought of starting a blog has always completely freaked me out. I mean, who in their right mind would ever care what I have to say? Do I even have anything to say? I guess we'll see!

My name is Kristen and I'm a Queen's University graduate and current Interactive Marketing Communications (IMC) graduate student at the School of Business at St. Lawrence College. I also serve as Marketing Director for an independent restaurant in Kingston, Ontario, Canada where I started serving during my undgrad. I've had a "learn as you go" approach to marketing until the past year when I thought it best to actually enroll in a credited program.

I'm hoping this blog will be a little bit of everything - marketing meets personal. However this blog unfolds I promise it will be above all else: mint.