Setup your own URL Shortener i.buzz.io

Written by Josh Carr Superstar on . Posted in branding, Good Idea, Marketing, SEO, social media, twitter, Viral Marketing

domai.nr

I have wanted to create a custom URL shortener using Bit.ly for a long time and I just figured out how.

 

Step 1. Buy a Short URL

If you haven’t used domain.nr before it is the perfect place to find snooty, geeky domains that guys with trendy glasses who spend too much time sipping espresso will LOVE.  Names like Flickr, del.icio.us and buzz.io

domai.nr

Step 2. Set an A Record or CNAME record to point your tiny url to bit.ly

doing this is a little bit different on each web host but usually very simple.  bit.ly will give you the CNAME and A records to use. If you are doing a subdomain like I did (i.buzz.io) you MUST use the CNAME.

One tip: lower your TTL value so when bit.ly checks for it it will see it quickly

 

Step 3. Add it to your bit.ly account

Log into bit.ly and go to account>settings and you should see something like this:

bit.ly custom url

That’s it – you should be ready to go.  Now when you add a link to twitter you can be as cool as the New York Times or other bigshots. This is a great tool for branding or any type of viral marketing.

 

 

 

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Creating Buzz like Celebs

Written by eddie on . Posted in Advertising, buzz, Marketing, PR, Search Marketing, SEO, Viral Marketing

bsDo you think celebrities think about building buzz? Or are their actions totally spontaneous and it just so happens that they create buzz? Call me crazy, but I’m guessing celebrities aren’t thinking. Buzz just forms around them because of the stupid things they do and then they are branded by their actions.

It would be great if creating big buzz around your brand were that easy. But it’s not. Building buzz online is kind of the opposite of building celebrity buzz. While their buzz stems from a lack of thinking and common sense, online buzz comes as a result of careful planning and strategy. And even then, there’s no guarantee that we will be successful.
Perhaps we can learn some things from our buzz-friendly celebs:
1. Do something ridiculous/interesting. Some people have opted for the “jumping on couches” or DUI approach. Both are great approaches that get a lot of buzz. In the marketing world this is what we would call the message. This is what you are trying to communicate to your audience about your product or service; what is going to get them talking. But make it good – preferably something that doesn’t involve scandal.
2. Have an Avenue. You need a place that allows everything you do to be attributed back to you. Celebs don’t really have their own avenues. Lots of them have their own websites, but everything that is said about them can rarely be traced back to one central location. Hopefully you won’t be the focus of any gossip columns, so you will just need a website or a blog. You want to make sure you can monitor clicks, visitors, revenue, etc. on your own domain.
3. Find your loyal readers to spread your message. Us, People, Perez Hilton and E! News are extremely loyal to our misguided celebs. They are on the ball when it comes to getting information first and spreading the news as quickly as possible. Find your loyal online readers.
4. Unlike celebrities, we have to be prepared to fail. Everyone will always read about celebrities and their slip-ups, but not everyone will care about your new product or service. I know nobody likes to think about the possibility of failure but, unlike celebrities, we have to be realistic. Who knows, there’s also the possibility of being pleasantly surprised by your results.

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