The Connection Maven Writes has moved

Finally, we've united our Charleston PR website and The Connection Maven writes. It was a long time coming, but now it's here.

Please follow this link to the NEW Connection Maven Writes

**image courtesy of meddygarnet on flickr creative commons

Happy Thanksgiving!

A great send up from Muscle Milk via Creativity on-line. Hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Changing content does drive better positioning in search engines

Today I came across this article on how and why changing content on a website can help benefit you in search engine positioning. The chart above is from the article and demonstrates how dramatic a result one can have with fresh content.

The evidence of how important it is to keep new, fresh content on your site is clear. Google tells us that they prefer fresh information over stale sites and now we have the proof. What constitutes fresh information may be confusing to you, but it can be new blog posts, news releases, or announcements to suggest a few.

So, like bread, websites can go stale in very short order. Keep yours updated and fresh for better marketing results.

**Bread photo from flickr creative commons by How can I recycle this

Bloggers influence grows, tops social media

Bloggers are influential. A study reports that 50% of those who report reading blogs, trust them for their evaluations of products. And of those using blogs to evaluate products, 52% of respondents said that blogs tipped their decision on which product to purchase at the time of their purchase.

Given their growth as influencers, the FTC has outlined new rules to help consumers understand the relationships between bloggers and the products that they review. Bloggers who review products that have been provided to them gratis or who have been compensated must inform consumers of their relationship to the product manufacturers or providers.f

While the number of adults who read blogs has grown by 300% in the past four years, blogs are not quite mainstream yet in terms total audience. There are generational differences in who reads and writes. Younger readers are disproportionately those who visit and write blog posts. Older internet surfers constitute almost half the 35-44 year old group.

So, if your company has a mix of media to deliver information about your services and products, you need to be sure to include blogging in the mix, especially if your audience is 45 and under.

Social Media as Information Search Tool

The power of social media is apparent. With the large amount of individual opinions now available through the Internet, those who are oriented to social media turn to it as the source of information.

While portals such as Yahoo! and search engines like Google are each used by more than 1/3 (each) of those searching online, almost 20% of those seeking information now turn to social media for it as reported by Nielsen Wire. Why? "The short answer: Socializers trust what their friends have to say and social media acts as an information filtration tool."

So as the Internet just gets bigger and bigger and more

resources are spent to "drive" people to content, what we find is that people turn to people: A basic trait of human nature; we trust our friends and family before we trust advertisements and outsiders. So, the "web" nature of associations in social media are playing a more profound part in creating trust among users.

"Nielsen’s Global Online Consumer Survey, shows that 70 percent of people trust opinions posted online – the second highest-rated source of information after that given by family and friends."

Read the Nielsen Wire post.

More mainline media outlets die

With the announcement of Gourmet's death, this week and House and Garden a few years ago, we realize that specialty consumer directed media publications are not immune from the shift to digital.

Tina Brown former Vanity Fair editor (among many other achievements) and who is described as a "print media maven" is interviewed about her year at the helm of The Daily Beast. Her informed take on where we are headed in this interview has collided this morning with a report on "The Sixth Sense" device noted by Jason Bradford which I saw earlier this year (on Brink).

Our voracious nature, coupled with real time news reporting and response has completely altered the media landscape. We are in the future.

Brown is spot on in her assessment. She shares her view that news reporting and gathering has shifted and depends on the "meritocracy of the Web, we are always sharing links to and from other news sites" and her note that "hyper-local" news gathering outlets (such at Charleston's TheDigitel.com) will report and share local news links and reports is spot on. TheDititel's community news posting also puts news reporting to a gathering outlet in the hands of we, the people.

Photograph courtesy of thebittenword.com Creative Commons.

Register for Professional Development Workshop

Developing A Personal Brand

ABWA Workshop

6:00 p.m., Monday, October 12, 2009

To register and pay for the workshop

Workshop Cost

Members $22.00 Guests $27.00

Professional Development Seminar on personal branding offered by the American Business Women’s Association

Sept. 19th, 2009 -- Summerville, South Carolina – The Summerville chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) invites the public to a seminar on personal branding on October 12, 2009 at the Westcott Plantation Clubhouse at 5000 Wescott Club Drive in Summerville, SC, 29485.

The seminar, to be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., will be presented by ABWA members Shauna Heathman of Mackenzie Image Consulting and Cheryl Smithem of Strategic Marketing & Charleston PR, experts on personal image, strategic marketing and public relations. They will be discussing the significance of building an effective and appealing personal brand to help you reach your professional career goals.

The seminar is the first installment of the quarterly professional development series put on by the ABWA Summerville chapter. Each quarterly workshop will feature programs designed to educate women with regard to relevant business practices, provide networking opportunities and offer the tools and skill sets to start and/or grow a company.

Workshop admission which includes dinner and iced tea or water is $20 ($22 when paying by credit card) for ABWA members and $25 ($27 when paying by credit card) for non-members. The deadline for RSVP is Saturday, October 3rd. To reserve your spot, RSVP to ABWA President, Kathy Berman at 843-795-9751 or kathy.berman@psgltd.org. Send checks or cash to PO Box 32338, Charleston, SC 29417 care of ABWA – Kathy Berman.

American Business Women’s Association, Summerville Chapter:

The Jessamine Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association’s Mission is: “To bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and to provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support and national recognition.”

Mackenzie Image Consulting:

Would you like to improve the way you're perceived?

People often think that creating a compelling image requires a great deal of time and money, but that isn't so. We focus on bringing your personality to the fore in a way that feels comfortable and contributes to your success personally and professionally... and we can help you boost your bottom line not only by enhancing your success but by showing you how to utilize your wardrobe most effectively now and best invest your clothing budget later.

We can help guide impressions in ways that go beyond clothing, too. From nonverbal communication to executive-level skills like business etiquette and knowing how to speak to the media, we can help you mold the first impressions others form when they encounter you. Whether you’d like to enhance your image for personal reasons or find greater success in your career utilizing the services of an image consultant can help you achieve your goals. http://www.mackenzieimage.com/

Strategic Marketing & Charleston PR:

Strategic Marketing & Public Relations develops communications that motivate and connect.

Creating compelling, highly successful messaging that engages consumers and translates into greater revenue is what we do.

Our varied experience includes brand research, development and management, strategic planning, media relations, public relations, development and implementation of marketing and communications strategies and plans. http://www.CharlestonPR.com