#DolceBelletto: How-to Stay in the Know

Google Alerts is a service that allows users to sign up for info
to be emailed to them as it hits the web

By: Contrecia T. Tharpe
April 10, 2014

The best way to stay ahead in business and to remain progressive in whatever you are doing is to remain in the know about the things going on in your industry, with your indirect and direct competitors and with certain things that may affect your demographic/consumer. This also allows you to become more knowledgable on certain subjects which increases your expertise level in that area.

The question is always asked, 'how do I stay in the know' and the answer is always, usually, and sarcastically, 'Industry magazines or Google'.  While the answer seems to be the norm, many people do not know about a service that Google offers called Google Alerts.  Per Google, Google Alerts is "emails sent to you when Google finds new results--such as web pages, newspaper articles or blogs--that match your search term". You can select the frequency that you receive the email notifications...I recommend once per day.  The emails come to the email that you specify when entering your query(ies) and feature clickable links that take you to the articles or blogs.  You can also share the post directly from the email on your social media sites (Google +, Facebook and Twitter are the only ones currently supported directly through Google Alerts).  This allows you to post articles to your social media with hashtags and links to more information that people may be searching for...if people utilize your links, they are more likely to RT or share directly from your page, which increases your pages(s) awareness, visibility and followers/likes. Also, when you click on the link and share it directly from the source, it will more often than not include the @ name of the person or organization who wrote the article.  This will, typically, create a relationship between you and the post's author....either way, it's a win-win.  You get to stay in the know, share content with your demographic and increase your page's awareness and visibility!

Now the question is "how do I set up the alerts?"

1. Visit www.google.com/alerts (can be accessed from a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone)
2. Enter your query (can be a word or phrase; one query per submission)
3. Select Result type (everything, news, blogs, discussions, video, books)
4. Select Language
5. Select Region (select Any Region to receive information from all around the world)
6. Select Frequency (once-a-day, once-a-week or as it happens; I recommend once a day)
7. Select How Many (only best results or all results; I recommend all results)
8. Enter the email address that you want the query(ies) emailed to
9. Begin the process over again for the next query.

You can also revisit this page to manage the alerts that you have set up.  This comes in handy when you want to delete a query or change the frequency, type or region that you want to receive. 

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Book Synopsis: Your brand and image are two major components necessary for success, but often neglected.  BRAND-AID: A GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING A BRAND AND IMAGE FOR SUCCESS aids its readers in the beginning stages of creating a brand and image that caters to their demographic, speaks to their craft/profession/career and presents a strong message to the public. 

This book focuses on developing a brand and image that embodies Dolcè Belletto’s 3 C’s: cohesiveness, clarity and consistency.  Each chapter is filled with information, tasks and activities so that the reader is able to gain a better understanding of the material they just read.