A Man, A Mouse, and a Twitter Account: How Disney Could Step Up Its Social Media Strategy

disney

“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney

It also requires an engaging Twitter strategy.

The suits and imagineers behind Lake Buena Vista, Florida’s Walt Disney World (WDW) take many steps to stay current: attractions are built and updated, Starbucks are popping up everywhere, gluten-free and vegetarian food options have been added aplenty, craft beer selections have grown, and last year they even rolled out the MyMagic+ program, an app-and-wristband combination resulting in some serious online magic.

But what they boast in factory-created fantasy, they lack in thorough social media presence.

Continue reading

The Importance of Social Media in SEO

How do your customers find you online?

It seems like an obvious question. They go to your website, of course. But if they’ve never heard of your business, how else would they stumble across your site?

This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in, a way for you to better your website so Google and other engines can find and share your content with their users.

A Brief History

There are many ways to optimize your site, but previously, the best way to get your page to the top of search results was through link building. This meant getting links to your site placed around the web to increase your PageRank (the level of authority Google gives your site). Then, as with most things, people went overboard with this tactic, trying to game the system by paying for links in a high volume of places.

To combat this problem, Google started assigning weight to these links. Low-quality (say, on a spammy page with nothing but a bunch of paid links) and higher-quality links (the New York Times linked to you, for example) were given appropriate values and the linked website was ranked accordingly.

Keywords were – and still are –important in helping Google decide if your website matches a certain query. But again, this was abused and keyword stuffing became an issue. Thus, Google had to change its focus again.

So how does Google determine value today? Weighted links and keywords are still taken into consideration, but the search engine has shifted much of its focus to providing value to users and creating a more personalized experience.

This is where social media comes in.

Continue reading

Social Media Tips from @MiddlesexLounge

middlesex lounge

Nate Brown of @middlesexlounge has a lot to do. He’s the face and voice of one of Boston’s hottest bars and lounges that features regular live music and performances – so how does one juggle all of that and not sound like a robot? It’s no easy task, but Brown didn’t make our “Who to Follow” list for nothing! We asked for some advice.

 

 

 

1. Have social media be a part of someone’s job. not an afterthought or addendum to someone’s job. If its a marketing person, it should be one of the main duties.

2. Engage people, even if it’s a Foursquare check-in or you’re hashtagged and not directly communicated with, reply or retweet.

3. Cut down on links. More links away from Twitter make it a pain in the ass, and not all links are worth it clicking away for.

4. Give as much info as possible in 140 characters. Is it an event? Offer the time, date, cover fee, type of music/ artist, etc.

5. Have something worth reading. If you read your own tweets as if they were from a completely unknown account, would you follow that account?

BACK TO THE PROS!


Social Media Tips from @mcslimjb

Social Media Tips from @mcslimjbMC Slim JB may sound like the name of your newest favorite Boston-based rapper, but in reality, he’s so much cooler than that. The local restaurant critic writes reviews for the Improper Bostonian and plenty other publications, all the while happily tweeting about food, Boston, and more. And if you were wondering, no, he is NOT the cat in his Twitter avatar. Find more Food & Drink Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston!

 

 

 

1. Find a niche and stick to it. Probably 85% of my comments relate to Boston food and drink, with a sprinkling of national food/drink stuff thrown in. That’s why people follow me.

2. Credit your sources, ideally with their Twitter handles. It’s not nice to pirate ideas. Nobody expects you to come up with original content all the time; they follow you because they take some interest in what you find interesting. So point them to cool, funny, interesting stuff besides your own; just tell people where you found it.

3. Go easy with the Tweeting of photos of what you’re eating. That dish might indeed be awesome, but if you’re like me, your smartphone-based photo of it is probably pretty pitiful, and maybe not doing the chef or restaurant such a great favor.

4. Be wary of reporting rumors, especially restaurant closings. False rumors can hurt a business and its workers. Better to be scooped than to get the facts wrong. Nobody cares if you got the news out first, anyway.

5. If you’re going to lob a dart at somebody in the industry for their self-aggrandizement, dumb restaurant name, horrifying marketing campaign, or shady business practices, consider using satire over sanctimony. For most readers, it’s more fun to see a scoundrel or ninny ridiculed than scolded.

BACK TO THE PROS!


Social Media Tips from @BostonAttitude

86eBott8They say “attitude is everything,” which means that John Romard (aka @BostonAttitude) is everything Boston. Follow his account for tweets about “Living, Working, Playing in Boston!!” BA’s on our “General Boston” Twitter list for Who To Follow on Twitter in Boston, because, well, if you live in Boston, you better be following him!

Here are @BostonAttitude’s tweeting tips:

1. Pick something you know about to talk about.

2. Be consistent with the content in your posts. I tweet about Boston and major events. I try to keep my content honest, accurate and current.

3. Have fun and work with others, it’s not competition.

4. Never give up or get discouraged. You don’t build a following overnight.

BACK TO THE PROS!