Please contact PRMG if you would like more information about sponsoring Medical Society events and marketing to doctors.

by Steve Gerbino, Web Developer, PRMG

How the System Works

Google Analytics is a powerful Knowledge Management System and Geographic Information System. It gives everyone with access to the Internet the capability of understanding how the world views, manipulates, and navigates their website using the latest data mining technologies. Its ideal availability makes it one of the top analytical information systems used by small businesses.

Getting started is extremely simple, and tracking starts immediately. A Google account and access to one’s Web server is needed. The user then navigates to the https://www.google.com/accounts/Login page, enters their account details and follows the steps necessary to create an analytics account. Google will then provide the user with a JavaScript code to apply to each page they would like to track. They may then view the status to make sure everything has been installed correctly.

Once it has been verified that the JavaScript code has been implemented correctly, Google Analytics will begin collecting data on the visitors to the user’s site. Reports are made on a 24-hour basis, so they can be viewed the next day. Once the 24-hour period has passed, the user can now click “View Report” to enter their dashboard, summarizing all of the data collected.

From here, the user can get a complete overview of the information collected on their site – how many visits, how many are unique, how long did the visitors stay on each page, where are they located geographically, what browser and operating system did they use, what version of Flash do they run, do they have JavaScript capabilities, what percentage each page was landed on, and where the traffic originated, among other useful data. You have the option to customize your dashboard, to show you the ratios that you want to see. You can customize your own ratios, graph types, and location of the information on your dashboard.

A menu is located to the left of the user’s dashboard. This is where they can get more specific in each data collection category.

Each menu item provides a more detailed report on each category, including Intelligence, Visitors, Traffic Sources, Content, Goals, and Custom Reports.

The first menu item, Intelligence, is a new feature for Google Analytics. It is an alert system to identify irregular patterns recognizable by Google Analytics. Users can set their own custom alerts and allow Google Analytics to alert them when their system sees an issue. This can be handy when users analyze many websites that they don’t visit daily. They can see a drop in visitors for a day and find out that there is some problem with their site, such as coding, DNS, worms, or other forms of computer crime.

The next menu item, Visitors, is a highly powerful view of individual visitors to the site. Here, users can view how many visits, how many absolute unique visitors, how many page views, average page view per visitor, the time spent on their site, their site’s bounce rate, and percentage of new visits. It also shows the users the connection speed for their visitors. You may ask, what is a bounce rate? A bounce rate is a ratio of people who land on someone’s site and immediately leave. The goal of the user is to lower their bounce rate, which is increasing the time on their site. Up at the top, there will be a linear graph of visitors over time. One can see if the changes they made had a negative or positive effect on the amount of visitors they have had with just a glance.

Visitor also contains several sub-menu items including:

• Benchmarking – compares the user’s site to sites of similar size
• Map Overlay – shows the user geographical locations of visitors
• New vs. Returning – new visitors vs. visitors that return to the user’s site
• Languages – languages spoken
• Visitor Trending
• Visitor Loyalty
• Browser Capabilities – Flash version, JavaScript support
• Network Properties
• User defined

Traffic Sources

Traffic Sources is very useful in determining how someone’s site is doing. This will show the user where their visitors are coming from. Direct Traffic means that the visitors actually type in the user’s address in the browser. This usually indicates a returning and loyal visitor. Referral sites are people who’ve clicked a link for another website and landed on their page. Having many referral sites increases the user’s traffic and ranking dramatically. Here, they can see exactly what websites are bringing them the most traffic. Thirdly, Search Engines will show the users what traffic that search engines are bringing them. Not only do they show users what visitors Google has referred to their site, but they show them what they actually searched for in Google to get to their site. Now the user know what keywords are hot and what’s going to get them more traffic. This page is extremely handy.

Traffic Sources also contains the following sub-menu items:

• Overview
• Direct Traffic
• Referring Sites
• Search Engines
• All Traffic Sources
• AdWords
• AdWord Campaigns
• Keyword Positions
• TV Campaigns
• Keywords
• Campaigns
• Ad Versions

Content

Content can be viewed over time, of course, at the top. Users can get a more detailed understanding on the most viewed content on their site, and a variety of other really useful information regarding what content is visible on their site.

Content sub-menu items include:

• Overview
• Top Content
• Content by Title
• Content Drilldown
• Top Landing Pages
• Top Exit Pages
• Site Overlay

Site Overlay is an interesting item. It will bring up their website with a Google Analytics toolbar at the top and then put an overlay over their site so that it is shown in sectors. Each little slice of the user’s website will have a click-through percentage. This gives them a very powerful visualization of where people are actually clicking on their site. Users can find every link with a white tab showing them the percentage that it was clicked. Where are the hot spots? Where do people never click? This all can be shown with Site Overlay!

Goals

Goals are set by the user. They are pages the user wants their visitors to end up. If the user’s company is selling goods, they may set your goals to the Order Completion page. If the company is looking to get more members on their site, you may set a goal to the Registration Activation page. Another capability of Goals is funneling. A funnel is a path the user specifies from start to finish to achieve a goal. They may specify several funnels to a goal, and once a funnel is specified, they can then analyze where users stop the path or how long each step takes. On their overview, users will have a goal conversion rate – that is, the percentage of the visitors to the user’s site who have completed the goal you have set. This is a very powerful tool and can be used to improve the user’s intentions for their website.

The following are sub-menu items of Goals:

• Overview
• Total Conversions
• Goal Verification
• Reverse Goal Path
• Goal Value
• Goal Abandoned Funnels
• Funnel Visualization

Positive and Negative Points

Cons

There aren’t many cons to begin with. Google Analytics is JavaScript code, and if users are looking for information about how Bots are hitting and viewing their site, Google Analytics cannot do this for them. JavaScript is not enabled in a text-based session of a bot. Also, viewers that do not have JavaScript enabled will not be tracked. This number is extremely low and will probably affect less than 1% of the user site’s population.

• Does not track bots
• Does not track users without JavaScript

Pros

The Pros outweigh the Cons significantly. This software is absolutely free. It costs the Web developer nothing to have this information system working for them within minutes. Why would Google offer such a great service for free? Well, the answer to that is easy. Google realizes the value of data, and with Google Analytics, users have the option to submit anonymous data about their traffic and help Google keep their practices top-notch. Google uses an opt-in approach to this, meaning the user, by default, is going to submit anonymous data to Google. They can easily uncheck the box to stop this.

• Cost-free
• Very powerful
• Easy to use
• Easy to understand
• Totally customizable
• Integration with other systems
• Integration with Google AdSense & AdWords

Recommendations for Implementation

There is nothing else needed to prepare the integration of Google Analytics to a site. A basic knowledge of Web development and access to one’s Web server through their Web hosting service are all that is needed. The user simply places the JavaScript onto their site’s pages and begin analyzing data. Google could not have made it easier. Extensive training is unnecessary. Once the user logs in to their dashboard, everything is right there at their fingertips. For those who have an advanced system and wish to stream data into it, Google provides information on how to do this, as well as a number of companies who have already designed software to take this information and display it in many different ways.

Customer Service

Google provides a huge knowledgebase of FAQs, as well as a help forum. There are many best practice methods available and ways to improve one’s visibility all in Google’s documentation. One can reach customer service by logging in to their Google Analytics account and submitting a post on their forum, or searching their knowledgebase. Seeing as though their software is top-quality, anyone knowledgeable in Information Technology should see installation of this software as trivial. Any detailed questions have been addressed in their FAQ section, and the forum is reserved for more specific issues.

References

http://web-analytics-review.toptenreviews.com/free-web-analytics.html describes Google Analytics as both “comprehensive” and “easy-to-use”.

http://www.blippr.com/apps/337954-Google-Analytics users describe Google Analytics as “amazing,” “All of the tools you need to report from tracking page views to ecommerce,” “The most powerful analytics!!!” and “Google Analytics continues to make progressively better enhancements while the former leader WebTrends remains relatively unchanged.”

http://www.mediacollege.com/internet/statistics/software/google-analytics/ claims that Google Analytics is “The best stats application I have used.” ]]> http://blog.theprmg.com/navigating-google-analytics/feed/ http://blog.theprmg.com/top-ten-pr-and-marketing-tips-for-businesses-and-non-profits/ http://blog.theprmg.com/top-ten-pr-and-marketing-tips-for-businesses-and-non-profits/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:26:51 +0000 jzaher http://blog.theprmg.com/?p=406

The growth of the Internet has made it both tougher and easier to reach your potential clients. While it has increased competition by leveling the playing field, it has also provided a channel for marketing your services on a low-cost budget and reach many more people than was possible earlier.

As these new marketing techniques proliferate, it is no longer enough for corporations or organizations to rely only on referrals or word-of-mouth publicity to earn new business. At The Public Relations and Marketing Group, we recommend that clients tap into a mix of both traditional and new marketing methods to promote themselves and their business.

This article outlines PRMG’s top 10 PR and marketing techniques that will help both businesses and non-profit organizations build their brand, demonstrate their expertise and attract many more clients or a community of supporters.

1. Media Availabilities

Is there an important issue (relating to your area of business) in the news you can comment on? Do you have an opinion on a prominent public policy issue that may affect your business? Making yourself available to speak to the media is an excellent strategy that will not only help you display your leadership and expertise, but also help you build professional credibility. Once you establish yourself as a reliable, useful source, the media will want to write about you. A great way to attract media attention is to ensure that your press release has a strong news angle and targets the right publications and beat reporters. Pitching a local angle in your press release will help to secure coverage in local media outlets.

2. Monthly Columns

Writing monthly columns for your local merchant chamber or trade association’s newsletter or for a mainstream publication will help increase your visibility and establish your reputation in your area of business and can often serve as the backbone of your marketing strategy.

In particular, advice columns can be highly effective in attracting potential clients and may be well worth the time spent in answering queries and giving out advice for free. If getting your article published in mainstream publications is difficult, you can submit them to popular article directories such as ArticleBase and EzineArticles.

3. Seminars/Lectures/Networking Events

Speaking at seminars and offering lectures or workshops will also help you expand your professional network, increase your visibility and build your personal brand. Attending professional or business networking events will help you connect with prospects. Despite the growth of social networking and virtual communication, building relationships through face-to-face networking is one traditional marketing technique that will never go out of style.

4. Traditional Advertising

Among traditional advertising tools, you could also consider advertising in daily newspapers and specialty publications but in general, print advertising has been providing diminishing returns. Through television advertising, especially cable television, you can target niche markets or demographics with special programming. This offers you the advantage of reaching a larger audience at a lower production cost and is increasingly becoming an attractive option for smaller, local businesses. In the long run, nothing beats television advertising in establishing a brand that people will remember.

5. Online Advertising

With an increase in the amount of time people spend surfing the Web, online advertising offers great opportunities for reaching your target audience. Google AdWords, a pay-per-click advertising program, allows you to target your ad based on keywords people type in the Google search engine. You pay Google a certain cost per click whenever people click on your ad and visit your Web site – and not how often your ad is shown. Pay-per-click ads are easy to create and allow you to reach an audience that is looking for information on the services you provide. 
You can also buy pay-per-click ads on Facebook or LinkedIn, targeting your ad based on demographic criteria such as age, gender, education, profession, geographic area and other select keywords (such as your audience’s interests).

6. Web Marketing

Since your Web site is often one of the first impressions people will get of your business or organization, it’s important to plan carefully for your site’s design and content, keeping in mind your target audience and the message you want to communicate. While most organizations and even small businesses now have Web sites, many ignore the importance of using search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that their site is easily found when people look for them online. Using on-page and off-page SEO techniques, you can improve the volume or quality of traffic to your Web site from search engines; the higher a site ranks in search results, the more traffic it usually receives from search engines.

7. Social Media Marketing

Before the growth of social media, most businesses needed to either buy expensive advertising or receive media coverage to attract the attention of their customers. Using social media tools like blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you can easily network and connect directly with potential clients and deliver information about your services. Social media can also be useful for driving people back to your Web site by posting your latest events, company news or even informative articles on issues that may serve as a useful resource for your target audience. Think of social media as a tool for two-way communication with your potential clients and for displaying your professional expertise.

8. Newsletters

Newsletters – whether printed or sent through email in an HTML format – can be useful for delivering relevant information to your target audience and keeping them updated on your organization’s services or recent events. E-newsletters are especially helpful for generating leads through e-mail programs such as Streamsend and Constant Contact. Using these programs, you can identify and track recipients who click on your e-newsletter. To convert these leads into prospects, you can then follow up with them by sending a brochure and making a follow-up phone call about your services.

9. Booklets

Creating a printed booklet or an e-book with informative articles or whitepapers on relevant issues that may be of interest and of use to your target audience is a great way to start engaging with your prospects and create an image of being a leader in your field. E-books can be easily sent in a PDF through e-mail or social media channels or they can be printed and distributed to your current clients and prospects or the media. You can also make them available for download on your Web site through a contact form that your prospects can fill. This will allow you to follow up with them and keep them informed about your services.

10. Direct Mail and D-Cards

Direct mail can be quite effective for localized businesses, especially if you purchase highly targeted mailing lists. If you are targeting a specific demographic profile in a particular geographic area, consider direct mail.

Another recommended option for direct mail is to use detached address cards or D-cards with your advertisement printed at the back. D-cards can be distributed through weekly publications in your local area at a very low cost of less than five cents each. If you want to saturate a zip code, and are not concerned that all residents will receive your mailer, you can use D-cards.

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Whitepaper: Social Media for Non-Profits

Before the rise of social media, most non-profit organizations needed to either buy expensive advertising or receive media coverage to attract the attention of their target audience and spread awareness about their mission. The Web, however, acts as a great equalizer and offers tremendous potential for non-profit organizations to build a community that believes in its mission.

A recent annual survey on Long Island’s non-profit organizations found that only 40% of non-profits are using social media. Social media is one of the fastest growing channels for public relations and marketing today and by not tapping into social media, your non-profit organization may be missing out an opportunity to directly find and connect with those who are truly passionate about your cause.

To find out more about how your organization can leverage social media, click here to fill out a request form for your free whitepaper.

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Below are the various tools PRMG uses to get clients maximum exposure on the Web:

Blogs: Blogs are Web journals that contain opinions on different subjects. Often described as the “front door” to social media, the authors of blogs can read, comment and exchange links on other blogs. Since blogs can be updated more frequently, search engines looking for fresh content will rank it higher and make it more searchable.

Besides this, blogs can be a great way for you to build your organization’s reputation, showcase its expertise, highlight a product or service, and help improve your Search Engine Optimization by drawing audiences back to your website and including backlinks to internal pages in blog entries. They also provide a more personal way of communicating with your customers or other target audiences, giving you an opportunity to obtain constant feedback from them.

Social Networking: Social networking sites operate on the simple premise of building a profile and connecting, interacting and sharing information with “friends” over the network. 

Facebook, which has more than 200 million users worldwide, allows you to build your own business fan page and create your own targeted ads, applications or platforms, which can serve as a great marketing tool. Using Facebook, you can share links, latest company news, start discussions, list events and post videos and pictures.

LinkedIn, another popular site, is particularly known for professional networking, where you can create a profile, and also display recommendations or testimonials from clients or former employers, ask and answer questions on business-related topics and create or join a professional networking group.

Microblogs: Twitter, the most popular microblogging tool, is a free service that allows members to send short messages or updates that are 140 characters or less. The message is sent to people’s “followers” or people who are interested in what the person has to say or share. Twitter can be a useful tool to drive people to your blog, Web site or Facebook profile by posting a URL every time you update them or want to inform people of latest events, promotions, press releases or company news. By posting your Web site URL to your Twitter profile or including your Web site link in a direct message to new followers, you would also be helping to boost traffic to your Web site.

Since it only consists of short updates, Twitter can often be easier to keep up with, as compared with blogging, and still help you connect and network with current or prospective customers. Many organizations use Twitter for customer service and as a quick way to monitor what others are saying about their brand. 

How PRMG Can Help You Tap Into Social Media

The vast array of social media tools available can often be confusing. To help you cut through the social media clutter, we begin by first identifying your business and communication goals. Based on your target audience, we devise a marketing and communication strategy, and select social media tools that can help you best achieve your goals and reach your target audience most effectively. 

Whether you need help with starting a blog, setting up a Facebook page or a Twitter profile, PRMG will always adopt an integrated approach to social media and ensure that it complements your traditional public relations and marketing efforts.

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Wikipedia defines Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a Web site from search engines through search results. Usually, the higher a site ranks in search results, the more traffic it receives from search engines.

 In simple words, SEO is mostly based on three steps:

• Identifying a profitable key phrase
• Creating content around the key phrase
• Building backlinks around the key phrase and other relevant content

Backlinks are clickable words, phrases or images that take a user from one Web page to another. While quality and not just quantity of the links is important, more and more backlinks to your site can help improve your search engine rankings.

Traditionally, SEO has only been associated with marketing and Web development, with a focus on Web site usability and architecture. While optimizing Web copy, graphics and multimedia files for search engines is important, most organizations ignore the importance of public relations in driving SEO results.

Here are a few PR tips and techniques that can be used to achieve better SEO results:

News Releases
With most journalists increasingly looking online for information, e-mail pitches alone are not very effective. By posting the latest news releases about your company on online news distribution services and your Web site, you can ensure that journalists can easily access newsworthy information about your company.

Besides journalists, most consumers and other target audiences use the Web as their primary source of information. This has changed the traditional public relations practice of distributing press releases exclusively to the media. Press releases can now serve as a great tool to directly reach your target audience with the latest news and information about your company or organization, and direct them to your product or service.

PRMG uses free online press release services like PRlog.org to ensure that your latest announcement reaches not just the media, but also your target audience when they look for you or a relevant phrase associated with you online. PRLog distributes press releases to search engines, including Google News. So when someone searches for your company or organization, the latest information about you can be easily found within the first three search result pages.

Using tools like Wordtracker, we can identify keywords and phrases that can be included in the headline and copy of the news release. However, it is important to strike a balance between including keywords and content relevant to your audience. If keywords are overused, search engines will reject your press release. By including links to your Web site in the body of the press release, we create additional backlinks that help optimize your site better and contribute to improving its rankings.

Submitting Articles
Submitting bylined articles to relevant online publications and Web sites can be a great way to not just strengthen your online presence and SEO, but also help to display your organization’s expertise and thought leadership, when someone searches for you online.

Again, the quality of links is important; getting placed in a top-tier publication will boost your search engine optimization much more. Creating profiles for your organization and listing your Web site URL on article directory sites such as Ezine Articles, Article Base and Scribd.com, will help optimize your site and establish your credibility as an expert in your field.

While submitting the article, be sure to include information about yourself and your business (including a hyperlink to your Web site in the ‘author’s resource box.’ This will help drive traffic to your Web site and expand your presence online.

Articles should also contain relevant keywords in the body of the article with hyperlinks that go back to your site. For example, an article on refinancing can include a hyperlink to the keyword ‘refinancing’ which takes the reader back to a page on the company’s Web site that talks about their refinancing services. It is important not to include too many keywords and to include links relevant to the keyword, or the article directories may reject your article, depending on their editorial submission guidelines. When people go to these sites looking for content, they will find your article. If they find your content useful and engaging, they will be more likely to follow through and visit your Web site.

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PRMG's Facebook Page

Every business today needs to take its message where its customers are. Facebook, one of the largest social media networks with over 350 million active users, has grown beyond its role in personal networking and emerged as a powerful marketing tool for businesses. Facebook “fan” pages are now an essential branding tool for all organizations, helping businesses or non-profit organizations of all sizes interact and engage directly with customers or the community in a way that’s least interruptive.

Facebook pages enable you to create your own unique presence where customers can interact with you and keep in touch with your brand, product or service. By becoming a “fan” of your page, customers can access the latest updates on your “wall,” read your latest blog entry or event, and view videos or photos you may post on your profile. They can also participate in discussions and post comments or give feedback on information you may post.

When someone becomes a fan of your page, posts a comment or interacts with your page, their activity is visible to their friends through the “News Feed.” The social nature of Facebook gives your page greater exposure, allowing you to attract more fans and draw attention to your company or organization.

Besides these benefits, Facebook pages usually rank high in search engines, helping potential customers find you easily and own more “real estate” in the first few search pages. By sharing links with company-related news or other information on your Web site, you can drive more clicks and better optimize your site for improved search engine results.

How To Get Started

The first step is to set up your profile. If you already have a personal profile, just log in to your account and click on the applications tab on the bottom left. Select “Ads and Pages” and click on “Create a Page.”

Select an appropriate business category for your page and enter your company information. List your Web site’s URL and links to your blog or Twitter profile, along with other contact information. While creating a profile, think about how you want to project your company to your fans and what keywords you want to include in your profile and business description. Once you set up your page, click on “Publish your page” to make it public.

You can then invite your “friends” on your personal profile to become fans of your business page. If you don’t have a personal profile, it is recommended that you set one up first before creating a business page. Having a personal Facebook profile will make it easier to promote your Facebook page among your existing network.

What Should You Post On Your Facebook Page?
Keeping your profile active is important if you want to retain your existing fans and attract new ones. You can post regular updates on new projects your company may be working on, links to the latest company news, press releases or your latest blog post. You can also post events and pictures and start discussions with your fans, inviting their ideas or soliciting their feedback.

Using applications such as Facebook polls, you can gauge what your customers think about a particular product or new service you want to introduce.

How To Attract Fans To Your Facebook Page
To attract fans to your Facebook page, the first step should be to become a fan of your own page. This will ensure that your Facebook friends learn about your page through the News Feed. You can then also invite your own Facebook friends to become fans of the page by using the “Suggest to Friends” feature that shows up below your profile picture on the top left.

To publicize your Facebook page, add links to it on your Web site, e-newsletter and blog. You can even add a clickable Facebook badge or icon to your e-mail signature that points to your Facebook page. If you wish to try paid options, you can use Facebook ads to publicize your fan page to a select target audience based on demographic or geographic criteria or other criteria, such as profession or interests.

Visit PRMG’s Facebook page and become a fan to stay connected with us.

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PRMG's LinkedIn profile

Whether you are the CEO of a large organization or the owner of a small business start-up, you are certainly well aware of the benefits of professional networking or “knowing the right people.” Not only can it help you win new business, it can also help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in your industry and build partnerships for exchanging knowledge and resources more effectively.  

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PRMG's Twitter Profile

Over the past year, Twitter has emerged as one of the most popular social media tools to be used by individuals and companies, evolving as an important tool in brand marketing. Cable service provider Comcast uses Twitter to engage directly with its customers and solve customer complaints in real time. Besides direct brand engagement and customer service, companies like Dell have directly generated over $3 million in sales through Twitter, offering exclusive discounts and deals to their “followers.”

Yet, it’s not just the big corporates that can successfully tap into Twitter; small businesses can also utilize this tool to build their brand, increase sales and engage better with their customers. Twitter.com offers this example: When an employee working in the Empire State Building tweeted that he was craving Tasty D-Lite ice cream, Tasty D-Lite offered to deliver it right to his office. Houston-based café Coffee Groundz allows customers to order their beverages and food through Twitter – which the café says has helped it double its customer base and discover a completely new way to engage and build a community of loyal customers.

As a local business, how can you tap into Twitter’s potential and achieve the same results? Read on to learn about our tips for understanding Twitter and making the most of your Twitter profile.

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free “microblogging” service that allows members to send short messages or updates (called “tweets”) that are 140 characters or less. The message, which can be sent or viewed from your computer or mobile device, is sent to a person’s “followers” or those who are interested in what you may have to say or share. The quick, short updates and the ability to send or receive them anywhere, make Twitter a useful tool for communicating in real time.

How can you use Twitter for your business?
Many organizations use Twitter for customer service and as a quick way to monitor what others are saying about their brand. Besides this, Twitter can be used to stay connected with customers by sharing the latest company news or other information about your products and services and drive traffic to your Web site or blog. It can also be used to obtain real-time feedback or ideas from customers. Since it only consists of short updates, Twitter can often be easier to keep up with, as compared with blogging, and still help you stay connected with current or prospective customers.

Getting started with Twitter
The first step should be to create a Twitter account; signing up for one is quite quick and easy. For more information on how to get started with Twitter, read the Twitter Help Guide. If you are setting up a Twitter account for your business, enter the name of your business or brand in the profile information section with a short description and a link to your Web site.

Select a username also known as a “Twitter handle,” which is displayed as a ‘@’ sign followed by your username (For example @ThePRMG.) Usernames are limited to 15 characters, so you may need to abbreviate your company name. Upload a small profile picture, which could be your logo or your own picture (if you want to add a more personal touch to your business profile.)

Next, search for those in your industry or community by entering search keywords in the search box or the “Find People” tab and start following them and their tweets. You can also invite those in your e-mail contact list to connect with you over Twitter. A final word of advice: Don’t post too many updates over Twitter and if you are using Twitter for business, have something relevant to say.

Cracking the Twitter Code – Your Guide To Twitter Lingo

•Tweets = Messages/Updates over Twitter
•Twitter Handle = Your unique identity on Twitter - @ followed by your user-name
•Following = When you “follow” someone over Twitter, you add them to your list of followers (think of them as friends you add on Facebook.) Once you follow someone, their tweets appear on your home page.
•Retweet = You can repost or “retweet” any interesting update posted by those you follow that you want to share with others. This can be done by adding the letters RT before the message and giving proper credit to the original author.
•DM = Direct messages sent by one Twitter user directly to another that can only be seen by the recipient (think of it as messages sent to your inbox over Facebook.) DMs also cannot exceed more than 140 characters and you can only DM people who follow you.
•Hashtag = # symbol followed by a specific keyword. This helps you find other users who have used the same word in their tweets, helping you categorize tweets and see what others may be saying about a particular subject.

PRMG is on Twitter! Find us and connect with us here.

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The FTC, an independent agency of the U.S. government that enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection laws by eliminating unfair or deceptive practices, has changed these guidelines for the first time since 1980.

The new guidelines will become effective on December 1 and though they are not laws, they help businesses or organizations avoid being investigated by the commission for deceptive advertising. The guidelines are also unique for being the first to address bloggers and other social media.

Read on to learn about the key features of the new guidelines every business should be aware of:

Disclosure Requirements For Bloggers and Other Endorsers

•Advertisers are now liable for failing to disclose a material connection between themselves and those who endorse them. This includes bloggers who are paid to promote or review a product.

•The FTC does not intend to investigate individual bloggers or tweeters who accept cash or gifts in exchange for a positive review or for promoting the company, but it will enforce the guidelines on advertisers or sponsor companies, who are liable for claims made by bloggers paid to endorse them.

•Bloggers who write reviews about products they have purchased will not be considered as endorsers. The guidelines also do not apply to customers who receive a coupon for a free product and who decide to review the product on their personal blog.

• The disclosure requirement does not apply to celebrities who appear in ads. But if celebrities talk about the products they have endorsed in an ad on other media such as talk shows or blogs, they must disclose material connections.

Claims or Testimonials

•Any claims made in advertisements will now require substantiation and must clearly express the typical results consumers can expect. It is no longer enough to use best-case scenario testimonial claims accompanied by a disclaimer that says “results may vary.”

•The disclaimers should be noticeable so that an average consumer who is reading or watching the ad can read the disclaimer.

•According to the guidelines, the advertiser could limit the scope of the disclosure by narrowing the scope of the circumstances shown in the advertisement. For example, if all the testimonials in the advertisement are clearly identified as people who have been members of a weight loss clinic for at least a year, the disclosure can be based on the performance of that group.

•The disclosure must include facts that may affect the credibility of an endorsement or testimonial such as research being funded by the company, and whether those providing testimonials received or were expecting to receive any compensation.

•Experts such as doctors who offer testimonials in advertisements should have expertise relevant to the product.

•Since the guidelines do not exclude professional services firms, many experts advise that law firms and other professional services firms that participate in social media should have guidelines in place, particularly if they make references to their clients or promote them on their blogs or other sites.

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