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Archive for the 'marketing' Category

SEO 2.0 or Social Media Optimization

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

As the web changes, so do the guidelines, rules and strategies for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This past week, I had a meeting with a client was incredibly keen on the idea of using social media as a way of optimizing his main site (more on that after the site’s official launch date, I assure you) and his overall web presence.

It’s no secret that this is a tactic that I employ to promote Tell Ten Friends. As much as I am a member of various online communities for the sake of the community itself, I also recognize the value of those incoming links, and the “web cred” it gives me to be so well connected online. The truth is, my business is a big part of who I am, and so it stands to reason that I promote it and link to it throughout my various online haunts.

With the onset of “Web 2.0,” a new list of guidelines apply in addition to the usual SEO tips of old. In fact, as tagging and self-publishing become more prevalent among users, the “old ways” of SEO will become less and less relevant. In the meantime, new technologies and codes already require a shift in your current SEO game plan. See this article by Jason Barnes of Jay and Silent Rob for a better explanation of this. And thanks to Jay for being the spark that ignited this entry.

I’ve often remarked how my blog content is infinitely more popular than my “static” content, and that should come as no surprise, with a number of faithful subscribers and a smattering of incoming links each week from other bloggers across the web. But I still maintain a higher number of new visitors each week, and enough referrals from things like my MySpace page to make it worth keeping the damn thing live. As you probably already know, as your traffic numbers grow, so does page rank, and the effect is not unlike a snowball rolling downhill. Actually, I suppose it’s more accurate to say that it is like pushing a snowball on flat land, because it requires constant effort, and the rewards are gradual. By constant effort, I mean publishing fresh content that can be consumed by interested visitors and indexed by search engines Google, as well as keeping your various other online profile info up to date.

Again, none of this comes as a surprise to fellow bloggers, online content experts or SEO specialists. But then, regular readers here know that I dedicate a great deal of time shedding light on all things web for regular users, the masses, who are just beginning to realize that there is a “new web” out there for them to discover.

Presumably, these changes in the way we use the web are what spurred Linda to create a blog dedicated to the subject of “Social Media Optimization.” Still a very new blogger, Linda works marketing, specializing in SEO, and is now turned on to the idea that online community involvement is about more than just search results.

Now, I love the time that I spend networking online, sharing ideas, content and “crowdsourcing” great ideas among the virtual collective. It gives me a rush when my user-generated-content generates discussion and incoming links among readers and friends online. But my point is, there are bottom-line benefits too, regardless of what the cynics have to say:

-My blog has generated almost a dozen warm leads since I launched the company earlier this year, of which three have become clients.
-Two more have come directly from MySpace. (Real leads too, not MLM and ‘get rich quick’ schemes)
-Via Flickr and various blogs by Vancouverites, I have “met” scores of online contacts, who I feel like I know when I meet them in the real world.
-Last week, I bumped into someone I recognized in Second Life, where we agreed to meet for coffee (in the real world, that is) in the New Year.

What does it all mean?

From a personal standpoint, I think it means we’re moving toward a time when companies (especially small-to-medium enterprises) will be evaluated by potential customers for a new list of criteria that will include their level of involvement in online communities, or at the very least, their level accessibility to those customers. From a more scientific standpoint, in terms of SEO, it means that if you have a static site with no opportunity for the community to stay in touch, or worse, no reason for them to return, you’ll soon be trumped by smaller companies with better, more dynamic online presence.

Like it has since its inception, the web lets you connect with a much larger audience. The new web takes this one step further. It allows even more connectedness, a better two-way exchange between publisher and user, and democratizes those definitions, too; now, any user can be their own publisher, building their own community, in a matter of minutes.

Bottom line: Small business people, join and contribute to your favourite online communities. Big business, consider building a relevant, useful online community for your customers and evangelists. It’s not right for everyone, but if you value the idea of community and want to be closer connected to your customer base and their feedback, it just might be right for you.

(As an example how my brain works, read this over again, and see how it goes from an article about SEO to the importance of being involved in online communities. ADD, anyone?)

GiveMeaning Changing Charity for the Better

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Update: An interesting discussion about Give Meaning has begun due to some recent articles in the Vancouver Sun. Check the comments on this posts to follow links to find out more.

The day before Halloween, I wrote a post about GiveMeaning, a Vancouver non-profit with some great ideas of taking the old Unicef coin-collecting boxes to the next level.

Last week I received a letter from GiveMeaning, containing two $5 “GiveMeaning Cards,”that I may use to make donations to the charity or cause of my choice. The letter, addressed to “Dear Blogger/Reporter” and signed by GiveMeaning’s CEO, explained that they intend to “empower the $5 donor,” and help people understand that even the smallest donations make a difference.

letter
(Click to see the image full size on Flickr)

This morning, after a quick search for “children,” I used one of those cards to help build an HIV/AIDS center in Malawi, Africa and as the letter suggested, I’ll give the other as a gift (to my wife, in this case) for someone else to donate.

card

The site, at www.givemeaning.com, contains progress reports on projects, a tag cloud indicating the most popular causes, and a sign in area where donors can track their funds, and kids can track their fund raising with their own secure blogs. You may also purchase GiveMeaning Cards in several different amounts to be given as gifts.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the ideas and execution of this campaign, but I thought I’d give a quick of what I liked and what I thought could improve.

For starters, it’s clear that I loved the idea from the beginning. When I received the letter in the mail I was even more impressed. They had obviously done their homework and tracked the “word of mouse” they received online as well as in the traditional media. Not only that, but the $5 card gave me something else to talk about; and although it’s their money, it did make me feel good to do it. By donating, I have been given an account, and now I can easily login and make donations to other charities and watch their progress. Also, members can create new causes and monitor the funds raised online.

As far as where they could make improvements, here’s my two cents: They understand blogging, that’s clear. But as yet, no one from GiveMeaning has left a comment on my blog, or (that I know of yet) reciprocated with a link to me. They are obviously not obligated to do so, but that’s just good ‘blogger relations,’ and would inevitably cause more posts like this one (among other bloggers, I mean). Also, they took the time to research my name and company name for the sake of the envelope, but the letter itself was a little less personal. I know that addressing it to me specifically, with perhaps a word or two about my post would take more effort and therefore more cost, but it’s safe to say that it would also bear even better results. After all, the letter was dispatched only to those people who had already gave mention of the program; so we are already “fans.” An ounce more of the empowerment that they mentioned in the letter would go a long way, me thinks.

Overall, I think this a great program. A fine example of using social media for a great cause. If you are a representative of GiveMeaning or from the agency that created the program and you’re reading this, then kudos to you. Leave a message in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

Update: Tom Williams, CEO of Give Meaning, has replied in the comments below, directly from Africa. Despite limited connectivity, he gives updates of his work (daily, it seems) on his blog.

Why Blog? Hear What the Experts Say

Wednesday, November 8th, 2006

Christina Kerley (CK of CK’s Blog) has created a great .pdf “collage,” that features comments from a whole bunch of marketing bloggers (including yours truly) who have shared their responses to the question: What is the single greatest point of value you receive from blogging?

collage
(Click the image to view the entire collage in .pdf)

It all started with this poll, where CK first posed the question.

If you’re on the fence about blogging, and you want to understand the real value of using blogging as part of your marketing, then read each comment. Every speech bubble and corresponding comment links you to that person’s blog, so have a read of a few while you’re at it.