I have now identified the most common mistakes businesses are making on their blogs. If you use a blog correctly, it can provide traffic to your website and business where you can be interacting and engaging with your customers and site visitors. Using a blog is about sharing your thoughts and information through writing, images and videos. It is like having your very own platform to publish posts related to your business and industry.

Here are the common mistakes that you should avoid when using a blog;

1. Not integrating your blog with your website.
Your blog is published on its own domain which is separate from your website. This can be damaging to your business’s search engine optimisation, branding and the content your business is publishing. Have your blog attached to your website in a separate tab.

2. Too much product content
A lot of businesses are publishing posts about the business, product, service and accomplishments. Instead of creating product focused content and concentrate on what is occurring in the industry you are in. You do not need to share everything you do as a business but what the industry is doing. This type of content will attract readers who will gain social interaction.

3. Not publishing frequently
Some businesses are guilty of not posting on a regular basis and when they do, it is not enough to make your blog effective. Keep publishing blog posts on a weekly basis to keep social interaction between you and your readers.

4. Not optimising your search
Some business do not categorise and add tags to the blog posts they publish. You are not optimising the opportunity to be found in searches made by people. By identifying key words related to the business, use it effectively to be found in searches made.

5. Failing to promote your blog in the social media platform
When you publish a blog post, make sure you are using other social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, etc) to promote and share the post. You need to direct your audience to visit the blog.

6. Ignoring your blog stats
Businesses do not realise they can evaluate how they are doing on their blogs. You can monitor how many views you get on a daily basis, where they visit from and how many comments are made. Pay regular attention to these stats so you are aware of how well your blog is doing.

7. Disabling comments
Some businesses have disabled readers from commenting on their blogs. It is vital to have readers comment on your blog because you can create a discussion where others will form opinions that may surprise you.

8. Replying to comments
A blog is a two way process for businesses and readers to interact. People will lose trust in your business as you are not replying to the comments made by readers.

9. Terrible post titles
Have a clear post title so people can read it to understand what your post is going to be about. Have it specific to your business and relate the blog posts to the industry you are in.

10. Sharing other people’s blog posts
businesses should insert an URL to the blog post they are commenting on so people can read the blog post you have collective thoughts about. There is no point writing about something else’s post blog when people do not know what you are writing about.

Blogging has allowed me to share my thoughts and opinions when I get asked a question or want to join in, in a debate that has been speculating the media. This made me realise, businesses can use blogging as a way to showcase their expertise on a frequent basis where they write about what is happening in their business and the industry they are in. There are a number of free to register blog sites such as Blogspot and WordPress.

Here are tips on how to use blogging to benefit your business objectives;

Building trust and credibility

1. Share your own opinion, insight and experiences in your particular market place.
2. Answer those common questions clients or customers you get all the time.
3. Give your readers links to other interesting blogs and articles you think they might find interesting that is related to your business.
4. Show off your exposure when you deserve it by showing your company featuring on other sites or media.
5. Sharing content with the readers and customers that is relevant to what they might be seeking for.
6. Post a video of what occurs at an event and share slides from presentations so others can read.
7. If you are going to be at an event or function, mention it in a blog post. Make readers aware of it by sharing details to it.
8. Be original, fresh and first to break news that concerns your market, industry or what your customers are talking about it.

Marketing your business

9. Talk about what your mission statement is for your business.
10. Keep your readers informed about the events you and your business will be attending throughout the year.
11. Reward your readers by offering discounts or other special offers just for them.
12. Talk about those who work for your business, share other personalities for others to know about.
13. When you have a new product coming out, talk about what new things are planned for the future.
14. Always show a personality to your business, bring it to life and the customers will respect you for it.
15. Discuss what your business is to your customers (Who are you and why you do what you do).
16. Conduct frequent poll or survey to get your customer input (It’s a two way process, not one way). It will draw more engagement to your blog by giving readers a chance to have their say.
17. Publish testimonials to the blog. It will gain a lot more trust into your business.
18. Allowing comments, if you do not allow comments then you are limiting the interaction you want readers to have to share their comments.
19. Promote your website and other social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc) you use.
20. Sharing reviews of products by others that interest your readers and customers.
21. Be proactive when it comes to handling any complaints about your product or service.

Engaging with customers and readers

22. Allow comments on your blog but have moderated rules around what can be said.
23. Encourage your readers to get involved in the conversation.
24. Answer comments as people will want to get an expert view on the matter.
25. Listen to what your readers are saying about you, your business and your product.
26. Write about what is working and not working for you and your products.
26. Write about what is working and not working for your customers. write about how customers are using your products that you may have not imagined.
27. Write about how customers have influenced you to improve your product or business.
28. Ask for feedback for your blog and listen to the feedback given.
29. Use your blog to announce any holdups, mishaps or anything which may affect your business or product.
30. Enjoy yourself sharing what you feel is appropriate towards your business, product and industry.

Following these easy steps will ensure you to have more interaction between you and your readers and customers. I hope this helps to clear up how to use a blog for a business and what you can do with it.

I have identified some mistakes businesses are making on YouTube and you can learn from these so called mistakes that you can avoid.

1. The channel has no theme
Do not post random videos which does not relate to your business. Create videos that relate to your business and industry. Some business channels lack a structure in their videos and people visit your channel to find more information about the business. It will make it easier for others to understand what your channel and videos are about.

2. The videos are not optimised
YouTube is a webpage, therefore it follows all of the same rules as a webpage when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It is vital to include titles, tags and description in comparison to the videos you are creating. Using quality keywords in the tags and make sure the description explains what the video is about.

3. Not including FULL URL
To direct the traffic to your website, please include your full URL in the description. It is a link that points to your site from a very popular site.

4. Not including links to other social media
A lot of businesses are not putting their other social media links in the description. Show that you are on other networking sites and people will start to connect with you even more.

5. No Watermark
This can be overlooked at times, having a subtle image in your video of a logo for branding or just your website URL and other social media sites (Twitter or Facebook) works wonders.

6. No call for direction
I think this a mistake that can be avoided and should be always looked up on. Nothing saying, click the link below for more information, or visit my website or even comment about this video and let me know your thoughts. Have a specific call to action in your video or no one will take action. You should gently lead people by hand and tell exactly what to do.

7. Video quality (Sound and visual)
I know when you are out and about you have your mobile phones and digital cameras but sometimes the video quality can be off putting to watch depending on where you are recording. Also, if you are recording your opinions and thoughts, make sure you are in a quite environment to avoid sound issues. If you can, try to film in HD.

8. Video structure
I have noticed businesses making videos and trying to fit everything under a time limit. Make your videos short so that you can make more videos about other issues surrounding your business and industry. Have a video for one topic.

9. No Comments
Disabling the function to not allow people to comment is a big no, no. YouTube is a place where people come to watch videos and share their thoughts. Allow people to comment and give their opinions too. If you do not interact with your users, then you are not fulfilling the use of YouTube.

10. Favouriting videos
There is no harming for you to favourite your videos that can relate to your business and industry. It shows you are not only thinking about yourself but sharing what competitions and industry experts are doing.

I hope you all enjoyed reading these most common mistakes businesses make on YouTube and avoid to make them yourself. If you would like me to research more about other social media tools businesses can use, please feel free to comment and leave your thoughts.

The start to the season could not have been any better in the Premier League, a group of young players in Cleverley, Welbeck, Anderson, Jones and Smalling coming into the team providing a very quick counter attacking team which left teams baffled at how to defend against them. Ashley Young had a great start to the season by scoring a few goals and assisting. There was always going to be pressure on Rooney to do well this season as it is with every season he participates in. He is one of the world’s best forwards in the game and he is one of the reasons why the Premier League popular around the world.

The difficult part to the season so far was the UEFA Champions League, most pundits were saying it was a group Man Utd would qualify from to the knock out stages. Having been grouped with Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati, it was clear to see on paper qualification would not be a challenge and the only threat would be Benfica. However, Man Utd ended up finishing 3^rd in the group missing out on the knockout stages (W2, D3, L1) with 9 points, it was a shocking with a team who have been in the finals of the competition on 3 occasions in the last 4 years. It was the home form that was worrying, dropping points at the Theatre of Dreams and allowing oppositions to play football.  It is not all bad, Man Utd will now play in the Europa League and I believe they have a chance to win it, more importantly it is a competition Sir Alex Ferguson has not won as yet and it could be an opportunity for him to do so.

The exit to Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup quarter finals showed if teams are not afraid to attack the home team at Old Trafford then they have the chance to score and win the game. The manager see’s the competition to help the reserve players who would break into the first team squad. It gave Pogba, Macheda, M Diouf, Fryers, Morrison, Amos, M. Keane and  L. Cole the chance to showcase what they have to be a Man Utd squad player. These reserve team players will one day get a breakthrough unless they get a loan move to another club to develop.

The summer transfer window, Man Utd had added De Gea, Jones and A.Young to the squad and veterans Van Der Sar, Scholes and earlier G. Neville retiring from the game. The question was, could De Gea be the first choice goalkeeper? He had a terrible start to the start with saving long shots but grew in confidence as the season went on. He’s not a traditional goalkeeper like Lindegaard is, De Gea is more acrobatic. Surely, having the world class forwards shooting at him in training will allow him to get better between the sticks. Young has started well with goals and assists, there is one thing I find annoying about him, he runs looking down when taking on full backs and often is predictable in his movements. I can see why some people are saying young Jones could potential be England’s next captain. He has tremendous qualities as a defender and he can also join in with the attack. He has played at RB, CB and in midfield so far and with injuries at the club he’ll get more starts to a great career at the club.

Injuries, where should I begin? The biggest loss to the squad is captain Vidic, his experience as a centre back will definitely be missed as he’s ruled out for the season. Another first team player who performs against big teams and is ruled out for the season is Fletcher, his work rate in midfield is like the engine to start the attack. Without him, there is no control in midfield to feed to the attackers and his support to the back four is irreplaceable. Injury prone Owen is out with a thigh muscle strain and there’s no date for his return. Cleverley is still nursing a foot/ankle problem. Defenders Smalling, Evans and Fabio should be available in the coming weeks. Man Utd need their defenders back fit so that players who have been covering them, can now play in their desired positions to help provide options for the bench when called up on.

However, I feel there is room for improvement as there is still something missing from the squad. A midfielder with scoring boots that can bag at least 15 goals a season. The team is lacking a creative midfielder who is able to attack by scoring goals and Carrick does not cut it for me. He is more of a midfielder who sits back and plays the long balls and short passes. Cleverley is still young and when he’s fit to play, I’m sure he’ll be winning to contribute with goals. As for Anderson who has returned without his predator locks, I hope he increases his goal tally. The team cannot rely on veteran Giggs, his experience is invaluable to any team and he still has that hunger to win. The strike force has a balance of characters that can change the game, Rooney will always be seen as a threat to the oppositions. With Hernandez, I think he needs to improve on his dribbling and passing as they are not his strong attributes but he is a clinical finisher that will pop out from positions leaving defenders looking over their shoulders. I actually feel for Berbatov, last season’s top goal scorer and now he is seen as a 4^th choice striker, he needs to pick up his feet and run more. Young Danny Welbeck, he reminds me of Andy Cole and Dwright Yorke combined together, movement, awareness and ability to score is the United way to play.

Once the injured players have come back, the team will look stronger and the games the players play together will form partnerships allow the team to win games. A player that will continue to improve as the season goes on is Nani, he has already contributed to the team and is now starting to look like the person who is going to be changing games. There are other players who will shine, Valencia, Park and Evra but there will be rumours within the January transfer window of signing a few players.

So which areas could Man Utd look to sign player(s) in the winter transfer window? A defender will be mentioned with Vidic being ruled out of the season and a few players struggling with minor knocks. I think a recognised or established right back is needed with Rafael known to picking up injuries. A defensive minded midfielder who can cover Fletcher’s position. A creative midfielder that has skills and feet to score 10 goals this season, I think Sneijder will sign for the 15^th time in the transfer window with the amount of media speculation. I would send Macheda and M. Diouf out on-loan to gain Premier League experience.

Let’s hope by the end of the season, Man Utd will be crowned Premier League champions, winners of the FA Cup and Europa League.

So here I am explaining where and what direction my blog should go this year. In the last few years, I have tried to aim my blog more around the media industry as I studied Media Studies at a degree level.  I have been blogging more about social media tools for which businesses can use to increase their social media status and I will continue to research more about it. I have had great feedback on the social media blog posts and some businesses have agreed that it has increased their popularity with the number of visitors and connections.

I will continue to write about the media industry including advertising, public relations, internet as well as radio and television. I believe it is a subject I cannot keep my fingers away from as I would like a career within the media industry. Even so, my love football keeps on growing especially supporting Manchester United for many years. But I do love the game and regularly watch games on TV and keep an eye out for spectacular games. When there is an issue surrounding the footballing world, I hope to give an opinion on the matter and let you folks agree and disagree with the points I put across.

One area of interest I would like to write up about is Diabetes. I have known a lot about the health condition as my mother has it and I have been to the last few appointments with her. I am aware that some people may find it wrong for me to write about as I am not a qualified Doctor nor have I had firsthand experience about people who live from the health condition. I aim to make more UK Asians aware of the health condition and offer them information with latest news surrounding the condition.

Overall, I aim to make my blog be viewed as many times as before and reach out to different people. I may write some odd blog posts but that is just me! I want to use my research techniques to conduct more blog posts for you all to read. I hope you enjoy my blog and if you want me to write about anything else, please feel free to write to me.

In the last 6 years, after leaving Secondary School, my emphasis was on education, I had set targets to achieve educational goals on a yearly basis. Especially, realising what is important to me. When I was in College, my aim was to get into University by studying my A-Levels and by doing so, I had gained 4 A-Levels in Media Studies, Film Studies and Business Studies Applied Double Award. This allowed me to go to University. Before going University, I had planned to do the best I can and learn more about Media Studies as I wanted to build up more knowledge about the industry having previously studied it as a GCSE and A-Level qualification. Each year at University was getting tougher and after the 3 years, I have now got a BA Hons next to my name! This was a proud moment for me as well as my family, something that proves my accomplishment which no one can take away from me.

So here is the list of my resolutions for 2012;
1. Find a job related to the degree I studied (Media Studies)
2 Purchase a smartphone to communicate with others
3. Join a gym to keep fit
4. Start to play football injury-free (I’ve had an ankle problem for some time)
5. Be a better people’s person to every one
6. Blog once a week so people can read my views (include photos and videos too)
7. Keep my social media tools (Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn) active and reach followers on Twitter
8. Grow in network by connecting with people from media industries
9. Enjoy every moment with friends and family by being more sociable
10. Get some of my friends to start writing a blog

And lastly, KEEP EVERYONE SMILING!!!

Let’s see how I get along with these resolutions by the end of next year and see if I have reached my goals!

So here is the tweet that I wanted RT’d; ‘If ‘twittername’ could RT this, @VeeksP will dress up as an Elf for Xmas! #Xmas #Elf #JokeTing #Over100RTs #FestiveTime’.

The challenge was set and if it was reached, @VeeksP would have to dress up as an Elf to join in with the Christmas festivities.

After asking people to get it RT’d, here are the following fabulous people on Twitter who did so.

@TEAMSTRANGER
@TawnyHeath
@grimedaily
@gemcairn
@anishavarsani
@Bubbadooki
@harika_parmar
@alisonmjackson
@dhruparmar
@Raxstar
@SereseWorld
@Emma_Singh
@BlingPR
@TindyGrewal
@SadiaOfficial
@nishasahdev
@mistajam
@mannisandhu
@__Kamm__
@SunnyandShay
@Modestep
@AmnKaur
@SuperstarSelah
@Ashaa_K
@Shreeya_26
@FraizerCampbell
@TashaTah
@offlicencemusic
@LuckyBhogal
@__annu
@Ajay5Patel
@Luke_Bingham
@ThisIsArtful
@DJBigKid
@metzntrix
@KEEARTIST
@VeeksP

This brings the amount of RT’s to 39! I didn’t reach my goal but it was worth a go! Once again, Thank You to all you wonderful people for RT’ing and supporting this cause. I know you’ll be up for fun and games in the future and can count on you fab people!

Thank You all, superstars!!!!

So here are ways to use YouTube for business;

Manage your profile

1. Set up a channel to reflect your brand.
2. Choose a user name that reflects your brand for your channel URL. People will remember your user name to find you quickly.
3. Add your channel URL to marketing collateral and other social media tools. Make sure you maximise your exposure to the audience.
4. Promote your events using recordings from previous events. This will reproduce the events you have been going through. Make the audience believe in your journey as a business.
5. Make sure YouTube users can comment on your videos, do not disable the function.

Your expertise and thoughts

6. Upload recordings of presentations you have given to demonstrate your public speaking skills. Allow people to see what you are doing and making sure they understand the theme of the presentation.
7. Create short videos of valuable tips. Engage and share your expertise on what is going around your business industry.
8. Conduct an interview with an expert. This can be difficult for a small business but there are ways around it to get someone else’s opinion on the subject matter.
9. Engage with other YouTube users by leaving comments and uploading video responses to videos on topics related to your business or industry.
10. Record an important meeting to share with employees, shareholders and others.

Sharing

11. Put together a creative video explaining your business/product or service. Enhance your business to show what you are about.
12. Post customer video testimonials to add to your credibility.
13. Show your product in action using effective style to grab attention of viewers.
14. Promote snippets of latest events, products or news. This can be in form of a trailer to the announcement. Create a buzz so customers can talk about it.
15. Post the videos to the announcement of events, products and news and lets others comment on your product or service.
16. Introduce your staff to customers, show who is a part of the team to success!
17. Take viewers on a tour of your office to help them feel connected to you.
18. Post YouTube links to other social media tools. Let others know your video’s are on YouTube.
19. Display your business information in every video including name, URL, phone number and e-mail address. Alternatively, you can include your business’s social networking information too. This can be done within the video itself at the beginning or the end.

Customer service

20. Create “how to” videos to help your customers use your product or service.
21. Post solutions to most common problems with your product or service.
22. Answer customer’s questions with a video response. Sometimes people do not want to read and providing a video for answers can enlighten the customer when it comes to advice.

1. Fill out your profile completely
Add a photo, filling out all the fields (your current position, past jobs, awards, affiliations and education). Take your time and put some effort into it. Your profile could be viewed by potential clients and industry professionals.

2. Summary section
Not generating any chemistry about your business. Capture the attention and convince people to continue reading down through your entire profile. Do not write your CV (resume), be creative and sell yourself by focusing on the benefits of working with your business. Keep it friendly and approachable.

3. Ask for recommendations
Every time you complete a project/transaction with a client, ask them to write a two or three sentence about the service given. Every time you get a recommendation, everyone in your network will see it and be reminded how good you are at what you do.

4. Keep your profile updated
Check your profile on a regular basis, making sure everything is up-to-date. Your contacts can appreciate the updates you are providing so that they know what your business is up to.

5. Neglecting groups
Join appropriate groups, participate in discussions and start your own conversations. This is the way to gain more contacts. If you are not getting involved then people will not know your thoughts and expertise on issues.

6. Adding contacts
Look at the contacts that are sending you invitations. Look to see if they are valuable to your business as they can prove to aid you through some challenges when your business comes across difficulties.

7. Default invitation message
Change the “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn”. Personalise your message to each individual. Just remind the invitee why you want to connect with them and how you know each other, be very specific.

8. Keep updates brief
We are all busy, be friendly, but get right to the point.

On Friday night I (@Krazykish14) was thinking, what can I use Twitter for, like in a challenging way. I thought ‘why not get more followers’, ‘start a game’ or get something trending. Then light bulb, I thought let’s get something funny RT’d! So as usual with my banter with @VeeksP, I keep on annoying him about when is he going India? Everyone knows when someone is going India, they are either looking to get married or getting married! It had got to a point when the banter was about ‘when are you going to find a wife from India and when is the big wedding day’.

Instantly, @VeeksP agreed to set me a challenge to get a tweet RT’d over a 100 times and he would  go to India and search for his future wife. This is all for a jokes only because I was bored and wanted to experiment with Twitter.

This is the tweet I came up to support the cause (obviously it’s for jokes) “If you could RT this, it helps to send @VeeksP to India and find a wife. #India #WifeyNeeds #Housewife #JokeTing #Over100RT”.

I was on my mission to get over 100 RT’s, tweeting everyone on my following and followers list. This is an opportunity to say Thank You for You, yes You, the tweepers who supported the cause and played their part in the fun.

Here are the people who RT’d the tweet…
@AmnKaur
@biraj_b
@offlicencemusic
@SlimSaga
@Shenamusiq
@Jyoto_B
@Ashaa_K
@Rahul_360
@KEEARTIST
@Artful_Official
@LuckyBhogal
@Johnny_Shah
@SadiaOfficial
@shuleelais
@KazzKumar
@IndyBeats
@06sarieshkhan
@mannisandhu
@Bubbadooki
@Raxstar
@SwamiBaracus
@NishNusound
@jemika27
@Shreeya_26
@00Vizz
@anishavarsani
@SunnyandShay
@JuggySingh94
@__annu
@JunaiKaden
@shizzio
@Ajay5Patel
@GillnorahS

So the amount of RT’s I got was 33 but the total amount of RT’s is 39 as @Rahul_360 RT’d 6 of them! Overall, I am chuffed at the amount of support you gave and I cannot stop laughing at @offlicencemusic’s tweet “@Krazykish14 lol smashed it, let’s get him to India first class”.

I now know who are the fun tweepers to follow and who would be up for a laugh by RT’ing my tweets in the future when I need support! Once again, thanks for making the weekend a memorable and epic one!