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2011 on the web and things to watch in 2012 Sent Tuesday, January 3, 2012
making the web work for small businesses

December 2011 News - Issue 28

Richard Martin

How 2011 will shape 2012 on the web.

You only need to see the company results for Google, Amazon, Facebook, eBay, Walmart to understand that the word "recession" is relative. When we review 2012 in a year's time, we will see the watershed 2011 will turn out to have been on the web for many of the reasons I list in the linked article.
 
I list what I believe to have been the key determinants of the digital market in 2011 and those that will shape 2012. This is based on my experience in clients vast and tiny; on my participation and increasing recognition in key marketing forums including Mari Smith's "Inner Circle" - and she has just been voted #3 most influential woman on Social Media in the world. I also read - lots.
 
I believe Briquesetclics's rise to within the top 750,000 websites in the world in 2011 (and still rising) is reflective of  what I have learned and contribute - with both my clients' and my network's (your) help.
 
For that I thank you all, and wish you the very best in 2012.
 

What is the relationship between Websites and Social Media?

2011 has been a year full of client requests for website work and social media strategy.  But as much as having an effective web presence is far more than just "having a website", an effective social media strategy is far more than just "being on Facebook (Twitter, LinkedIn etc)". 
 
A good spade does not an effective digger make! I have warned clients and even PR companies that "a successful Facebook Strategy" is not a given.  There's more you need to do to survive in the swamp.
 
 

Client developments this month
More energy!
I mentioned last time that Green Energy's websites are now attracting more than 5,000 visits a month.  The chaps report turnover this year is x9 last year's and thank in large part the work of the websites - as well as the huge oil and gas price rises this year!  Green Energy remains a very exciting proposition to watch in 2012!
Briquesetclics in top 750,000 websites in the world.
I am delighted that my own site "Briquesetclics" not only made it into the top 1 million websites in the world by end of November but is now in the top 750,000. 
 
This surge was due to some specific activities I started performing with the site that I am now replicating on a couple of other sites - with the same effect. A little "lesson learned" from recent Google changes.
Health food supplier
I performed a digital marketing review for a Health-Food supplier in the UK. Hopefully this will lead to follow-on work in the new year.

Up and coming...

What is Facebook "Edgerank" and why is it important?

"Edgerank" is Facebook's equivalent of Google's "PageRank" (which determined how sites are represented in search results).  "Edgerank" is a grading of a person (and consequently their posts) according to a number of different factors.  Why is it important?  Because as peoples' networks grow, it is impossible both to show - and show in order - all the updates one receives from everyone's friends.  Consequently, in fact, Facebook therefore only displays the "Edgiest" posts from the Edgiest people in newsfeeds. (Did you know that?)  Like Google's PageRank, it is not only to keep the quality of peoples' Newsfeeds high (so the overall quality and quantity of interactions increases) but it maximises Facebook's ad relevance and exposure which benefits them commercially.
 
I will write a proper article on this at some point - but in brief, the factors affecting "Edgerank" are:
 
- The "Affinity" developed between a post's recipient and its creator over time. i.e. numbers of "Likes" and other interactions between the two people. (It is no good - as happened to me recently - someone telling me "I liked your post" - without actually pushing the "Like" button! Every vote now counts.)
 
- The "weight" given to a particular interaction - for example a comment carries more weight than a "Like".
 
- The age of the activity - the older an interaction, the less "Edge" it has. People who can maintain threads over a long period of time, develop more "Edge".
 Did you know?
 
 
iTunes apps for Fitness, Health and Medical have now exceeded 6,000!
 
There were 201 billion online video views in October. YouTube is the 3rd most popular site in the world. Can any business aford NOT to have a presence there?

There were 282 million unique visitors to Amazon in November (i.e. doesn't count the number who visited more than once).
 
1 in every 8 hours spent online is spent on Facebook. 

Marketing tools I use

here are the shortcuts to tools I only came upon by months of trial and expensive error.

Socialoomph
For Social message management

 aWeber
For eMail newsletters		 Internet Business Promoter (IBP)
For SEO		 SEMRush
For market demand analysis
Adobe Creative Suite 5
Web Design Suite		 SpeedPPC
(Bulk) PCC campaign manager		 Likno
Java-based menus & tooltips		 Royalty-Free Photos
A great site when you're stuck for a photo.
Tabsite
Facebook Page creator		      

 
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