Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Is social media a fad?
Or
is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? Welcome to the World of Socialnomics!!!!
is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? Welcome to the World of Socialnomics!!!!
1.73 Billion Internet users worldwide
JESS3, a creative agency specializing in data visualization, has put together an amazing video which shows the current state of the Internet. We have highlighted some of the data below, but please also watch the video for yourself (it rivals the Social Media Revolution).
-
1.73 Billion Internet users worldwide - 90 Trillion Emails Sent in 2009
- 81% of Emails were Spam
- 126 Million Blogs on the Internet
- 27.3 Million Tweets Per Day
- Faceboook serves 6 million pages per minute
- 4 Billion photos hosted by Flickr
- 182 Videos watched on average per month (per user)
Friday, March 5, 2010
3 Easy Ways To Use Twitter For Business Marketing
Web marketers love Twitter. It helps business to connect with their potential customers. You can send special offers for your followers. You can even communicate with your competitors & learn the tricks from them. All this has been made possible with twitter which has opened doors for business marketing. It is a fantastic way to use twitter for business marketing .In this article I would like to introduce you to three simple ways where one can use twitter for business marketing that can help promote your business.
When you set up your company, speaking to your competitors rarely happens. Things are much more secret when it comes in terms of sharing business. The Internet & especially Twitter has changed it all. You can read the tweets of your competitors daily. Ask them for advice or give some. Of course, at the end of the day we are all still in competition with each other, but we get benefited with the conversation as we share a common interest. Get the opinions of your Twitter friends when you are uncertain about a new venture or something where you seek advice. Interaction with your fellow twitters is the first step in implementing twitter for business marketing
2. Interact with the Suppliers:
There are a large number of my suppliers who use Twitter. These suppliers offer weekly & even daily specials for their followers on Twitter. In the past they used to send these special offers through post which incurred significant expense or sent emails in your inbox which were often though as spam. Now consumers can log into Twitter to see what special offer is there for them. One can either ignore it or click to visit their website. Sending offers via twitter is a great idea to use twitter for business marketing and cut costs.
3. Interact with your Customers:
At the end of the day, your customers are what it is all about why you are using twitter forbusiness marketing. Twitter will help you to talk to them. Once you are on twitter you no longer need to send large promotional emails which are often annoying to them. You don’t have to make phone calls hoping they will be interested in your product and services. They will now know where to find you and will do that when they need you.
The Online Marketing Industry Report recently released by Michael A. Stelzner reviewed comments from 900 web marketers to ascertain if social networking is actually resulting in increased business opportunities for web marketers. The survey gave positive results on using twitter marketing tools and showed rise in profits.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Top 10 Worst Twitter Tips
You need another Twitter article like you need a hole in your head. There are millions of articles about what to do on Twitter and how to get it done. Some of them include:
How to Grow Your Follower Numbers to Over 10,000 in a Week
50 Ways to Use Twitter
100 Twitter Tools to Help You Achieve All Your Goals
Now I'm sure there is some valid information in these articles and the many others out there, but they are sorely lacking in one area and that is what not to do or how not to act.
Twitter is social. It's community-driven. So we shouldn't look to the opinion of one person about what Twitter is or how it should work. The community rules and we should decide our rules of engagement. It's at the nature of what makes Twitter special to begin with.
In order for Twitter to run smoothly and for each of us to make it a better place, not just for ourselves, but the community at large we need to establish what people shouldn't do, just as much as what they should. With the sheer volume of articles about what to do, this post will focus on what not to do. Look at my list below as a beginning topic of discussion. I want to hear your thoughts.
Your Top 10 Worst Twitter Tips
•Collect as many followers as possible and then just market yourself.
•Only pump out content that is going to benefit you.
•Crank out link after link. Conversation? Why bother?
•Assume everyone in the world wants your free e-book so promote the hell out it.
•If you're a business, forget that you finally have a chance to connect with your customer. Sell, sell, sell.
•Don't listen. There is no value in conversation.
•Automatically Direct Message people. They'll never know the difference.
•Don't bother replying to anyone's replies.
•Only tweet your daily events, no matter how boring and uneventful they actually are. Really, your yummy sandwich experience is important.
•Bait and switch. Who cares? You'll never meet the person.
Much of this can be summed up in terms of misinterpretation. Twitter's brand icon is a sweet, little blue bird, not a vulture.
So my questions to you are:
What advice would you give to a newcomer about what not to do?
What is the worst advice someone could give?
Article By Tim Andren
How to Grow Your Follower Numbers to Over 10,000 in a Week
50 Ways to Use Twitter
100 Twitter Tools to Help You Achieve All Your Goals
Now I'm sure there is some valid information in these articles and the many others out there, but they are sorely lacking in one area and that is what not to do or how not to act.
Twitter is social. It's community-driven. So we shouldn't look to the opinion of one person about what Twitter is or how it should work. The community rules and we should decide our rules of engagement. It's at the nature of what makes Twitter special to begin with.
In order for Twitter to run smoothly and for each of us to make it a better place, not just for ourselves, but the community at large we need to establish what people shouldn't do, just as much as what they should. With the sheer volume of articles about what to do, this post will focus on what not to do. Look at my list below as a beginning topic of discussion. I want to hear your thoughts.
Your Top 10 Worst Twitter Tips
•Collect as many followers as possible and then just market yourself.
•Only pump out content that is going to benefit you.
•Crank out link after link. Conversation? Why bother?
•Assume everyone in the world wants your free e-book so promote the hell out it.
•If you're a business, forget that you finally have a chance to connect with your customer. Sell, sell, sell.
•Don't listen. There is no value in conversation.
•Automatically Direct Message people. They'll never know the difference.
•Don't bother replying to anyone's replies.
•Only tweet your daily events, no matter how boring and uneventful they actually are. Really, your yummy sandwich experience is important.
•Bait and switch. Who cares? You'll never meet the person.
Much of this can be summed up in terms of misinterpretation. Twitter's brand icon is a sweet, little blue bird, not a vulture.
So my questions to you are:
What advice would you give to a newcomer about what not to do?
What is the worst advice someone could give?
Article By Tim Andren
Rules Of Social Media Optimization
Before you can put any of these rules to use, you may want to understand a little more about the differences between social media marketing and social media optimization.
SMM = Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing is strategically using the big social sites to spread your brand name or drive traffic back to your web presence.
SMO = Social Media Optimization
Social Media Optimization is adding key elements to your websites or content that make them easy to spread across the big social sites.
Rohit Bhargava Developed Social Media Optimization Rules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1. Increase your linkability
Linkability is the willingness of other websites or articles to link back to your site. One way to increase your natural Google listing is to increase how many authority sites link to you, so to increase your linkability with social media optimization is to make your site more informative and useful to others. You can do this in many ways; blog, white papers, press releases, keyword targeted articles, RSS feeds, etc. This is the most important step in Social Media Optimization and should be your first priority.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy
The act of tagging is to bookmark the website to social bookmarking websites. For example, if you like the content or services provided at a website you tag it. This will show others that you approve of this site and they will check it out, making viral traffic. To include social media optimization tagging on your site, you can add tagging links such as Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, etc. Also, add the tagging links to other pages in your site (not just the homepage) and when visitors click the tag button make sure that there is a suggestion box to help your visitor list a relevant tag and notes.
3. Reward inbound links
As I mentioned before one way to increase your natural listing with Google using social media optimization is to get more back links. You can do this by rewarding people/websites that link to you (inbound links). Inbound links are links that send people to your site from somewhere else. One way to reward people for linking to your site is to have a Recently Linked that lists all of the websites that have linked to you.
4. Help your content travel
Social media optimization focuses on providing useful content to your market. When you publish content such as an article, video, or audio file you must help it reach as many people on the web as possible. You can do this by submitting to relevant high traffic websites. When the word gets out about your great content (no matter what format) youll receive backlinks to your site.
5. Encourage the mashup
To mash up is to use two websites content and mash them together. For example, Youtube makes it easy to mash their content (videos) onto your site. In addition, because it is so easy you have added a video to your site that has a Youtube logo on the video as well as a link back to you tube. So to encourage a mashup with social media optimization is to make it easy for other websites to use your content and reference it to drive traffic back to your site.
Jeremiah Owyang Developed Social Media Optimization Rules 6 and 7
6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesnt help you.
One thing all visitors appreciate is honesty. With social media optimization you should include links to other websites that will help your visitor reach their goal or find the information they want. Do this, even when it doesnt benefit you. By linking to competitors or information not created by you, you reap the benefits of having the all inclusive information on a particular topic. In the end, more people will link to you because you have lumped all information (or links) on a topic on one location.
7. Reward helpful and valuable users
Valuable users are your best friends. A valuable user can be determined in many ways; they may send traffic to your site, add valuable content to your site, or assist visitors at your site. No matter what their doing, if it benefits you, your site, or your service you need to reward them. This could be by sending a personal message thanking them for their dedication. Other ways to reward your valuable users is to create reward systems, advertise for them or promote their efforts on your homepage.
Cameron Olthuis Developed Social Media Optimization Rules 8, 9, 10, and 11
8. Participate
With Social Media Optimization you can participate by joining on the conversation about your topic (or targeted keyword). Simply posting articles and sharing content isnt going to keep the buzz going. You should continue to share information on other websites. This participation will share your knowledge with more people. One way to do this is to find people that are blogging on your topic and to give input on the conversation. Also, participate in forums or other social groups that are discussing your topic. Read comments on your articles, videos, and audios and respond to them.
9. Know how to target your audience
Social media marketing is about sharing content/information. Not everyone is interested in your topic, so be sure to do your marketing research and post your information and knowledge where it will be understood and appreciated.
10. Create content
Content is considered to be any form on information that benefits a visitor. Content can be a white paper, article, video, audio, widget, the list goes on. Your job is to find a piece of content that will spark interest in visitors. No matter what market you enter there is always a form of content that they will share with others. Find out what it is and give it to them. This will in turn have them coming back for more useful content. If this happens, then you know that your social media optimization is successful.
11. Be real
Internet users are searching the web for specific content. If you are providing content that links back to a website, be sure that the website is relevant. You will not be rewarded for coaxing a visitor to a site that has nothing to do with the content they just read (or watched depending on the type of content you provided).
Loren Baker developed Social Media Optimization Rules 12 and 13
12. Dont forget your roots, be humble
Its easy to let popularity get to your head. When you become the shining star in your market be sure to recognize those that helped you get to the front of the pack. (this ties into #7 a little)
13. Dont be afraid to try new things, stay fresh.
Any one on the internet knows how quickly things change. Keep up with new media content, new types of websites, and new interests in your market. By staying on top of new information you can maintain top rankings.
Lee Odden developed Social Media Optimization Rules 14, 15 and 16
14. Develop a Social Media Optimization strategy
Social Media serves multiple purposes. You need to identify what your purpose is and then publish content that will promote that purpose. Some purposes for Social Media Optimization include: branding, reputation, charity, increase traffic, build reputation, increase sales, credibility, etc. Make sure that as you develop content that you are publishing and creating with that purpose in mind.
15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely.
Of all the content available on the web only about 10% of people on the web are content creators. The other 90% are consumers and are willing to share your content. Make your content easy to consume and spread. Also be sure to create content that will have the most impact on your original purpose (which could be any of the following: branding, reputation, charity, increase traffic, build reputation, increase sales, credibility, etc).
16. Make Social Media Optimization – SMO part of your process and best practices.
We all know that there are specific Search engine optimization tactics that every website should include. Just as you include keywords in your title tags and keywords in your H1 tag, you should find ways to include social media optimization aspects into the building of your website. This can be small details like including social bookmark tags on your site or encouraging incoming links with the recently Linked list I covered in #3.
17. Don’t be afraid to let go of a message or idea and let others own it.
Finally, when you create a movement, spark and idea, or develop a new topic dont be afraid to let others run with it. Collaboration is key. Others can improve upon your original idea and give you credit for the start. Be sure to give credit where its due.
I found this Article interesting.so.....thought of posting it!!!!
SMM = Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing is strategically using the big social sites to spread your brand name or drive traffic back to your web presence.
SMO = Social Media Optimization
Social Media Optimization is adding key elements to your websites or content that make them easy to spread across the big social sites.
Rohit Bhargava Developed Social Media Optimization Rules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1. Increase your linkability
Linkability is the willingness of other websites or articles to link back to your site. One way to increase your natural Google listing is to increase how many authority sites link to you, so to increase your linkability with social media optimization is to make your site more informative and useful to others. You can do this in many ways; blog, white papers, press releases, keyword targeted articles, RSS feeds, etc. This is the most important step in Social Media Optimization and should be your first priority.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy
The act of tagging is to bookmark the website to social bookmarking websites. For example, if you like the content or services provided at a website you tag it. This will show others that you approve of this site and they will check it out, making viral traffic. To include social media optimization tagging on your site, you can add tagging links such as Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, etc. Also, add the tagging links to other pages in your site (not just the homepage) and when visitors click the tag button make sure that there is a suggestion box to help your visitor list a relevant tag and notes.
3. Reward inbound links
As I mentioned before one way to increase your natural listing with Google using social media optimization is to get more back links. You can do this by rewarding people/websites that link to you (inbound links). Inbound links are links that send people to your site from somewhere else. One way to reward people for linking to your site is to have a Recently Linked that lists all of the websites that have linked to you.
4. Help your content travel
Social media optimization focuses on providing useful content to your market. When you publish content such as an article, video, or audio file you must help it reach as many people on the web as possible. You can do this by submitting to relevant high traffic websites. When the word gets out about your great content (no matter what format) youll receive backlinks to your site.
5. Encourage the mashup
To mash up is to use two websites content and mash them together. For example, Youtube makes it easy to mash their content (videos) onto your site. In addition, because it is so easy you have added a video to your site that has a Youtube logo on the video as well as a link back to you tube. So to encourage a mashup with social media optimization is to make it easy for other websites to use your content and reference it to drive traffic back to your site.
Jeremiah Owyang Developed Social Media Optimization Rules 6 and 7
6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesnt help you.
One thing all visitors appreciate is honesty. With social media optimization you should include links to other websites that will help your visitor reach their goal or find the information they want. Do this, even when it doesnt benefit you. By linking to competitors or information not created by you, you reap the benefits of having the all inclusive information on a particular topic. In the end, more people will link to you because you have lumped all information (or links) on a topic on one location.
7. Reward helpful and valuable users
Valuable users are your best friends. A valuable user can be determined in many ways; they may send traffic to your site, add valuable content to your site, or assist visitors at your site. No matter what their doing, if it benefits you, your site, or your service you need to reward them. This could be by sending a personal message thanking them for their dedication. Other ways to reward your valuable users is to create reward systems, advertise for them or promote their efforts on your homepage.
Cameron Olthuis Developed Social Media Optimization Rules 8, 9, 10, and 11
8. Participate
With Social Media Optimization you can participate by joining on the conversation about your topic (or targeted keyword). Simply posting articles and sharing content isnt going to keep the buzz going. You should continue to share information on other websites. This participation will share your knowledge with more people. One way to do this is to find people that are blogging on your topic and to give input on the conversation. Also, participate in forums or other social groups that are discussing your topic. Read comments on your articles, videos, and audios and respond to them.
9. Know how to target your audience
Social media marketing is about sharing content/information. Not everyone is interested in your topic, so be sure to do your marketing research and post your information and knowledge where it will be understood and appreciated.
10. Create content
Content is considered to be any form on information that benefits a visitor. Content can be a white paper, article, video, audio, widget, the list goes on. Your job is to find a piece of content that will spark interest in visitors. No matter what market you enter there is always a form of content that they will share with others. Find out what it is and give it to them. This will in turn have them coming back for more useful content. If this happens, then you know that your social media optimization is successful.
11. Be real
Internet users are searching the web for specific content. If you are providing content that links back to a website, be sure that the website is relevant. You will not be rewarded for coaxing a visitor to a site that has nothing to do with the content they just read (or watched depending on the type of content you provided).
Loren Baker developed Social Media Optimization Rules 12 and 13
12. Dont forget your roots, be humble
Its easy to let popularity get to your head. When you become the shining star in your market be sure to recognize those that helped you get to the front of the pack. (this ties into #7 a little)
13. Dont be afraid to try new things, stay fresh.
Any one on the internet knows how quickly things change. Keep up with new media content, new types of websites, and new interests in your market. By staying on top of new information you can maintain top rankings.
Lee Odden developed Social Media Optimization Rules 14, 15 and 16
14. Develop a Social Media Optimization strategy
Social Media serves multiple purposes. You need to identify what your purpose is and then publish content that will promote that purpose. Some purposes for Social Media Optimization include: branding, reputation, charity, increase traffic, build reputation, increase sales, credibility, etc. Make sure that as you develop content that you are publishing and creating with that purpose in mind.
15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely.
Of all the content available on the web only about 10% of people on the web are content creators. The other 90% are consumers and are willing to share your content. Make your content easy to consume and spread. Also be sure to create content that will have the most impact on your original purpose (which could be any of the following: branding, reputation, charity, increase traffic, build reputation, increase sales, credibility, etc).
16. Make Social Media Optimization – SMO part of your process and best practices.
We all know that there are specific Search engine optimization tactics that every website should include. Just as you include keywords in your title tags and keywords in your H1 tag, you should find ways to include social media optimization aspects into the building of your website. This can be small details like including social bookmark tags on your site or encouraging incoming links with the recently Linked list I covered in #3.
17. Don’t be afraid to let go of a message or idea and let others own it.
Finally, when you create a movement, spark and idea, or develop a new topic dont be afraid to let others run with it. Collaboration is key. Others can improve upon your original idea and give you credit for the start. Be sure to give credit where its due.
I found this Article interesting.so.....thought of posting it!!!!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
SMO- Social Media Optimization
SMO – (Social media optimization)
is a set of methods for attracting visitors to website content by promoting and publicizing it through social media. Social media optimization / SMO is a subset of social media marketing, which is promoting and publicizing products and services in general through social media. Social media optimization / SMO is one of two online methods of optimizing (attracting visitors to) website content, the other method is search engine optimization (SEO).
Social Media optimization is considered an integral part of an Online Reputation Management (ORM) or Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM) strategy for organizations or individuals who care about their online presence.
There are two categories of SMO methods:
(A) Promotional activities in social media aside from the content being promoted, including blogging, commenting on other blogs, participating in discussion groups, and posting status updates on social networking profiles.
(B) Social media features added to the content itself, including, RSS feeds, social news and sharing buttons, user rating and polling tools, and incorporating third-party community functionalities like images and videos Social media optimization is related to search engine marketing, but differs in several ways, primarily the focus on driving traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking is also a benefit of successful SMO.
Social media optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social book marking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogosphere and special blog search engines.
Social Media Optimization (SMO), is not limited to marketing and brand building. Increasingly smart businesses are integrating social media participation as part of their knowledge management strategy (i.e. product/service development, recruiting, employee engagement and turnover, brand building, customer satisfaction and relations, business development and more).
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