I Do Web Marketing

This is a guest post by Lindsey Harper Mac. If you are interested in writing a guest post, please read the guidelines.

The new social networking platform, Google+, offers benefits beyond better organization of social groups and enhanced privacy. In fact, colleges across the country are quickly recognizing how this medium can help students and faculty connect with one another on a more appropriate level, among many other educational advantages. To catch a glimpse of some of the ways Google+ is being used to transform higher education, consider the following top five ways universities are using this social media website today.

1. Improving the Appeal of Student Groups

Contrary to popular belief, learning on a college campus can occur beyond the classroom setting. To encourage students to become more involved in worthwhile student groups and activities, colleges are utilizing the advertising benefits of Google+ to attract more students. These groups can include anything from student governments to Greek organizations. Making these groups known on popular social media outlets can effectively boost membership and improve the overall college experience for many students.

2. Promotions on Pages

Just like the student newspaper, the Pages feature of Google Plus helps to keep students informed regarding recent happenings on campus. This can include anything from upcoming events to recent publications in the school’s research journal. Essentially, Google+ Pages keep students informed about campus news on a minute by minute basis, which allows all students to stay involved and contribute more effectively to the university as a whole.

3. Marketing

More and more universities are developing a presence on Google+ to connect with both high school students looking into colleges and current college students looking to transfer or obtain a higher degree at another institution. One popular technique among universities is sharing videos of a typical day at the university.  This gives students who may not have the ability to visit the school a chance to see firsthand what attending might be like. This not only benefits universities by getting the word out about their programs, but students benefit because they are given a full, detailed list of their options for higher education.

4. Sharing University Success

One of the most popular uses of Google+ is highlighting the achievements of current and former students, as well as professors. By continuously recognizing the successes of individuals associated with the college, institutions can establish a more prestigious reputation and encourage students and faculty to continue to excel by honoring their achievements.

5. Career Recruitment

An especially attractive benefit for job-seeking students, career recruitment on Google+ connects employers with potential employees in a more effective manner than career fairs alone. Through the Hangouts feature on Google+, employers can get to know small groups of students who are eligible and interested in working with them to find a good candidate for the job. This feature is especially beneficial for employers who may not be able to travel to career fairs, but would still like to expand the reach of their recruiting strategies.

Although Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have proven their value for purposes beyond merely socializing with friends, Google+ stands out in regards to its benefit for education. By integrating the following techniques into a Google+ educational campaign, universities across the country can enjoy improved student engagement and a stronger community on campus.

About the Author: Lindsey Harper Mac is a professional writer living in the Indianapolis area. She specializes in writing guest posts covering social media and education on behalf of American InterContinental University. Currently, Lindsey is completing work on her master’s

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Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

This is a guest post by Maria Rainier, a freelance writer. Contact me if you are interested in writing a guest post.

I’m going to beat a dead horse for just a little while. You have all heard or read the web marketing mantra: Content is king. While the phrase now sounds tired and clichéd, I still believe in this mantra. Lately thought, I’ve been reading a lot of criticisms to this saying, but let me assure you that, without great content, you have nothing to leverage as a web marketer.

Is Your Content Really that Great?

I know that this is a bit of a snarky question to ask, but as a content producer and marketer, you must ask yourself this constantly. You should also ask this question to other people as well and not just your own fans. Seek out criticism; trust me, it is really easy to find on the internet (though it can be hard to find good criticism).

Simply defining great content can cause a big headache. Even if the majority of your audience considers your content to be great, does that make it great? Not by any universal scale, whatsoever. In my mind, great content on the internet encompasses at least one of these principles:

• Credibility – Your content must not only be accurate but appear accurate. The best way to do this is to actually have experience in what you’re writing about. And make sure you understand what you’re saying because if you are just copying some jargon from Wikipedia, your readers will not understand nor trust you.
• Effort – You can tell when someone spends a lot of time on a product. So can your readers. When you present highly polished, extremely well-executed content, not only does it create a better experience for your audience, it gains their respect.
• Usefulness – Some of the best content provides tips and information that the audience can take with them and use themselves. When you provide actionable knowledge to people, they will remember where they found it.
• Uniqueness – Sometimes you come across something so interesting and so special, you just have to share it with others. Perhaps it is a unique idea turned into an article or a remarkable image. The best content has a unique quality to it that adds to its remarkableness. It adds excitement to both those who see it and create it.

Are You Marketing Your Content Effectively?

If your content has at least one or more elements of the bulleted list above, then odds are there is a problem in how you are marketing your content. While I wish I could say great content always stands up on its own no matter what, this is simply not true. Even the best artists have to have some network of ties and connections in order for their work to be seen. The most important factors to consider when marketing your content are the following:

• Be diligent in reaching out with your content. This is the time to really sell yourself and your work. One tweet is simply not enough. Email, IM, or even call friends and peers. Try not only to get them to view your content but share it as well. You should be excited to share your work, and if you aren’t that excited, perhaps it isn’t that great of content (see above list).
• Publish your content at optimal times. This really varies depending on your audience, so finding the optimal time to publish can be a bit challenging. But definitely use your logic to think at what times they might be online and checking social media and experiment with a variety of educated guesses. For a working crowd, just before lunch time might be perfect if people check their social media during lunch.
• Publish your content somewhere else. This can be an extremely tough decision because you’ve worked very hard at creating content that represents you and your site. Why post it on someone else’s site? Because, particularly for new and upcoming sites, your audience hasn’t yet found your site yet. It would be a much better move to publish some of your gems on high-profile competitors, and then watch as the traffic comes streaming back to you.

Author Bio:

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

This is a guest post from Dean Vella of the University of San Francisco. If you are interested in providing a guest post, please contact me.

Education has been strongly impacted by the transformative power of technology. Technological advances have made online learning more robust, and it’s clear that this path to higher education is here to stay. On a typical day, in every corner of the world and nearly every academic discipline, untold numbers of students and teachers participate in and benefit from the convenience and interactivity offered by online education.

If you’re looking for a solid career strategy that can give you a competitive advantage, you should look into advancing your professional education through an online program. Gaining new skills can be the gateway to new opportunities – and when you’re learning online, advancing your knowledge can happen any time of the day, no matter where you happen to be.

How Online Education Technology Has Evolved

Over the past several years, education technology has expanded, with new ways to present and share information and reach more students. Online education has grown in program offerings, course depth and user interactivity. The student experience is better than ever, with the widespread use of streaming video lectures, online testing and exam tools, discussion tools, videoconferencing, and synchronized presentation tools.

As access to bandwidth continues to improve, more students can take full advantage of improvements in online education tools. Computers have also become more reliable, with more memory and faster processors. Capacity will continue to increase, which means online learners will enjoy even more interactivity with their instructors, fellow students and the online classroom.

Computer portability is becoming more widespread, with increased use of mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablet PCs, as well as cloud computing, which stores data and files online, rather than the computer’s hard disk. And finally, storage is becoming much less costly. External hard drives, flash drives and server space are all relatively inexpensive; as more data is stored other than on the computer, speed and stability increases. Each of these trends point to the increasing virtualization of computers and software, which is sure to make accessing online education easier and more engaging.

How Students Benefit From Advanced Online Education Technology

Today’s online student enjoys state-of-the-art professional training via multimedia, video-based platforms, with 24/7 access to classes and lectures, downloadable MP3 and MP4 files to learn on-the-go, interactive features like live chat and online discussions, and dedicated private messaging systems.

The user experience in online education is much more advanced – and enhanced – than ever before. Current online learning technology offers students the inclusionary feel of a classroom without the inconvenient aspects of brick-and-mortar classes, such as commuting to campus, arranging childcare, and missing work and family activities. Plus, today’s online students can enroll in any college, wherever their program of choice is offered. You could attend a college located across town, across the state, across the country or halfway around the world. It is more convenient than ever to take advantage of the benefits of online education and advance your skill set to fit today’s business world.

Is Internet Marketing the Right Online Program For You?

Doing business in the digital age requires advanced techniques and carefully developed Internet marketing strategies. That’s why companies of every size and in every industry are selling goods and services, finding new customers, and expanding their market share through online efforts. In a competitive global environment, businesses need the skills offered by qualified Internet marketing professionals. If you enjoy analyzing data, improving website performance and staying ahead of trends, this could be the program for you.

Why not take advantage of today’s online education technology to learn the advanced skills, tactics and techniques you need to compete for Internet marketing jobs? You can gain an advantage over the competition to position yourself to advance or reach for a new career through professional search engine marketing training, web analytics training, social media training, affiliate marketing training, and other interactive marketing certificate courses.

Expand Your Career Opportunities Through Online Internet Marketing Training

Thanks to advances in technology, learning the skills that can lead to greater opportunities for career advancement is more robust, convenient and accessible than ever, through online education. When you enroll in internet marketing training courses online, you can learn the in-demand skills companies need to improve search engine rankings, expand reach and improve customer relations. Online education can open the door to wider career options by giving you the updated, marketable skills today’s business world demands.

This guest post was provided by University Alliance and submitted on behalf of University of San Francisco. University of San Francisco offers online search engine marketing training which is designed to help professionals advance within the field.  Getting certified should be an important part of your career.

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.