The Top 9 Social Networks For Your Business (Infographic)

If you would like advice or guidance on how to get your business started on any of these social networking platforms, then contact us  for more information about our competitively priced training packages.

How to write the perfect blog post

Too hard to read? Click on image to see a larger version of this infographic

Comparison of the most popular blogging platforms (infographic)

Back in February, Lorna wrote a post outlining the pros and cons of two of the most popular blogging platforms – WordPress and Blogger. Today, we bring you an infographic with some interesting statistics, comparing some of the leading blog platforms out there.

NB: WordPress DOES have a preview button, an oversight on this infographic. 

The Dos and Don’ts for a Successful Call to Action (Infographic)

Earlier this month Lorna wrote a post on The Best 7 Calls To Action. To go along with Lorna’s excellent advice, I’d like to share the following infographic on the dos and don’ts for a successful call to action. If you have difficulty reading the size of the text, click here to see Litmus original. Enjoy!

The 10 Commandments of Pinterest for Business (Infographic)

How to create an infographic with visual.ly

Following on from my post last week on creating infographics, I have been road-testing some of the recommended creation tools and will share my results with you over the coming weeks.

First up – visual.ly. You can explore an extensive showcase of infographics which you can upload to your own website or blog or you can create your own data visualisations, and share them to the site if you wish.

A user generates content through publicly available data such as information from a Twitter hashtag or a Facebook feed, and then selects a template  to instantly visualize it. The site will grow over time to include additional data feeds, designs, stories, and themes in the areas of sports, politics, economics, food, and more.

Visual.ly is very simple to use – a quick sign up process and I created my own personal Twitter infographic in a matter of minutes. Good to know that I am a Twitter Trailblazer 😉

Have some fun and create your own infographic with visual.ly, then post it to your website or blog. Don’t forget to share a link with us to your creation either in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Get creating!

Find It Friday: Blog Etiquette Tips

We’re often asked the question – ‘When should I link to other blogs?’ so I decided to do a post on blog etiquette. Many bloggers make mistakes in their early days, and that is easy enough to do particularly if you see inappropriate examples of blog practice elsewhere. However, by paying attention to etiquette on your blog, not only will it be appreciated but you’ll earn kudos points too.

Blog Etiquette

• Credit your sources: Always link to another blog if you are using their image or using one of their ideas or referring to their content. If you aren’t sure how to link, see our post on How to Hyperlink within a Blog Post. Not only is it good manners but it also protects you against being told off by a photographer or another blogger for ‘stealing’ their content.
• Relevance: Link to the relevant blog post rather than the blog in general. Remember that blog posts will disappear into the archives so it will be difficult for other readers to find the relevant post. This is particularly important if your blog post was inspired by theirs.
• Check Guidelines: Many bloggers will post guidelines regarding ‘borrowing’ their images or content so do check them first. If in doubt, always ask.
• Do not plagarise by copying content from another blog.  If you find something interesting on another blog that you feel you could add your own spin to, then by all means quote or paraphrase the relevant section and include a link and then provide your own opinion for the remainder of the post. By linking to the other blog post, he/she will see the link and may visit your blog.
• Commenting: When commenting on another blog post, do write a comment that engages with the topic rather than a vague ‘thanks for sharing’ or ‘nice blog post’. By engaging with the topic, you are paying the blogger a compliment.
• Replying to comments: If someone writes an engaging comment on your blog, it is considered nice to reply (either individually or to a group of commentators depending on how many comments you get).
• Be respectful to others.  If you are in doubt about posting the content (for example, if you are having a rant about something), then save it in draft and reread the next morning. Remember once you hit ‘publish’, it cannot be retracted.
• Take your time: If someone leaves a negative or unsavoury comment on your blog, do not reply when you are feeling emotional (hurt or angry) as it may become a huge storm in a teacup.  Respond in a calm controlled manner.  If you wish, you can elect to moderate all comments before they are published which would prevent anyone else seeing a negative comment or you can always delete it. It is your blog 🙂
• Don’t spam: Do not write a ‘sales-type’ comment on someone else’s blog or include a link to your blog (unless it is really relevant).  If someone wants to find you, the link from your name should work to bring them to your blog.

Blogging is fun and generally, everyone in the blogging community is hugely supportive of each other. Blogging will be all the more enjoyable when you are confident that you have mastered ‘blog tiquette’.

Image created at Quick Meme

If you have any questions or think of any more ‘blog etiquette’ tips, do include them in the comments below.

The who, what, where and when of Pinterest (Infographic)

Infographics are a quick way to present information at a glance and so it is with this latest infographic from maximyser on Pinterest use

Not all of this graphic may be of interest to you – it’s heavily US brand focused – but it will give you a clear sense of what kind of audience Pinterest markets to and how people are using this platform-du-jour.  It also provides some good advice on how to use Pinterest effectively to spread the work about your website or blog.

What does your colour choice say about your brand?

Understanding colour meanings (both positive and negative), and how they relate to your target audience (age, class, gender) will help you create a stronger brand.

In anticipation of our official launch of Write on Track next month, we have been working away behind the scenes tweaking things like our brand logo. So, we thought it might be helpful to all of you who are in the process of designing your blog, website or new brand image, to be aware that your choice of colours can have an impact on how your brand is perceived.

Here is a handy infographic which will help you determine if the colours you choose reflect your brand and appeal to your target audience.

Time’s Ticking on new Facebook Timeline

Great cheat sheet for Facebook Timeline

Time’s ticking on the switchover to the new look Facebook for business timeline. If you have not yet converted your page, it will automatically convert on March 30th.

In Mari Smith’s latest post, she covers the main things you need to know to make the switchover and even if you’ve already switched, you’ll still find some great tips.