Content 911

What are SOPA and PIPA?

So are you hearing a lot about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) today?

Flair's hosting partner, Siteground (which is against these pieces of legislation), has a great video that explains why they're opposed to this controversial legislation:

http://blog.siteground.com/stop-censorship/

As a content manager and author, I have mixed feelings about SOPA, which is the U.S. House bill, and PIPA, which is the U.S. Senate bill. Both of these bills are mainly aimed at overseas companies, but U.S.-based companies and individuals would also feel the impact.

If I have to choose one side, I oppose these pieces of legislation due to the proposed ability to shut down or block sites and domains (by actually accessing domain registry records), the proposed ability for the government to force advertisers and others to cut off funding to companies in question, and some other penalties and proposed solutions.

HOWEVER, as an author and content manager, I am also VERY FIRMLY opposed to unauthorized piracy of any kind of content (articles, music, videos or any other content) without the explicit written content from the copyright holder. Still, I think sending an individual user who has sung one of their favorite artists' songs in a FB post or YouTube video to jail for five years is a little ridiculous.

PCWorld also has a more objective article about this:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/248298/sopa_and_pipa_just_the_facts.html

Seems like we could have avoided all of this if the government noticed the rampant unauthorized use of content about 10 years ago. There has to be another way...

I don't think that these bills will pass in their current state, but I also don't think that this debate is over (nor should it be). Unfortunately, I suspect that artists (the people whose creative genius inspired them to create such works of art) will end up being the ones who suffer either way--not music companies, corporations, newspapers, magazines, hosting providers, search engines and directories, or Internet companies.

What do you think of SOPA and PIPA? Let us know!

Lisa Kirschner
Managing Editor, Content 911
Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.

Mobile: The New Face of Marketing

According to Morgan Stanley, mobile marketing is the fastest growing industry in the history of the Internet.

It’s really no surprise. Today, consumers are becoming more dependent on, and active with, their mobile phones. In fact, 96% of adults own cell phones--37% of which are smart phones. With statistics like that, it’s only natural that businesses key in on the mobile marketing revolution that’s sweeping the Internet. Don't assume that because you have a B2B business, you shouldn't tap into this lucrative market. Remember, businesses are run by PEOPLE--people who use mobile devices for personal AND business tasks.

Mobile marketing--by definition--is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network. (Mobile Marketing Association)

In other words, mobile marketing brings your products or services to your customers or clients in a much faster way than traditional marketing methods. Even simpler yet: mobile marketing is any form of marketing that involves using a mobile phone or device to participate. It may take on the form of a text message promotion, email, social media campaign or even face-to-face interactions--all with one goal in mind: engaging the customer to take some type of action.

How are you using mobile marketing in your business today? Or if you're not using it yet, what's stopping you?

Lisa Kirschner
Managing Editor, Content 911 Blog
Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.

Interesting Video about Google Panda

As 2011 comes to a close, we at Flair are getting slammed with frantic calls from potential clients who want to know why they've seen a decrease in traffic to their site during the last few months. While Google's Panda update (a change to their algorithm earlier this year) may not be the cause of all traffic changes, it's certainly had a huge impact on many sites and businesses this year.

SEOMoz has released a great video entitled "How Google's Panda Update Changed SEO Best Practices Forever." Anyone who's grappling to understand Panda and what it might mean should take a few minutes to watch this video.

Contact us at Flair Interactive if you need help understanding how your site ranks, why you have those rankings, how Panda has impacted you and what you can do about it.

We also frequently work with new startups who don't have any previous rankings and want to increase traffic to their sites as quickly as possible. (However, keep in mind that it's best to look at SEO as a longer-term effort than a quick band aid.)

We look forward to helping you with your SEO and online marketing needs in 2012.

Lisa Kirschner
Founder and Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.
Managing Editor, Content 911 Blog

EXCERPT: Customizing SharePoint: Start with the Solution or the Business Problem?

Before you begin adding customization tools to SharePoint to create a solution for your business, you must understand your company’s business problem. In this article, I cover a few important areas you need to address before you look at technology...

via www.cmswire.com

Hear, hear! I couldn't have said it better myself!

In this CMS Wire article, author Jennifer Mason is really just providing a gentle reminder that "You have to know where you're going in order to figure out how you're going to get there" or "Don't put the cart before the horse."

This is a problem that I see businesses struggling with all the time. I've had dozens and dozens of conversations with clients who really want to select a technology language or tool before they've really determined what they're trying to do.

Study this article carefully if you're planning to customize SharePoint or any CMS. You'll save yourself lots of time and frustration, and your end result will be better because you've taken the time to think through your business goals carefully.

Lisa Kirschner
Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.
Managing Editor, Content 911 Blog

Email Marketing Comparison Chart from Top Ten Reviews

Looking for a new email marketing program for your startup or SMB?

There are dozens on the market that are geared toward small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). If you don't have time to sift thorugh all of their web sites and compare features, use this handy comparison chart and awesome video reviews by Top Ten Reviews:

Top Ten Reviews - Top 15 Email Marketing Vendors for SMBs

This site will save you a lot of time and help you narrow down your short list. We at Flair have worked with a number of these vendors over the years, including Constant Contact, Vertical Response, iContact and others--so let us know if you need help with your email marketing efforts.

Happy reading!

Lisa Kirschner
Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.
Managing Editor, Content 911 Blog

Getting Past Writer's Block

Most of my clients tell me at the beginning of a project that they'll write all of the content for their web sites, landing pages, blogs, newsletters and other online marketing efforts themselves. I always take this piece of info with a grain of salt, because it usually never happens. Deadlines come and go, clients promise that the content is "almost done," but it never comes to fruition. Nine times out of ten, they eventually hand off all of the content development to us here at Flair.

Have you ever wondered why even seasoned marketing professionals and writers struggle with writer's block? Why is that a task that seems like it should be much easier than more technical tasks always falls by the wayside and takes a long time to get done?

In my experience, it can happen for a few reasons. First, most people tend to underestimate or OVERestimate the amount of time needed for content development. They might set aside too little time in the beginning, start getting into it and realize that it's a much bigger job than they had anticipated...or they might keep putting it off because it's turned into a gargantuan effort in their mind. In either scenario, better project planning, time management and a "just do it" attitude can help.

But what about when it runs a little more deeply than that? What if you're feeling unmotivated due to the nature of the content that you're writing? If you're employed as a writer at a large company and you need to feed your family, you might just need to suck it up and do it anyway (sorry--but you're a pro, right?).

However, if you're self-employed or a change agent at your place of employment, you should be taking this opportunity to ask, "Why are we producing these massive amounts of uninspired and uninspriing content? How on earth do we expect to sell our products and services if there's no passion in what we're communicating to our audience?"

There are numerous books and articles out there about bringing life back into your online content by focusing on engaging your audience and telling a story. I recommend Ann Handley's Content Rules in particular.

Karl Staib also provides some practical tips in "6 Ways to Supercharge Your Writing" on his popular Copyblogger blog. Check it out...and then step back to evalutate how you can reenergize your writing time and your content.

Lisa Kirschner
Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.
Managing Editor, Content 911

Typical Projects Handled by Flair Interactive

Flair Interactive is a web agency specializing in content management, but we often receive questions about exactly what we do for our clients.

Watch this brief video to find out about the typical projects that Flair handles:

Contact us via email or phone at 888-932-0004 to learn how we can help with your web projects today.

Lisa Kirschner

Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.

Managing Editor, Content 911 Blog

Easy Email Marketing with AWeber

If you own or manage a small business and you need an email marketing tool, check out AWeber. It's inexpensive and easy to use, as described by the folks in this video from AWeber's YouTube channel:

This is just one of MANY email tools out there, so you definitely need to do your homework and think about the features that it offers versus what you need. It's not right for everyone, and marketers with more complex requirements most likely will need to look elsewhere. If you're looking for a simple tool that's easy to use and doesn't cost a lot, this may be a good fit.

Flair can help you analyze AWeber, Constant Contact, Vertical Response, EmailLabs or many other email marketing tools. Call us at 888-932-0004 for a quote.

Lisa Kirschner

Managing Editor, Content 911

Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.

Google's Take on Marketers as Publishers

Fantastic video from my former colleague Jim Lecinski, who is now the Managing Director of U.S. Sales at Google, about the tremendous shift that has occurred in marketing during the last few years:

via www.youtube.com

NOTE: I think he meant to say "shocking or interrupting USERS", not marketers. Also, check out the woman in the conference room behind him...bet she didn't realize that she was going to be part of this video!

Remember--you are now a publisher and you need to market to your prospects and customers as such! What value is your content providing to them?

Until next time...

Lisa Kirschner

Managing Editor, Content 911

Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.

How to Install a Joomla 1.5 Template

Want to know how to install a template for your Joomla 1.5 web site? In this video, I'll show you how to do it in 10 minutes or less.

 

Contact Flair Interactive today to find out how we can help you set up a web site in Joomla 1.5, Joomla 1.6, Wordpress, Drupal or another content management system.

Lisa Kirschner
Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.
Managing Editor, Content 911 Blog