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About Google Authorship

02/27/2013 By Jayme Soulati

English: Google+ wordmark (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By now your byline for any blog post, guest post, or other online published piece should be linked directly with a Google+ profile via Google Authorship. There is so much being written and shared about this topic, and it will not be a rehash here. What you will see are some very smart people sharing insights about Google Authorship that are too good to just let die in my Google+ stream. I’m going to share some thoughts for you in a random way from around the channels. I’d like your call to action to be to establish Google Authorship ASAP for your byline throughout the Interwebz.

About Google Authorship

Establish Google Authorship to claim brand, original content and rank.

This is to attempt to avoid what happened to of when his blog post was scraped. Because he had added a hyperlink to an archived post, he got a pingback from the culprit’s blog.

Having Google Authorship allows the original author to claim dibs on original content; however, according tothe acclaimed Google+ guru (he really is), there is nothing in place with Google + right now that protects any writer from content scraping.

“We need to be careful about overstating the claims of Authorship. In the introductory video Google’s Othar Hansson said that they could use authorship to determine the true author of content, not that they are (yet).

In any case, it doesn’t prevent someone from copying your content, just wouldn’t allow them to outrank you for it. I suspect we will have to wait for implementation of Author Rank for that to be fully in effect,” said Mark in a Google+ thread with Neal, , and me.

Frank Strong, who writes , is credited with alerting me to what’s been happening with recently on the topic.

Back to Neal’s story…when he got a ping back, he rang the alarm bells in his community, and due to the ruckus raised, the offender removed the post (bet they won’t do that again, eh, Neal?)

said in a recent G+ thread, ” I still recommend every blogger to at least include one internal link in each of their blog posts so that if their content does get copied, and it’s often copied as part of blogs automatically importing content through RSS feed manipulation, that at least you get a back link.”

What Google Authorship also does is help rank that author in search for original content all over the Interwebz. Can you say guest posting anyone? How about blogging communities? (Just so you know, is accepting new bloggers; it’s a blogging community I established in 2010 that is ebbing out of dormancy.)

How To Set Up Google Authorship on WordPress Blogs

If you need help setting up Google Authorship, please go directly to After examining four different blog posts sharing perspective on how to synch your WordPress-powered blog with Google Authorship, this one on Tizish by Josh Galvan was the easiest to understand in plain English. It also did not omit any steps like the others did (in re the back-end coding which is explained very well). My pal will attest to the ease with which this tutorial takes you through the steps.

Thanks for indulging my ping-pong sharing on this topic. When I learn so much in one Google+ stream, it’s too rich to toss by the wayside, and I wanted you to learn as I do, too.

Take Social Media Higher With Niche Networks

02/26/2013 By Jayme Soulati

English: Infographic on how Social Media are being used, and how everything is changed by them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Keeping up with the Joness is none too rewarding for companies, especially when it comes to social media adoption.

Most companies look at their peer group to identify what the nearest competitor is up to and then everyone is eventually following suit buoyed by the earliest adopters.

Many of the businesses that jumped in whole hog bright and early earned the most attention from consumers who wanted to engage with smart brands. Companies slower to adopt are finding it more of a challenge to tally likes, RTs, plusses, or followers.

But, all is not lost for the smartest and savviest social media adopters.

In 2012, users on the Interwebz grew 19.2 percent over 2011, according to eMarketer. There were 1.43 billion users on social networks, and we all know that Facebook boasts the first billion.

As adoption levels taper off, users are going to branch out into smaller networks that are more manageable. Inc. magazine shares a story about the pending 2013 backlash in social media adoption and the “emergence of smaller-scale, niche networks.”

Here are ways your company can benefit from the expected 2013 trend:

1. Shore up the big four or five channels and determine which few are the most beneficial relating to the strongest return on investment of money, time, team, and sales.

2. Stay the course with these, and begin to look around for smaller channels that are ripe for brands to engage with.

3. Understand your customers’ behavior and how they use social media. What do you know about consumer behavior patterns?

4. Study up on online behavior; there is a burgeoning field addressing human interactions online. Companies can benefit from this knowledge.

5. Develop programs that reward customers for their loyalty. Imagine a loyalty program on steroids. How many ways can customers be rewarded with simple recognition that ultimately costs the company pennies?

With loyal brand evangelists, companies can reward with a badge for a Facebook page or other profile page. Simple? Loyalty costs only as much as the creativity around implementing the program.

In the Inc. story, several mentions about smaller, niche apps becoming popular showcase where users are heading to get out from the clutter of 1 billion Facebook users:

Path
App.net
NextDoor
Yammer
MindMixer (I like this site on first impression!)

Also in the story, companies were advised to watch, listen and participate with a non-sales approach. The goal for companies is to jump to the next phase of relationship marketing and reap the benefits of the ever-changing online community.

10 Reasons Why Google+ Rocks For Companies

02/25/2013 By Jayme Soulati

There has been so much bogus “Google+ is Dead” banter on the Interwebz, and I’m here to tell every savvy social media adopter that Google+ is the place to be.

Here are reasons why:

1. Google doesn’t have to find ways to monetize. Unlike Facebook, the struggling, always creating new monetization paths public company, Google already has a steady, proven method of making money.
2. Google+ is only the tip of the iceberg for companies’ ability to engage with truly innovative tools, storage, file sending, calendaring, free email and much, much, much more.
3. Let’s not forget the number-one reason — search. Yep, Facebook now has Facebook Graph Search that is supposed to change the course more positively for Facebook, but it’s in its infancy. Google has long established itself as the King of Search.
4. So this doesn’t become a Google vs. Facebook post, here’s one — Google+ communities are the game changer (oops, I guess there have been Facebook groups for a very long time that are successful, too). For brands seeking business audiences, Google+ has raised the bar high.
5. Google+ is not the place where high school buddies and families congregate; it’s where business peeps interact with others sharing solid material.
6. Google+ is not competing with a billion users. The early skeptics are MIA or just adopting. What that means for brands is the ability to get serious Plussers who seek savvy companies with a page built for Google+ engagement.
7. Google+ is seriously a happening channel, at the risk of Twitter. As Twitter sometimes feels like a graveyard (I know this for a fact), Google+ has activity all day long — high energy activity with real human engagement and not just a +1 or forward share.
8. Google+ Communities are now available for company pages. Because a person starts a page, that person should join a Community first to see what it’s all about. Then, with that comfort, launch a G+ Community oriented to the company brand, products, services, or subject matter. No better way to uild loyal prospects and customers.
9. Influencers bare engaging on Google+ all day. When was the last time you saw Chris Brogran on Twitter? Enough said.
10. Google+ is not just a passing fad. Just like early adopters to social media, companies getting on board will pave the way for higher levels of engagement. Please don’t miss the boat!

By Jayme Soulati

Viral Music Video Boosts Brand And Social Marketing Appeal

02/04/2013 By Jayme Soulati

Image credit: Chicago Music Exchange on Google+

Knowing how much this community loves music, a story courtesy of Crain’s Chicago Business, shares how some businesses are benefitting from viral video to boost social marketing engagement.

In the January 28, 2013 issue of Crain’s, there’s a section Focus: Social Marketing and a story, “Chicago’s Social Marketing Standouts.” The Chicago Music Exchange owner challenged its staff to create a viral video. Alex Chadwick, a guitarist and salesman, made 100 Riffs (A Brief History of Rock N’ Roll).

Views of this video on YouTube are nearing 4.6 million (at the time of the print story, there were 4.31 million views on YouTube). Total views for the Chicago Music Exchange’s 223 other videos only amount to 6 million.

Elements of Viral Video

What made this video go viral? According to all the experts quoted in the story, the guitarist shows off his technical and musical prowess while taking the viewers through the history of music with 100 recognizable tunes. The video fits right in with the mission of the music equipment retailer, which doesn’t necessarily contribute to its viral nature, but it feels so right.

Brand Engagement And Organic Twitter Followers

01/14/2013 By Jayme Soulati

twitter logo map 09 (Photo credit: The Next Web)

This needs to be said — LOUDLY. Each of my nearing 4,600 Twitter followers is organic; are yours?

Twitter sued five companies in April 2012 that sell followers on e-Bay and elsewhere for increasing exponentially and untruthfully the numbers of followers a peep has. If you’re at all interested, the defense is being represented by an Above The Law columnist. I follow this e-zine, and if the columnists are as adept writing editorial as they are in the courtroom, uhmm, Twitter needs to watch its back. (The companies responded within the last week; my, my, the judicial system takes forever.)

Oprah has 14.5 million; Barack Obama has 21 million; Justin Bieber has 29 million followers. Wasn’t Ashton Kutcher the first celebrity to get 1 million followers back in the day? Celebrity is the operative word; makes sense.

When I say my followers are organic it means this:

I follow people who follow me first.
I have never gone rogue to gain high numbers of followers, and many do this with Twitter apps like TweetAdder and TweetBuddy.
Having oodles of followers is challenging to manage my stream; when I see content that makes no sense to my topics of preference (like sales junk), I clean out.
After four years on Twitter 24/7, I ought to have 10,000 followers by now, right? Perhaps. It’s all in accordance with how you manage your brand in business and how huge you want to get with that extra attention.

Brands And Twitter

That’s a great point (if I say so myself)…should brands get the highest number of Twitter followers possible?

Think about what that looks like to a community, follower, prospect, or customer.

When a brand engages in higher numbers, the first impression is akin to a high Klout score. It’s all about influence. That brand seems to be influential and more followers will come on board.

It’s totally up to the brand how they use that opportunity, though. As I mentioned in my post here about my analysis about Harry and David’s Twitter stream — does your business engage in social media or is it a social business?

Think hard about how you, your brand, your company, and organization use Twitter. This channel is a force to be reckoned with as long as you know what you’re doing — posting, engaging, growing, and being fulfilled with success you measure buoyed by metrics you deem apropos.

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