It’s just after one o’ clock on a cold, rainy Tuesday afternoon in north central Illinois, and in the other room I can hear the sound of Thumbellina entertaining my three-year-old daughter. In front of me, I have my web browser opened to Facebook as I chat with a friend using Facebook’s built-in instant messaging feature. According to their company information page more than 450 million people world-wide will log on to this social media giant at some time today (Zuckerberg, May 2012) .

It’s difficult to find the right word to describe the influence and global impact that Facebook has had in the online world. They’ve grown to become a household name in the truest sense of the word in only 8 years. When I graduated from high school in 2003, Facebook wouldn’t be dreamed up for another year, and now, it’s the centerpiece of untold millions of users’ daily online experiences.

Consider the following examples that illustrate the how profoundly Facebook has dominated every demographic around the globe.

• A few months ago, a 16-year-old German girl posted an invitation in which she failed to identify the invite as private restricting it to those on her friend’s list. When she arrived at her party, more than 15,000 Facebook users had accepted her invitation and and more than 1,600 showed up. Police were called and 100 uniforms were dispatched to keep order at the event (Leibowitz, June 7, 2011) .
• Earlier this year, a Taiwain woman committed suicide while simultaneously chatting with several friends on Facebook. Her last recorded words via the Facebook chat console were, “The fumes are suffocating. They fill my eyes with tears. Don’t write me anymore… My room is filled with fumes. I just posted another picture. Even while I’m dying, I still want FB (Facebook). Must be FB poison. Haha.”  (The Associated Press, May 2012) .
• Last year, I young girl in Georgia walked into classroom unaware as to why everyone in the class was laughing at her. Without her knowledge, two of her classmates had created a fake profile in her name and posted doctored photos and racist and obscene comments in her name. Unable to get these other students to stop cyberbullying her, she is now suing her classmates for libel (Rabiner, May 1, 2012) .

It’s important to understand, however, that global presence doesn’t necessarily equate to a high company valuation. To figure that, the company’s profits must be considered.

The Basics of Facebook’s Financials

Mark Zuckerburg and his team have built a collosal internet giant that stands to make astronomical amounts of cash during their initial public offering (IPO) next month. As they move to push their company into being public owned, they’re currently valuing it at more than 100 Billion dollars.

At first glance, this probably seems like an outrageously high figure for a free service that allows you to chat and keep in touch with friends, but then let’s take a look at how it’s calculated. Last year, Facebook generated over one billion in profit. This would make their price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio equal to 100. This means that they value their site to be 100 times that of last years profits.

Granted, that appears to be an incredibly high P/E ratio considering that the average across the rest of the stock market is a fraction of that number. However, it’s important to remember that right around the time Facebook was being created 8 years ago, Google was taking their online venture public at a valuation granting them a P/E ratio of 120 and today their stock price is 8 times higher than the day they took it public. And as a side note, it’s profit growth over the past 8 years has brought it’s P/E ratio down to around 22 today.

Romancing the Shareholders

These high numbers are justified not by their current earnings, but by their future earnings potential. In a world where 10% year-over-year profit growth is considered strong, Facebook is currently looking at more than 80% year-over-year profit growth. When they stand and project optimism that they’ll continue to see that kind of growth over the next few years, investors are able to see what a terrific opportunity it is to get on board with Facebook’s IPO.

According to Fortune’s  Scott Cendrowski, “Facebook boasts the best attributes of a young company (lightning growth) and a mature one (hefty profits). Its sales are increasing at an 88% compound annual rate. And the company is a prodigious cash generator…” (Cendrowski, April 30, 2012) .

In 2011, Facebook brought in over $300,000 in profit per employee and their users, advertisers, and overall revenues are continuing to grow at a staggering pace.

So with this information in mind, is it fair to value Facebook at 100 billion dollars or is this another example of Wall Street throwing numbers at the wind?

Notes

I’m pleased to announce the launch of The Forums at Site Sketch 101. This should provide us with an easy way to discuss a lot of important issues that we face as bloggers.

How often have you been working on your blog and wished you had someone to ask a question about adjusting your WordPress template? Or how often have you had a question about growing blog traffic, growing subscribers, or optimizing your site for search engines? Now it’s as easy as stopping by The Forums at Site Sketch 101 where you can ask questions, share information, or just hangout with other like-minded bloggers.

An Online Community for Bloggers

I’ve built the forum to have three primary categories laid out in the fashion of a business building. On the first floor, we have the business district where we can discuss practical business strategies, guest posting, writing, and search engine optimization. On the second floor, we have the designer’s hangout where we can discuss design inspiration, user interface, WordPress, web design and much more. On the third floor, we have the corporate suites where we can discuss social media, traffic generation, and community management. And, of course, you can stop by the lobby and leave a note for the janitor or share your suggestions for the site.

I’ve laid it out to provide a place that’s easy for blogger’s to discuss issues that are important to bloggers. Whether that’s related to writing, SEO, design, or something else this is the place to get a conversation started that can help get your blog or website moving forward.

Of course, right now the forum is only in its infant stages, but soon we’ll be adding rank (based on the number of posts you have on the forum), awards (you’ll earn for accomplishing tasks), and much more.

This also provides you with an incredibly easy access point to build some online relationships that could bloom into profitable online adventures.

It’s a community and I want you to be a part of it. Pull up a chair and join me for a conversation. I’ll see you there!

I’ll see you on the inside!
Nicholas Z. Cardot 

P.S. I’ll be in there responding and commenting as much as possible so please use this as an opportunity for us to get together and pick one another’s brains. 

P.P.S. I’m currently looking for folks who have past experience on forums to serve as moderators. Please send me a private message on the forum if you’re interested.

The Forums at Site Sketch 101

These days you hear a lot about web design and hosting. A web host is basically the middle man between you and the internet. If you want to design your own web pages and get them up online you will have to find a good web host who can provide you with all the tools you need. But before you choose the first hosting service you come across there are a couple of things you need to check first:

Note the hosting guidelines

Now if you are using a web developer to create your site, he will have to follow the web hosting guidelines, and the software that is compatible with the hosting service. If you do not create the page with the same software, the web page will not be compatible with the host. After you have completed your page accordingly, then you are free to just upload your page online and it will be viewable by everyone who visits it.

Building your own website

Many web hosting companies have made it simple to host a page these days. Once you have purchased hosting services from them, they also provide you with lots of tools to simplify the process. They offer programs that help you create web pages quickly and easily, as well as tools to simplify the upload process. Now you can build web pages without knowing complex html code and all simplified into one easy package that is completely easy to build and do it yourself. Big plus point for all you DIY guys/gals out there.

There is also simplified software out there now that helps you build web pages. If you are not used to html code, you might want to look into purchasing such software if you are going to be updating and creating a lot of web pages. Software such as Dreamweaver has simplified scripting and codes. All you have to do is use its easy interface and add your pictures and text and arrange as necessary. To finish it off, add your background graphics and you are done and ready to upload on your web hosting site. It cannot get any simpler.

Choosing hosting tailored to your needs

When you are choosing a web host, do keep your goals in mind before making any decisions. For example, if you are looking for hosting for a site for personal use, then it will not matter too much if the host runs some kind of ads on your space. But if you are going to build a corporate website, then it is better to choose an ad free host. What some web hosts do is give you free hosting, in exchange for running their ads on your page. So if you want your website to be ad free then your best bet would be to pay for your hosting and get your website exactly how you want it.

So the bottom line is lots of things vary when looking for a proper web host. Your best bet would be to go online and search different websites that give you ratings of the top 10 and other hosts out in the market today. After you chose which host is best for, you will be on your way to running your own site in no time.

Businesses from small to medium can benefit immensely from having a company blog and, subsequently, getting into the habit of microblogging. However, not many of them actually do it. Knowing that a powerful online presence is vital for businesses these days, how to choose which method best fits your company?

Business blogs are boards for communicating with the public and partners by constantly publishing useful articles. The key notion is sharing – in this case, what you are transmitting is significant knowledge and experience you have acquired around your own business and shape an audience.
Public microblogging basically means short bites of information sent over the internet, using networks like Twitter, Plurk or BrightKite and even Facebook statuses, which are now growing in popularity. You basically have a limit of 100-some characters to communicate a message, which is just about the length of this very phrase you are reading.

Both blogging and microblogging are inbound marketing methods. They help the company to be naturally found by potential customers instead of artificially “buying” people’s attention through direct advertising. Statistics point out clearly: businesses that blog and also do some microblogging are obtaining more leads and brand themselves faster than those who don’t.

The first advantages in having a blog next to your company’s webpage show in the rankings of the main website, as it brings a vital amount of keyword rich content. According to a study published by Hubspot (which owns credits for all the following statistics), companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages of their websites, 97% more inbound links and 55% more website visitors than non-blogging ones. This naturally provides more leads and conversions.

Sales decisions are roughly influenced by reading blogs and following Twitter trends. Twitter plays and active role in purchase decisions: 42% of the American users learn about products and services here, 28% use Twitter to look for discounts and sales, 21% to directly purchase products or services and 19% to seek for customer support. Twitter users are more likely to buy brands they follow.

Why have a company blog?

Blogging is a cost effective way to have a web presence, even without a website. It typically has a board for articles, a comments section and a feedback form. A three to five times a week posting seems to be the key to success. You gain subscribers who can turn into leads for your business. Plus it’s a handy mean of providing customer support.

If figures didn’t convince you, maybe Michael Wiley will, with his quote: “Blogs can help bring humanity back into the workplace. We have become so concerned with communicating numbers and processes that employees have forgotten how to build relationships. How can companies ask employees to provide superior service and innovative thinking when everything they see and hear flies in the face of that? Blogs help create a culture that supports those behaviors.”

Part of the marketing mix, a company’s blog brings important benefits in reputation. It puts your business it in the eyes of a public who has explicitly searched for the knowledge you provide, so you will gain the authority of an expert in the field. This knowledge roughly helps shaping the brand’s image.

Some use business blogs as an opportunity to self-advertise. This is a quite wrong approach. You should remember to give useful and reliable information that readers really need. Of course, it frequently happens to use “weasel words”, but it’s better to keep them on a low level.

How about microblogging?

Some still perceive this as a non-business communication method, with all the teenagers tweeting about what they had for dinner. Still, it all depends on the content that’s shared. In fact, Twitter plays an important role in increasing brand awareness among a large segment of people. You can use it to participate in discussions, post interesting resources related to your industry, announce special discounts and promotional campaigns.

First things first, microblogging saves time. It can be done from anywhere (on the sidewalk, in the tram, while having breakfast or in any possible circumstance you can think of). Unlike blog posts, tweets demand short attention span, which is a plus in the information overflow we are facing. Microblogging provides short term feedback and generally has a high ROI.

Twitter combines social networking and blogging in a completely new manner of communication. It’s both public and social. And it can help business networking in great ways, bringing together companies from the same industry to exchange ideas and mutual opportunities.
Monitoring the microblogosphere can give you hints over the lifestyle of potential clients. Take advantage of this online interaction to give effective customer support and brand yourself with the help of WOM power (word of mouth). People follow recommendations from friends and a news about your business can get viral if acclaimed by popular trendsetters.

When writing a blog post we always want to feel as though our audience will hang onto our every sentence – as though every word that we write matters. While we may surely have a loyal readership that reads a given post diligently, from the first word to the last, studies have shown that most people opt to skim digital content before reading it more closely. This is especially true of first-time visitors to a site or blog.

So if you want to draw in those first-time visitors and win over the skimming skeptics, it’s important to appeal to this nature and write posts that can attract the casual reader as well as the loyal one. We already use seo consultants to deliver links and social media strategies to drive exposure, so why shouldn’t we make a similar effort to tailor our content towards first-time visitors?

Contrary to a popular misconception, making a post more skim-able and more outwardly appealing does not necessitate dumbing down or diluting the quality of your content. Rather, it requires a formatting, organizational, and stylistic approach from which readers of all interests can value.

Here are six ways to make this happen:

1. Use AP article style. One of the hallmarks of the Associated Press writing style is that an article’s main points and ideas almost always fall in the introduction paragraphs. The following paragraphs are then comprised of supporting details and more peripheral information. In this manner, the AP style forces writers to convey the most important information at the beginning – and it provides readers the convenience of seeing the full picture right off the back. Since skim-prone online readers are more likely to pay attention to the first paragraph of a post, and since people who have grasped the main idea are more likely to give greater attention to the details, following the AP method can help you put the most important information right where it belongs: at the top.

2. Bold and italicize key terms. There’s no question that words sized or shaped differently will more likely stand out when a reader is skimming the content. These words include those that are bolded, italicized, larger or smaller in size, or varied in font. Since the latter two styles can come across as gimmicky and distracting, the first two probably provide more appropriate ways of getting a reader’s attention. And, once they see a key bolded word, they are more likely to read the surrounding sentence and the rest of the paragraph.

3. Incorporate sidebar text quotes. Many publications have a habit of putting quotes taken from an article’s text to the side of that piece of content. These quotes usually reflect a key question or point, and they often are presented in a font size far larger than the rest of the text. While the practice of incorporating such text quotes grew originally out of a need for traditional newspapers to add space, it is a great tool for delivering eye-catching information to a skim-prone reader in a digital content setting.

4. Shorten paragraphs. When people skim a piece of writing, they are far more likely to read the first and last sentence of a paragraph than they are those that fall in the middle. Consequently, if paragraphs are shorter and more broken up, it is likely that a greater percentage of the post’s content will actually get read. Shortening paragraphs can also make a long piece feel more conquerable to the casual, first-time reader.

5. Ask questions. Asking questions in a post yields two complimentary benefits when dealing with skim-prone readers. First, people’s eyes are naturally drawn to question marks, thus insuring that they read the sentence that precedes this punctuation. Second, by the very nature of their use, question marks often come at the end of sentences that are more interesting or provocative than the piece as a whole. Consequently, when the reader’s eye is drawn to this provocative sentence, this may be compelled to start skimming less and instead begin reading more.

6. Title matters. Any seo company will probably tell you that the title of a post matters when trying to insure maximum search engine results. The importance of the title is no less pronounced when skim-prone readers are concerned. While you can never be positive that a viewer will read every single word that you write, you can always know for sure that they will read a post’s title in full. How they react to that title dictates not only whether their read the piece in the first place, but also how engaged they are with the content upon doing so.

These are some of the main ways of making your content more skim-able without needing to make any major sacrifices in the way of quality. Doing so, hopefully, will help make your posts more appealing to first-time readers – and in the process find favor with your loyal audience, as well.

Today, business people have a greater opportunity than ever before to reach potential customers in a different way.

No longer are there barriers between business and consumer. But the opportunity to reach people, to generate leads and inbound business isn’t just inherent and easy for everyone.

It takes being creative, doing the right things, and maybe more importantly, not doing certain things. That’s what I want to talk to you about in this post.

Enter iPhone Repair

iPhone repair is a business my tech company has picked up on over the last 6 months. People crack their screens everyday and need to get them replaced asap. That’s where the opportunity lies.

But, besides SEO and traditional advertising, how do you reach people in need of an iPhone repair? One answer, is absolutely Twitter.

Use a geographical search to find people using common keywords associated with broken iPhones, and bam! You have potential customers.

The problem is, most people’s approach to that would simply be to respond with something generic, send them a link to a page that explains the iPhone repair service, and make the process automatic.

So, when people use the words “iPhone” and “broken” in the same sentence, they essentially get spammed by a generic message and a link. The result? An awesome rejection, and probably a block on your Twitter handle from that person.

That’s because it isn’t being approached creatively. There’s a formula for spreading awareness about a specific service or product, on Twitter, without being salesy, pushy, or annoying.

The way you do that is you think and understand how Twitter users want to be communicated with.

They don’t Want to Be Talked At

Talking at them doesn’t include them in the conversation. Only when you talk with them, do they feel naturally ok with responding.

For instance: Rather than responding generically, like we said above is the wrong move, crafting an actual human response, with a hashtag as an indicator that you do a specific service, works a lot better with people.

And guess what? They respond back! And it spreads awareness, and if you have something awesome, you’ll get some leads out of it too. Here’s a bonus idea: Use a hashtag that people have a strong emotional association with.

The hashtag #teamiphone is a well known iPhone user hashtag. It’s used worldwide by people who have iPhones, signifying simply that they are iPhone users.

It’s a cool thing. It makes people a part of something and they get to rep the coolest piece of technology on the planet.

What I decided to do was use that same hashtag, and add the word “repair” at the end of it, signifying that I was the repair person for the “teamiPhone.” Everyone on that team, which is millions of people across the world, are beginning to get familiar with the fact that I am the repair person for people with iPhones.

I’m not responding strictly to people who need iPhones repaired, but rather to people who talk about iPhones in any way. I’m building trust and awareness for the long haul. Here’s an example:

Since I’ve begun this, what you might call, “hashtag representing responding,” I’ve had people from all over the country call me for iPhone repairs.

Since we do repairs for most of the US, this works tremendously. It has been, and is going to be extremely time consuming. That’s ok. If you want the business, and the awareness, you’ll put in the work.

Besides! How else am I supposed to spread awareness fast for areas so big with lots of competition like iPhone repair in Philadelphia?

Exactly! I need to be engaging with the people in the trenches, talking about iPhones, every single day. And that’s my strategy.

You can win in social. You can spread awareness and generate leads but only under the condition that you’re doing it correctly. Only if you have the right balance of spreading awareness and engaging with people, and only if you’ve got the creativity to blaze a path, and find a way to do just that.

Blogging is a technique and an art that can often seem difficult to learn and impossible to master. However, you only need to look online to see that there are a large number of highly successful blogs, across a wide range of niches and topics. Here are 15 qualities of an excellent blog that are essential, regardless of your focus.

1. Quality content

This is something that is easily missed. People read blogs because they are interested in what you have to say. If the quality of writing is poor or you do not hold the readers interest, then they will move onto other things.

2. Stands out from the crowd

Blogging is becoming more and more common, and there is a high amount of competition. Regardless of the area that your blog focuses on, it is important that your blog posts catch the audience’s attention.

3. Grammar and spelling

It is surprising how easy it is to be tripped up over bad spelling and grammar. Readers will often not be interested in a blog if it is difficult to understand. Use spell checker and make sure you edit your work to ensure that it is easy to read.

4. Easy to Scan

Many people that read your blog do not have much time, or only glance over the first couple lines. It is crucial to make sure that people can take away a significant amount of information by briefly looking over the post.

5. Good headlines

Headlines can be very effective at drawing readers into your blog and making them interested in what you have to say. Funny, informative or unusual headlines all help to capture the attention of readers.

6. Interaction with readers

Get your readers involved with what you are talking about – engage them in questions, talk to them directly in posts, make it clear that you are aware of who you are talking to. Readers often feel more interested in a blog if they feel involved.

7. Posting schedule

This is beneficial for both you and your readers. Having a posting schedule means that readers know when to check back to expect new content. Furthermore, it helps to keep your writing focused on on-track.

8. Use of short posts

Not all posts have to be long. A short post can be particularly effective if you are having problems finding inspiration, or simply don’t have much to say. Consider using these short posts as a call to action – ask your readers what they want to hear about.

9. Write even when you have nothing to say

Often writers block stops bloggers from posting anything for days, even weeks at a time. This is dangerous, as you can quickly get out of the habit of posting. Keep your blog updated regularly.

10. Different types of posts

There are many different types of posts that can be used, and taking advantage of these different types can help to stir-up interest and break monotony. Some types include offering of links to research, debates, rants, case studies and interviews.

11. Social media

A blog is only as successful as its traffic, and social media can be an effective means of drumming up interest and support in your blog. Facebook, Digg, Twitter, Pinterest are just some examples of social media sites that can dramatically help your traffic.

12. Take breaks – if you must

Taking breaks from blogging is an important way of clearing your mind and of focusing on other aspects of your life. It can help you to come back to your blog with renewed passion and focus. Just make sure both you and your readers know when you will be back.

13. SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a fancy term for having good links (both to and from your site) and the effective use of keywords. Although not as important as writing good quality and interesting posts, SEO helps to make sure that readers find your posts in the first place.

14. Don’t make posts too long and dense

Long, dense posts can be the death of blogs. No matter how well thought out your ideas are, a reader will lose track and get bored part way through a long and detailed post. Try tightening up your ideas, or breaking down your post into two separate ones. Or be sure to break the piece up at the very least.

15. Guest posts

Using a guest post is a fantastic way of breaking up monotony and of including a fresh viewpoint and ideas. Additionally, it helps by giving you a break from writing on your blog.

No matter how you approach it, blogging is an art. Each person has their own particular style, but these 15 tips will go a long way towards making sure your blog is excellent.

With a “new” Titanic movie coming out in April, I could not help but think about how some company blogs I’ve viewed are taking on water.

Whether it is lack of attention or not knowing how to properly run and promote a blog, some companies just don’t get it when it comes to properly executing their company’s blog intentions.

Given my current job as an online editor, I look at countless company blogs on a daily basis; oftentimes left shaking my head as to the lack of detail some businesses provide these blogs.

Do You Want to Gamble with Losing Business?

When you have a company blog that has not been updated for say a month, three months, six months or longer, yet you are still in business, you are bound to be losing some potential business.

One of the reasons potential customers come to a company blog site, whether it is someone just starting a business or a long-time company, is to learn more about the company, see if you actually know what you are talking about, and feel like they have more of a one-on-one connection with your business. The blog is a great way to reach out to consumers and have a real-time interaction with them.

If your company blog is beginning to or has been listing to one side for a while now, here are 5 reasons why it is occurring:

1. Not enough attention to detail – Your blog is not updated regularly and fails to draw the reader in. A blog post here and there is not going to build continuity with the reader, leaving them less of a reason to want to come back. Stale content is an open invitation to losing readers.

2. Sloppy grammar and layout – Your blog not only contains off-and-on typos, but the layout is hard to follow. Such examples of that would be headlines are not connecting to the story, photos do not match up with the stories, you run too much copy without subheads and breaks in the article, leaving the reader to look at mounds and mounds of copy.

3. Failure to promote the blog through social media channels – One of the best ways to promote the company blog is through social media. If your company is lax when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and more, you’re already a step behind the eight ball. Use social media sites such as those mentioned to promote the blog on a regular basis. Be sure to include links back to your site’s homepage and/or any specific company pages that you want to promote. Another advantage to using social media is that you can network with others, essentially scratching their back while they scratch yours.

4. No consistent message – If your company’s blog is all over the place, how do you ever expect to provide readers with continuity? Let’s say your company does SEO work and you blog about SEO here and there, but also go off in 10 other directions? You may get some readers liking the variety, but most would have come to your site for SEO-related blog information in the first place.

5. Not understanding how search engines work – You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that search engines such as Google are not going to view your site favorably if content is not updated, links are out of whack, and you are spamming folks regularly. Make sure that the person/s in charge of promoting the blog “gets it” when it comes to how search engines can look negatively upon the blog if it isn’t properly maintained and distributed online.

While there are other issues that company blogs can be facing, the five above-mentioned are some of the most prolific items to worry about.

Even though a company blog is not the centerpiece of your business Web site, it is definitely something that should not be taken for granted.

If you do take it for granted, you stand a good chance of being all wet when all is said and done.

It’s exciting to see people reading your posts, but they don’t stay (at all). Is this the story of your blog? Then it is time you do something concrete about it. A high bounce rate and low engagement from your readers is a worrisome trend if you are a serious blogger. Your community depends on these readers and the growth of your blog will be stunted if your visitors become leechers (Leechers get the information they need and don’t come to your blog…ever again).

If you think that your content may be the reason for this low staying time by readers, think again, there are various reasons.  It may not have anything to do with the content you’re providing, in fact, there are some other points about your blog which you can focus on.

Here is the list of  8 ways to engage your readers longer on your blog:

Focus on readability

Simplify readability for your visitors. Make a visitor feel all comfortable and at home, while they read your posts. Use of ample white space is still an under-utilized tool by bloggers – a cluttered blog with words clustered together is really difficult to read and it does not attract a visitor to stay at the site.

The content in your blog should be the prime focus in your design, although you may have awesome content – people may not be actually reading it.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Use photographs and picture in your post. Especially, for really long posts, break paragraphs using pictures – it helps in adding a lot of personality to your post. Make use of an image that does not directly depict a topic but instead use an image which is sort of parallel to the topic which you are writing on. For example, if you are writing a post on building audience for you blog, you can probably have an image of an amphitheater with a large audience cheering.

Images have a tendency to connect well and make reading a more pleasurable experience for your visitors.

Create a Helper page

When a visitor visits your blog for the first time, a “helper” page can really help your reader get oriented. It is basically pages or posts titled, “New Here?” or “Get Started”. They are really useful. Helper pages- firstly, it helps you guide a visitor about your blog just the way you want to and secondly, your visitor tends to get curious about the concept of your blog and is likely to explore the site.

Use a great style of writing

It all comes down to great content, but how you write that content matters. If your content is written like your tenth grade science text book, then good luck with site engagement. However, if you do have a knack of writing interactive, funny and insightful posts on the same topic which a visitor can find else where. Then my friend, you have found the blogging nirvana. You do not need to be worried about people staying on your site or your bounce rate, because they will automatically be tempted to stick around your blog longer.

So have a unique and a great style of writing and you will find that people are automatically stay on your blog longer.

Display related posts

Your post was absolutely amazing, but now what are your readers supposed to do. Lack of call to action at the end of posts is the number one reason why your bounce rate might go up. If you want your readers to stay longer on your blog then always include related posts at the end of your article.

It is also the best way to show your readers the most you have to offer. This is a technique so many bloggers at all levels have made use  to keep readers hang around their blog longer.

Interlinking

Interlinking is important for search engine optimization as well as user engagement. WordPress, in fact, encourages its readers to link to existing content. When you hyperlink a word it will offer you a list of existing articles which you can link back to. Use this tool, make the most of WordPress and also get readers to stay at your site longer.

The important consideration is to ensure that there is not a barrage of links within the article. Ideally, you can include one link (or) interlink per 150 words.

Create great, emotional headlines

Make it a point to create headlines that your readers will be able to connect with and are curious about. If your headlines are not good enough to attract the eyeballs of a reader then there is a slim chance your visitors will make an attempt to read your post. A dull headline would equal to a dull post for the reader.

And it is your titles that the reader always see’s first. Personally, I would give more effort into coming up with a title that the reader has been wanting to read all his life. Although, having content that matches up to it can make your irresistible.

Keep it simple

As a parting point, I would like to emphasize on the importance of keeping your action plan simple when it comes to increasing the time a user stays on your blog. Have clean navigation buttons, put up a search box, have an attractive color scheme and stay human. These are the basic to ensure that your reader stays long and create an immersive experience for them.

It is really important that a reader sticks around your blog. High bounce rates are a source of great distress for bloggers. Moreover, the longer a visitor stays on your blog, there is a higher chance for people signing up for your email updates, liking your Facebook fan page and becoming loyal readers.

In conclusion, I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to your comments from which I can learn and possibly, the other who visit this post as well.

Foursquare is coming up in the digital world and wants to be the cool social hangout everyone thinks of when they’re out and about. The location-based service recently introduced Nearby Maps, a features it hopes people will start using to find familiar places in their area. Best of all – this one offers a little something for local businesses as well.

When a user visits the Foursquare page of a business, they can now see all of the business’ locations that are nearby where they are located. For example, if a user is visiting family in a different town and wants to find the nearest JC Penny, they can visit the brand’s Foursquare page and view a map with all the JC Penny stores in the area. The feature also presents the user with the closest options. Nearby Maps does a fine job of giving the business some nice publicity, while providing the user with the information they need.

Catching on in the Business Community

Foursquare has become much more business-friendly as of late, and brands are taking notice. In 2011, the company introduced its very own business pages, a trend that has truly taken off in the social space. What many observers appreciated about this feature was that it not only catered to local businesses with brick-and-mortar establishments, but those who may not have a traditional, physical place of business. Page owners have access to unique marketing opportunities, as well as help from Foursquare, who provides a platform for extending offers and tracking activity via analytics.

Foursquare has been releasing several new features, most aimed at making it easier for consumers and brands to connect. One of the most interesting features to come along in recent times has been the Explore engine. Explore was literally a huge step forward for Foursquare, expanding the service’s presence from the mobile world to the desktop. The company has also been steadily introducing features to help brands increase the visibility of their pages. Slowly but surely, Foursquare is becoming a tool more businesses need to pay attention to.

Getting on the Foursquare Map

According to Foursquare, the Nearby Maps feature has been rolled out on hundreds of business pages and will reach many more in the near future. All users have to do to benefit from this feature is visit the page of the business they want to find. Brands have to go through the process of connecting their page to their venues, which all starts with creating a page, of course.

Foursquare says this connection offers the following benefits:

- Management tools to create special offers and view activity reports for each location.

- Ability to connect a business page to venue pages.

- Provide customers with an easy way to find the closest venue on a map that resides on the business’ Foursquare page.

Foursquare is still growing up, but is already displaying so much potential. Features like Nearby Maps only add to its strength and value as a marketing tool.