how to do social media marketing: bloggers, social networks, metrics, and more
Post on 18-Sep-2014
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Hear Sally Falkow of Expansion Plus and Chris Abraham of Abraham Harrison talk about the best practices in social media marketing.Not only is social media marketing the hottest thing in marketing, it may well also be the most effective marketing tool available to anyone doing any form of outreach.The meteoric rise of twitter and the slower but just as large groundswell of blogging have combined to shake communications of all kinds to the core.But social media marketing isn't monolithic and it covers a lot of ground. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. But there are best practices, there are tools and tricks and techniques to achieve greater success.TRANSCRIPT
The Power of Voice
Markets are conversations
Silence is Fatal
Social Media Strategy Set GoalsListenFind CommunitiesFind InfluencersContent StrategyPick ToolsDeliver ContentEngageFacilitateMeasure
Engagement Gap
The difference between the influence of the Internet in consumer decision making and the amount of spending and effort on the part of corporations, organizations and government agencies in trying to interact with and shape the thinking behind those decisions.
Source: CMO Council January 2009
The Engagement Gap
What we are seeing is much stronger sensitivity to engage directly with customers and learn more about what shapes, influences and impacts purchasing decisions and intentions to do business.
The move to quantify "customer affinity" and increase "customer advocacy" has become a new measure of marketing effectiveness.
Source: CMO Council January 2009
Monitoring Conversations
Only 16% of US companies are monitoring the online conversations for mentions of their brand.
Source: AdAge
What Is Influencing Your Audience Today?
Search EnginesNews EnginesOther Websites BlogsMicro bloggingPeer ReviewsCommentsFeedsPodcastsVideoSocial NetworksSocial News SitesTagging
New Media Relations Strategy
Direct to the publicBloggersNew online media
propertiesOnline JournalistsTraditional
Journalists News SitesSocial News Sites
Online Media RelationsWatch Yahoo! News for sites that consistently show up on
your keywords
Look for sites with a PageRank higher than 4
Contact the reporter or editor
Create content for those sites
Bloggers
Listen – tap into conversations around your keywords
Find bloggers who write about this topic
Rank them by influence, authority, traffic
BloggersRead their blogsComment appropriately and genuinelyWhat can you bring to the party?Build relationships
Mom Bloggers
Design Blogs
ResultsInfluential design bloggers reviewed the productInfluential Mom bloggers reviewed and recommended the productIncreased traffic to www.flor.comOver 100 million media impressions, including mainstream media, at a cost of less than 1c per impression
Publisher creates the RSS file and places it online
Internet end-users
Other sites and systems
Search engines and directories
Content consumers subscribe to the feed and retrieve its content whenever they want
Publisher creates the RSS file and places it online
Internet end-users
Other sites and systems
Search engines and directories
Content consumers subscribe to the feed and retrieve its content whenever they want
Publisher creates the RSS file and places it online
Internet end-users
Other sites and systems
Search engines and directories
Content consumers subscribe to the feed and retrieve its content whenever they want
Publisher creates the RSS file and places it online
Internet end-users
Other sites and systems
Search engines and directories
Content consumers subscribe to the feed and retrieve its content whenever they want
Publisher creates the RSS file and places it online
Internet end-users
Other sites and systems
Search engines and directories
Content consumers subscribe to the feed and retrieve its content whenever they want
Social MediaNews Room
A social media news room is a section of your site for journalists and/or bloggersMake it easy for them to get and use data about the company, the execs, productions and a contact personOffer social media format – images, video, audio, feeds
News Rooms
Have become a primary source of information for working journalists, with nearly 49% reporting visits more frequently than once a week and fully 73% reporting a visit at least once a week.
Suggested Features Social Media Newsroom
Management Bios with links to Social Media profilesPR Contacts info (email address, phone numbers, SM profiles)Case studiesNews coverage Blog coverageEvents Calendar. Trade shows, media tours, speaking engagements.Information/ Interview Request Form
Traditional Press releases Social Media News ReleasesVideo/podcast pagesImages (Flickr feed)News Feeds (RSS)Media downloadsLinks to make sharing content easy - social bookmarking and social news sitesTag Cloud
Additional Reading
Ebooks:Web Sense by Sally Falkow. Effective Internet marketing strategies for entrepreneurs.The Power of Good Content by Sally Falkow. Lean the secrets of how to write for the search engines and keep your visitors coming back for more.
www.falkowinc.com
•
The Truth about SEO
A new book by Rebecca Lieb, Editor of Econsultancy (USA) and previously Chief Editor of ClickZ.
Available at Amazon.com
Resources
RSS Service:PRESSfeedhttp://www.press-feed.com/
Expansion Plus Inchttp://www.expansionplus.com
Our blog: pro active http://falkow.blogsite.com
http://www.twitter.com/sallyfalkow
digital PR and Social Media Marketing
Chris AbrahamPresident and [email protected]@chrisabraham
Daniel KruegerDirector of Client [email protected]@d13vk
www.abrahamharrison.comwww.marketingconversation.com
Today's Hash Tag #digiPR
Before We Start: Don't Be Seduced by the Lure of Astroturfing“You may be attracted to covert online marketing: special ops, black ops, spycraft – “fifth column marketing,” if you will. Don’t be. The blowback that can result from using a false name, a false email (a Yahoo, Google, or Hotmail address created for the campaign and the false name), and a false bio, isn’t worth it. Even though your reputation online is more defined by your contributions to the conversations rather than who you are, the culture of the Internet doesn’t suffer being fooled, duped, or suckered.”
If you are ever found out, you are screwed.
A Beginner's Guide to Online PR and Marketing
“Markets are Conversations”
• “Through the Internet, the people in your markets are discovering and inventing new ways to converse. They're talking about your business. They're telling one another the truth, in very human voices.”
• “These markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can't be faked.”
• “But learning to speak in a human voice is not some trick, nor will corporations convince us they are human with lip service about "listening to customers." They will only sound human when they empower real human beings to speak on their behalf.”
The Cluetrain Manifesto, 1999, by Chris Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, David Weinberger
http://www.cluetrain.com/book/
“Markets are Conversations”
The Cluetrain Manifesto• Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives,
dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.
• Already, companies that speak in the language of the pitch, the dog-and-pony show, are no longer speaking to anyone.
• Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance.
• Companies need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships.
• Most marketing programs are based on the fear that the market might see what's really going on inside the company.
The Cluetrain Manifesto• To speak with a human voice, companies must share the
concerns of their communities. • But first, they must belong to a community. • Companies that do not belong to a community of
discourse will die.• Markets do not want to talk to flacks and hucksters. They
want to participate in the conversations going on behind the corporate firewall.
• The inflated self-important jargon you sling around—in the press, at your conferences—what's that got to do with us?
• You're too busy "doing business" to answer our email? Oh gosh, sorry, gee, we'll come back later. Maybe.
What We Do at Abraham Harrison• Online Brand Promotion Practice
– Blogger Outreach• Strategic messaging campaigns to A-list and B-Z-list bloggers• Targeted PR-style pitches tailored to social media expectations• Plain-talk messaging devoid of any sales or marketing-speak• Outsourcing all assets to Social Media News Releases• Bloggers produce earned media and so we must earn coverage• Poorly-handled campaigns result in Very Bad Things happening• Long-term blogger prospecting and cultivation (dossiers, etc)
– Social Media Community Engagement• Engaging conversation where it takes place online• Facebook, Twitter, Digg, MySpace, YouTube, Forums, Listservs• Widgets, Apps, Fundraising, Profile Management, Groups and Pages
creation & management, blogging, and microblogging
Goals, Expectations, and Audiences1. What is the goal of the client (what is your goal?)2. What is your desired outcome (how do you define success?)3. What sort of gift are you willing to bring to the party
– Online, generosity is always rewarded and stinginess is always punished– Gifts can be emotional, physical, ego-driven, exclusive, sentimental, informational, etc
4. Break this down into target audience(s)– Demographic Audience– Psychographic Audience– Geographic Audience– Profile and Celebrity of the Audience
5. Where does the audience “live?”– Blogs are often the best earned media– Twitter and other microblogging communities– Message boards, forums, newsgroups (Usenet)– Social networks (Facebook, MySpace, etc)– Mailing lists, Listservs1. YouTube, Qik, Utterz, and other communities
Blogger Harvesting and Prospecting
1. Who do you need to reach?– Activists, animal lovers, educators, parents, moms,
dads, politicos, the faithful, shoppers, travelers, sports fans, marketers, democrats, environmentalists, foodies, greens, Los Angelinos, New Yorkers, college grads, Pennsylvanians, etc…
2. Where do they spend time and doing what?– Are they bloggers, on Facebook, Twittering, on
YouTube, etc…
Blogger Harvesting and Prospecting3. Develop lists of blogs and their bloggers
• Search Google for exactly what you want “Top mommy blogs,” “best green blogs”
• Leverage blogrolls like you would endnotes
• Bloglines’ Most Popular Feeds,http://www.bloglines.com/topblogs
• Technorati Top 100 Blogs, http://technorati.com/pop/blogs
• Technorati Blog Directory http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/
• AllTop http://alltop.com/
Blogger Contact Information
• Many blogs have about pages and or offer obfuscated email addresses like cja[at]well[dot]com or embedded in graphics.
• Sometimes names and emails can be discovered by searching Google for “chris abraham”+email
• “Who is” is a fine resource if a blog is hosted on its own domain name, such as chrisabraham.com
– I recommend:
• More and more blogs “private register”– Private registration hides email addresses.– Domain Tools premium offers historical snapshots of
registration information, sometimes showing pre-private register emails.
• Long-story short: if someone goes out of his way to hide his identity or email, let him go, he does not want to be contacted!
Blogger Contact Information
Blogger Contact Information
Topic Universe Example
Example of an Outgoing Message
Example of an Outgoing Message
Example of an Outgoing Message
• We have tried many different styles and this is where we are:
– Short, terse, minimal, highly textual, with a clear message and a clear request
– Any verbiage that sounds like it is selling or marketing must be removed
– All assets, graphics, movies, or videos are collected into a “microsite” or “SMNR”
– Do not include conversion GIFs, hyperlinks, hot emails, images, or attachments
Example of an Outgoing Message
Social Media News Release (SMNR)http://banclusterbombs.smnr.us
SMNR For Sharp Electronicshttp://sharpgreen.smnr.us
SMNR For International Medical Corpshttp://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us
SMNR For Fresh Air Fundhttp://freshair-newsrelease.com/
SMNR For Snuggle Cremehttp://www.snugglecreme.com/newsrelease/
The SMNR (Steal this Content)
• As you might have noticed, our pitches are very spare
• We offload all content, message, keywords, images, links, and videos onto what is essentially a microsite
• It is convenient for our clients and handy for our outreaches
• We can get metrics and not have to change our clients’ websites
You’ll get to define message, keyword-density, and even sneak SEO-optimized links in there, even encouraging organic Google-bombing.
This allows you to easily keep everything closer to “on message” than you usually can otherwise: SMNRs rock!
The SMNR (Steal this Content)
To be honest, bloggers are even lazier than journalists.
A lot of the time, bloggers steal images and entire tracts of copy, paste it, and then just do a “blockquote” attribution.
Measure Twice, Cut Once
• Generally, before any outreach, bloggers are combined into a master universe to make sure there are no dupes or doubles.
• One blogger can have more than one email – check for doubles.
• Make sure the master universe does not contain A-list or “do not contact” bloggers (check twice).
Measure Twice, Cut Once
Respond Quickly & With Love• At Abraham Harrison, we don’t use autoresponders or let emails wait
until morning. When we send out an email outreach, we staff the INBOX almost constantly over the next hours and days
• If a blogger gets pissed off by a pitch, we have only minutes to respond
• A personal, immediate, and human response can make the difference between earning a blog post or being forwarded to Bad Pitch Blog
• When you respond, never lock horns or rise to the bait – people have busy, complex, lives:
• "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" -- Philo of Alexandria
• Always respond with either support or desperate Mea Maxima Culpa!
Respond Quickly & With Love
Tracking Responses & Mentions
• Be sure to always track who replies.
• Also, be sure to remove anyone who asks immediately.
• Finally, if you can’t find their email, ask them if they use another – some people collect all their email into one account, usually a Gmail account, and reply from there.
Tracking Responses & Mentions
• Also, be sure to track all blog mentions as they occur
• Using Google Alerts and Google BlogSearch is generally good enough
• Don’t hesitate to ask your bloggers to pop you the link to their post when they say that they will
• Also, don’t hesitate to hold a blogger accountable for posting if he offers
Follow-Up Boldly and Proudly
Follow-Up Boldly and Proudly
Follow-Up Boldly and Proudly
Follow-Up Boldly and Proudly• If we don’t get a reply from a blogger, we send 3-4
follow-up emails.
• We assume that email gets lost, blocked, de-prioritized, ignored, missed, or put off until later – and later never comes because folks are just busy.
• The squeaky wheel does get the grease and we get our biggest successes in response to the second and third email outreaches.
• We generally allow a week to pass between email follow-ups.
Proof is in the Pudding
Earned Media Mentions
Earned Media Mentions
Earned Media Mentions
Earned Media Mentions
Metrics & Reporting
Metrics & Reporting• These charts represent volume of social
media mentions over time• The green dots represent our blogger PR
outreach• Spikes in conversation map perfectly with
our digital PR engagement
Metrics & ReportingThis chart compares the same time frame in two different years
Metrics & ReportingThis chart breaks online mentions into social media platform
Thank You For Your Time!
Chris AbrahamPresident and [email protected]@chrisabraham
Daniel KruegerDirector of Client [email protected]@d13vk
Please Continue the Conversation on Twitter by Using Our Delightful
Hash Tag#digiPR