Google Shuts the Book on Reader

Google announced that it will discontinue Google Reader as of July 1stHere are some of the details.

I’ve asked Rachel Kerstetter, our PR Engineer, to share some recommendations for moving on without Reader.

If you’re currently using Google Reader to keep your blog and news organized, you’ll need to find another way by July 1st.  There are many RSS reader options out there, but here are some options that we recommend.

The built-in WordPress Reader is a pretty good option if you follow only WordPress blogs, which is a popular choice for company blogs. But if you follow nonWordpress blogs or don’t blog using WordPress, this is not a good option.

Feedly

Feedly is our top pick that offers a quick and easy transition of your feeds from Google Reader right to its service. Feedly has an app for both Apple and Android. Their blog has instructions on seamless transitioning here.

BlogLovin

BlogLovin’ is pretty popular among lifestyle and fashion blogs, but might start growing due to Google shutting down Reader. There is a bloglovin’ app in the Apple App store and they offer a way to import directly from Google Reader before it’s shut down.

Since importing your Reader contacts is really easy on both of these services, you can always test them both out and see what works best for you.

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What Are You Using to Help Identify Topics for Writing Your Blog?

Reading Will Fuel Your Writing for New Business

Google Reader will save time and allow you to consistently share and create appealing content that will be of primary interest to your target audience.

Social media is a great tool for new business, but it is the creation and curation of content that will provide success. Creating content is difficult. If you are going to write effectively, you must read and your reading will fuel your writing.

Constantly using search engines to find your resources is not only a huge waste of time, but you can easily get distracted. How often have you started a search for something in particular and 1-1/2 hours later, you can’t even recall what you were looking for? 

The key to creating good content is to have a simple system that brings an organized approach to your online reading.

One of the most effective time management tools for an online reading program is an RSS Feed. There are a number of RSS Readers to choose from. My personal preference is Google Reader.

Once you have clearly identified your audience, Google Reader can help to organize your resources around their interests. You can be sure you are on the same page as your audience, reading what they are reading, discovering their trade publications, information and research from their associations, etc. You can also glean important information from sources that are not specifically relevant to your audience.

Here’s a sampling of what Google Reader will help you do:

  • Stay up to date with the very latest materials.
  • Comb quickly through online resources from hundreds of source sites in a single place.
  • Easily share your reading to your followers in Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest.
  • Keep materials organized by creating folders and tags. Just like with email, folders help you easily find what you are looking for. It is far better than managing your email inbox.
  • Quickly spot trends.
  • Monitor your competitors or your client’s competitors. Know what they are writing and sharing.
  • Create a consistent system that allows you to stay updated by reading the latest information from target audience’s industry publications, associations, even their competitors.
  • Use it for Google Alerts. You will want to have a lot more alerts being created for specific type material than you would have coming into your email inbox.
  • When online resource sites don’t pan out, easily drop them from your feed.
  • Use the share settings to share your favorite blog posts and articles directly to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and other social media channels.

I have established the mornings as my daily reading time. Google Reader is set as the Home Page for my browser. It is the first thing I open each day. My readings are gathered from resources all over the internet and organized into a central location. It becomes my own personalized Continuing Education program.

If you read feeds on the iPhone or iPad, I recommend using Reeder, a nice app that can be used for that purpose. You will be able to view your feeds in “stacks” based on the folders that you have assigned to them.

Reader for iPhone: iTunes $2.99

Reader for iPad: iTunes $4.99

How are you researching for good content?

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B-to-B Blogs: An Effective Marketing Tool

I’m convinced that a blog is a very effective marketing tool for B-to-B marketers. It provides a genuine opportunity to build your company’s brand. But don’t think that if you just create a B-to-B blog you are assured of traffic.

Three things you will need to have a successful B-to-B blog:

  1. Focus on a niche/market. You can’t be all things to all people as no one would read it. Pick a specialty (or several) and give the audience relevant and meaningful content. Talk to them about ways you can help them solve problems. Keep the marketing copy out of it.
  2. Make a commitment. If you’re not going to work at this, then don’t bother starting one. The costs of doing a blog comes in the form of time. I’d say you would have to put in anywhere from an hour to two a day to do your blog justice. You need to have at least 3-4 posts a week and they have to be meaningful. That includes researching, writing and responding. You don’t have to be the writer of all posts, but you must be the quarterback.
  3. Use the social tools available. Use things like Google Reader to help you organize what you’re reading. Twitter and other social media platforms will also build awareness, allow you to repurpose content and generate additional traffic. Integrate social and traditional strategies to make more of an impact.

To have a successful B-to-B blog, you need to pick a niche or target audience and write to them. An example of this is my blog. We’re a B-to-B marketing firm (bet you there aren’t a lot of them around). Why would someone want to read my blog when they can pick up a current issue of BtoB Marketing magazine?

The folks that our agency is best suited to help are the manufacturers who want to sell something to those professional tradesmen. That’s why our blog is specifically targeted to them as a resource for how best to reach this particular target audience.

We may have a narrow niche, but that hasn’t narrowed our opportunities. The Tradesmen Insights blog has enhanced our new business opportunities, allowed us to build awareness, interest and appeal to a specific target audience. We don’t appeal to everyone, but those with who we do, it is a strong appeal.

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