Month: March 2010

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What is Follow Friday or FF on Twitter?

If you have just started to use Twitter sometimes you will see a tweet that looks like this:

#FF @mccordweb, @czworldwide, @bedbugexpert

What exactly is this and why is it done? The above line on Twitter would be calling other users attention to Twitter profiles that you think are noteworthy. The #FF means the tweet has been tagged as a Follow Friday tweet and appears in Twitter searches under Follow Friday search index.

Follow Friday has been something that has been around since Twitter started. It means, if your name appears in someone’s list, that they like your tweets and think you have something to say of value. Sometimes you will see people do a tweet like this on other days but typically in “Twitter Culture” these kind of posts are done on Fridays.

It is a fine complement to be included in another Twitter users Follow Friday list. When I get mentioned I always send a direct message back to the person who has recommended me with a thank you. Not only is it a complement, but you can pick up new followers from the network of the person who mentioned you as many users will click in to check out who was recommended and consider following them as well. Personally I do this as well as a way to find out who the people I really watch like and follow themselves.

So this Friday, why don’t you list a few tweeters you like and use the #FF syntax. If you want to mention me, my Twitter ID is mccordweb. I would be most grateful if you would. See you on Twitter!

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No One Likes to Hear No, But We Aren’t a Good Match for Everyone

That’s right we do actually turn prospects away. We are simply not a good match for every prospect’s needs. What we do do, we do great. That being said in a nutshell, we have a passion for small to medium sized business owners who typically have a brick and mortar operation. We are typically also working with the business owner directly and not a corporate chain of command.

It bear repeating, but we do not work or provide any of our services for these business sectors:

Adult Content

Any site that has adult themes such as dating sites, soft core pornography, images of partially clothed women that are used to sell your products, lingerie, any sexual aids or products, we just do not provide services for regardless of whether it is blogging or even Google AdWords.

Stock Brokers, Day Traders, Forex Traders and Their Management Software

In this case we have simply found that the nature of your business is so complicated that the time it takes us to learn and be effective for you is just not cost effective for us. In many cases you are additionally governed by regulations making even blog writing a difficult operation.

E-Books and Products Sold by Squeeze Pages in Multi-Level Marketing Programs

We typically do not supply services for products that are e-books or online how to guides. Although you can still be successful with these approaches, we simply do not have a passion for working with products that are typically sold using these vehicles. This would cover e-books on how to make money in real estate, sell or trade stocks or use the forex, or how to sell multi-level marketing products.

No one likes to hear no, but it is by far better for you to find a supplier that has a true passion for what you do and what you sell. We can help many businesses, but just not all.

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March e-Newsletter is Posted

In this month’s issue we have two great articles on Google Maps you will want to check out.

The Secret to Getting Google Maps Placement

I am starting to see a few trends in Google Maps that can be leveraged for placement and wanted to share them with you. It is important to note that I am not seeing this specific trend appear across all market sectors for all of the searches that I have done, but have seen them in many cases. I consider the information noteworthy.

First, it is important to note that not all businesses will really consider a great position in Google Maps valuable. However, if you sell services and products in a location specific area, Google Maps placement can be crucial to your business’ success. Some types of businesses that will generally want or need excellent Google Maps placement are restaurants, dentists, pest control firms, lawyers, plumbers, roofers, and local brick and mortar stores. Read more…

Getting Service Reviews for Google Maps

If Google Maps placement is valuable to your business it is time to get busy soliciting customer reviews. Google appears to be pulling reviews from these sites and several others: FlipKey.com (for real estate services), CitySearch.com (for restaurants and services), Maps.Google.com, Insiderpages.com (for restaurants and services), Judysbook.com, Tripadvisor.com, Superpages.com, Menuism.com (for restaurants), and others.

Google used to show reviews from Yelp.com, but after their deal to buy Yelp.com fell through Google does not appear to be showing reviews from Yelp. In fact, Yelp didn’t come up in a single review I saw as I did my research.

Reviews that you capture yourself by email or direct solicitation and post on your website are not considered by Google. The reviews must be on a third party website or on your Google Maps page itself. Read more…