Recently we wrote a post on the Blackball Online Marketing Newsblog (http://www.blackballonline.com/wordpress/) about the Facebook and MySpace Privacy End Around. That same day the head of Facebook announced they had made some mistakes. We're sorry but thats not good enough for us. Their only mistake was they got caught.

It will be interesting to see the ramifications of their actions. Just tonight I caught a glimpse on the Twitter newswire that Senate hearings on this subject will happen soon. We say good and about time.

I've also heard of the Quit Facebook movement. I'm sure if you Google it you'll get some interesting reads. Our duty to our readers and our Twitter followers is to call things as we see them, that being said, we are taking a wait and see approach on any new Facebook activities. If you're a Facebook friend we apologize and hope you'll Tweet us instead @blackballonline.

The picture was reprinted with the permission of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Pittsburgh Social Media Brand Reputation Management

As people, we care about how others perceive us. Our personal reputations are what we build our careers on. Businesses have a reputation to protect as well. Not only should it be protected; it should be cultivated. Social Media provides us the opportunity to develop a closeness with our customer that didn't exist before. In these times of increased competition and shrinking profit margins, a business must always be mindful of its reputation.

Case in point is, "Only the Paranoid Survive", a book by Andrew S. Grove (former CEO and current chairman of the board of Intel). We've included a link to the Preface of the book here: http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/bios/grove/paranoid.htm. This writing hammers home the idea of business as a defensive struggle against pitfalls all businesses face; internal and external.

A Business or Brand's reputation starts from day one. It is born out of the vision the founders developed. This vision needs to be communicated clearly from the very start. What customers say about us online travels as fast as the data behind it. A strong Brand Reputation Management plan allows us to monitor these comments, good or bad. Swift and decisive action can then be taken. This makes all the difference in keeping or losing a customer.

Blackball Online monitors the Internet constantly for comments or articles relating to our business and our clients. This allows our customers to be notified of anything we may come across and allows for quick response. We believe that addressing problems provides golden opportunities to shine.

With a wide enough sample of comments, a business can gain valuable insight into products and services and how the public is reacting to them. Some companies spend millions to monitor these trends through focus groups and market research studies. For a smaller company, the same results can be achieved by monitoring social media. Why not take advantage of this vast data mine of feedback.

Contact Blackball Online for all your Pittsburgh Social Media Optimization needs including Brand Reputation Management at (412)377-7280.

Pittsburgh Social Media Optimization by Blackball Online

Pittsburgh, PA - Social Media Optimization is now the hot new topic and favorite of the search engines. (Google, Bing, Yahoo) It used to be you could put up a website and get some traffic. Generate some leads and all was well. Then you needed Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to rank because of the increased competition. Now it's very important to use Social Media Optimization in addition to drive traffic to your website/blog.

Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a "set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites" according to Wikipedia. Google, Bing, Yahoo have picked up on these emerging trends and been ranking these mediums for some time now. These search engines index sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn including your profiles.

As the search engines evolve into what engineers believe is a more intuitive system, Social Media Optimization has taken center stage. This is by no means a substitute for a well designed site with SEO. It is an extension of the Internet Marketing strategy and the next logical step.

Blogs have been the design of choice for some time now. They offer the ability to add content at will with very little technical expertise. But, let's face it, these are very competitive times. The more you put into your business, the more you get out. SEO coupled with SMO now rules the roost. A thorough grasp of how search engines view your site is necessary for your hard work to pay off as well as it should.

If you have a new / existing business with limited resources and this sounds like a tall order, it is. But taken in logical steps it can be more than manageable. Blackball Online works with small businesses to maximize their resources and achieve the best results possible given the assets available for their Pittsburgh Social Media Optimization campaigns.

Start slow and think this through. Formulate a strategy and stick to it. The Internet will be there. It is important to do the proper analysis of your business first to speed the way for your Social Media campaigns later. A good start is to leverage Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. They are all valuable sites and mediums to start with.

For a free Pittsburgh Social Media Optimization by Blackball Online consultation email us at info@blackballonline.com or just call (412)377-7280.