Over the week we go through a lot of content - news and blog posts, how tos and conceptual posts on the state of the internet. Every Sunday we share some of our favourites with you.
Check out the links and let us know in the comments if you have any questions or if you read any great posts this week!
Lara
What’s the value of a like? People work so hard to get Facebook likes, but we all need to remember that’s simply just the start. The real value is in then building a relationship and not letting the last action that person ever takes with regards to your business having been to hit like. This post by Martin Waxman on the value of a like is a good reminder of that.
Google reader is going away (see Karen’s reference to the news below) and Mitch Joel wrote an interesting post about blogging inspired by this news. I never thought blogs were in danger of going away but the way people find blogs has changed significantly just in the six years I’ve been blogging. I now only use RSS a handful of times a month to find content. While on Mitch’s blog, he’s got a post highlighting some amazing advertisements - they’re worth a watch.
This post by Daniel Sharkov gives some good tips on how to improve your side bar.
Ending on a fun note, if you have kids who watch Dora, check out the trailer for the new live-action web series by College Humor :)
Karen
Google made the announcement this week that they’re sunsetting Google Reader as of July 1, 2013 (The Next Web). Since I use this tool daily, I’m not super thrilled to have to look for a replacement (Lifehacker), but some of the alternatives are already experiencing the wave of success (The Next Web).
While Google is killing off a beloved app, Pinterest is now even better with the addition of analytics (ReSoMe), which users have been requesting for a long time. Yay, Pinterest!
Your business has superfans, so here’s some advice for converting them to customer/client status (Spin Sucks). Also, aren’t superfans just the best thing to have? Nothing makes me feel better about what I do than getting a virtual high-five from one of them or sitting down to have a session with them.
Are you looking for content ideas? Here’s a challenge for you from Christopher Penn. If you’re not a marketer, this still applies to you. Just substitute the word “marketer” for whatever terminology fits what you do. Find your own quotes and you’re ready to go!
Here’s why it’s important to incorporate social media monitoring (Social Media Explorer). Proactive engagement has great value. So, hopefully you’re watching some keywords for your industry.
The Media Mesh
5 mistakes that will get your Facebook page deleted
Pump up the Volume: 2013 style
App of the Week
There isn’t an app in the world that can perfectly tell you how to use any social media platform, but I like using apps like Tweet Grader every once in a while to see what they tell me. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my grade had gone from 96-98 over the first several years I was on Twitter to 100 now. (Yay, Mom, I got an A+!) You can get a rough idea from a tool like this whether you might want to tweak your content. Nothing beats personal feedback, but this is a good solution if you want to know now.
Leave us a comment and tell us what some of your favourite reads were this week!