Izeafest: Notes on Social Media

Izeafest 2009 – Notes from @prtini Ted Murphy – Keynote • Brands propel business – driving traffic back to main site • Traffic driven by conversations and bonds from conversations you’re having • Brand Promise o Personal branding examples:  Problogger – being useful, educational  Ted Murphy – fun loving, running, crazy, leader, tweeter, etc  Gary Vee – energy, “crush it” o Need a personal branding statement  Gary Vee: Crush It  Ted: Disruption with a smile  Mike: Own your 30 lines. • Identity o Name  Proper name vs. persona  Things to consider: domains, twitter profile, Facebook page, YouTube  Goal: Own the search for your name. o Design  Logo is the single unifier  Common logo mistakes:

 Designing a logo if you’re not a designer  Using clipart as your logo  Using a photo of yourself  Creating a logo that only works in full color  Photos: “Quality is your friend”  Hire a professional  Capture your personality  Get the rights for publication in all media  Blog – needs to be as professional as everything else you do  Example: The Pioneer Women  Common mistakes: • Using a common template • Designing a blog if your not a designer • Going crazy with display ads  Link content with display advertising  Secret: Coordinate o Communication style  Be consistent with your tone  Define your look o Embodiment  Be just as awesome in real life • Contribution o How you make a difference o Contribute things you are passionate about and good at o Primary and secondary (job, talent, etc) • Promotion o Think of personal brand like a business o Invest in yourself • Monetization

Brian Clark (@copyblogger) -- Traffic 03/10/2009 20:35:00 ←

←3 steps to authority: • Viral content o Value – What others perceive as valuable o Focus – know what you’re trying to teach or communicate, and stay laser-focused on that message. Otherwise, you’re attracting bad copy.  Start with the end in mind  Don’t stray just for traffic – it’s a self-defeating exercise o Headlines – in an attn environment, a unique, ultra-specific promise of valuable can’t-miss content  If they think they’ll read it later, they won’t. They need to be drawn in immediately o Hooks – attract attention and increase engagement with a unique approach  Don’t pander to everyone with your hook • Social media content promotion o “Nothing spreads on its own unless it does” o Other blogs – create relationships with other bloggers in your niche by participating in the comments; do something for them first before asking for a link o Social media content hubs – traffic distribution hubs driven by voting and bookmarking (Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Stumbleupon, etc)  ZenHabits built his blog off of this  You’re after links – they bring direct traffic  Was primary focus 2 years ago; now Brian doesn’t even focus on it o Social networking – build and leverage your network (e.g., Twitter)  Choose 1 platform and own it, build and build, work it.  Brian chose Twitter (doesn’t see value from FB). A lot of blog content shared on Twitter is marketing-related

 Got fans on the blog? Drive to Twitter … and vica versa.  “From a pure content marketing standpoint, retweets are what you live for”  Find valuable content that fits into 140 characters – anything related to your core purpose. It’s about value. • SEO o Search engines love a lot of content o It’s the last step. It doesn’t need to be done while you’re creating the content.  Create the best headline that will attract readers o 4 factors:  Clean code  Killer content  SEO copywriting – the right keywords in the right place  Titles, URLs (shorter=better), subheads, internal links  “Writing for people or writing for search engines? People use search engines. You’re always writing for people.”  Use keywords and synonyms in subheads  Don’t feel bad about repeating yourself. But, always link to previous article. Then, you’re in control of the anchor text  User experience  Design matters o Try to get keywords right in the beginning. You want people to link to you using the right anchor text o 58% of SEO has nothing to do with the text on the page • “I don’t care about traffic; I care about subscribers.” ←Resources: • Google “viral copy” • Google “authority rules”

SEO (@sugarrae and @graywolf) 03/10/2009 20:35:00 ← ←Tips about SEO: • Write for words people will search o Those need to be in the title tags • When blogging, you either want categories OR tags to categorize o Index those, not the date o Funnel all links to one section o Pick which search engines will index and block the rest • .edu and .gov sites carry more weight • If Google doesn’t value any of your links, you need to “get noticed” – create some “link bait” or star power o Need to get trusted authority • The point of search engines is to help people who don’t know who you are – not people who already know you. • Don’t Make Me Think – the more questions you make a user ask, the more likely they’re going to leave • SPAM: “Sites Posted Above Mine” • Custom Query String: Wordpress plug in that shows specific number of categories/pages Yoast.com – best SEO plugins for Wordpress out there. Also offers an e-newsletter

Personal Branding on Twitter (@prsarahevans) Heather Biddulph ← ←What works? • Hedgehog concept – (Good to Great) Be the best at something. • Two rules: o Build, build, build o What’s in it for me? • The best time to build a network is when you don’t need one. ← ←Building a brand via: • Trust • Fan base • Credibility • Niche • Expert ← ←What to share: • Tools and news • Personality • Interaction ← ←Developing a strategy: • Who are you/your brand? • Who do you want to communicate with? • What do you want to accomplish? ←What’s your umbrella? • Increase network & personal connections • Improve relations between PR, bloggers and journos • Better the nonprofit world If something doesn’t fall under the umbrella, don’t do it. The worst thing you can do is make a promise you can’t keep. ← ←Never underestimate the value of a strong email distribution list ←

Social Media Promotion 03/10/2009 20:35:00 ← ←Lucretia Pruitt @geekmommy ←David Binkowski @dbinkowski ←Chris Heuer @chrisheuer ←Wendy Piersall @emom ←Warren Whitlock @warenwhitlock ← ←Key takeaways: • Social media is very situational. Want to do things right in the way the market approves of. • We want to buy from people we know, like and trust • What we’re doing now is no different than what good businesses have been doing forever. • Do you need a personal brand? o Yes, if you need to develop business, be a brand ambassador, etc o No, if you’re building an affiliate site or some other content- driven site • Personal brand is a nice buzz word. It’s your reputation. If you’re trying to develop a brand that isn’t who you are, that’s a problem. • “Don’t become somebody you’re not, just to fit the personal brand you designed.” • Best way to get noticed: Organically and naturally • Get out and meet people. • Find out what cause people care about o Taking traditional community relations  online • Promote other people. What can I do to give to help other people? If you’re not getting enough, give more. • Look, listen, learn, join, lead. Get prepared to be the leader. Earn trust over time. • The pitch doesn’t matter. Who are you? Why should I trust you? • Use the su.pr – the Stumbleupon link shortner • When the telephone started, people dictated what they wanted said. When email originated, people thought they didn’t have time for that either. • Comes down to innovation. Find the unmet need.

• Not about your time commitment, it’s about your commitment over time. • Is a newsletter part of social media? Definitions don’t matter. Chris says it’s media that can be shared, so sure. Social media isn’t the object of the tool – it’s what we do with it. • Test & learn • Reach matters, but feedback is critical. Qualitative. • Time of the day: What’s the best? o Su.pr will give you day parts – best time to tweet o 8:30-9:15, around lunch and later in the day is best o But, depends who you’re trying to reach. GNO is 9-11 p.m. o Check Analytics and see when your peak is. That’s when you should push your efforts. o Top bloggers will follow the media cycle. Throw-away news: Friday evening. Big news: Monday or Tuesday morning. • Fail fast.

Influence (Aaron Brazell @technosailor) 03/10/2009 20:35:00 ← ←How we deal with people impacts how we get things done • It doesn’t matter if you’re a rock star or not – it’s not about you, your celebrity ← ←There’s a difference between being a celebrity and influencer • Celebrity will get you attention right now • Influencer will get you attention long-term ← ←What’s the mark of an influencer? • A person who is hungry – wants to know as much as they can about the agenda, cause, etc o No one cares about what you already know. You want to know more. o Not about what you can do – it’s about how much you want to know. • Create conversations, situations, environments that allow you to be effective. o Create environments where people want to know what you’re saying • Respond o Big difference between response (thoughtful) and reaction (knee-jerk)  If you want to be an influencer, you can’t react. You have to respond. o Allies – you have to build alliances with people. You can’t do it on your own. o Quality o Transparency  Do what you say, say what you do.  People know what they’re going to get, where you’re coming from  Transparency build trust  Brand is not a logo or a look. Brand = trust. o Charisma influences people.

 Know how to talk to people o Unsung  People who just do what they do because it makes a difference. They’re not out to be a hero  Love what they do … and they just do it o Inspire ← ←@1stmeritbank – Aaron had a problem with his bank. Complained on Twitter, they responded. DMd him a couple times to follow up. They built trust with Aaron by responding and following up with him. http://technosailor.com/2009/07/10/first-mariner-bank-a-new-shining-star- in-social-media-pr/

Navigating & Networking (@lizstrauss) 03/10/2009 20:35:00 ← ←The Internet works the same way as real life, but with a slightly different culture because we can’t see each other ←Be who you are – consistently ← ←If you want to get more people to come to your blog, be there. Be the person behind the screen. ← ←Internet-famous is different than Oprah-famous • There was never a perception of being able to reach Oprah • Online, people expect to be able to reach you ← ←Evolution of a blogger • Enthusiastic blogger • Disillusioned learner – around 6-9 months • “I’m a sham” – people talk to you like you’re an expert, but you don’t think you are. o Not true. Everyone brings something to the Internet. ← ←Be as positive on the “back channel” (DMs, emails) intercoms as you are on the front channel (public tweets, messages) ← ←Not sure what your passion is? What are you always talking about? What do people ask you for help with? What problem are you solving? • Solve your problem for other people. Solve it for yourself first, then be generous about solving it for other people. ← ←There’s a difference between helping people (for free) and “doing things” (which should be for payment) ← ←Playing vs. playing for keeps • If you don’t have a goal for your blog, get one. • If you’re going to blog for business, play for keeps. Own it. Leave space for the conversation – ask questions, invite guest-posters, etc

What Advertisers Want 03/10/2009 20:35:00 ← ←Brett Bumeter @brettbum ←George Smith @georgegsmithjr ←John Andrews @katadhin ←Jeff Jaffe @jaffejuice ←Zena West @zenawest ← ←Advertisers aren’t sure what they want yet from bloggers ← ←Challenge: Thinking about new media with traditional media lenses ← ←As efficiency grows, as advertisers learn what’s effective in this case, you’ll see bigger budgets ← ←Whether you have 2 people talking about something, or 200,000, it’s still a conversation. • Use blogs, twitter, etc to educate, provide customer service, give product info ← ←From a big-brand perspective, how do you find the right bloggers? • Assess the content strategy and consistency. Does that match up with the brand? • Connection, passion, not just about the traffic numbers ← ←Companies can’t outsource everything to PR, marcom firms. “If you want to be involved in the social space, you have to participate.” ← ←Advertisers want to see quality themes – not just the basic, free templates ← ←The only currency that exists in the blogosphere is currency ← ←Sponsorship vs. advertisement ← ←Bring your community in on the program. If you’re reviewing a product, ask for a second to give away to your readers. ←

←Marketing is a commitment, not a campaign ← ←The mommy blogging concept works because moms (and dads) are the portal into the home. ← ←When trying to show value as a potential advertising channel, use case studies, results. ← ←If you’re asked to review something that you don’t like, keep the review straightforward, simple. Offer suggestions. “Keep it above board.” • Give at least three things that the company could have done better • If you only give 5-star reviews, you’ll lose credibility • If you’re offering a negative review, it’s nice to give your product contact a heads up • A product review is not an advertorial or an advertisement • Consider using video for reviews

Chris Brogan 03/10/2009 20:35:00 Think of “you, the brand” like a 360-degree business • The NASCAR-ification of the brand • 1950-2006 advertising – stick a famous person next to a product • Now: What are you willing to represent ← ←Jay-Z moved from music to businessman ← ←If you’re going to share yourself with other brands, blogs – bring it back to your home base. Start to build your own equity ← ←Social media makes real things happen • Print ads aren’t pulling, circulation is down – need to find new ways of doing things ← ←Who’s my audience? The only difference between an audience and a community is the way the chairs are facing ← ←Trade pubs are the only kinds of publications still making $$ because they align with a very specific audience • Find people who have a passion; better= find people with passion and money ←Be everywhere. • Odds are, you’re not commenting enough. Comment in heartfelt way, not in ways that only serve your agenda ←Be helpful. • Write about other people and what they can do with that info • Give your content “handles” – give someone something they can use and they’ll come back for more. • Be aware. Not self-involved. ←Be the priest. Build the church. • Make a movement happen. Be at the center – empower others to do really good stuff. • Make people feel like they’re on the inside ←Be there before the sale. • It’s easier to sell on the inside, to people who know you. ←This is farming, not manufacturing. It’s a slower process.

←Don’t be the SM person. SM person will get cut. And, it’s stands out apart from the company, instead of being integrated fully into the business ← ←The DNA of Disruption • Don’t wait for people to give you permission to do stuff • Are you getting ideas from outside? • Stop. Collaborate. And Listen. • Can you be the fringe? Can you cut out other people’s messes? ←Take initiative. Just do. • Start with a goal if you’re going to make a business out of it. Have many paths to achieve the goal. ←Assess often. ← ←Don’t fall in love with your own idea so much that you don’t see another way to do it. ← ←It’s not about the tools – it about connecting to other people.

Izeafest: Notes on Social Media

by Geben Communication: Communicating ... Connecting on Oct 03, 2009

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Izeafest: Notes on Social Media — Document Transcript