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Posted on January 24, 2007
5 Tips for Smarter Digging
BY JASON CORMIER
The social media site Digg has become tremendously popular -- which gives it considerable power to enhance your search visibility.
If you're not already using Digg, it's worth checking out to learn how it works. Even if you never become a regular Digg user, it's helpful to know what to do if some of your online content (or someone else's content that mentions or links to you) gets "Dugg," becomes popular, and sends a sudden spike of traffic your way.
I recently created a video tutorial called Digg Basics. If you're brand new to Digg, this 12-minute tutorial explains how Digg works and shows you how to register with Digg, how to Digg and get Dugg, and more.
Of course, there's much more to Digg -- and to all social media services (there are so many similar ones) -- than I could possibly fit into a short basic tutorial. So here are five tips to help you make the most out of Digg and avoid common pitfalls...
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Posted on September 20, 2006
Conversational Relevance: John Cass Nails It
BY JASON CORMIER
Here's what PR blogger John Cass had to say on the role of conversational media in marketing. I couldn't have said it better.
"Effective blogging is about joining an existing conversation, rather than interrupting your audiences' conversation. What that means in practicality is that a corporate blogger does not pitch their articles to other bloggers, or ask for links directly. Rather a blogger should look for opportunities to join in an existing conversation. Make comments with relevant statements on another blog or write a follow up post on your own blog."
So true, so true.
I think that's the core of what's irked most people about traditional marketing for decades: It interrupts their conversations. It tries to foist messages (or, more accurately, "messaging" -- ugh) on them. It's attempted attention hijacking. It's like someone who shows up at a party, walks up to strangers, and blurts, "Enough about you, let's talk about me."
Way to go, John.
(Thanks to David Wilson for the tip.)
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Beyond Blogs: Moleskine Goes Where the Conversation Happens
BY JASON CORMIER
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| My Moleskine reporter's notebook -- which is holding up well, despite frequent abuse. |
Moleskine notebooks aren't fancy. In fact, this brand's reputation hinges almost entirely on quality, and on a vocal, dedicated community of customer evangelists -- such as Merlin Mann of the popular productivity site 43 Folders.
Therefore, when sharply worded complaints about Moleskin's quality and service erupted on the 43 Folders Google Groups forum on Aug. 15, Modo & Modo (manufacturer of Moleskine notebooks) had a pretty big problem.
Apparently, some Moleskine notebooks started falling apart after just a few weeks or months of use. Some owners of these defective notebooks tried contacting Moleskine US, but got no response. Later, it turned out that Moleskin US is not the US distributor for this brand. The official US distributor is Kikkerland Design Inc. But in the meantime, these customers believed Moleskine was ignoring them. Not good.
Clued in by e-mails, Moleskine maker Modo & Modo began checking out the online complaints. On Aug. 30, the company posted a sincere apology on its blog. They offered an explanation of their late response: they're a small company, and in Italy everyone's on vacation in August -- not a great answer, but an honest one. They also offered clear instructions on how owners of defective notebooks could get their problem addressed.
Even smarter, Modo & Modo posted the full text of this statement onto the 43 Folders forum where the complaints arose. It's interesting to note that, despite earlier frustrations aired in that forum, all the responses to the company's apology were positive and supportive.
This story demonstrates the importance of three lessons for all organizations who understand how conversational media can help make or break your reputation...
Posted on August 29, 2006
Merging Traditional PR Into Online Conversations
BY JAMES CLARK
Awe the lines are starting to blur and I like it.
Using public relations is a critical tactic in generating awareness for many businesses, and online businesses should be no different. The irony is traditional PR tactics (media relations, ed cal tracking, by-lined articles, speaking opportunities) to drive awareness in the main stream media (MSM), are as foreign to an online business as RSS feeds and blogs are to a majority of offline businesses.
Steven Van Yoder's recent post titled "Why Online Businesses Should Embrace PR" provides excellent insights to using PR to drive traffic.
To quote Steven, "They read newspapers, magazines and listen to the radio. To reach your market niche comprehensively, you need to explore ways to reach your prospects beyond the Internet. It will help you drive traffic to your web site."
We agree. Our experience has been that offline MSM coverage drives a tremendous amount of traffic to a company's website. We know this because we work with PR teams to help them avoid The Placement Crash typically associated with MSM coverage driving new visitors to a dull and non-engaging website.
The magic happens when the PR team is able to work with the online team in delivering a unique and fresh conversational experience to those new visitors.
Don't waste the amazing opportunity media coverage gives you. Capture the conversation by:
- Extrapolating the salient points in the MSM coverage on your blog and continuing the conversation by posting and responding to comments
- Setting up a teleconference on the coverage topic a week out and provide the ability to register for free online
- Get them to sign up for your email newsletter
- Provide an in-depth article on the coverage topic available for download
Because of the nature of online businesses, it is my honest opinion they are more apt to capitalize on the MSM exposure than many traditional offline business. The reason - they have the technical skills and flexibility to update and use social media and online technologies (blogs, podcasts, email newsletters) to capture the conversation that are often beyond the scope of knowledge for most companies.
For more information on strategies for leveraging the synergies between online and offline media tactics, check out our posts on The Placement Crash and Tried and True PR Tactics for Igniting Online Buzz.
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