Posted by Rowland Hobbs on November 30 at 6:00 PM
As I was getting set to post my blog today, I had a whole concept in mind: admitting (with shame) that over the weekend while I was with my boyfriend and my family on Long Island, I barely went online. My Twitter lay fallow. My Facebook practically untouched. My LinkedIn LinkedOut.
And I was going to say "what kind of an Internet wonderman am I if the second I am off from work, I don't go into my Google Reader and tweet my face off?"
But then I stopped for a second and thought: I DID use the Internet this past weekend. I used it plenty. Just not as a professional. Nor as a social media maven.
No, my relationship with the Internet changed this weekend in that I transformed from an Internet Strategist to a consumer. And now I'm reflecting back on it.
I spent time on YouTube with friends. I surfed Amazon to buy Christmas presents. I Googled for churches so I could check out a mass on Sunday morning. I was what all of our target audience usually is: rushing around, not paying much attention, and clicking to get my hands on information that I needed in the moment.
I was using the sorry mobile Google Maps app on my Verizon enV to find the closest Barnes and Noble to the Roosevelt Field Mall.
And you know what? I think it's good for this to happen to us on occasion. So long as we remain conscious of what we are doing. So often, we get caught up in web strategy and design. We make sure that every last pixel is perfect, that there are tons of words on every page and that there is much complexity and connectivity on our sites. This is good.
But one thing Mastermind Nielsen always tells us is that this is not how Joe Blow (and Georgina Blow) American Two-Pants view the Web. No, they are not pouring over every page like it is an ancient tomb they unearthed. They don't care about the cropping of the photo we put on top of our site. They just want to know when "The Real Housewives of Monmouth County" is on. Or when the next train to Podunksville leaves. Or how many eggs go in a chicken fried steak batter.
So let's all make an early New Year's Resolution to put on our Consumer Goggles in the coming months. To make sure that everything works as best it can... but then to look at other sites with rushed eyes and hurried needs, so that we can see what works, and what does not.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 25 at 12:46 PM
I am 34 (stated for demographic purposes).
I just read my first book on my iPhone, it was free, I enjoyed it, and now I have purchased my first eBook as a result, your talking about a man who treasures even the smell of a hardback. Why did I buy it, because I got one for free the content was good and I wanted more.
I got the NY Times app for free and now I have a weekend subscription. Why the content was good and I wanted more of it and in the way I wanted it. During the week I want it on the screen, on the weekends in bed with coffee.
I got the WSJ app, loved it, more than the NY Times. Murdoch canned the free app, I erased it. I got a deal in the mail for daily subscription to the WSJ less than my weekend subscription to the Times.... went right in the trash. No way would I want to give my money to someone who keeps information from people.
There are lots of people like me, and more each day, everyone younger than I for sure.
People think the music industry has tanked, and it has, but did you know that the wages of musicians have gone up?
There have been even more recent posts on the same idea that I have seen. If you check my google reader, you'll find them marked there.
The problem is not making money, the problem is out of date business models. There is plenty of money to be made everyday, however how to make it is changing and so should we.
Here is a very quick story:
1. worked for a very important literary journal (left unnamed out of respect)
2. reader/contributor base was monitored by the obituary section, so as to not waste money sending things to dead people.
3. young talented writers were turned away, why? because the reader base wouldn't like new fresh writing.
4. young talented writers posted their work on line
5. the review is now out of business
6. I have stayed in touch with a couple of the young writers who submitted, and they are now onto their 3 and 4 book deals. I think Clay has jus done his 5th!
So would you rather be well known for great thinking and insight, a voice of authority and point of reference, or would you rather have a small email list and follow the Unnamed Dead Journal above? Topics: Google, Internet, social_networking, strategy0 CommentsRead Full Post
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 24 at 11:24 AM
From Leon Kadoch to Ben Parr, everybody is talking about the recent changes to LinkedIn.
It has been 2 years coming and I am happy for the changes however minimal they are, but much more excited about the possibilities that might arise as a result.
The most obvious would be an integration of services such as Plocky or the like, where I could easily connect my Linked In to my social networks that I have built via Twitter, or reconnected with on Facebook, or even found through forums for change like GOOD.is.
Asking people to add you in one place and then come join you in another is tedious, and although everyone wants to have the stamp on the town square they should realize that if they were to simply make the town square centralized and easy to get to, more people would congregate there instead of staying at home.
There was a question, getting passed around twitter the other day:
LinkedIn to what?
I don't agree, but it begs the question, how has LinkedIn failed if people aren't easily seeing the benefit of their service?
I have found LinkedIn useful realizing from the begining that it is what you put into it, as any platform is. I have found it very useful for those close enough to me that they are willing to then go to another platform to friend me, however it can often be a rather bottom up feed source.
I run an engaging and organic twitter account, which although small consists of people I have engaged and built a dialogue with. If I put their twitter name into a tweet, I am sure that I will get not only a response, but a "threaded" conversation.
Britney does not follow me, but quite a few CEOs of cool companies do.
So think about this LinkedIn and those thinking of building another platform for yet another social community, someone who is looking for a leg up, and is intrigued by the information I give out on twitter, they are going to do the click work to find me and Link in with me, maybe, and I am glad to help. However, a CEO or other possible future client, who finds the material I tweet interesting, is probably going to keep following my links when they see them, but it is going to be a long slow reeling in process to "linking in" with them. During that process, they could have had me consulting them on the functionality of their site and its flow, or perhaps redesigning it from the ground up.
I might have lost that chance to some kid in their mail room who says he knows a guy who knows html, thinking he is doing his company a service. While I am slowly reeling them in from twitter to LinkedIn, they have lost the chance of having an effective site and outreach and way to use that site right now as a tool.
The operative word is "right now".
We want to put 2 & 2 together right now, because we might need 4 to get us through a choppy quarter, or for the launch of our most innovative product or service to date.
LinkedIn and others should think about this and less about the popularity of their own site and brand and they should do so fast before Google decides to push their Google Profiles, If a brand doesn't serve me, then I am going to remember its name, I am going to remember it as something that didn't work and not return. However, the first person to connect us conveniently and across platforms will win my loyalty and surely that of every other person in business, they won't even need a brand name, they'll just sell the service and retire in the Caribbeans.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 19 at 3:19 PM
When I used to work for Apple the most common question I heard was:
"What's the most important thing to look for in a computer? I mean do I need bigger or faster? I don't want to buy a computer and then three years later it's obsolete."
My response was an aside, I got a watch to sell ya whisper, saying, "hey soon, Google will make an OS of their own and then that question won't matter, in essence you'll just need a machine that runs well."
The rummor I was spreading has come true here is Google video launched today to prove it:
And if an online operating system to revolutionize the way we use computers wasn't enough in one day, they have beat Microsoft at it own "humanity" game. It's new Search Stories are so captivating, clever and moving that I got a little choked up.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 19 at 1:04 PM
No, not the song from Spamalot, nor the quotable phrase from The Holy Grail, but the rally cry of the Blog, and pretty much everything else of late.
What's up with our current Victorian era style obsession with the premature burial?
Is that what they teach in Journalism classes these days? Call it Dead before the next guy and you’re a journalist?
Or is it that 24 hour news forgot that the intent was to accomidate all possible viewers, not provide breaking news 24 hours a day, to the point they are willing to kill something just to declare it dead.
Whatever it is, it's a bit silly and immature.
As is the case with Smashing Magazine's (who I typically enjoy) outrageous declarartion of death of the Blog. Guess they don't read Technorati or have the grace to name something as it is like, “hey this is cool how these designers are blogging” instead of the Fox-esque “The Death of the Blog Post.”
(You can still get milk and coke in bottles, and Lps are cooler than they ever were).
The Blog is NOT dead, nor will it be. The reasons are legion but I just want to highlight two in regards to Smashing's post:
1. I presently have open about 30 tabs open, yep, I’m taxing my machine, but I read a lot on the web & I have articles lined up for every spare second I have at work. This is common among most web readers, that is the nature and beauty of the web and hyperlinks, which is why even the “cool” design of your post was frustrating, because my computer kept stalling. In the meantime I clicked over to other tabs to read pages that were meant for reading on the web. The only reason I overcame my frustration & tabbed back, was because it was Smashing and they have gained my trust and interest. Had I stumbled on one of the very talented folks you highlighted and encountered the same problem, I wouldn’t have gone back, just not going to fight to read something, if I am not sure it is going to be worth the fight. Seems fair.
2. Good content, I read articles for Good content and I think Gregory Wood, who you featured in your article said it best himself:
I’m not a great writer, and I probably write a lot of bullshit, but because it’s all nicely designed, readers are drawn in and end up reading more than one post. It’s also very fun to create and helps me grow as a designer.
So I would gladly go to his art opening, or even an online gallery of art as that he seems a competent designer, but I have a mountain of books I want to read, a pile of work on my desk, and friends to talk/share with, if I’m reading on the internet, it’s not to make my eyes whiter, it’s for good informative content. I think it’s great that he is growing as a designer, but if I am to also read his work, then I hope he would grow as writer as well.
I know I'm not the first Poe to write about the fear of prematural burial, but come on....
Their argument? CSS and HTML have paved the way for boring and unattractive blogs. They prove this by designing their blog like a magazine, and profiling other web folks who do the same. It's very pretty, but it's also a very, very bad idea.
Here is a problem with a lot of designers today: they are too busy trying to break the rules of the Web, instead of finding ways to create good design within them.
I understand a blog post is boring and un-magazine like. But here are some reasons why that's more than okay:
1. RSS Readers - if you're writing it, people are reading it with the HTML and design stripped straight out.
2. Mobile - They may be reading your post on a Pre, iPhone, or DROID. You think they'll appreciate your fancy-pants design when they can't even load the post?
3. Netbooks - The newest comer to the web scene, these mini-monsters will barely show a line of text in the way Smashing Magazine has it designed.
No, I'm afraid I must call foul on Smashing Magazine and writer Paddy Donnelly. Which saddens me, because we have a wiki full of their design tips for web.
What's more? These are blog posts, we are not meant to treat them as evergreen. Part of the beauty of blogging is that it is near-instantaneous (not as quick as Twitter, I'll grant you) but we shouldn't be wasting our design resources on blog posts. Blog posts are about ideas and opinions. Save the high design for the blog surrounding those words and thoughts.
Designers need to stop fighting wars against usability. If you read the comment in the bottom of the post, you will see that already two people have complained that the post isn't usable.
And forgive me if I say this, but:
IF YOUR DESIGN ISN'T USABLE, THEN IT ISN'T GOOD DESIGN.
Ya dig? I don't care how pretty the font is or how everything lines up or if you spent all day working on getting the rags and widows out. If a user comes to the page, does nothing, bounces, or complains, your design has failed failed failed.
Dear Designers: the web works in a certain way for a certain reason. Millions of people are accessing its content via different browsers, different operating systems, differnt content providers, and different connection speeds.
The web is not a magazine, and that's the point. Look at which one keeps folding publications and begging for ad revenue.
Posted by Rowland Hobbs on November 18 at 3:02 PM
These days, people are constantly trying to be the first to pimp and spread a tool or application. I can count on no certain number of hands and feet the amount of times someone has forwarded to me a tool that they clearly never tried or used, and then wanted to spread anyway.
"Hey, check this out, it's SO awesome!"
But then the tool sucks.
If I get one more slap-dash wireframing tool, I might scream. They're all the same, and none of them are ever any good. In fact, most apps, tools and programs give me a big headache. They don't make my life easier, they make it more complicated. I need to stop my tasks to update notes on those tasks, tally those tasks, and document those tasks, before uploading and tweeting those tasks... which stops me from actually doing the tasks.
Suddenly I'm too busy talking about what I plan on doing, that I never have the time to actually do any of it.
But, every once in a while, I come across an app that is actually useful. And by useful I mean totally amazing. In that it makes my job easier.
That tool I am talking about is Skitch. I discovered it today and plan to use it every day for the rest of my Internet life.
Simply put, Skitch is a screen grabbing application that allows you to easily snap a shot of something, and then write and draw all over it, cropping and resizing as you go.
Oh and it's free.
Where is this useful? Everywhere if you work on the Web. If something isn't working on a site I am QCing, I fire up Skitch (which hides sweetly in the background until I summon it), take a screen grab, and start going to town.
With Apple-like UI, I can flip the photo, edit the photo, and then "tear" a JPEG out of it and to my desktop. I can also upload it to the Skitch web site if I want to post the photo on a blog or website. This isn't useful to me, but it'll probably make Perez Hilton's job a lot easier.
Posted by Rowland Hobbs on November 17 at 4:32 PM
Last time I gave some advice, it was to Gamestop for their flawed mobile marketing campaign that sent me to a closed store in pursuit of a game. I haven't received another mobile alert from them, despite my pre-ordering Assassin's Creed II last night for PS3. So clearly my advice is being considered valuable.
Today's down-and-dirty trick is something everyone can use. And it's simple, too. As I said in the headline, and will explain here, you should put no roadblocks between your audience and your content.
None.
I don't care if you depend on advertising. I don't care how important your site metrics are. If you read any sort of strategic texts these days, there is a prevailing call to arms for all of us web folk. That is: bring the content to your audience, don't drag them kicking and screaming to you.
I am bringing this up now because I am angry at one of the RSS feeds in my Google Reader. They think they're cute. They send out a headline, and then a tiny bit of lead-in text, and then try to drive me to their site to get the pay-off.
Maybe for other users this works. It doesn't for me. Any sneaky feed that tries to stick-and-carrot me away from my precious Google Reader home base faces the wrath of my "Mark All As Read" button. I will not be lured. I am a busy business man with busy business things to do. Like write blog posts mocking you.
So here's a tip. If you're going to RSS your blog or site (which, God almighty, you had better) do not give a summary. Do not give a link. Give the post. You will earn the hearts and minds of Google Reader junkies like me everywhere. For example, if we really like one of your posts, we'll click to it so we can link to it in our Twitters or blogs.
The blogs that play games with my heart do not earn this privilege, only my seething rage and hardcore profanity.
This works everywhere else, too.
1. Allow your YouTube videos to be embedded, like this brave Universal artist Chamillionaire who may be in trouble with his bosses, but just earned himself a space in social media's fleeting spotlight. (PS: see how I linked to Mashable there? That is because they give me full posts in my RSS reader. If this post was not in my reader, I would not have linked it).
2. Do not ask users forty questions to download a "white paper" that is basically a long and flowing advertisement for your services. (Here at the DMD Network, we give those away for a click of a link.)
3. And, for God sakes, please please please do not send me on a wild goose chase to find a deal or a bit of information that you have advertised prominently in your email communications. Oh that gets my goat.com something fierce.
So again, the key takeaway? It's give away. Your content for free, and as simply and quickly as possible, that is. You want to give your audience every reason to read and engage and share what you're creating... not scare them away and fill them with fury. Topics: Internet, social_networking, strategy, web_design5 CommentsRead Full Post
DMDxd got a chance to chat with Janet Meiners Thaeler about her new book, "I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What??"
We will also be giving away free copies of the book on Friday. To win a copy leave a comment and winners will be chosen randomly on 11/20.
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What's your elevator pitch for I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What?
You've thought about pitching your news to the media. Now learn how to pitch your news to a search engine.
Why did you need to write this book?
Too many small business owners and PR firms miss opportunities because they don't understand SEO or know the power of online press releases. I've seen these methods work again and again and I want people to know how to use them for their benefit and for their clients.
Who should read this book, and who shouldn’t?
Anyone who wants to get online publicity for their business or for their client. It's a very practical guide. It even has templates for you to use and gives options for any budget.
While my book can be used for businesses of all sizes I don't go into detail about traditional wire services. I will in a future book.
Give it to us quick: Why can’t we just slap a standard press release on the Internet?
It just won't get the visibility you desire - you need to use a news distribution web site that has authority and gets your news on the top online news sources. I go over how to do this in the book.
Can you give our readers a few quick tips on making a press release “killer”
1. Use links in your press releases - not just to URLs but keyword links.
2. Include a boilerplate that gives all of the ways to connect with your business online (i.e. social networking sites)
3. Take advantage of trends to become an expert and get top placement in search engines.
4. Include a "call to action" in your press release.
5. After sending a press release, use the many free methods online to get your news even more visibility.
What are the differences between being a community organizer and an online marketer? And what are the similarities?
Here's a great blog post www.connectioncafe.com and chart about that. Sometimes these overlap because building a community online can make for powerful online marketing. However, it's just one part of online marketing.
Clearly in this day and age, print is not the end of the line. What are you doing to expand the reach of I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What? online?
It's important to have a print book - even if it's just sold on Amazon.com. It gets you credibility and there are lots of tools Amazon has to help you sell yourself online.
I set up a Twitter account @onlineprbook and a blog www.OnlinePRBook.com/blog I've partnered with folks like Joan Stewart of The Publicity Hound and PRWeb. I speak at events and conferences.
That said, I hope not to do another print book. They are so quickly outdated and I prefer an ebook. They just haven't reached the respect that an actual book has.
We love that you have a money back guarantee on your book. Do you feel it’ll contribute to stronger sales?
I'm not sure how many people know about it but if they did, yes it should. I also give free copies to bloggers if they agree to post a review. I've had people say the book was worth far more than they paid.
If the book is not enough for you, I'm preparing a DVD that will show you the main tools that I use. I walk you through the steps of keyword research, submitting your news and promoting it. It will be priced a bit more but it's me spending hours teaching you what took me years to learn. My video editor has already seen success just through passive learning he's done editing the DVD.
My Killer Press Releases DVD will be out next month (December 2009) - watch my site for more information.
And join Janet for her free webinar Wednesday the 18th on PRWeb.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 16 at 12:33 PM
So you’ve seen the success of companies such as Comcast or Best Buy, who have used Twitter to not only engage their customers but also to interact with, satisfy and maintain them.
What if that model is not you? You work in or own a small business of twenty people or even less; you are effective and nimble, but unable to dedicate a person to man a full time social media outreach program, let alone a team. Your clients or customers are happy, because you do good work, but you see the opportunities passing you by in the more than present online world.
You see social media leaders such as David Armano at Dachis Group showing you models such as this one:
and however brilliant and well thought out, it is just not something you can achieve, because you chart looks more like this:
What can you do?
You’re not sure if your Twitter is even working, you send out good information, forward interesting links, and even get some RTs or mentions now and then, but the phone is not ringing with new business, and your inbox is filled with clients you won the old fashioned way, and hope you can continue to maintain.
First of all, if the above is correct you’re doing good. Your tie is straight your nails are clean, your basics are covered, you have a presence. It may seem small compared to others, but if the above is true than it is a quality group. If you manage accounts for artists and you have 1,000 followers, which are 970 spambots, 3 sports teams and 15 news feeds, you’re not really serving yourself, let alone your clients.
100 dedicated followers who you can interact with, who might actually pass your info along to other potential clients is what you need. And it will grow naturally.
So you have your basics covered and now you need to get noticed, you want to boost that natural growth. Protein supplements? No.
Get out there! Where is the conversation or where do you think it might be?
About 2 months ago (54 days ago to be exact) Google launched Sidewiki, I started using it and kept up a simple but active presence on it. It wasn’t hard to do, and I set up a simple approach that 50 days later got me mentioned on Google’s own Blog for offering up great insights.
Method:
Peruse my google reader each morning.
Keep in mind what I had read while writing our daily DMDxd blog.
Post the blog and then take that blog to where the conversation was going on, instead of expecting people to somehow stumble upon our blog hungry for a good read.
Excerpting, and extracting from what I had already written, adding a line or two to personalize to the conversation context I was placing it in a Google’s Sidewiki and then linking it back to the blog on our company site. Sometimes, if there was a lot of people talking about the same thing, I would link them to another article where my sidewiki would be, instead of directly to our site. This allowed them to see what others were saying as well and see my own comments in context and letting the strength of it speak for itself.
Results:
Traction and Engagement. It’s one thing if you invite friends over for tea, it’s another thing if you show up at their place with tea ready and some warm crumpets.
Raised Traffic. The increase in traffic was coming from referring sites such as Mashable, Gizmodo, ArsTechinca and places who wouldn’t have necessary promoted us, but bringing the conversation to them there, led people to us.
Featured.Google’s blog took notice and featured us here at DMDxd along with 9 others who they found bringing value to this new medium of interaction. Ranked 1,949 most important site, with Google itself being number one and Facebook number 2 (for perspective) you can imagine that traffic from this alone was well worth the extra 10 mins a day to take our blog to where the conversation was actually happening.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 12 at 11:25 AM
This morning on PRBreakfast Club there was a nice post by Jess Greco on how Twitter isn’t for everyone, a subject we have talked about here before, damning magic bullets and such, but she has a funny aside that really should be amplified.
How many times have I heard this, just this month? Companies think this will win clients/followers/recognition ( and it will!), without imagining what they will have to do to achieve it.
Are you willing to organize all of your employees and teach them how to do the Thriller dance?
Going viral means that you have done something that is unbelievable, something shocking, something genius, something of intense dedication, something that touches the heart of many people, something racy, new, remarkable, unthought of, microscopic or macro to the extreme, brought black and white together to make more than grey, or just a funny baby.
So, can a PR firm, or Marketing/Ad agency make a viral video?
Sure, but are you willing to do it? The medium is free, and the tools to achieve it can be cheap or free, but you will have to do something. It won’t go viral because you simply will it to go viral. You have to have the courage to do something. And while you are getting up your courage, things are being passed around the internet daily.
The reason for it's viral-ness is obvious, furthermore the message is conveyed easily because it makes sense, and the call to action is clear. (Would have been even more viral had it been normal people on the street, look at the massive success of the new Flaming Lips music video launched yesterday, same idea but normal people.)
Did you follow this trend on twitter yesterday? You couldn’t read them all, they came so fast. How many times have you sat in a namestorm trying to come up with a good name? Here were thousands a minute and half of them were good. Had this trend been started by a company, trying to find a name and chosen one from the millions offered, it would have been an interesting success story and true litmus of what people thought of their celebrity.
How can you make a viral video… you know, like the inmates performing Thriller?
Hire talent, or listen to the talent you already have.
Step outside your comfort zone.
Get ready to do some work.
Make something you, yourself, would pass around if you stumbled upon it.
Stop thinking that repurposing old material will be something strangers will want to pass to their friends.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 11 at 11:58 AM
"Online Ads Are Booming, if They’re Attached to a Video", according to this morning’s NY Times Business section. $477 million in revenue in the first half of 2009, up 38% from the same period in 2008.
Is this just big companies throwing money in new directions to try and find a win somewhere?
No, video based online advertising might be the most effective advertising dollar ever spent, if done right.
Why? Because, opposed to TV commercials where you have a supposed segment of people who are probably watching, here you have people choosing to watch and each time they do, you can track it.
Furthermore and exponentially greater is that your viewers will take that content and your attached ad, into their homes, into their friend’s homes, and their friend’s friends home, by posting it on their blog, on their Facebook, passing it around via Twitter, if your ad is good and you’ve chosen the correct content to be tethered to, that is.
Preaching to the choir.
Don’t waste your time or money selling ads to the converted. The idea is to expand your market, not show your already established market that you know how to make a video and pay the $75 C.P.M. to WSJ to pre-roll it. Think creatively about how to expand your market through pre-roll advertising.
Recycling is in, but not with Ads.
Don’t repurpose your already made ads for TV, or what not, and have them roll before a clip. You’re reaching a new segment, these viewers want new material, even if they are the same ones watching TV at night, they have different expectations and different mindsets when online in the morning. Your material should be aware of the space it is in.
Video on the internet is not TV.
You can do so much more with ads on the internet than you can on TV and people are expecting you to do so. Today’s Apple ad "PC Switcher" on the NY Times is a perfect example of what to do and what not to do. Cool innovation, the ad is using the medium, but the voice and message is old, tired, and not in line with people’s perception of the company nor their expectations for ads in general. Come up with something new! Use the medium and do it with fresh material. It is not enough to Wow me with how you are saying it, you must also Wow me with what you are saying. Cool tech is not enough, you also need good content.
KISS
Keep it short and simple. Get your message across quickly and easily. Clearly define your message. Make sure I can understand the ad even if I only hear it, in case I tab over to read an article while I’m waiting for your ad to roll by. Compel me to tab back!
Thank you to BRIAN STELTER of the NY Times for the original article.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 9 at 12:41 PM
One of the great things about blogs is that you can find out about so many wonderful and user specific posts, but primarily after the fact. It’s always the morning after.
Twitter has helped with that, but micro-blogging is also a deluge that can sweep your night away without you ever getting out to enjoy it. (or you day for that matter!)
Not only will this elevate the aforementioned, should have, could have scenario, it is an amazing possibility for business.
Thinking about how to use this now, will allow businesses to be ready at the gate when Twitter launches this.
Ok we know that at first it is going to be for certain locations using Yahoo!’s Where on Earth IDs (WOEIDs) such as NYC, London, San Francisco etc. as mentioned.
But just because Boise Idaho may not be the first place to launch, doesn’t mean that you can still get your ideas ready and in motion, and be all the more effective for it.
Here are few ideas as to how your business can start to game plan for this wonderful opportunity.
A tweet screen or kiosk where people can tweet that they are there at your place of business and receive a discount, free appetizer, etc. Much like Foursquare, but in a in house immediate response way, that would then drive the number of tweets about your specific business location into the local trending topics.
Reverse search, find the people who might be in your part of the city or neighborhood looking for the ball game or a quiet place to study for exams, reach out to them with twitter and invite them over, with clear and timely calls to action. (how much I would have loved this for the presidential debates)
Run specials on what people want and when. I’m looking for a new notebook to journal in, you’ve got them in your coffee shop, free cup of coffee with the purchase of a notebook. Once I’m there in your coffee shop, then the play yours, is the light right, is the coffee good, is the staff friendly and warm. No technology can make up for that, but it can get people in your door to find out!
The thing is to start now. Start thinking, how can I use local trends to engage my public? To find my public? To help my public find me? To give them what they want?
Start now, and remember that if the fit is not right, both you and your public will be uncomfortable with it. It should be a natural and creative adaptation of your brand.
Posted by Rowland Hobbs on November 9 at 5:44 AM
Leave a comment on this post. It can be anything, really. Nonsense type. Or your favorite line of poetry. Or a quote from The Simpsons. Or your opinion on the state of the current price of fair trade coffee.
Posted by Jesse Poe on November 8 at 1:55 AM
Those darned kids! Not only are they posting my material everywhere for free, now they’re blogging about me!
Across the blogosphere everyone is talking about Sky’s interview with Rupert Murdoch, who is planning on blocking his content from Google (and search engines in general), allowing only those who pay for news to access it.
As the global media mogul, owner of media outlets and major shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation (News Corp), that’s going to be a lot of content.
He seems to think that the traffic that they get from their headlines turning up in search engines is insignificant, that the occasional person who might go searching for a bit of information on Google is not really his target audience and not ever going to add to his coffers.
As part of our many services to our clients, we do metrics on their websites, monitoring where they are most effective and where they are inefficient, so that we can help them maximize their strengths and grow their weaknesses into strengths.
Doing these metrics for such a diverse group of clients from financials, to health, to music, to design, I can tell you that every month one-half of all traffic is new traffic coming from search engines, the greatest of these is always Google, by breath taking margins. On average they are directing 92% of the new visitors to sites and more than half of the returning traffic is getting there through Google even upon repeat visits.
Here’s a quick look at the overall average metrics on this topic:
Putting your content on the web and then blocking your content from Google, is like renting a store in an indoor mall, walling up the indoor entrance, and putting a speak easy door outside on the back end of the parking lot. Why even bother having a store there?
Years ago Murdoch moved The Simpsons to run opposite The Cosby Show on Thursday nights, saying “Cosby must be coming to the end of his run.” He was right, then and now, as I listen to his full interview where he goes on to claim that Fox “news” is truly fair and balanced, and that the people who switch on Fox News know the difference between the real news on Fox and that which is opinion, his words from two decades ago are ringing in my ear.
If he thinks he can remove himself and his reporters and their content from search engines, then he, himself, “must be coming to the end of his run.” Speak easy doors worked in the prohibition, but people weren't going there for newspapers.
(Author’s note, I was an avid reader of the WSJ on my phone, I began to read it daily alongside the New York Times, because they had a free app. I wrote about the things I read there and directed traffic to their site. The day they announced the WSJ app would be for paid content, I deleted the app. See my post My love affair with the Wall Street Journal and our pending break-up
Should my company be on Facebook and Twitter? Well the default answer should be yes, but maybe not for all brands/companies. Does it make sense for your company to be on FB or Twitter? Better question:
Does the company that is hiring you to bring them up to speed need to be on Facebook and/or Twitter?
And if they are is that enough?
There is no magic bullet, anyone who is selling that is as ridiculous as the person buying it. There is no longer a market for one size fits all.
It’s about tailoring it to fit and owning what you have. I was reading Esquire’s advice to ugly men, and it was perfect:
Buy clothes that fit you perfectly, spare no expense on the fit. Wear it with confidence.
Perfect advice.
Your social marketing strategy should be just that, yours, cut to fit.
Not all brands can be omnipresent, nor should they try. If you are one place or ten, you got to wear it with confidence, you have to own it.
Everyone should know that you can hit more than one party in a night, but it’s not only about going where the action is, but also going where you can make a splash. Look good while your at it!
Here is a list of some great places to look outside of Facebook or Twitter*:
Biznik – this network for small business folks is blending online and offline by allowing members to collect by city and host and promote local events
StartUpNation - a wealth of information focused on startups and very active community Wall St Journal – community build around subscribers and geared, as one might suspect to professionals and financial folks
Small Business Brief – heavy dose of search engine related content but very active small business focus Inc magazine – another popular business related magazine with community of entrepreneurs
StartUp Biz – very fast growing network with lots of tools to promote yourself
PartnerUp – small business focus and big on helping people find answers and connections for the things they need
BizSugar - allows you to submit, share and vote for the best business information links on the Internet.. Great place to promote and discover your small business content CoFoundr – Programmers and designers use the site to find co-founders, build teams, and get advice.
Entrepreneur magazine – Entrepreneur magazine’s community site has a lot of activity and content
Business Week Exchange – Site from Business Week magazine is a great place to promote and find content on the web, tends to be a bit larger business focused
Naymz – one of the better sites for those focused on building personal brands – highly indexed in the search engines
If you would like to add to this list, we'd be glad to know about what communities you find most effective.
*thank you to John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing) this list minus my additions was originally posted on OPEN Forum
Yesterday all eyes were on New York. Over 40,000 runners and for each runner how many came out to support? How many watched on TV?
A lot. Most of the world.
I was there with my friend Patrick Phelan cheering on his girlfriend Meg (one of NYC’s finest pastry chefs) who finished the Marathon in 4 hours.
Overwhelming the humanity of the Marathon. What a beautiful thing we all get together to make, collective joy, it sort of flies in the face of what the acidity of what most media tells us to believe.
People cheering each other on, calling out the names they read Sharpied onto runner’s shirts as if it were their own friends they were cheering on. Parades of high-fives, bands, people running for causes, people running for themselves and for each other.
What is the percentage of people who win? Well if you’re talking about the money prizes, pretty low, but without saying it we know who the winners are.
Take Aways:
There are so many lessons to take away from this kind of event, but there were two that I wanted to share.
We were at the official halfway point waiting to cheer Meg on and in the mean time the others before her. A band was playing covers of the Stones, Springsteen, Steppenwolf, the basic coverband cannon.
While they were soloing on the sidelines, I saw a slower runner stop a faster runner and ask him to take a picture of him. He did, the moment was captured, they gave each other high fives and the faster runner took off.
How valuable is your time? So he lost, maybe 2 minutes, 5 tops off his marathon time, but did it matter? It did to that
slower runner. It did to me.
Made me think about social media/marketing/PR. There are so many out there doing it, it would look something like the NYC Marathon to see them all together, but the number of opportunities to work are legion in comparison (if you’re doing good work), so really what is 5 minutes to stop and help someone slower than you, to follow someone on twitter who doesn’t have many followers so far, somebody new to the game.
We always want to help the winners, the faster ones, because they can help us, but what if we stopped to help the slower ones, would it take bread from our table. Probably not. What do you think?
And who knows, who those slower ones will become, remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare?
As I was thinking of this and how maybe people should make twitter lists for people who are just starting, a we’re rooting for you list, or for example how some one like @chrisbrogan who’s following to folllowers is nearly 1:1 and then for example someone like @Armano is 1:4, I was broadsided by another take away from the Marathon.
A runner ran right up to me and gave me this card:
She gave me a few, so I shrugged and passed them to the couple standing next to me. So she was running the Marathon for her brand. And for her, too.
As we looked at the cards, we all said the same thing, “hey wasn’t that the lady who just gave us these? Cool.”
So she was running the marathon for her brand, she was running the marathon for herself. She is her brand.
And now she’s in the homes of the people she gave her cards to, and she’s on this blog.
Shameless, maybe some might say, but real, very real. She got out there and made it happen, I’d believe her if she tried to pitch me that she’s willing to go the extra mile for her customers, she was walking the talk when I "met" her, well running it actually.
And once I went to her site (listed on the card http://sofiaheadstrong.com) her site and what she does was consistent with the woman who ran up and put the card in my hand.
Are you out there where where your audience is, running up to them with a warm smile and your brand? And if you are are they finding a consistent image in person, in deed and in image?
Are you taking the time to help those slower than you?
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