Google+ is great for getting together with friends, but it can also be a useful business application as well.

Just this week President Obama held the first presidential Google+ Hangout, following in the footsteps of the Black Eyed Peas and the Dalai Lama. It shows that sometimes it takes a little creativity and outside-of-the-box thinking to take a social media tool and spin it to work perfectly for you. Adding a Google+ Hangout to your social media plan can be an excellent way to get your message out and get to know your audience and customers a bit better.

Discover a few tips on how to make Google+ Hangouts work for you and your digital marketing business plan:

1. Engage. Just like all social media, it’s 100% imperative to engage with your audience. Don’t just  talk at them – get them involved! Ask questions. Get to know your circle a bit better. Call them by name. Better relationships lead to better business.

1. Keep It Small.  Google+ Hangout allows you to invite up to 9 people, but that doesn’t mean you should invite all 9. Start small until you get a grasp on how a hangout flows; then invite more as you’re better able to control the situation. Just be aware that the more people included, the less you can engage with each one.

1. Double Check All Your Settings. To avoid annoyances throughout the hangout, take the time to make sure all your tech settings are correct. A good web camera is important, as well as a mic, good lighting and (obviously) a fast enough connection.

1. Keep Selling To A Minimum. Don’t just use it to make a sales call or to push a product. Let the conversation run its course. Then, if you need a call to action, try it at the end (only if it fits in naturally). If they had fun, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to actually pitch at a later time.

1. Share. One of the interesting features of Google+ Hangout is that you can share links and videos. Use these elements not just to educate, but entertain as well! You’re basically a host, so treat your guests the same way you would if you invited them to your home.

Looking for new elements to add to your digital marketing plan? Contact a WSI Internet Consultant today and discover new ways to reach potential customers.

Infographics are a great way to get links to your site and drive up traffic – but only when they’re done the right way.

Infograhics were all the rage last year. Although they’re losing a bit of steam, they can still be a great way to get traffic to your site. One of the biggest problems is making yours stand out in the crowd. Here are a few tips on how to add an infographic to your digital marketing strategy without losing sight of the important elements.

What Are They?
Infographics are a combination of stats and information shown through pictures and graphs. There are words, but the main focus is that the topic is interesting and the infographic is very visually appealing. Infographics are a great example of SEO link bait and, if done correctly and is properly advertised, can bring in a fair amount of traffic to a site once others start sharing the content.

One of the main problems with infographics right now is that there are so many of them. The bar has definitely been raised, and readers are more apt to compare and critique. They’re great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but can be a bad move for your reputation if done poorly. Remember: Content is still king.

The Right Way
Here are a few tips to keep you on the path to infographic success:

• Start with a topic that could be enhanced by visuals.
• Choose a topic people will find interesting – looks for stats that are obscure or trending.
• Make sure the graphics are done well. That includes professionally designed and contain no spelling or grammar errors.
• Always supplement with social media and bookmarking, plus send to infographic-specific sites. Your effort doesn’t mean anything if no one knows the content exists.
• Don’t forget to cite where the information came from. Give credit where credit is due.
• Mashable has plenty of examples of great infographics to give you a sense of what they should look like.

Avoid These:
With every “do” there are some “don’t’s”. Keep these tips “top-of-mind” when implementing your infographic strategy:

• Don’t use everyday stats or use information that is really mainstream. Get creative!
• Using too few stats could be deemed a waste of time. Make sure it’s full of information.
• Don’t make an infographic just for the sake of making an infographic. Not all information will translate well into this very visual medium, so it’s best to have the idea first – then see if an infographic would work well.
• An infographic is no longer in itself a good reason to share it. It must be interesting and engaging or, just like other social media ideas, it will get lost in the shuffle.

An infographic is just one element of an entire digital marketing strategy. Discover how you can make your mark online by contacting a WSI Internet Consultant.

With the launch of Google Search Plus Your World (SPYW), not only is great content important, but so is your social media footprint.

If you thought that Google+ was just a passing fad and you could skip that step in your SEO plan, you may want to think twice. Recently, Google+ launched Google Search Plus Your World which incorporates Google+ social mentions in the results – first. That means if you’re looking for, say, reviews for the newest movies, your friends’ Google+ comments about movies may come up before the actual reviews.

What Does This Mean?
Since SPYW is based on sharing content, it means popularity counts. If a business isn’t engaging with their audience, especially on Google+, they’re liable to get lost in the shuffle – making it harder for customers to find them. For obvious reasons, antitrust issues have been brought up. The FTC is already currently looking at Google closely, and will be looking further with these most recent issues.

What Can I Do?
To keep your digital marketing plan working well, best thing to do is to keep your Google+ account up-to-date and interesting. When you guest blog or add a link to an article you’ve written, send the author tag to your Google+ page.

Between changes to search and surprise algorithm changes, Google sure is keeping us on our toes. But what does that mean for the digital marketing community? It means you stay relevant. It means you keep creating content that matters and that people want to share with each other. And it means you stay constantly vigilant to what the industry is doing. The digital world is a living, breathing entity and it’s up to you to follow it where it goes – adapting all the way.

Looking for ways to keep your Google+ page engaging and popular? Contact a WSI Internet Consultant today to freshen up your digital marketing plan.

You no longer have to wait for the next industry party or conference to network. Take your networking plan online with Web 2.0 sites including LinkedIn and Facebook.

Online business networking is an increasingly important part of any business. Entrepreneurs, business managers and marketing professionals are using online Web 2.0 sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook to establish business contacts and to locate talent for their organizations. The lines in the social media world are fast becoming blurred between social and professional networking.

Online Business Social Networks

For professional networking, LinkedIn is the platform of choice. LinkedIn is a business social networking tool that allows members to maintain a list of contacts that they know and trust in business. Members can make new connections and re-connect with past contacts and colleagues.  LinkedIn has over 135 million members making it the number one professional online business networking site today.

The best online business social networkers are connected into the wide fabric well beyond their personal boundaries. Online business networking involves the building of relationships and the interactions of people. They are genuinely interested in the people and what they are thinking.  These people seek interaction because they are curious about other people and their ideas.

The modern online business networker uses social networks in addition to traditional networking. These networkers make regular blog posts and contributions in forums such as LinkedIn Answers and Yahoo Answers. These people usually write regular blog post articles that are informative and thoughtful.  These business networkers have a pay-it-forward philosophy rather than a what’s-in-it-for-me way of thinking.

These are the people that are always looking for ways to help other people.  They learn and are looking for ways to pass it on to help others.  The best networker rarely expects a personal pay off.  This makes them a natural magnet for people wanting to join their network.

Business networking is a communications skill based on human interaction. The same rules apply to both face-to-face and online networking.

To learn more about how to leverage online business social networks to work for your digital marketing plan, contact a WSI Internet Consultant today.

WSI Digital Marketing Consultant Graham Buchanan’s article on Google+ for business was published in the January 2012 issue of Business Matters Eastbourne.

It’s always exciting when a WSI Digital Marketing Consultant is seen in the news! Graham Buchanan’s article “Social Media Platform Should Stay on the Scene” was featured in the January 2012 issue of “UK Business Matters Eastbourne”.

Graham’s article talks about how to leverage Google+ for business, including how to build a brand page and personalize it. Adding a variety of different platforms to your social media strategy is the best way to get as much exposure for your business as possible and Google+ is a great addition to any digital marketing plan. To read the full article, go to the Business Matters website.

“One key element of Google+ is a focus on targeted sharing within subsets of a social group (or what Google calls ‘Circles’). Also within Google+ is is a section specifically viewing, managing and editing multimedia. Google+ includes an image editor; privacy options and sharing features.”

It’s truly inspiring to see WSI Franchisees sharing their expertise not just with their clients, but with business communities around the globe.

Read more articles written by, and about, WSI Internet Consultants in the WSI in the News section of the blog.

The WSI Franchise is proud to welcome the newest group of Internet Consultants to our global network!

After weeks of pre-training, 15 entrepreneurs descended to our Toronto, Canada offices for the final steps to become certified Digital Marketing Consultants. Over 7 days of training, this group dissected the world of digital marketing with classes in search engine optimization, social media, website strategies, and the newest mobile marketing technology.

The January class is yet another example of how WSI continues to extend our global reach, allowing Consultants to fully service local businesses all over the world, giving them the tools they need to succeed in a digital world.

Introducing our newest WSI Digital Marketing Consultants!

Diego Martinez Iglesias, Spain	Damian Ripoll, Spain	Daniela Killus, Switzerland
Rafael Orozco Oliver, Mexico	Laura Orozco Oliver, Mexico	Melinda Davies, USA
Nicholas Shelly, USA	Francisco Dominguez Olivera, Mexico	Jean Francois de Jerphanion, France
Juan Carlos Islas Sanchez, Mexico	Mohamed Gouda, Egypt	Bruce Mehaffey, Canada
Jorge Alberto Franco Lema, Colombia	Gavin Burgess, Canada	Matthew Timm, USA

Once again, join us in offering a warm welcome to the WSI January class! To check out more pictures of the January graduates, please visit our Facebook page.

To learn more about the WSI Franchise opportunity and how you could be a part of the global network, contact WSI today.

Pinterest has slowly been staking a solid spot in the social media world. Although it’s best suited for personal use, a business may benefit from it as well.

Remember your locker in high school or the bulletin board in your dorm room? It had pictures, ticket stubs and other neat tidbits you hoped others would see – and comment on. Take that idea and spin it in a web-friendly way – and you have Pinterest.

See a photo on the web you like? “Pin it”. Comment on other interesting “pins”. The important part is to get involved in the Pinterest community.  Like all social media, Pinterest’s main goal is sharing, making it mostly a personal, social experience. However, just by thinking a little outside the box, we can see how easily it would be to fit this into a digital marketing plan with great success.

Here is a beginner’s look at Pinterest possibilities for your business:

About.
Warning: Not every business should add Pinterest to their list. By the visual nature of the site, it works best for services that may benefit from others seeing pictures of what you have to offer. Think restaurants, home decor, general retail, the wedding industry and travel.

Benefits.
There are a few benefits of Pinterest. Number one is that each image is automatically imbedded with a link back to the source. If that source is you, your site will see an increase in traffic as more people click on the image. Another benefit is that Pinterest images are easily shared, so the potential reach could be quite high if the picture is interesting.

Go the Extra Step.
Once you get the hang of Pinterest and start to get comfortable with it, try experimenting and thinking outside of the box. Try getting creative with contest ideas that get people to pin your images or consider adding a “Pin It” button to your blog.

Have you tried Pinterest yet? What are your thoughts?

Pinterest is one of many tools you can use to optimize your digital marketing plan. Get on the right path today by contacting a knowledgeable WSI Internet Consultant to assist with your strategy.

With the free version of CoTweet on its way out Feb. 15^th, it’s time to look at a few Twitter dashboard alternatives for your social media plan. 

Simply using Twitter in its organic form is not enough to operate your social media strategy to its full potential. Many Twitter users use a Twitter dashboard like Cotweet to schedule tweets for a later date, monitor retweet analytics and run various accounts from one place. However, last week CoTweet announced that they are switching to a paid service on February 15^th. Cotweet is not the end-all-be-all in the Twitter dashboard world. Perhaps it’s time to find an alternate tool for your tweeting needs.

Here are three free (for now!) Twitter dashboard options to replace CoTweet in your digital marketing plan:  

HootSuite
This is probably one of the more popular dashboards in this list. It enables you to connect up to 5 Twitter profiles on one dashboard, and published tweets to outside accounts including LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook and Foursquare (to name a few). You can even schedule tweets to send out at a later date.
Con: Cannot access Flickr photos.

Seesmic
One of the best aspects on Seesmic is its compatibility. Not only can you use it on all mobile platforms, but all browsers as well. Other points are the scheduling aspect (although most have this, too) and the saved keyword searches function.
Con: No analytics included in the dashboard.  

SocialBro
It may not be the most well-known dashboard on the list, but recent changes have made it one to definitely take a second look at. With SocialBro, you can not only check your own stats, but those of your competitors. And looking for a reciprocal Twitter relationship? Check the list to see who’s not following you back.  The function that could prove most helpful to your strategy is a graph that shows the best times to tweet. A great tool for those new to Twitter!
Cons: Up until recently the major flaw with SocialBro was the lack of analytics. However, just last week they announced the addition of real-time analytics. 

If you’re looking at making a bigger splash in the social media pond, make sure you contact a WSI Internet Consultant to get you on the right digital marketing path.

WSI is proud to announce our newest Master Franchise has opened in Effretikon, Switzerland, geared towards the German-speaking regions of Western Europe.

It keeps being proven that the world accepts the digital marketing age! We’re very excited to announce the opening of the newest WSI Master Franchise office in Effretikon, Switzerland. Operated by WSI Digital Marketing Consultant William Jacober, this newest office covers Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, offering digital marketing solutions to this German-speaking region.

Growing the WSI Global Reach
The Switzerland-based Master Franchise office is a wonderful addition to our growing list of offices all over the World including Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Cyprus, Slovakia & Egypt to name a few. Each WSI franchise offers local businesses digital solutions in social, mobile, site and search to help them reach their true potential in the online world, resulting in additional, untapped revenue.

We’re very excited and confident that Jacob will bring online solutions like social media marketing, search marketing expertise and mobile marketing strategies to the present, (and many future) clients in the DACH region. As well, he will be a resource for new WSI Internet Consultants in the area, providing support and training to other franchisees.

The WSI Digital Franchise Opportunity
The WSI Franchise is a great opportunity for those who possess the forward-thinking skills and positive energy of a true entrepreneur. We are currently recruiting those who desire to leverage the digital marketing world and are looking to help local businesses succeed online- all with the training, resources and support of the WSI World global brand.

Are you ready to make a positive change in your life? Visit our site to learn more about the outstanding potential and benefits of the WSI Internet Franchise Opportunity.

Writing a guest blog means getting your name in front of a new audience and even gaining links for SEO. But, where do you start?

Writing a guest blog not only helps your digital marketing plan by bringing in new links, but also gets your name in front of a whole new audience. However, there are a few things to remember before diving head first into the world of online guest blogging.

Before Submitting

• The first tip is to look for bloggers who are discussing a similar topic as you, or who could use your “expertise”.
• It may be obvious, but make sure you read the guest blogger outlines. There are usually rules, and you don’t want to waste your time if it’s not quite for you.
• Before sending a request to a blogger for a guest writing spot, make sure you actually read their blog and that you can indeed contribute something of value.
• Over a few days or weeks, post in their comments and try to touch base with them as a fan. Bloggers are much more liable to give an assignment to someone they know – even virtually.  

Writing Tips

• While writing a guest blog post, always keep in mind you’re writing for them. This means you can put a bit of yourself in the writing, but make sure you keep it in their tone. If the blog is casual, don’t bring out your most educated business-speak.
• Take a look at past posts that have received the most tweets and try to incorporate some of the same elements in your post. What do their fans enjoy? Cater to them.
• Check your spelling. Once again, obvious, but sending a post with bad grammar and spelling may prevent you from actually being posted or getting a call-back next time.

After the Fact

• Make sure to follow up with various social media bookmarking as well as sending the post out on your Twitter and Facebook. The blogger will love that you’re doing the leg work and it may result in future guest posts!
• Finally, go ahead and ask for another guest post. Most bloggers love fresh voices on their blogs, and sometimes it’s up to you to make the next move.

Nervous about adding guest blogging to your social media strategy? Contact a WSI Internet Consultanttoday to help get you on the right digital marketing path.,