Essential Social Media & Blogging Advice From The Pros

Another amazing BlogPaws Conference has come and gone and I'm putting into action the valuable Blogging and Social Media advice and tips I came away with.  I'm amazed at how much helpful information was packed into just a few days!

Blogging tips from the BlogPaws Blogging & Social Media Conference
There is so much Learning packed into a BlogPaws conference! If you didn't get there this year, start planning now for next year.

Since many of you were unable to attend the BlogPaws  conference, I'd like to share some of the blogging and social media tips & learnings from Keynote Speakers, and Working Sessions.  As always, there was a TON of knowledge to absorb, so I'm breaking it into 2 or 3 posts to make it easier to digest.  I know you'd do the same for me if you were there and I couldn't make it, so here goes!


THE MOST RETWEETED PERSON IN THE WORLD


Although he spoke on the last day of the conference, I'm starting off with Keynote speaker Jay Baer who talked about what he calls Youtility, or How To Build A World-Class Personal Brand By Being Hyper-Useful.

Jay Baer who has been known as "The Most Retweeted Person In The World among digital marketers".  He's the President of Convince & Convert, a consulting firm who has helped some of the world's most iconic brands use technology to retain customers and win new ones.  Brands like The United Nations, Nike, 3M, and Oracle.  He is also a NY Times best selling author of five books.


Jay Baer, digital marketing expert, shares social media and blogging tips at the BlogPaws Blogger and Social Media conference.

I could immediately get why Jay is one of the most Retweeted people in the digital marketing space.  I started following him on Twitter as soon as he was announced as a BlogPaws speaker. Right away I found content that was valuable and relevant to me as a blogger.  I've shared much of his content, like this really interesting article about the FTC "crashing" the Influencer party.  Can you say FTC DISCLOSURE ?!?  Might that be relevant to us Pet Bloggers & Social Media Influencers?  Heck, Yeah!


BE MORE RELEVANT TO YOUR AUDIENCE


My Twitter example is a perfect lead in to Jay's key message, which is that We Need To Be More Relevant to our audience, because.....

Keynote speaker Jay Baer at the BlogPaws Blogging & Social Media conference. Jay shares tips on how to grow your blog audience by being more relevant
Relevancy magically creates time and attention - Jay Baer, Digital Marketing Expert
Jay's magic formula?


USEFUL = RELEVANCY = ATTENTION = $$

 THE BIG LIE


Jay pointed out a somewhat painful truth.  We tell ourselves that "our audience is just too busy to read our content" and that's how we justify not having enough action on our content.  But that isn't the case.  It's not that people are too busy, it's that our content isn't relevant enough! They'll find the time to read our content if it is relevant enough.  We should strive to be "massively useful" to our audience.  I realize that if I want to promote my blog on social media I need to be more useful and relevant in the content I'm producing.


4 DIMENSIONS OF YOUTILITY


Jay went on to explain the Four Dimensions of his Youtility model:

1. Solve Problems your audience has.
He said that Specificity creates Relevancy and cautioned us about the dangers of being too broad with our content topics.  "You won't be as relevant if you're not specific", he warns.  I know I need to take steps to stop trying to be all things to all people in the pet space and focus on the one or two areas I can be most relevant.  It's not an easy thing to do! Jay suggests we begin each day by asking ourselves "How Can I Help?" and build relevant content from there.

2. Be Consistent, STOP random acts of content.  
More is not always more and every audience has a "breaking point".   Another concept he introduced that resonated with me was to "Think like a TV station and create SHOWS, using a consistent theme and timeframe".  He suggested creating consistent Shows, and episodes of those shows.  One of the examples he shared was the Dog Rescue Stories produced by Positively Woof.  

3. Atomize Your Awesome
Release content on various channels, in similar ways. You need to be in the places where your audience is.  He shared these surprising facts:
  
😕 The Daily time spent READING in the US is 25 minutes per day.
😕 The Daily time spent WATCHING online video in the US is 72 minutes per day.
😕 People visit 39% fewer web sites than they have since 2010.

The message was clear, Repackage your content and share it across multiple channels!

4. GET PAID
This was another one of my favorite points.  Like many of you I'm often asked to work without getting paid, which frustrates me.  Jay assured us that "It's OK to get paid!".  He shared a quote that a respected individual once shared with him:


"There's no need to be nervous when your heart is in service"

I love that!  Getting paid for the work we do doesn't diminish our passion or our message when we ask to be paid for our work.  Jay pointed out that "If you get paid you can do more for your audience by creating more content, more videos... more everything!"  I wholeheartedly agree!  I would also add that when we get paid it allows us to Give Back even more to the causes each of us is most passionate about.  As bloggers and social media influencers, Jay reminds us that our role is to "Connect companies with their future customers".
  
A big Thank You to Jay for sharing his valuable insights with us!  I highly recommend following Jay's advice. 


Onward to SEO Help


SEO (Search Engine Optimization) For The Beginner and SEO For The Advanced Blogger sessions, presented by Jill Caren, of 2 Dogs Media.


Jill Caren is the founder of 2 Dogs Media, a New Jersey based web development and digital marketing agency named for her two beloved dogs Ginger and Riley.  Jill has been featured in publications such as BusinessWeek, Search Engine Watch, and CIO (Chief Information Officer) magazine.  She also gives back through her social goods website, CharityPaws which helps animal rescues and charities raise funds with positive inspired apparel for animal lovers!


SEO DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SCARY


I'm the first to admit, I need a lot of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) help, and quite frankly sometimes SEO scares the heck out of me! For the first time, I attended an SEO presentation that didn't utterly confuse and frustrate me.  The last SEO class I went to left me confused and frustrated.  


Jill Caren, SEO expert teaches BlogPaws conference attendees how to get more traffic to your blog using SEO
2DogsMedia is named for Jill Caren's two dogs, Ginger and Riley.

At the conference, I pushed myself to attend Jill Caren's Beginner SEO session, and although it wasn't completely easy-peasy I was able to follow along quite well. I was surprised that I actually understood a lot of it!  I was so pleased with the Beginner session that I ended up staying for Jill's Advanced SEO session as well, and it was great! I was sure I'd be completely lost in the advanced session but I actually got a lot out of it. 



HOW SEO IS DONE


Here are some of the tips on how to grow your blog traffic and how SEO works that resonated with me the most.  I see myself definitely being able to implement many of these suggestions:

Jill started off by saying that Step 1 should be finding out what your audience wants.  She then discussed growing your blog traffic & audience organically for FREE. I'm all about free, so I was listening pretty intently!   Here are some of Jill's recommendations:

Have your own domain and host it elsewhere.  Having a secure site is also important, not just for the obvious security reason but also because many brands don't like to work with blogs or web sites that are unsecured. 

 Jill is a huge proponent of Google's WebMaster tool to monitor and analyze your blog's performance.

 It's critical that you have good Title Tags and Meta Descriptions, as these impact Click Through Rates, and therefore they impact your Google ranking.  Include keywords in your Title Tags.



Jill Caren addresses the BlogPaws conference, sharing blogging and SEO tips

 Compile 10 - 15 keywords or keyword phrases to utilize in each of your blog posts.  Keywords are so important!  Jill made a few suggestions on where to find keywords, one of which is using a tool called answerthepublic.com.  It helps you find what questions people are asking about your topic, which you can then translate into keywords and phrases.  Try to place keywords in the beginning of your post if possible. I tried it and I loved this tool!  It's pretty easy to use and kind of fun too.

 She also suggested simply using Google search to find keywords. Enter your topic into Google search engine and see what populates beneath the words you've typed in.  Also scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what other related search phrases pop up.  Another easy way to find keywords! I use this simple method all the time now, it works very well. I've done my due diligence and added keywords throughout this post using these 3 methods, let's see what happens!

 She advised having breaks within your content and using H1 and H2 header designations.  This is another easy one to implement!  As you can see I've done that here.

 Another important thing Jill talked about was site speed.  If your site is slow to load, you will not rank well!  It should only take 1 - 3 seconds to load, if it's more than this there may be a number of things slowing your site down.  She suggested using GTMetrix.com to assess the speed of your site and look for ways to improve it if needed.  I tried it with my blog and my speed is 8.4 seconds to load my 3.62MB blog page size - Yikes!!  Apparently I've got some landing page redirects, and broken links.  I've got some work to do to improve my site speed! Google is probably dinging me for this, big time.

Jill posted the full SEO Session Overview from her BlogPaws SEO sessions on her web site; 2DogsMedia  It's a great recap of what she covered in both the Beginner and Advanced sessions.  You can utilize her overview as a recap for those who attended either of the sessions, or as a starting point for those who were unable to attend the conference or her sessions.

I have since put many of Jay and Jill's advice into action for my blog and it's definitely made a difference.
  

Post BlogPaws Conference High

THE AMAZING BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE IN MYRTLE BEACH WAS A WHIRLWIND OF SEEING BLOGGER FRIENDS, MEETING SPONSORS & LEARNING!!

At the BlogPaws Social Media and Blogging conference, Myrtle Beach, 2017
This was Icy & Phoebe's second conference!

The best part of the BlogPaws conference is seeing all our blogger friends & having fun together!
At the BlogPaws Nose to Nose awards dinner with Kristin Avery of The Daily Pip and Denise Yoder-Gruzensky of Denise's Dog Dish.  It was such a beautiful event!

The best part about the BlogPaws conferences is seeing our blogger friends in person & hanging out together!  In this photo I'm with Kristin Avery of The Daily Pip, Robin Mudge of Playful Kitty, and Nose to Nose WINNER Susan Nation of Talent Hounds - Congrats Susan!  Congrats to Kristin for being a FINALIST in two categories as well!

At the BlogPaws Blogging and Social Media conference in Myrtle Beach, May 2017
  
The BlogPaws Blogging & Social Media conference culminates in celebration at the BlogPaws Nose to Nose awards dinner!  Congratulations to all the award winners and the 56 finalists as well, you are all WINNERS!! The official final list of award winners will be available on 5/26/17.

At the BlogPaws social media and bloggers conference with my husband, Icy & Phoebe.
With my husband John, Icy and Phoebe at the Nose to Nose awards reception

At the BlogPaws Conference Nose to Nose awards event
Icy wore the animal print skirt I made for her to the BlogPaws Conference Nose to Nose awards event.

Red Carpet event prior to the Nose to Nose awards dinner at the BlogPaws Conference
Icy and Phoebe on the Red Carpet!


Did you attend the BlogPaws conference in Myrtle Beach? Tell us in the comments!

A Dog Gets Ready To Dazzle At Yappy Hour

PHOEBE IS READY TO SPARKLE AND DAZZLE AT THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE!!



SHE JUST LOVES THE SPARKLE ON TOP AND THE CUTE RUFFLES ON THE BOTTOM OF HER DRESS.  THE TOP IS GLAMOROUS WHILE THE BOTTOM IS KIND OF "BEACHY", PERFECT FOR MYRTLE BEACH, DON'T YOU THINK?



REST UP BEFORE ALL THE GREAT YAPPY HOURS AT THE BLOGPAWS SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGER'S CONFERENCE, PHOEBE, ALL EYES WILL BE ON YOU!



DO YOU LIKE PHOEBE'S YAPPY HOUR DRESS? LEAVE US A COMMENT AND LET PHOEBE KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF HER NEW DRESS - AND PLEASE  LOOK FOR US AT THE CONFERENCE IF YOU'RE GOING!!

Tulip Festival At The Park

LAST WEEKEND WAS THE TULIP FESTIVAL IN OUR TOWN PARK.  THEY PLANT THOUSANDS OF TULIPS ALL AROUND THE PARK EVERY SPRING.  IT'S A GLORIOUS DISPLAY OF COLOR, MAKING IT EVEN LOVELIER TO WALK AROUND THE LAKE AND ALONG THE PATHS.  I GAVE YOU A PEEK AT ONE PHOTO IN OUR WORDLESS WEDNESDAY POST, TIPTOEING THROUGH THE TULIPS. NOW I'LL SHARE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS OF PHOEBE'S DAY AT THE TULIP FESTIVAL.

I love this photo of the lake with the swans swimming serenely along, and pretty tulips lining the water's edge.  These two swans make a nest every year and have babies, it's so sweet!

Tulip Festival at the park

Phoebe sits and contemplates life among the tulips.

Phoebe among the tulips at the Tulip Festival

The tulips are everywhere, around the lake and along all the pathways!  There are tons of different varieties and colors of tulips!

Beautiful tulips line the pathways and the lake at our park's Tulip Festival

Phoebe is posing on one of the decks around the lake.  A couple of fountains help aerate the lake to keep it clean (you can see one in the background).  There are not only swans that call this lake home, but ducks, geese, fish and turtles all live in harmony on the lake!

Hecksher Park, Huntington, Long Island NY

So we never forget, the park created this 9/11 memorial to commemorate the attacks of September 11th, 2001.  Many people in our town work in the Wall Street area.  This memorial honors those in our community who lost their lives in the 2001 attacks in New York City.  The vertical steel pieces of artwork that line the walkway to the memorial fountain were constructed of steel that came from the World Trade Center.  The fountain is at the end of this walkway, but I wanted to be respectful and not disturb the people who were visiting it so I don't have a photo of that.

Memorial to honor those who lost their lives in the attacks of September 11th, 2001. Hecksher Park, Huntington, NY

PHOEBE LOVED HER DAY AT THE TULIP FESTIVAL.  THERE WERE SO MANY NEW SMELLS AND PRETTY FLOWERS, DOGS AND PEOPLE TO MEET & SNIFF.  I HOPE YOU ENJOYED HER PHOTOS!  

IS YOUR DOG ENJOYING SPRING BLOOMS?  LEAVE US A COMMENT AND SHARE!



Tiptoe Through The Tulips

Phoebe was tip toeing through the Tulips this weekend.  The park near our house had their Tulip Festival.  

My dog Phoebe enjoying the tulips at the park!
Phoebe enjoys the beautiful tulips at the park!

I'll post more pics of the Tulip Festival on Friday!  CAUTION: Tulips can be toxic to pets, so don't let your dog eat any part of the plant!

THIS IS THE BLOGPAWS WORDLESS WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP!!


Ready For The BlogPaws Social Media & Bloggers Conference Experience?

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! THE BLOGPAWS SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGING CONFERENCE IS NEXT WEEK

LEARNING, COLLABORATING, AND NETWORKING ARE  AT THE HEART OF THE BLOGPAWS SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGER'S CONFERENCE!
This post is sponsored by the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated as a BlogPaws Conference Ambassador to help share information about the BlogPaws 2017 Conference but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article

TIME IS RUNNING OUT, CONFERENCE TICKETS ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT!  IF YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN YOUR TICKET YET, REGISTER HERE SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! USE MY AMBASSADOR DISCOUNT CODE:  BP17-10off-Ambassador  TO GET 10% OFF YOUR CONFERENCE TICKET!  

HAVE A TICKET BUT STILL NEED A ROOM?  MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATION HERE


Don't Miss the BlogPaws Social Media and Blogger's Conference!
Reserve your spot at the BlogPaws Social Media and Blogger's Conference in Myrtle Beach


WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE?  LEARN MORE HERE

 *** IF YOU'RE ALL SET TO HEAD TO THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ***

BEFORE THE CONFERENCE:


CHECK OUT THE  ESSENTIAL BLOGPAWS 2017 CONFERENCE EVERYTHING POST ON THE BLOGPAWS WEB SITE.

 DON'T MISS THE #BLOGPAWSCHAT PLANNING & PAJAMA TWITTER PARTY, TUESDAY, MAY 9th 8-10PM EASTERN TIME.  THE ENTIRE BLOGPAWS TEAM AND ALL THE CONFERENCE SPONSORS WILL BE PRESENT!  BRING ANY CONFERENCE QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

 IF YOU'RE A FIRST TIME CONFERENCE ATTENDEE AND YOU HAVEN'T CHECKED OUT THE BLOGPAWS SLC (SOCIAL LEARNING COMMUNITY) NEWBIES COURSE, SWING BY NOW!  YOU'LL GET LOTS OF FIRST TIME CONFERENCE ATTENDEE TIPS AND CONNECT WITH OTHER FIRST TIME CONFERENCE ATTENDEES.

 BE SURE TO READ THE WEEKLY BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE ATTENDEE NEWSLETTER TO STAY UP TO DATE ON CONFERENCE HAPPENINGS.  THE NEWSLETTER IS EMAILED TO ALL CONFERENCE ATTENDEES EVERY THURSDAY.  IT ARRIVES VIA EMAIL (THE EMAIL YOU USED TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE) FROM CAROL BRYANT (Carol@blogpaws.com).

 DOES YOUR BLOG VISUALLY REPRESENT YOUR BRAND IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT?  IF YOU'RE NOT SURE,  TAKE A LOOK AT THE FREE BLOGPAWS DOWNLOADABLE WORKBOOK, HOW TO PREP YOUR BLOG FOR THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE.  THE TASKS IN THE WORKBOOK WILL HELP YOU POLISH UP YOUR BLOG IN PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE.

 BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE UPDATED CONFERENCE SPONSOR TWITTER LIST AND THE CONFERENCE SPEAKER TWITTER LIST.  FOLLOW  & ENGAGE WITH CONFERENCE SPONSORS AND SPEAKERS!

Gain Social Media and Blogging insights from BlogPaws Conference Keynote Speakers
Gain valuable insights from the Expert BlogPaws Keynote Speakers!

AT THE CONFERENCE:


🌝 WHEN YOU'RE AT THE CONFERENCE, ENGAGE WITH THE SPONSORS!  VISIT THEIR BOOTHS IN THE EXHIBIT HALL AND CHAT THEM UP IN THE DINING AREAS.  IF IT SEEMS A BIT INTIMIDATING AT FIRST, HERE ARE SOME GREAT TIPS FROM FELISSA ELFENBEIN, DIRECTOR OF INFLUENCER MARKETING AT BLOGPAWS, AND AUTHOR OF THE BLOG TWO LITTLE CAVALIERS:


Tips on how to engage with BlogPaws Conference Sponsors.  Show the sponsors some Love!
Show our Conference Sponsors some Love!  Follow these tips from Felissa Elfenbein on engaging with sponsors at the conference.

🌝 JOIN US FOR THE OFFICIAL BLOGPAWS 2017 PRESS CONFERENCE ON THURSDAY, MAY 18th AT 9:45am SHARP IN THE MAIN EXHIBIT HALL!  THE PRESS CONFERENCE WILL BE BRIEF SO DON'T BLINK OR YOU MIGHT MISS IT!

🌝 FOLLOW THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE HASHTAG, #BLOGPAWS TO STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE.  YOU CAN FOLLOW THE CONFERENCE FACEBOOK PAGE AS WELL.

🌝 DON'T MISS A BEHIND THE SCENES SNEAK PEEK FEATURETTE OF THE NEW MOVIE, MEGAN LEAVEY ! THE MOVIE IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY OF A MARINE AND HER K-9 HERO, REX.  THE MOVIE WON'T BE RELEASED UNTIL JUNE, BUT CONFERENCE ATTENDEES ARE GETTING A SNEAK PEAK!  THE FEATURETTE WILL BE SHOWN DURING BREAKFAST ON THURSDAY MAY 18th, 8:30am


🌝🌝 TOP OFF AN AMAZING CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE WITH THE NOSE TO NOSE AWARDS AND DINNER!  WALK THE RED CARPET AND CHEER FOR ALL THE TALENTED AWARDS FINALISTS, THEN CELEBRATE AT THE AFTER PARTY!  


TIME IS RUNNING OUT, CONFERENCE TICKETS ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT!

Enhance your Blogging & Social Media Skills at the BlogPaws Conference
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
May 18 - 20, 2017 
Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel




This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogPaws. The opinions and text are all mine.

Bleeding Hearts

Bleeding hearts are among the most beautiful and delicate flowers.  I plant two types in my garden, the Fern Leaf Bleeding Heart and the Traditional Bleeding Heart.

Dogs in the garden

Fern Leaf Bleeding Hearts are strong and resilient.  They bloom early and last throughout the entire growing season. 

Dog among the bleeding hearts flowers

Traditional Bleeding Hearts are fragile.  They bloom early but their beauty is fleeting, only lasting a few short weeks.

My dog Phoebe among the bleeding heart flowers in the garden

My Bleeding Hearts are dedicated to my friend Susan who is going through a terrible and painful time in her life right now.  She is like the Fern Leaf Bleeding Heart, strong and resilient.  Like so many others, my thoughts and prayers are with her today.  Stay strong, friend.

"That which does not kill you makes you stronger" -   Friedrich Nietzsche, German Philosopher

THIS IS THE BLOGPAWS WORDLESS WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP!!