Word of Mouth Marketing - Social Media - Search Visibility

February 2009 Archive

The following posts were made in February 2009. You may subscribe to the RSS feed for this archive if you would like to take your time reading through our posts.

Social Media ROI - A Podcast with David Meerman Scott

BY JASON CORMIER

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Size: 12.5 MB
Length: 13:37

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Show Notes:

Room 214 Co-Founder, Jason Cormier, interviews best-selling author and online marketing thought leader, David Meerman Scott.

In this podcast, we discuss:

1. Old-school measurement for ROI: What is really a "lead?" People want to apply same measures to social media. Traditional measures are being applied to social media marketing when so many other aspects of business simply don't. Example: What's the ROI of the receptionist, or even the accounting department for that matter?

2. We can measure how many people are exposed to our ideas, downloaded our YouTube video, etc. but these are very different measurements compared to traditional ROI measurements.

3. David states that ultimately, the ROI argument is used as an excuse based in fear. Many companies are simply afraid of social media.

4. David's new book, World Wide Rave: How ideas spread and why people talk about you and your company. The first step in the formula for success is very counter-intuitive to marketers: Nobody cares about your products except you. To create something that has potential to spread, you can't talk about these things. As soon as your product is brought into the equation, nobody cares.

5.    Key take-away: Doing lots of activities in online marketing as opposed to one or just a few, should be the expectation when it comes to increasing your chances of success.

Notes: You can check out David's blog at WebInkNow.com. I really enjoyed this interview, and am looking forward to reading his new book.

TAGS: SOCIAL MEDIA ROI • DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT • SOCIAL MEDIA RETURN ON INVESTMENT • WORLD WIDE RAVE • MARKETING THOUGHT LEADER • SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT • CTC PODCAST

Posted at 9:30 am | 3 Comments | Share this podcast

Blogging Best Practices Checklist

BY JASON CORMIER

I know there is already a great deal of information on this, but it keeps coming up in client conversations. Since one of our clients recently requested that we create a checklist, I'm posting a version of it here to share with you all. As always, feel free to add your input too!

Blogging Best Practices Checklist


When Posting
1. Title: Intriguing titles go a long way. Consider using odd numbers as part of your title (example: The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media)

2. Keywords: As much as possible, use your top keywords in:
i.) The post title
ii.) Hyperlinks pointing to older posts or specific company web pages in the post body
iii.) Tags used to describe the post subject matter

3. Scheduling: Consult your editorial calendar, in addition to top keywords highlighted in your SEO/Analytics report and/or your keyword analysis. No less that one post per week if possible.

4. Images: Including an image with a post is recommended when possible. Use your keywords in the image "alt" attribute when possible

5. Links: Link to other blogs and/or to previous posts of your own (using keywords for links to posts of your own when possible)

6. Post Length and Content: Mix up length of your posts. Don't be afraid to be brief (i.e. 200 words). When possible, offer analysis, new tips and tricks

7. Submitting: If resources are available, run your pending post by a trusted advisor or editor who can do a review, make minor edits and immediately submit on your behalf. If it has to go back to you for your "final approval," it may not be worth having an approval process.

8. Announcing: Sometimes announce on other social networks to notify others about your post (example: Facebook or Twitter). Chris Brogan recommends doing this tactfully by writing a question, then including a link to your post. Also remember not all posts are Twitter worthy - so don't abuse this.

When Commenting
1. On Your Blog: Comment to other's comments in your own blog. This will grow the conversation and ad more value to your posts

2. On Other Blogs: Make your comments thoughtful, beginning often by referencing what stood out to you in the post or in another's comments. Strive to include a valuable take-away for anyone else reading your comments

3. Frequency: No hard rule, but remember conversations are easier to join than start. Commenting on a few of the same blogs often can establish a relationship with the blogger and their audience.

4. Linking: If you are linking to content of your own, be sure it very relevantly addresses the topic at hand. Consider including links to other blogs often. Linking to your own content in a comment is better received when the blogger recognizes you have commented earlier.

TAGS: BLOGGING • BEST PRACTICES • SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES • BLOG COMMENTING • BLOG CHECKLIST • BLOG POSTING

Posted at 5:00 pm | 9 Comments | Share this blog post

Podcast with the Penguin - Jeremy Tanner

BY JASON CORMIER

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Size: 9.2 MB
Length: 09:58

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Show Notes:

Room 214 Co-founder, Jason Cormier, interviews Boulder-based social media consultant, Jeremy Tanner.

In this podcast, we discuss:

1. To follow or not to follow: Acceptable twitter manners - great people in person doesn't always transfer to great people on Twitter.

2. Advantages of Facebook vs Twitter: Facebook throttles down notifications, meaning you won't receive constant updates from a person on Facebook, even if they are posting 20 items an hour.

3. A day in the life of Jeremy Tanner: It starts with his iphone (of course)

4. Bridging the gap between online and offline communications: It's about keeping two-way conversations. Also, don't forget or be afraid to pick up the phone. 

 

Be sure to check out Jeremy at http://www.jeremytanner.com, and follow him via twitter at http://twitter.com/penguin

TAGS: JEREMY TANNER • PENGUIN • TWITTER • FACEBOOK • FRIENDFEED • LINKEDIN • SOCIAL MEDIA • CAPTURE THE CONVERSATION PODCAST

Posted at 9:00 am | 1 Comment | Share this podcast