This slide presentation was part of a webinar masterclass exploring how organisations successfully talk online; why there needs to be different styles of writing; and what different online channels are for suitable for which messages. Occupancy Marketing highlights some good and bad practices, then show you some Search Engine Optimisation tools that will help your messages stand out from the noise so that you can talk effectively online.

1. Talking online

2. occupancy marketing | Talking online Chris McGuire Account Director Occupancy Marketing 115 Hanover Street, Edinburgh chris@occupancymarketing.com 0131 718 4510

3. occupancy marketing | Talking online We are an internet marketing consultancy, specialising in: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Paid SearchMarketing (PPC) Analysis & Reporting Local Search International SEO Programmes Link Building Programmes Online PR Distribution Social Media Marketing

4. occupancy marketing | Talking online Working with 60+ clients across the following sectors: Finance / B2B eCommerce Tourism Hospitality

5. occupancy marketing | Talking online What do mean by talking online? Search Engine Optimisation Online Press Releases Social Media

7. Distributing News Online

9. Search Engine Optimisation

10. occupancy marketing | Talking online How search engines work Search engines identify keywords on page & in links to a page and use to determine the page’s subject. Therefore, making sure search engines pick up on the most relevant keywords is important. Image source: SEOMoz.org

11. occupancy marketing | Talking online Identifying the right keywords Your site should include terminology people use when searching. Identify keywords using a keyword research tool. Google Keyword Tool - https://adwords.google.co.uk/select/KeywordToolExternal

12. occupancy marketing | Talking online Search Engine Optimisation Use keywords in main elements of a page: Browser title URL Meta tags On-page copy Links

13. occupancy marketing | Talking online Browser Title Ensure main keywords for the page are in the browser title Bad examples: “Home” “Welcome” “About Us” Good example: “Festival Theatre in Edinburgh | Home” “About the Festival Theatre Edinburgh” Titles should be unique for each page.

14. occupancy marketing | Talking online URL / Web address Easy to read URLs are better for search engines & users Bad example: www.example.com/index.aspx?page_id=1234&cat=456 Good example: www.example.com/events/ballet Try to ensure that each page is only accessible on one URL

15. occupancy marketing | Talking online Meta tags Meta tags are less important for search engines, but meta descriptions can appear in search results. Meta descriptions should be kept short, to the point, relevant to the page & include a call to action. Meta keywords are even less important, although we would always still include as best practice. Meta description

16. occupancy marketing | Talking online On page headings & copy On page copy should also use keywords. The main heading on the page should be related to the page, not to the website. Use keywords with some regularity throughout the page, but don’t get carried away! Ensure content is still read-able.

17. occupancy marketing | Talking online Links Search engines use links to a page to identify its subject. Therefore, use keywords relevant to that page. Bad example: The sound of music, Edinburgh Playhouse Show runs from 1st January – 23rd March. More info Good example: The sound of music, Edinburgh Playhouse » Everyone’s favourite musical! Runs from 1st January – 23rd March.

18. Distributing News Online

19. occupancy marketing | Talking online Distributing News Online Take an existing press release Optimise to be used online Distribute via tools such as PRWeb (www.prweb.com) NewsVine (www.newsvine.com) PRLog (www.prlog.com) etc

20. occupancy marketing | Talking online Why use Online Press releases? Build relevant links Release news through portal sites Appear in Google News results Get news before journalists / bloggers in relevant sectors

21. occupancy marketing | Talking online Online Press releases techniques Techniques for writing online press releases are much the same as that for your website content: Remember keywords Include these in the title, copy & links to your site Include engaging imagery and/or video with your PR

22. Social Media

23. occupancy marketing | Talking online Why use social media? Source: The Economist, ‘A World of Connections’, Jan 30th 2010

24. occupancy marketing | Talking online Why use social media? Source: Hitwise, ‘Facebook reaches top ranking in US’, Mar 15th 2010

25. occupancy marketing | Talking online Choosing your network

26. occupancy marketing | Talking online The obvious biggies

27. occupancy marketing | Talking online The obvious biggies http://www.facebook.com/tategallery#!/tategallery?v=wall

28. occupancy marketing | Talking online The obvious biggies http://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum

29. occupancy marketing | Talking online “Artistic” networks

30. occupancy marketing | Talking online Create your own!

31. Eng occupancy marketing | Talking online Finding your voice There are no rules Informal Short & Sweet Polite Fun Friendly Links for Further Info Engaging Quirky Avoid The Hard Sell Images Videos Polls Interactive content Incentives Lists! Quizzes Be Interactive Regular Learn as you go Not too regular!

32. Building an audience

33. occupancy marketing | Talking online Building an audience Via your website: Include links to your social media channels on your website…

34. occupancy marketing | Talking online Building an audience Via your website: … or integrate live feeds

35. occupancy marketing | Talking online Building an audience Via your website: Make it easy for visitors to share content.

38. Confirmation emails

39. Mailshots

40. Flyers

41. Posters

42. Ticket stubs

43. Programmes

45. Join & interact with related groups

47. occupancy marketing | Talking online Some handy tools

48. occupancy marketing | Talking online Some handy tools

49. occupancy marketing | Talking online Some handy tools

50. occupancy marketing | Talking online Some handy tools

51. occupancy marketing | Talking online Some handy tools

52. Summary

53. occupancy marketing | Talking online Summary Your Website & Search Engine Optimisation Ensure your website copy is search engine friendly Research the keywords that people search for in relation to your site Distributing News Online Use techniques such as online press releases to build links to your site Online PR can also help get your news before a new audience Social Media Social media is an increasingly important area of the internet Research and engage with the right online communities Promote your online activity across other marketing & collateral There are a wealth of handy tools out there to help manage activity across various social channels