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Many companies realise the importance of social media, but don’t know where to start when it comes to thinking about which platforms they’re going to use and how they’re going to use them.


Here at Codastar we believe that you can tailor your social media content to suit your needs and we’ve collected together some examples of how different organisations big and small use their social media platforms.


Today we’re particularly looking at how Twitter can be used as a customer relations and service or product promotions tool. The great thing about these suggestions is they can be tweaked and expanded upon depending on your specific business needs and the services you offer your customers and other companies.


Customer Relations


Who should you follow: Your current customers and anyone you see as a potential customer.


What kind of content should you create: Content that’s relevant to customers, like tips and company information.


Who should you engage with: Answer questions people may have, respond to any mentions of your company.


Mobile phone and network provider O2 has a Twitter stream called @O2 which serves a lot of different purposes, particularly answering customer queries and picking up on mentions of the brand:



O2 Tweets



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hootsuiteThis is the second post in a series about how to effectively manage your social media assets.


This week we’re going to be exploring the basics of online management tool HootSuite.


Like TweetDeck it lets you access different social networks all in one place and updates instantly, so you can keep on top of everything without having to use different accounts, browsers and platforms.


However, unlike TweetDeck, you don’t need to download HootSuite, instead it’s a web interface that you can easily sign up to and then log-in to using just your browser.


When you first use HootSuite, you’ll be greeted with a home page that allows you to add your social networks:



Hootsuite Home Page



Although HootSuite is a very popular Twitter tool, you can add a range of networks, including LinkedIn, WordPress and MySpace.


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This week, as part of our social media management tools series, we’ll be looking at the benefits of using Seesmic.


Over the past few weeks we’ve explored TweetDeck, which is a desktop and mobile application and HootSuite, which is a web-based dashboard. However, you can use Seesmic in whichever way you prefer.


Signing up to Seesmic takes a matter of seconds, just enter your Twitter details and you’ll be greeted with this message and your own personalised dashboard:


Seesmic Screenshot

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What is it?

Not only can you now integrate the Facebook “Like” button into your blog, but you can also use Facebook’s new commenting system. This basically replaces the usual comments section on a website or blog with a simple plug-in that is branded up to look a little more like Facebook with added Facebook functionality.

This is TechCrunch’s comment section, which as you can see has Facebook names, pictures and the ability to “Like” and reply:


Facebook comments on TechCrunch


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Here at Codastar we’ve been working with the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps for more than three years and have recently begun offering its members the unique chance to build their own online voice through their own slick and tailored website.

Here’s the website we created for John’s Chimney Sweeps:

Chimney sweep website


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To ensure your content ranks highly in Google and has been fully optimised for search, it’s important to not just concentrate on text, keywords and blog posts, but to think about how you can make your videos SEO friendly too.

Not only will your videos show up when people search within YouTube, they also appear within a normal Google search.

For instance, if you search for “how to dye hair” you’ll find a lot of normal content as well as a special section dedicated to YouTube video content:

Google Screenshot

In the same way you’d think about titles and wording in normal online copy, it’s also important to properly consider what title, description and tags you will add to your YouTube videos in order to increase the chance they’ll be shown in search.


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Location based networking has become a big hit over the past 12 months due to the development of new GPS technologies and platforms like FourSquare and Gowalla being constantly introduced and updated.

Therefore, it came as no surprise when Facebook decided to get in on the action last year and set up Facebook Places.

Facebook Places

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Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a crucial consideration for any business or brand that has a website. SEO actions aims to get your online assets rank as highly in Google as possible for the range of searches relevant to your business, which is vital to drive more people to your website and ultimately grow your company.



SEO and PPC



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Last week we wrote a post about the importance of updating elements on older websites in order to work your way further up Google rankings. However, it’s not just about ticking all the boxes when it comes to picture tags and CSS, the user experience is really important too and something websites both new and old need to constantly be considering.


Smart Information Consultancy Screenshot


If Internet users are choosing between two companies, they’re more often than not going to compare their websites and ultimately go with the one that looks good, has lots of calls to action and is easy to use and navigate.

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