Holistic Technology Enabled Internet Marketing Solutions

Well, the holiday rush is all through and we are settled into the new year. I always love to take this time of year to plan ahead and look at my goals for the year to come. I also find a lot of interest in seeing what other people have for aspirations, it can help serve as an inspiration for myself. As you think about your goals for your business in the year to come, you should also see where your website and content management system is going in the new year. Take a little time and research your CMS, whether it is proprietary or open source, to see what new developments are in store this year… if any.

Check to Make Sure Your CMS is Actively Improving

Your CMS is the driving force behind your website, so don’t you want to know that it is actively being worked on? A CMS should have a development team that is keeping an eye out for security updates, fixing all bugs, and looking for ways to improve and upgrade the system. If you have a proprietary CMS, check in with the company and ask what progress they plan on making in the new year. If your CMS is open source, visit the online community and see when the latest version is coming out, along with the buzz about any new functionality.

While researching, do you find that you hear a lot of news about new updates and plans? Then get excited and interested about a new feature that you can add this year! Little to no action? This could be a sign that your CMS is getting phased out or not going anywhere, in which case it may be time to start looking for a better one that will grow with new technologies.

Open Source CMS Plans for 2011

I don’t know about you, but I like to keep an ear out for any CMS news and updates throughout the year! Here are some tidbits about the 2011 plans for the most popular open source CMSs:

Drupal – The developers at Drupal started 2011 with a bang by releasing the newest version, Drupal 7. New features include a revamped administration area, custom content fields, and other improvements for developers. From what I have seen of the new administrative section, it is a lot easier to move around and manage. The Drupal community is also growing with more testers and developers!

Joomla! – Joomla! has also just come out with a new upgrade from version 1.5 to 1.6. I am excited about this upgrade because it finally includes the ability for advanced multi-level categories, where before you were limited to just sections and categories. Other improvements all add to a faster, more powerful system. Joomla! also has a large community that is always helping with development.

WordPress – Last summer WordPress released the latest version, 3.0. Since then, they have been taking time to improve the community, and are working on the newest version, 3.1. They have asked for suggestions for 2011 and will making more future development plans this month.

No matter what CMS you use, remember that technology is changing super fast these days, and a CMS that does not grow with the times may work now, but will have problems in the future. So keep track of what your CMS developers are up to and make sure your CMS is growing and improving!

This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.

Wow yesterday was quite a day! Made it around the world, visited billions of people with NORAD tracking me the whole time!

As everyone plays with their gifts, dons their new sweaters and start to travel home – I wanted to say ‘Thank You’. Thanks for sharing the spirit. I also want to say… now it is time to get down to business! Year end is here and we all have lots of planning to do!

This is time to get organized and make our goals for 2011. While reading along with the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar, some of my favorite internet marketing elves taught me a thing or two that I wanted to share:

• Alayna gave us all so much information on how to come up with content, important information about how to keep our CMS website’s up to snuff and she threw in some serious holiday planning tips too!
• Alex knows a lot about PPC marketing! A lot of people use PPC to target people that are looking for their products, services or answers but I think if more people took Alex’s advice we could save some money and target people better.
• Amanda had a lot of good ideas about coming up with new content this year. It is hard to know how much content to put out and how to get it to the people that need it. I loved her ideas about email marketing. That could be a good idea for me… think how many children I could write to!
• Chris, I have never seen him blog before but he sure does know a lot about ecommerce sites. I know a lot of people that could use his advice!
• Jenika is funny. I also think she likes the movie A Christmas Story. She had a lot of references to the Parker family. I loved her tips on using Foursquare. Think of how many badges I could have gotten if I checked in at all the places I visited last night!
• Kyle made me laugh. I got more tips from him on how to keep my tree alive than I have on the dozens of other sites I have visited. He also knows a lot about design and getting new useful content on our websites.
• Mike is the smart, silent type but I really appreciated his tips on shopping online. I really hope people are more controlled when using their credit cards online.

All of these internet marketing elves were on the ‘Nice’ list and I think we can all learn a lot from them to meet our website goals in 2011!

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar

• Dec. 24 – Santa is Everywhere (Even Online)!
• Dec. 23 – Is Your Web Content a Pink Nightmare?
• Dec. 22 – We Are Santa’s Elves
• Dec. 21 – Holiday CMS Shopping
• Dec. 20 – Top Searches in 2010 – Plus Facebook Statuses and Twitter Trends
• Dec. 19 – Get Your Website Prepared for Holiday Events Early
• Dec. 18 – Use Foursquare to Get Discounts on Holiday Gifts
• Dec. 17 – Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party
• Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
• Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
• Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
• Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
• Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
• Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
• Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
• Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
• Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
• Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
• Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
• Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
• Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
• Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
• Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
• Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content

This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.

I am usually pretty good at my Christmas shopping, I think about it early, make all my lists (and check them twice!), and then shop around for the best deals. I feel pretty good about this year, I finished up my shopping last week and I just need to wrap the massive pile of boxes that have taken over my closet… As you finish up your Christmas shopping, now may be a good time to start thinking about doing some CMS research and shopping for the new year.

Photo Credit: alliecreative

Take Time to Review Your Website

It is always good to take time each year to evaluate your website and see how it is doing and what you can improve. Think about the content you are providing as well as the design and technical aspects of your website. If you have a CMS, it is especially important to make sure that you are keeping updated with web technology and trends so that you know your system is up to date.

I recently read one article that reviewed the open source CMS market from 2010 and found the results to be interesting. This article gathered results through a survey as well as metrics including which products were downloaded the most. Not surprisingly, WordPress, Joomla and Drupal were the most popular. They are the most well known and have a lot of supporters developing for them. If you have an open source CMS, take a look and see how yours compares!

Keep In Mind the Future of CMSs

When I buy gifts for people I try to think about how they will use it for years to come. When evaluating and shopping around for a new CMS, make sure that what you pick is flexible for any additions you may want in the years to come. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do know that mobile devices are growing and that being able to quickly and easily update your CMS through a mobile app will be a must have in the future. Your website should also look good through a mobile device, which may mean creating a mobile only version that shows a simple organization of content without all the flashy features. I think that the best CMSs will also move towards a much easier, user friendly administration area. Make sure that your CMS does not have a gazillion features that you will not use; the simpler it is, the better.

If you keep these ideas in your mind when doing your post Christmas website planning and shopping you should be able to find the perfect web gift for your company!

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar

• Dec. 20 – Top Searches in 2010 – Plus Facebook Statuses and Twitter Trends
• Dec. 19 – Get Your Website Prepared for Holiday Events Early
• Dec. 18 – Use Foursquare to Get Discounts on Holiday Gifts
• Dec. 17 – Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party
• Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
• Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
• Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
• Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
• Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
• Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
• Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
• Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
• Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
• Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
• Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
• Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
• Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
• Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
• Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
• Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content

This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.

Holiday parties are one of the things I look forward to the most this time of year! I love food and I love my friends, and holiday parties are a great way to combine the two. This week I have been finishing up plans for the annual Christmas Gala (sounds fancy doesn’t it?) that I host with my fiance. We have been busy compiling the guest list, decorating the apartment and figuring out the menu. Our guests are always at the front of our mind so that we can provide a variety of food and entertainment that will please all. It is a fun challenge!

Just like with any party, your website planning needs to consider your audience and provide a good variety of content. This takes a lot of work to keep everyone engaged. For a successful website think of it like an online party and keep the following tips in mind:

Photo Credit: andruby

1. Know Who You Are Entertaining
   One year we made the mistake of providing mostly meat and cheese, leaving the vegetarians with a poor choice of food. This time around we have rounded out a menu to please the vegetarians, meat lovers and those with a sweet tooth in the group. When planning a strategy for your website the first thing to consider is your audience. Think about who will be visiting your website and what kind of content they are looking for. Make sure to provide valuable information for everyone who will be visiting!
2. Make Sure The Venue Looks Good
   The tree is decorated, the lights are up and the Yule Log is ready to be played on our TV. In the hours before the party I will be taking care of the other details that make our guests feel festive. A well designed site is very important, but so are the smaller details throughout the content. If you have a CMS this is something that you need to take note of as you add new content. Take a look at each page and make sure that the content flows well – headers are the correct size, images are not squished against the text and there are not any crazy colors or large fonts.
3. Provide Constant Entertainment and Food
   Our guests never complain that they are bored or hungry. We make room for socializing, singing along to carols, and playing games. And, no matter what you are doing, food is available! In the same sense, you do not want to let your website run out of content. Make sure there is plenty of valuable content to look at, because if you stop providing content then people will leave and won’t come back. I only have to entertain guests for a few hours, your website is online looking for attention 24/7!
4. Don’t Forget The Treats!
   My favorite part of party planning is making all the treats! This year I will set out a variety of cookies, cheese cake bites, whoopie pies and candy throughout the apartment for people to enjoy. Providing content “treats” on your website will keep your visitors happy too! Give them some free tips, downloads, or interactions and visual media that will give your visitors a reason to stay on your site and then recommend it to others.

Hopefully these tips will help you get ready for your own holiday party as well as your online gathering! Just remember to always think about who you are entertaining and what will keep them happy. Pay attention to what people are saying and use that to improve for the next year, or in the case of your website – all year round!

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar

• Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
• Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
• Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
• Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
• Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
• Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
• Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
• Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
• Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
• Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
• Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
• Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
• Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
• Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
• Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
• Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content