social media for business: 101 ways to grow your business without wasting your time

Social Media for Business

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Social Media for Business

101 Ways to Grow Your Business without Wasting Your Time

Susan Sweeney Randall Craig

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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data

Sweeney,Susan,1956-

Socialmediaforbusiness:101waystogrowyourbusinesswithoutwastingyourtime/SusanSweeneyandRandallCraig.

p.cm.

ISBN978-1-931644-91-4

1.Internetmarketing.2.Socialmedia--Economicaspects.3.Onlinesocialnetworks--Economicaspects.4.Websites--Marketing.I.Craig,Randall.II.Title.

HF5415.1265.S942011

658.8'72--dc22

2010017555

Acknowledgments

Toourmanyclientsovertheyearswhohaveaskedforouradvice.Toourcol-leagueswhohaveprovidedgreatcounselandfeedback.Andtoourfamilies,whohaveprovideduswithsupportandencouragement.

Disclaimer

Thepurchaseof computer softwareorhardware isan importantandcostlybusiness decision.While the authors andpublisher of this bookhavemadereasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the informationcontainedherein,theauthorsandpublisherassumenoliabilitywithrespecttolossordamagecausedorallegedtobecausedbyrelianceonanyinformationcontainedhereinanddisclaimanyandallwarranties,expressedorimplied,astotheaccuracyorreliabilityofsaidinformation. Thisbookisnotintendedtoreplacethemanufacturer’sproductorservicedocumentationorpersonnelindeterminingthespecificationsandcapabilitiesoftheproductsorservicesmentionedinthisbook.Themanufacturer’sproductorservicedocumentationshouldalwaysbeconsulted,asthespecificationsandcapabilitiesofcomputerhardwareandsoftwareproductsaresubjecttofrequentmodification.Thereaderissolelyresponsibleforthechoiceofcomputerhard-wareandsoftware.Allconfigurationsandapplicationsofcomputerhardwareandsoftwareshouldbereviewedwiththemanufacturer’srepresentativespriortochoosingorusinganycomputerhardwareandsoftware.

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Other Books by the Authors

Susan Sweeney, CA, CSP, HoF

• 101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site

• 101 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home

• 101 Ways to Promote Your Tourism Business Web Site

• 101 Ways to Promote Your Real Estate Web Site

• The e‑Business Formula for Success

• Internet Marketing for Your Tourism Business

• 3G Marketing on the Internet

• Going for Gold

Randall Craig, CFA, MBA, CMC

• Online PR and Social Media for Experts, Authors, Consultants, and Speakers

• Online PR and Social Media for Associations and Not‑for‑Profits

• Leaving the Mother Ship

• Personal Balance Sheet

Additional Resources from Susan Sweeney and Randall Craig

Susan Sweeney, CA, CSP, HoFWeb sites: www.susansweeney.com, www.verbinteractive.comNewsletter archive: www.susansweeney.comOnline learning portal:www.eLearningU.com LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/in/SusanSweeneycspTwitter: twitter.com/susansweeneyBookmarks: www.diigo.com/user/susansweeneyFacebook: www.facebook.com/susan.sweeney01YouTube: www.youtube.com/SusanSweeneyInternet

Randall Craig, CFA, MBA, CMCConsulting:www.ptadvisors.comSpeaking: www.randallcraig.com Blog:randallcraig.com/blogNewsletter:randallcraig.com/newsWebTV show:ProfessionallySpeakingTV.comLinkedIn:www.LinkedIn.com/in/RandallCraigTwitter:twitter.com/randallcraigBookmarks: www.diigo.com/user/randallcraig

viii

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Should Social Media Be Part of Your Marketing Mix? 1

RealityCheck.................................................................................... 3Risks.................................................................................................. 4

Chapter 2: Deciding How (and Why) You Will Use Social Media 9

StrategicHierarchy............................................................................ 9BuildingRelationships...................................................................... 10BeaSocialMediaLeader................................................................. 10BuildingaFollowing........................................................................ 12Minimalist—Low-HangingFruit...................................................... 12StaywiththePack—KeepUpwithCompetitors............................... 13UseitSelectively—RecruitmentOnlyAsanExample....................... 13DevelopmentofYourPersonalProfile.............................................. 14HowtoDecide................................................................................. 14AdditionalResources........................................................................ 15

Books ....................................................................................... 15Nota“Tack-on”..................................................................................SocialMediaIntegration......................................................................QuickSummary...................................................................................

Chapter 3: Integration of Social Media 16

Nota“Tack-on”.............................................................................. 16SocialMediaIntegration.................................................................. 17QuickSummary............................................................................... 18

Chapter 4: Your Core—Web Sites and/or Blogs 20

TheFuture:IsYourWebSiteaBlog,orIsYourBlogaWebSite?.... 22

Contents ix

ContentRepurposing...................................................................... 23AdditionalResources........................................................................ 25

Software and Tools ................................................................... 26

Chapter 5: SEO and Social Media 27

SEOBasics....................................................................................... 27RSS.................................................................................................. 28SocialMediaIntegration................................................................. 30SocialMediaSEO............................................................................ 31AdditionalResources........................................................................ 31

Articles ..................................................................................... 31

Chapter 6: LinkedIn 32

Overview.......................................................................................... 32Profile............................................................................................... 33Recommendations............................................................................ 34Groups............................................................................................. 34Applications..................................................................................... 35Microblogging.................................................................................. 36JobPostings..................................................................................... 37Answers........................................................................................... 37CompanyPage................................................................................. 38LinkedInPriorityList:Personal........................................................ 39LinkedInPriorityList:Company..................................................... 41OngoingMaintenance...................................................................... 42AdditionalResources........................................................................ 43

Software/Tools .......................................................................... 43Education ................................................................................. 43Books ....................................................................................... 44

Chapter 7: Facebook 45

Overview.......................................................................................... 45Profile............................................................................................... 46Pages................................................................................................ 47Groups............................................................................................. 50

x Contents

Advertising....................................................................................... 51Applications..................................................................................... 54FacebookFuture.............................................................................. 55AdditionalResources........................................................................ 57

Software/Tools .......................................................................... 57Education ................................................................................. 58Articles ..................................................................................... 58Books ....................................................................................... 59

Chapter 8: Twitter 60

WhatTwitterIs...andIsn’t........................................................... 60TwitterStrategies.............................................................................. 63

Negative Strategies ................................................................... 63Positive Strategies ..................................................................... 63

TwitterLists..................................................................................... 65TwitterSearch/TwitterTrends.......................................................... 65TwitterManagementTools............................................................... 66URLShorteners............................................................................... 68AttractingFollowers......................................................................... 73GettingStartedwithTwitter............................................................. 75FirstSteps......................................................................................... 76AdditionalResources........................................................................ 76

Software/Tools .......................................................................... 77Education ................................................................................. 78Articles ..................................................................................... 79Books ....................................................................................... 79

Chapter 9: YouTube and Other Video-Sharing Sites 80

Overview.......................................................................................... 80CreatingVideoIsEasy..................................................................... 81SharingIsEasy................................................................................. 83MakeYourVideoEasytoFind......................................................... 83GettingontheYouTubeHomePage................................................ 84CreateandCustomizeYourOwnChannel....................................... 84ChannelCustomization.................................................................... 85PromoteYourChannelandYourVideos.......................................... 86JoinorCreateYouTubeGroups....................................................... 87

Contents xi

AdvertiseonYouTube...................................................................... 87OtherOpportunitiesandOptionswithYouTube............................. 87VideoSyndication............................................................................ 88AdditionalResources........................................................................ 90

Software/Tools .......................................................................... 90Education ................................................................................. 91Books ....................................................................................... 91

Chapter 10: MySpace 92

ProfilePage...................................................................................... 92ProfilePageCustomization............................................................... 93Groups............................................................................................. 94Forums............................................................................................. 95Events.............................................................................................. 95Applications..................................................................................... 96Blogs................................................................................................ 96EmailandInstantMessaging............................................................ 97Advertising....................................................................................... 97MySpaceBrandCommunities.......................................................... 99OverallRecommendation............................................................... 100AdditionalResources...................................................................... 101

Software/Tools ........................................................................ 101Articles ................................................................................... 101

Chapter 11: Flickr 102

SignUpforanAccount.................................................................. 103UploadPhotosandVideos............................................................. 105OrganizeYourPhotosandVideos.................................................. 106PromoteYourPhotosandVideos................................................... 106DisplayYourFlickrPhotosonYourSiteorBlog............................ 107ShareFlickrPhotos....................................................................... 107EnableStats.................................................................................... 109FlickrAppGarden......................................................................... 109FirstSteps....................................................................................... 109AdditionalResources...................................................................... 109

Software/Tools ........................................................................ 110Education ............................................................................... 110

xii Contents

Chapter 12: Tier Two Sites 111

Overview........................................................................................ 111Plaxo.............................................................................................. 112Naymz........................................................................................... 116Xing............................................................................................... 118Wikis.............................................................................................. 118Digg............................................................................................... 119Del.icio.us...................................................................................... 121SharingTools................................................................................. 122AdditionalResources...................................................................... 123

Software/Tools ........................................................................ 123Education ............................................................................... 124

Chapter 13: Other Sites 125

Overview........................................................................................ 125eBay............................................................................................... 125AnswersSites.................................................................................. 127RatingsSites................................................................................... 128Yahoo!.......................................................................................... 129MSN/WindowsLive....................................................................... 131NingandSocialGo......................................................................... 131Google........................................................................................... 134FirstSteps....................................................................................... 135AdditionalResources...................................................................... 136

Software/Tools ........................................................................ 136Books ..................................................................................... 136Education ............................................................................... 136

Chapter 14: Mobile Access 138

Overview....................................................................................... 138InterestingStats............................................................................. 138Applications................................................................................... 139MobileCapabilitiesNowandintheNearFuture........................... 142FirstSteps....................................................................................... 143AdditionalResources...................................................................... 143

Contents xiii

Software/Tools ........................................................................ 143Books ..................................................................................... 144Education ............................................................................... 144

Chapter 15: Tactical Ideas 145

Sales............................................................................................... 145CustomerService............................................................................ 147Marketing:General........................................................................ 147PRandCrisisManagement............................................................ 150Recruitment.................................................................................... 151ResearchandDevelopment............................................................ 153Training.......................................................................................... 154FinanceandAdministration........................................................... 154SupplyChainandProduction......................................................... 156FirstSteps....................................................................................... 156

Chapter 16: Putting the Plan Together 157

Planning......................................................................................... 157Define Social Media Audiences ............................................... 157Define Your Social Media Goals, by Audience ........................ 158Benchmarks for Success .......................................................... 161Risks ...................................................................................... 162

Implementation.............................................................................. 162Do the Work Internally .......................................................... 163Outsource the Work ............................................................... 163

LaunchStrategies........................................................................... 164Gradual Ramp‑up .................................................................. 164Big‑bang Launch: .................................................................. 164

ChoosinganAgencyorConsultant................................................ 165GeneralRecommendations............................................................. 167FirstSteps....................................................................................... 167

Chapter 17: ROI and Measurement 168

ReturnonInvestment..................................................................... 168SeveralApproaches........................................................................ 170

xiv Contents

BeforeYouStart............................................................................. 170WhatIsBeingMeasured?............................................................... 171

Exposure ................................................................................ 171Engagement ............................................................................ 172Influence ................................................................................. 172Action/Results ........................................................................ 173

StatsfromSocialMediaPlatforms.................................................. 174AdditionalResources...................................................................... 174

Software/Tools ....................................................................... 175Articles ................................................................................... 178Education ............................................................................... 178

Chapter 18: Keeping Up-to-Date 179

LearnfromYourNetwork............................................................ 179LearnfromYour(Younger)Staff................................................... 180LearnfromYourInvestments......................................................... 181LearnfromtheInternet.................................................................. 181

AbouttheAuthors................................................................................. 183Index.................................................................................................... 186

Introduction xv

Introduction

SocialMediahaschangedthewaywedobusinessonline.Inthishighlycom-petitivemarketplace,businessesaredoingeverythingtheycantogetinfrontoftheirtargetcustomer,differentiatethemselvesfromthecompetition,connectandengagecustomersandpotentialcustomers,gettheirbrandrecognized,andselltheirproductsandservices. SocialMediaandSocialNetworkingprovideuswithmanyopportunitiestoachievetheseobjectives.Thetop-tierSocialMediaandSocialNetworkingsitesprovidestaggeringnumbers—hundredsofmillionsofactiveusers,hundredsofmillionsofconversationsgoingoninthesesitesoneverytopicimaginable,hoursofvideobeinguploadedeveryminute,amillionblogpostseveryday,millionsofTweetsdaily....Theopportunitiesareendless! Whentheopportunitiesareendlessbutyourtimeandbudgetaren’t,itcanbeveryconfusing.Whichopportunitiesaregoingtogivemethebestreturnoninvestment(ROI)andwhicharegoingtowastemyvaluabletime?Whichopportunitieswillprovidemewiththefastestreturnonmyeffort?Whichop-portunitiesaregoingtohelpmeachievemultipleobjectivesatonce—branding,improvesearchengineranking,andengagemypotentialcustomer?Aretheretoolstohelpmemultitask—havemyblogpostautomaticallyupdatemyTwitter,Facebook,andLinkedInstatus,allatonce? This isexactlywhywewrotethisbook.Webothworkwithmanydif-ferentorganizationshelpingthemwiththeirSocialMediastrategies.Alotofpeoplearewastingalotoftimeoutthere;SocialNetworkingissometimessocialNOTworking!Thereisalotofconfusion,andmostbusinessesneedallthehelptheycangettosortthroughthequagmire.Thisisalsowhywewrotethisbook.ThisbookisapracticalguideforpeopleinbusinesstocutthroughtheSocialMedianoiseandfocusonbuildingandgrowingtheirbusinessbyleveragingthesechannels. ThereisalotofconfusionregardingSocialMedia,SocialNetworks,andSocialNetworking.Theyallhavetheword“social”inthem,butaredifferent;theyaredistinctbutrelated.YoucanusedifferenttypesofSocialMediatofacilitateSocialNetworking.YoucannetworkusingdifferentformsofSocialMedia. Itisimportanttounderstandtheopportunities,limitations,anddifferencestobeabletodevelopastrategyonhowyouaregoingtousethemtoachieveyourobjectivesandsetreasonableexpectations.

xv

xvi Introduction

Social Networks

SocialNetworksareonlinecommunitiesofpeoplewhoshareinterestsandactivi-ties.TheseWeb-basedonlinecommunitiesprovideavarietyofwaysforuserstointeract.ThereareSocialNetworksthatcatertoeveryniche,everyinterest,everydemographic,andeverygeographicregion.

Social Networking

SocialNetworkingisusingSocialMediatechnologyandaSocialNetworktoformnewrelationshipsandstrengthenoldrelationshipsonline.TheopportunityistofindtheSocialNetworksrelevanttoyourbusiness,determinethebestwaytoachieveyourobjectiveswhileabidingbythe“rules,”andthenimplementyourstrategy.

Social Media

SocialMedia is a technology typewhere themedia is designed to be easilyshared. “SocialMedia” is anumbrella term that covers technology such asblogs,vlogs,photosharing,videosharing,wikis,podcasts,micro-blogs,musicsharing,forums,ratingandreviews,socialbookmarks,andonlinecommunities,tonameafew. Foreaseofreading,withinthisbookweareusingthetermSocial Mediatorefertoallthree.

About This Book

InChapter1wehelpyoudecideifyoushouldincludeSocialMediainyourmarketingmix.AllSocialMediamaynotbeappropriateforallbusinesses. Then,inChapter2,wehelpyouconsiderthedirectionalfocusofyourSocialMediastrategy:Shouldyoubealeaderorjustkeepupwiththecompetition?Beaminimalistoruseitselectively?Yourdirectionhasanimpactonyourstrategy,andalsothesizeofyourSocialMediainvestment.

Introduction xvii

InChapter3wediscussthemultipliereffectofSocialMediaintegration.SocialMediaisnotastandalone;itneedstobeintegratedwithyourotheronlinemarketingandbusinessactivities. InChapter4wediscussyourcore—yourWebsiteand/oryourblog. InChapter5wediscuss the impactofSocialMediaonthesearchengines.Wealsoprovide toolsandtacticsforsearchengineoptimizationinthespecificSocial Media venues(Chapters6through13). InChapters6through11wegointodetailonthetopsixSocialMediaandSocialNetworkingsitesthatprovidegreatbusinessopportunities—LinkedIn,Facebook,Twitter,YouTube,MySpace,andFlickr.Wediscussthevenuesandprovidedetailsontheelements,features,andopportunitiesofeach. InChapters12and13weprovideinformationonthetier2SocialMediaandSocialNetworkingplatforms—Plaxo,Naymz,Xing,andDigg,aswellasmanyoftheotherSocialMediasitesyoumaysee. InChapter14wediscusstheimpactandopportunitiesthatmobileaccessprovides. InChapter15weprovideanumberofSocialMediaandSocialNetwork-ingtacticalideasandopportunitiesorganizedbybusinessfunction.Whilethebooksubtitlereads101 Ways,wehaveprovidedover150waysinthischapteralone. Chapter16isdevotedtohelpingyoudevelopyourstrategicSocialMediaplan.YourSocialMediastrategyneedstobewellthoughtout.Itshouldevolvefromyourobjectivesorgoals.Itshouldbedocumentedwiththedetailsofwhatisgoingtobedone,when,bywhom,howoften,what“success”lookslikeforeachtactic,andhowitisgoingtobemeasured.Thischaptercontainsthe“SocialMediapriorityplanner.” InChapter17wehelpyoutodetermineifwhatyou’redoingisworking.Thisisanevolvingareaandoftenisdifficulttomeasure.WediscussROI(returnoninvestment),ROE(returnoneffort),andmeasurement. InChapter18weprovideyouwithanumberofwaystokeepuptodateinthisevolvingandever-changingSocialNetworkingandSocialMediaworld. Don’tforgettocheckoutthisbook’scompanionWebsiteonaregularbasisforup-to-the-minutetips,tools,techniques,andstrategies. We’dlovetoconnectwithyouonline.Toconnectwithus,gotohttp://www.susansweeney.comandhttp://www.randallcraig.com,whereyouwillbeprovidedwithallofourSocialMedialinks.

Social Media venuesSocial Media or Social Networking sites.

xviii Introduction

1Should Social Media Be Part of Your Marketing Mix?

It’stemptingtogetontheSocialMediabusandquicklyadoptitbefore“it’stoolate.”Indeed,liketherushtodevelopcorporateWebsitesinthemid-tolate1990s,SocialMediahasallofthetrappingsofafad,repletewithget-rich-quickartists,“systems,”andavocabularyallitsown. Manypeoplebackinthe90sdevelopedWebsitesthatjustdidn’tworkforthembecause theydidn’tdo theirhomework.Everything related to Internetmarketingrevolvesaroundthreethings:

1. Yourobjectives

2. Yourtargetmarket

3. Yourproductsandservices.

YourWebsiteorblogisbuilttoachieveyouronlineobjectives.YoufindyourtargetmarketonlineandthenenticethemtoyourWebsiteorblogtogetthemtobuyyourproductsandservices.Sometrafficstrategiesworkbetterthanotherstoachievedifferentobjectives.SomeWebsitecontentworksbetterthanotherstogetyourtargetmarkettodowhatyouwantthemtodo. Thesethreethings—yourobjectives,yourtargetmarket,andyourproductsandservices—arethefoundation.Onlybyreviewingtheseagainstyouronlinemarketingoptions(themanySocialMediamarketingoptionsaswellastradi-

1

2 SocialMediaforBusiness(socialmedia.maxpress.com)

tionalonlinemarketingoptions)willyoubeabletodeterminethebestuseofyourtimeandmoneytogarnerthebestreturnoninvestment(ROI)andreturnoneffort(ROE). Youneedtodocumentyouronlineobjectives.Thesecanincludemanygeneralobjectivesaswellasyourspecificobjectives.Herearesomeideas:

• Placehighinsearchresults

• Domorebusinessonline

• Buildapermission-basedmailinglist

• Generatesignificanttargetedtraffic

• Improveourbranding

• Getvisitorstotelltheirfriendsaboutourproductsandservices

• Improveourconversionrate

• Sellmoreinthedownseason.

Themoredetailedyougetwithyourobjectives,theeasiertodeterminethebestInternetmarketingtechniquestoachievethem.Youshouldalwaystrytoquantify“success”foreachofyourobjectives.Itismucheasiertodetermineifyouhaveachievedyourobjectiveswhenyouhavequantifiedthem:youeitherdidordidnot increaseyouronlinesalesby$100,000withyourFacebookpagestrategy. Youneed to document your targetmarket.There is no such thing as a“customer”indefiningyourtargetmarket—getspecific.Ifyouareinthetravelbusiness,asanexample,yourtargetmarketsmayinclude:

• Businesstravelers

• Leisuretravelers

• Families

• Couples

• Eco-tourists

• Golfers.

Should Social Media Be Part of Your Marketing Mix? 3

Youcangetevenmorespecific—youbreakthesedownevenfurther.Again,themorespecificyouare,theeasiertodeterminethemostappropriateInter-netmarketingtechnique.Inthegolfercategoryyoumightbreakitdownintomembers,nonmembers, tournaments, femalegolfers,etc.Therearedifferenttechniques anddifferent venues to better reach the female golfer versus thetournamentorganizer,forexample. Whenyouhaveyour listofobjectives, targetmarkets,andproductsandservices,youwillthenlookatalltheInternetmarketingoptions(SocialMediaoptionsaswellasthetraditionalonlinemarketingoptions)todeterminetheone(orones)thatwillhelpyouachieveyourobjectivestheeasiest,fastest,andwiththeleastamountofinvestment.

Reality Check

ThetruthisthatSocialMediaisnotforeveryone—orforeverybusiness.Ifyourbusinessisstruggling,SocialMediawon’tfixwhatisbroken.TheshinyveneerofaFacebookpagewon’tsuddenlyturnastrugglingbusinessaround.AndinvestingtimeandmoneyinSocialMediameansthattherearefewerresourcesavailableforotherimportantinitiatives.HereareanumberofreasonsthatSocialMediamightnotberightforyou:

A struggling business requires all of your attention:SocialMediaisaluxuryyoucan’tafforduntilthebasicsaretakencareof.Basicsmightincludehavingtherightstaff,strongsupplierandcustomerrelationships,astrongbalancesheet,andagreatrelationshipwithyourbanker.

Little experience “on the Web”:Webmarketingknow-howisafoundationthatSocialMediabuildsupon.Toexplain:traditionalWebsitesaremorebroadcastmode,whileSocialMediais,bydefinition,social;it’smany-to-many.Thecom-plexityofmanagingthisisfareasierifyouhaveatleastsomeexperience.Manybooks,including101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site (bythisbook’sco-authorSusanSweeney)canhelphere.

No marketing plan:YouwillwanttomakesurethattheSocial Media TailisnotwaggingtheMarketing Strategy Dog; itshouldbetheotherwayaround.Oftenintheexcitementto“do”SocialMedia,thelackofamarketingplanisoverlooked.WhileitistruethatsomebusinessesexistexclusivelyintheSocialMediaspace,thisbookisaimedmoreatthosewithreal-worldbusinesses.


No implementation budget:TheallureoffreeSocialMediasitesmakesSocialMediadevelopmentappearcostless.Puttingasidetheopportunitycostoffore-gonereal-worldactivities,mostsuccessfulSocialMediainitiativesusetheservicesofconsultants,designers,anddevelopers,ifonlytobringbestpracticestobear.Andifyouhavenoimplementationbudget,atbestyoucanimplementonlythemostminimalofprograms.

No ongoing commitment:Likemostinitiatives,theremustbetimeandbudgetallocatedtoongoingmonitoring,development,andparticipation.Ifthereisn’t,thenitisbettertonotevenstart;otherwiseyouwillbetheproudownerofaSocialMediaghosttown.

No customers, prospects, or candidates using Social Media:Theoldexpression“Fishwherethefishare”ringstrueinSocialMediaaswell.AstheessenceofSocialMediaiscommunicationandengagementwithothers,ifyouraudiencesprefertobeengagedusingotherchannels(inperson,tradeshows,phone,etc.),thentherereallyisn’tareasontoinvestinSocialMedia.

You just don’t want to do Social Media:Whilethismaysoundlikeasillyreason,itisn’t.Justbecauseeveryotherorganizationisdoingitdoesn’tautomaticallymeanthatyoushould.Withoutsenior-levelsupport,theinitiativewillnothavetheappropriateprioritywithyourstaff,andlikelywillnothavethesuccessthatitotherwisecouldhave.

Here’stherealitycheck:Despitethesereasons,youmaystillwanttoinvestinSocialMedia.Butwithoutknowledge—oratleasttherightquestionstoask—youcan’tmakeanappropriatedecisionontherightlevelofinvestment.

Risks

Mostpeoplearefamiliarwiththeexpression“norisk,noreturn”;thesewordsholdtrueintheSocialMediaspaceaswell.ButmanypeopleareunfamiliarwithsomeofthespecialrisksthatareinherentinthenatureoftheSocialMediaplatformitself.Throughoutthisbook,wewillsuggestwaystohelpmitigatetherisks—butevenifyoudoeverythingyoucan,youstillmayhaveproblems:SocialMediacontentoftenisnotunderyourcontrol.

Brand issues: AsSocialMediaisallabouttheconversation,thereisariskthatyourbrandcangettarnished,oratleastpulled,inadirectionnottoyourlik-


ing.Thisisespeciallyfrustratingtomarketingprofessionalswhohaveworkedforyearsbuildingabrandthroughadvertising,customerservice,andlong-termperformance.TohavethebrandblemishedbythirdpartiesinSocialMediacanbedamagingandexpensive.Whilenegativecommentsareonetypeofproblem(seethediscussionthatfollows),thereareanumberofotherscenarioswhereyourbrandcanbeatrisk:

• Aformeremployeelistsyourcompanynameonhisorherprofile,butthepictures,comments,andotherSocialMediapostingsaredecidedlyout-of-brand.Effectively,theemployee’sprofileisanadvertisementthatwillpullyourbrandinthewrongdirection.

• Currentemployeesparticipateinanonlineforum,andotherreadersmaythinkthattheirviewsarethecompany’sviews.Eveniftheirpostingscontainadisclaimer,therestillwillbeaconnectioninthemindofthereader.

• Oneofyourproductssuddenlygetsfea-turedinaYouTubevideothatgoes viral.Greatnews,exceptthevideoisn’tyours,andyourproductisbeingusedinawaythatisdangerous.Thiscanbebadforthebrand,andcancreatepotentialliabilityissuesaswell.

• Productreviewsonaretailer’ssitehaveconsistentlyratedyourproductaspoor.Eventhoughtheproductmayhavebeenre-releasedwithallofthedefectscorrected,theoldreviewsstillstand,andpeoplestillreadthem.

• Severalcommentsonajobsearchforumspeakaboutyourcompanyinanunflatteringway.Yes—thiscanbeanotherbrandproblem.

Negative comments:Negativecommentscomeinseveralvarieties.Somepeoplehaveabona fideissuewithyourproductandservice,andtheyarelettingtheworldknowabouttheirpoorexperience.Someuserswillwritestupidthings;mostreaderswillseetheseastheyare—stupid.Othersarevindictive,untrue,hurtfulcommentsthataremadejusttocausetrouble.Finally,citizenactivismhascometoSocialMedia,withgroupsandpagesbeingsetuptoadvocate(andpressure)yourorganizationonaparticularissue.Nomatterhoworwhythenegativecommentscametobe,yourcompanyhasachoice—ignorethemoraddressthem.Inbothcases,timeisspent.

Goes viralA marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message.


Personal or organizational identity theft:Itisstilltooeasyforsomeoneelsetocreateananonymousemailaddress(Hotmail,Yahoo!mail,Gmail,etc.)withyourpersonalorcompanyname.AnditisstilltooeasytocreateaWebsitewithanamevariationthatmasqueradesasyours.ItisincrediblysimpleforsomeonetocreateanidentityonSocialMediasites—andthenclaimitisyou.Thereare

procedural(andlegal)mechanismstorecaptureyouridentities,butthesetaketime.

Social Media page under someone else’s con‑trol:Oftentimes,yourcustomerswillbecomeyour biggest advocates, forming real-worldclubs,usergroups,andassociations,justforthepurposeofdevelopingacommunityofinterest.ThesegroupshavenowgoneintotheSocialMediaworld,oftendevelopingahugeonlinecommunity.Theproblemisthatthesegroups

arerunbyenthusiastswithnoformalcorporateconnection,whichmeansthatyoumusttrustthattheywillberesponsiblestewardsforthebrand.Examplesofthisaboundeverywhere:fromAppleorThinkpaddiscussiongroupsandblogs,toschoolorcompanyalumnigroups.Onthenegativeside,thedisgruntledcan

Figure 1.1. Knowemallowsyoutocheckandsecureyourusernameinstantlyonthetop350SocialMediaWebsites.

Advanced TipOne way to reduce the probability of identity theft is to register “your” name on as many Social Media sites as possi‑ble—even if you have no plans to ever use them. Check out http://knowem.com (see Figure 1.1) or http://www.userna‑mecheck.com for a quick way to test if your name has already been taken.


haveagroupoftheirown,too.Andtheydo.Checkoutwww.ihatethis.org,orsearchfor“IhateStarbucks”inFacebook.Orcheckoutwww.ihateatt.comorwww.fordlemon.comforparticularlyuglyPRproblems.

Too much time:YoumayfindthatyourSocialMediasiteiswildlypopular,atleastasmeasuredbypageviewsandusercomments.Yetduringtheplanningyouhadnowaytoknowthatthiswouldhappen.Youmayfindyourselfcom-mittingfarmoreresourcesthanyouexpected.Sinceprofitabilityismeasuredbysalesandexpenses,notpageviews,youmayalsofindthattheinitiativeisfarfromprofitable.

Insolvency or changed business model:AsmanyoftheSocialMediaplatformsarefree(andthereareover300ofthem),thereisaverystronglikelihoodofinsolvency,mergers,andchangedbusinessmodelswithinthemoverthenextfewyears.Therearetwokeyrisks:

• Thetermsandconditionschangeunfavorably.Evenwithamoderatenoticeperiod,itisdifficulttoweanusersfromaplatformtheyarecom-fortablewith.

• The site goes down, disappears, or declaresbankruptcy,andalloftheconversations,posts,andeverythingelsebecomeinaccessibleoraredeleted.

Ghost town:AghosttowniswhatresultswhenyoubuildoutyourSocialMediapresence,butnooneshowsup.“Builditandtheywillcome”definitelydoesnotapplytotheSocialMediaworld;withoutstimulus(e.g.,amarketingcampaign),youshouldn’texpectsuccess.

Technology risk:It’sgettingcheaperandcheapertoget(anddo)moreandmore.Buildingyourinitiativeontoday’stechnologymeansthatyouhaveanearly-moveradvantage.Butyourcompetitorswhowaitcanusetomorrow’seven-cheaperandmorefunctionaltechnology,effectivelylockinginacompetitiveadvantage.

Downtime risk:Asecondtechnologicalriskhastodowithdowntime.WhathappensifacriticalportionofyourbusinessreliesonaSocialMediaplatform,andtheplatformprovesunreliable?Downtimeandbugswillreflectpoorlyonyourorganizationandcanerodeyourbrandsignificantly.

Asshouldbeclearbynow,mitigatingalloftheserisksisabsolutelypossible—itjusttakestimeandresources.Anddespitetherisks,manypeoplestillbelieve

PlatformA hardware or software architecture that serves as a foundation or base: Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.


thatagoodreturnoninvestmentispossible.SinceSocialMediaseemstobeheretostay,thebiggerquestionisn’tyesorno,butratherhowcanSocialMediabepartofyourmarketingmix?AndwhattypeofSocialMediastrategymightyoubestfollow?

First Steps

Formostreadersofthisbook,youprobablyarealreadydoingsomethinginSocialMedia.Thequestioniswhetherornotwhatyouaredoingisstrategic,andwhetheryouareevenconsideringthereturnoninvestmentissue.Evenifyouare“advanced,”nowmightbeagoodtimetotakeastepbackandlookatthequestionofSocialMediastrategically.

1. DefineyourSocialMediaobjectivesandtargetmarketsfortheproductsandservicesyouwouldliketopromote.FortheadvancedSocialMediamarketer,gothroughyourtargetmarkets(andobjectives)yetagain,andconnectyourexperience over the prior year to the objectives that youhave set—whatchangesneedtobemadeasaresult?

2. Doarealitycheckwithathirdparty—makesurethatyourreasonsfordoingSocialMediaactuallymakesense.

3. IfthereisanythinginyourbusinessthatneedsfixingbeforemakingafurtherSocialMediainvestment,makesurethatyoutakecareofthisfirst.

Deciding How (and Why) You Will Use Social Media 9

2Deciding How (and Why) You Will Use Social Media

ThereareasmanystrategiesforbuildingaSocialMediapresenceasthereareSocialMedia sites.Throughout the restof thisbook,wewillhighlighthowtouseindividualsitesandhowyoucanshort-cutyourwaytosuccess.First,though,consideryouroverallSocialMediagoals.Doyouwanttobuildbettercustomerrelationships?Buildaprospectlist?Recruit?Leadyourindustry—orfollow?Orperhapsyouhavesomeothergoalsrelatedtobrandingordoingmorebusiness.

Strategic Hierarchy

“Strategy”meanstheoveralldirectionofyourcompany,while“tactics”referstothespecificactionitemsthatyouneedtodotoexecutethestrategy.Thatbeingsaid,strategycanbeviewedatmultiplelevelsinahierarchy.Forexample:

1. Corporatestrategy

2. Withincorporatestrategy,thereismarketingstrategy,humanresources(HR)strategy,informationtechnology(IT)strategy,productionstrategy,etc.

9


3. Withinmarketingstrategy,therearespecificstrategiesforadvertising,publicrelations(PR),pricing,sales,SocialMedia,etc.(Note:therearecomponentsofaSocialMediastrategythatmayalsofallwithinHRandIT,notjustmarketing.)

4. WithinaSocialMediastrategy,theremaybespecificstrategiesforLinkedIn,YouTube,Twitter,Facebook,etc.

5. Finally,withinyourLinkedInstrategy,theremaybespecifictacticsthatshouldbefollowed,suchasjoining,addingconnections,updatingstatus,etc.

Inthischapter,wearelookingatthedirectionalfocusyouwanttousewithSocialMedia:we’reoperatingatlevels2and3.

Building Relationships

Ostensibly,theentiregoalofanymarketingprogramistomovetherelationshipthroughawarenesstoasale.SocialMedia,givenitsconversationalnature,lendsitselfverywelltoeachpartofthiscycle.ItprovidessomethingsthattraditionalWebsitesdonot:third-partyendorsementfromexistingcustomers,interactionwithinternalcompanyrepresentatives,productsupportpost-purchase,andmuchmore.Themoretheengagement,thestrongertherelationshipwillbecome—evenwhentheengagementiswithotherusersonyourSocialMediaplatformandnotyourorganizationdirectly. Furthermore,prospects(andcustomers)whointeractwithintheSocialMediapresencewillbroadcasttheirparticipationtotheircircleoffriends,spreadingyourmessagetoanevenwideraudience. Relationshipsexistintheworldofhumanresourcesaswell:Peoplemovefromcandidates,toemployees,andeventuallyto“alumni”ofyourorganization.SocialMediacanbeusedtobuildandmaintaintheserelationshipsaswell. Ifbuildingrelationshipsisoneofyourobjectives,thenyouwillbelookingtobuildoutaveryrobustSocialMediastrategyinordertoreachprospects,customers,potentialemployees,etc.,wherevertheymaybe—onLinkedIn,Fa-cebook,YouTube,etc.

Be a Social Media Leader

Forthoseorganizationsthatarewillingtomakethejump,SocialMediacanhelppower—andchange—thenatureofthebusinessitself.TheBe a Social Media


Leaderstrategyistomovepartoftheorganization’sbusinessmodeldirectlyonline,beyondthebasicsofaWebsitewithashoppingcartandablog.Itistoembrace—andthenextend—thecorporatestrategyitself. Agreatexampleofthiscanbefoundintheworldofbookretailing.ConsiderBarnesandNoble.TheyrealizedtheywouldhavetocompeteagainstAmazon.com,so theybuiltwww.bn.com.While theysee theirphysicalpresenceasastrategicadvantage,andinfactyoucanpurchasebooksonlineandthenpickupyourproducts inastore,thesalesfromtheirWebsitearegeneratedinaverydifferentway,inpartthroughSocialMedia.Eachbookpagehasdetailedcustomerratings.Eachpagehascustomerreviews.Eachpagecanlist“fans”ofthebook.Eachpagehasasectiontitled“Customerswhoboughtthisalsobought...”Andeachpagehasalinktoemailittoafriend. TheadvantagetousingSocialMedia,atleastforBarnesandNoble,Ama-zon(Figure2.1),andotherretailers,isthattheindividualrecommendations,purchasinghabits,andotherSocialMediahookswillhelpthemsellmorebookstoprospectivepurchasers—farmoreeffectivelythanjustshowingalistofbest-sellers.

Figure 2.1. AmazonandmanyotherpopularWebsitesknowthevalueof,andhaveintegrated,SocialMedia.


ThisstrategyismuchmorethanasimplemovetocreateaWebsitethatsellsproducts,butspeakstobuildingSocialMediaintothefabricoftherelationshipbetweenthecompanyandeachofitsstakeholdergroups:customers,prospects,suppliers,shareholders,thegeneralpublic,andmedia.Insodoing,thecompanycanachieveasustainablecompetitiveadvantage.

Building a Following

Inthe“oldworld”ofdirectmail,thenumberoneobjectivewastogrowandmaintainaqualifiedlistofnamesandaddresses.Thebetterthelist,themoreorderswouldarriveafteracatalogwassentout. Overthepastdecade,directmarketersturnedtheirattentiontoemail,col-lectingnamesandemailaddressesofprospectivecustomers.Emailofferedtheholygrailofdirectmarketing:thecostoftheemailbeingsentwasbornebytherecipient,andnameacquisitionwassimilarlyquitecheap.Ofcourse,anentireindustrywascreatedbyunscrupulousspammers,sendingmillionsofemailsof-feringget-rich-quickschemes,unwantedproducts,andoutrightfraud. Asaresult, internetserviceproviders,whosesystemsarecloggedbythisvolumeofspam,nowpre-filteremailbeforeitevengetstoyouremailbox—sometimes resulting in your not receiving legitimate email. Email programsofferanotherlevelof junkmailfiltering.Asaresult,ourtoleranceforemailcorrespondence,evenfromlegitimateorganizations,hasbeenlowered. SocialMediaoffersanotheroptionfordirectmarketersthatis(mostly)notclutteredbyspam,isn’tfilteredbyinternetserviceproviders,andisgenerallythoughtofpositivelybyusers.WheneverapersonbecomesafanofaFacebookpage,afolloweronTwitter,oraconnectiontoyourentityonadifferentSocialMediasite,heorsheispositivelyacknowledgingbeingapartofyourcommu-nityofinterest.Itisanincrediblyhigh-qualitylist,withpeoplepredisposedtopurchasefromyouandspreadyourgoodword. Fromadirectmailperspective, Building a followingisastrategywhereyouseektobuildupyour“list”soyoucanusethesenamesformarketresearchandalsosendthemspecialproductoffers.FromaSocialMediaperspective,Build‑ing a followingisallaboutwideningandextendingtheconversationwith(andbetween)yourfollowersandthecompany.

Minimalist—Low-Hanging Fruit

Aminimaliststrategyispreciselywhatitsoundslike.Youknowyoushoulddosomething,butyoudon’thavethetimeorbudgettojumpinwithbothfeet.


Thatbeingsaid,theremaybesomeveryobviousopportunitiesthatyouwouldwanttotakeadvantageof. Whilethe“low-hangingfruit”foryourorganizationwillbedifferent,hereareafewideasthatmightfallintothiscategory:

• RegisteryournameonanumberofSocialMediasitestoreducetheriskofidentitytheftorlosingtheusernametosomeotherbusinesswiththesameorasimilarname.

• SetupaTwitteraccountforproductupdates.

• PostproductusagevideosonYouTube.

• Add“Sendtoafriend”linksonthebottomofallyourWebsitepages.

• Contributetodiscussiongroupswhereyourprospectivejobcandidatesspendtime.

• Acceptinvitationstobepartofothers’Socialnetworks.

Stay with the Pack—Keep Up with Competitors

AtonetimeMcDonald’swasfamousforanalyzingpreciselywherebesttolocateanewfranchise.BurgerKing,ontheotherhand,wasfamousforadifferentstrategy:theysimplylocatedtheirnewfranchisesascloseaspossibletoMcDon-ald’s.BurgerKingrecognizedthattheirproductsandcustomersweresosimilarthatanythingthatMcDonald’sdidwouldapplyequallytothem. Staying with the packcanalsobedoneinSocialMedia.Insteadoflookingatwhatbestfitsyourstrategy,youcopytheinitiativesofyourclosestcompetitors.IftheyhaveaFacebookpage,sodoyou.IftheyareusingGoogleFriendCon-nect,sodoyou.Iftheywriteablog,sodoyou.Andsoon. Oneofthedownsidestothisstrategyisthatyouloseafirst-moveradvantage,andyoumaynotappearasinnovativeasyourcompetitors.Butyoucanlearnfromtheirmistakes,andavoidtime-consuminganalyticalwork.

Use it Selectively—Recruitment Only As an Example

YoungerpeoplegrewupwithSocialMediaandfeelascomfortableusingitastheoldergenerationfeltaboutwatchingtelevision.Indeed,thegrowingimportance


ofthejob boardsoverthepast15yearshastrainedjustabouteveryjobseekeroftheimportanceofus-ingtheinternetinajobsearch. Lately, a numberof SocialMedia sites havemovedintotherecruitmentterritoryexplicitly,byallowingtestimonialsandrecommendations,selling

jobpostings,andbuildinginjob-searchtools. ASocialMedia“recruitment”strategyisonethatseekstoattractthebestcandidatesthroughrecommendationsandthentouseSocialMediaconnectionstoimprovetheduediligenceandreferencecheckingprocess.

Development of Your Personal Profile

AkeyquestionthatalwayscomesuphastodowithSocialMediainitiativesatthecompanylevel,versusSocialMediaactivitiesthatemployeesengageinonanindividualbasis:whichshouldtakepriority?ThecompanyreallyhasnodirectcontroloverwhatemployeesdoontheirowntimewithintheirownpersonalSocialMediapages.Yetthereisanopportunitytoaskemployees—whousually are proud of theirworkplace—to advocate on the company’sbehalf,withincertainparameters.Solongasemployeeschoosetobenefitbycommunicating their connection to their employer, as an employer youdohave some influence.Ataminimum, thismightmeanasking employees tofollowcertainpoliciesregardingidentitytheft,legalliability,sensitizingthemtoout-of-brandmessages,etc. Forsenior-levelemployeesandcompanyspokespersons,thereisanoppor-tunitytoblog,andeventodevelopsomeminorcelebrity.The“personal profile”strategyisdesignedtopushoutthecompany’sbrandthroughtheconnectionsofeachemployee.

How to Decide

Thereareanendlessnumberofotherstrategies.Forexample,someSocialMediainitiativesarecampaign‑based,focusedonlyonextendingaspecificmarketinginitiative.Anotherstrategyisexperimental,focusedoncapturingmindshareoneachnewplatformthatisreleased.Anotherstrategyisbasedonsearch engine rankings, focusedexclusivelyonfloodingGooglewithsearchresults thatallpointbacktothecompany’sWebsite. Eachof thesestrategiesandtheonesdescribedearlier in thechapterarecertainlynotmutuallyexclusive,butprovidedifferent justifications foryour

Job boardsOnline locations that provides an up‑to‑date listing of current job vacancies in various industries.


SocialMediainvestment.Thequestionatthispoint,however,ishowmighttheybeintegratedwithyourmarketingplans,andwitheachother?

First Steps

1. Chooseadirectionalstrategy.IfyouhavebeenusingSocialMediaforsometime,considerwhetheritisappropriatetochangeyourdirectionalstrategytoamoreactiveone.

2. Identify the lowest-hangingfruit:whatare themostobvious,easiest-to-implementSocialMediaactivities?FortheadvancedSocialMediamarketer,consider thechanges in theSocialMediaworld: theremayindeedbenewlow-hangingfruitthatyouhaddismissedearlier.

Additional Resources

Herearesomeadditionalresourcesthatyoumayfinduseful.

Books

• Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust,byChrisBroganandJulienSmith,August2009Thisbookdoesagreatjobdescribingtheconnectionbetweentrust

andrelationshipsandhow,conceptually,thiscanbeusedwithSocialMediatobuildbrandsandbuildbusiness.

• Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organiza‑tions,byClayShirky,February2009Thisentertainingbookdescribesnumerousexamplesofhowindi-

vidualscanbeboundtogetherwithcommonself‑committedgoals.Thebookoffersacounterpointtomarketerswhohavebeenbroughtuptothinkthatonlytheycanimpacttheirbrand—orcreateaction.

• Online PR and Social Media,byRandallCraig(http://www.OnlinePR‑SocialMedia.com),November2009ThisseriesofbookstakesalookatSocialMediastrategyfroma

differentperspectivecompletely,usingan“anchorandoutpost”modeltoimprovereachandefficiency.Therearedifferenteditionsofthisbookfordifferentindustries.


3Integration of Social Media

Not a “Tack-on”

AsuccessfulSocialMediastrategyshouldbeintegratedintothecoreofyourbusiness—nota tack-onafterthought.Unfortunately, there isno shortageofnewlymintedexpertswhowillconvinceyouthatyouneedonlysignupatthenewestSocialMediaWebsiteandyourproblemswillbesolved.JustaddTwit-ter!Problemscan’tbesolved(oropportunitiesrealized)bymerelystartingtouseTwitter.Theexpressionisaplayontheproductandserviceadvertisementsthatsayto“JustaddXXXX”tosolvetheproblem. SocialMediaisnewenoughthattherestillisroomforexperimentation,butlet’scallthiswhatitis:experimentation.Typically,theseexperimentsaredoneinthecornersoftheITandmarketinggroups,andsometimesinHRwithrespecttorecruiting.Theyarepoorlyfundedandnotwidelyadvertised,becauseiftheyfail,thereareseriousramifications.Theyaretacked on,notintegrated.Tack-onSocialMediahasanotherproblem:becausetheyareoftendonesotto voce,inthebackground,thereisrarelyanyanalyticalrigorappliedtotheinitiative’smeasurementofsuccess. Nevertheless,likeallgoodexperiments,theyyieldabountyofexperience,andthisexperience,bothwiththeSocialMediatoolsandwiththemanage-mentprocessesaroundthem,canleadtotremendouswins.Someexamplesofexperimentationinclude:

16

Integration of Social Media 17

• AskafewquestionsonaSocialMediasiteaboutaproductwishlist.

• StartaTwitteraccounttotell“theworld”aboutshort-termopportunities.

• Makea corporateFacebookpage, completewithyour logo (butnotmuchelse).

• PostpicturesofacompanyeventonFlickroranotherphoto-sharingsite.

• AddoneortwovideosofaproductlaunchonYouTube.

• Tryanyotherlow-hanging-fruitactivity.

WhileSocialMediaexperimentationdoeshavesomemerits,atsomepointtheexperimenthastoend,andtherealworkofintegrationhastobegin.

Social Media Integration

Eachoftheideasjustdiscussedcanstandonitsownasa“tack-on”orcanbepartofanintegratedsystem.Considerascenariowhereanewproductisbeinglaunched.HowmightSocialMediabeused? Wellbeforethelaunchitself,aFacebookfanpageiscreated.FacebookandGooglepay-per-clickadvertisinghelpscreateafanbase,asdoinvitationstoalloftheorganization’sTwitterfollowers.Onthefanpage,anactivemodera-torfillsthepagewithinteresting“insider”knowledgeaboutthenewproduct,generatingsignificantbuzzamongthefans.Oneofthethingsthatispostedisacodeforadiscountonpre-ordersoftheproduct.ThesefansthentakethisandTweetaboutit.TheyalsochangetheirLinkedIn,MySpace,andFacebookstatusaccordingly,broadcastingnewsabouttheimpendingproductlaunchverywidely.Thishappensseveraltimes,withotherkeynews,beforetheproductisreleased. Whenthelaunchactuallyhappens,thetraditionalmarketingmaterialsareladenwithcommentsfromtheFacebookfanpage.Thefanpageisloadedwithspecifications,instructionmanuals,videos,andcoveragefromthemedia.Fansalsobegin loading theirownvideos, comments,andother information.ThecompanyTweetsaboutthelaunch,providinglinkstotheFacebookpage.AndaSocialMedianewsreleaseiscreatedanddistributed. Thisexampledoesn’tconsiderhowablogcanbeused,uservoting,oranyotherSocialMediatools.Yet,itisclearhowintegralSocialMediawastotheproductlaunchstrategy.


Thissameconceptcanbeappliedtojustabouteveryaspectofyourbusiness,internallyandexternally.Someideas:

•Anengineeringteamcanuseawikitocollaborativelycre-ateasupportdatabase,embeddingYouTubeorFlickrmediawithinthewikipages.

• MarketerscanusedetailedanalyticsfromtheirWebsitetodeterminewheretoplaceadvertising.(TheycanalsouseittomakechangestotheWebsitestructureandcontent.)

• RecruitersandHRcanuseSocialMediatopostjobads,aswellasim-provethereference-checkingprocess.

•Marketerscanusetargetedpay-per-clickadvertisingtoappearonprofilesthatmeetcertaindemographicandkey-wordcriteria.

•SalescanuseLinkedIntolookforaconnectiontoacertainprospect.Andthentheyusetheirstatustoputoutacallforprospectivebuyers.

• RestaurantscanuseTwittertoannouncedailyspecials.Golfcoursescanannounceopenteetimes.Airlinescanannouncelast-minutetraveldeals.

Inaddition,integrationcanalsohappenbetweenSocialMediasitesthem-selves.Considerthefollowingexamples:

• AblogcanhostpicturesfromFlickrandvideosfromYouTube.

• ToolsexisttohaveyourTweetautomaticallychangethestatusofmanySocialMediaservices.

• YourWebsitecanhostcommentsoneachofyourpages;thenuserscanvotewhethertheyfoundthecommentsusefulornot.

Quick Summary

IntegratingSocialMediahasapowerfulmultiplyingeffect,especiallywhenthesitesarewiredtogether.Whenyourcontentissyndicatedoutward,itprovides

WikiA collaborative Web site that can be directly edited by anyone with access to it.

PPC, or Pay-per-clickThis refers to Web advertising where the advertiser pays only when the user clicks the ad; this is in contrast to where the advertiser pays each time the ad is viewed.

Integration of Social Media 19

thedoublebenefitofgreaterreachandlesseffort.IntegratingSocialMediawithexistingbusinesspracticeshasthebenefitofamplifyingyourcompany’sreal-worldactivitieswithyourtargetaudiences.

First Steps

1. Lookatyourinternalprocessesandidentifywhichonesmightbenefit(orbenefitfurther)fromSocialMedia.

2. Reviewyour existingWeb and SocialMedia initiatives and identifymanualprocessesthatmightbecandidatesforautomationorintegration.


4Your Core—Web Sites and/or Blogs

Theonlineworldisveryconfusingformanybusinesses.Backintheoldendays(twoyearsagoininternetyears:-)abusinesshadaWebsiteandtheyhadtogeneratetraffictobeabletodobusiness—niceandsimple.Thenblogsappearedonthesceneandmanybusinessessawthebenefitandaddedablogtotheirmarketingmix.NowmanybusinessesareparticipatinginseveralSocialMediavenuesthatneedtobeupdated.Thingsaregettingalittleoutofhandasmanyorganizations,onaregularbasis,haveto:

• UpdatetheirWebsite

• GeneratetraffictotheWebsite

• Managesearchengineoptimization

• Updatetheirblog

• Generatetraffictotheblog

• UpdatetheirFacebookprofile

• DowhateverFacebookmarketingtheyaredoing(groups,events,etc.)

• UpdatetheirprofileinLinkedIn

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Your Core—Web Sites and/or Blogs 21

• DowhatevermarketingtheyaredoingonLinkedIn(answers,groups,etc.)

• UploadvideostoYouTube

• Tweet

• RunWebmetricsandWebtrafficanalysis.

It’sallgettingtobealittletoomuch!Let’stakealookatwhatthecriticalelementsareandhowwemightbeabletostreamlinealittle.Thecriticalele-mentsofthetraditionalWebsiteincluded:

• Storefront—theabilitytosellyourproductsorservices.Forsomethisisareservationsystemorsomethingelse,butyougettheidea:thereneedstobeaplacewhereyourcustomerscanquicklyandeasilydobusinesswithyouonline.

• Permissionmarketing—contrarytopopularbelief,thisisfarfromdead.Todaythisisprobablymoreimportantthanever.Everyoneisgrowingtheirfans,friends,andfollowersintheirSocialMediavenues,butmostarenotthinkingaboutensuringthatwhenthenextgreatsocialvenuecomesalong(anditwill!)andtheirfriendsorfollowersorfansmoveon,theystillhaveawaytostayintouch.

• Searchengineoptimization—itisalwaysimportantforyourtargetmarkettobeabletofindyou.

• Repeattraffic—themoreoftenyougetyourtargetmarkettovisit,themoreoftenyourbrandisreinforced,themorelikelyyouaretogetper-missiontostayintouch,themorelikelytheywilltellothersaboutyou,andthemorelikelyyouwillbe“firstinmind”whentheygotobuyyourtypesofproductsandservices.

• Greatcontent—goeswithoutsaying.

TodayyouneedtomakesurethatyourWebsiteand/oryourblogprovidesaccesstoyourSocialMediaandyourSocialMediaprovidesaccessandexposuretoyourWebsiteand/orblog.MakeiteasyforyourWebsiteorblogvisitorstobecomeafan,friend,orfollower.

Permission marketing Marketing where visitors agree (opt‑in) to receive email communication


YoucanhaveyourWebdeveloperincorporateaneatgraphicwithlinkstoallyourSocialMediawithacalltoaction,asseeninthepictureofSusan’sWebsite(Figure4.1). Aslongasyouhavethesecriticalelementscovered,youcanuseaWebsiteorablogoraSocialMediapresenceoranycombinationthereof.Someorga-nizationsmaintainallthree,notnecessarilybecausetheyhavethoughtthingsthrough,butbecausetheystartedwiththeWebsite,thenaddedtheblog,andthenaddedSocialMedia.It’stimetotakeastepbackandanalyzewhatyouaredoingandwhy.Areyoumakingiteasyforyourpotentialcustomerstodobusi-nesswithyou?Iseverythingyouaredoingbeingdoneforagoodreason?Couldyouaccomplishyourobjectivesbetterbychangingthewayyoudothings?

The Future: Is Your Web Site a Blog, or Is Your Blog a Web Site?

Over thepast several years, blogshavebecomealmost commonplace.Mostcompaniesthatdecidedtobeginbloggingdidsobystartingone,andthenlink-ingtoitfromtheirWebsite.Thiswaseasyandinexpensiveandallowedsome

Figure 4.1. Susan’sWebsiteprovidesacalltoactionandalinktoallofherSocialMediaoneverypage.


experimentationandorganizationallearning.Theproblem,however,wasthatthecompanywasrepresentedontheWebbytwoentities:

• AnofficialWebsite,witharchives,newsletters,productinformation,andperhapsevenashoppingcart.ItwouldoftenhaveaPR/Mediapage,aswellasapageforcareers.

• Anofficialblogsite,whichwoulddynamicallygivecompanyinformationaswellaseditorialcommentary.

Thechallengewasthat,overtime,theofficialWebsitewouldbeginlook-ingstale,whiletheblogwouldhouseadynamic(andgrowing)conversation.Meanwhile,Websiteupdatecosts—newspages,frontpagehighlights,andsoon—wouldcontinuetoescalate.Andmuchofthecontent—contactinformation,news,etc.—wasclearlyduplicated. OurbeliefisthattheWebsiteofthefuturewillbebuiltonablogengine.Eventoday,themostpopularblogengines(MovableType,Wordpress,etc.)canmanagestandardpagesaswellasdynamicblogpages.Be-yondthelackofduplicatecontent,havingoneplatformtomanagebothblogandWebsitepagesmeanslowercosts,lesstraining,andamoreseamlessuserexperience. Moreimportantly,blogsarebuiltusingatechnologycalledRSS.Inbrief,RSSallowsanycontentfromthesitetobesyndicatedeasilyelsewhereontheWeb.ThismeansthatinsteadofrequiringuserstocometoyourWebsite,yourinformationcanap-pearintheirlocation.(RSSisdescribedingreaterdetailinthenextchapter.) Thisdoesn’tmeanthatthecorporateWebsitewilldisappear; itwill justbecomemoresocial.Itwillhousethecriticalconversationsbetweenthecom-panyanditsstakeholdergroups.Itwillstillcollectnamesforpermission-basedmarketing.Itwillstillhavesalesandcustomersupportfunctions.Itwilljustdothesethings,andmanymore,usingaSocialMediaplatform.TheWebsitewillnotjustshout,butwillalsolisten.

Content Repurposing

Iftheblogconceptwillbefarmorecentralinthefuture,whatisthebiggestcorporateblogchallengeoftoday? Manycompaniesstrugglewithwhattoputontheblogitself.Yet,therere-allyisnoshortageofideas:blogscanreportontheindustry,company,products,

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) A Web feed format used to publish frequently updated content.


people,orprocesses.Blogscanprovideeditorialcommentaryonthesesubjects,aswellasfirst-personexperiences.Theycanfosterdiscussionorcanbeusedtoshutitdown. Whencompaniesbeginconsideringstartingablog,thethoughtofspendingmoretimeandmoneymakesitatoughsell.Infact,oneofthemostcommonreasonsfornotdoingablogisthat“wealreadydoanewsletter.” Thisrationaleisnonsense.Thereisnoreasonthatyournewsletter’scontentcan’tberepurposedintoyourblog:attheoutset,noadditionalcontentneedbecreated.Inaddition,differentaudiencesmightactuallypreferdifferentcom-municationchannels. Thewholeissueofnewsschedulingalsoneedstobeexplored.Withnewslet-ters,articlesarewrittenbasedonaneditorialcalendar.Theyareapproved,putintoanewslettertemplate,andthensentout.Withablog,articlesarewrittenonacontinuousbasisandthenposted. If you think about it, news andannouncementsdon’t generally followanewslettereditorialschedule.Newshappenswhenithappens.Itisjustamatteroftimebeforeallcompanieswillrecognizethatusingablogplatformmatchesthenoncyclicalnatureofnewsfarmorecloselythananeditorialcalendarcan.Whenthishappens,yournewsletterswillchangetobeacompendiumofblogstories,nottheotherwayaround.Contentgetsrepurposed,withlittleornoextrawork. Theimpactofcontentrepurposingcan’tgounderstated.Considerwhatwouldhappenwhennewsbreaks,andhowmuchoftheprocesscanbeautomated,asshowninFigure4.2. Whatistheimpactoftheautomationandrepurposing?

• Costandtimearereducedthroughautomation.

• Informationisprovidedtoaudiencesthroughthechannelstheyprefer—meaningthemessagegetstomorepeople.

• Communicationsprofessionalscanspendtheirtimedoinghigher-valueactivities (includingengaging inthediscussionforums,respondingtoTweets,etc.).

• Because themessage is beingdelivered through several SocialMediatools,thereisanopportunityfordiscussion—improvingaudienceen-gagement.

• Fasterinformationandfastertimetomarket:changingfromamonthlycycletoanimmediateoneimprovesthevalueoftheinformationandthevalueofthebusinessdecisionsthataremade.


First Steps

1. IfyouhaveanySocialMediainitiatives,aretheyalreadylinkedfromorembeddedintoyourWebsite?(Andvice-versa.)

2. IsittimetoredoyourWebsiteonablogplatform,oristhereareasonyoushouldkeepyourWebsiteandblogseparate?

3. Are you repurposing your content strategically? Plan to change theinformation-collectionprocesstoonethatiscontinuousandblog-led,insteadofcyclicalandpaper-based.



Figure 4.2. Anexampleofcontentrepurposing.


Software and Tools

• Wordpress:www.Wordpress.org,www.Wordpress.comWordpressisoneofthebest-knownbloggingplatforms.Ifyouwould

liketodownloadthesoftwaretouseonyourownWebsite,gotowww.Wordpress.org.Ifyouwouldliketohavean“instant”bloghostedbythem,gotowww.Wordpress.com.

• Blogger:www.blogger.comBlogger,which is ownedbyGoogle, is the other very large blog

hostingservice.

• TypePad:www.Typepad.comTypePadoffersfreehostedblogs,aswellasfee-basedblogswithmore

features.AlsofromthemakersofTypePad,checkoutMovableType,their“professional”bloggingsolution:www.MovableType.com.

SEO and Social Media 27

5SEO and Social Media

HowdousersgettoyourWebsite?Whileit istruethatmanywilltypeinyourWebaddressdirectly,andsomemayevenhaveyoursitebookmarked,themajorityofusersfindtheirwaybytypingsearchtermsintoGoogleandthenchoosingasitebasedonthesearchresultsreturned.Ifyouhaveanyanalyticalsoftwareinstalledonyoursite(e.g.,WebtrendsandGoogleAnalyticsarethemostcommon),thenyoucanchecktheexactstatisticsyourself. For this reason, there isahuge interestby Internetmarketers inmakingsurethatyourWebsiteappearsinthetoptenlistings—thatyouhaveahighsearchengineranking(SER).Thistask,searchengineoptimization,orSEO,issometimesmadeouttobeablackart,butthebasicsaresurprisinglyeasy,andSocialMediacanplayanimportantpartingivingyouahighSER.

SEO Basics

ThewayGoogle(andBing,Yahoo!Search,andothers)worksissimple:theyindexeverywordonyourWebsiteandeverywordoneveryWebsite.TheyalsomakenoteofeverylinkgoingfromyourWebsitetoeveryoneelse’sWebsite;thisishowtheymagicallyfindotherWebpagestoindex.Then,whenyoudoasearch,thepageswiththemostsearchtermmatchesappearhigherintherankings. Ofcourse,thereareafewotherthingsgoingon:certaininstancesofthesearch termsaremorevaluable thanothers.Thepage title (whatappears in

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thetopbarofthewindow)ismoreimportantthanthetiny-sizedwordsatthebottomofthepage.Andyourpriorsearchinghistoryisalsonowtakenintoac-count.Preciselyhowthevariousfactorsareweightedisabigmystery,andthealgorithmchangesfromtimetotime.Noonepersonorcompanyknowsthesecretformula,althoughmanyso-calledexpertsclaimto“know”howtogamethesystemintogivingyourpagesahigherpageranking. Thesearchenginesknowthistypeofgamingisgoingon,sotheyprogramtheirenginestopenalizesiteswhenthepagesappeartobefraudulentlyputto-gether.Examplesofpagefraud—sometimesknownaskeywordstuffing—includethefollowing:

• Duplicatingmanykeywordsintinytyperightatthetopofthepage

• Havingmanykeywordsappear“invisible”byhaving the textbe thesamecolorasthepagebackground

• Duplicatingapagemanytimes,sothatitsupposedlywillappearmoreoftenwithinthesearchengineresults.

Google(andtheothersearchengines)alsodeterminespagerankingbymak-ingaverycleverassumption:thatthepageswiththemostinboundlinksarethepagesthatarethemostlikelymatch.Thisiswhyobscurepagesrarelymakethetoptensearchresultsforanygivensearchterms.Furthermore,themorepopularthesiteisthatlinkstoyours,thehigheryoursitewillappearinthesearchenginerankings.Notallinboundlinksareworththesame:ifyouhavefivelow-trafficsitesconnectedtoyou,yourrankingwouldbefarlowerthanifyouhadfivehigh-trafficsiteslinkedin. Infact,inboundlinksareanabsolutelycriticalingredientforahigherrank-ing,moreimportantthananyotherfactor,withtheexceptionofthesearchtermsthemselves.ThissuggestsacriticalWebsitemarketingstrategy:solicitasmanyinboundlinksaspossiblefromasmanyhigh-trafficsitesaspossible.Note:thereareanumberofotherthingsthatshouldbedonetoincreasesearchenginerank-ings,butSEOasatopicisabookallonitsown.Torepeat,increasinginboundlinksisthemosteffectivewaytoincreaserankings.

RSS

Oneof theunderlyingtechnologiesofSocialMedia,andblogs inparticular,issomethingcalledRSS,whichstandsforreally simple syndication.Whilethetechnicalunderpinningsareunimportant,RSSallowsforthesyndicationofyour


contentelsewhereontheInternet.Thismeans,forexample,thatausercansub-scribetoyourblog(Figure5.1),andautomaticallyeachoneofyournewpostswillappearintheirblogreaderwithoutyouhavingtodoanything. Interestingly,it’snotjustpeoplewhocansubscribetoyourRSSfeed;otherWebsitescandosotoo,broadcastingyourcontentevenfarther.Thisishowmostportalpages,suchasMSN,Google,andYahoo!,allowyoutopullincontentfromothersources.Infact,thereareanumberofsites(Digg,Technorati,etc.)thatexistonlytoindexandcategorizeblogpostingsandmakethemavailabletoyetevenmorepeople. Hereiswhythisisrelevant:ifyouarecleverenoughtoaddlinksbacktoyourWebsitefromwithinyourSocialMediaandblogpostings,youcangenerateliterallyhundredsandhundredsofinboundlinks,allfromhigh-trafficsites.IfyoupostyourcontentonmultipleSocialMediasites(e.g.,Facebook,LinkedIn,yourownblog,others’blogs,etc.),withlinkstoyourWebsiteembedded,theseinboundlinkswillmultiplyevenfurther.Then,asifbymagic,yoursearchenginerankingswillincrease.

Figure 5.1. Randall’s“MakeItHappen”blogencouragesvisitorstosubscribetotheRSSfeed.


Therearesomelimitationstothistechnique:ifyoudecidetoreplytoothers’blogpostingsandincludeaninboundlinktoyoursiteinyourreply,somesitesflagthislinkasa“nofollow,”resultinginzerosearchenginerankingbenefit.Nevertheless,ifyouhaverealcontent,andasitehassubscribedtothiscontent,thistechniquewillworkinthevastmajorityofcases.

Social Media Integration

WithastrongerunderstandingofthelinkbetweenSocialMediaandSEO,wecannowreturntotheconceptofintegrationdiscussedinChapter3.SocialMe-

Social Media Site Indexed?LinkedInProfile SubsetofyourprofileisindexedLinkedInRecommendations NoLinkedInGroups NoLinkedInApplications NoLinkedInMicroblogging NoLinkedInJobPostings YesLinkedInAnswers YesLinkedInCompanyPage SubsetofthecompanyprofileisindexedFacebookProfile Yes,basedonprivacysettingslimitedinfoisshownFacebookPage YesFacebookGroups YesFacebookAdvertising NoFacebookApplications NoTwitter YesYouTubeVideo YesYouTubeChannel YesYouTubeGroups YesYouTubeAdvertising NoYouTubeStreams NoMySpaceProfile YesMySpaceGroups YesMySpaceForums YesMySpaceEvents YesMySpaceApplications NoMySpaceBlogs YesMySpaceAdvertising NoFlickrProfile YesFlickrPhotos/Videos YesFlickrGroups YesFlickrApplications Yes

Figure 5.2. SomeSocialMediapagesareindexedandsomearenot.


diaclearlyhasaroleingeneratingawarenessthroughimprovedSEO.ButthereareotherSEOactivitiesthatneedtobeimplemented,andSEOitselfisjustonepartofacomprehensivemarketingplan.

Social Media SEO

OneofthemajorbenefitsofSocialMedia,ifdonewithSEOinmind,isthatitcansignificantlyimproveyoursearchenginerankings.NotallSocialMediaisindexedbythesearchengines.Whatisindexedtodaymaynotbeindexedtomor-row,andwhatisnotindexedtodaymayindeedbeindexedtomorrow.Asofthewritingofthisbook,Figure5.2showsalistofthetop-tierSocialMediasitesandwhethereachsubpartofeachsiteisindexedbythemajorsearchengines.

First Steps

1. TakecareoftheSEObasicstodrivemorepeopletoyoursite.

2. MakesurethateveryblogpostthatyouwritealsohasalinkbacktoyourmainWebsite.Thisgoesforpostingsonyourownblogaswellascommentsthatyouleaveonothers.

3. ForeachoftheSocialMediasitesthatyouareusing,notewhichcontentisindexedbythesearchenginesandthendevelopasystemtoensurethatyourkeywordphrasesareincludedappropriately.



Articles

• Google Webmaster Central—Search Engine Optimization:http://budurl.com/chapter6seo

• Wikipedia’stakeonSEO:http://budurl.com/chapter6wiki


6LinkedIn

Overview

LinkedIn(www.LinkedIn.com)isthelargestcorporatelyfocusedprofessionalnetworking site in theworld.Withover65millionusers,halfofwhomareoutsideoftheUnitedStates,LinkedInhasdevelopedacriticalmassthatcan’tbeignored.Yet,thisnumberrepresentsalowpenetrationrate,soitisn’tcertainthateveryoneyoumightwishtocontactisactuallyregisteredwithorreachableonthesystem. TodescribeLinkedInat thehighest level, it isaSocialMediasitewhereyoucanbuildyourprofile(seeFigure6.1),includethelatestversionofyourresume;andsolicitconnectionstootherindividuals—whocanthenacceptyourconnectionrequest,ornot,astheyseefit.Asarewardforbeingaconnection,youhavegreatertransparencyintotheirexperience(andtheirconnections),andvice-versa. Fromthishumblebeginning,LinkedInhasaddedsignificantfunctionalityandisusedbyjobseekers,recruiters,salesexecs,andanyonelookingtodevelopandmakethemostoftheirrelationships. TheLinkedInbusinessmodelisacombinationofsellingpremiumLinkedInmembershipsforindividuals(notworthitformost),advertisingrevenues,jobpostingrevenues,andcorporatepartnershipdeals.Itclearlyhasstayingpower

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LinkedIn 33

andseemstobebeatingoneofitsmainrivals(Plaxo)basedonthenumberofusersandthepaceofinnovation. Followingisadescriptionofthemostrelevantfeaturesandhowtheymightbeused,bothonapersonalandacorporatelevel.

Profile

Theprofileisthebasic“resume”thatpeoplewillseewhentheyclickthroughtoyouasanindividual;asubsetofthisinformationisindexedonGoogle.Werecommendthatyoufillouttheprofileinageneralway,asthereisnoneedforyoutoputinspecificjobdetails—that’swhatatraditionalresumeisfor.(Ofcourse, ifyouare lookingto leaveyouremployer,youmaywanttodothis,asrecruiterswillbetterbeabletofindyoubasedonthekeywordsembeddedwithinyourprofile.) Ifyouaremultilingual,youcanalsocreateaprofileinyourotherlanguage(s).Clickon“Edit my Profile”andthenlookforthelinkthatsays“Create Your Profile in Another Language.”

Figure 6.1. TheLinkedInprofileprovidesvisitorswithasnapshotofwhoyouareandwhatcredentialsyouhave.


Recommendations

Thereisalinkinthenavigationthatallowsyoutowriterecommendationsforothersandrequestrecommendationsfromothers.Notethatwheneverarecom-

mendationiswrittenforyou, itdoesnotappearpubliclyunlessyouapproveit. While this is an individual-oriented activity, it doeshavesomeimportantbenefitsatthecompanylevel.Whenaprospectistryingtodecidewhetheryourcompanyoracompetitorwillwin thecontract, itmaybe thepersonalrelationships thatmake the difference. If a supplier hasa number of glowing recommendations, it is a powerfulindicatorforhowtherelationshipmightdevelop.

Groups

Groupsarecommunitiesofinterestwithsomethingincommon—functionalskills,membershipinareal-worldorganization,orgeography.AnyonecansetupagroupjustbyclickingontheGroupsnavigationlinkandfollowingtheinstruc-

tionsonthepage.Prettymuchallcollegesanduniversitiesusethisasawaytobindtheiralumnitogether.Searchforyouralmamaterandcheckitout! Withingroupscanbefoundadiscussionforum,memberlistings,newspostings,jobpostings,andseveralothertypesoffunctionality.Thegroupmoderatorhascompletecontroloverwhatfunctionalityisenabledandwhocanjoin. Whileitmightbetemptingtocreateagroupimmedi-ately,rememberthattheongoingmanagementofittakestime.Ifyoucreateagroupwithnorealbusinessneedforone,thennoonewillshowup—andtheghosttownwillnotreflectwellonyou.Withsomanygroups(Figure6.2)alreadyoutthere,itmightbefareasiertoparticipateinonethan to create—and spend timemanaging—oneof yourown. Oneideathatmightmakesenseistocreateagroupthat

tiesintoanyexistingloyaltyprogramthatyourun.Forexample,ifyouhaveareal-worldgroupforyourcustomers,formeremployees,orkeysuppliers,thenaddingaLinkedIngroupwouldtiethemevenmoretightlytoyourcompany.

Watch Out!Sometimes employees will share confidential informa‑tion, processes, or projects on their LinkedIn profile. It doesn’t hurt to review your staffs’ profiles periodically, just in case.

Watch Out!If you are asked by your employees for a reference, be very careful about giv‑ing it. Depending on your jurisdiction, your glowing recommendation might be used against you in court if you later fire them. As rec‑ommendations from third parties are stronger anyway, you can use this rationale for declining the request.

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Applications

ThelatesttrendinSocialMediahasbeentoopenuptheback-end,toallowprogrammerstobuildapplicationsontopoftheSocialMediaplatformitself.Theideaisthatifthesethirdpartiescreateuserengagementandhighervalue,thentheuserswillspendmoretimethere,therebyincreasingthevalueoftheplatformitself.Notsurprisingly,LinkedInhasdonethisaswell.Thereareaboutadozenapplicationsso faronLinkedIn (Figure6.3),allaccessible fromtheApplicationslinkinthenavigationmenu.Someofthemareveryuseful,suchas“Typepad,”whichallowsyou toautomatically funnelyourcorporate (orpersonal)blogpostingsdirectlyontoyourpage. Herearesomeotherideas:Usethe“Google Presentation”applicationtoshowcasepresentations(similartoPowerPoint)aboutyourproductsandservices.UseBox.nettohousewhitepapersorproductspecificationsheets,orsupportFAQs.Anduse“Amazon’s Reading List”tohighlightrelevantbooksaboutyourcompany,industry,orpeople.

Figure 6.2. LinkedInincludesgroupsrelatedtoeverytopic,skill,organization,andgeographicarea.


Microblogging

AtthetopofeveryLinkedInprofileisaspotforyoutoputyourstatus.Themagicofthisstatusupdateisthatitisviewablebyanypersonwhogoestoyourpage,anditalsoappearsoneachofyourconnections’HomePage.Thetermmicrobloggingcomesfromthefactthatyourpostingmustbemicro-sized.

Obviously,ifyouchangeyourstatustoooften,yourconnectionswilltireofyour“noise”andwilldisconnectfromyou.Ontheotherhand,occasional(andstrategic)company-focusedmessagestoyourconnectionsprovideatargetedwaytogetyourmessagetothosewhocareaboutyouandwhatyou’redoing.

Thesestrategicmessagesneednotbecomplex.Ifyouwantedtodifferentiateyourbusinessbecauseofyourproductquality,thenyouwouldinsertamessageeverytimeyourproductswonaproductqualityaward,orabouttheproductqualitycoursesyouattended,orwhenyourwarehousereceivedanISO9000qualityrecertification.Asubtlementionfromtimetotimecanhavefarmoreimpactthanacontinuous“shout.”

Figure 6.3. LinkedInprovidesaccesstothegrowinglistofLinkedInapplications.

MicrobloggingA blog that allows up to 140 character‑long posts. Twitter is the most popular.

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Job Postings

Manycompanieshaveprogramswhereemployeeswhoreferjobcandidatesgetabonusifthepersonisultimatelyhired.Therationalefordoingthisisthattherelationshipimprovesthequalityofthecandidate.LinkedIn,withitsjobpost-ings,ismerelyanextensionofthisphilosophy.Ifyouhadtwojobcandidates,andonewasconnectedtoaLinkedInconnection,wouldn’tthatpersonhavealegupontheunknownperson? BypostingajobonLinkedIn,youareabletofollowtheconnectionsbetweenthecandidateandyourself,asking“upthechain”foracandidassessmentoftheperson’ssuitabilityandcapabilities.Inaddition,thejobpostinggetsspreadvirally,asconnectionstelltheirconnec-tionsaboutit.Thecostforpostingajobiscompetitivewithotherjobboards. Mostpeoplearen’tawareoftheverysignificantinvestmentthatLinkedInhasmadetohelprecruitersandhiringmanag-ers.Forexample,thereareadministrativetoolsthatprovidemoresophisticatedaccesstotheLinkedIndatabaseforpassivesearching,LinkedIn-basedtargeteddirectmail,andtrackingofapplicantsforanyjobsearch.Moreinformationisavailableathttp://talent.linkedin.com.

Answers

LinkedInAnswers(Figure6.4) is in-triguing,asuserscanposequestionson anybusiness-oriented topic, andotherusersprovideanswers.Oneoftheanswersisselectedasthe“BestAn-swer,”whileother(s)maybeselectedas“GoodAnswers.” There is certainly a benefit toparticipatingintheseforums,solongasyoulimityourparticipationtobewithinyourcompany’ssphereofin-terest,orifitwillhelpyouaccomplishyourSocialMediaobjectives.Whenpeoplereadyouranswers,especiallyiftheyaretaggedas“Best”or“Good,”

Advanced TipMany people forget that you can put a Web page address within your status area. Whenever you change your status, always think of what you want your readers’ next step to be, and then provide the Web page address that takes them there.

Time WasterIt is easy to waste huge amounts of time re‑sponding to generic questions. We recommend that if you do wish to respond to questions, then do so only for a smaller number of ques‑tions so that you can demonstrate your exper‑tise. Anything more doesn’t get you much. Another opportunity, instead of the generic “Answers” area of the site, is to spend some time developing a reputation within the groups, participating in expertise‑relevant discussions. The audience is far more targeted, and you’ll be more likely to benefit from your effort.


thereisaclearcommercialbenefittoyouandyourorganization.Andoncethequestionisanswered,itcanbesearchedfor(andfound)overandover,provid-ingacontinuingreturnonyourone-timeinvestment.

Company Page

KeepinmindthatLinkedInstartedasanindividual-centeredSocialMediasite,andthiscontinuestobeoneofitsstrengths.Thereistheconceptof“Com-pany,”though; itbuildscompanyprofiles fromtheground,byaggregatingindividualprofileswhohavelistedyourcompanyastheircurrentemployer.Thenitprovidesatoolforacorporaterepresentativetoeditthecompany-levelinformation,includingbasicinformation,logo,locations,financials,andacompanyblog. LinkedInhasanoptionforyoutopurchaseacustomcompanyprofile,whichgivesyoutheabilitytoaddanynumberofcustommodules,includingvideo,

Figure 6.4. LinkedInAnswersprovidesanopportunityforyoutoshowcaseyourex-pertisebyansweringquestions—oraskingyourown.

LinkedIn 39

externalnewsfeeds,careersinformation,employeespotlights,etc.UnlikejobsearchWebsites(suchasMonster,Careerbuilder,HotJobs,etc.), theabilitytomarrycompanyinformationwithyournetworkdataand jobpostingscanmakecompany listingsverypowerful.Typically,onlylargercompanieshaveusedthiscapability,butifyourorganization’sSocialMediastrategyrelieshighlyonLinkedIn,thenacustomcompanyprofilemaybeaworthwhileinvestment.

LinkedIn Priority List: Personal

TogetstartedonLinkedIn,hereisanorder-of-operationsthatyoushouldfol-low,alongwithanumberofshortcuts:

1. Signupfortheserviceifyouhaven’tdonesoalready,atwww.LinkedIn.com.

2. Createyourprofile.Averyefficientwaytodoitallatonceistouploadyourresume,usingtheResumeImportfeature.Afteryouuploadtheresume,youhavethechancetoreconcileormakechangesbeforeitisofficiallyplacedinyourprofile.Ifyouhavepartiallycreatedaprofile,uploadingyourresumemightbeawaytoquicklyfillintherestofit.Note:Youarenotreallyuploadingyourresume;LinkedInscansyourresume, extracting specific information,whichyouapprovebefore itgoeslive.

3. Inviteconnections.ThefastestwaytodothisistohaveLinkedInuseyouremaillist,andthencomparethislistwiththe50-million-pluscontacts intheirdatabase. IfyouareusingMicrosoftOutlook, you can installtheLinkedInOutlookToolbar,whichcanbedownloadedthroughatinytextlinkatthebottomof everyLinkedInpage.OnceinstalledintoOutlook,itwilluploadeachof your contacts into aLinkedIn holdingarea,whereyouwillhaveachancetochoosewhomto sendaconnection invitation to.For tighter integration, use LinkedIn forOutlooktobringtourcontactdatadirectly

Watch Out!Anyone with a corporate email address can edit the basic company profile, including disgruntled employees. This is a security hole that we can expect will be plugged, but as of mid‑2010, it is wide open. After you create a company profile, we recommend that you note a date on your calendar to review the profile, to ensure that it wasn’t changed inappropriately.

Newsfeeds An automatically produced listing of blog or news head‑lines and excerpts.


intoOutlook.Seewww.LinkedIn.com/Outlook formoredetails.IfyouuseGmail,Hotmail,Yahoo!mail,ormostotherWebmailprograms,thenLinkedInalsoprovidesaconvenientwayforyoutodothesamething.Clickthe“Contacts”navigationlinkandthenfindthelinkonthepagethatsays“AddConnections.”LinkedInwillaskyouforyouremailaddress,thenyouremailpassword,inordertocollectyourconnectionsfromyourWebemailaccount.

4. Growyourconnections:Lookthroughyourconnections’connectionstoseeifthereisanyonewithwhomyouhaveareal-worldrelationshipbutisnotyetyourconnection,andtheninvitethem,one-by-one.Thisisrelativelytime-consuming,butitisaone-time-onlyprocessandwillyieldresultsindefinitely.ThereareotheroptionswithinLinkedIntoidentifyformercolleaguesandclassmates;it’sworthlookingattheseaswell.

5. Solicitrecommendations:Itdoesn’thurttheegotohaveotherssaynicethingsaboutyou inpublic. It isworthwhileaskingforrecommenda-tions from a broad variety of people: former colleagues, customers,

suppliers, etc.The benefit of doing this,beyondpaddingyourego,isthatitactu-allyhelpsstrengthenyourpastreal-worldrelationships;themereaskingforcesyoutoreconnectandbringstherelationshipintothepresent.At the same timeyou solicitrecommendations,considertowhomyoumightwishtogiverecommendations.Wesuggest that you give recommendationsonlywherewarranted,andavoidthe“you-give-me-one-and-I’ll-give-you-one”deals.

6. JoinGroups:Tobegin,searchforgroupsrelated to your school, past employers,professional associationsor certifications,customergroups,etc.,andthenjointhem.Whileitmightbetemptingtojoindozensofgroupsrightaway,werecommendthatyoujointhegroupswhereyoucangetthebiggestreturnonyourtimeinvestment.Tokeepitmanageable,werecommendthatyoudon’tjoinmorethanfiveatthestart.Once

Watch Out!There are some people who follow a so‑called LinkedIn Open Networker philoso‑phy. If you see some people with the word “LION” behind their names, and thousands and thousands of connections, they are fol‑lowing a very different philosophy. Typi‑cally, LIONs hope to add as many names into their network as possible, regardless of whether or not they have a real‑world relationship with the person. Often, their modus operandi is to send “Status Updates” that are blatant product pitches. The more people on their list, the more profiles their sales pitches will reach. Separately, if you chose to accept all connections regardless of whether or not there was a real‑world relationship, often you will be pestered by these people, asking for introductions. It’s far wiser—and will save you time—if you accept only real‑world relationships.

LinkedIn 41

you’vegotthesystemfiguredoutandhavehadanopportunitytoassesstheresultsofyourparticipation,youcanthenaddmore.Ifthegroupsareawasteoftime,youcanalwaysbackout.

7. Participate:AkeybenefittoansweringafewquestionsinLinkedInAn-swers,ortocontributetoadiscussionwithinagroup,isthatyournamewillbeshown—alongwithyourexpertise—wheneveranyonesearchesforthatanswerinthefuture.

LinkedIn Priority List: Company

WhiletheindividualbenefitsofSocialMediaarewellunderstood,herearesomecorporaterecommendations:

1. EncourageemployeestouseLinkedIninordertoincreasetheSEObenefitthecompanywillhave.Aswell,themoreyouremployeesareconnectedtogether,themoreyoursalesteamcananswerthequestion“whoknowswhom?”priortoasalescall.

2. Claimandedityourcompanyprofile.

3. LinkedInisalsoaverypowerfulrecruitingandHRtool.Herearesomeideas:

– Comparecandidates’profilesandresumestoensurethattheymatch.

– Reviewanyrecommendations,andlookforadditionalpeopletoaskforreferences.

– ConsiderusingaLinkedInjobpostingtotapintothesocialnet-workforpotentialcandidates.

– UseaLinkedIngroupforalumniofyourcompany;it’sagreatwayforpeopletokeepincontact,atzerocosttoyou.

4. MuchofthevalueofLinkedIncancomefromthesuggestionsyoumaketoyourworkforce.Hereareseveral:

– AskyouremployeestoputthecompanyWebsiteandblogaddress


ontheirprofile.

– Askthemtoaddthe“Typepad”application,sothecompanyblogappearsdirectlywithintheirpage.

– Atspecifictimes(productlaunch,keycompanynews,etc.),askyouremployeestochangetheirstatustoyourcorporateannounce-ment,sothatthecompanynewsgetsbroadcastthroughtotheirconnections.

Ongoing Maintenance

Beyondtheobvious taskofapprovingorrejectingconnectionrequests fromothers,oneofthekeyquestionsishowmuchongoingtimeshouldbespent,comparedtothefuturereturnonthattimeinvestment.Ofcourse,theamountof time thatyoudospendneeds tobeconnected toyourobjectivesand thestrengthofthefit.WecoverROIinChapter17,butforLinkedIn,thereareafewspecificto-doitemsthatshouldbeaccomplished:

1. CheckyourLinkedIninboxfromtimetotime.Usuallyanythingsenttoyouprivatelyisalsocopiedtoyourmainemailaddress,butsometimesitcanbemissed.

2. Double-checkyourcompanylistingeveryfewmonthstomakesureitwasn’tchangedwithoutyourknowledge.

3. Reviewyouremployees’postingsfromtimetotime,bothtoguardagainstconfidentialitybreachesandalsotogetthepulseofwhatyouremployeesarethinking.

First Steps

1. SearchLinkedInforsomeofyourkeyemployees,competitors,suppliers,andcustomers.Iftheyareonthesystem,thenitprobablyistimeforyoutobealso.

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2. GothroughtheLinkedInpriority listsforpersonalentriesandforyourcompany.Whilesomeoftheitemsmayseembasic,othersaredesignedforadvancedusers.

3. SetasideafewminutesonyourcalendareachweektocheckyourLinkedInhomepage,toseewhatyourconnectionsaredoing.



Software/Tools

• LinkedInProductivityTools(http://bit.ly/LinkedInTools)—FreeLinkedInprovidesanumberoffreeproductivitytools.Thesetools

helpyoutobuildyournetwork,manageyourLinkedIncontacts,stayconnectedwithMobileLinkedIn,andmuchmore.

• SusanandRandall are alwaysupdating their socialbookmarkswithgreattoolsandresources.CheckthemoutatDiigo:

– Susan’sareavailableatwww.diigo.com/user/susansweeney

– Randall’sareavailableatwww.diigo.com/user/randallcraig.

Education

• RandallspeakstogroupsaboutusingLinkedIninthecontextofbusi-nessdevelopment,recruiting,andriskmanagement.Moredetailsareathttp://www.randallcraig.com.

• Susanhasongoing livewebinarsandrecordedonlinecoursesonthistopicavailablethroughthewebinarsandonlinestoreathersite, http://www.susansweeney.com,andprovidesaccesstoothers’coursesonthesubjectthroughheronlinelearningportal,eLearningU,athttp://www.elearningu.com.


Books

• Online PR and Social Media for Experts,4thedition,byRandallCraig(http://www.OnlinePRSocialMedia.com/experts),November2009ThisbookdescribeshowtouseLinkedIn—butalsohowtointegrate

itwithallyourotherSocialMediainitiatives.

• How to Really Use LinkedIn,byJanVermeiren,March2009Thisbookhas187pageswithstrategiesforthebeginnerandthe

advancedonlinenetworker.ItincludesalistoffreetoolstohelpyougetthemostoutofLinkedIn.

• Windmill Networking: Understanding, Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn: An Unofficial, Step‑by‑Step Guide to Creating & Implementing Your LinkedIn Brand—Social Networking in a Web 2.0 World,byNealShaffer,September2009Greatbookthatstartswiththebasics—whatareyourobjectives—and

thenproceedsfromthere.Thisbookhasmanygreattips,tools,tech-niques,andtacticstogetthemostoutofyourLinkedInparticipation.

Facebook 45

7Facebook

Overview

Facebook(www.facebook.com)isthemostusedSocialNetworkingsiteintheworld.Facebookhasgonefromacollegephoto-sharingandcommunicationsite to a business networking platform for business promotion, advertising,multimediasharing,andpublicrelations. Formarketers,itisimportanttolearnhowtousethisSocialMediavenue,asthenumbersarestaggering.Facebookcurrentlyhasmorethan350millionactiveuserswithmorethan35millionusersupdatingtheirstatuseveryday.Thestatsaremind-blowing—2.5billionphotosuploadedtothesiteeachmonthand3.5billionpiecesofcontent(links,stories,posts,photos,etc.)sharedeachweek. Onthebusinessside,therearemorethan1.6millionactive“FanPages”thathavemorethan5.3billionfans,creatingmorethan3.5millioneventseachmonth. Theaverageuserhas130friendsheorshecanaccessinaclick,spendsmorethan55minutesperdayonFacebook,andisamemberof12groups.Therearemorethan65millionactiveuserswhoaccessFacebookthroughtheirmobiledevices. Facebookisasitewhereyoucanhaveyourownpersonalprofile,haveacorporatepage,addfriendsandfansandsendthemmessages,joinnetworks,

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postphotosandvideos,participateingroupdiscussions,promoteyourevents,advertise,andawholelotmore.Withthestandardsettings,everythingyoudoappearsonyourwall(Figure7.1),whichisaccessiblebyyourfriends. TodayalltypesofbusinessesuseFacebooktocommunicatewithexistingandpotentialclients,attractnewclients,andpromotetheirproductsandservices.FacebookisalsoavaluablePRtool. Hereisadescriptionofthemostrelevantfeaturesandhowtheymightbeused,bothonapersonalandacorporatelevel.

Profile

Althoughmanyentrepreneursaremarketingtheirbusinessthroughtheirpersonalprofile,theyrunagreatriskoflosingtheiraccount.TherearealsodownsidestostartingyourFacebookmarketingthroughyourpersonalprofile,likealimitationonthenumberoffriendsyoucanhaveandconvertingyourfriendstofanswhenyoudosetupyourFanpage.Forbusinessyouarebetteroffsettingupabusiness

Figure 7.1. YourFacebookwallprovidesasnapshotofyourrecentactivities;itisac-cessibletoyourfriendsorthepublic—dependingonyourprivacysettings.

Facebook 47

Facebookpage,knownasa“FanPage”fromthebeginning.Facebookprofilesaremeantforindividuals.Throughyourprofileyoucandothingslike:

• Poststatusupdates

• Requestfriendsandacceptothers’friendinvitations

• Writeonyourownwall

• Writeonyourfriends’walls

• Uploadpicturesandvideos

• Useapplications that areof interest.Therearemanyapplicationsofinteresttoindividuals—birthdayreminders,placesI’vebeen,etc.

Again,profilesaremeantforindividualstosocializewithfriends.Facebookpagesaremeantforbusiness.

Pages

Facebookpagesenablebusinesses,associations,not-for-profits,teams,andbrandstohaveapresenceonFacebook.Pagesarevisibletoeveryone,eventhosewhodonothaveaprofileinFacebook.YourpagecanshowupandbeaccessiblethroughaGooglesearch. YourFacebookpageisagreattooltointeractwithcustomersandpotentialcustomers.YourFacebookpagealsoprovidestheopportunitytodomarketre-searchandbranding,generateWebsiteandblogtraffic,runpromotions,buildyourcom-pany’sreputation,providecustomerservice,invite fans toeventsandmanage theguestlist,shareinformation,sellyourproductsandservices,orscheduleappointments. Whenyousetupyourpage, therearethree category options—local business,brand/product,artist/band/publicfigure. Whenyousetupyourpage,youhavetochooseaname.Becareful—thisnameisimportant.Thinkabouthowuserswillfind

Watch Out!Have a corporate policy for employ‑ees on accepting clients, potential clients, and professional colleagues as “friends” on their personal Facebook account. The pictures of Friday night’s bachelor party, the comments from per‑sonal friends on personal activities, and the personal videos may not be what you want representing your business.


you.UserscansearchwithinFacebook—thecloserthesearchistoyourname,thehigherupyouwilldisplayinthesearchresults.EachFacebookuserhasan“IamaFanof”inhisorherprofile—doesyournameintriguetheirfriends?Whenusersbecomefans,itisnotedintheirNewsfeed—again,doesyournameintriguetheirfriends?

Tointeractwithyou,Facebookusersneedtobecomeafan(eg“Like”)ofyourpage(seeFigure7.2).Themoreyouengageyourfans,themoretheyfeelapartofyourcommunity.Fanscaninteractwithyoubypostingonyourwall,providingfeedback,providingtestimonials,andaskingquestions.Theycanfollowyourlinks,uploadphotosandvideos,downloadcoupons,RSVPtoyourevents,learnaboutyourupcomingpromotions,purchaseproducts,andmakeareservationoranappointment. Themore fansyouhave, themorepeopleyouare interactingwithonaregularbasis,soifyouaregoingtohaveapage,youneedtohaveastrategyto

Figure 7.2. HiltonHeadIsland,SChasover29,000fans.

Watch Out!Be careful with the category you choose as this can’t be changed.

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buildyourfanbase.Thereisnolimittothenumberoffansyourpagecanhave.“Groups,”discussedlater,dohavecertainlimits. Youcangrowyourfansbyofferingadeal,adiscount,orcouponsfornewfans.Wheneversomeonebecomesafanofyourpage,alltheirfriendsfindout,andtheyareprovidedtheopportunitytobecomeafanofyoursaswell. LetyourcustomersandpotentialcustomersknowaboutyourFacebookpagebyincludingdetails,alink,andanincentiveinyournewsletteroreZine,onyourWebsite,inyoursignature file,andinallyourSocialMediaprofiles. OneofthethingsyouwillwanttotrytodoisgetyourfanstojoinyoureclubonyourWebsiteorblog—basicallygiveyoupermissiontosendthememail—becauseifandwhenthenext“latestandgreatest”SocialMediasitecomesalong(anditwill!),youwanttomaintainaconnectiontoallofyourfriendsandfans.CompaniesthatbuiltagreatcommunityinMySpacewishtheyhaddonethisbeforethemigrationofanumberoftheirfriendstoFacebook! Youalsoneedastrategytoengagethefansandprovidevalueonanongoingbasistogetthemtoreturnoften.WhenyourfansinteractwithyourFacebookpage,itisnotedonthenewsfeedintheirpersonalprofile,whichisviewedbyalltheirfriends. Youcanengageyourfansbysendingthemupdates, inviting them to events, or sendingthemphotos, videos,HTML content,Flash content,notes,orpostswithlinkstoyourWebsite,blog,orotherSocialMediavenue.Whatyousendshowsupinthefans’personalnews-feedaswell. Youwanttoupdateyourpagefrequentlywithvaluablecontent—butdon’toverdoitbyhaving somany updates that your fans feelinundatedandremovethemselves. Youwanttoencourageyourfanstointer-actwithyourpage,astheirinteraction(theirpost,photo,orvideo)willbeincludedinthenewsfeedontheirpersonalpages—whichtheirfriendscanviewandaccess.Peoplehangoutwithlike-mindedpeopleorpeoplewithcommoninterests. YourFacebookpageiscustomizable.OnyourFacebookpageyoucanaddHTML,Flash,andFacebookapplicationstoaddfunctionalityandinteractiv-ity.ThereareallkindsofapplicationsavailablethroughFacebookthatmight

eZine Electronic magazine; a newsletter.

Signature fileA short statement at the end of an email message, usually containing contact information.

HTML content (hyper text markup language) HTML is the computer language that describes the formatting and layout of the content on Web pages.

Flash contentGraphic animation used on Web sites to make them visually interesting and interactive.


helpyouachieveyourobjectives.Thereareappsthatenablerestaurantstotakereservations,thereareappsthatcanupdateyourFacebookpagewithyourblogpoststhroughanRSSfeed,andthereareappsthatenableyoutoscheduleappointments.YounameitandthereisprobablyaFacebookapplicationto

handleit. YourFacebookpagehasadiscussion boardbuiltin.Thisisagreatplacetodomarketresearchortodiscusspertinentissues. Thereareanumberoftoolsprovidedthatyoushouldbecome familiarwith.There isa tool tomoderateandevenblockfanswhopostinappro-

priatecontentonyourpage.Youhaveaccesstoahelpfulreportingtoolcalled“Insights”thatletsyouseewhattypesofcontentyourfansenjoyandareinter-actingwith.Administratorscanaddstafforcolleaguesasotheradministrators,enablingthemtoaddoreditcontenttosharetheworkload.

Groups

Facebookgroupsareplacestofindpeoplewithsimilarintereststodiscussthetopicofthegroupandbuildrelationshipswiththemembersofthegroup. Youcanstartagroup,participateinexistinggroupsbybecomingamember,orboth.Itislikelythatyourtargetmarketisalreadyparticipatinginexistinggroups.Thisisaneasywaytogetinfrontofyourtargetmarketwithouttheresponsibilityofdevelopingandmaintainingyourowngroup. Ifyoudecidetostartagroup,yousetthename,thetype,andtherules,andyoumonitortheconversation.Youcansetthegrouptobeopentoanyone,orclosedwheretheyhavetobeaccepted,orsecret,whichisbyinvitationonly.Whenyousetthename,thinkaboutthewordsyourtargetmarketmightsearchoninthegroupstofindyou. Groupshaveadministratorsthatmanagethegroup.Administratorshavetheabilitytoinvitememberstojoin.GroupsthatareopentothepubliccanbefoundthroughaFacebooksearch,sotakethisintoconsiderationwhendecid-ingthenameforyourgroup.Thesegroupsarenotindexedbyexternalsearchengines. Youneedtolettheworldknowaboutyourgroupandencouragepeopletojoin—nomembers,nodiscussion,noopportunity.Thinkaboutjoiningrelatedgroupsforcross-promotion.ThinkaboutlinkingtoyourgroupfromyourWebsite,yourblog,andyourotherSocialMediavenues.Includeinformationon

Discussion board An online “bulletin board” where you can leave messages and can ex‑pect to see responses to your messag‑es. It is sometimes called a “forum.”

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yourgroupandprovidealinkfromyournewsletterorezine.Providethelinktoyourgroupinyoursignaturefileinyouremail. Youwanttomakesureyoukeeptheconversationactiveinyourgroup.Visitoften,respondtoquestions,askquestions,andstimulatethediscussion. Groupscomewithdiscussionboards, links,photos,andvideos.Youcaneasilysendnewsandupdatestoyourgroupmembers—messagesarriveintheirFacebookinbox.Youcansetupmultiplegroups.MemberscaninvitefriendswithanInvitefeature.Whennewmembersjoinyourgroup,thegroupnamewithalinkwillappearonthemembers’profilepages. Groupswithlessthan5,000memberscansendemailblaststoallmembers.Groupscannothostapplications,buttheycancreateanevent. Oneofthequestionsourclientsaskiswhethertheyshouldstartagrouporafanpage.Ourgeneraladviceistoparticipateinothers’groups,butifyouarestartingfromscratch,startafanpage,becauseoftheadditionalflexibilitythatitgivesyou,andbecausefanpagesareindexedonGooglebutgroupsarenot.Ifyouhaveaverysmallgroup,considermigratingthememberstoafanpage.

Advertising

Facebookprovidesaphenomenaltargetedadvertisingopportunity.Combinetheimpressivetargetingwiththeopportunitytopayonapay-per-clickbasis,theeasystep-by-stepaddevelopmentprocess,andyouhaveawinningcombination. CreatinganadinFacebookcouldn’tbeeasier.Here’showitworks.

• Click“AdsandPages”(seeFigure7.3)togetintotheaddevelopmentarea.

• Clickon“CreateanAd”onthetopright.

• Youfill in theblanks todesign your ad.You choose thedestinationURL—choosea landingpagerather thanyourhomepageandmakesurethatlandingpageisacontinuationofthead.YoucanalsochoosethelinktogotoyourFacebookpageorevent,yourblog,orotherSocialMediavenue.Nextyoudevelopthetitle(maximum25characters)andthedescription(135characters)—developa“grabbertitle”andgivepeopleareasontoclickonyourad.Callstoactionworkwell.

URL (uniform resource locator)A Web address that usually starts with http://


Youhavetheoptiontouploadapictureorimage(nolargerthan4MB).Asyoudevelopthead,youcanseewhatitlookslikeinasidepanel.Gonichetogetabetterclick-through—themoretargetedyouradtotheparticularnicheyouwanttoconnectwith,thebetteryourresults!Whenyouarehappywithyourad,click“Continue.”

• Nowyougettodoyourtargeting(Figure7.4)forthisspecificad.Youcanchooseanycombinationofthefollowingfields:

– Geographiclocationoftheuser—youcangoasbroadorasnarrowasyouwant,rightdowntowithintenmilesofaspecificcity.

– Age.

– Birthday—youcantargetpeopleontheirbirthdays.

– Gender.

– Keywords—thekeywordsaretakenfrominformationintheusers’profile,theirinterests,andlistedfavorites.Keywordsareavailable

Figure 7.3. TheFacebookadvertisingiconappearsattheleftofyourscreenwhenyouareonFacebook.

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after2,000usershaveuseditintheirprofile.Whenyoulistmultiplekeywords,Facebookreadsthisas“or”ratherthan“and.”

– Education—youcantargetbyeducationlevelorstatus.

– Workplace—youcantargetusersbycompanyororganization.

– Relationship—youcantargetsinglesorthoseinarelationship,en-gaged,ormarried.

– Interestedinmaleorfemale.

– Language.

– Connections—youcantargetuserswhoare(orareNOT)connectedtoyourpageoraparticulargroup,usersofaparticularapplication,orusersinvitedtoaparticularevent.

– Friends of connections—you can target userswhose friends areconnectedtoyourpageoraparticulargroup,usersofaparticularapplication,orusersinvitedtoaparticularevent.

Figure 7.4. Facebookadscanbeverynarrowlyniched.


Theopportunitytoniche-targetdowntoagranularlevelispowerful,andontopofthatyougettosee,inrealtime,thenumberofFacebookusersthatfittheprofileyouhavechosen.Youcanedituntilyou’rehappyandthenclick“Continue.”

• Nextyougettochoosethecurrencyyou’dliketopayin,andthennameyourcampaign.Youcanhavemultipleadsrunninginacampaignsoyoucanmanageandmonitortheperformance.Yougettoselectyourbudgetfortheday—onceyourmoneyrunsout,youradsceasetodisplay.Yougettochoosetostartyourcampaigntodayorselectthedateyouwantittostart.Youthengettochoosehowyou’dlikethecampaigntorun—eitheronacost-per-impressionoracost-per-clickbasis—andyougettoseethesuggestedbid.Thesuggestedbidistheamounttheysuggestthatwillgiveyoutheimpressionsorclick-throughsyouarelookingfor.

• Yougetafinallookatyouraddetailstomakesureitiswhatyouwanted,andthenprovideyourcreditcardinformation.

Onceyouhaveanadrunning,youhaveaccesstotheAdManager,whichenablesyoutomakechangesatanytime,aswellasmonitortheperformanceofyourads.

Applications

Therearethousandsofapplicationsavailableonlineforusewithbothpersonalprofilesandfanpages.Someoftheseapplicationsareforfun,someforproduc-tivity,somefordoingbusiness,andsomeformarketing. Therearemanygreatapplicationsthatcanbeusedtomarketdirectly;someallowadvertisingandothersenableabusinesstoreducecosts.SomeapplicationshavebeendevelopedbyFacebookandothersaredevelopedbythirdparties. Thereareapplicationsthat:

• EnablearestauranttotakereservationsthroughtheirFacebookpage

• EnableyoutouploadyourPowerPointpresentationstoshareandshowyourexpertise

• EnableyoutomakecallsandtosendandreceivevoicemailmessagesthroughFacebookaswellhaveaccesstofreeconferencecalls

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• Enableyoutosharedocuments,projectplans,andtasks

• AllowyoutoscheduleclientmeetingsthroughFacebook

• Manageyourrentalpropertycompletewithcalendar,photos,anddetails

• Enableyoutopostandviewclassifiedads

• EnableyoutohaveyourblogpostsupdateyourprofileorpagethroughanRSSfeed.

Youcansearch forFacebookappsbyvisitinghttp://www.facebook.com/apps/directory.php. EventsisafreeapplicationdevelopedbyFacebook.Anyone,businessorper-sonal,canusethisapplicationtopromoteanevent.Whenyoucreateanevent,ithasitsownpagewithawall,discussionforum,links,photos,andvideos.Youcaninvitefriendstotheevent—theygettheinvitationandarerequestedtoRSVP.Youcanaddadministratorswhointurncantheninvitealltheirfriends.ThismakesiteasytoinvitehundredsofpeopletoyoureventandmanageyourRSVPresponses. TherearemanyfacetsandcapabilitiesinFacebooktodobusiness,domorebusiness,andinteractwithyourtargetmarketinanengagingway.Nomatterwhatyourobjective,thereisafeatureoranapplicationwithinFacebooktohelpyouaccomplishit.Chapter15providesmanygreatideastostart.Beyondthese,werecommendthatyousearchFacebookforyourcompetitors,andseehowthey’reusingthetoolandwhatapplicationstheyhaveloadedontotheirpages.

Facebook Future

TwofascinatingdevelopmentsintheFacebookworldareFacebookConnect/FacebookOpenGraph(Figure7.5)andFacebookCredits. FacebookConnect (which isverymuch like the similarlynamedGoogleFriendConnect) is technology that allows users to use their Facebook loginnametologintoothersites.Moreimportantly,itallowstheWebsiteownertoaddFacebook-connectedSocialMediafunctionality,includingdiscussionsandfriends,toapreviouslystaticsite.Thereareover15,000sitesusingFacebookConnect—averylargenumber! Unfortunatelyfortheseearlyadopters,FacebookhasrecentlyannouncedthatFacebookConnectwilllbeeliminated,andreplacedwithasimpler,and


morepowerful newmechanism, called “OpenGraph.”OpenGraph allowsyourwebsitetopulldataandinformationfromyouruser’sFacebookProfile(amongstothercapabilities),inordertocustomizetheuser’sexperience...andmovethemclosertoatransaction.Apromisingtechnology,butonethatopenscomplexquestionsaboutuserprivacy.FacebookCreditsarea“virtualcurrency”thatallowuserstopurchasevirtualitemsfromavirtualgiftshop.Induecourse,FacebookCreditswillbeintegratedintomanyoftheapplications,andinthemoredistantfuture,integratedintoFacebookOpenGraph—therebyallowingmerchantstoacceptFacebookvirtualcurrencyforreal-worldpayments. Whilethereisanadvantagetobeinga“firstmover,”bothFacebookConnect/OpenGraphandFacebookCreditsstillneedsignificantinternalresourcestomanageandmaintain.Ourrecommendationistoconsiderthesemoreleading-edgeopportunitiesonceyourcompanyhasahandleonthebasics...andareturnonitsphaseoneinvestment.

First Steps

1. Ifyouhaven’tyetsignedupforFacebook,doso,sothatatleastyoucanseewhatisthere.Claimyournamesothatotherscan’tuseit.

Figure 7.5. FacebookConnectenablesuserstobringtheiridentityandconnectionswiththemeverywhere.(Note:FacebookOpenGraphwillbe“replacing”FacebookConnect.)

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2. Familiarizeyourselfwiththeplatform,fillingoutyourprofile,addingfriends,andconsideringhowacompanyfanpagemightbeused.Don’tstartoneuntilyou’vesetyourstrategy.AdvancedSocialMediamarket-ersshouldreviewthecompetitionforideasaswell.

3. Considerthatanycommitmentwillrequireacertainamountofdailyorweeklyupdatesandmaintenance.Lookbeforeyouleap:beforecommit-tingtoresource-heavyinitiativessuchasfanpages,consider“lighter”activitiessuchasadvertising,groupparticipation,events,andphotos.

4. AdvancedSocialMediamarketersshouldreviewtheirinitiativestoen-surethatSEOisoptimizedoneachpagethatisindexedbythesearchengines.

5. Setyourprivacycontrols so thatonlywhatyouwant tobeexposedactuallyisexposed.



Software/Tools

• FacebookPolls(http://apps.facebook.com/realpolls)—FreeCreateapollforyourFacebookprofileorpageinordertoseewhat

yourfriendsorfansarethinking.Testoutanewproductidea,measurethelevelofinterestforachangetoamenuitem,orgainfeedbackonyourcustomerservice.Pollsareeasy tocreateandeasy for fansandfriendstoanswer.

• FacebookGrader(http://facebook.grader.com)—FreeFacebookGraderallowsyoutoseehowyourFacebookpagemea-

suresup.FacebookGradercanalsobeusedtogradeapersonalprofile.ThistoolcanhelpyoudetermineyourreachandrankingamongFace-bookpages.

• VitrueFanManagementSystem(http://vitrue.com/vitrue‑fms)—FreeAFacebookapplicationsuitethatcanmanagemultiplelocationsor

productlinesforyourbusiness.Thisapplicationsuiteallowsindividual


FacebookURLsinordertoprovidetargetedmarketingforeachloca-tion.Detailedanalyticsareprovidedinordertomonitortrafficandmeasureresults.Manageallofyourbusiness’sfanswithonecentralapplication.Also check out vitrue’s Facebook applications, includ-ingtrivia,statusupdater,polling,mailinglist,slideshow,couponing,sweepstakes,andmore.

• Votigo(http://votigo.com)—Fee-basedCreateaphoto,video,oressaysweepstakescontesttobeusedwith

yourFacebookPage.VotigocreatesabrandedapplicationforyourpagetoengageFacebookusers,buildyourcustomerdatabase,andspreadthewordaboutyourbusiness.Theservicealsoprovidesdetailedanalyticsregardingcontestentrantsandmoderationservices.


– Susan’sareavailableatwww.diigo.com/user/susansweeney.

– Randall’sareavailableatwww.diigo.com/user/RandallCraig.

Education

• Susanhasongoing livewebinarsandrecordedonlinecoursesonthistopicavailablethroughthewebinarsandonlinestoreathersite,http://www.susansweeney.com,andprovidesaccesstoothers’coursesonthesubjectthroughheronlinelearningportal,eLearningU,athttp://www.elearningu.com.

• Randall deliversworkshops andwebinars on this and related SocialMediatopics,allavailableatwww.RandallCraig.com.

Articles

• Mashable’s Facebook Guidebook(http://mashable.com/guidebook/facebook)Agreat resource forup-to-datearticlesandguides forFacebook.

Coversthebasics,applications,andadvancedtopicsandalsohasades-ignatedsectionofarticlesforthoseusingFacebookforbusiness.

• The Facebook Marketing Toolbox: 100 Tools and Tips to Tap the Face‑book Customer Base (http://bit.ly/FBMarketingToolbox)

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AgreatarticlebytheInsideCRMeditorswithlinkstootherarticles,tools,andresourcesrelatedtousingFacebookforbusiness.

Books

• Facebook for Dummies, 2ndEdition,byLeahPearlmanandCarolynAbramThis book has 360 pages of tips and tricks for promoting your

businessandstayingconnectedwithFacebook.Itincludesstep-by-stepinstructions for creating a profile, changing privacy settings, joininggroups,addingfriends,addingapplications,anduploadingphotosorvideos.AuthoredbytwoFacebookemployees,thisbookisagreatwayforbeginnerstolearntheinsandoutsofFacebook.

• I’m on Facebook—Now What?: How to Get Personal, Business, and Professional Value from Facebook,byRobertScoble,JasonAlba,andJesseStayDevelopastrategytogetthemostvaluefromyourFacebookac-

count.Thebookcoverscommonlyaskedquestions,commonmistakes,privacy,applications,andmore.


8Twitter

Wealreadytouchedontheconceptofmicrobloggingearlier,butTwitterwasthefirst,andthemostwellknown,ofthistypeofservice.Twitterallowsupto140characterspermessageposted,whichisthenumberofcharactersinthefirstsentenceabove,andinthissentence.Withoutusingabbreviations,mostpeoplearequitegoodatputtingacompletethoughtintoeachoftheir“Tweets.”(Another140characters.)

What Twitter Is . . . and Isn’t

Manypeople(andcompanies)havemisguidedviewsastowhatTwitteris,andwhatitisn’t.Tobeclear:

• Itisnotastream-of-consciousnessdiarythatgoesuneditedfrombraintopost.Eachpost reflectsyourcompany’sbrand,andyourpersonalreputation.Itmustbewellconsideredbeforeitispostedonline.

• Itisnotaplatformforranting,generalcomplaints,ornegativity.Norisitaplatformforpromisesofperformanceorcorporatecommitments.Like everythingon the internet,what isposted endures forever.And

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becauseofthepublicnatureoftheposts,anyonecanseethem,atanytimeinthefuture.

• Itisnotasubstituteforprivatecommunication:everythingthatyoupostisopenforalltosee.(Whilethereistheconceptofdirectmessaging,itistooeasytoinadvertentlysendaprivatemessageeverywhere.)

• Itisnot“everything”anditisnotcompletelyubiquitous.Noteveryoneusesit,andwhileitdoesseemtohaveavernacularallitsown,atbestTwitterisonlyonesliceofacomprehensivemarketingplan.

• Itiseasytostartusing,yethardtomanage.Becausetheconceptissosimple,sign-upiseasy,andthepriceisfree,thebarrierstoentryareverylow.Onechallenge,however,isthatittakestime—somethingthatmostpeoplehaveverylittleof.Inaddition,oncethenumberoffollowers(andthenumberyoufollow)beginsincreasing,itbecomesmoredifficulttomanageefficiently.WhileTwitterLists,andprogramslikeHootSuite,Seesmic,orTweetDeckcanhelp,mostnovicesarecompletelyunawareofthesetools,letalonehowtousethem.

Figure 8.1. Twitterprovidesyouaccesstoyourfollowersforupdates,research,pro-motion,andawholelotmore.


Interestingly,Twitter(Figure8.1)wasstartedwithonethinginmind(“Whatareyoudoingnow?”)andhasmorphedintosomethingelse:awaytolearnimmediatelywhattheworldmightbethinkingaboutanyparticularsubject.Ithasbecomeamostpowerfultoolformarketers,providinganinstantgaugeonbrandsentiment,instantmarketresearch,andatwo-waycommunicationschannel. OneofthefundamentaldifferencesbetweenTwitterandthemicrobloggingcapabilitiesofLinkedIn,Facebook,MySpace,andothersisthatTwitterusestheconceptof“Follower,”insteadof“Connection/Friend.”WithFacebookandLinkedIn,forexample,ifsomeonewantstoconnectwithyou,theyneedtoaskandyouhavetoapprove.WithTwitter,ifyoucanfindsomeone,youcanfol‑lowhimorher,evenwithoutapproval,unlesstheuserhasmanagedtheprivacysettingstohavefollowersrequireapproval. Whilethismightseemabitrisky,itisn’t,asthereisnoprivateinformationshownonTwitter,especiallywhencomparedtoLinkedIn(yourresume)orFa-cebook(yourfamilyphotos).Allpeopleseeisyourhistoryofstatusupdates. Theissue,however,iswhetheryouneedtobeonTwitteratall,andifso,howtouseittoaccomplishsomeofyourobjectives.Thefollowingtable(Figure8.2)givessomeperspectiveonthefirstquestion.

•Toughtogettherightpeopletofollowyou.•Formanyofyourcustomers,suppliers,andothers,Twitterisontheleadingedge;they’renotusingityet.•Twitterisyetanother“non-core”activity thattakesmoreofyourtimeeachday.•BecauseoftheimmediacyofTwitter,there maybeanexpectationthatyoumonitorit frequently;ifso,itwillbedisruptive.•Often,peoplewhomyoufollowwill bombardyouwithspam.

•Veryquickandinformal.•Allowsyoutoseewhatishappening, real-time,withcustomers,suppliers, andinthemarketplace.•Early-moveradvantage:bydevelop- ingareputationintheTwitterverse, youarecreatingasustainableadvan- tagethatyourcompetitorswillnotbe abletomatch.•It’sanothercommunicationschannel: ifyourcustomers,suppliers,orthe mediaareusingit,thenyoushould providethemtheinformationthey needintheformattheywant.(This isthesamerationalefornotusing Telex:sincenooneisusingitanymore, youdon’teither.)

Pros Cons

Figure 8.2. ProsandconsofTwitter.

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Anotherconsiderationisthecompetitiveone.AreyourcompetitorsonTwit-ter?Canyoudeterminehowthey’reusingit?Iftheyhavefiguredouthowtogainabenefit,youmightconsidercopyingthem.(RecalltheBurgerKingstrategyfromChapter2.)

Twitter Strategies

IfyouarejustgettingintoTwitter—orhavebeenusingitwithoutmuchsuccess—considerthefollowingeightdifferentstrategies,adaptedfromRandallCraig’sMake It Happen Tipsheet(www.RandallCraig.com).

Negative Strategies

• Time-waster:Youhavefollowedotherswhoprovideasteadystreamoflow-valueinformation,butwhichyoufindfascinating.Andinturn,youprovideyourfollowerstheminutedetailsofwhateverhappenstobeonyourmind.

• Spammer:Yournumberonegoalasaspam-mer is to collect followers and then sendlinkstoaproductorservicesalespage,of-tenseveraltimeseachday.Inthesamewaythatemailspamisunappreciated,followingthisstrategyisaquickwaytoget“unfol-lowed.”

• Falseprophet:Thisstrategyisonewhereyouwilltrytoestablish“au-thority”byvirtueofthequalityofyourposts,butwherethereislittleornoreal-worldexpertise.(UnfortunatelyforeveryoneintheTwitterverse,real-lifetrustedgurusareoftentoobusytoactuallyimplementatrustedgurustrategy,clearingthewayforfalseprophets.)

Positive Strategies

• Lurker:Inthisstrategy,youareaconsumerofinformation.Youhavefollowedanumberofpeople(friends,family,colleagues,andafewex-perts),andtheyprovideyouwithintelligencerelevanttoyourworkandpersonallife.YourarelyTweetyourself.Atacompanylevel,thisstrategy

Watch Out!Aggressive marketing depart‑ments that are not experienced with Twitter can easily fall into this category of activity.


wouldbeusefultofollowyourcompetitors,suppliers,andcustomers.Duringthesalesprocess,itmightbeusefultofollowthedecisionmakersatprospectivecustomersaswell.

• Searcher:Youdon’tfollowmanypeople,butyouusetheTwitterSearchfunctionalitytoreviewtrendingtopicsandlinkstonewlyavailablere-sources.Youtypicallydon’tpostmuchatall:TwitterSearchisyournewversionofGoogle.

• Strategicsender:Withthisstrategy,yousendupdates—usuallyself-centered—toletyourcustomers,colleagues,andsuppliersknowaboutyourimportantactivitiesorinitiatives.Youmaydoanupdateonceortwiceweekly—nottoooften,oryourTweetsmaylooklikespam.Youmaybea lurkeraswell.Differentbusinessesmightbe strate-gicsendersindifferentways:arestaurantmightsendoutthedailyspecial,atravelcompanymightsendoutalinktolast-minutetraveldeals,andamanufacturermightsendoutnotificationsonproductavailability.

• Asker:Asanasker,youareconcernedaboutwhatyourcustomers,pros-pects,andtheTwitterversethink.Insteadoftellingtheworldsomething(e.g.,“JustlaunchedtheGismo-212,findoutmorehere”),youaskthemfortheiropinioninstead(e.g.,“AnyoneusingournewGismo-212?Whatdoyouthink?).Whileitsoundslikemarketresearch,itisreallymoreabouttheconversationthanthedatacollection.

• Trustedguru:Atrustedguruisapersonwhoiscompletelyup-to-dateinhisorherareaofexpertiseandsharesthisbyTweetingseveraltimesdaily,withlinks,shorteditorialcomments,andothervalue-addedcon-tent.ThetrustedgururarelyTweetsaboutpersonalactivities.

• PromotedTweets:LikeFacebookandotherSocialMediaplatforms,Twit-terisalsoexperimentingwithembeddedadvertising.Itisstilluncertainwhetherthisisagreatopportunityforsmallandmediumsizedbusinessesorawasteoftime.Currently,organizationslikeBestBuy,SonyandRedBullaretestingtheplatformforadvertising.Ourrecommendationistolettheearlyadaptorstesttheplatform,monitortheresultsandstudiesandthenmakeaninformeddecision.IfyouareinvestinginSocialMediaAdvertisingintheshorttermyoumightstickwithFacebookandotherSocialMediavenuesthathaveatrackrecord.

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Figure 8.3. TwitterSearchprovidesyouwithaccesstothelatest-breakingnewsaswellastopicsofinteresttoyou.

Twitter Lists

OneofthemoreintriguingabilitiesofTwitteristheabilitytocreatesubgroupsofyourfollowers,whichTwittercallsLists.Youmightwishtodothisifyouhavealargenumberoffollowers,eachwithdifferentattributes.Onelistmightbepersonal;anotherlistmightbeprofessional.Oronemighthavetodowithyourindustry,whileanothermighthavetodowithyourfunctionalareaofexpertise. Tocreateanewlist,clickonthelinkthatsays“new list”intheright-handmarginofyourhomepage,andthenfollowtheinstructions.Oneofyourchoiceswillbetomakethelistpublicorprivate:rememberthatifitisapubliclist,thenotherscanchoosetofollowit;ifit’sprivate,onlyyoucanaddnames. Thisalsoworksinreverse.Ifthereareliststhatotherscreatethatmightbeinterestingtoyou,whynotchoosetofollowthoselists?It’salotmoreconvenientthanfollowingalloftheindividualsoneachofthelistsone-by-one.

Twitter Search/Twitter Trends

OneofthemostusefulpartsofTwitteristhereal-timesearchcapability(Fig-ure8.3).Whenyousearchonaterm,theresultshavejustthenbeenposted.Interestingly,whenthereisbreakingnewsanywhereintheworld,thefastest

RecommendationUnless you have a large num‑ber of followers, don’t waste your time creating lists.


waytofindoutwhatishappeningistosearchTwitter. TheSearchentryboxcanbefoundintheright-handsideofyourTwitterhomepage,orbygoingtohttp://search.twitter.com. Interestingly,theTweetscanbeaggre-gatedbyhashtagstogetasenseofwhatsubjectsarecurrentlytrending.Afewofthetoptrendingsubjectsarealsoshownin the right-hand side of your Twitterhomepage,butthereareWebsitesthatwillaggregatethetrendsandprovidefarmorerobustreporting.Checkoutwww.WhatTheTrend.comasanexample.

Twitter Management Tools

ThereareanumberofTwittertools—typ-ically,Websites—thathelpyoucategorizeincomingTweetsbysubjectandmanageaccountsordirectmessages,etc.ThemostcommonareTweetDeck,Seesmic,Hoot-Suite,andTwhirl. TweetDeck.com:TweetDeck(Figure8.4)fullyintegratesseveralmicrobloggingplatforms(Facebook,MySpace,andTwit-ter)atonce,allowingyoutoorganizefol-lowers/friendsintogroups,followsaved

searches,managespam,etc.ThereisaversionfortheiPhoneaswell,allowingformobileupdates. Seesmic.com (Figure8.5):ThistoolisalmostidenticaltoTweetDeck,withtheprimarydifferentiatorbeingbetterFacebookintegration.ItisavailableontheWebandasadesktopprogram. HootSuite.com: LikeTweetDeck and Seesmic,HootSuite (Figure 8.6) isalsoincrediblyfull-featured.WhatdifferentiatesHootsuiteisthatitisbuiltformultipleusers,eachmanagingseveraldifferentTwitteraccountssimultaneously.LikeTweetDeck,thisprogramallowsforsavedsearches,groups,etc.,butatthetimeofpublicationdoesn’thavefullFacebook/MySpaceintegration.(Itdoes

Geek SpeakThere are a number of Twitter words that you may not have heard before. Here’s what they mean: • @name: Each person has a unique user‑name. When the @name (such as @ran‑dallcraig or @susansweeney) is put within a Tweet, a copy of that message appears in that person’s account. • DM, direct message: This is a special Tweet that goes to one (or more) specific people privately; this contrasts to regular Tweets, which are 100 percent public. • Hashtags (“#”): Hashtags are a shorthand to allow people to search on a particular topic. If you search on #oprah, for exam‑ple, it will bring up all posts that have the #oprah hashtag. • RT, retweet: Whenever a person forwards a Tweet onward, an RT provides attribution to the original poster.• Tweeple, Tweeps: Twitter users; people who have Twitter accounts. • Tweet: A Tweet is a Twitter posting; maxi‑mum 140 characters.• Twitterverse (short for “Twitter universe”): The collective Tweets and the people who send them. (The term “Blogosphere” refers to all of the blog postings and bloggers.)

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Figure 8.5. SeesmicisanothertoolprovidingTwittermanagementandorganization.

Figure 8.4. TweetDeckprovidesagreatdashboardofyourTwitteractivitiesaswellasTwittermanagementandorganizationtools.


haveblogintegration,andyoucandomultiplesimultaneousupdatesthroughintegrationwithping.fm.)

OneofthebestfeaturesthatHootSuiteoffersisthe“SendLater”feature.Thisallowsyoutosched-uleyourTweetsorFacebookpostingstoappearatadesignatedtimeinthefuture;youcanenterinyourpostingsfortheweekorevenforthemonthinoneday, andHootSuitewill automatically update youraccountsatthetimesyou’veset. Twhirl.org (Figure 8.7):This tool is a desktopprogram that looksmore likean instantmessagingprogram,ratherthanacompletedashboard.Itisnot

usefulforresearchsincetherearenosavedsearches.Finally,whydownloadaprogramwhenitiseasiertogotoaWebsiteandaccessthefunctionalitythere?Notrecommended.

URL Shorteners

OneoftheproblemswithTwitteristhe140-characterlimit.Whilemostpeoplecancomfortablyputoneideawithinthislimit,bythetimeyouaddaWebsiteaddress,youarewellpastthislimit.AndwithmoresiteshavingexceptionallylongURLs,thisproblemisboundtogetworse.

Figure 8.6. HootSuiteisaTwittermanagementandorganizationtoolbuiltformultipleusers,eachmanagingseveraldifferentTwitteraccountssimultaneously.

RecommendationYou can’t go wrong with Tweet‑Deck, Seesmic, or HootSuite, but there is a learning curve. Hold off until you feel comfortable and are willing to invest the time for learning the application.

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Figure 8.8. bit.lyisoneofthemorepopularURLshortenerswithtrackingfeaturesandcustom-namecapability.

Figure 8.7. TwhirlisadesktopapplicationforTwitter.


Thesolution,whichmostpeoplehaveseenmanytimes,istouseaURL-shortening service.Twitter has built-in automatic support for bit.ly (Figure8.8),oneofthemorepopularservices.IfyouTweetwithanunshortenedURL,itisautomaticallyshortenedusingabit.lyaddress.Ifyouwishtouseadiffer-entshortener,youcanmanuallyshortentheURLatanyofthefollowingsites:Tinyurl.com,Budurl.com,Bit.ly,Is.gd,tr.im,andmanyothers. Essentially,yougotooneofthesesites,pasteinyour(full)URL,andthesiteprovidesanabbreviatedshorterURL.WhentheuserclicksthatshortenedURL,thebrowserisredirectedtotheoriginal,longerWebsite.Onereasonfortakingthisextrastep,insteadofrelyingonTwitter’sbuilt-inbit.lyshorteningsystem,isthatsomeofthesesitescanprovidedetailedanalyticsandmayallowforacustomshortenedname:Twitterdoesn’tdoeither. Inaddition to theaforementioned shorteners,manyof theSocialMediaplatforms—FacebookandGooglespecifically—alsohavetheirown(fb.meandgoo.gl,respectively). OneoftheancillarybenefitsofURLshortenersisthatifsomeoneistypinginaURLmanually,itisfareasiertodowithoutmakingatranscriptionerror.Comparethefollowingtwoexamples:whichiseasiertotypeintoabrowser?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox‑a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen‑US%3Aofficial&num=50&q=%22Randall+craig%22+%22social+media%22&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

or http://bit.ly/rcraig

Thereareseveraldownsides,however,whenusingtheseservices.

Name recognition:Althoughlengthy,astandardURLdoesprovideimportantinformationtotheuser:thesitename,perhapsadescrip-tivedirectory,andmaybeevenaclueastothecontentthatisbehindthelink.AshortenedURL,ontheotherhand,doesnoneofthis.Apossibleresultmightbethatthereader/userdoesnotclickthrough.SomeoftheURLshorteners,however,doallowyoutochoosetheshortenedlinkname,aswasthecaseintheprecedingexample.Werecommendthatwheneverpossible,youmanu-allychoosetheshortenedlinkname,whichmeansgoingdirectlytothelink-shorteningsiteandnothavingTwitter

doitforyou.Despitetheshortamountofextratimethiswilltake,doingsowillimproveclick-through,whilepossiblygivingyouabrandingboost.

Geek SpeakYour Webmaster will want to choose a service that does a 301 redirect, NOT a 302 redi‑rect. As the time of writing, all of the URL shorteners noted above use the more favorable 301 redirect technique.

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Notethatbit.lyPro(andseveralothers)hasasolutionthatallowsyoutouseitstechnology,butyourownshortenedname.NewYorkTimes,forexample,usestheshortenednamenyti.ms.No SEO benefit.Asdiscussedpreviously,inboundlinkstoyoursitehaveadramaticimpactonSEO.ButwhathappenswithlinksfromshortenedURLs?Afterall,thelinkactuallyisfromathird-partysite.Whileitisbeyondthescopeofthisbooktodelveintothetechnologybehindtheinternet,inshort,therearetwowaysthattheseshorteningservices“redirect”thelinktoyoursite:onewhereyoubenefit,andtheotherwhereyoudon’t.EachURL-shorteningservicecanchoosehowtohandletheseredirects,andtheirdecisionsareconstantlychanging.Here’souradvice:askyourtechpersontolookintoit.

Risk of shutdown: EachURL shortener is usedby tens of thousands ofpeopleeachday. In fact, theentire internet isfilledwith tensofmillionsofshortenedURLs.Whatwouldhappenifoneoftheseservicesclosedupshoptomorrow?Ifthisweretohappen,theinternetwouldbefilledwithbadlinks—onWebsites,inemails,andinTweets.Andtherewouldbebadlinksprinted inbooks,magazines,brochures,andadvertisements.Whilethisseemslikearemotepossibilityatbest,itisabona fidebusinessrisk,andithashappened.Inthelatesummerof2009,tr.imannounceditwasclosing,whichcausedgreatconcernamong itsuserbase.Theyarenowgoing“opensource”andsupposedlywillstilloperate,butthiswasamajorwake-upcalltotheinternetandSocialMediacommunity.Timewilltellwhethertr.imwill survive. Then, in late fall of 2009, cli.gs announced that itwouldshutdown.Afewdayslater,itannouncedthatitmightnotshutdownifabuyerisfound.WeexpectthatotherURLshortenerswillalsomakesimilarannouncementsoverthenextfewyears—again,itisarealbusinessrisk.TheURL-shorteningindustryistryingtodeterminehowtosolvethisproblemtechnically,usinganorganizationcalled301works.org.InthecaseofaURLshortener’sinsolvency,itisuncertainwhatdegreeofdisruptionwilltakeplace—buttherewillbedisruption.


Thissitewillguideyouthroughtheprocessofcreatingacustombackground,andwillevenuploaditforyou.(Checkout@[email protected]—Susan’sisfromTwitbacks.com.) Aside from custombackgrounds, you can also adjust the appearance ofyourpagethroughtheTwitteraccountsettings.Inthissectionthecolorsofyourtext,links,sidebanner,andbackgroundcaneasilybeadjustedtomatchyourbrand.Widgets:HaveyoueverthoughtofhavingyourTweetsautomaticallyappearonyourcompany’sWebsite?Whilenotalwaysappropriate,itissomethingthatcanbedoneeasilyusingawidget.Awidgetisseveralspeciallinesofhtmlcode

thatyourWebmaster insertsononeofyourWebpages;justabouteverySocialMediasiteprovidesthem.Whenthehomepageisloadedintosomeone’sbrowser,thesespeciallinesofhtmlcoderetrieveyourTweetsanddisplaythemonthepagewithinabox.TherearewidgetstoplaceTwittercontentontoyourWebsiteorwithinFacebookorMySpace.Justgo

tothebottomofanyTwitterpageandclickon“Goodies.”ThereshouldbealinkonthatpageforTwitter’swidgets.Thisiswhereyourprogrammercangetthoselinesofhtmlcode.

WidgetShort for “window gadget,” it is a bit of HTML code that is provided to Webmasters to “pull in” content or functionality from another site.

Figure 8.9. Susan’scustombackgroundwasdevelopedwithTwitbacks.

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Attracting Followers

ThenumberoffollowersthatyouhaveisanindicationofyourinfluencewithintheTwitterverse.Forthisreason,thecollectionoffollowersissomethingthatisaprioritytaskformost. Herearesomeideasthatcanhelpyoutogrowyourlist:

1. Followrelevantpeople;mostwillfollowyouback.

Ifyouwanttofollowus,ourTwitteraddressesare@randallcraigand@susansweeney.OnegreatwaytofindTwitteruserswhomightbein-terestedinyourproducts,services,orindustryistouseasourcelikeTwellow(http://www.twellow.com)—anonlineYellow Pages for Twitter. Thisway,youcansearchforuserswhomentionaparticularindustry(forexample,doggrooming) in a particular geographicarea.Twellowwillprovideyouwithalistofresults,fromwhichyoucanthenselectuserstofollow.UsinganonlinesourcesuchasTwellowcanhelpyoutobuildamore-targetedfollowerbase.

Whenregistering,itmaybeagoodideatouseanemailaddresssuchassocialmedia@yourdomain.com.Thatway,ifthepersonwhocurrentlymanagesyouraccountchangesdepartmentsorleavesthecompany,theaccountdoesn’tgowithhimorher.

2. Putyour@nameTwitteraddresswhereveryouputyouremailaddress.Forexample:

– Inyouremailsignature

– Onyourbusinesscards

– Onyourcorporatestationery

– Inyouradvertising

– Onproductpackaging

Watch Out!There are services that claim to build the number of your follow‑ers by indiscriminately following others who they know will follow you back. If you go this route, you will likely attract followers who are spammers, each of whom sends you spam several times daily. It’s better to build your list organically


– Inpressreleases

– OnyourWebsite(Figure8.10).

3. Respondtoothers’Twitterquestions.

4. Retweetotherpeople’smessages.

5. Mentionyour@nameinyourpresentations.

6. UsewidgetsonyourWebsitetodisplayyourTweets.

7. Don’tbecrasslyself-promotional,oryourmostvaluablefollowerswilldesertyou.

Finally,rememberthatittakestimetobuildyourfollowers.AsyourfollowersbecomecomfortablewithandinterestedinyourvaluableTweets,theywillbegintoforwardthemtotheirownfollowers,amplifyingyourmessagesignificantly.

Figure 8.10. SusanprovidesalinktoallherSocialMediaapplicationsfromeverypageofherWebsite.

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AsmorepeoplechoosetosignupforTwitter,theopportunityforthenumberofpeoplewhochoosetofollowyouwillincrease.AndasthenumberofyourTweetsincreases,youwillbefoundmoreoftenwhensearched,givingyoumorecredibilityasanexpertinyourarea—andevenmorefollowers.Romewasn’tbuiltinaday,andneitherwillthenumberofyourfollowers.

Getting Started with Twitter

1. Registeratwww.Twitter.comhopefully,noone’stakenyourpersonal(orcompany)nameyet.

2. Lurk:Followothers.

– Followyourcustomers,thedecisionmakersatthosebusinesses,yoursuppliers,yourcompetitors,industrygurus,regulators,etc.

– DoaTwittersearchonwhatyousellandonyourindustry,andclickthroughtolookattheposts.Decidewhetherthepeoplewhoarepostingtheinformationareworthyoffollowing.

– Followyouremployees.This isagreatwaytounderstandthebuzzwithinyourowncompany—andidentifyanyinappropriatepostings.

– Whatyouwillfindisthatmanypeoplewillreturnthefavorofyourfol-low,byfollowingyouback,allowingyoutobuildyourfollowership.

3. Chooseyourstrategy:stayalurkerorchoosesomethingmoreactive:anasker,strategicsender,ortrustedguru.Werecommendthatyouremainalurkerforatleastaperiodoftime,inordertodevelopacomfortlevelwiththemedium.

4. Nomatterwhatyourchosenstrategy,dosomeexperimentationwiththeothermodes.What’s theworst that couldhappenifyouaskedtheTwitterverseaquestion?

5. Onceyour listof followers (and thoseyoufollow)beginstogrow,stayorganizedusingHootSuite,Seesmic,orTweetDecktomanagetheinitiative.

Advanced TipWhen there are multiple audiences, each with a different objective, set up multiple Twitter accounts: the more single‑purpose the messages, the more attractive the Tweets will be to each audience group.


6. Often,anorganizationdecidestostartaninitiativelikeTwitterbyassign-ingonepersontoinvestigateandtrydifferentthings.Afteraperiodoftime,however,thisresponsibilityshouldbesplitacrossdifferentpeopleanddifferentdepartments.Themarketing,HR,andsalesdepartmentswillhavedifferentusesforTwitter;theyshouldfocustheirattentiononwhattheyneedtogetfromthetool.

7. Althoughyoumaythinkyouarewritingaboutwhat is importanttoyou,itiscriticaltokeepinmindwhatisimportanttoyourfollowers,

andwhytheydecidedtofollowyou—otherwisetheywill“unfollow”you.Themoresingle-topic-focusedyoucanmakeit,thebettertheconversationwillbe.Chapter15containsdozensofwaystouseTwitter;thekeyistotieyourinitiativebacktoyourobjectivesandaudiences.

First Steps

1. Register,andfollowtheinstructionsintheprevioussection,“GettingStartedwithTwitter.”

2. YoumaybesurprisedtofindoutthatpeoplewithinyourcompanyarealreadyusingTwitteronbehalfoftheorganization.Findoutwhatthey’redoing,andmakesuretheyareincompliancewithyourcompany’spoli-ciesandprocedures.Youwillneedtodecidewhethertorecruitthemtoyour“TwitterTeam”ortoshutthemdowncompletely.Policiesandproceduresshouldbecommunicatedtoyourstaff,sothattheyknowwhattheycanandcannotdousingTwitter.

3. Dosomecompetitiveinvestigation:howareyourcompetitorsusingthetool?AdvancedSocialMediamarketersshouldthinkstrategicallyandin-novativelyonhowtousetheTwitterplatformtoachievetheirobjectives;it’snotjust“where are you?”and“what are you doing?”anymore.



Time SaverFor senior managers who have Twitter accounts, del‑egate the Twitter update responsibility; they don’t need to do everything themselves.

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Software/Tools

• HootSuite,TweetDeck,Seesmic,Twellow,asseenthroughoutthischapter.

• FriendorFollow(http://friendorfollow.com)—Free Findoutwhetherornotthepeoplethatyou’refollowingarefollow-ingyouback.Youcanalsousethistooltoseewhetherornotyou’refollowingthepeoplethatarefollowingyou.

• FollowCost(http://followcost.com)—Free SometimesTwitterusersseemtoTweetaboutamilliontimesaday—takingoveryourTwitterfeedandmakingitimpossibletoseetheTweetsthatyouactuallycareabout.FollowCostallowsyoutoenterausernamebeforeyoufollowhimorhertocheckouthowoftentheuserTweets.

• MyCleenr(http://www.mycleenr.com)—Free Thisresourceprovidesaneasywaytoseehowactivetheaccountsarethatyoufollow.MyCleenrsortsthepeoplethatyoufollowbasedontheirlatestTweet.Youcaneasilyseewhichaccountsareoutdatedorarenolongerusedandunfollowthoseusers.

• TwitHawk(http://www.twithawk.com)—Freetrial(10Tweets)andthenfee-based TwitHawkallowsyoutomonitoralloftheTweetsonTwitterinordertocatchwhenpeoplearetalkingaboutyourcompanyoraservicethatyouprovide.Settingscanbeadjustedforcustomizedsearchtermsorgeographicareas.Forexample,foratourismattractioncompany,youmaywanttomonitorTweetsmentioning“bored”or“whattodo”inthecityinwhichyou’relocated.TwitHawkcanautomaticallyletyouknowaboutanyoneinBranson,Missouriwhoisbored,andyoucanautomati-callyTweetbacktohimorherwithaspecialdiscountonticketstodayatyourwaxmuseum.YoucanalsoadjustthesettingstoautomaticallysendaprewrittenTweet,oryoucanskimthroughthedailyresultsinordertodeterminewhichyou’dliketorespondto.

• Twitterator(http://www.twitterator.org)—Free HaveyoueverseenoneofthoseWebsitesthatlists“100SocialMediaExpertstoFollowonTwitter”orsomethingtothateffect?It’sapaintogothroughthislistandclickoneachuserindividually,onlytobetakentotheirTwitterpageandhavetoclick“Follow”foreachperson.This


toolallowsyoutocopyandpastetheURL,andthelistofusernameswillbefollowedinjustoneclick.

• JustTweetIt(http://justtweetit.com)—Free JustTweetItallowsyoutofindotherTwitterusersthathavesimilarintereststoyourown.FindpeoplewithinyourindustryandlistyourTwitteraccountsothatotherscanfindyou.

• TweetCall(https://www.tweetcall.com)—Free Doyouhavebreakingnews,orareyoutoobusytotypeoutyourTweets?Noaccesstoacomputer,BlackBerry,oriPhone?Noproblem—use this service tocall inyourTweets.The toll-freenumber isa freeservicethattranscribesyourvoiceandpoststoTwitterastext.

• TwitterHolic(http://twitterholic.com)—Free UsethisWebsitetoseewhothemostpopularusersonTwitterare.Thesiteliststhemostpopularusersbasedonfollowers,andyoucanalsocheckyourownpopularityrating.

• Qwitter(http://useqwitter.com)—Free UsethisresourcetofindoutwhohasstoppedfollowingyouonTwit-ter.ThiscanbehelpfultodeterminewhichofyourTweetsareturningfollowersaway.You’ll receiveanemailnotification lettingyouknowwhostoppedfollowingyou,andwhatyourlastTweetwaswhentheystopped.




Education


Twitter 79


Articles

• Twitter101forBusiness(http://business.twitter.com/twitter101)

• 17WaysYouCanUseTwitter:AGuideforBeginnersandBusinesses(http://www.doshdosh.com/ways‑you‑can‑use‑twitter)

Books

• Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time,byJoelComm UnderstandhowTwittercanhelpyoureachyourtargetmarketandincreaseyouronlinepresence.Developmarketingstrategiesandtech-niquestoleverageyourTwitteraccountandreachnewmarkets.Alsoincludedinthebookisa30-dayplanfordominatingTwitter.AgreatbookforthosejustgettingstartedwithTwitter.

• The Twitter Book,byTimO’ReillyandSarahMilstein Ideas,advice,andresourcesforbuildingyourbrandonTwitter.Thechaptersareeasytounderstandandarewritteninfullcolortoensureaneasyread.UnderstandhowtosearchonTwitter,whichprogramstousetokeeptrackofyourTweets,andtheartoffollowing.Likethe140-characterlimitonTwitter,thisbookisshortandsuccinct,butfilledwithgreatinformationforthosenewtoTwitter.


9YouTube and Other Video-Sharing Sites

Overview

YouTube(www.YouTube.com) isavideo-sharingWebsite that isoneof themostpopularWebsitesintheworld.Peoplearewatchinghundredsofmillionsofvideosaday.AccordingtoYouTube,20hoursofvideoisbeinguploadedtoitssiteeveryhour—now,that’salotofvideo! Everyoneisrecordingvideothesedays,fromtheirmobilephones,theirwe-bcams,andinexpensivehigh-definitionrecordersliketheFlip,whichhasaUSBconnectionenablinguserstoquicklyandeasilyuploadtheirvideotoYouTube. YouTubehasanumberoffeaturesthatmakeitgreatforbusinessesandtheonlinemarketer—thingslike:

• Videoembedding.OnceauserhasuploadedavideotoYouTube,the“embed”codecanbecopiedtoinsertthevideointohisorherWebsiteorblog.

• Tagging.Userscandeveloptheirowntitleddescription,andtags,enablingthemtobefoundeasilybytheirtargetmarketandthesearchengines.

80

YouTube and Other Video‑Sharing Sites 81

• Haveyourownchannel.Youcanhaveyourownchannel(Figure9.1),whichmakesiteasyforsubscriberstofollowyouandknowwhenyouhaveuploadedvideos.

• Publicorprivatevideos.Yougettochoosewhetheryouwantspecificvideostobeavailableonlytocertainpeople(upto25),orwhetheryouwantthemtobeavailabletotheworld.

• TestTube(Figure9.2)enablesuserstotakeadvantageoffeaturesastheyarebeingdevelopedandtested—thingsliketheabilitytoaddcaptionsandannotationstoyourvideos.

Creating Video Is Easy

Creatingvideoissupereasythesedays.WithaFlipvideocameraorvirtuallyanydigitalrecorder,youcantakeavideoanduploadittoYouTubeinamatterofminutes.Thereisnofeeforuploadingorhostingyourvideo.

Figure 9.1. WithYouTube,youcanhaveyourowncustomizedchannelwithitsownWebaddress.


Therearemanyfreeandeasy-to-usevideoeditorsavailable,suchasMicro-softMovieMakerandAppleiMovie.CouplethatwiththefreetoolsprovidedbyYouTubethroughTestTube,suchasCaptionsorAnnotations,andyoucanhaveafirst-ratemarketingvideoonline. Aswitheverythingonline,gobacktoyourobjectives,targetmarket,andproductsandservicestodeterminewhattoinclude.Ifyouwantthevideotogeneratetraffic,usethetoolstooverlayyourWebaddressorhaveyour“close”referencesomethingviewerscangetfreefromyourWebsite.Ifyouwanttosellmoreproduct,youmighthavethird-partytestimonials.Ifyouwanttocutdownoncustomerservicecalls,youwillhavevideostoprovidethesolutiontocommoncustomerserviceproblems. Youseealltypesofvideosonline.Home-madevideosarethenormonYou-Tube.However,ifyouhaveprofessionallydevelopedvideos,theyarecertainlywellreceivedaswell. Inregardtovideolength,generallyshorterisbetter.Youhavemanyvisi-torswithashortattentionspan.However,ifyourvideoprovidesthemwiththespecificinformationtheyarelookingfor,theywillstayuntiltheygettheneededinformation.ThelimitssetbyYouTubeare10minutesinlengthand2GBinfilesize.Theyallowyoutouploadupto10videosatatime.

Figure 9.2. YouTube’sTestTubeareaprovidesaccesstomanyapplicationsthatworkwithyourYouTubevideos.


Sharing Is Easy

YouTubeenablesyoutoshareyourvideosandotherpeople’svideosthatyouhaveaddedtoyourfavoritesthroughyourprofileonFacebookandTwitter.YousimplyconnectyourYouTubeaccounttoyourFacebookandTwitteraccountsthroughaverysimpleprocess. YoucanalsosubmityourvideotovideosyndicationsiteslikeTubemogul(http://www.tubemogul.com;seeFigure9.3).Seemoreonvideosyndicationattheendofthischapter.

Make Your Video Easy to Find

You’vedevelopedgreatvideos;nowyouwanttogetasmanyofyourtargetmarketaspossibletoviewthem.YouwantyourvideostocomeupatthetopofthesearchresultswithinYouTubeandalsothroughthesearchengineresults. Before you start todetermine titles,descriptions, and tags, youwillwanttoreviewthekeywordphrasesyouhavefocusedonwithyourWebsiteorblogsearchengineoptimizationtoseeifthereareanythatfitwiththecontentofthevideo.Youwillalsowanttolookatwhatphrasesyourtargetmarketmightchoose

Figure 9.3. Tubemogulisagreatvideo-syndicationtool.


whensearchingforavideolikeyours.Youwillwanttohaveconsistencywiththekeywordphraseyouuseinyourtitle,inthedescription,andinthetagsyouusewitheachvideo.Becarefulnottowastetagspaceonirrelevantwords. Atthispointyouwillalsodecidetheappropriatecategoryforyourvideo.Youneedthecorrectcategoryoryourvideowillnotbefound.Thesmallerthecategory,thelesscompetitionandtheeasieritwillbeforyoutorankhighinasearch.

Getting on the YouTube Home Page

ThehomepageofYouTubeisvisitedbymillionsofpeopledaily.Ifyoucangetyourvideothere,yourvideowillreceivesignificantviews.Howdoesavideogetthisplacement?YouTubehasitsownalgorithmthatdetermineswhichvideoreceivesthehonor.AlthoughYouTubedoesnotprovidethealgorithmdetails,ithasbeenspeculatedthatitisimpactedby:

• Thenumberoffriendsyouhave

• Thenumberofsubscribersyouhave

• Thenumberofchannelviewsyouhave

• Thenumberofcommentsonyourvideo

• Theratingofyourvideo

• Thenumberoftimesyourvideohasbecomea“favorite”

• Thenumberofviewsinaday

• Thecategoryyousubmittoandthetypeofchannelyoucreatedhasalottodowithsuccessingettinghonors.Gurustendtogethonorsprettyeasily.

Create and Customize Your Own Channel

YouTubemakesiteasyforyoutohaveyourownchannel.Thereareanumberofbenefitstohavingyourownchannel,including:


• Youhaveallyourvideosinoneplaceandeasilyaccessibletoyourtargetmarket.Youcanchoosetoalsoincludeotherpeople’svideosinyourchannel.

• YougettohaveyourownYouTubeURL.Yougettochoosethename.Thenameyou choose should reinforce yourbrandor relate to yourimportantkeywords,orbothifpossible.YourURLwilllooklikethis:http://www.youtube.com/yournamehere(e.g.,http://www.youtube.com/rmcraigforoneofRandall’schannels).

• Whenyouhaveyourownchannel,yougettosetupyourownprofile,whichcanbekeywordrichandalsolinkbacktoyoursiteorblog.MakethelinkanchortextbeyourimportantkeywordstohelpwithSEO.

• Youcancustomizeyourchannel.

Channel Customization

ItiseasytocustomizeyourchannelonYouTube.Youcancreateanimpression,makeastatement,andkeepyourviewersengagedwithyourcustomization. Tocustomizeyourchannel,yousimplylogintoyourYouTubeaccountandclicktheyellow“Edit Channel”button.ThenyoucansetupyourchanneldetailssuchasyourWebsiteURL,channeldescription,aboutyou,profilepicture,etc.Youcanalsochooseyourthemefromanumberofthemesprovidedoryoucanuploadacustombackgroundimage.Youcanchoosethecolorsforbackground,links,andborder.Youcanchoosetodisplayuploadedvideos,favorites,playlists,oracombinationofallthree. Ifyouchoosetodisplayyourplaylists,youcanthenselecttheindividualvideoplaylistsyouwanttoinclude.Youwillhavetheoptiontoeditthefea-turedcontentsetandthefeaturedvideoforyourchannel.Thefeaturedvideoistheoneyourchannelvisitorswillseefirst,somakesureyouchoosetherightsetting. FromtheChannelpageyoucanedit: subscribers,friends,andchannelcom-ments;youalsocaneditprofileinformationaswellaschannelsettings,themes,andmodules. You can also click throughon theModules tab to remove or displaycontentmodules:comments,recentactivity,friends,subscribers,groups,andsubscriptions.


Promote Your Channel and Your Videos

Youwillwanttohaveastrategytopromoteyourchannelandyourvideos.Inanidealworldyouwouldhaveaplanforyourvideotogoviral,butthisisdifficulttodo.Itisdifficulttopredictwhatwillmakeavideotakeonalifeofitsown;thereisnoguarantee...sometimesyoujusthappentohitahomerun.Videosthatdogoviralsometimesinvolvecontroversy—perhapswhenthe“littleguy”takesastandlikeUnitedBreaksGuitarsenjoyed6,568,707viewsinfivemonths.(ThemusicianDaveCarrollandTheSonsofMaxwellarefromSusanSweeney’shometown—whatasmallworld!)Sometimesthevideogoesviralbecauseitiscuteorheartwarming,liketheOttersHoldingHandsvideofromtheVancouverAquariumwhichsaw13,375,724viewsintwoyears.Stillothervideosgoviralbecauseoftheiruniquecontent,liketheWhatWillBlendChannelthathas92videosintheseriesand217,720sub-scriberswhowanttoseewhattheteamatBlendtecwilltrytoputthroughtheblendernext. Waystopromoteyourchannelandyourvideosinclude:

• Usetheshareoption.YoucansharebyemailaddressorthroughanumberofSocialMediavenues.

• Invitefriends,fans,andfollowersinyourSocialMediavenuestosub-scribetoyourchannel.

• Promoteyourchannelinyouroutboundmarketing—inyourezineornewsletter.

• PutalinktoyourchannelonyourWebsiteoryourblog(Figure9.4).

• Puta link toyourchannelonyourFacebook,Twitter,andLinkedInprofiles.

• Addyourchannellinktoyoursignaturefile.

• Leavecommentsonpopularvideosinyourniche.Getyourcommentinearlysoitappearsatthetop.

• Usethe“Find Your Friends”featureinYouTube.


Join or Create YouTube Groups

LikemostoftheotherSocialMediasites,YouTubealsohasgroupswhereusersshareanddiscussvideos.Youcanjoinanexistinggroupandparticipateoryoucancreateyourowngroup.

Advertise on YouTube

YouTubehasbothself-managedadvertisingandaccountsthataremanagedbyGooglesalesrepresentatives.TheadvertisingcanbepurchasedthroughYouTubeorGoogleAdWords.DetailsonYouTubeadvertisingoptionscanbefoundathttp://www.youtube.com/t/advertising.

Other Opportunities and Options with YouTube

• YouTube Streams.WithYouTubeStreamsyoucanshareYouTubewithotherpeopleinrealtime.WithStreams,youcancreateyourownYou-Tuberoomtowatchandinteractwithotheruserswhilesharingvideos,oryoucanjoinsomeoneelse’sstream.Participantscanaddvideosfrom

Figure 9.4. ProvideaccesstoyourYouTubechannelfromyourWebsite.


theirFavorites,fromtheirQuickList,ortheycanprovidelinkstovideos.Theycanalsomakearunningcommentaryasthevideosplay.

• Active Sharing.WithActiveSharingyoucanbroadcastthevideosyouarewatching.IfyouchoosetoturnonActiveSharing,yourusernamewillappearnexttoeveryvideoyouvisitfor30minutes.

Video Syndication

Oneof themoreexcitingdevelopments in theworldof internetvideo is themovementtosyndication.Intheoldendaysof2008,ifyouwantedyourvideotobehostedonseveralofthevideo-sharingsites,youhadtomanuallyupload

eachof your videos to eachof the services.Notonlywasthistime-consuming,buttoaggregatetheanalyticsorearnmoneythroughadvertisingwasjustaboutimpossible. Tosolvethisproblem,anumberofvideosites

startedmakingpartnershipdeals:inexchangeforsending(e.g.,syndicating)auser’svideos,they(andthevideoowners)wouldshareinanyadvertisingrevenue. Considerthisexample,takenfromRandallCraig’sProfessionallySpeakingTV(Figure9.5)weeklyinterviewshow.TheWebsitefortheshowitselfiswww.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com.Thevideoishostedelsewhere—ononeofthevideohosting/syndicationsites,inthiscaseblip.tv.Ifyougotohttp://prospeaking.blip.tv,youwillseealloftheepisodes,hostedonthenativeplatform.Wheneveranewepisodeisuploaded,itisdistributedtoaboutadozenothervideosites—allwiththeirownaudiences.Asanexample,youareabletowatchepisodesofProfessionallySpeakingTViniTunes;justsearchtheiTunesstorefor“RandallCraig”anditshouldcomeup.(OneoftheinterviewsisbetweenRandallCraigandSusanSweeney.)Alloftheviewershipstatisticsareflowedbacktoblip.tv,wheretheyareaggregatedandmadeavailableforviewing.

First Steps

1. Ifyoudon’tcurrentlyuseYouTube,spendsometimegettingfamiliarwithit.AgreatwaytodothisistosearchYouTubeforyourproductsandcompanyname.

SyndicationThe supply of material for reuse and integration with other material.


2. RegisteronYouTubetocaptureyourcompanynameandthenamesofyourmajorbrands.Whetheryouchoosetodoanythingontheplatformornotisadecisionyouwillmakelater.

3. InventoryalloftheexistingvideoassetsyoumighthavethatcouldberepurposedontoYouTube.

4. ForadvancedSocialMediamarketers,nowisthetimetotieyourYou-Tubeparticipationbacktoyourobjectives.ThismightmeanSocialMediaSEO,puttingtextoverlayswithyourWebaddressoneachvideotodrivetrafficbacktoyoursite,incorporatingcallstoaction,etc.

5. AgainfortheadvancedSocialMediamarketer,explorehowvideosyn-dicationcanbeusedtodriveevenmorevideoviews.

Figure 9.5. Throughsyndication,Randall’sProfessionallySpeakingTVvideosareac-cessibleonanumberofsites,includingiTunes.




Software/Tools

• Splicd(http://www.splicd.com)—FreeThistoolallowsyoutosendoutalinkthatstartsyourvideoata

particulartimepoint.Perhapsyouhaveaten-minutevideodescribinganumberoftheproductsyouoffer,butyou’resendingoutalinkrelatedtoonlyoneofthoseproducts.Splicdgivesyoutheopportunitytoprovidealinkstartat,say,5:17intothevideo,sothattheviewersseetheclipyou’reintendingforthemtosee.

• YouTubeBadge(http://flashandburn.net/youtubeBadge)—FreeThistoolcreatesaYouTubebadgethatyoucanposttoyourWeb

site,blog,orFacebookpagetoshowvisitorsthesixlatestvideosyou’vepostedtoYouTube.

• CaptionTube(http://captiontube.appspot.com)—FreeCaptionTubeallowsyoutocreateandapplycaptionstoyourYouTube

videos.Captionscanalsobeusedasatranscriptforviewerstoread.

• JayCut(http://jaycut.com)—FreeThisisanonlinevideo-editingtool.UseJayCuttoeditoutdifferent

partsofaclip,compilemultipleclipsintoonevideo,addcaptionsandmusic,ormakeyourownslideshow—allfromyourbrowser.VideosarethenreadytouploadtovideositeslikeYouTube.

• One TrueMedia (http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/public_home)—FreeMix your photos and video clips to create a video collage.Add

captions,transitions,specialeffects,andmusictoenhanceyourvideo.CreatedvideoscanthenbesharedonlineorburnedtoDVD.





Education

• Susanhasongoing livewebinarsandrecordedonlinecoursesonthistopicavailablethroughthewebinarsandonlinestoreathersite, http://www.susansweeney.com, andprovidesaccesstoothers’coursesonthesubjectthroughheronlinelearningportal,eLearningU,athttp://www.elearningu.com.


Books

• YouTube: An Insider’s Guide to Climbing the Charts,byAlanLastufkaandMichaelW.DeanWrittenbytwoYouTubeexpertswithmillionsofviews;learnhow

tomake,optimize,encode,upload,andpromoteahigh-qualityvideo.Thebookcoverstopicssuchasequipmenttouse,editing,anda99-centfilmschoolchapteronhowtofilmavideo.

• YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day,byGregJarboeandSuzieReiderThisbookoffersstep-by-stepinstructionsonhowtosucceedwith

YouTube. Topics includeYouTube channels, video-production tips,searchengineoptimizationforyourYouTubevideos,andhowtotrack,measure,andanalyzeyourvideomarketingefforts.


10MySpace

MySpace (www.myspace.com) is currently in very tight competitionwithFacebookasthepreeminentconsumer-basedSocialMediaplatform.Whilethejuryisoutastowhowillwinthewar,onthebasisofsheernumbersofactiveusers,itlooksliketheedgeisgoingtoFacebook. Notwithstandingthistrend,usersarefickle,andwithover125millionac-tivemonthlyusersaroundtheglobe(abouthalfintheUnitedStates),MySpaceisstillapotentforce.Inparticular,ithasdevelopedexceptionallystrongnichesinseveralareas,particularlyinentertainment(e.g.,musicians,celebrities,co-medians).Becauseofthenumbersinvolved,ignoringMySpaceasaplatformisalmostfoolhardy,particularlyforconsumer-orientedbusinesses.

Profile Page

EveryuserhasaMySpacepage,whichtheycancustomizewithdifferentmod-ules.Thispageisshownwhentheylogonandistheprimarywayauserbeginsinteractingwithothers.Again,likeFacebook,peoplewhohaveacceptedyourinvitationsarecalled“friends,”andforthemostpart,friendsareabletoseewhatyouhavepostedwithinMySpace.Profilesaregenerallydesignedforindi-viduals,althoughitispossibletocreateapageforyourorganization.(MySpaceprefersthatyoucreateanorganizationpageasa“BrandCommunity,”whichisdescribedlaterinthischapter.)

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Profile Page Customization

Ifyouarelookingtocreateaprofile,oneofthefirstthingsyouwillwanttodoistocustomizeit,byadding—orremoving—theappropriatemodules.Hereisalistofsomeofthemorelikelyonesthatyoumaywanttohaveappear:

• Activitystream—showswhateachofyourfriendsaredoing.

• Comments—showsanycommentsfromyouoryourfriends.

• Companies—noteswhatisshownwithintheCompaniesareaofyourprofile.

• Friendspace—identifiesyourfriends(eitherTop,Random,Who’sOnline,orRecent).

• Groups—showswhichgroupsyoubelongto.

• RSSreader—allowsyoutofunnelinanexternal-to-MySpaceblog(Figure10.1).(Moreonblogslaterinthechapter.)

• Videoplayer—allowsyoutoplayuploadedvideos.

Figure 10.1. Randall’sblogpostsareaccessiblethroughRSSonmanysites,includinghisMySpaceprofile.


Ofcourse,youwillwanttouploadaphotoandaddsomeotherpersonaldetails.Becarefulaboutaddinganydetailsthatyoudon’twantsharedpublicly.EvenwithMySpace’sbuilt-inprivacycontrols,itistooeasyforyourinformationtoappear—orbeshared—openly.

Groups

Thereareliterallymillionsofgroups(Figure10.2)thatexistonMySpace,underjustabouteverycategory.Eachgrouphasitsownpage,aswellasdiscussionforum,bulletins,friendslists,etc.Thegroupcreatorcanchoosewhetherthegroupispublicorprivate,whetheritishiddenornot,andevenwhethermem-berscaninviteothersornot. Thechallengewiththesegroupsisthatthereisverylittleabilitytocustom-brandthepages,andcomparedtobrandcommunities,groupsareliketheWildWest:Manygroupsarerepletewithspamcomments—“advertising”fornonre-latedproducts. For this last reasonmore thanmost,participationwithinothers’ groupsshouldbedonemindfully.Addingperspective,userhelp,andlinkstoresourcesinresponsetoaquestionareallacceptable.Askingusersquestionsinordertotest-driveanewidea,oraskingfortheirsuggestions,isalsoacceptable.Blatantproductpitcheswill likelyharmyourbrandmore thanhelp, and shouldbeavoided.

Figure 10.2. MySpacehasagreatsearchfeaturetoenableyoutofindtheperfectgroupforyourpurposes.

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Onepossibleideaforagroupisyourcompany’salumni.Ifyouhirepeoplewhoareinayoungdemographic,startingagroupasawaytomaintainyourconnectiontothemmightmakesense.Itismostunlikelythattheyoungerde-mographicwillbeonLinkedIn.

Forums

Therearewell-traffickeddiscussiongroupsonjustabouteverytopicwithintheMySpaceforums.Theseforumsareseparateanddistinctfromthediscussionfo-rumscontainedwithinMySpacegroups.There are rules that limit commercialpostingsontheforums,butthepostingsstillcanbefoundfromtimetotime. As is the casewith participationwithinMySpacegroupforums(oranyinternetdiscussiongroup),thenatureofyourparticipationshouldbestrategic,not commercial.MySpace forumpar-ticipation is appropriate only if yourtargetdemographicspendstimethere—otherwise,skipit.

Events

MySpacehastheabilitytocreateevents.TheeventscanbefoundbyanyonewithinMySpacebysearching,andbydirectinvitationtoyourfriends.Theeventcanbea“live”eventataphysicaladdress,oritcanbeanonlineevent. Forthemostpart,MySpaceeventsareusedbybandstointroduceanewalbum,thelocationforagig,schoolreunions,and(seemingly)smallerevents.Itdoesn’tappeartobeusedbymanyothers.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatthereisn’tanopportunity:IfyouhavealargenumberofMySpacefriends,oryouaretarget-ingayoungerdemographic,thenusingtheEventsfunctionalityisaconvenientwaytospreadthemessage. Note:EventsareusedfarmoreintheUnitedStatesthaninotherMySpacecountries.Ifyouarehopingtobuildaneventelsewhere,MySpace(andMySpaceEvents)maynotbethemosteffectivetool.

Advanced TipGroups have very limited moderation capabilities; it is very easy for inappropri‑ate content to be posted, so a scheduled review and deletion of posts is critical. Consider a warning within the group description that states that any off‑topic or commercial postings will be deleted and the member who posted them will be banned.


Applications

TherearehundredsofapplicationsthathavebeenwrittenforMySpace:games,religion-inspired,utilities,videoplayers,etc.Ifyouthinkyoumightwantsome-thinginparticular,simplysearchMySpaceapplicationstofindit. Anexample:YouwanttohaveyourTwitterupdatesappearwithinyourMySpaceprofile.SearchingforTwitterwithinMySpaceshowseightapplica-tions.Oneofthem,iTwitter,doesexactlywhatyouwantandhasover270,000users—more thananyof theother seven.At the same time,younotice thatanotherapplication,TwitterSync(withover23,000users)canautomaticallysynchronizeyourTwitterpostingandyourMySpacestatus.Hmmm. Fromacompanystandpoint, there isanotherpotentialopportunitywithapplications: towriteyourown. If theapplication isdownloadedandused,thenyourmessagecanbebroadcastnotjusttotheusers,butvirally,toalloftheusers’friends. Anexample:Ifyouwereafoodmanufacturer,youmightcreateanapplica-tionthatallowedthesharingofrecipes.Aseachpersonenteredrecipes,heorshewouldseeyourbranding.Andthenastheuserssenttheirrecipestotheirfriends,theyalsowouldseeyourbranding.Iftheychosetoparticipatebypost-ingtheirrecipesinturn,thenyourbrandingwouldbedistributedevenfarther. Oneofthechallengesofdevelopingyourownapplication(beyondthecostofdevelopmentandthecostofpromotingtheapplicationwithinMySpace)isthatagreaternumberofpeopleareusingSocialMediaontheirmobiledevices.MySpace,forexample,hasafreeappforiPhonesthatprovidesaccesstostatus,theactivitystream,andafewotherbasicfunctions—butnocapabilitytoruntheMySpaceapplicationthatyou’vedevelopedfortheWeb.DittoforBlackBerry,iPhone,andAndroid.

Blogs

MySpacehasbuilt-inthefunctionalitytogiveeachofitsusershisorherownblog.OurrecommendationforanycompanythatwantsablogistobuilditintotheirWebsitedirectly,orifthisisnotpossible,tohostitthemselvesandlinktoitfromtheirmainWebsite.InordertogetyourcompanyblogfunneledintoanyMySpacepage,youwillneedtoaddtheRSSReader.Theunfortunatelynamed“MyBlog”referstotheMySpace-createdblog,notyourexternalcom-panyblog.

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Email and Instant Messaging

Oneofthemajorproblemswithstandardemailisspam.ThebenefitoftheMySpaceemailsystemisthatanyemailmessagesentwithinthesystemhasaknownsender.Itisimpossibleforasendertohidebehindtheveilofanonym-ity.Andbecausethesystemisdesignedforconsumers,itisimpossibletosend“bulk”junkmailtoeveryone.Itisalsoimpossibleforapersontosendames-sagefromtheoutsideinternetdirectlytoaMySpaceemailaddress. Interestingly,manyteenagersrarelychecktheirstandardemail,relyingcom-pletelyontheirSocialMediaemailaddressestocommunicate.Thisistroublingformarketerswhoseethecreationofanemaillistastheirprimarymarketinggoal.Ontheotherhand,italsospeakstoopportunityforthosewhounderstandSocialMediamarketing:Peopletrustrecommendationsfromtheirfriendsandareinterestedinengaginginmeaningfulconversation. MySpacealsohasabuilt-inabilitytoinstant-messageanyofyourfriendswhoareonlineatthesametimeyouare.Whilethereislittlecorporatevalueinthisfunctionality,italsospeakstotheimportanceofthesocialnetworkandhoweasyitcanbeforpeopletoconnect.

Advertising

LikealmosteveryotherSocialMediasite,MySpaceincludestheabilitytoad-vertise.Uponregistration,everyusermustincludesomedemographicdetails.Thisinformation,combinedwithinformationdisplayedinyourprofile,allowsMySpacetotargetadvertisingtoyou. Annoyingly,advertisingforMySpaceisdoneonacountry-by-countrybasis.IntheUnitedStates,forexample,targetingcanbedoneonthefollowingfactors,onaself-servebasis:

• Gender

• Age(oragerange)

• Education

• Relationship.This includes nonstandard categories such as recentlyengaged,recentlymarried,recentbreakup,etc.


• Parentalstatus.Onceagain,someuniquecategories,includingtheageofthechildren,justgavebirth,expecting,etc.

• Location.Theabilitytotargetadvertisingcanbedoneonaregional,state/city,orradiusfromazipcode.

• Interestsandoccupations.Thistoolprovidesanincrediblyrobustnum-berofselectioncriteria.Asanexample,toselectuserswhoseinterestisinbooks,therearefurthersubcatagoriesbasedoninterestsinspecificauthorsandtitles.Toselectuserswhoseinterestsarerelatedtosports,therearefurtherchoicesdowntospecificteamnamesandcertainsportscelebrities.

InCanadaandtheUnitedKingdom,advertisingishandledbycontactingMySpacedirectlyinthatcountry,althoughtheydopostsomebasicinforma-tiononthe“packages”online.Inmostinternationalmarkets,adirectinquiryisnecessarytoevenstarttheprocess.

Advertising is sold on both apay-per-click (PPC) and a pay-per-impression (CPM) basis. There areseveralreasonsthatyoumightpreferoneovertheother:

• Pay-per-click: By choosing thismethod,thereisnochargefordisplay-ingyouradvertisement,buteverytimeapersonclicksit,youarechargedafee.WhenorderingaPPCadvertise-ment,yousetamaximumdaily(oradlifetime)budget,aswellasabidpricefor thead itself.Dependingonhowmuchothersbid,youradvertisementwillbeshownmore,orless.Bymoni-toring the advertising statistics, youcan increase (or decrease) your bid,whichwillthenincrease(ordecrease)howoftenyouradisdisplayed.One of the advantages of PPC

advertisingisthatthecostisincurred

Advanced Tip No matter which you use (PPC or CPM), you specify the destination Web page for when the user clicks the advertisement. Instead of routing them to your Web site’s home page, create a spe‑cial landing page with special messaging for the MySpace user, with specifics of your offer. Also, instead of creating just one advertise‑ment, create a family of them, with slightly differ‑ent titles and text. Then monitor the click‑through rates, dropping the less‑effective ones. The mar‑keting term for this is called split‑testing, or A‑B testing. If you’re really keen, take the successful advertisements and route the user to different landing pages; you can do split testing on the ef‑fectiveness of your own Web site as well. Advertising is easy, and it creates awareness, but it certainly isn’t conversation, and it’s about as far from the goal of Social Media as it could be. But a relevant call to action in an advertisement still might be the first step toward a transaction.

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onlywhenapersonclicksthrough,whichmakesitfareasiertodirectlycalculate thecostofprospectacquisition. (Ofcourse, the fullcostofclientacquisitionalsohingesonyourWebsite’sabilitytoconvertthatprospectintoarealclient.)PPCbidsareusuallyinthefour-toten-centrange.

• Pay-per-impression:CPMadvertisingismoreappropriateifyouwanttoensurethatyouradvertisingisactuallyseenbyacertainnumberofpeople.LikewithPPC,MySpaceusesabiddingsystemtodeterminehowoftenyouradappears.ThehigheryourCPMbid,themorefrequentlyyouradvertisementwillrun,andthefasteryouwillgenerateawarenesswithyourtargetaudience.CPMbidsmightbefoundinthesix-totwenty-five-centrangeper

1,000impressions.

MySpace Brand Communities

Afarmorepowerfulway to interactwithaudiences is tocreateaMySpacebrandcommunity.(ThisissimilartoaFacebookfanpage.)Itmaycontainanynumberofspecial-purposeapplicationsthatcanincreaseengagement,aswellasuploadedphotos,videos,andothercontent. MySpacehastwodifferenttypesofbrandcommunities:self-serveandfull-serve.Self-serverequiresasolidknowledgeofHTMLandhaslimitedfunction-ality.Full-serveprovidesmorefunctionality,aswellasmonitoring,butrequiresaninvestmentinadvertising. Hereareexamplesofsomeofthespecialcapabilitiesinthefull-servemodel:

• Content monitoring:MySpacewillreviewyourcommunitytwicedailyanddeleteinappropriatecontent.Thecriteriaforinappropriatecontentwouldbedefinedbyyou.

• Sweepstakes:Arandomwinnerischosenfromthebrandcommunity’sfriends.

• User-generated content:Friendscanuploadaparticulartypeofcontent(text,photo,mp3,etc.).Thismightbeusefulforcontests,compilationsofstories,etc.


• Quiz:Thiscanbeamultiple-choicequizwithupto15questions.Thequizcanbeusedtoqualifycontestantsforacontest,tocollectmarketresearch,oranyotherpurpose.

• Auto-commenter:ThiswillautomaticallysubmitcommentstofriendseitherwhentheyjoinorwhentheyaddacommentontheBrandCom-munitypage.

Probablythemostpowerfuluseofbrandcommunitiesistheirvalueasasourceformarketresearch.Puttingasideissuesofself-selectionbias(e.g.,thatusersself-registerandthereforebiasanymarketresearchresults),brandcom-munitymemberscanbeusedasahighlymotivatedfocusgroup.Theconversa-tionalnatureofSocialMediamakesiteasytocollectadhocfeedbackandaskopen-endedquestions.Inaddition,the“MyInsights”toolprovidesawindowtousers’demographics.

Overall Recommendation

Unless youhave evidence that your customers or prospects spend timeonMySpace,wewouldrecommendcautionbefore investingsignificantly.Fur-thermore,theplatformisfacingawarofattritionasitsusersslowlydefecttootherSocialMediasites,primarilyFacebook.Nevertheless,thereisstillacriticalmassofwell-connectedusers,andifthedemographicisright,MySpaceistoobigtoignore.

First Steps

1. ExploreMySpaceforumsandgroupstodeterminewhetherornotyourcustom-erscanbefoundthere.

2. SearchforyourcompetitorstolearnmoreabouttheirSocialMediastrategy.

3. Registeryourcompanynameandbrandsasuserstopreventothersfromtakingthem;thisshouldbedonewithalltheSocialMediasites.

MySpace 101



Software/Tools

• MySpaceGateway(www.myspacegateway.com)Thisonesitehaslinkstohundredsofother“add-on”sitesandre-

sourcesthatallowyoutochangethelayout,addfunctionality,orother-wisepersonalizeyourMySpacepage.Thesiteisrepletewithadvertisingthatlookslikerealcontent,somakesureyouknowwhatyou’reclickingbeforeyoudoso.

• MySpaceCompilation(www.myspace‑compilation.com)Thissite isverysimilar to theGatewayresource,butabiteasier

tounderstand.ItrequiresastrongunderstandingofMySpacelayouts;suitableforyourWebmaster.

• MySpace’shelppage(http://faq.myspace.com)Thissiteishelpful,withthetopMySpacequestions,searches,anda

listingofthecurrentMySpaceissues,straightfromthesource!




Articles

• “eHow:MySpace”(http://www.ehow.com/articles_4506‑myspace.html)Thisanswerssitehassome800+articlesonhowtodojustabout

everythingonMySpace.Narrowthislistdownbyusingthenavigationonthesideofthepageorbyusingthesite’ssearchfunctionality.


11Flickr

Flickr(Figure11.1)isasocialphotographysitethatenablestheusertoupload,edit,manage,andsharephotographswithfriends,family,otherFlickrusers,andtheinternetatlarge.Flickrhostsyourphotosonitsserver,savingyoubandwidthandactingasanadditionalbackupforyourimages.

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Figure 11.1. Flickrisoneofthemostpopularphoto-hostingsites,withmanyfeaturesandfunctionality.

Flickr 103

FlickrhasbeenintegratedwithYahoo!ImageSearch,meaningthatpicturesfromFlickrwillbedisplayedwhenasearchforimagesisdoneonYahoo!PhotosonFlickrarealsoindexedbyGoogleandTechnorati,showingupintheirsearchresults.Ifoneofyourpicturesshowsupinaperson’ssearchresults,theyaredirectedtoyourindividualphotopageswheretheyaremadeawareofyou...andcanthenbedirectedtoyourWebsiteorblog. FlickrisownedbyYahoo!,soyouwillneedaYahoo!IDtosignup. YoushouldbeawareofandabidebyFlickr’sTermsofUse:“Flickrisforpersonaluseonly.Ifwefindyousellingproducts,services,oryourselfthroughyourphotostream,wewillterminateyouraccount.”Youalsocannot“upload,post,email,transmitorotherwisemakeavailableanyunsolicitedorunauthorizedadvertising,promotionalmaterials,‘junkmail,’‘spam,’‘chainletters,’‘pyramidschemes,’oranyother formof illegal solicitation.Youmay,however,makelegallycompliantsolicitationsinthoseareas(suchasshoppingrooms)thataredesignatedforsuchpurpose.”

Sign Up for an Account

Firstyouneedtosignupforanaccount.YoucanhaveafreeaccountoryoucanpaytohaveaProaccount.What’sthedifference? Withafreeaccountyouget:

• Twovideouploadseachmonth

• Maximum90seconds

• Maximum150MBfile

• Upto100MBofphotographseachmonth

• Maximum10MBperphoto

• Photostreamviewslimitedtothe200mostrecentimages

• Photospostedinupto10grouppools

• Adsaredisplayedasyoubrowseandshare.

TheProaccountcosts$24.95ayear,andyouget:


• Unlimitedphotouploads

• Maximum20MBperphoto

• Unlimitedvideouploads

– Maximum90seconds

– Maximum500MBpervideo

• Theabilitytoshowhigh-definitionvideo

– Unlimitedstorage

– Unlimitedbandwidth

• Postingofphotosorvideosinupto60grouppools

• Ad-freebrowsingandsharing

• Viewcountandreferrerstatistics.

Onceyouhavesetupyouraccount,youloginandedityoursettingsanddevelopyourprofile.Youshould:

• Uploadabuddyicon.Thiscanbeyourfavoriteimage,yourlogo,orsomeotherappealinggraphic.

• Setyourscreenname.ThiscanbeyourWebaddress,yourbrand,oryourname.IfyouuseyourWebaddressasyourscreenname,itwillbeattachedtoeveryphotoyouuploadandeverymessageyoupostinFlickrgroups.

• Buildyourprofile.Tellvisitorsaboutyou,yourbusiness,andyourbrand.Youcanincludelinks.HTMLisacceptable,sobesuretoincludeyourbestkeywordsasanchortextwhenprovidingalinktoyourWebsiteoryourblog.

• CreateyourFlickrWebaddress.Thismakesiteasytoshareyourphotosandvideoswiththeworld.Makeyouraddresssomethingthatiseasyforyourtargetmarkettoremember.YourFlickraddresswillbesomethinglikehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/yourname.

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Upload Photos and Videos

Onceyouhaveanaccount,youcanuploadyourphotosandvideos.Thiscanbedonefromyourdesktop,throughemail,orfromyourcameraphone.FlickrhasagreatWebinterfacewhereyoucanuploadyourphotos,oryoucanusetheiruploadtool(calledFlickrUploadr)whereyoucandraganddropyourphotosfromyourdesktoptoUploadr.Youcanalsouploadviaemail,throughiPhoto,Aperture,orthroughseveralthird-partydesktopprograms.OnyourphoneyoucantakeapictureorvideoandemailittoFlickr. Whenyouupload,youareabletoaddatitle,description,andtags,whichareallveryimportantforyourbeingfoundonFlickrbyotherFlickrusers,butalsoimportantforbeingfoundthroughYahoo!,Google,andTechnorati. NotethatFlickrallowsonlyveryshortvideostobeuploaded.LongervideosneedtoappearwithinYouTubeorasimilarvideo-sharingsite.Foreaseofman-agement,werecommendthatyoukeepyourvideosinoneplace,notseveral. Haveastrategyforsearchoptimization.Reviewyourmostimportantkey-wordphrases.Reviewthetermsthatyourtargetmarketislikelygoingtosearchonwhentheyarelookingforyourproductsandservices.Youwillwanttohaveconsistencyfortheterminyourtitle,description,andtags.Youcanhaveupto75tagsperphoto. Tagsarelikekeywordsthathelpusersfindyourphoto.Therearevariouswaysthatpeopletagphotos:

• Profession

• Namesofindividualsinthepicture

• Location—usefulfortourismandgeographic-specificbusinesses

• Medium—photo,video,illustration

• Type—candid,photoshoot,magazineshoot

• Brand—Mercedes,Flip

• Relevantpublications—CoastalLiving,Vogue

• YourWebsite.

Withthetitleanddescriptionyouhavefewercharacters.Thinkaboutyourkeywordsandalsoyourbrandinthetitle,andmaybeevenyourWebaddress.Inthedescription,HTMLisallowed,sothinkabouthavingalinktoyourWeb


siteorblogwithyourmostimportantkeywordsastheanchortext.AlsothinkaboutthedestinationURLbeingalandingpageratherthanyourhomepage. YoucanedityourphotoswithinFlickrthroughtheirpartner,Picnik.Youcanremoveredeyes,rotate,resize,crop,sharpenimages,etc.

Organize Your Photos and Videos

FlickrhasanOrganizrfeaturethatenablesyoutoorganizeyourphotosintosetsandcollections.Organizralsoenablesyoutoperformcommontasksonlargebatchesofphotosandvideos,suchastagging,changingpermissions,oreditingtimestamps. Youorganizeyourphotosintosetsandcollections.Setsarelikealbumsorgroupsofphotosthatrelatetoacommontheme.Itcouldbeanevent,aprod-uct,alocation,oranythingelsethatmakessensewithyourparticularphotos.Collectionsaregroupsofthealbumsorsetsandmightrelatetotheyeartheyweretaken,thelocation,orsomeotherrelationshipforyoursets.

Promote Your Photos and Videos

Nowyouarereadytoshareyourphotosandvideoswiththeworld.Therearemanywaystomakethathappen:

• FlickruserscanfindyourcontentthroughtheFlickrsearchfeature.Yourphotosandvideoswillappearifyourtitle,description,andtagsrelatetothekeywordsinthesearch.

• Yahoo!,Google,andTechnoratiuserscanaccessyourimages.Again,yourphotosandvideoswillappearifyourtitle,description,andtagsrelatetothekeywordsinthesearch.

• Joingroupsthatrelatetoyourphotocontent,yourbusiness,andyourtargetmarket.Onceyoujoinyoucansubmityourpictures.

• Commentonothers’pictures.Thismaygetthemorotheruserstoclickthroughtoyourprofilepagetoviewyourpicturesortolearnmoreaboutyou.

• Youcanstartyourowngroup.

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• DisplayyourFlickrphotosonyourWeb siteorblog. (Moreon this“latr.”)

• ProvidealinkfromyourWebsiteorblogtoyourFlickrpictures.

• GetyourphotolistedinFlickr’s“Explore,”whichisadailycollectionofFlickr’smostinterestingphotos.

• InviteyourfriendstojoinFlickr.

• LinktoyourphotosfromFacebook,LinkedIn,Twitter,andotherSocialMediavenues.

Display Your Flickr Photos on Your Site or Blog

YoucandisplayyourFlickrphotosonyoursitebyembeddingaFlickrphotostreamonyourWebsiteorblog.Flickrhasawizardtoenableyoutosetupadynamicbadge,or“widget,”ofyourpubliclyviewableFlickrphotos.Withthewizardyouchooseyourdisplayoptions—whichphotosyouwanttodisplay,thesize,etc.Youalsospecifyifyouwanttodisplayyourscreennameandbuddyicon.Nextyouchooseeitherastyledversionofthebadge(photosappearinacolumnwithacoloredbackground)oronethatyoucandesignyourself. ThesitepicturedinFigure11.2,www.elearningu.com,showsaphotostreamfromFlickraspartofanewsentry.WhensomeoneclicksontheFlickricon,heorshegetsaccesstoallthephotos(seeFigure11.3).Therearemanythird-partyFlickrapplicationsthatallowyoutodisplayyourFlickrphotosinarangeofdifferentformats. TodisplayyourFlickrpicturesonyourblog,therearemanyblogplug-insavailable.Wordpress,forexample,hasbothaFlickrPhotoAlbumplug-inandaFlickrRSSplug-in.

Share Flickr Photos

Activelypromoteandapprovethereuseofyourphotosthathelptoprovideexposuretoyourproductsandservices.Approvetherequeststouseyourphotosquickly—journalistsoftenareontightdeadlinesandyou’dhatetoloseoutonhavingagreatphotoofyourproductoryourdestinationincludedinapublica-


Figure 11.2. FlickrprovidesthecapabilitytoincorporateyourphotosonyourWebsite.

Figure 11.3. Flickrenablesyoutoshowyourphotosinanumberofdifferentwaysonyoursite.

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tionthatisreadbyyourtargetmarketjustbecauseyoudidn’trespondquicklyenoughtoareuserequest.

Enable Stats

Flickrhasgreattoolsforstatistics,butyouhavetoaskforthemtobeturnedon.Thestatsincludeoverallviews,engagement,andreferrals.

Flickr App Garden

LikeFacebook,MySpace,LinkedIn,andjustabouteveryotherSocialMediaplatform,FlickrhasrecognizedthatallowingotherstobuildmorefunctionalityaddsvaluetotheFlickrplatformitself.Flickrcallsitssysteman“AppGarden.”ThereareiPhoneapps,geotaggingapps,Twitterapps,etc.Newapplicationsarebeingaddedeveryday.Checkitouttoseeifthereareapplicationsyoucanusetohelppromoteyourphotos.

First Steps

1. BegininventoryingyourphotosforpossibleinclusionontoFlickr.

2. Searchforyourcompanyname,brands,andproducts,tounderstandanytrendsorgrassrootsbuzzthatyoucanlatchonto.

3. IncorporateaFlickrphotostreamontoyourWebsiteorblog,ifap-propriate.




Software/Tools

• BigHugeLabsFlickrToys(http://bighugelabs.com)Thissitelistsdozensoftoys,games,andutilitiesthatallowyouto

domorewithyourFlickrphotos:customcalendarsandcards,posters,puzzles,movieposters,andmore.

• Flickrstorm(http://www.zoo‑m.com/flickr‑storm)ThisisaneatsearchengineforFlickrthatbringsupadditionalre-

latedimages.

• TagGalaxy(taggalaxy.de)Thisisapowerfultooltovisuallydiscoverphotosbasedontheirtags.

• 100+FlickrResources(http://traffikd.com/resources/flickr)Thislist,fromablog,isawonderfullistingofjustabouteveryFlickr

plug-inavailable.Readthroughthepagecommentsforevenmorelinks.




Education


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12Tier Two Sites

Overview

ThereisnoquestionthatthereisapeckingorderwithSocialMediasites.AtthetopofthelistareYouTube,Facebook,LinkedIn,Twitter,Flickr,andMySpace.Asecondgroup—includingabout300sites—fitsintoasecondtierbecausetheyarenotaspopularor,inthecaseofsocialbookmarkingsites,haveaspecificpurpose.Asareferencepoint,Facebookhasover300millionaccountholders,whileMySpacehas125million,LinkedInhas50million,andPlaxohasabout20million. Inthischapterandthenextone,wedescribesomeofthemorewell-traveledTierTwositesandhowyoumighttakeadvantageofthem—ornot.We’vetriedtopointoutsomeofthedistinguishingfeatures,butyouwillnotethatmanyofthesitesareinthe“metoo”categoryand,inthelongrun,maynotsurviveunlesstheyfindawaytodifferentiatethemselves.(Somedifferentiatethemselvesbygeography,othersbytargetdemographic,othersbythenatureoftheirfunc-tionalityandpartnerships.) Figure12.1isapartiallist:howmanyhaveyouheardof?(Andhowmanydoyouthinkwillstillbearoundinfiveyears?)

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Justbecauseallofthesesitesexistdoesn’tmeanthatyoushouldhaveapres-enceonallofthem.Hereareseveralteststhatyoucanusetodeterminewhich,ifany,ofthesesecond-tiersitesyoumightwishtoinvestyourtimeandbudgetin:

• Wheneveryoudoanyformalmarketresearch,asktherespondentswhichSocialMediasitestheyuse.Thereisnosensefishinginapondwithoutfish.

• Wheneveryouhaveinformalconversationswithcustomers,prospects,suppliers,andrecruits,askthemwhichSocialMediasitestheytypicallyuse,andwhichonestheyhaveplanstouseinthefuture.

• Do a simple searchon your competitors’ companynames, and yourproductnamesonanumberofthesesites.

Plaxo

Plaxo (www.plaxo.com) (Figure 12.2) started a number of years ago as asystemtokeepyourcontactlistuptodate.Youuploadedyourcontactlist

Alltop Amplify Bebo BlipBigcontact Blinklist BlackPlanet DailyboothBlogcatalog Blogmarks.net Brightkite DailymotionBlogger Clipmarks eHow LivevideoDisqus Del.icio.us Friendster MetacafeFriendfeed Diigo Grou.ps PicasaGlogster Faves HubPages SmugMugIdenti.ca Gravee Instructables Ustream.tvLifeblog Kirtsy Massify ViddlerLivejournal Mixx Netlog VimeoNewsvine Mylinkvault NingPosterous Searchles SlideshareReddit Simply SocialGoScribd Squidoo SocialightTribe Stumbleupon SteamTumblr Tagfoot TypePad Wikipedia WordPress

Figure 12.1. ExamplesofTierTwosites.

Blog or Information-oriented Boomarking Communication Photo & Video

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toPlaxo,andeachmonththesystemwouldsendanemailtoyourlistaskingthemtoconfirmtheircontactdetails.Manyrecipientswhoreceivedtheupdaterequestdecidedtousethesystemthemselves,resultinginviralgrowthofthesystemasawhole. Theonlyproblemwasthattheautomatedunsolicitedupdaterequestsbegantogetannoyingandweresoonbeingdisregardedor,worse,wereregardedasspam. ThesecondphaseofPlaxo’sgrowthsawitde-emphasize(andeventuallyturnoff)theaddressupdateserviceandimplementaLinkedIn-styleSocialNetwork-ingsite,centeredonanonlineresumeandconnections. Plaxoiscurrentlyemphasizingthefeaturetheycall“PlaxoPulse”—astreamofstatusupdatesfromPlaxoconnections,Facebook,Twitter,andanumberofothersites.Whenyougotowww.Plaxo.com,thedefaulthomepageisthePulsepage.Itappearsthattheyaremakingaplaytobeanaggregator;theyaren’ttappingadrevenues(exceptforGoogleads),andtheyarenotsellingupgradedcompanypages.Infact,theyhaven’tevenyetembeddedthecompanypagecon-ceptintothesystem,exceptasapagethatcollectsthePlaxomemberswhomayhaveacompanynamewithintheirprofile.Forthisreason,Plaxohaslimitedutilityatthecompanylevel. Ontheotherhand,itisaveryusefulsitetoperformduediligenceonpro-spective customers, research the backgrounds of the employees at suppliers,etc.AndlikealltheSocialMediasites,manyofyouremployees—andformer

Figure 12.2. PlaxoisanonlineaddressbookandSocialNetworkingservice,similartoLinkedIn.


employees—willuseyourcompanynamewithintheirprofiles,impactingyourcompanybrand. ItmaybetemptingtodismissPlaxo—andmanyothersoftheseTierTwosites—asnotworthwhile.However,fromaPRperspectiveitisusefultomakesurethatthereisatleastoneofficialcompanyrepresentativewithaprofileonthesite.Ifthereareanyquestionsfrommedia,itisbetterthattheycontactamoreseniorperson—notarandomemployee(orformeremployee)whojusthappenstolistyourcompanynameintheprofile.Inaddition,thereistheSEOargument:EveryprofilethatcontainsalinkbacktothecompanyWebsitewillimprovethecompany’sWebsitesearchengineranking. PlaxowaspurchasedafewyearsagobythecablegiantComcast;asaresult,itissafetosaythatPlaxoisunlikelytofoldforlackoffinancing.Ontheotherhand,withabigcorporateowner,thepaceofinnovationseemstobeslowerthanitsprimarycompetitor,LinkedIn.

• Registration:Asisexpected,signinguponPlaxoisassimpleasgoingtothehomepageandfillingoutaform.EvenifyoucareverylittleaboutactuallyusingPlaxo,registeranyway,justtopreventsomeonefromtak-ingyourname.

• Social Media feeds:Ifyouwishtohaveyourblogpostings,photos,tweets,andotherSocialMediacontentautomaticallyappearingwithinyourprofile,clickonthe“About Me”tabinyourprofile,select“Web site,”andtheneditthissection.Thereareover40WebsitesthatPlaxocanextractcontentfromandpublishonyourprofileorPlaxoPulsepage.

• Job postings:Plaxohasoutsourcedthejobpostingsfunctionalitytoaseparatecompany,SimplyHired.com,andtheirjobamaticoffering.Whilequiterudimentary,thissystemwillprovideexposuretoyourjobpostingthroughoutthePlaxosite,throughyourconnections,andpotentiallyonotherSimplyHiredpartnersites.DependingonwhetheryourpotentialrecruitmentpoolisonPlaxoornot,thiscanbeincrediblycost-effective…oracompletewasteoftime.

• Groups: LikeFacebookandLinkedIn,Plaxohasthecapabilityforgroupstobecreatedforanypurpose.Thechallengeisthatthefunctionalityisnotfullymature;merelyfindingalistingofgroupsistortuousatbest.Skipit.

• Fan pages:UnlikeFacebookfanpages,thesereallyarefanpages—asindiscussiongroupsforfansofdifferenttelevisionshows.Needlesstosay,

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thisconsumer-focusedadd-inwastheresultoftheComcastpurchase,and it is abizarredilutionofPlaxo’sbusiness-oriented earlier focus.Unlessyourbusinessisonethatcaterstofans,orwhosedemographicmatchescloselywiththedemographicofaspecificshow,don’twasteyourtime.

• Plaxo Premium (synchronization):OneoftheinterestingcapabilitiesofPlaxoisitsWindows(andMac)downloadableprograms,whichsynchro-nizeyourMicrosoftOutlookcontactsandcalendartoyour(nonpublic)Plaxosite,aswellastootheronlinecalendars,includingGoogle’s.Pre-miumcarriesalowannualfeeandprovidesafewadditionalbellsandwhistles.Ourrecommendation,though,istoskipthisonecompletelyandsticktothefreeservice.

• Plaxo Pro:ThisupgradeisdesignedtoprovidebetteraccesstothePlaxodatabase itself, through directmessages to nonconnectedmembers,andmoresearchresultsineachsearch.Itispricedbetween$20and$250permonth,dependingonthelevelofaccessdesired.Thismightbeworthwhileasarecruitmenttool,orforsalesexecutiveswhoaresearchingforleads.Ourrecommendation:Ifyouweregoingtomakethis typeofmonthly investment,wewouldfirstconsiderLinkedIn’spaidaccounts,whichareaboutthesamecost,butofferafarbiggerrecruitorprospectpool.(IfyouareunabletofindwhomyouwantwithinLinkedIn,thenthismightbeagoodsupplementarydatabaseofnamesandconnections.)

• Privacy:OnmostSocialMediasites,itisjustaboutimpossibletofigureoutwhatispublic,whatiscompletelyprivate,andwhatyourconnec-tionsareabletosee.OneofthemoreusefulfeaturesofPlaxosolvesthisspecific issue:Youcanuseadrop-downmenutoseeyourpageexactlyasothersseeit.Afteryouloadallofyourinformationonline,butbeforeyouaskforconnections,thisissomethingthatyoumustreviewcarefully.Fifteenminutesmaysaveahugeamountofembar-rassment.

TotheextentthatyouhaveconnectionsonPlaxo,it’sworthwhileusingtheservice—butnotaggressively,unlessyourtargetaudienceisontheservice.Werecommendthebasics:

• Developyourprofile,withlinksbacktoyourcompanyWebsite.


• Auto-fill your content fromother SocialMedia sites—especially thecompanyblog.

• Respondtoconnectionrequests,andpossiblymakesomeofyourown.

• Searchforyourcompanynametoseewhoisusingit(andhowitisbeingused).Ifitisusedinappropriately,thenaddresstheissue.

Naymz

Oneofthebenefits—andchallenges—ofSocialMediaisthateachpersoncanconnect,fairlyeasily,toliterallythousandsofothers.Wemightnotknowthem,andwemightnotknowtheirreputation.Aretheyreallywhotheysaytheyare?Cantheybetrusted?Whovouchesforthem?ThesearetheproblemsthatNaymz(Figure12.3)wastryingtosolve;whatdifferentiatesNaymzisitsconceptof“RepScore.” Naymzaimstocaptureaperson’sreputationbygivingRepScorepointsforanumberofdifferentactivities:

Figure 12.3. NaymzisanonlineSocialNetworkingplatformaimedatprofessionals.

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• Completenessofprofile

• Recentupdates

• Otherusersvouchingforyou(“CommunityVerification”)

• Externalauthenticationofidentity.

Inaddition,yourcontactscanassess(e.g.,rate),endorse(e.g.,appearonthesite),orreferenceyou.WhilePlaxohasremovedrecommendation/endorsementfunctionality,thisisatthecenterofNaymz’sCommunityVerification. Themorepointsyouobtainrelativetootherpeople,thehigheryourRep-Scorelevel.ThesystemhasRepScorelevelsfrom1to10.Onceyougettolevels9and10,youarerewardedwithbetterreportingandGoogleadswithyourname,and,presumably,moretrust. Likemost of the other SocialMediasites,Naymz allows you to upload yourcontactdatabasefromaWebmailprovider(Gmail,Hotmail,Yahoo!,etc.),aswellasfromyourdesktop(MicrosoftOutlook). Inthefirstparagraphofthissection,wesay“thiswastheproblemthatNaymzwastryingtosolve”becauseNaymzalsorecentlyaddedaslewoffeatures,andchangedthedefaulthomepagetoemphasizeitsNetworkFeed:OnloginitnowlookslikethePlaxoPulse,FacebookWall,etc.WhileitsNetworkFeedmightbeusefultothosewhoaren’tonanyoftheotherSocialMediaplatforms,itjustdilutesitsmaindifferentiatorandmakesitlooklikea“me-too”site. Unfortunately,theconceptofcompanyreputationisnotyetdeveloped.IntheNaymzsite,the“Company”isthecollectionofeveryonewhoatonetimehadworkedat(orcurrentlyworksat)theorganization,alongwithseveralotherbitsofinformationthatyoucanaddonyourown. Naymz has several other interestingfeatures, including the ability to searchby company, search for jobs (the jobsare sourced fromwww.indeed.com), andsearch on “exchanges” (status updates).By searching on exchanges, you can re-viewwhopreciselyhadcommentedaboutyour company, competitor,product, etc.,inmuchthesamewaythatTwitterSearchallowsyoutodo.

Watch Out!Any person who is an employee or for‑mer employee can change the company profile, including the logo, description—even the company name itself. The “changed” company name then appears on each person’s individual profile—no matter what he or she originally entered.

TimesaverNaymz also allows you to transfer your contacts and your profile information from LinkedIn, which should signifi‑cantly simplify set‑up.


Xing

BasedinEurope(Germany/Austria/Switzerland)andtranslatedintomanylan-guages,XingisanexampleofamoreregionallyfocusedSocialMediaplatform.Whileitcurrentlyhas“only”8millionmembers,forthoseorganizationsfocusedinEurope,those8millionmightbeexactlytherightpeople. WithsomanySocialMediasitesthatexist,itissometimestooeasytodismissthesmaller,morefocusedones.Thelargeronesmayrepresentabiggerpondtodrawfrom,buttheymayalsogenerateafargreateramountofnoise.Ifyourcom-panyoperatesindifferentcountries(orindustries),askyourlocalcontactswhatSocialMediasitesarelocallypopular—orarepopularwithinthatindustry. Xinghasthestandardfeaturesthatonewouldexpect:profiles,email,con-tacts,groups,events,jobs,andcompanies.Italsohasaveryinexpensivepremiumlevelofmembershipthatallowsyoutosendmessagestononcontacts,getsridofadvertising,andaddsseveralotherfeatures. Xinghasanumberofjobpostingoptions,includingpay-per-click,textads,andfullyformattedads,allatdifferentpricepoints.Whilethecostcanbeverylow,Xingdoesnothavea robust applicant-tracking system (likeLinkedIn),whichmeansthatyouwillreceiveresponsesviaemail—veryinefficient! LikeLinkedIn,italsoprovidestheabilitytopostpremiumcompanypages;severallargeGermancompanieshaveusedthisforalumni,recruiting,investorrelations,etc.Again,ifthisisyourmarket,aninvestmentmightmakesense;ifnot,don’twasteyourtime.NotethatiftwoXingmembershaveindividualprofilesthatusethesamecompanyname,thenXingautomaticallycreatesaverybasiccompanyprofilepage. Xing also allows applications tobe embedded. Somewill be familiar toLinkedInusers,suchasSlideshareorHuddleWorkspaces;othersnotsomuchso.Totheextentthatyoucanusetheseapplicationstopullyouralready-existingcontentintoXing,itmakessensetodoso. OneannoyanceusingthesiteisthatfromtimetotimethelanguagedefaultsbacktoGerman.Jawohl!

Wikis

AWikiissoftwarethatletstheuntrainedusercreatepages,linktootherpageswithintheWiki,andmodifypages.Thesoftwarekeepstrackofallchanges,andwhomadethem.ThebeautyoftheWikiisthedistributednatureofthesystem:TheWikigrowsorganically,basedontheknowledgeandneedsofthosewhoaddtoit.

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WikipediaisbyfarthelargestWikiintheworld,withover85,000contribu-torsand14millionarticles.IfyouareinterestedininvestigatinghowaWikiworksgenerally,checkoutwww.wikipedia.org. ThechallengewithWikis,however,isthatmostarenoteasytouse,andtheyrequirethecontributorstobetrained.Forthisreason,Wikisareusuallymoreeffectiveifusedforasinglepurpose,andwithasmallnumberoftrainedcontributorsoreditors.OncethereisacriticalmassofinformationontheWiki,thenitcanbeopenedupforotherstocontribute.Wedon’trecommendstartingaWikiunlessitisextremelywellthoughtout.Ifitisn’t,yoursupportcostswilleatupanyofthebenefitsyouwerehopingfor. Ifyouarestillinterestedinlookingatthem,thenalistofWikisoftwarecanbefoundbysearch-ingfor“Wikisoftwarelist”onWikipediaitself.

Digg

Digg(Figure12.4)isaSocialMediavenuewherepeoplesharecontentfromanywhereontheWeb.ItismoreasocialnewssitethanaSocialNetworkingsite.EverythingonDigg—news,photos,videos,etc.—issubmittedbytheDiggcommunity.Oncesomethingissubmitted,itcanbeviewedbyothersandtheyhavetheopportunityto“diggit”ornot.Themore“diggs”yourcontentreceives,thebetteryourchancestohaveitpromotedtothefrontpagewherethemillionsofDiggvisitorscanaccessit. Toparticipate,youneedtobecomeaDiggmember.Thisisfreeandeasytodoatthehttp://www.digg.comsite.Onlyonceyouareamembercanyou“digg”orendorseothers’submissionsandsubmityourowncontentforothersto(hopefully)“digg.” Youcansubmitcontentlikearticles,blogposts,images,andvideostoDiggformemberreview.YoucanalsodownloadtheDigg iconstoyourWebsiteorblogtomakeiteasyforyourvisitorstoparticipate. Digg enables you to send a “Shout” out toyourDiggfriendswheneveryoumakeasubmis-sion,makingiteasyforthemtoknowwhenyouhavesomethingnewthattheycan“digg.”TheywillalsofollowthelinkfromDiggtoyourcontent,thusgeneratingtraffictoyoursite,blog,orotherSocialMediavenue.

Advanced TipSearch on your company name to see if anyone has used it in an article. If there are inaccuracies, then you are personally empow‑ered to make the change. If there is no entry at all, then you are empowered to add one.

Digg iconsThese are small icons that appear on your site (or blog) that let users easily bookmark that page’s content onto Digg.


ThesearchenginesindexDiggcontent,providinganadditionalbenefit. IfyougettothehomepageofDigg,youwillseemassiveexposureandsignificant traffic.At any time, there are anywhere from10 to20 storiesonthehomepage,andtheystaythereforafewhoursuntilothercontentreplacesthem. Thetypeofcontentthatgetstothehomepageissimilartowhatgetstothefrontpageofanewspaper:

• Breakingnews

• How-toarticles

• Heart-warmingstories

• Upcomingevents.

Diggevangelistswillgenerallyhaveastrategyto:

• MaximizethenumberofDiggfriends

Figure 12.4. DiggisapopularsocialnewsWebsitewherethecontentisprovided—andvotedon—bytheusers.

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• IncorporatetheDiggiconsontheirWebsiteorblog

• Promote theirDigg submissions through their SocialMedia venues,newsletters,ezines,signaturefiles,etc.

• MaximizetheSEOopportunitybyincorporatingappropriatekeywordphrasesandlinks.

Del.icio.us

Del.icio.usisasocialbookmarkingservicethatisownedbyYahoo!andallowsyoutostoreyourfavoritesites.Youcanalsotagthesesitesforquickreferenceandsharethemwithothers.Del.icio.ushasanumberoffeatureslikenetworks,tags,tagbundles,andsubscriptions. Toparticipate,yousetupyourfreeaccount,whichtakesonlyafewminutesathttp://delicious.com.Onceyouhave registered,youcan startbookmarkingyourfavoritesitesandsharingthemwithyourfriends. You canbuild your bookmarks and you can import anybookmarks orfavoritesyouhavestoredinyourWebbrowser.WhenyoubookmarkaWebpageonDel.icio.us,youtagitwithkeywordsthatdescribethecontent. Whentagging,youshouldusewordsthatmakesensetoyoubutalsomakesensetoothersyouwillbesharingthebookmarkswith.Youcanusemultipletagsforanysiteyousave.Youcanalwaysedit,add,ordeletetagsatalatertime. Del.icio.ushasanumberoftoolsthatallowyoutoshareyourbookmarkswithfriendsandotherDel.icio.ususers.Youcanprovidealinktoallofyourbookmarkswithhttp://www.delicious.com/usernameorthroughanicononyourWebsiteorblog.YoucanencourageotherstosubscribetoyourRSSfeed.YoucancreateaDel.icio.usnetwork,whichisapageofseveralDel.icio.ususers’bookmarks. Youcanfindothers’greatbookmarksinanumberofways.YoucancheckouttheFreshandPopularbookmarksontheDel.icio.ushomepage.YoucanclickontheExploreTagsbuttonandputinanyterminthe“typeatag”areatofindothers’bookmarksthattheyhavetaggedwiththatkeyword.Youcanusetagsubscription,whichalertsyoueverytimesomeonebookmarksasiteandusesthattag. Youcanbundleyourtags,makingiteasierforyouandotherstofindrelevantbookmarkedsites.Forexample,youcanbundle“SEOarticles”and“SEOtools”under“SEOResources.”

TagTo identify a picture or content with a descriptive word or a person’s name.


YoushouldaddtheDel.icio.us“SavethisPage”icononyourblogandWebsitetoencourageyourblogandWebsitevisitorstoaddittotheirbookmarks.

Sharing Tools

Youwanttomakeiteasyforotherstoshareorotherwisepromoteyourcontent.Ifit’snoteasytodo,itwon’tgetdone.Fortunately,thereareseveralfreetoolsthatyoucanusetoaddabuttontoyourWebsiteorblogthatenablesvisitorstoshareyourcontentanywhereandeverywheretheywant.OnepopulartoolforthisisAddThis(http://www.addthis.com)(Figure12.5).ItliterallytakessecondsattheAddThisWebsitetodesigntheiconorbuttonandgetthecodetoaddtoyourWebsiteorblog.Thistoolisfree.Itautomaticallyoptimizesitselfforeachvisitor’spreferencesandlanguage. A similar tool is called ShareThis (http://www.sharethis.com). ShareThis(Figure12.6)isalsoawidgetthatletsvisitorsshareyourcontentwithalloftheirprofiles,blogs,friends,andcontacts.Itisalsocompatiblewithmostofthepopularsocialnetworksandemailoptions,includingFacebook,Twitter,Digg,MySpace,andmanyothers.

Figure 12.5. AddThisisapopularfreetooltoaddsocialbookmarkingtoyoursite,blog,orSocialMediaapplications.

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First Steps

1. LearnaboutwhichSecond-TierSocialMediasitesyourcustomers,suppliers,jobcandidates,andotherstakeholdersareusingviamarketresearch,informalconversations,andcompanyorproductnamesearchesonaselectionofthesesites.Determinewhichoftheseareworthyofyourtime—andhowyoumightmeasureyoursuccesswiththem.

2. EnsurethatyouareusingeitherAddThisorShareThis(orasimilartool)onyourblogandWebsite.



Software/Tools

• Thesiteslistedintheintroductiontothischapterarealllinkedfromthebook’scompanionWebsite.

Figure 12.6. ShareThisisanotherpopularfreetooltoaddsocialbookmarkingtoyoursite,blog,orSocialMediaapplications.




– Randall’sareavailablewww.diigo.com/user/RandallCraig.

Education



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13Other Sites

Overview

AmongthemanySocialMediasites, thereareanumberthatyoumightnotimmediatelyconsidertobeSocialMediaatall.Yetduringthepastfewyears,andforobviousmarketingreasons,eachhasworkedhardtoembedthistypeoffunctionality.Thistrendisunlikelytostop:SocialMediaeffectivelyhasbecomethenewnormalinthemarketingworld,andcertainlysoontheWeb.

eBay

Theworld’slargestandmostubiquitousauctionmarketplace,eBay(www.eBay.com)wasoneofthefirstcompaniestouseSocialMedia. AtthecoreofeBay’sbusinesswastheissueoftrust.Thinkaboutit:Intherealworld,youwalkintoastore,choosewhatyouwanttopurchase,andthenwalktothecashiertoexchangeyourmoneyfortheitemyou’veselected. Whencatalogswerefirstdistributedseveralgenerationsago,thereputationofthecatalogsellerwastheguaranteethatyouwouldreceiveyourmerchan-dise.Whenretailersbegansellingonline,therewaslittlechange,asthetrust

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relationshipwasstillonesellertomanybuyers.Andbecausethetransactionsusedcreditcards,ifneedbe,therewasalwaysthird-partyrecourseincaseofdispute. ThegeniusofeBayisthatitwasthefirstretailertosolvethemany-to-manytrustproblem,byprovidingamechanismforbuyersandsellerstoassessthecoun-terpartyearlyinthetransactionprocess.Bothbuyersandsellersworkedhardforgoodratings:Badratingsmeantfewerbidsandhighertransactionrisk. Overall,considertheSocialMediaelementswithineBay:

• Apersonalprofilegetscreatedforeachuser,whichiscustomizable(seeFigure13.1)withadditionalcontent.

• Userscanlistitemstosell(theultimateinuser-generatedcontent!).

• Userscanbidonlisteditems.

• Commentsgettradedduringthetransaction.

• Usersrateandcommentoneachothers’experienceatthetransactionconclusion.

Figure 13.1. eBayenablesyoutocustomizeyourpersonalprofile.

Other Sites 127

• Therearegroupsand“neighborhoods.”

• Chatroomsareavailable.

OneinterestinguseforeBayistocreateafanbaseforyourolder“classic”products.Thiscanbedonebysettingupagroupforthispurposeandthenreach-ingouttopastbuyersandsellerstoalertthemtoit.Notethattostartagroupyouneedacertainamountoftransactionfeedback. Ifanymembersofyourcompany’sseniormanage-mentteamuseeBay,andtheirusernameisveryclosetotheirrealname,thereisariskthatthisinformationmightappearelsewhere...likeinthepress.Bestchecktoseeifthereisanythingembarrassing,anddealwithitprivately.

Answers Sites

Therearemanysitesthatallowuserstopostquestionsandreceiveanswersfromothermembersofthatcommunity.Thebest-knownonesareYahoo!Answers(answers.yahoo.com),Answers.com,Askville(seeFigure13.2)byAmazon(www.Askville.com),Answerbag.com,Askpedia.com,andseveralothers. Thesitesareallrelativelysimilar:Theuserasksaquestion,whichisthenpostedinaplacewhereotherscansharetheirexperience.Toprovideincentive,somesitesgivepointsforbestanswerormostanswers,allowingareputationtodevelopovertime.Inaddition,thesesitesallowuserstosearchthedatabaseofansweredquestions. VerysimilartothestrategysuggestedforLinkedIn,weseeverylittlebenefitinspendingalargeamountoftimeonthesesitesforthepurposeofdevelopingreputation.Yetthere isanopportunitytoshowcaseyourcompanybyvirtueoftheanswersyouprovidetocertainselectquestions.Whenpeoplesearchonthistopic,youranswerwillappear.Notethatblatantcommercialmessagingisalwaysfrowneduponandwouldlikelyresultintheexactoppositeimpactthatyouwant. Anothergreatuseforanswerssitesisresearchanddevelopment.Reviewingthequestionsandanswersinyourproductorserviceareawilllikelyexposeneedsthatcurrentlyarenotbeingmet.Orareviewmightexposealternateproductuses,newmarketingmessaging,oranearlywarningofacompetitivetrend. Oneachoftheanswerssites,thereareanumberofuserswhohavetakentoansweringquestionsasahobby.Theseareincrediblypowerfulinfluencers,notunlikethebloggerswhoseblogsalsogenerateafollowing.Ifyouareable

Watch Out!A user’s profile page and any transaction feedback given or received is public.


toidentifywhotheinfluentialanswerersare,thenyoumaybeabletoprovidethemadditionalsupport:adirectlinktoyoursecond-levelsupport,productsamples,etc.

Ratings Sites

SomeWebsites(e.g.,Amazon,Barnes&Noble,Travelocity)arebigenoughmarketplacestogatherproductfeedbackandratingsdirectlyfromtheircustom-ers.Infact,theyarebigenoughthattheyareevenabletoasktheiruserstoratetheraters! In other cases, entire sites are devoted to collecting product and servicefeedback.Sitessuchasepinions.com,alatest.com,andviewpoints.comcollectuserfeedbackand(sometimes)marryitwithashoppingcomparisonservice. Thereasonthesesitesaresosuccessfulisclear:Beforespendingmoney,peopledotheirresearch.Theyasktheirfriends,family,andcolleaguesforrecommenda-tions.Becausethesecontactsaretrusted,soaretheirrecommendations.There’slittleneedforcorroboration.

Figure 13.2. Askvilleisonesitewhereyoucanaskquestionsorprovideanswers.(Ya-hoo!isanother.)

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Withratingssites,theuserdoesn’tknowtheraters,sotheelementoftrustseemstoberemoved.Yet,userscanstilllookatthepointsthateachreviewermakesanddecideforthemselveswhetherornottheyarevalid.Whentherearealargenumberofreviews,theusercanfurtherrelyonthelawoflargenumbers:Ifmostofthereviewerssayaproductisgood,thenitprobablyis.(Theycanalsorelyontheratingsofthereviews.) Youmaybetemptedtowriteglowingreviewsonyourproduct,ortoaskyourmarketingagencytodosoforyou.Don’t.Imaginethepublicembarrass-mentifthisbecameknown.Allittakesisonedisgruntledemployee,oronesharpjournalist,andthestoryisout.Afarmorepragmaticapproachistoengagethereviewerdirectly,orbecomepartoftheexchangebywritingyourresponseasafollow-upreview.Monitoringtheratingssitesiscritical,asthesepagesfareverywellinGooglesearchresults. Liketheanswerssites,ratingssitesarealsoasourceofmarketresearchandmarketintelligence.Ifthereviewersallpointoutaspecificdeficiency,oriftheyalllaudafeaturethatonlyyourcompetitorhas,wouldn’tyourproductdevel-opmentpeoplewanttoknowaboutit?Orbetteryet,wouldn’ttheywanttobepartofthedialoguedirectly? Dependingonyourindustry,ratingssitesmaybelessormoreimportant.Gen-erally,thehighertheticketprice,orthemoreapersoncaresaboutapurchase,themoreinvestigationwillbedone—andthemorepeoplewouldbewillingtoactuallywriteareview.Industriessuchastravel,bookselling,automotive,andelectronicsfallintothiscategory.Productsthatarecommoditiesrarelyhaveratings.

Yahoo!

Yahoo!beganitsvenerableexistenceasadirectoryofWebsites,backinthemid-1990s.Itworkedhardtobecomethehomepageofchoiceforusers:addingspe-cializedcontent,email,news,games,and,atthispoint,justabouteverything. Part of that everything is advertising; part is SocialMedia functionality,includingProfiles,Flickr,HotJobs(nowownedbyMonster.com),instantmessag-ing,discussiongroups,ecards,shopping,andmore.Asaconglomerate,Yahoo!canexpectthelistoffunctionalitytochangeovertime:newfunctionalityaddedandotherpartssoldorshutdown. OneofthebeststrategicdecisionsthatYahoo!hasmadehasbeentomakedealswithresidentialInternetserviceproviderstotakeovertheemail,profile,andportalorhomepageservices.ThishaslockedinahugenumberofuserswhoseetheYahoo!homepage,useYahoo!Search,andalloftheotherYahoo!services.


Forsmallbusinesses,Yahoo!ishopingtosellitssearchenginemarketingservices,HotJobsjob-postingservice,Webhosting,ande-commerceservices.Ontheadvertisingfront,MicrosoftandYahoo!haveinkedasearchadvertis-ingpartnershipdeal,whereapurchaseononesystemwillresultinplacementonboth. Thereareseveralnon-advertising-relatedopportunities,however,thatyoushouldbeawareof:

• Yahoo! Directory:Thedirectoryactuallystillexists.Ifyouareanoncom-mercialWebsite,thereisnochargetohaveyoursitelisted.Commercialsitesmustpayarecurringannual fee (about$300) toappear.UnlessyouthinkyourtargetuserbaseusestheYahoo!Directory,don’twasteyourtimeormoney:MostpeoplenowlookforWebsitesusingsearchengines,andGoogleinparticular.

• Yahoo! Search Engine Submission:Atnocost,youareabletosubmityourWebsite,mobilesite,andevenyourmediacontentdirectlytoYahoo!’s

searchengineordirectlytoMicrosoft’sBingsearchengine,whichpowersYahoo!search.(WhileitistruethattheYahoo!SearchmaycomeacrossyourWebsiteorblogeventu-ally,manuallysubmittingitguaranteesthatitwillbeinthesearchindex.)

• Product and Travel Submissions:Ifyouwantyourproducts toappear inYahoo!ShoppingorYahoo!TravelDeals,youareabletousea“pay-per-click”model.Thisisworth testing if your company sells toconsumers.

• Yahoo! Local:Atnocost,youcancreatealistingforyourreal-worldlocation,completewithcontactinformation,address,andalinktoyourWebsite.Thisiseasytodo,butinstructionsarehiddeninanobscureplace;gotolocal.yahoo.comandscrolltothebottomofthepage.Lookfortheheadline“Local Resources”andclick“Add a Business.”

• Yahoo! Upcoming (upcoming.yahoo.com): If your business is event-based,listingyoureventsonthisservicecanpromotethem,aswellasgeneratesomediscussionorcomments.

• Yahoo! Groups:Ifyouarelookingforawaytohostaprivateonlinegroup,completewithcalendar,mailinglist,discussionforum,filestor-

Advanced TipYahoo! provides a way to improve how your search results are shown, just by adding a few lines of HTML code to each of your Web pages. If you have a strong Webmaster, tell him or her to look for SearchMonkey in the Yahoo! Developer Network. Note: As part of the Microsoft‑Yahoo! search market‑ing partnership, Yahoo! is adopting Micro‑soft’s Bing search engine in place of its own; when this occurs, SearchMonkey functional‑ity may no longer be recognized.

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age,etc.,thenYahoo!Groupsmightbeworthlookinginto.Thepriceisright(free),andYahoo!Groupscanbesetupwithverylittletechnicalknowledge.TheadvantageofusingYahoo!overaLinkedIngroupistheadditionalfunctionality,notablyfilestorage.ThemaindisadvantageisthatitisnotastightlyconnectedtoacoreSocialMediaengine:Mostpeopledon’thaverobustprofilesonYahoo!,buttheydohavethemonLinkedIn.Ifyou’re interestedinYahoo!Groups,alsolookatGoogleGroups,whichprovidessimilarfunctionality.

MSN/Windows Live

MSN(www.msn.com)isanotheroftheInternet’smajorportals,createdandmanagedbyMicrosoft.LikeYahoo!,ithasliterallydozensofsubsites,news,careers,games,andotherservices.ItalsohasotherMicrosoftproperties,includ-ingbuilt-inMSNMessenger,Hotmail,andtheBingsearchengine.Thebrand-inghaschangednumeroustimes,andthisportalisnowpartofthe“WindowsLive”experience. WindowsLiveitselfincludesmostofMicrosoft’sSocialMediafunctionality,includingprofiles,photos,groups,calendars,“Spaces”(blog),events,groups,and“SkyDrive”(filestorage).SimilartoFacebook,MySpace,andmanyoftheotherSocialMediasites,WindowsLiveshowsastreamofactivityfromyournetwork. LiketheotherSocialMediasites, ifyourtargetaudiencesspendtimeonMSN/WindowsLive,thenitisworthwhileconsidering.AndlikeYahoo!,therearenumerousadvertisingoptionsalsoavailable—notjustSocialMedia. WhatisinterestingwithWindowsLiveiswhereMicrosoftishopingtotakeitinthefuture.TheWindowsLiveIDisanidentitythatcanbeusedonitsXboxLivevideogamesystem.AnonlineversionofMicrosoftOfficeusesthesameidentitymanagement.OnewouldthinkthataconnectionwithintheWindowsLiveecosystemmightprovideaccesstobusinessusers,sometimeinthefuture.Ourrecommendation,however,istoproceedwithextremecaution:Therehasbeen a history ofmid-course changeswithMicrosoft’s strategy. Speculative“investment”hereisalongshotwithrisk.

Ning and SocialGo

So far,manyof the strategies reviewed require participationon an externalsite:Facebook,LinkedIn,YouTube,etc.Theexpression“Fish where the fish are”definesthesestrategies:InsteadoftryingtoreelusersintoyourWebsite,


yougototheirSocialMedianeighborhoods,“settingupshop”withfanpages,groups,andthelike. Ning,SocialGo,andseverallikeitarecompletelydifferent.Theyareplat-formsforyoutoconstructyourveryownSocialMediasite.Thinkofit:yourownbrandedSocialMediasite,withallthefunctionalityfoundinFacebook,MySpace,orLinkedIn.Theonlythingtheydon’tprovideisauserbase. Withboth sites (NingandSocialGo), youcan joinotherpeople’spublicnetworks,oryoucancreateoneofyourown.Bothsystemshaveafreeandapremium-paidversion.OnNing,forexample,dependingonhowmuchyoupayeachmonth,youcanuseyourowndomainname,removeadvertising,andusemorebandwidthandstorage.SocialGodoesthesame,butalsoaddsfeaturestoallowformemberbilling. Whensettingupthesite,youwillhaveanoptiontomakeitprivate—hiddenfromallbutinvitees—orpublic—availabletoeverybody.Bothhavetheiruses.Privatesitescanbefortop-tierclients,yoursuppliers,oryourformeremployees.Publicsitesmightbeforprospectiveandexistingcustomers. TheNingnetworkshown inFigure13.3 is forchapterpresidentsof theNationalSpeakersAssociation.Itdoesn’tgetmorespecificthanthat!

Figure 13.3. NingisaplatformforcreatingyourownSocialNetwork.

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Theadvantageofhavingyourownnetworkisthatyoucanmakeittightlyfocusedonanimportantbusi-nesspriority.Ofcourse,thenarrowerthesitefocus,thefewerusersyouwillattract,andthetougheritwillbetofindthem.Yet,thosewhomyoudoattractwillhaveahigherdegreeofloyaltythanatypicaluserfromapublicnetworksuchasLinkedInorFacebook. Thesenetworksdohaveadownside:Theyarewalled gardens.Theymayprovide beautiful func-tionalityontheinside,buttheydon’tplaywellwithothers.Whathappens,forexample,ifyouwanttoextractalloftheconversations,profiles,groups,andotherresources?It’sjustaboutimpossible.Moretoughquestions:Whopreciselyownsthecontent?DoestheSocialMediaplatformcompany(NingorSocialGo)havetherighttouse“your”namesfortheirownmarketingpurposes?Andwhathappensto“your”siteiftheygobankrupt?Readthefineprint! Assumingthatyoudecidedtobuildanetworkononeoftheseplatforms,hereistheprocess:

1. Searchtoseeifsomeoneelsehastakenyouridea.Ifyouarebothfightingforthesamepeople,itwillbeadrawn-out,draining,anddiscouragingwarofattrition.Findaway todifferentiate—anddistinguish—yourproposedinitiativefromothers.

2. Register,andchoosethefunctionalitythatyouwishtoenable.Werecommendthatyougowithoneofthepaidoptions,ifonlytoremovetheadvertisingandbeabletouseyourowndomainname.

3. Pre-seedthesitewithcontentfromyourcompanyandfrom“friends”ofyourcompany.

4. Sendgeneralinvitationsforotheruserstojoin.Thisismoreeffectiveiftheyaregivenatasteofthecontentthatwillawaitthemiftheyregister.(Thismightmeangivingawayawhitepaperorebook,oritmaymeanhighlightingthenamesofwell-knowncontributors.)

5. Addthewidget(aninteractiveadvertisement)fromthesiteontoyourotherWebpropertiestogathermoreusers.

6. Finally,you’llwanttocontributetotheconversationyourself,monitorpost-ings,andcontinuetomarketthesite,bothonlineandoffline.

Watch Out!The terms and conditions gov‑erning these sites change from time to time—often not in your favor. Yes, read the fine print, but keep doing it every six months or so, just in case.


Google

Googleistheelephantintheroom.WhilemostpeoplemayuseGoogle’ssearchengine,thenumberofinnovativeWebapplicationstheyhavespawnedistre-mendous.WhatisinterestingishowquicklysomanyofthesehavedevelopedaSocialMediaorcollaborativehook.Considersomeofwhattheydo:

• YouTube:Thisisavideo-sharingservice,nowwiththeabilityforuserstocomment,rate,follow,andsubscribe.

• Picasa:Thisserviceoffersphotosharing;itisverysimilartoYahoo!’sFlickr.

• Feedburner:Thisaddsmorefunctionality,andtracking,toyourblogs.

• Places: ConnectyourphysicallocationtoGooglelocation-basedsearchresults;youcanalsoaddcoupons,whichappearalongsideyoursearchresultsinGoogleMaps.(Notethatpeoplecanalsorateandcommentaboutyourbusiness.)

• Orkut:PopularSouthAmerican(andIndian)SocialNetwork,similartoFacebook.GmailcontactscanbeOrkut“friends.”

• Profiles:Thiscanincorporatephotosfrompopularphoto-sharingsites;youhavecontroloverwhocanseewhatinformationyoupost.

• Buzz:ThisisverysimilartoTwitterorFacebook’swall,exceptthatitiscompletelyintegratedintoGmail.

• Lattitude:ThisisasystemthatreliesontheGPSwithinyourphonethatplotsyourphysicallocation—andyourfriends—onamap.

• Google Docs:ThisisaWeb-basedspreadsheet,wordprocessor,andpresentationprogramthatisdesignedtocompetewithMicrosoftOffice.Whatmakestheseuniqueisthatgroupsofpeoplecancollaborateonthedocuments,makingchangestothesamedocu-mentsimultaneously.

• Calendar:ThisisaWeb-basedcalendarthatotherscanshare(ifyouwish).

Watch Out!Search for your business within Google Maps, and when you find it, you’ll want to “Claim Your Business.” If you don’t do this, someone else can.

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• Groups:Very similar functionality toYahoo!groups:Youcan joinapublicgrouporcreateyourownpublicorprivategroup.ThisisbetterthanYahoo! fordiscussions,but less functional forfileorganization,andithasnobuilt-incalendaring.(GoogleCalendarcanbeused,butstrangely,itcurrentlyisn’tintegrated.)

• Google Wave:ThisisaSocialMedia-baseddiscussiongroup,document,andmessagingsystem,designedtohelpindividualscollaborateinrealtime.Itisrelativelynew,butpromising.

• Google Android and Chrome OS:AndroidisGoogle’smobilephone-basedoperatingsystem,andChromeOSisGoogle’soperatingsystemforlaptopsanddesktops.WhilethesebythemselvesarenotSocialMediaplatforms,theyareexamplesofGoogle’sreach—rightdowntotheop-eratingsystemitself.Overthenextfewyears,expectsomeofGoogle’sinnovationtofirstappear(orbetested)onAndroidorChromeOS—andthenelsewhere.

Probably one of themost interesting Google innovations is GoogleFriendConnect.LiketheFacebookversionofthis,itinvolvesaddingsomeHTMLcodetoyourWebsite,whichallowsuserstousetheirGoogleprofiletobecomea“member”ofyour site.UnlikeNingorSocialGo,whicharemerelylinkstoyourWebsite,GoogleFriendConnectisembeddedcompletelywithinit. DependingonwhatGoogleFriendConnectmodulesyouchoosetoimple-ment,userscanparticipateindiscussions,ratepagecontent,postrecommenda-tions,subscribetonewsletters,andmore.Onthebackend,thereareanalyticstoallowyoutounderstandmoreaboutyourusersandtheirpreferences.GoogleFriendConnectisaninterestingwaytobringSocialMediafeaturestoeventhemoststaidofWebsites,withoutanexpensivetechnologyoverhaul.

First Steps

1. AsyouspendtimeonyourfavoriteWebsites,whetheritbeanewssite,ashoppingsite,oracustomer’sorsupplier’ssite,considerhowtheyhaveusedSocialMediatechniques—andhowyoumightusetheirexperienceforyourbenefit.


2. Considerthequestion:Doesitmakemoresensetolatchontoa“public”SocialMediasite(suchasLinkedIn,Facebook,etc.),createyourown(NingorSocialGo),orembedSocialMediafunctionalitywithinyourregularsite(e.g.,FacebookOpenGraphorGoogleFriendConnect)?



Software/Tools

• Thesiteslistedintheintroductiontothischapterarealllinkedfromthebook’scompanionWebsite.




• Mashable’sGoogleSocialMediapageislocatedatwww.mashable.com/social-media/google.

Books

• Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords,2ndEdition,January2010Thisbook,nowinitssecondedition,givescomprehensiveguidance

andstrategyforGoogleAdWordsadvertising.Whileit’snotSocialMedia-focused,forthosewhoareinterested,it’sagreatplacetostart.

Education

• Susanhasongoing livewebinarsandrecordedonlinecoursesonthistopicavailablethroughthewebinarsandonlinestoreathersite,http://www.susansweeney.com,andprovidesaccesstoothers’coursesonthe

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subjectthroughheronlinelearningportal,eLearningU,athttp://www.elearningu.com.



14Mobile Access

Overview

WhoisusingtheirmobiledeviceforSocialMediathesedays?Well,usersarealloverthemapintermsofadoption.Wehavesomeuserswithmobiledevicesthatdon’thavethecapabilitytosurftheWeb,wehaveuserswiththetechnologybutnottheinterestorinclination,wehaveuserswhosporadicallyandselectivelyusetheirmobiledevicetoaccesstheinternet,andthenwehaveothersstillwhodoeverythingontheirmobiledeviceandrarelygototheircomputersanymore.ManyyoungerpeoplewithnocomputerontheirdeskbutaniPhoneontheirhipfeelverycomfortablewiththistechnology. NolongerdowehavetositinfrontofourcomputerstoparticipateinourSocialMediaconversations.Facebook,Twitter,andmanysocialvenueshaveappsthatareoptimizedtoworkwithmobiledevices;so,havephonewilltravel.

Interesting Stats

UsersofiPhoneandBlackBerryhavecompletelydifferentexperienceswhenusingtheirmobiledevices.TheiPhoneuserssurfanduseapplicationsmore.Interestingstatistics:AccordingtoMorganStanley’sMobileInternetReport,theiPhone

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Mobile Access 139

hasarelativelysmallglobalunitshipmentshareof17percentbutastaggering65percentofallHTMLmobilepageviewsshare(Figure14.1). Another interestingstatistic fromMorganStanley’sreport:58percentofiPhoneusersdo socialnetworking through theirmobiledeviceas comparedto14percentoftheaveragemobileusersand43percentofSmartphoneusers(Figure14.2). AccordingtoarecentIDCsurveyreport,morethan50percentofrespon-dents inChina,India,SouthKorea,andThailandaccesssocialnetworksviamobilephones.InChinaandThailand,62percentand65percentofthesurveyrespondentsusemobilephonestogetnewsalertsandnotifications,receiveandreply tomessages,uploadphotos,orupdatepersonal statusandprofilesonpopularSocialNetworkingsites.

Applications

Withtheinternet,wewentfromWebsiteswherepeoplevisitedustogetinfor-mation,topermission-basedmarketingwherewepushedtheinformationtoourtargetmarket,tosocialmarketingwherewehavetwo-waycommunication.We

Figure 14.1. MorganStanley’sMobileInternetReportshowstheiPhonewith65percentofallHTMLmobilepageviews—yettheiPhonehasonly17percentoftheglobalunitshipmentshare.


haveseenthesameevolutionwiththemobilephone.Firstitwasfortelephoneconversations,thenitmovedtopermission-basedcommunicationwherewegave

permission to businesses to sendupdatesandpromotionstoourmobiledevices,andnowwith theSocialMediaboomweareseeingtwo-waycommunicationexplode.Todaythenumberofapplicationsavail-ableonourmobiledevices thatenableustocommunicate,market,andsellhasgonethroughtheroof.Ifyoucanthinkit,thereis probably an app that cando it.Thesegofromthesimplestraightforwardusesoftechnology to the“Amazing—how’d theydothat!!”applications.Wehaveallseenthesimplethingslikepictureandvideouploadapplicationstoen-ableustosendthosemediadirectlytoourblog,Flickr,Facebook,andTwitter.

Figure 14.2. AccordingtoMorganStanley’sInternetReport,58percentofiPhoneus-ersdoSocialNetworkingthroughtheirmobiledevice.

ArmaniA few years ago, I was shopping at Armani in South Beach. On checking out, the clerk asked if I wanted to save on my purchase. . . . Well, yeah. All I had to do was text Armani (giving permission for future texts to me I am sure, but who reads that stuff when you’re at the checkout with a lineup) and I received an immediate response via text on my cell with the discount code that I had to provide to the cashier to receive my discount on that day’s purchase. Every 10 days or so I was provided additional information on hot deals.

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• GoogleLatitudeisatoolthatallowsyoutoseewhereyourfriendsareonamapandprovidesthecapabilitytocontactthemwithSMS,IM,oraphonecall.Youcancontrolyourlocationandwhogetstoseeit.

• WithBump(Figure14.3),youcan“bump”twophones(currentlyworksontheiPhoneandAndroid)togetherandswapallorsomeofyourcon-tactscompletewithphotos.Contactinformationissaveddirectlyintotheaddressbooks,andphotosaresaveddirectlytothecamerarollofbothparticipantsintheswap.It’sa1-2-3process:(1)OpenBumponbothphones. (2)Whileholdingthephones,gentlybumpyourhandstogether.And(3)Confirmtheexchange.

• RedLaserisaniPhonebarcodescanner.Onceyoudownloadthisapp,youcanscananiteminastorewithyouriPhonecameraandinstantlyhaveaccesstocomparativeonlinepricesandinformation.Scanabookbarcodeandcheckforonlinereviews.

• Twitter360isaniPhoneappthatletsyouvisuallyseetheflowoftweetsfromlocationsnearby.

AugmentedRealityistakingonalifeofitsown.JohnCox,inarecentar-ticleinNetworkWorld,definesAugmentedReality(AR)thisway,“AugmentedRealityisacoalescingoftechnologiesthatpromisestocreateanewinteractive

Figure 14.3. BumpenablesSmartphonestoswapallorsomeoftheircontacts,com-swapallorsomeoftheircontacts,com-pletewithphotos,by“bumping”thephonestogether.

SMS (short message service)Otherwise known as “tex‑ting” from a mobile device.


relationshipbetweenmobileusersandtheirsurroundings.”Hegoesontofurtherdescribethetechnology:“You’reabletoaugmenttherealityyouseewithdatadrawnfromavarietyofdifferentonlinesources,suchasWikipedia,YouTube,Flickr,orcommercialcontentproviders.” Apps are alreadydeveloped to overlay restaurant information,ATM lo-cations,andtoaccessinformationfromthesocial-rankingsiteYelp;andtheWikitudeWorldBrowserpresentsuserswithdataabout their surroundings,nearbylandmarks,andotherpointsofinterestbyoverlayinginformationonthereal-timecameraviewofaniPhone. Thereareover140,000iPhoneapplicationsalone.Takesometimetosiftthroughandbecomefamiliarwith the typesofapplicationsyourcustomers,yoursuppliers,andyourcompetitorsareusing.

Mobile Capabilities Now and in the Near Future

SomethingshavegonefromtheWebtothemobiledevice,othershavegonefromthemobiledevicetotheWeb,andsomethingsareforthemobilede-viceonly. Thecapabilitiesofthemobiledeviceareescalatingrapidly.Witheachnewfeature,thereseemstobeadditionalSocialMediaandSocialNetworkingca-pabilitiesandopportunities.Featurestodayandtomorrowinclude:

• Camera

• Video

• GPS

• Compass

• Distantvideosurveillance

• MobileTV

• Globalroaming

• Videoondemand

• Mobilevideoconferences

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• Remotecontrolofhouseholdappliances

• Mobilecommerce

• Multi-channelhi-fitelevisionbroadcasts.

First Steps

1. Familiarizeyourselfwiththemobilespace.What’shappeningandwhatare theopportunities inyour industry?Whatare the leaders inyourindustrydoing?Whatisyourtargetmarketusing?

2. Determinewhatyourcompetitionisdoingandwhattheirplansareinthemobilespace.

3. Formostbusinesses,youwanttodevelopyourstrategytobeleadingedge—notbleedingedgewhereyoumusteducateconsumersbeforeyoucanengagethem.



Software/Tools

• ForiPhonesandiPhoneapps,thebestplacetolookisiTunes.Evenifyoudon’thaveaniPhoneyourself,downloadingthefreeiTunessoft-wareandgoingintotheiTunesstoretolookwillgiveyousomegreatideas.Atthetimeofpublication,thereweresignificantlymoreiPhoneappsthanAndroid,PalmPre,orMicrosoftapps,whichiswhywearerecommendingthatyoulooktherefirst.





• Mashable’smobileSocialMediapageislocatedatwww.mashable.com/mobile.

Books

• Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are, byCindyKrum,March2010Thisbookofover300pagesprovidesdetailedinformationonmo-

bilemarketingstrategyandhowto integrate itwithothermarketinginitiatives.

Education



Tactical Ideas 145

15Tactical Ideas

ThischapterisdesignedtoexposeyoutotheextremelywidevarietyofexistingSocialMediaopportunities.Thislistcertainlyisn’texhaustive,andeveryideacanbeimplementedinuntoldvariations. Manyoftheideasfitintoseveralcategories.Forexample,participatinginindustryforumsanddiscussiongroupsmightbegreatcustomerservice,butalsogreatformarketingandnewproductdevelopment. Theideaspresentedarequitebroad;somearedesignedtobeaddedtoex-istingWebinitiatives,othersarestand-alonecampaigns,mobilestrategies,etc.Somemayappearquiteexciting,butbeforeyourushtoimplementone,firstconsiderhowitfitswithinyouroverallplan:TheSocialMediapriorityplanner,describedindetailinthenextchapter,willhelpyoudothis.

Sales

• Embedcross-sellingfunctionalityintoyourWebsite,basedonrealcus-tomerdata:“Customerswhobought[this]bought[that].”

• Embed recommendations functionality into yourWeb site, basedonreal customer data: “Customerswho looked at [this] also looked at[that].”

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• EmbedwishlistsintoyourWebsite,withtheabilitytosharethewishlistwithfriends.

• Allowyourcustomerstoputtogetherproductlistsandtheirownrecom-mendations;thinkofitaspersonalizedshareablebest-sellerlists.

• Createaninterviewshow(audioorvideo)featuringtheproductandhowitcanbeused.

• Tweettime-limiteddiscountcodestoyourfollowers.Advertisethisoffline.

• Tweetlimitedavailabilityofyourproductsorservices.“52widgetsleft”...“availableteetimes”...etc.

• Createaquizforsalesrepresentativesonproductbenefits;allowthemtosharewiththeirclientsandprospects.

•Payanaffiliatecommissiontothosewhorecom-mendyourproductintheirblogandprovidealinktoyourshoppingcartpage.(Notethatthiswillrequiredisclosureontheirblog.)

• Createaninternalsalesmentorshipblogthatallowsexperiencedsalesandmarketingprofessionalstosharetheirexpertisewithnewerhires.

• DevelopaniPhone,Android,BlackberryorPalm“app”thatprovidesdetailsonyourproductsorservices—andconnectsyourexperienceus-ingthemwithother,similarusers.Leveragethisfurtherbyembeddinglinkstoinitiateasale.

• Solicit,andthenembed,producttestimonialswithintheshoppingcartupsellandcheckoutpages.

• Incorporate“TellaFriend”elementsrelatedtoyourproducts,services,specials,packages,coupons,discounts,contests,andnewproducts.

• Provideapasswordforlimited-timespecialsonyourFacebookpage.

• Tweetgreatdealsthatareavailableforthenext20customersthatwalkintoyourstoreandgivethesecretcode.

Affiliate A term used to describe others who sell your products on their Web sites, for a small commission.

Tactical Ideas 147

Customer Service

• Solicitcustomerstocreateandsharevideosabouttheinstallationprocess.

• StartupaNingorSocialGonetworkfordifferentcategoriesofcus-tomers.

• LinkedIngroup:Setupaclientpagewithproductnews,aswellassupport.

• Participateinindustryforumsanddiscussiongroups.

• Participateinthird-partyforumsorgroupswithinMySpace,Facebook,andLinkedIn.

• Askyouremployeestospendsometimeonanswerssitesasunofficialcompanyrepresentatives,respondingtoquestionsonyourproductsandhowtousethem.

• Participateofficiallyonanswerssites.

Marketing: General

• EmbedSocialMedialogosthroughoutyoursite,linkingtoyourSocialMediaprofilesoneachplatform.

• Runacontest:FacebookorFlickrtaggingoftheproductphotographedinuniquelocations,orusedinauniquemanner.

• List your Twitter accounts in directories such as wefollow.com,twellow.com,andjusttweetit.com.

• CustomizeagamecreatedonFacebookaroundtheproductusage.

• CustomizeagamecreatedonaniPhonearoundtheproductusage,orinvolvingphotographingtheproductasit’sbeingused.

• Createapodcastseriesfeaturingcompanypersonalities,products,cus-tomers,orsuppliers.


• Makeapaidproductplacementinathird-partygameorvirtualworld.

• IncludeTwitterandFacebookaddressesinads,brochures,etc.

• Blogaboutnewproducts.

• Tweetaboutnewproducts.

• Twitter:Askcustomerstodescribehowtheyuseyourproducts.

• Video:HoldacontesttocreateaTV(orYouTube)commercialforyourproduct.

• CreateaFacebookfanpageforyourproducts.

• Allowyourcustomers(andothers)torankyourproductsonyoursite.

• Allowyourcustomers(andothers)towritereviewsofyourproductsonyoursite.

• Incorporateviralmarketingor“TellaFriend”throughoutyourblogandWebsite.

• IncludeSocialMedialinkswithinemailsignatures.

• Commentonothers’blogpostings.

• Startacampaigntoincreaseproductsalesrankings(e.g.,geteveryonetopurchasefromaparticularsiteononeday).

• Setuponlinevotingforcorporatesocialresponsibilityfunding.TheAvivaInsurancecompany’s“AvivaCommunityFund”(Figure15.1)isagreatexampleofthis.Checkitoutathttp://www.avivacommunityfund.org.

• Ask your employees (andother stakeholders) to set their status to acommonmessageonaparticularday.

• Useyourblogtosolicitproducttestimonials.

• Holdacontestforthebestadaptationormodificationofyourproduct.

Tactical Ideas 149

• Providetheabilityforyourcustomers(andothers)tosharetheirrecipes,maps,orotherideaswithotherusers.

• Ifyourmarketinginitiativeisnationalinscope,makeaspecialdealwithFacebook,MySpace,andotherSocialMediaforspecialadplacement,coverage,etc.

• Paytochangethebackgroundofcertainpagestoincludeyourbranding.

• Giveyourproductstoprominentbloggersfortheirreview.(Note:Recentlegislationrequiresthattheydisclosethenatureofany“gift”thattheyweregiven.)

• Hostprominentbloggers,Tweeple,andotherSocialMediapersonalitieswithabehind-the-scenestourofyourproductionorR&Dfacility.

• Developaquizorgameonend-customers’productknowledge,reward-ingthemforcorrectanswersandforsharingthequizwithothers.

• Createasurveyonproductusagebydemographic.

• Startanaudiopodcastseriesinterviewingpeopleinyourindustry.

Figure 15.1. Avivaprovidesonlinevotingforcorporatesocialresponsibilityfunding.


• Startapodcastseriesinterviewingcustomers.

• Startavideopodcastor“TVshow.”

• Useavideo-syndicationservicesothatyourvideoiscross-postedauto-maticallyondozensofvideo-sharingsites.

• Createanebookthatcompilescommentsfromablog,andthendistributethistoalist.

• RetrofityourWebsitewithan“AddThis”or“ShareThis”widget.ThiswillallowthepagelinktobesharedviajustaboutanySocialMediaservice.

• Activelysupport“unofficial”groupsdevotedtoyourproducts.

• Tweetaboutproductlaunchesinrealtime.

• DevelopstandardhashtagsforanyofficialTweetsfromyourcompany.

• EmbedwidgetsonyourWebsite(s):Twitterfeed,Blogheadlines,etc.

• Provideanswer-sitesuper-userswithproductsamples,professionalde-velopment,earlynew-productnotices,etc.

• UseTwittertotakequestionsfromtheaudienceduringawebinar.

• UseTwittertotakequestionsduringalivepresentation.

• MonitorTwitterpostingsduringalivepresentationtoaddressaudiencediscontent.

• Includea“Sendthispagetoafriend”linkoneverypageofyourWebsite.

PR and Crisis Management

• Developacrisismanagementplan,justincase.

• CheckTwittertrendingtopicsforcrisisPRearlywarning.

Tactical Ideas 151

• SetupGoogleAlertswiththecompany’sname,tomonitorwhereandhowyourcompanynameisbeingused.

• SetupGoogleAlertswiththenamesofyourseniormanagement,toalertthecompanytopossibleproblems.

• UseTweetDeck,Seesmic,orHootSuitetosetupandmonitorTwittersearchesforyourcompanyname.

• UseTweetDeck,Seesmic,orHootSuitetosetupandmonitorTwittersearchesforthenamesofseniormanagers.

• UsetargetedPPCadvertisementstodrawconcernedpeopletoyoursideofthestory.

• AppointsomeonewhoisfamiliarwithSocialMediatoactasaspokes-person.

• CreateunpublishedfanpageswithinFacebookonanumberofpossiblecrisisscenarios,readyforemergencydeployment.

• Crisisresponse:Mobilizeyourworkforce,customers,andsupplierstorisetoyourdefenseonline.

• CreateaspecialTwitteraccountspecificallyforcrises.

• CheckTwittertrendingtopicsforproactivePRopportunities.

• Officially“leak”newproductplanstorumorWebsites.

• Strategically leak details about upcoming products in your blog, onTwitter,onFacebook,etc.

• Addselectbloggerstoyourmedia-releasedistributionlist.

Recruitment

• Create“Dayinthelife”YouTubevideosforthemostcommonlyrecruit-ed-forpositions.


• PosteventphotosonFlickr,Facebook,MySpace.

• Createavirtualrecruitmentcenter.

• Postanew-employeeblogwithquestionsandanswers.

• Postvideoexamplesofinterviews.

• Participate in job searchWeb site blogs anddiscussion groups (e.g.,Monster).

• ParticipateincareerWebsiteblogsanddiscussiongroups(e.g.,Vault).

• PartnershipswithrecruitmentWebsites;hosttheblogormoderateaforum.

• Havea“Recommendafriend”linkonyourWebsiteorblogtofindnewcandidates.

• PostjoblistingsonLinkedIn.

• LinkedIn:Putalinktoyourjobpostinginthegroupsthatyoubelongto.

• LinkedIn:Candidateduediligenceandreference-checking.

• CreateacustomcompanypageonLinkedIn.

• AdvertiseyourcompanyonLinkedIn.

• RunLinkedIn“talent-direct”emailcampaigns.

• Facebook:Runtargetedpay-per-clickadvertisements.

• Internally:UseaWikiasanonboardingtool.

• SendTweetsaboutnewopenings.

• PostnewopeningsonFacebookandanyotherSocialMediasites.

• Createaquiz:“Willyoumakeagoodemployee?”Collectanswersandpostthemonline,withthedemographics.

Tactical Ideas 153

• CreateaWikithatallowsallnewhirestoanswerthequestion:“WhatcanIdobeforeIstartmyjobtoimprovemysuccessafterIstart?”

• CreateaWikiorblogtoimprovetheon-boardingprocess;haveemploy-eeswritetipsforthenewesthires.

• ReviewtheSocialMediaprofilesofnewrecruitspriortohiringthemaspartofthereferencechecking/duediligenceprocess.

• WriteaSocialMediapolicyguideanddistributeittoallemployees.

Research and Development

• Holdfocusgroupsandinterviewswithprominentbloggers,Tweeple,answer-site super-users, andother SocialMedia personalities to gettheirperspectiveonproductchangesandnew-productdevelopment.

• CreateTweets andblog entries calling for user feedbackon currentproducts.

• CreateTweetsandblogentriesaskingforideasfornewproducts.

• CreateTweetsandblogentriesaskingforbetatestersofnewproducts.

• DobetatestingusingLinkedIn’shighlytargetedmarketresearchcapability.

• Createusersurveys(basedonTwitterfollowers,Facebookfriends,orMySpacefans)tocollectdataonmarketrequirements.

• DomarketresearchthroughLinkedIn’sfacilitytohighlytargetspecificprofessionaldemographics.

• Getrecommendationsforexistingandnewprod-uctsthroughcrowdsourcing.

• CheckTwittertrendingtopicsfornewbusinessopportunities.

• Checkanswerssitesfortrendingtopicsandnewbusinessopportunities.

Crowdsourcing To throw a question to a large group of people, and then use their feedback (and their conversations) to guide your actions.


Training

• CreateWikihow-to’s.

• CreateYouTubedemonstrationvideos.

• Askyourcustomerstouploadtheirhow-tovideos.

• Askyourcustomerstouploadtheirinstallationvideos.

• UploadproductshotstoFlickrandotherphoto-sharingsites.

• AskyourcustomerstouploadtheirphotostoFlickrandotherphoto-sharingsites.

• Upload instructionmanual chapters as blog postings, and ask yourcustomers,installers,salesteam,andengineerstoaddcommentstothepostings.

• Createaquick-tipsblogorWikiforeachproduct;askyourserviceper-sonneltoputittogether.

• Createinternal“just-in-time”trainingvideosandpodcastsoncommoncompanyprocessesandsystems.

• RecordtheWebcastsfromyouroutsidetrainersandpostthemonaninternalblogforcommentsandquestions.

• Askallparticipantswithinatrainingworkshoptocollaborateonbestpractices,usingGoogleDocs.

• UseTwittertocreateabackchannelfortrainingquestionsandissues.

Finance and Administration

• Microblogyourcompany’sannualmeeting.

• Addaninvestor-relations-orientedLinkedIngroupthatanyonecanjoin.

Tactical Ideas 155

• Considerwhichbloggersshouldbetreatedasfinancialanalystsandme-dia,andthentreatthemaccordingly(e.g.,addthemtoinvestorrelationsdistributionlists,analystbriefings,etc.).

• EmbedSocialMediaguidelinesintoallofthecompany’sdocumentation(acceptablecomputerusepolicies,confidentialitypolicies,PRandmediarelationspolicies,etc.).

• Ifyouareapubliccompany,askyourattorneysforclarificationregard-ing SocialMedia comments and participation prior to any financialannouncement.

• SetatimeanddollarbudgetforSocialMediaexperimentation.Andsetadatewhenopportunisticexperimentationendsandintegratedplanningbegins.

• Ensurethatanymarketing-oradvertising-basedSocialMediainitiativeisbudgetedwithinthatdepartment.

• Ensurethatanyrecruiting-orHR-basedSocialMediainitiativeisbud-getedwithinthatdepartment.

• Decideonwhatbaselinebudget is required forongoing compliance,technicalsupport,andothersharedcosts.

• Ensurethataspecificpersonanddepartmentareaccountableforthebudgetplanning.

• ReadthefineprintoneachSocialMediasitetodeterminewhoownsthecontentandwhethertheSocialMediasitehastherighttousethelistofregistrantsforitsownpurposes.

• AssessthecostofmovingtheSocialMediainitiativefromtheproposedplatformtoadifferentone. (Thismightbedonebecauseofchangedtermsandconditions,riskofinsolvency,purchaseoftheplatformbyacompetitor,etc.)

• Assess theopportunity cost to thebusiness in case the SocialMediaplatformshutsdownabruptlyorincasetheSocialMediaplatformhasamulti-hour(ormulti-day)outage.Thenplanforthesecontingencies,bothoperationallyandfinancially.


Supply Chain and Production

• Setupalogisticson-timeratingsystemforyourindustry.

• Setupasupplierquality-ratingsystemforyourindustry.

• Connectconsumerproductratingsbacktoeachsupplierforqualityas-surancepurposes.

• SolicitYouTube-type video proposals from suppliers; and set up anevaluationteamtovoteandcommentontheproposalsonline.

• UseTwitter(oraprivatemicro-bloggingplatform)toletdistributorsandwholesalersknowaboutproductissuesandgeneraldelays.

• Solicitfeedbackdirectlyfromretailersaboutproductissues,newproductideas,etc.(Normallythesellerattheendofthesupplychainishiddenfromthemanufacturerbydistributorsandotherintermediaries.)

• Feedproductqualityinformationbackintoanonlinebiddingsystem.

• UseGoogleDocstocollaboratewithsuppliers.

First Steps

1. Canyouaddtothislist?Checkoutyourcompetition,yourcustomers,andyoursuppliersforideas.Sendusyourideasandwe’lladdtothislistonthebook’scompanionWebsite.

2. Itwouldnevermakesensetodoeverythingonthelist,butdosomeofthespecificitemsmakesense?Highlighttheseaspossibilitiesforconsid-erationinthenextchapter.

Putting the Plan Together 157

16Putting the Plan Together

TherearefourphasestoanySocialMediaproject:planning,implementation,monitoring,andevaluation.Thischapterreviewsplanningandimplementation;thenextchapterreviewsmonitoringandevaluation.

Planning

Theplanningphasedeterminesexactlywhat isbeingdone,why, forwhom,howitwillbeaccomplished,andhowitwillbemeasured.TheSocialMediaPriorityPlannerfromPinetreeAdvisors,shownalittlelaterinthischapter,canbeusedasaguide. Yourcompany’sSocialMediastrategymustalwaysfitwithintheframeworkofyourcompany’soverallbusinessstrategy.WhileitistruethattheuniquenatureofSocialMediamightmeanthatyourcompany’soverallbusinessstrategyshouldbeextended,itshouldn’tbechanged.(IfSocialMediaitselfgetsyourethinkingaboutwhatyourcorporatestrategyshouldbe,thenofcoursegobackandrevisityourstrategy.Onceithasbeenredefined,thencomebacktoyourSocialMediastrategy.Don’tlettheSocialMediadogwagthecorporatestrategytail!)

Define Social Media Audiences

Mostcompanies interactwithmanydifferent stakeholdergroups:prospects,customers,employees,potentialjobcandidates,shareholders,themedia,andthe

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generalpublic.Evenwithineachofthesegroups,therecanbeimportantsubdivi-sions.Customerscanbelong-timecustomersornewones.Theycanpurchaseonetypeofproductoranother.Theirdecision-makerscanbeyoungerorolder.Theycanbemajorcustomers,orjustoccasionalones.Theymaybelocatedinoneregionornational.Andsoon. WhomdoyouwishtotargetwithyourSocialMediainitiative?Whileit’stemptingtouseagenericgrouping,thetighteryoucandefineyourtarget,thecleareryourmessagecanbe.Aswell,sincedifferentgroupshavedifferentcom-municationpreferences,youneed tobuildyour initiativeon therightSocialMediaplatform,improvingengagementevenfurther. Ontheotherhand,ifyouaresonarrowinyourtargetdefinition,thenyouwon’thaveenoughcriticalmass.It’srarelyworthitifyoudevelopaSocialMediainitiativeforjustahandfulofclients. Werecommendchoosingtwoorthree,oratmostfour,keytargetaudiences.

Define Your Social Media Goals, by Audience

Whilesomeaudiencesmaysharethesamegoal,usuallytheyaredifferent—oratleastnuanced.Somesamplegoals:

• Toattractthebestjobcandidates

• Tobuildacustomer-to-customerproductsupportstructure

• Togeneratebuzzfornew-productlaunches

• Torepositionthebrandforyoungeraudiences

• Toimprovesearchenginerankingforspecifickeywords

• Tocollectimplementationcasestudiesfromcustomers.

We’vejustrecommendedstartingwithaudiences,thendrillingdowntogoals.Sometimescompaniesfinditeasiertostartwithgoalsandthendrilldowntotheaudiences.Inpractice,itisaniterativeprocess.Oncethegoalsareset,youwillneedtoreviewtheaudiences.(Andifthegoalsarechosenfirst,thentheymayneedtoberevisitedaftertheaudiencesarechosen.) Foreachaudience,thereshouldbeadetailedanalysis:

• Demographics:DefiningthedemographicswilllaterallowyoutobettermatchtheSocialMediaplatformtothegroup.


• Behaviors: AnalyzingbehaviorswillhelpyouidentifywhereSocialMe-diamightfitintoexistingprocesses.Forexample,customerstypicallygothroughapurchaseprocessthatinvolvesseekingrecommendationsfromfriendsandcolleagues.Sinceweknowthis,wemightchoosetobuildarecommendationssystemintoouronlinestore.

Inaddition,mighttherebeachallengethatcouldpreventusersfromengaginginaSocialMediainitiative,orchangethenatureoftheirinvolvement?A simple example of this canbe foundby considering the teenager targetgroup.Theydon’thavelaptops,butmostcarryaphoneallday.Forthisgroup,aWeb-basedSocialMediainitiativewillbefarmoreeffec-tiveifithadastrongmobilecomponent.

• Current challenges:Tryasitmight,nocompanyisabsolutelyperfect.Imagine thatyouhadoneofyour targetaudiencegroups ina roomandtheywereaskedtoidentifyyourcompany’sweaknesses.WhilenoteverythingisfixableusingSocialMedia,afewthingswouldarisethatcouldbeaddressed.

• Personas:Thisisoneofthemostpowerfulmarketingtechniques,anditappliesperfectlyintheSocialMediaworld.Apersonaisafictitiousrepresentativeofatypicalmemberofthegroup.Twoexamples—oneforaperson,oneforacompany:

– Jennifer:Inherearlythirties,JenniferdivideshersparetimebetweengoingtoStarbucks,takingYogaclasses,andtakingpaintingclasses.She’sanavidFacebookuser,bothkeepingupwithherfamilybackhomeandconnectingwithherfriendsinthecity.SheworksasasalesrepforNikeandisthrilledaboutherupcomingmarriage.

– Northpark Fabrication:Steadyasshegoes,Northparkhasbeenaclientfordecades,maintainingasmallbutsteadystreamofsales.With150employeesandcentralizedpurchasing,thecompanyhasgrownover25percent inthepasttwoyears.Withnew,youngermanagement,theyhavebegunbuyingfromtwoout-of-statesuppli-ers,andthereisariskthatwemightlosetheaccountentirely.

Bydefiningpersonasforeachtargetgroup,marketingplannerscanaskhoweachpersonawouldreacttodifferentmarketingstimuli,andhoweachmight

Advanced TipWhenever we’ve led focus groups, we’ve found that management’s as‑sumptions about their challenges are far different than the reality present‑ed by the focus groups. Test your assumptions by convening a focus group; there’s no downside, and it can significantly mitigate risks.


interactusingaparticularSocialMediaimplementa-tion.Thinkoutloud:WouldJenniferbemorelikelytospendtimeonLinkedInorFacebook?Ifyou’renotsurewheretostart,thenthinkoftwotypicalcustomersinoneofyourtargetgroups.Writedownadescriptionofthemostsalientpointsforeach,then“average”themintoagenericwrittendescriptionofthepersona.

• Target Social Media sites:Withathoroughunderstandingofeachtargetgroup,thenextquestionhastodowithlocation.WhatSocialMediasiteswouldJennifer(orNorthpark)spendhertimeon?Sometimesthiscanbeansweredthroughmarketresearchorinformalconversations;othertimesitcanbeansweredby“lurking”onaparticularsitetoassesstheappropriatenessyourself.

• Messaging:Aftertheinteractiononthesite,whatmessagewouldyouwantleftwiththeparticipant?Aninterestingwaytoanswerthatques-tionistoanswerthisone:Iftwopeoplewithinyourtargetgroupweretalkingaboutyourcompany,whatwouldyouwantthemtobesayingtoeachother?Ifyoudefineitfirst,youcanthenconsiderthecontentthatyouwouldliketopostandthetypeofinteractionstrategy.Andifyouwish,youcan test for themessageafterward inyourmarketresearch.

• Interaction strategy:Whatpreciselyisthenatureoftheinteractionthatyouareseekingtoencourage?Typically,usersfollowahierarchyofen-gagement.They’remorelikelytopostacommentaftertheylurkforawhile.They’remorelikelytotelltheirfriendsifthey’vefirstsubscribed.Andsoon.

Figure16.1showsthesevenlevelsofengagement,fromlowtohigh.Sub-stitutethewordtrustforengagement,andthishierarchyillustratessomethingevenmoreprofound:thehigherthetrust,themoreengagement—yetthemoreengagement,thehigherthetrust. Thisisthepointwhereyoushouldidentifyspecificideas,campaigns,Websites,etc.Chapter15providesmanytacticalexamplesthatmightbeappropriateforyou.WithintheSocialMediapriorityplanneritself,werecommendputtingahigh-leveldescriptionofwhatisproposed.Detailedspecifications,projectplans,andothermaterialcanbeinaseparatedocument.

Advanced TipPersonas are highly valuable be‑yond Social Media. The same per‑sonas can be used to evaluate your Web site and any other marketing or customer service initiative.


Benchmarks for Success

Foreachaudienceandgoal,howwillyouknowyouaresuccessful?IntheearlydaysoftheInternet,successwasmeasuredfoolishlywith“eyeballs.”Benchmarksneedtobetiedmoredeeplytoyourbusinessgoalsandobjectives.Severalexamples:

• Increaseonlinesalesby10percent.

• Reducethenumberofunqualifiedcandidateswhoarescreenedoutby20percentoverthepreviousyear.

• Increasetheunaidedrecallofourproducts’keybenefitsby50percent.

• Increasethenumberofregistrantsorfollowersby20percent.

• Reduceinboundtelephonesupportcallsby30percent.

Inthenextchapter,weexploreROIandmeasurementmorefully.

Figure 16.1. ThesevenlevelsofengagementinSocialMedia.


Overall goal: Target Target Target Target Audience: Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4Goals: Demographics: Behaviors: CurrentChallenges: PersonaDescription: TargetSocialMediaSites: Messaging: InteractionStrategy: BenchmarkforSuccess: Risks/MitigationStrategies

Risks

Whensomethingcangowrong,itwill.Thequestionis,willyoubereadytohandleit?Giventhestrategiesthatyou’vechosen,whatarethelikelyareasofrisk?Ifitisacontest,canpeoplegamethesystemsomehow,togivethemanunfairadvantage?Ifit’sablog,cantheywriteinflammatorycomments?Ifit’saproduct-ratingsite,willyouallowbadreviewsandpoorratings?Planninghowyouwillhandlethese(andother)risks—andhowtheycanbemitigatedinthefirstplace—meansthatyouwillbebetterpreparedtoactuallymanagetheinitiative.Andifyouhavechosentooutsourceanypartofit,yourinstructionswillbethatmuchclearer. ThegoaloftheSocialMediapriorityplanner(Figure16.2),isn’ttogeneratepaperwork.Thegoalistohelpyouthinkthroughtheplanstrategically,andthengetyourentireteamcompletelyaligned.Mostimportantly,itistomakesurethatyourSocialMediaactivitiesalignwithyouroverallcorporateobjectives.

Implementation

Choosinghowtoimplementyourstrategyisaquestionthatalwayscomesup.Shoulditbeaddedtoacentralgroup’sresponsibilities,suchasmarketingorIT?Doesthecompanyevenhavetheexpertiseandthebandwidthforanydevelop-ment?Shouldadifferentgroupdothedevelopmentthantheongoingmanage-

Figure 16.2. SocialMediapriorityplanner.


mentandmonitoring?Shouldpartsofitbeoutsourced,andifso,towhom:anadagency,acontractor,orsomeonecheapoverseas? Everycompanyisdifferent.Theyhavedifferentindustries,differentin-houseskills,differentbudgets,differentpriorities,anddifferentgoals.Tosuggestthatthereisoneexclusiveanswerdoesn’trecognizetheuniquenessofyourcompany.Nevertheless,someofthefactorstoconsider,andsomegeneralrecommenda-tions,arediscussednext.

Do the Work Internally

Nobodyknowsyourcompanythewayyouandyourcolleaguesdo.Nomatterhowclevertheconsultant,agency,orcontractor,heorshecan’tpossiblybrewallofyourcollectivewisdomintotheperfectimplementation.Andoncetheout-sidersfinishtheirworkandleave,thereislittleornoknowledgetransfer.Doingtheworkinternallybuildsinternalcapability,andsincetherearenoprofessionalfeesinvolved,thisalternativeisfarlessexpensive. Doingtheworkinternallyalsobringssomeotherbenefits:Thereismoredirectprojectcontrol,andmidcoursecorrectionsarealsoeasier.Inaddition,de-velopmentcanbeextendedfromanyexperimentalearly-stageinitiativeprojectsthatwerealreadyunderway.

Outsource the Work

Thebestpartaboutworkingwithexternalpeople is that they“do” the jobfull-time,andtheyhavedevelopedanexpertiseandefficiencythatcanspeeddevelopment—andreflectpositivelyonyourbrand.Becausetheyworkformanydifferentorganizations,theybringtheirknowledgeofbestpracticestotheen-gagement,significantlyimprovingthelikelihoodofsuccess. TherealityofoutsourcingintheSocialMediaworld,however,isthatthefieldisstillrelativelynew,thereareasignificantnumberofplatformstolearn,andthereareveryfewrealexperts.Youmayfindthatyourinternaldevelopmentteamisasup-to-speedonthetechnologyasanyoneoutthere. Ontheotherhand,mostorganizationsmanageinformationtechnology(andmarketing)budgetsverytightly,andtherearen’textrahoursavailableforad-ditionaldevelopmentprojects;outsourcingissimplyapragmaticwaytospeeddevelopment.Ifyouarehopingtodoaveryspecializeddevelopmentproject,suchasdevelopingaFacebookoriPhoneapp,thenyouronlyrealchoicemaybetooutsourcetoaspecialistinthattechnology.


Oneoptionthatoftenishighlyappealingistooutsourcetodevelopersinacheapercountryontheothersideoftheworld.Indeed,entireWebsitesaredevotedtomatchingdeveloperswithclients—checkoutwww.elance.com, www.guru.com,orwww.odesk.com.Thebenefitofthistypeofoutsourcingisthelowerpricetag.ThechallengeisthatthecontractorusuallyisnotfluentinEnglishandworksinatimezonethatiscompletelyoutofsync.Whatisgainedincostsavingsmaybelostinthecommunicationgapandthetimezone.Becareful:Ifyouareusinganagencyorconsultingfirmtomanagetheproject,makesureyouhaveaprojectmanagerthatyoutrust,andthattheyarephysicallyinyourtimezone—orclosetoit.

Launch Strategies

Onceyou’vefiguredoutthewhat,thenextquestionishowtheplanshouldbeimplemented.Therearetwodifferentapproachestodoingso:agradualramp-upandabig-banglaunch.

Gradual Ramp-up

Trustisbuiltonestepatatime,overtime.Ifpartofyourstrategyistodeveloptrustforyourseniorexecutivesorcompanyspokespersons,thenthiscan’tbedone in an instant. It is tempting to consider the authorityof a title (CEO,president,VP,etc.)asconferringtrust;ithelps,butatitlegoesonlypartoftheway.Havingotherscommentonyourcredibility,voteontheusefulnessofyourcomments,orcometoyourdefenseinadebateconfersanentirelydifferentleveloftrust.Havingalargenumberofpostsdoessoaswell,asitconfirmsyourlonger-terminterestandexpertiseinthesubjectunderdiscussion,andarespectforthecultureofthediscussiongrouporblog. Thesamecanbesaidwhenyourcompanyplayshosttoanindustrydiscussiongroup.Thelongerthegroupremains,thegreatertheforum’slegitimacy—andyours.Again,timeisafactor. Gradualramp-upscanalsobeusedtostealthilybeginabuzzaboutyourcompany(oritsproducts)ontheground.

Big-bang Launch:

Mostmarketing is campaign-driven: a newproduct launch, new corporatebranding,andincreasedPRaretypicalcampaignexamples.Whenthisisthe


case,SocialMediacanbeusedtoamplifythecampaign’smessage,extendthemessageoveragreatertimeperiod,andattractthird-partyendorsementthroughuserengagement. Big-banglaunchescanalsobeusedwhentraditionalcommunicationsisusedtodrivetraffictoatime-limitedSocialMediacampaign.Typicalexamplesofthisarecontestswherethepublicisaskedtocreateavideoaboutyourproduct,andothersareaskedtovotetochooseawinner.Inthiscase,bothSocialMediaandtraditionaladvertisingwouldbeusedfirsttodrivevideocreators,andthentodrivethevoters.(Thistypeofcampaignisalsoviral,asthevideoproducersthemselveshaveastrongincentivetodrivetheirnetworkstovote.) Othercorporateactivitiesthatarebig-bangcandidates includerecruitingandfinancialreporting—anythingthatworksonaschedule. Ofcourse,thetruthisthatacomprehensiveSocialMediaplanneedsele-mentsofbothapproaches.Thelow-levelawarenessandthegradualbuild-upisthefertilegroundthathelpsleveragethe“big-bang”launches. Twoactivities thatneverworkonaschedulearecrisismanagementandcrisiscommunications.Imaginethatyourproductwasimplicatedinaterribleaccident:HowcouldSocialMediabeused?Ononehand,theimmediacyoftheresponserequiresabig-bangapproach.Yet,thecredibilityofyourspokesperson,earnedoveralongerperiodoftime,mayjustmakethedifference.

Choosing an Agency or Consultant

Oneofthegreatfrustrationsthatmanycompaniesfeeliswhentheiragencyorconsultantdoesn’tdeliver.Thereareanumberofreasonsthismayhappen,mostofthempreventable.Herearesome:

• The wrong consultants or agencies bid for the work:Manyorganizationschoosetheirvendorsthroughacompetitivebiddingprocess.Theyputoutarequestforproposal,waitfortheproposalstocomein,chooseashortlist,listentopresentations,andfinallyselecttheluckywinner.Theproblemisthatthemostqualifiedvendorsareoftentoobusy

tobothersubmittingaproposal.Evenwhenthey’renotthatbusy,manywillseethecostofparticipatingintheprocessastoohigh,andtheprob-abilityofwinningtoolow,especiallywhentherearealargenumberofbidders.Forthemost-qualifiedconsultantsandagencies,it’sasellers’market.Fortheleast-qualified,it’sabuyers’market.

Solution:Untilthemarketcoolsoff,chooseatrustedadvisorwhoisanexpert,andnegotiatewithhimorher.Ifyoudon’thavesomeonewho


fitstherole,lookfororganizationsthathaveatrackrecord,andinviteaverysmallnumberofthemintotalkaboutyourproject.Anunscriptedconversationisasmallinvestmentthatmostvendorsshouldbewillingtomake,anditallowsyoutotest-drivetherelationshipbeforeaskingthemtoputtogetheraproposal.

• The consultant or agency is learning on the job:Thereisnoshortageof“falseprophets”whodonothavethedepthofexperiencetodothework,butwhoaresmartenoughtostayonestepaheadoftheirprospectivecli-ents.Asaresult,yourprojectmayexperiencedelaysandcostoverruns.

Solution:Toprotectyourself,makesurethatthetermsofyourengage-mentletterreflectthevalueofthelearningthattheconsultantisgainingbyworkingonyourproject.Ifthisisn’tthecase,avoidtheproblembyaskingdetailedquestionsabouttheirSocialMediahistoryoverthepastfivetotenyears,andverifyitthroughreferencechecks.Ifthevendorhasalong-timerelationshipwithyou,ishonestaboutalackofknowledge,andyoustillwantthemtodothejob,thenitshouldn’tbeunexpectedwhenyouencountersurprises.

• Costs are spiraling; project is delayed:Oftenthis iscausedbypoorlyspecifiedprojectsormidcoursechangesbytheclient.

Solution:Agreetothescopeatthebeginningoftheproject,andaskthevendorifthescopeisdetailedenoughforthemtoprovideacostestimatewithahighdegreeofcertainty.Ensurethatanychangestothebudgetandschedulearesignedoffbybothpartiesalongtheway.Ifbudgetisacriticalfactor,engagethevendoronafixed-pricebasis.

• Bait and switch:Often,theseniorperson(whoistheSocialMediaexpert)isinvolvedinthemarketingandsalesprocess,butoncethecontractissigned,theworkdeliveryisdelegatedtoafairlyjuniorteammember.Thismeansthatyouneedtospendtimebringingthispersonuptospeed.Andwhentheydobegintheengagement,youreallyhavethebenefitofonlytheirlimitedexperience,nottheseniorperson’s.

Solution:Ensurethatanyoneinvolvedinthebusiness-developmentpro-cesswillalsobeinvolvedday-to-dayintheprojectexecution.Insistthattheprojectmanagerbeinvolvedfromdayone.


General Recommendations

Duringtheplanningprocess,includeexternalresources,suchasyouragencyorconsultant,asyouarelookingtogetasmuchbest-practicesand“outsideofthebox”thinkingaspossible.Dependingonthestrengthoftherelationship,andtheircompanyknowledge,youmaywishtograntthemmoreorlessresponsibil-ityfortheplanningprocessitself. Ifyoudonothaveenoughinternalbandwidthfordevelopment,werecom-mendthatitalsobeoutsourced,butwiththeprovisothatknowledgetransfer,inoneformoranother,bepartofthecontractedengagement.Implementationshouldbehandledinternallyasmuchaspossible.Unlikeothermarketingprojectsthataremorebroadcastinnature,theconversationalnatureofSocialMediameansthatonlyinternalpeoplecanreallyspeakfortheorganization.Theonlyexceptiontothismightbetheclericalpostingofcertainitemsthroughoutdiffer-entSocialMedianetworks,whichoftencanbecheaplyoutsourcedabroad.(Anexampleofthismightbethecross-postingofpressreleaseheadlinesonTwitter,whichsometimescan’tbeautomated.) SocialMediamonitoring(discussedinthenextchapter)shouldbepartofthestandardmonitoringthatisdoneacrossanymarketinginitiative,anditshouldbedonenodifferently.Theonlycaveatisthatsomeofthemonitoringisn’tjuststatisticalanalytics,butactuallyreviewingconversationsinrealtime—aqualita-tiveexercisethatcan’talwaysbeoutsourced.

First Steps

1. Thisisthechapterwhereyourplanisformulated.Sometimesitistoughtofigureitout;ifthisisthecaseforyou,considerre-readingthebooktoconsolidateyourknowledge,oraskatrustedadvisortogiveyouhisorherperspective.

2. ThemostimportantchartintheentirebookistheSocialMediaPriorityPlan-ner.Even ifyoualready“know”whatyou’regoing todo, spendsometimedocumentingitinthechart.Ifyoucan’tfillintheblanks,thenyouareprovingthattheeffortistoughtojustify—andmaybeunfocusedaswell.


17ROI and Measurement

Areyoulistening?WithSocialMedia,peoplearetalkingaboutyou;theyarespreadingthewordonyou,yourproducts,yourbrand,yourbusiness(goodandbad).Theyarepostingvideosandcomments,ratingyou,reviewingyou,includingyouinblogposts,tweetingaboutyou,andrecommendingyou(ornot).SomeoftheSocialMediaconversationyouinstigatedonpurpose,whilesomeyouhadnothingtodowithstarting. SocialMediameasurementandanalysisisinaveryconfusingplacerightnow,butitisimportanttogetahandleonknowingwhat’sbeingsaid,whereit’sbeingsaid,bywhomitisbeingsaid,andwhatimpactthisishavingonyourbusiness.Fortheactivitiesyouinstigated,youneedtomeasuretheimpactanddetermineifyoucouldimprovethisor,ifyou’renotgettingtheresultsyouhadanticipated,decidewhereyoucouldbetterspendyourtimeandmoneytoim-proveyourresults. SomeofourSocialMediameasurementswillbefairlyeasyandsomeverydifficult.

Return on Investment

Returnoninvestment(ROI)isarelativelysimpleconcept.Youmakeaninvest-ment(oftimeormoneyorboth)andyouhopetogetsomethingvaluableinreturn:sales,visitors,friends(onFacebook,nottherealkind),fans,followers....

168

ROI and Measurement 169

Sometimesthiscalculationiseasyandstraight-forward.You run a sponsored listing campaigninGoogletosellseatsataneventanddevelopaunique landing page.The cost to run this ad is$100.Thesalesfromthislandingpageare10salesat$1,000each.Yourcostperpersonfortheeventis$150.TheROIiscalculatedas:

(GainfromInvestment–CostofInvestment)CostofInvestment

Inthiscasethegainis($1,000–$150)x10people,or$8,500.Thecostoftheinvestment(theGoogleads)is$100.TheROIis(8,500–100)/100,or8,400percent. Thereturnonadvertisingdollarsspent(orROAS)is$84.Thismeansthatforeverydollarofadvertising,youaregivenback$84inprofit—notbadatall! Sometimesthecalculationisnotsosimple—youinvestedtimeinFacebookgroupslookingforandansweringquestionstocreateapresenceandbuildyourreputationasanexpertinyourfield.Youhopedthatpeoplewhoviewedtheanswerwouldclickthroughtoyourpageandasktobeafan;thenaftertheybecamefanstheywouldbesowowedbyyourcontentthattheywouldclickthroughtoyourWebsiteandorderyourproduct.Hmmm,notsoeasy. SocialMediaparticipationisnotsodifficulttomeasure.YoucandeterminethenumberofvisitorstoyoursitefromyourYouTubevideos,andfromthereyoucandeterminetheirspecificactionsifyouareusingtherighttraffic-analysisprograms. WithSocialMediaROI,mostpeopledon’tknowwheretostart.Werecom-mendthatyoustartwiththeendinmind.Whatisityouwanttoaccomplish?Quantifyit.Whereareyounow?Knowyourbaselinebeforeyoustart. WithSocialMediawedefinitelyneedtoconsiderthereturnoneffort(ROE)aswell.TheamountoftimewespendonSocialMediaistimethatwecouldbespendinginotherwaysandthroughothervenuestoachieveourobjectives.TodayitiscriticallyimportanttokeeptrackoftheamountoftimeyouspendineachoftheSocialMediavenuesyouparticipateinonaregularbasis.Therearetoolstohelpyouwiththis:RescueTime(http://www.rescuetime.com)isagoodexample. SometimeswhenwelookattheresultsofourSocialMediaeffortswearenotasinterestedinthenumbersthemselvesasweareinwhatthosenumbersleadto—arewemoreinterestedinthenumberofTwitterfollowerswehaveorthenumberofpurchasesmadebyourTwitterfollowers? InSocialMediamarketing,sometimesweneedtostoplookingatthingsonagranularlevelandtakeabroaderapproach.

Landing pageA page, usually with special mes‑saging, that is arrived at through a link in an advertisement.

ROI=


Several Approaches

RightnowbusinessesaretakingseveralapproachestoSocialMediamarketing.

• Larger companieswith a significant SocialMedia investment and abudgetforSocialMediameasurementaretryingtogetahandleonthereturntheyaregettingontheirSocialMediainvestment.Someoftheseareusingservices likeNielsenBuzzMetrics,CymphonyVerismo,andTechrigySM2andaresupplementingthiswithinternalanalysis.

• Somecompaniesaretryingtodotheiranalysisinternallythroughacombi-nationoftraditionalWebtrafficanalysisandWebmetricstools,aswellassomeoftherecentlydevelopedtoolsthatfocusonengagement,sentiment,andotherimportantfactorsrelatedspecificallytoSocialMedia.

• Somecompaniesaretakingabroader,verysimplisticviewandlookingatthingsonamacrolevel.Theyknowwhattheirtraditionalmarketinghasbroughttheminthepast.ThenewthingstheyaredoingareallrelatedtoSocialMedia.Sotheylookatthedifferencebetweenthelateststatsandtheir(prior-year’s)benchmarkstatstoseetheimpactoftheirSocialMediaefforts.

Before You Start

Tohaveanymeaningfulmeasurementandanalysis,youneed toknowyourstartingpointsoyoucanmeasuretheresultsofyourSocialMediamarketing.Youwillwantbasicstatisticslike:

• NumberofFacebookfriendsandfans

• NumberofLinkedInconnections

• NumberofTwitterfollowers

• NumberofYouTubesubscribers

• Trafficstats

• Digglinks


• StatsfromanyotherSocialMediasitesyoucurrentlyuse.

YouwillalsowantstatsonthethingsthatwillbeimpactedbyyourSocialMediaobjectives,resultingindifferentSocialMediastrategiesandSocialMediamarketingcampaigns.Thingslike:

• Searchengineranking

• DollarsspentoncustomerserviceifoneofyourobjectivesistoreducecostofdeliveryofcustomerservicethroughSocialMedia

• Dollars (and time)spentonrecruiters, ifoneofyourobjectives is toreducethecostofcandidatesourcingandrecruiting

• Dollarsspentonmarketresearch,ifoneofyourobjectivesistodomarketresearchthroughSocialMedia.

What Is Being Measured?

TheperformanceofSocialMediacampaignsissometimesanalyzedusingmetricsliketraffic,links,andcomments.Sometimesmoreabstractmeasure-mentsareanalyzed—thingslikereviews,sentiment,rating,opinions,andbuzz.Whatyouchoosetomeasuregoesbacktoyourgoalsandobjectives,andwhatyouwantedtoreceiveinreturnforyourinvestmentoftimeormoney. Mostobjectivescanbecategorizedintoexposure,engagement, influence,andaction/results.Someofthemeasurementtacticsforeachcategoryincludethefollowing.

Exposure

• Searchenginerank

• Uniquevisitors

• Increaseintraffic

• Pay-per-clickadimpressions.


Engagement

• Pageviewspervisitor

• Timespentonsite/blog/SocialMedia

• Click-throughs

• Repeatvisitors

• Comments

• Messages

• Reviews

• Ranks

• Posts

• Socialbookmarking

• Fans

• Followers

• Friends.

Influence

• Retweets

• Recommendations

• Bookmarks

• Senttoafriend

• Linkstoyoursite/blog/page.


Action/Results

• Purchases

• Leads

• Contacts

• Increaseinsales

• Calls

• E-clubsign-ups

• Conversions

• RSSsubscriptionsandtrack-backs

• Requeststobeafan/follower/friend

• Savingsincustomerserviceormarketresearch

• Numberofresumessubmittedornumberofcandidatesinterviewed.

Itisalwaysimportanttorememberthatqualitytrumpsquantityeverytime,soyouwanttotakethequalityoftheresultsintoconsiderationwhenlookingatyourresults.Itmightbeveryeasytoget5,000Twitterfollowersbyusingsomeoftheautomatedtools,buttheyareofnovalueiftheyarenotinterestedinyourproductsandservicesandarejustfollowingyoubecauseyoufollowedthem. Wealsohave to realize that things likementionsarenotadeepenoughstatisticformostofourpurposes.Weneedtoknowthesentiment—howmanymentionswerepositive,andhowmanymentionswerenegative?Thesameistrueof followers and fans,where thenumber alonedoesn’t necessarily giveusvaluableinformationrelativetoourSocialMediastrategy.Thenumberoffollowers,friends,orfansisnotasimportantasthequality,engagement,andactionsofthesefollowers,friends,andfans. YoualsomusttakeintoconsiderationthattheresultsfromSocialMediaparticipationand theability tomeasure themarenotas immediateasmosttraditionalWebtrafficanalysisandmetrics.Wehavetogiveittimeandtakethatintoconsideration.Ittakestimetobuildarelationship,anditisdifficulttomeasurethevalueofthatrelationship.


Stats from Social Media Platforms

Manyof theSocialMediavenuesprovideyouwithstats.FacebookInsights(Figure17.1)providesdetailsonuserexposure,actions,andbehaviorrelatingtoyoursocialadsandFacebookpage.Thefiguregivessomevisibilitytothreeadsinacampaign.Clearly,onewasfarlesssuccessfulthantheothersingeneratingimpressionsandclicks. Pageadminsalsohavetheabilitytoseeinformationabouttheirfanbaseandthefanswhointeractwiththeircontent.Facebookprovidesaccesstodemo-graphicdata(suchasageandgender)andgeographicdata(suchascountry,city,andspokenlanguage)whenthereareasignificantnumberoffansineachstatisticalcategory. FlickrprovidesstatstoitsPromembers. YouTubealsohasfairlyrobuststatistics(Figure17.2).ThefigureshowsoneofRandallCraig’schannels. WehaveprovidedinformationonstatsineachoftheSocialMediavenuesectionsofthisbook.



Figure 17.1. FacebookInsightsprovidesanalyticsrelatingtoyoursocialadsandFace-providesanalyticsrelatingtoyoursocialadsandFace-bookpage.


Software/Tools

TherearemanytoolsavailabletohelpuswithvariousaspectsofSocialMediameasurement.

• GoogleAlerts (http://www.google.com/alerts)will send you an emailalerteverytimeyourbusinessoryourproductsarementionedontheWeb,inthenews,inablog,orinavideodescription.

• GoogleAnalytics(http:www.google.com/analytics)isdesignedtoprovidevisibilityforWebsitetraffic.ItshouldbeusedbothwithinyourblogandwithinyourWebsite.Thestatswillshowyouthesourceofeachuserandwillhelpyouunderstandthetraffic(andefficiency)fromeachSocialMediasitesource.

Figure 17.2. YouTubeprovidesvaluablestatsonviews,demographics,popularity,andotherusefulcriteria.


• HootSuite(http://www.hootsuite.com)providestrackingandmeasure-mentstatsrelatedtoyourTwitteractivity.

• Viralheat(http://www.viralheat.com)providesSocialMediamonitoring,analytics,andinsightswithlocationfiltering.

• CrimsonHexagon (http://www.crimsonhexagon.com) has twoprod-ucts—VoxTrotBuzzwhichshowsthevolumeofmentionsandsentiment,andVoxTrotOpinionwhichgoesdeeperintoonlinesentiment.

• Radian6(http://www.radian6.com)(seeFigure17.3)enablesyoutoslice,segment,filter,andparseyourSocialMediadatatoviewandmeasurethroughdozensoflenses.

• SentimentMetrics(http://www.sentimentmetrics.com)gathersmentionsofyourbrand,analyzesthedata,andpresentsitinameaningfulformat.

Figure 17.3. Radian6enablesyoutosliceanddiceyourSocialMediadataforrelevantanddetailedanalysis.


• TweetFeel(http://www.tweetfeel.com)providesafreetoolwhereyouinputyourbrandanditprovidesthetweetsthatmentiontheterm,aswellasthepercentagepositiveandthepercentagenegative.TheyalsohaveaTweetFeelBizthattakesthemonitoringandfeedbacktoamuchhigherlevel.

• Bit.ly (http://www.bit.ly) and severalotherURLshortenersalsohavestatsthatshowyouhowmuch(andfromwhere)trafficcomestoyourblogorWebsite.

• TweetReach(http://www.tweetreach.com)(seeFigure17.4)showsyouhowfaryourTweethastraveled.




Figure 17.4. TweetReachisanonlinetoolthatshowsyourTweet’sexposure.


Articles

• AnexcellentarticlefromMashableonmeasuringSocialMediaROIcanbefoundat http://budurl.com/chapter17roi.

• Alist(aWiki,actually)fromKenBurbary,withover100SocialMediamonitoringsolutions,canbefoundathttp://budurl.com/chapter17wiki.

Education



Keeping Up‑to‑Date 179

18Keeping Up-to-Date

ThepaceofchangeandthedegreeofinnovationinSocialMediaarealarminglyfast.Notadaygoesbywithoutanothernewservice,Website,ormobileinno-vationbeingannounced.Atthesametime,manysitesareforgingpartnerships,connections,anddata-sharingdealswithwhatusedtobetheircompetition.Anddata(includingcommentsandratings)arebeingsyndicatedandusedinwaysthatwereneverexpectedinitially. Totrytokeepup-to-dateoneverythingintheSocialMediaworldismorethanafull-timejob,soitistemptingeithertodiveincompletely(andbeginignoringyour“real”business)ortopretendthatchangeneverhappens(andthereforemisskeyopportunitiestoconnectwithyourstakeholders).Thankfully,thereisamiddleground,onceyourinitialstrategyisinplace:

Learn from Your Network

TheunderlyingpurposeofSocialMediaistoconnectoutwardtoprospects,cli-ents,suppliers,jobcandidates,formeremployees,themedia,andsometimesthegeneralpublic,amongothers.AllofthesegroupsareusingSocialMediaalready,andallofthemarebeingtoldbytheirnetworksaboutnewSocialMediasitesandapplications.Whynottapintothisrichveinofknowledge,andaskthemwhattheyknowandwhattheyarelearning?Herearesomeideas:

179


• Usingtheformalmarketresearchthatyoualreadydo(e.g.,focusgroups,interviews, surveys), add severalquestions about SocialMediausagepatternsandinterestingnewSocialMediasites.

• AskyoursalesteamtoinformallyasktheirprospectsandclientsaboutSocialMediausageduringtheirsalescalls.Askthemtofindoutwhatwouldbehelpfultothisgroup.

• Askyoursupplychainteam(e.g.,purchasers,logisticsmanagers,etc.)toinformallyasktheiroutsidecontactsaswell.

• CreateanoptionalsurveyonyourWebsite.

• Askthequestioninyourcompanyblog.

• AskthequestionwithinaTweet.

• ReviewcommentspostedwithinyourSocialMediainitiatives.

There isalmostabeauty tofindingoutaboutSocialMediausingSocialMedia;youareusingthetoolpreciselyforwhatitissupposedtobeusedfor.Oncethedataisin,youwillthenhaveauniverseofinformationthatcanbeorganized,culled,andinvestigated.

Learn from Your (Younger) Staff

Ifyou’veeverspenttimewithteenagersand“kids”intheirtwenties,you’llnoticethattheyspendahugeamountoftimelivingintheSocialMediaworld.TheirFacebookupdatesautomaticallyappearontheircellphones.Computergamesaren’tfununlesstheyaredoingthemwithotherpeople—evenpeopletheydon’tknowfromtheothersideoftheworld.PicturestheytakewiththeirphonesareautomaticallyuploadedtoFlickr.Andsoon. Whileyoumaybeverycomfortablewithspreadsheets,wordprocessing,andemail,haveyouevertriedtoexplaintheunderlyingconceptstoapersonwhowasn’tcomputersavvy?(Or,worse,triedtoexplainanoperatingsystem,applications,andfiles?) Inthesamewaythatthesepeopledon’thaveanyideaofwhatmightbepos-sibleusingthesetools,sotoomightthesamebesaidtodayaboutSocialMedia.EventhoughYouTube,Facebook,andLinkedInhavemadeiteasy,thetechnicalpossibilitiesareoftenbeyondthekenofthetypical40-year-olddecisionmaker.

Keeping Up‑to‑Date 181

Atthesametime,thecommercialpossibilitiesareoftenbeyondthekenofthetypical25-year-old.Forthisreason,westronglyrecommendthatyoucanvassyouryoungerstafffortheirexperience.Whatsitesandservicesaretheyusing?Whataretheirfriendsfromothercompaniesusing?Whatistrendingup(anddown)?Ifyoudon’thaveyoungeremployees,thencanvassthisagegroupoutsideofyourorganization.ItisthesynthesisoftheirSocialMediasavvywithyourbusinessacumenthatcanidentifyrelevantandinvestment-worthySocialMediapossibilities.

Learn from Your Investments

IfyousupportaninitiativeonanyofthemajorSocialMediasites,subscribeto(andread!)thesesites’ownblogs.Thisisthebestplacetokeepup-to-datewithnewfeatures,integrationwithotherplatforms,andgeneralbestpractices.Sinceyou’vealreadymadeaninvestment,itmakessensetoleverageitasmuchaspossible. Atthesametime,lookagainatthegenerallevelofengagementamongyourtargetusers:OneofthebestthingsyoucandoistostopSocialMediainitia-tives thatarenotworkingaswell as expected,and redeployyour resourceselsewhere.

Learn from the Internet

ThereisnoshortageofWebsites,blogs,anddiscussiongroupsthatcanprovidedetailedSocialMediaminutiae,so-calledbestpractices,SocialMedianews,andeverythinginbetween.Unfortunately,itisverydifficult—andtimeconsuming—toseparateoutthe“trustedgurus”fromthe“falseprophets.”Werecommendatwo-prongedapproachtoInternet-basedSocialMedialearning:

• Tacticalproblemsolving:Ifyouhaveaspecificproblem,orareinvestigat-ingapotentialopportunity,searchingforitonGoogleoftenwillyieldtherelevantanswer.Mostproblemsalreadyhavebeensolvedsomewhere,sooftenthisisenough.Ifyouhavesomethingspecificthathasn’tbeenanswered,youneedtobalancethetimerequiredtoaskyourquestion/waitfortheanswerwithcallingyourreal-worldSocialMediaconsultantandgettingtheanswerdirectlyinyourcontext.

• “What’snew” informationsurfing:Thereareanumberofnewsandcomment-orientedWebsitesandblogsthatprovideSocialMediaupdates.


Somemerelyrepurposepressreleases,othersprovidedetailedreviews,andstillothersprovideaninterestingrunningcommentary.Atthesametime,someareaimedatthegeneralpublic,othersatatechnicalaudience,andothersatamarketingaudience.Anupdatedlistofsomeoftheseisavailableonthisbook’scompanionWebsite,aswellasontheauthors’resourcesites.Ifyouareinterestedinawell-roundedSocialMedianewssummary,lookatwww.mashable.com;we’veprovideddirectlinkstoanumberoftheirspecializedpageswithintheResourcessectionofrelevantchapters.Of course, following@randallcraig and@susansweeneyonTwitterwillalsogiveyousomeinsights.OurblogsalsodiscussSocialMedia.

• Thereisathirdapproach,characterizedasa“deepdive.”Likeallindus-triesandfunctionalareas,theSocialMediacommunityitselfhasendlessdiscussionsontherelativemeritsofdifferentapproaches,technicalhow-to’sandwork-arounds,aswellasinterestingexamplesofleading-edgemarketingsuccesses(andfailures).Thoseintheindustryasconsultants(suchasus)devotemany,manyhoursparticipatingintheseconversa-tions.Unlessyourcompany’sbusinessisInternet-driven,youprobablywon’thavethetimeforthisapproach.

First Steps

Setasidetimeonyourcalendareachmonthorquartertomakesurethatyou’reup-to-dateonthelatestinnovationsandbestpractices.Ifyoudon’twanttodotheresearchyourself,thenfindatrustedadvisorwhocangiveyouabriefingonit.

About the Authors 183

About the Authors

Susan Sweeney, CA, CSP, HoF

RenownedInternetmarketingexpert,consul-tant, best-selling author, and speaker SusanSweeney,CA,CSP,HoF,tailorslivelykeynotespeechesandfull-andhalf-dayseminarsandworkshopsforcompanies,industries,andas-sociationsinterestedinimprovingtheirInternetpresence and increasing their Internet trafficandsales. SusanhasdevelopedmanyInternetprojectsovertheyears—herlatestiseLearningU(www.eLearningU.com), a comprehensive onlinelearningsite.SusanisapartnerofVerbInterac-tive, aninternationalWebdevelopment,Inter-netmarketingandconsultingfirm.SheholdsboththeCharteredAccountantandCertifiedSpeakingProfessionaldesignations.SusanhasbeeninductedintotheCanadianSpeakersHallofFame. SusanistheauthorofmanybooksonInternetmarketingande-business:101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site (abestsellerwithover77,000copiessold,nowinitseighthedition;ithasbeentranslatedintoGermanandSpanish),101 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home, Internet Marketing for Your Tourism Business, 3G Marketing on the Internet, The e‑Business Formula for Success, and Going for Gold.Sheisalsothedeveloperofatwo-dayintensiveInternetMarketingBootCamp. SusanoffersmanyWeb-based teleseminars,seminarsonCD,ande-booksrelatedtoInternetmarketing. SusanisamemberoftheCanadianAssociationofProfessionalSpeakers,theNationalSpeakersAssociation,andtheGlobalSpeakersFederation. VerbInteractiveisamarketingfirmthatprovidesWebdevelopmentandIn-ternetmarketing,consulting,andtrainingservicestoindustryandgovernment.TheirprimaryservicesincludeWebsitedesignanddevelopment,Internetmar-

183


ketingstrategiesandcampaigns,SEO,Websitereportcards,Internetmarketingconsulting,andcompetitiveanalysis. SusanhasbeensharinghervastInternetmarketingexpertisewithcorporateandconferenceaudiencesaroundtheglobeforover10years.Susan’spassionforthesubject,herdepthofknowledge,andherenthusiasmfuelherdynamicpresen-tations.TodiscusshiringSusantospeakforyournexteventorhavingherdoaprivateInternetMarketingBootcampforyourorganization,contactherspeakingofficeat1-888-274-0537,ortofindoutaboutSusan’supcomingwebinars,herInternetMarketingBootcamps,herlateste-booksandpodcasts,ortosignupforhernewsletter,visitherWebsiteathttp://www.susansweeney.com.

Contactinformation SusanSweeney,CA,CSP,HoF www.susansweeney.com www.verbinteractive.com [email protected] Phone:888-274-0537 www.LinkedIn.com/in/SusanSweeneycsp twitter.com/susansweeney www.diigo.com/user/susansweeney www.facebook.com/susan.sweeney01 www.youtube.com/SusanSweeneyInternet

Randall Craig, CFA, MBA, CMC

RandallCraigisanInternetpioneerwhohasledtheWebstrategiesforseveralmajormarketnewspapers,interna-tionalfinancial institutions,andconsultingfirmssince1994.HespeaksandconsultsonSocialMediastrategyandpolicywithclientsandusesitextensivelyhimself.Overhiscareer,Randallhasfoundedseveralsuccess-fulstart-ups,heldalong-timepositionata“big-four”consultingfirm,andwasaseniorexecutiveatanAmeri-canpubliccompany.HeiscurrentlythepresidentoftheconsultingfirmPinetreeAdvisors(www.ptadvisors.com),leadingateamthatspecializesinWebandSocialMediastrategy.Hisfocus,bothasaspeakerandasaconsul-tant,isonprofessionalservicefirms,media/publishing,associations,education,andfinancialservices.

About the Authors 185

Overthepast24years,hehasservedover100majorclientsonsubstantiveprojects,andasaprofessionalspeakerhasgivenhundredsofpresentationsonthistopic.Overthepastfiveyears,hehasbeenprofiledorquotedinover400newspaper,radio,andTVinterviews. RandallistheauthorofnumerousbooksincludingLeaving the Mother Shipandthebest-sellerandaward-winningPersonal Balance Sheet. Heisalsotheau-thorofbothOnline PR and Social Media for ExpertsandOnline PR and Social Media for Associations and Not‑for‑Profits.RandallwritesaweeklycolumnontheMonstercareersite,hoststheweeklyWebTVshowProfessionally Speaking TV (www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com),and lecturesattheSchulichSchoolofBusiness. Randallisthe2010TorontochapterpresidentoftheCanadianAssociationofProfessionalSpeakersandisamemberoftheGlobalSpeakersFederation.HehasaCFA,MBA,CMC,andablackbeltinkarate. Randall’shigh-energypresentationsonSocialMediaarehighlycustomizedandup-to-date:Dependingonyourneeds,theycandemystify,brainstorm,strategize,identifyrisks,entertain,ortalktech.Nomatterthegoal,Randall’spresentationsarerealandpractical—nottheoretical.TodiscusshiringRandalltospeakatyournextevent,consultonSocialMediastrategy,orperformaSocialMediaeffective-nessaudit,contacthimat416-256-7773orwww.RandallCraig.com.

Contactinformation RandallCraig,CFA,MBA,CMC www.randallcraig.com www.ptadvisors.com [email protected] Phone:416-256-7773 www.LinkedIn.com/in/RandallCraig Twitter.com/randallcraig www.diigo.com/user/RandallCraig www.facebook.com/Randall.Craig

186 Index

186

Index

@name, Twitter, 66100+ Flickr Resources, 110301works.org organization, 71

AAbram, Carolyn, 59accounts, Flickr, 103–104action/results category, objectives, 173Active Sharing, YouTube, 88Activity stream module, MySpace profile,

93Ad Manager, Facebook, 54AddThis tool, 122, 150administration, Social Media, 154–155administrators, Facebook groups, 50, 55advertising

with Facebook, 51–54with MySpace, 97–99with YouTube, 87

Advocate engagement level, social media, 161

affiliates, defined, 146agency, choosing, 165–166Alba, Jason, 59Amazon, 11“Amazon’s Reading List” application,

35Android, Google, 135Answerbag.com, 127Answers forum, 37–38answers sites, 127–128Answers.com, 127App Garden system, 109

applicationsfor Facebook, 54–55for LinkedIn, 35–36for mobile devices, 139–142for MySpace, 96

AR (Augmented Reality), 141articles

Facebook, 58–59MySpace, 101SEO, 31Social Media ROI, 178Twitter, 79

Asker strategy, Twitter, 64Askpedia.com, 127Askville, 127–128audiences

defining, 157–158defining goals by, 158–161Twitter, 75–76

Augmented Reality (AR), 141auto-commenter, MySpace full-serve brand

community, 100automation, impact of, 24

Bbackgrounds

custom, Twitter, 71–72tack-on Social Media, 16YouTube channel customization, 85

Barnes and Noble, 11behaviors

audience analysis, 159Facebook Insights, 174

Index 187

benchmarks, 161–162“Best Answer”, LinkedIn, 37–38Big Huge Labs Flickr Toys site, 110big-bang launch, 164–165Bit.ly, 68–70, 177Blogger, 26Blogosphere, 66blogs

displaying photos and videos on, 107MySpace, 96overview, 20–25resources, 25–26

booksdeciding on Social Media, 15Facebook, 59LinkedIn, 44mobile access, 144Twitter, 79video-sharing Web sites, 91

Box.net application, 35brand communities, 99–100brand issues, 5–6Broadcaster engagement level, social

media, 161Brogan, Chris, 15Bump application, 141Buzz, Gmail, 134

CCalendar, Google, 134campaign-based strategy, 14CaptionTube tool, 90Channel page, YouTube, 85channels

advantages of, 84–85customizing, 85promoting, 86–87

Chrome OS, Google, 135citizen activism, 5Comm, Joel, 79

comments, negative, 5Comments module, MySpace profile, 93Companies area, MySpace profile, 93competitors, imitating, 13consultants, choosing, 165–166Contacts” navigation link, LinkedIn, 40content

monitoring, 99, 176–178repurposing, 23–25

corporate strategy, 9Cox, John, 141CPM (pay-per-impression) advertising,

98–99Craig, Randall

Online PR and Social Media, 15Online PR and Social Media for Experts,

44Crimson Hexagon, 176crisis management, 150–151crowdsourcing, defined, 153custom backgrounds, Twitter, 71–72custom company profile, 39customer service, 147Cymphony Verismo, 170

DDean, Michael W., 91deep dive approach, 182Del.icio.us Web site, 121–122demographics, 97, 152–153, 158, 174–175Deserter engagement level, social media,

161destination URL, 51Digg Web site, 119–121direct marketing, 12direct message (DM), Twitter, 66directional strategy, choosing, 15discussion board, Facebook, 50DM (direct message), Twitter, 66downtime risk, 7

188 Index

EeBay Web site, 125–127Edit Channel button, YouTube, 85education

Facebook, 58Flickr, 110learning from Internet, 181–182learning from investments, 181learning from network, 179–180learning from younger staff, 180–181LinkedIn, 43mobile access, 144Social Media measurement, 178Tier Two sites, 124Twitter, 78video-sharing Web sites, 91

eHow: MySpace, 101eLearningU site, 183email

blasts, 51filtering junk mail, 12Google Alerts, 175instant messaging and, 97marketing and, 12spammers, 63Xing and, 118

engagement category, objectives, 172engagement levels, social media, 161events, MySpace, 95Events application, Facebook, 55experimental strategy, 14exposure category, objectives, 171eZine, defined, 49

FFacebook

articles, 58–59books, 59education, 58resources, 57–59

Facebook Connect, 55–56Facebook Credits, 56Facebook for Dummies, 59Facebook Grader, 57Facebook Marketing Toolbox: 100 Tools

and Tips to Tap the Facebook Customer Base, The, 58–59

Facebook Open Graph, 56Facebook Web site

advertising, 51–54applications, 54–55future of, 55–56groups, 50–51overview, 45–46pages, 47–50profiles, 46–47

False prophet strategy, Twitter, 63fan pages

Facebook, 17, 45, 47Google and, 51MySpace, 99Plaxo, 114–115

fans, Facebook, 48Feedburner, 134feeds

Naymz Network feed, 117newsfeeds, 39Plaxo, 114RSS, 23, 29

filtering junk mail, 12financing, Social Media, 154–155Flash content, Facebook, 49Flickr, 102–109

App Garden, 109education, 110enabling stats, 109photos and videos, 105–109resources, 109–110signing up for accounts, 103–104

Flickrstorm, 110focus groups, 159

Index 189

FollowCost tool, 77Followers, Twitter, 62following

attracting in Twitter, 73–75building, 12

forumsLinkedIn, 37–38MySpace, 95

free account, Flickr, 103–105Friend or Follow tool, 77Friend space module, MySpace profile,

92–93full-serve brand communities, MySpace,

99

Gghost town, 7goals

defining by audience, 158–161self-committed, 15

“Good Answers”, LinkedIn Answers, 37–38

Google Alerts, 151, 175Google Analytics, 175Google Android, 135Google Docs, 134Google Latitude, 141“Google Presentation” application, 35Google Wave, 135Google Web site, 134–135gradual ramp-up, 164groups

creating, 87Facebook, 50–51Google, 135joining, 87LinkedIn, 34–35moderator, 34MySpace, 94–95Plaxo, 114

Groups module, MySpace profile, 93

Groups navigation link, 34

Hhashtags, Twitter, 66help page, MySpace, 101Here Comes Everybody: The Power of

Organizing without Organizations, 15HootSuite, 61, 66, 151, 176How to Really Use LinkedIn, 44HTML (hyper text markup language)

Facebook, 49Flickr, 104Google FriendConnect, 135mobile page views, 139MySpace self-serve community, 99widget, 72Yahoo!, 130

Iidentity theft, 6I’m on Facebook—Now What?: How to

Get Personal, Business, and Professional Value from Facebook, 59

imitating competitors, 13implementation

choosing agencies or consultants, 165–166

internally, 163launch strategies, 164–165outsourcing work, 163–164recommendations, 167strategy, 162–164

inbound links, 28influence category, objectives, 172Insights tool, Facebook, 50, 174instant messaging, 97integration of Social Media, 16–19Internet, approach to Social Media

education, 181–182investments, 181

190 Index

JJarboe, Greg, 91Jay Cut tool, 90job boards, defined, 14job postings

LinkedIn, 37Plaxo, 114

junk mailfiltering, 12Flickr policy, 103MySpace, 97

Just Tweet It tool, 78

Kkeyword stuffing, 28keywords

bookmarking Web page on Del.icio.us, 121

Facebook advertising, 52–53Flickr profile, 104–105LinkedIn profile, 33URL, 85video accessibility, 83

Knowem web site, 6Krum, Cindy, 144

Llanding page, defined, 169Lastufka, Alan, 91Latitude, Google, 134launch strategies

big-bang launch, 164–165gradual ramp-up, 164

leadership, 11–12learning

from Internet, 181–182from investments, 181from network, 179–180from staff, 180–181

LinkedInAnswers, 37–38applications, 35–36books, 44company page, 38–39corporate level, 41–42education, 43groups, 34–35job postings, 37maintenance of, 42microbloggings, 36overview, 32personal level, 39–41profiles, 33recommendations, 34resources, 43–44

LinkedIn Open Networkers (LIONs), 40links, inbound, 28lists, Twitter, 61, 64–65Lurker engagement level, social media,

161Lurker strategy, Twitter, 63, 75

Mmaintenance, LinkedIn, 42“Make It Happen” blog, 29marketing

direct, 12overview, 147–150permission, 21strategy, 10

Mashable’s Facebook Guidebook, 58measurement

action/results category, 173–174engagement category, 172exposure category, 171influence category, 172

microblogging, 36, 60Milstein, Sarah, 79minimalist strategy, 12–13

Index 191

mobile accessapplications, 139–142books, 144education, 144future capabilities, 142–143interesting stats, 138–139overview, 138resources, 143–144

Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are, 144

moderatorgroup, 34Twitter, 17

MSN/Windows Live Web site, 131multilingual profile, 33My Cleenr tool, 77MyInsights tool, MySpace, 100MySpace

advertising, 97–99applications, 96articles, 101blogs, 96brand communities, 99–100email and instant messaging, 97events, 95forums, 95groups, 94–95profile page, 92profile page customization, 93–94resources, 101

MySpace Compilation, 101MySpace Gateway, 101

NNaymz Web site, 116–117negative comments, 5negative strategies, Twitter, 63networks, 179–180newsfeeds, defined, 39newsletters, 24

Nielsen BuzzMetrics, 170Ning Web site, 131–133“no risk, no return” principle, 4

OOne True Media tool, 90100+ Flickr Resources, 110Online PR and Social Media, 15Online PR and Social Media for Experts, 44O’Reilly, Tim, 79organizational identity theft, 6organizing photos and videos, 106Organizr feature, Flickr, 106Orkut, 134Outlook Toolbar, LinkedIn, 39outsourcing work, 163–164

Ppage fraud, 28page title, 27–28pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, 17, 18,

98–99pay-per-impression (CPM) advertising,

98–99Pearlman, Leah, 59permission marketing, 21personal identity theft, 6personal profiles. see also profiles

Facebook, 46overview, 14

personas, 159–160photos

displaying on Web sites or blogs, 107organizing in Flickr, 106promoting in Flickr, 106–107sharing in Flickr, 107–109uploading to Flickr, 105–106

Picasa, 134Picnik, 106Places application, Google, 134

192 Index

planningbenchmarks, 161–162defining audiences, 157–158defining goals by audience, 158–161

platformsdefined, 7stats from, 174

Plaxo Premium, 115Plaxo Pro, 115Plaxo Pulse feature, 113Plaxo Web site, 112–116polls, Facebook, 57portal pages, 29positive strategies, Twitter, 63–64PPC (pay-per-click) advertising, 17, 18,

98–99PR (public relations), 150–151priority planner, Social Media, 145–146,

162privacy, Plaxo, 115Pro account, Flickr, 103–105Product and Travel Submissions, Yahoo!,

130Productivity Tools, LinkedIn, 43profiles

Facebook, 46–47Flickr, 104–105Google, 134LinkedIn, 33MySpace, 92–94personal, 14

Promoted Tweets strategy, Twitter, 64promoting photos and videos, 106–107Proponent engagement level, social media,

161public relations (PR), 150–151

Qquiz, MySpace full-serve brand community,

100Qwitter tool, 78

RRadian6, 176ratings sites, 128–129Really Simple Syndication (RSS), 23,

28–30Really Simple Syndication (RSS) reader,

93real-time search capability, Twitter, 65recruitment, 13–14, 151–153Red Laser, 141registration, Plaxo, 114Reider, Suzie, 91relationships, building, 10–11repeat traffic, 21RepScore points, Naymz, 116–117Rescue Time, 169research and development, 153resources

deciding on Social Media, 15Facebook, 57–59Flickr, 109–110LinkedIn, 43–44mobile access, 143–144MySpace, 101SEO, 32Social Media measurement, 174–178Tier Two sites, 123–124Twitter, 76–79video-sharing Web sites, 90–91Web sites and blogs, 25–26

Responder engagement level, social media, 161

Resume Import feature, LinkedIn, 39return on effort (ROE), 2, 169return on investment (ROI)

approaches to, 170measurement categories, 171–174overview, 168–169resources for, 174–178stats from platforms, 174

retweet (RT), Twitter, 66

Index 193

risks, Social Media, 4–8ROE (return on effort), 2, 169ROI (return on investment). see return on

investment (ROI)RSS (Really Simple Syndication), 23,

28–30RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader, 93RT (retweet), Twitter, 66

Ssales, 145–146Scoble, Robert, 59search engine optimization (SEO), 27–31

articles, 31integration with Social Media, 30–31overview, 27–28really simple syndication (RSS), 28–30resources, 32Web site elements, 21

search engine ranking (SER), 14, 27Search entry box, Twitter home page, 65Searcher strategy, Twitter, 64–65Seesmic program, 61, 66, 151self-committed goals, 15self-serve brand communities, MySpace, 99Send Later feature, Hootsuite, 66Sentiment Metrics, 176SEO (search engine optimization). see

search engine optimization (SEO)SER (search engine ranking), 14, 27Shaffer, Neal, 44ShareThis tool, 122–123, 150sharing photos and videos, 107–109Shirky, Clay, 15shorteners, URL, 68–71Shouts, Digg, 119signature file, defined, 49Smith, Julien, 15Social Media priority planner, 145–146,

162SocialGo Web site, 131–133

softwareFacebook, 57Flickr, 110LinkedIn, 43mobile access, 143–144MySpace, 101Social Media measurement, 175–177Tier Two sites, 123–124Twitter, 77video-sharing Web sites, 90Web sites and blogs, 26wikis, 118–119

Spammer strategy, Twitter, 63Splicd tool, 90stats, enabling on Flickr, 109Stay, Jesse, 59Staying with the pack concept, 13storefront, 21Strategic sender strategy, Twitter, 64strategies

hierarchy of, 9for launching, 164–165minimalist, 12–13recruitment, 13–14Twitter, 63–64

Subscriber engagement level, social media, 161

supply chain, 156sweepstakes, MySpace full-serve brand

community, 99syndication

defined, 88RSS, 23Web sites, 83

Ttactical problem solving, 181Tag Galaxy, 110tagging, 80–81tags

Del.icio.us, 121

194 Index

Flickr, 105Tag Galaxy, 110

targeting, advertising, 1–3, 52, 79–80, 97–98

technology risk, 7Techrigy SM2, 170TestTube area, YouTube, 82301works.org organization, 71Tier Two sites, 111–123

Del.icio.us, 121–122Digg, 119–121education, 124Naymz, 116–117overview, 111–112Plaxo, 112–116resources, 123–124sharing tools, 122–123Wikis, 118–119Xing, 118

Time-waster strategy, Twitter, 63tools, 66–68, 175–177training, 154trending, 65–66Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build

Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, 15

Trusted guru strategy, Twitter, 64Tubemogul tool, 83tweeple, 66tweeps, 66Tweet Feel, 177TweetCall tool, 78TweetDeck, 61, 66, 151TweetReach, 177tweets, 66Twhirl tool, 68–69TwitHawk tool, 77Twitter, 60–76

articles, 79attracting followers, 73–75books, 79education, 78

getting started with, 75–76lists, 64–65management tools, 66–68overview, 60–62resources, 76–79searching and trending, 65–66strategies, 63–64tips, 71–72URL shorteners, 68–71

Twitter Book, The, 79Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your

Market One Tweet at a Time, 79Twitter360, 141Twitterator tool, 77–78TwitterHolic tool, 78twitterverse, 62, 66TypePad, 26Typepad, 35

UUltimate Guide to Google AdWords, 136uploading photos and videos, 105–106URL (uniform resource locator)

defined, 51destination, 51shorteners, 68–71

user-generated content, MySpace full-serve brand community, 99

VVerb Interactive marketing firm, 183Vermeiren, Jan, 44video player, MySpace profile, 93videos

creating, 81–83displaying on Web sites or blogs, 107embedding, 80organizing, 106organizing in Flickr, 106promoting, 86–87, 106–107promoting in Flickr, 106–107

Index 195

sharing, 83, 107–109syndication of, 88uploading, 105–106uploading to Flickr, 105–106

video-sharing Web sites, 90–91. see also YouTube

Viralheat, 176Vitrue Fan Management System application

suite, 57–58Votigo application, 58

WWeb sites. see also names of specific Web

sitesanswers, 127–128Del.icio.us, 121–122Digg, 119–121displaying photos and videos on, 107eBay, 125–127Facebook, 47–50Google, 134–135LinkedIn, 38–39MSN/Windows Live, 131Naymz, 116–117Ning and SocialGo, 131–133overview, 20–25, 125Plaxo, 112–116ratings, 128–129resources, 25–26sharing tools, 122–123Wikis, 118–119Xing, 118Yahoo!, 129–131

“What’s new” information surfing, 181–182widgets, defined, 72wiki, defined, 18Wikis Web site, 118–119Wikitude World Browser, 142Windmill Networking: Understanding,

Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn: An Unofficial, Step-by-Step Guide to Creating & Implementing Your LinkedIn Brand—Social Networking in a Web 2.0 World, 44

Wordpress, 26work, outsourcing, 163–164

XXing Web site, 118

YYahoo! Answers, 127Yahoo! Directory, 130Yahoo! Groups, 130–131Yahoo! Image Search, 103Yahoo! Local, 130Yahoo! Search Engine Submission, 130Yahoo! Upcoming, 130Yahoo! Web site, 129–131YouTube

advertising on, 87creating and customizing channels,

84–85creating videos, 81–83defined, 134getting on home page, 84joining and creating groups, 87making findable, 83–84opportunities and options with, 87–88overview, 80–81promoting channels and videos, 86–87sharing videos, 83video syndication, 88

YouTube: An Insider’s Guide to Climbing the Charts, 91

YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day, 91

YouTube Badge tool, 90YouTube Streams tool, 87–88

196 Index

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