I’ve asked Gerald Weber @the_gman of SEM-Group.net to share with us how his new Joint Venture with Ann Smarty @SEOSmarty of MyBlogGuest can benefit small businesses and bloggers. Here is what he has to tell us:
SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING
Since its launch in June of 2011, Google+ has grown from an invite-only platform into a thriving ecosystem with over 500 million users. Although some social networks experience rapid but truly organic user adoption, the growth of Google+ hasn’t been an accident. Instead, it’s occurred as a result of Google’s continued focus on making all of their products more social.
It would be silly to assume that Google was completely abandoning the link graph that has allowed them to become the biggest search engine on the planet. But it would also be foolish to ignore the potential for Google+ and other social signals to play a central role in their algorithm.
Because it’s become clear that social media can attract direct visitors and help with SEO efforts, content marketers across the globe are experimenting with different ways to create even more social buzz around the best posts they publish each week.
Less than two years ago, I also began looking for a way to create a wider social buzz for great content. Instead of the typical flurry of tightly connected sharing, followed by that core group moving on to the next thing, I wanted a way for content to organically move through a more diverse collection of social channels.
As I experimented with different tools that promised to deliver the results I wanted, the main issue I encountered was that none of them took quality into account. As anyone involved in blogging and/or content marketing knows, not every post deserves to be highlighted through social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
Once I had tried all of the existing social sharing tools and still failed to find one that did what I truly wanted, I knew I couldn’t be the only one who was frustrated by this challenge. That experience is why I made the decision to build and launch Viral Content Buzz.
Since building an entire platform is no easy task, I recruited MyBlogGuest founder and long time personal friend Ann Smarty as my partner. Because she feels the same way about great content as I do, we knew from the very beginning that our platform would be moderated for quality.
One of the effects of our commitment to quality is that Viral Content Buzz doesn’t require any obligatory or reciprocal voting. Instead, our discovery process makes it easy to earn credits by sharing great content that you’ll actually want your followers to read.
Built For and By Content Marketers
As content marketers, Ann and I both knew what we wanted Viral Content Buzz to do. But we also knew that we didn’t want to limit its features to our personal opinions. Instead, we wanted a system that could grow around feedback from our users. So we have been rapidly implementing updates based on users suggestions.
Before we dive into all of the great features we’ve added as a result of user feedback, here’s a two minute look at how Viral Content Buzz works:
VIRAL CONTENT BUZZ
Now that you know the basics of how VCB works, here’s a look at some of our latest features:
- A Karma system that builds trust based on quality
- Pinterest, Facebook, Facebook business page and StumbleUpon support (Google+ support coming soon)
- Browser bookmarklet
- Customizable dashboard with two layout options
- Easy to schedule sharing
- Unlimited folders and labels to organize projects
- Customizable reports that are easy to download and email
Viral Content Buzz Labs and Upcoming Features
The best way to think of the Viral Content Buzz Labs is as a type of content marketing playground. Currently, this section of our platform has three tools that you can start using today for free. Those tools are an Activity Analyzer, Pinterest Analytics and a chat client for Twitter.
I’m also happy to announce that we have two new features that are almost ready to go live. The first is the ability for our users to connect multiple Twitter accounts with their VCB account. The second is enabling busy VCB users like SEO agencies to purchase sharing credits.
We will always allow our users to earn credits for free by sharing. But for those who don’t have time to earn credits, this upcoming feature will ensure they’re still able to use VCB to maximize the social signals their best content receives.
While those are our two biggest updates for the next month or two, we’re always looking for new ways to improve our platform. If you sign up for a free account and do a little sharing, I’d love for you to leave a comment below with any feedback you have about your experience!
