Posted on Wed, May 19, 2010 @ 01:24 PM
So now that you know how to avoid being kicked off of social bookmarking sites, it is important to realize how to gain relevance on these
sites. I have gone through the process of controlling over 80 social bookmarking sites, utilizing Social Marker, instantly pinging out articles through Ping.fm, and found that not only was I overwhelmed, I wasn't becoming the voice that I envisioned. It became a process of how fast can I get out 80 articles or blogs to as many social bookmarking sites so that I would have an array of articles on the internet. It was not easy. I learned quickly that not only was I being monitored for spamming but I wasn't gaining entrance into these sites. In order to become a recognized voice I had to do more than just submit blogs. There are a few simple things that can be done to successfully become an authority.
1. Start reading other articles & and blogs that are being submitted by users that are of relevance to your company and ones that you find of interest
2. Start interacting on social bookmarking sites to show other users that you have a common interest in what is being said by dropping comments, voting on articles, and joining groups
3. Gain an audience by "friend requesting" users you think would be important to your inner circle (anyone talking about a subject that you have common interest with qualifies).
4. Be as genuine as possible to show other users that you are a real human, just like social bookmarking sites ask you at the end of an article you are about to submit, "ARE YOU A HUMAN?"
5. Personalize your profile with a nice fancy picture of yourself and a little summary of who you are
With these simple tidbits, you will find that it is much easier to gain recognition by social bookmarking sites and maybe one day you will find your article on the front page! Not only do you need to take these things into consideration but you need to modify the amount of social bookmarking sites you submit to accordingly. I simply found that the only way I would gain entrance into social bookmarking sites was by limiting it to my Top 10 social bookmarking sites. Read up a bit on which sites offer your company the greatest chance to be seen. Not only did I limit the amount of articles I submit to, but I also started to submit to social bookmarking sites one by one. I no longer use Ping.fm and Social Marker because I felt I wasn't attracting my viewers the way I wanted to. It was not genuine and it came off as just that. Although these are great ways of submitting to mass amounts of social bookmarking sites, it was not good for me in pursuing online relationships.
Posted on Tue, Apr 20, 2010 @ 01:56 PM
I recently coined a new term the "Abyss of Mistrust". It truly sums up the challenge we face with every new client for the first 2-3 months or so; when the client bought into our program, but can't see an immediate return on their investment. At KeChange, we have learned to set expectations that there is some turnaround time to often "crushing" prior internet marketing performance, but we still spend a lot of time thinking how to give the client a comfort level during those first couple months.
Here are some tips that you can use to set and meet expectations during the initial phase of your Internet Marketing program.
Make sure they buy into the program - Before you commence a large Internet Marketing program, regardless if it's a website, social media or email initiative, make sure it's well thought out with objectives, annual goals and a strategy that everybody involved is on board with. Start with the annual goals by determining website leads, visits, links and pages. From there, work backwards in each category to set month-to-month and quarterly benchmarks.
Internet Marketing Program Example
Getting a "buy-in" to the long-term digital plan is the best thing you can do to give your boss or client a comfort level during the first couple of months. You can vary the plan accordingly, to show a slower ramp-up on results-oriented metrics like leads. For instance, maybe you start with closer to 10 leads and then adjust the numbers accordingly.
Have weekly communications with the client - It's critical to keep the client's mindshare and engagement while you are cranking away on delivering your Internet Marketing program. Out-of-site can often times mean out-of-mind. Secondly, you may need deliverables (company information to bulid those web pages) from the client during this stage. At the beginning or end of every week, you should send a simple bullet-point style email that outlines what you did last week and what you will do in the upcoming week. Again, always over-communicate your activities.
Weekly Communication Example
Host monthly results meeting - Every month host a monthly meeting for all relevant stakeholders of your Internet Marketing program. This meeting should be in person or in the form of a web meeting, so you can share activities and data. Keep the meeting simple and to the point. Here is the agenda:
1. What activities you accomplished last month (roll-up your emails)
2. Results - Show projected vs. actual results
3. Finally, simply state your activities for next month
These simple steps in communication will help put your client or boss at ease and ensure the long-term success of your Internet Marketing program. If you do these things you will help yourself stay clear of the early stage "Abyss of Mistrust."
By Stephen Polinsky, CEO
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Posted on Thu, Mar 11, 2010 @ 03:19 PM
What are your thoughts on Facebook's advertising opportunities? Have you given it a shot? Found it to be successful?
Or maybe you wish there was a better way to truly target your audience on the giant social media platform. Well now there may be, if utilized correctly. ShareThis, a tool that easily allows you to post relevant links from your browser right on to a blog or Facebook page, has now inverted this valuable way to share content by creating the ShareStream. The stream is an application that allows users to view any and all content friends and/or followers have posted, essentially serving as an RSS feed for what your social sphere deems cool and interesting. The application gets it data from roughly 130,000 sites that use its "sharing button," reaching over 430 million unique visitors a month. ShareStream also comes available as a widget, so links of shared content can be viewed by visitors to your blog or web site.
So just how could this help your online advertising efforts as a way to share your value proposition? Facebook, despite making unbelievable strides in its search tools and connectivity between users, has yet to really offer a way to - in great detail - target your audience when purchasing adspace through them. Others may disagree, but with our few attempts, we feel this is a much more efficent way to identify a niche group, or groups, that we want to target with an advertisment (hint: millions and millions and millions of users is too many).
With ShareStream, if you're able to keenly monitor the interests of your fans and followers, then there's a good chance you can leverage this information to find a true niche before making your adbuy.
By Nick Fasulo, internet marketing manager
Posted on Wed, Feb 24, 2010 @ 10:38 AM
By Nick Fasulo
Because it's so cost-effective, inbound marketing is growing in popularity and budget size with companies of every size across the country. A few weeks ago HubSpot released a report entitled "The State of Inbound Marketing," providing a peek into how business professionals involved in the strategy and/or budget of their company's marketing efforts are using inbound marketing for 2010. In short, "social media and blogs are becoming marketing powerhouses," with 85 percent of respondents labeling the use of blogs as "useful," and more than half that figure calling them "critical," according to the report.
As an internet marketing company, KeChange places a strong emphasis on page buildout and crafting a client's website and overall marketing strategy to evoke a sense of authority in the line of work that they're in. Having an engaged client who consistently files relevant blog articles helps accomplish both those ideas efficiently and inexpensively compared to traditional marketing tactics; all with the intent of reaching your target audience.
Say, for example, you're a personal injury law firm that is looking to draw traffic and, in turn, new clients who may be looking for legal consultation after hearing about a
recently recalled product. This is a fantastic opportunity to morph your blog into a news source. Provide frequent updates on the recall, what it means for those affected, how to proceed with legal action and, finally, how you can help! You can apply this method to a number of industries. The key is to inform, then convert visitors of your site by showing them you're the service they're browsing for.
Just two blog posts a week means 104 new pages for your site... 104 new pages that are engaging and speak to a relevant topic, meaning you're preventing your website from going stale. New content peppered with keywords also helps dramatically with SEO optimization, just be sure to integrate your well-oiled blog directly on to your website to ensure it's helping you rise in the all-important search result category.
Blogging is not just for the aspiring sports writer, or a new mom seeking an outlet to broadcast her triumphs and tragedies as a parent. This social media tool is also a professional tool, which can greatly enhance your website as a go-to source for commentary and information on pertinent industry topics.
Learn more about how this valuable social media medium can help heighten your online visibility, and also download a great
social media demographics chart to see how your target audiences utilizes blogs.
Posted on Wed, Feb 17, 2010 @ 01:18 PM
By Nick Fasulo
We all know that the conventional, 
one-dimensional television or print ad campaign is about as stale as that bag of chips still sitting in your kitchen from last Friday night. Campaigns are designed to hit targeted markets through multiple mediums and platforms. But you already know that.
So in today's world, a consumer controlled media world, ad campaigns that aren’t unanimously lauded as fabulous from each and every demographic can be criticized, visible to everyone, and creative media firms must begin to take heed of assumed backlash. Anyone with an internet connection and a beef can become - as Edward Boches points out – an anti-brand fan.
To the consumer: did you catch something while watching television recently that peeved you due to its horrible production value? Create a Facebook group page declaring your disdain, and watch your allegiance of people that echo your sentiments grow. Got a problem with a new ad because it’s degrading to a specific sub-culture? I hear spoof videos can draw thousands of hits a week on YouTube if they’re clever and uploaded in a timely manner.
Boches articulated this growing trend that producers must be cognizant of, by presenting a “contrived case study” based around a 1960s model Volkswagen Van. The hook? “Do you have the right wife for [a VW Van]”? Essentially, Boches is asking men if they are intelligent enough to pick a wife that fits in their ride. Not a terrible ad but surely something that the female population could be peeved by, and subsequently take to the Facebooks, Twitters and Blogs (the 21st century soapbox) to air their laundry list of grievances.
There’s no real way to police the anti-brand fan. In fact, we’re all one to some degree and this growing trend gives even stronger legs to the idea that social media and user-generated content isn’t going anywhere. We’ve learned that opinions and views shared between your group of friends are probably being heard in many other circles across the country, and this digital age helps to bring both the self-proclaimed #1 fan or the indignant hater together to share their thoughts.
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Posted on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 @ 10:58 AM
Article submitted by SJ Petteuti.
So now Google is jumping into the social media sphere with Google Buzz. Fantastic. Just what we need, one more profile to manage and keep up with. Did you know that the average social media user has 8 different profiles to manage? Now with a Google Buzz account will that number jump to 9? Will I have to manage my Google Buzz account and my Google Wave account separately?
With all these companies reinventing the wheel comes what I believe is the precipice of the Social Media Bubble. And when (not if) it bursts it will be because of companies like Google who are trying to stick their fingers in too many pies.
All bubbles, no matter what industry, burst because of the same reason- overload. People can only handle interacting with so many social media sites, and in the end the only thing that makes a social media site valuable is if it provides some sort of unique value. If I want to review a movie I go to Netflix, if I need to reach out to a professional contact I'll use Linkedin. Redundant social media sites like Google Buzz (which essentially aggregates the features of Twitter into a gmail social circle) will provide a small value, and ultimately remain unsuccessful.
The same is true for companies who are developing an Internet Marketing campaign. It is a fad right now to be on all the popular social media sites- you know the usual suspects. But having a social media presence can become a liability if you are not providing some sort of unique value to a specific audience on a specific social media platform. For all of our clients, we make sure that they have a seperate strategy for their Facebook page, Twitter account, and any other social media profile that we create for them- because they each serve very different functions.
But there is a limit, we can only manage so many accounts, both as companies and individuals. So when companies (like Google and Facebook) try to "add value" by rebranding something (like real-time chat) that we already have, they run the risk of overloading our circuits, and shutting down our interest in social media entirely.
Don't believe me? Consider the TV show Lost. Lost did such a good job interweaving the plot throughout each episode that they create a mentality that unless you have seen every episode (in order) then it's not even worth trying to jump in now. And sadly, that's true. That is a major reason why until recently, the ratings for Lost have consistently declined, despite the fact that the show is still strong. People lose interest, and new viewers don't jump in.
As the vanguards of the digital media, we need to be wary of not falling into that same trap. We can avoid bursting the bubble if we recognize that social media platforms work best when they are unique, and that there is a limit to how many profiles we can successfully manage.
The solution to companies is simple, don't get into a social media platform unless you can contribute something that is currently not there. That lesson goes for Google as well.
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