Posts Tagged: attention

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21
Apr 10

Should companies focus on targeting peer-influencers?

If you’ve been working social media or word-of-mouth marketing for long, it shouldn’t surprise you that 16% of Web users create 80% of brand impressions . WOM marketers have operated under an 80/20 principle for a long time — now  they’ve got the data to back it up . But now that we have this information, what do we do with it? How do we take this information about an influencers’ role in creating brand impressions and turn it into something we can use? I think there are three natural questions that stem from these reports. How do I identify the connectors and mavens who speak to my target audience? By their very nature, influencers want to be found. They tend to be active and visible in their communities. If you’re not sure who you should be talking to, that may be a sign that you need to learn more about your target community. How much of my energy should I put into engaging influencers ? Anyone who has ever tried to win over an influencer knows what a time sink it can be. You can spend hours pitching to one person and come up empty again and again. So, take a diversified approach. Think of your marketing plan the way you would a stock portfolio. You want a mixture of risk and reward levels. Pitching to connectors and mavens is a high-risk, high-reward scenario. Make sure you balance those efforts with campaigns that aren’t all-or-nothing. How do I engage them? This is the hardest part — and getting an influencer’s attention will only get more difficult as more marketers target them. There are plenty of easy ways to rise above the din — but one of the best may be to start early. Don’t aim for the biggest fish — aim for the little fish that’s growing fastest. If you can form a relationship with someone before everyone wants his or her attention, you’ve got a much better chance of making an impact. Will you change your marketing strategy in light of this information? How should marketers use this new data? What companies do an especially fine job of reaching out to influencers? Image credit, iofoto , Shutterstock

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20
Apr 10

Reader Poll: Help Make Online Marketing Blog Even Better!

Thanks to readers like you, TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog has experienced a long and rich blogging life over the past 6+ years with 2,300+ posts, hundreds of thousands of unsolicited links from powerful industry web sites and content that has helped thousands of readers become smarter online marketers. We watch what our readers say in comments on and off the site as well as looking at referring keywords in web analytics and site search keywords to get an idea of what our valued community is interested in. With over 30,000 RSS subscribers and well over 100,000 unique visitors, we appreciate your attention a great deal and want to do our best to be a helpful resource. To help us further refine the content we offer you, please complete the following poll on what types of posts you like best.  If you have more to say, such as what topics you would like to see more of, or any other insights, please make suggestions in the comments. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Thank you for participating in this poll and if you ‘ve made a comment, thank you even more for sharing your insight!   If it wasn’t for you, TopRank Online Marketing Blog wouldn’t have become one of the most popular marketing blogs on the web. © Online Marketing Blog , 2010. | Reader Poll: Help Make Online Marketing Blog Even Better! | No comment | http://www.toprankblog.com

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9
Apr 10

What does the Kyrgyz revolution say about social-media engagement?

Does a Twitter topic need to trend to have an impact? Is a topic less important if it has a deep resonance for a smaller group of people — instead of the other way around? If those seem like silly questions to you, think about the way the role of social media in the Kyrgyz revolution is being portrayed by many media outlets. In the lead story of today’s SmartBrief on Social Media , Evgeny Morozov compares the Kyrgyz revolution with the Iranian revolts of last summer. He argues that because Kyrgyzstan is less important on the world stage, Western media is less interested in the drama unfolding there. “In short: why is there no Twitter revolution in Kyrgyzstan? Because there is no one to hype it up.” He also notes that the platform is being used differently than it was in Iran — less a tool of organization and more a broadcasting mechanism. Yet it would be a mistake to think that Twitter isn’t an important of this story just because it doesn’t neatly parallel the events in Iran, notes Sarah Kendzior. “The tweets, blog posts, and news articles written by people in Kyrgyzstan — often with great emotion and care — are dismissed because they were written for people in Kyrgyzstan. But for whom, may I ask, are people in Kyrgyzstan supposed to be writing?” In other words, it doesn’t matter whether the whole world is watching The conversation is important to its intended target: the Kyrgyz people. Now think about your own social-media efforts. Are you obsessed with getting on Twitter’s trending topics? Making it onto the front page of Digg? Becoming a YouTube sensation? Those are all perfectly worthy goals. But they’re not the only goals. If you’re reaching the people you need to reach — and more importantly, if you’re really affecting them, then its not as important if someone outside your target demographic hears about you or not. When you start your own revolution, ask yourself, who are you doing this for? Is it just for the attention of strangers? Or are you trying to make a difference in your community? The answer to that question may dictate your entire strategy — and determine whether you ultimately regard your campaign as successful. Does a social-media campaign always need mass awareness to be successful? What are some examples of campaigns that triumphed by creating deep engagement with a small population? Should campaigns decide at the outset of a campaign if they’re aiming for mass exposure or fan engagement? Image credit, Jesus Cervantes , via Shutterstock

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1
Apr 10

5 steps to building a companywide social-media plan

Like many progressive marketers, you believe that social media has the potential to propel your business to the next level. You discuss its merits with your friends and your co-workers — but you just can’t seem to get things moving. Maybe the executive team isn’t listening, or maybe you just haven’t done what it takes to be heard. Ever since we touched on DuPont’s social-media evangelist’s recommendations for selling social media to executives, I’ve been keeping a list of tips about what has worked within companies — including ours. Start small and test. Regardless of what your job function is, find a piece that you think may benefit from social media. In sales? Prospect in LinkedIn or Twitter. In HR? Build out your presence and post open positions on Facebook. Just make sure to keep close track of the time that you spend — as that will undoubtedly be asked of you. Record victories. You’ve been keeping track of your efforts and now have made progress. Anecdotal wins are great, but hard data is what is going to resonate with the most senior of audiences.  Document any numbers you can: page views, conversions, leads, hires, sales, etc. Communicate . This is a critical juncture. When enough victories (and the accompanying data) have been amassed, it’s time to let key people know. Start with your boss– mentioning the wins and focus on efficiency. Think, “I spent an extra two hours this week networking and sharing information on Twitter, and I have landed three new, strong leads.” While you may be excited and want to go direct to the C-Suite with this information, I caution you to communicate in ways that show you’re in this for the long haul. It’s important to generate as many allies as possible– and your boss is key. Assemble an interdepartmental team . Meet individually with the heads of each function/group/department. In all conversations, try your best to leave out the phrase “social media” if at all possible. The point of these “new strategies” is to help meet existing goals. If you introduce the group you’re assembling to senior leaders as a “social-media team,” they might assume it’s an experiment of sorts. This is about using new channels to achieve company goals, not about trying to get more fans on Facebook. Allow the heads of each department to select his/her own representative on the team. If you align the team with core goals, department heads will be less likely to appoint junior staff members. Produce . Now that you have a interdepartmental team, the collective voice is stronger, and “vetted” projects can take shape. This team should continue to test, record and report victories — now with the attention of the C-Suite. One final piece of advice: Check out the upcoming Social Media Success Summit — which SmartBrief is helping to organize — where you can learn business tactics for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and more. The summit is entirely online, so there’s no travel expense, and for the next week or so, registration is half off . It’s the best $297 your boss will ever authorize.

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11
Mar 10

BIGLIST Social SEO Blogs Update 031110

Welcome to the post-Winter/pre-Spring version of the BIGLIST review of  SEO blogs .  Snow is starting to melt and you can actually walk around outside (in Minnesota) without your eyelashes freezing together. We have a nice group for you to review so fire up your RSS reader and subscribe. LyndiT blog gets our attention for great design and user experience in this BIGLIST update. Lyndi Thompson is a Social Media and Online Marketing Specialist and like me, is addicted to peanut M&Ms.  Besides writing about a mix of social media, SEO, web design and online marketing topics, you might be interested to know Lyndi lives on a mini farm, owns several animals including a donkey and supports some great causes in the Northwest. Frank Thinking About Internet Marketing – Frank Reed blogs on several sites including Marketing Pilgrim and Biznology. Here, he shares is talented writing skills to tell stories about SMB internet marketing topics. This isn’t a how to blog, it’s a broader topic and things to think about blog as the name implies about Search, Mobile, Social and Local. State of Search – What’s going on in the search and social media marketing space?  This new blog from Dutch internet marketer, Bas van den Beld of Search Cowboys fame, and friends promises to be a source for what’s happening in the world of search and social.  It also compliments a weekly radio show on WebmasterRadio.fm of the same name. ezlocal blog – If you’re in search of great advice on local search marketing, this might be your lucky day. You can expect detailed how to posts including those about Google Maps and Local Business Center and local marketing topics. ezlocal itself is a local business search resource and directory. Digital Marketing Zen – David Wells is a digital marketing strategist for an agency in Charlotte, SC and publishes a blog that documents his observations via posts, podcasts and a curated collection of videos on topics that include everything from Augmented Reality to SEO and Social Media to Web Analytics. Single Grain Blog – This agency blog is written by Sujan Patel and Ross Hudgens on SEO, PPC, Design, Link Building and some social media. Website Workshop – Buzzhound Learning Lab is a St. Louis, MO based agency with a newer blog that has started writing posts again about SEO and topics that support the SEO training courses offered.  Hopefully they continue. Aussie Internet Marketing Blog – Sean Rasmussen writes “down under” about practical tips on a variety of online marketing topics including SEO, blogging, social media and general web 2.0. Did your SEO or SEM blog make the cut? Share the good news with your readers using the badge and link below or choose one from the  badges page .

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