Word of Mouth Marketing - Social Media - Search Visibility

Vote Now - 2nd Annual Open Web Awards

BY JASON CORMIER

As a Mashable blog partner for the 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, we encourage you to celebrate the best of the web by making your voice heard now (though you actually have until November 30).

The Open Web Awards is the only multilingual international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Last year over 250,000 votes combined to recognize honors and top achievements in 26 categories. Winners included Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Mahalo, Woot!, etc. Feel free to review the rules, grab the widget or begin your voting now!

TAGS: MASHABLE • OPEN WEB AWARDS • BLOG PARTNER

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The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media

BY JAMES CLARK

The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media: Summary

Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Yuck - the power of the word is evident in just looking at this infamous list.

The forces of good and evil are universal principles both online and offline. We all come into the real world (and the virtual one) as innocent babes. But once we arrive, our actions can bring us glory or shame.
 
In the world of social media, are you going to be a force for good? Or are you going to turn to the dark side - ruining your chances and infuriating those who cross your path?

Continue Reading...

TAGS: THE 7 DEADLY SINS OF SOCIAL MEDIA • SOCIAL MEDIA • BEST PRACTICES • JAMES CLARK • ROOM 214 • CAPTURE THE CONVERSATION • CTC BLOG • SOCIAL NETWORKING ARTICLE • WOMM ARTICLE

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A Social Media Discussion with Marshall Kirkpatrick

BY JASON CORMIER

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Size: 10.7 MB
Length: 11:34

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Show Notes:

Room 214 Co-founder, Jason Cormier, interviews ReadWriteWeb's lead blogger and social media consultant, Marshall Kirkpatrick.

In this podcast, we discuss:

1. Quick Advice for what's working best in blogging these days (unique analysis, being first to release the news, posting out to others and broader participation in new social networks).

2. What's exciting in terms of new social media tools? Friendfeed's new instant messaging integration, enabling people to be more consistently engaged in online conversations.

3. ReadWriteWeb and their latest project, Jobwire.

4. How the state of the economy is effecting social media. The importance of Community Managers in social media: Do startups need Community Mangers?

5. The need for a Community Manager as it relates to drawing out the highlights of conversations, team building and response.

Note: Talking with Marshall is always a treat because he is so effectively tracking with what matters most in practical applications of social media. We had the pleasure of using him as a consultant last year to review our blog and podcasting application, Post Zinger - and he was able to provide some great insight within minutes of our first conversation.

Be sure to check out his new Jobwire project with ReadWriteWeb, and follow his personal MarshallK blog or via twitter at http://twitter.com/marshallk

TAGS: MARSHALL KIRKPATRICK • READWRITEWEB • JOBWIRE • SOCIAL MEDIA • COMMUNITY MANAGER • FRIENDFEED • BLOGGER • BLOGGING • CAPTURE THE CONVERSATION PODCAST • POSTZINGER • INSTANT MESSAGING

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A Conversation with Tribune Interactive's Social Media Strategist, Daniel Honigman

BY JASON CORMIER

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Size: 11.5 MB
Length: 12:29

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Show Notes:

Room 214 Co-founder, Jason Cormier, interviews Tribune Interactive's Social Media Strategist, Daniel Honigman

In this podcast, we discuss:

1. Mainstream media's need to adopt social media, and Daniel Honigman's recognition of the touch points missing from traditional media and news organizations.

2. The Chicago Tribune's successful use of "Colonel Tribune" as the social media persona used to better reach people in the online social space.

3. The need for reporters to think of themselves as publishers as bloggers do, why news organizations who blog need to link to other bloggers and show thanks for links.

4. Success and strategy considerations with Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit and social bookmarking in general (reference made to Brett Boarders from Copy Brighter.com)

5. A brief mention of top tools used to build reputation, including Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin (reference The Conversation diagram created by Brian Solis)

6. Daniel Honigman's new blog, OldMediaNewTricks.com

Note: Kudos to Tribune Interactive for employing a forward thinker in the social media space like Daniel Honigman. Check out Daniel's new blog or follow him on Twitter at dan360man

TAGS: SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST • BLOGGERS • NEWSPAPER BLOGS • TRIBUNE INTERACTIVE • DANIEL HONIGMAN • COLONEL TRIBUNE • BRETT BOARDERS • BRIAN SOLIS • DIGG • TWITTER • WIKIPEDIA • LINKEDIN • SOCIAL BOOKMARKING • CAPTURE THE CONVERSATION PODCAST

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3 Tips for Marketing To Bloggers

BY WENDY RICCI

Last week JupiterResearch and BuzzLogic released the results from their Harnessing the Power of Blogs survey; a study of more than 2,000 online consumers in the U.S. Aside from revealing a 300% growth in blog readership in the past four years, this study confirmed that consumers are "strongly influenced" by blog content when it comes to purchasing a product. Not only are these consumers discovering new products from blogger reviews, they are using blogs to refine their choices, get support and answers, and even assure themselves of their purchase decision.

So how you can you tap into the purchasing power of blogs? Implement a blogger outreach program for your brand! Below are 3 tips for successfully marketing to bloggers.

1. Be authentic. I can't stress this point enough. Always disclose that you work for the company/brand/product before you start your pitch. Full discloser helps build trust between you and the blogger and provides an open environment for feedback. Check out Fired for Astroturfing: A Social Media Don't for an example of what can go wrong if you don't disclose your affiliation up-front.

2. Do your homework. There are literally millions of blogs covering endless topics, so it is important to target only blogs that are highly relevant for your product or service. To start identifying appropriate blogs, select 2-3 keywords that best describe the industry for your product or service. (For example, 'candy' and 'chocolate' would be good keywords for M&Ms). Next do a Google Blog Search using these keywords to find blogs that have these keywords in the title or have a high concentration of content including these keywords.

3. Customize your pitch. I have received feedback from numerous bloggers applauding our company for 'getting it right' when it comes to outreach. The reason? Customization. Do not send out impersonal, mass emails to the bloggers you identified in Step 2. Instead, use the blogger's name at the beginning of your pitch and let him know you read his blog (identified by name) or a specific blog post (again identified by name). Tailor your pre-written pitch to make it as relevant as possible for this blogger. The more personal your communication seems, the more likely a blogger will respond positively to it.

Fostering blogger relationships can help you build brand credibility and provide a forum for online conversation about your product or service. I would love to hear about other blogger outreach tips and success stories, so be sure to leave comments!

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