I spend much of my time analyzing. I analyze my kitchen pantry, my children, friends, politics, and whatever else pops into my head. I try to figure out why people say and do what they say and do, and I generally befriend people in order to peer into their minds and gain some understanding of the world around me. I just like to see what people are made of… and social media has become an interesting tool in my brain quest. It gives me a brief glimpse into the words/text of a person, what they say, and sometimes, what they don’t say. I watch people struggle with life, agonize over politics and recommend a fantastic new brand of coffee, all within 10 seconds.

Social media also gives me the chance to wear up to 20 different hats, each day. I get to act in the best interests of different companies, businesses and organizations, each with a particular brand and voice, making me an expert in a multitude of subjects (which, I love!) as well as the jokester, hipster, advocate, coach or ooooh’er and ahhhh’er of fabulous shoes you may actually talk to on Twitter or Facebook.

In my neck of the woods, Loudoun County, Virginia, the social media world is exploding, and that has been an interesting study in itself. From the bloggers to social media strategists (cough, cough, @Brambleton), the web of Loudoun continues to grow with the force of a thousand Starbucks. That’s a compliment, I promise.

That’s all I’ve got! Be crazy out there, and join in the fun. Just remember (hint, hint), the best ways to tip your social media guide is to comment, like and follow them.

MojoWriting on Facebook

MojoWriting on Twitter

MojoWriting on Neptune (kidding!)

Well, okay, maybe that is true, to an extent. Most people are able communicate through these free platforms. People can connect with each other on these sites, sharing ideas and generally finding a way to circumvent the “old school” style of boards and forums. Facebook is more convenient than a forum, since it connects people with friends, co-workers, brands and favorite stores, all in one easy to use, familiar interface. Plus, search engines like Google are taking these sites into account when it comes to search engine results. Seems like the old boards and forums are dead, right?

Not so fast there, Skippy. There is still a whole lot of benefit for the business owner interested in self-hosted forums and message boards.

Message boards and forums can be private, established for the sole purpose of office or business communication. Most forum software has levels of permissions that can be defined by departments, teams or other designations tailored to a business’ needs. Many of these platforms support document sharing, calendars and other functions that help keep the various team members on the same collaborative page. In addition, these forums and message boards are scalable, giving a business the power to not only operate within its private lines of communication, but also extend the social side of the forum to the public.

Public message boards and forums can increase the SEO value of a website and give a business the valuable tool of transparency. While these attributes can also occur on public social networking sites like Facebook, the ability to integrate forum posts within the pages of a website are consistently easier and present a more streamlined image. Also, because of the aforementioned promise of permissions structures, both a private and public board can be hosted together, eliminating the need for multiple forms of technical community management expertise. In other words, its pretty easy to foster a community in one place, rather than through multiple social networking channels.

In terms of security, a self-hosted message board or forum may be a better choice, especially for the small business. Large social networking websites are constantly under attack by hackers, and many times, the individual users pay the price as accounts are hacked and subversive links are sent to others by a “friend.” This happens on self-hosted communities, as well, but the security benefit is in the ability to contact less people in times of social networking emergencies to help solve and eliminate problems. The more intimate the social setting, the easier it is to get results.

From security to image to customization, self-hosted forums and message boards may ultimately be a social networking solution that continues to provide results to businesses and consumers. When the ultimate goal is to drive traffic to a website, integrating the social aspect of online communication directly into content can help create a full picture of the business or services offered. While social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace or Ning continue to gain members in droves, the benefit of the self-hosted forum or message board cannot be denied as a way to establish and retain lines of communication as well as provide more efficient security for the public or members of a company.

Want to know more? Contact MojoWriting today for your Northern Virginia connection to all things Internet, Web Content and Social Media!

Then, Facebook changed from being social to being social AND for businesses. I may have fallen in love. Why? Because as much as I ironically don’t care much for advertising and banner ads being all up in my face, I can appreciate the gentle nature of the “opt-in” marketing and advertising dynamic, which Facebook lovingly supplies.

You see, instead of going to a website that tries to sell me things I have no interest in, like fishing gear or the ubiquitous online school, I can go to Facebook and get sale information from the retailers I actually like by “liking” their Facebook page. I’m not against retailers or advertising, I just don’t have time for moving graphics trying to sell me things I’ll never buy. I expect that most of you are the same. Plus, if I don’t like an ad on Facebook, I can tell them, and they don’t get sad.

So, with that in mind, I dove into the world of Facebook for businesses and organizations. With the push for interactivity in business, customer service and all things retail, I could actually get behind marketing and advertising campaigns that were tailored to a demographic.

My point is that I really enjoy Facebook’s tools for businesses, and the strides that businesses are making by harnessing this bizarre network of people, places and things. More than that, I really dig the fact that I can make a pretty decent impact in both a social and technical nature (FBML, yo!) while still being able to keep up with what my BFF is posting about her life.

Stay tuned for some of the fabulous Facebook work I’ve done, and be sure to tell your friends! While you wait, be sure to follow me on Facebook, because that means you’re awesome.

My question to you is, can your website keep up?

I run into a lot of people who have websites that are outdated or offer little in terms of content. There are websites that contain 90′s-era graphics and flashy backgrounds (oh, and that midi music we all grew to love) or sites that have “coming soon” plastered on their pages, yet nothing ever happens.

Your Internet real estate is just as important as your “brick and mortar” real estate, and sometimes, it can be more important. People online want their information fast and easy, and if your website isn’t delivering, then its time to get some professional help. Cost and the dreaded “learning curve” are the biggest reasons people don’t keep up with their websites. Paying a developer or company can be cost prohibitive, and then throw in social media marketing, SEO/SEM or any other Internet marketing, and a website owner may feel overwhelmed.

It doesn’t have to be that way. You can have your website, your Internet marketing, your Twitter and Facebook and still be able to pay your bills while your Internet presence grows, gaining you more exposure, clients and customers. Contact me today to discuss your options, or visit my page of flat-rate services that may fit exactly what you need, when you need it. Northern Virginia and Loudoun County, you’ve got a website… now its time to  use it.

Image courtesy of blogopreneur.com

The truth is that any website (and business!) can benefit from dynamic content and interesting information that changes regularly. One easy solution to the creation and maintenance of your website’s content is to install a blog. A blog can be a way to speak directly to your customers about upcoming changes in your business, ask for feedback, highlight special sale items or any number of marketing and advertising reasons. Blogs are user-friendly, cheap, and require minimal technical maintenance after the initial installation and configuration. You can integrate your blog into your existing website or have it stand on its own. Blogs can increase your website’s visibility on search engines and promote your business at the same time. Blogging can also save you time and money when considering the high costs of direct-mail marketing and advertising. A good blog and an opt-in e-mail list can save you time, money and frustration.

Want more information on blogging? Contact me today and let me suggest some great ways to improve your website with a blog.

Need more proof? Look at these!

Blogs Will Change Your Business

13 Reasons Your Business Needs a Blog

How Can a Blog Help My Business?

What can Social Media do for your business?

• Enable a business or organization to connect with people/customers.
• Provide an online presence beyond regular business hours.
• Humanize your company, organization or product – put a face with the name.
• Market your business or product.
• Cultivate feedback from customers, or help clarify product information.
• Increase visibility online and provide transparency in your customer service.

Your Social Media & Marketing Evaluation Will Include:

• Comprehensive evaluation of your current social media needs, and recommend ways to establish, maintain and grow your social media presence.
• Recommended social networks and websites for your business.
• Which social media graphics and applications to integrate into your existing website.
• What your competitors are doing in terms of social media strategy.
• A summary of your online reputation.
• Social marketing strategy schedules, ideas and plan of attack.

Your Cost: $200

Contact Mojo for your Social Media & Marketing Evaluation today!

By establishing your own online presence as a friendly face in a sea of cold and static websites, you are at an advantage. Your business becomes more than a storefront, it becomes an interactive environment in which people feel safe to share their thoughts and feelings about your product. People want to connect, and appreciate it when they feel their opinions have been heard. Even a bad review or comment can be used to generate positive PR, as it gives you the ability to show other customers how far you are willing to go to ensure their satisfaction.

Social media is also a great way to get new ideas about your product or find partners to help continue to grow your business. The feedback from people regarding your business, product or even your website itself, is invaluable. Finding new connections in terms of production, management or implementation of your services can be life-, or business-saving.

Yes, you can.

Social media is buzzing, and if you’re not having random conversations online with potential customers/clients on a daily basis, you’re behind the curve. Using sites like Twitter and Facebook, you can establish not only your own brand, but begin to build relationships with potential customers who will then recommend you to their friends and family.

With Social Media tools, you can:

• Establish relationships with potential customers
• Maintain relationships with previous customers
• Offer “special” discounts or incentives for referrals
• Get real feedback on your business or product
• And much, much more!

Its really that simple, and in order to create that presence, you will need to have a friendly and charming face and “voice” to speak to the masses, or a person who knows the best ways to navigate the waters of social networking.

You don’t have the time to implement your social media marketing strategy? You don’t even know where to begin? Use the contact form at the top of this page and let me give you a few pointers to start you on your way.

I have several years’ experience with:

• Blog software (installation, maintenance, upgrades, imports/exports, themes/skins, configuration, SEO & more).
• Forum software (installation, maintenance, upgrades, imports/exports, themes/skins, configuration, SEO & more).
• Membership software (installation, maintenance, configuration)
• CMS (Content Management Systems) such as Drupal, WordPress (as a CMS) and vBulletin 4.
• Shopping Carts (hyena, Yahoo!, etc.)

The beauty of these packages is that they’re low-cost solutions for businesses who want to implement interactive applications within their new or existing websites. They take the frustration out of paying a coder to create an application from scratch, and after the initial period of instruction, the owner of the website can then use the (usually free) technical support supplied by the software.

Contact me today to discuss how integrating internet applications into your website can help your business or organization grow!

Many people are intimidated by the thought of writing, grammatical mistakes, creating interesting tidbits for their readers/customers or any number of issues that come from sitting at a computer and trying to promote a product, business or person. Today’s Internet is all about revolving content that is dynamic, engaging and zaps readers at their seats. Nobody wants to have a page full of boring text that repeats the same keywords over, and over again (you know, that SEO thing… oh, you don’t know SEO? Its an acronym for “Search Engine Optimization.” It helps your ubiquitous Google Rank and helps drive traffic to your website. Yep, that’s SEO!). People want to quickly find a product or service, get the details and make an informed decision.

People also want to be treated like they are intelligent. They don’t want gimmicks (no, really, the 1000th UV, er, Unique Visitor to your site isn’t likely to buy that they’ve won a $5000 gift card to Macy’s, they’ll just be annoyed and go elsewhere).

For example, a pop-up ad like this:

FREE E-BOOK! TOTALLY FREE BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU THAT MUCH!

…is insulting, and people are just going to keep on clicking past your site. I don’t mean to offend, I just wanted to throw that out there (kind of like my very own free e-book, right?).

For the record, I have a million more pointers like that. You’re still reading, right?

Why?

Because I’m engaging you with humor, snark and a virtual cornucopia of facts that will help bring your website into the new, semi-casual (yet, highly professional) culture of  online business and marketing. Creating a series of blogs or articles for your website can be a chore, but it can be one of those necessary evils in order to shine above your competition.

I am a writer and a back-end administrator of several Internet applications such as WordPress and vBulletin. I have a pool of talent just waiting to be tapped into, aside from my own magnanimous talents, and can deliver fresh and engaging copy for your site at a reasonable rate. Your presence on the Internet is just as important as the letterhead you use and the displays in your front window. In today’s world, your business is judged on appearances and approachability. Harness that knowledge and take your business further than you ever dreamed possible.