Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Video Marketing: 7 Tips for Getting Started

About Leilani Yau
Leilani Yau is a digital marketing consultant, specializing in social media for small businesses and non-profits, and helps clients L.O.V.E. (Listen, Offer, Value, Engage) their target audiences online. She served as Social Media Director for Women in Consulting.

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Posted in Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media |
Tags: marketing, video

Mind Reading with Google

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Posted in Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media |
Tags: Google, research, social media

Mind Reading with Google

This article was written by a colleague, Sheila Fruge, and originally published on the Women in Consulting blog (www.womeninconsulting.org/blog). I am reprinting it with permission.

What if there was a way to know what others were thinking? To see it graphed out on chart? In a way, Google Trends already does this by allowing users to eavesdrop on search patterns, no privacy violated or psychic ability required.

Search queries are really expressions of thought, which is recorded when entered into search engines. En masse, patterns emerge and can be analyzed to provide insights for businesses wanting to learn more about their markets and monitor trends. It’s the closest us non-psychics can get to knowing other people’s thoughts. This article will cover Google Trends as part of a series I’m writing to spotlight Google’s more useful offerings for businesses.

What is Google Trends

Google is the #1 global Internet property, reaching 84% of Internet users.* This makes the company privy to massive amounts of search term data which they normalize and scale to protect privacy. Trends works by analyzing a percentage of web searches that have met Google’s undisclosed traffic thresholds. Fortunately they share this data with the public through Google Trends which was released in September and is a merged version of Google Trends and Google Insights. As a search engine marketer, this is one of my favorite tools and can be useful when developing a paid search strategy for clients.

How to Use Google Trends

Google Trends allows users to input up to five search queries to compare. This will return a line graph comparing the popularity of these keywords over time along with a related terms list. Search queries can be limited to only display web, news, image and product search data which can be further segmented  by region, timeframe and category.

Witches, Vampires or Werewolves

Here’s an example on how one might use this tool. Let’s say you run a business that sells Halloween costumes and want to find out which costumes get the most search interest: witches, vampires or werewolves. The chart reveals that “witch costume” has been the leader in search demand for years.

Further down the page, there is a heat map graph and related terms list that reveal more insights. Clearly, there are some states like Utah and Tennessee that have higher search interest for “witch costumes.” Further, when reviewing the related terms there is specific demand around “candy corn witch” and “glinda witch costume.”

How to Use This Data

In only a few minutes of checking, it’s easy to see patterns that could be leveraged to help market witch costumes to the most interested consumers. From this data an action plan can be created to increase sales. These actions may include:

• Ordering more candy corn and glinda witch costumes from the manufacturer
• Setting up a paid search campaign targeting the highest search states like Utah and Tennessee
• Adding candy corn- and glinda witch-related keywords to the website and promoting it through social media

Please note, Trends is a fun tool but is only a starting place for research. From here, I’d use the Google AdWords Keyword and Traffic Estimate tools to scope out the traffic opportunity and understand what the advertiser competition looks like for the paid search campaign. Those tools will provide more specific information where starting budgets and sales forecasting can be estimated.

If you haven’t used this tool, I recommend that you try it. It’s fun to get insights into trending topics and to learn about what other people are searching for. I hope you enjoyed this article and would like to get your thoughts or experiences on this tool. Thanks for reading.

* Data represents Google Search and Content Network, including Google properties; Source: comScore Key Measures Report, March 2009; Attributor, Dec. 2009

** images from Google Trends and SodaHead.com

About Sheila

Sheila Fruge is the owner of Fruge Consulting Inc. and specializes in helping organizations attract qualified leads online to increase exposure and grow sales. She is a Google AdWords Certified Partner and has spoken to UC Berkley and UC San Francisco classes about search engine marketing best practices. Learn more about Sheila at www.frugeconsulting.com

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Posted in Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media |
Tags: social media

Ten Ways to Make Your New Product Stand Out in the Crowd (Part 2)

In my last post, I covered five ways to improve the effectiveness of your product launch:

• Involve the reporters, readers or viewers.
• Provide product samples.
• Arrange product reviews.
• Enlarge the announcement.
• Position the announcement as part of a trend.

Here are five more time-tested techniques to help your new product stand out in the crowd.

6. Prepare good visuals.

Editors of both online and offline publications need good visuals. Put some thought into an innovative photo or a good, eye-catching diagram. Some companies are using infographics to introduce their products, bypassing the traditional news release altogether.

Over the years, I’ve used everything from regular screen shots and “people pictures” to turn-of-the century ads and original cartoons. Almost always, those visuals have paid off handsomely in significant coverage.

7. Report on the product’s benefits

Make the product’s usefulness, purpose and benefit central to the story. When Roku and Netflix introduced the Netflix Player by Roku™, they emphasized that the device “enables Netflix subscribers to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV.” They also pointed out that “the player is simple to install, easy to use and gives Netflix members instant access to more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes.”

The two companies did not describe the intricacies of the technology, or the details of their partnership. Instead they focused on what the viewer would get from the device.

8. Use the Web.

Capitalize on online tools. Before the announcement “seed” the announcement by participating in online industry or consumer groups related to the product. Respond to questions and offer advice freely. This will help position you as an expert, which will help your credibility come announcement time.

On announcement day, distribute the release over a wire service. Post information on LinkedIn and, if appropriate, Facebook, Pinterest and the like. Tweet your announcement. Provide all product information – visuals, demos, video – online. And, at bare minimum, post your announcement on your website. It may seem too obvious to mention, but it is overlooked only too often.

9. Capitalize on the media’s plans.

Monitor editorial calendars (listings of feature articles that the media has planned). It’s possible the editors are planning to cover a topic that might “fit” your product.

For example, I pitched a case study to an editor who had scheduled a story on construction management. The article, which covered 75 percent of a tabloid-size page, appeared before we had even formally launched my client’s construction management software, greatly enhancing the announcement that followed.

10. Present a historical perspective.

A “look backwards” can be a fun way to generate interest. We used that technique to introduce a treatment for menstrual cramps. I researched turn-of-the-century treatments and discovered Lydia Pickham’s Pink Pills (which were mainly alcohol). We included copies of Lydia’s ads in our press materials. (The copyright had expired.) Those ads were featured in dozens of articles and TV programs, increasing the general appeal of the announcement.

In short, think about how you can enhance your product announcement. Sometimes a little extra thought and care can dramatically increase your publicity.

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Posted in Media, Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media |
Tags: infographics, LinkedIn, media, media relations, news, news release, press release, product review, public relations, publicity, social media, Twitter, Visuals, wire service

Ten Ways to Make Your New Product Stand Out in the Crowd

Getting media attention for a new product is increasingly difficult. These days it’s not good enough to send out a news release. If you want to stand out in the crowd, you may need to add something extra or take a slightly different approach.

Here are the first five of 10 proven techniques to consider.

1. Involve the reporters, readers or viewers.

Having the reporter or readers participate in the story can be quite effective. For example, I suggested a newspaper invite its unemployed readers to volunteer for a job-search “experiment.” The readers could work with my client, the author of a book on effective job searches, and the editor could report on the results. This approach gave a human-interest side to a topic that could otherwise deteriorate into a parade of depressing stories about unemployment.

2. Provide product samples.

Getting editors to see, touch and use your product can be powerful. A lipstick received a half-page spread in a major newspaper, mainly because the company had supplied samples and the writers described their experience with the product.

3. Arrange product reviews.

For some products, a formal review may be in order. I have managed programs where the bulk of the publicity – and the sales leads – came from the product reviews.

Of course, make sure that the product will do well. (No review is better than a bad one.) Learn as much as you can about the reviewer in advance; prepare a good reviewers’ guide and stay in touch with the reviewer. Some of my clients have transformed potentially poor reviews into excellent ones simply by resolving some technical issues while the review was in process.

4. Enlarge the announcement.

Make the announcement bigger. For example, you can tie the announcement together with related, but non-competitive businesses.

A participant in one of my PR workshops did that quite effectively. She had started a dating service for obese people, but did not have a single client, so she had no credibility. However, she connected with other companies providing services to obese people, and crafted a story about the increased market for such products and services. She ended up on the front page of the San Jose Mercury News – not a small accomplishment.

5. Position the announcement as part of a trend.

Editors love trends. Lately it seems most technology products are either “iPhone compatible,” or “cloud based,” both major trends.

Note: Editors also love it when something is “bucking the trend.” So if your product is extremely different from what your competitors are doing, play that up.

I’ll cover the next five ways to improve your product launch in my next post. In the meantime, what techniques have you found effective? I’ve love to hear about them.

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Posted in Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media |
Tags: infographics, LinkedIn, media relations, news, news release, press release, product review, public relations, publicity, Twitter, Visuals, wire service

5 Timeless Social Media Marketing Tips

This blog post was written by a colleague, Lynn Bruno, for the Women in Consulting (WIC) blog. I am reprinting it with permission.

Social media has changed marketing for good, and the social media marketing landscape continues to evolve at a dizzying pace. Facebook changes its platform with annoying regularity. Twitter tools proliferate like mushrooms on a lawn. Even LinkedIn has recently stepped up the pace of rolling out new features. It’s enough to make your head spin, even if you’re a social media pro.

As daunting as it can be, companies and individuals — yes, individuals — ignore social media marketing at their peril. But no matter what the tool or platform du jour is, the same simple core principles apply. Here are five timeless social media marketing tips to anchor your efforts and that stand you in good stead with any platforms and tools of today — and tomorrow.

Be visible.  Have a profile picture. Fill in the text fields. Tell people about yourself. With the number of people on social media today, it’s really hard to find someone if they don’t have a picture and at least some minimal information about themselves. A lot of people freeze up when it comes to choosing a photo or penning a few words about themselves. Don’t overthink it; you can always come back and change it later. In fact, on many platforms making regular updates helps you come up more often in searches.The other, longer-term aspect of being visible is participating — posting on a regular basis, and interacting with other people. The biggest challenge is making time for it, and then not letting it become a time sink. Dedicate whatever time you can, but most of all keep at it.

Be valuable. Keep your focus on adding value to your friends’ and follower’s lives. When I say add value, think small. One of the things I’ve come to love about social media is how it allows us to weave ourselves into each other’s daily lives even if we are no longer in daily physical contact (or, in the case of online-only connections, never were)! If you can add a laugh to someone’s day, that’s value. If you can share an article you found interesting, that’s value. If you can help someone make a connection or find a resource, that’s value. Some value adds are just small things that make daily life more pleasant; others can be life changing. We’ve all seen people that come off as shallow and promotional on social media, even if they aren’t really that way in real life, and fear being perceived that way ourselves. By focusing solely on providing value to your network, you’ll never come off that way. For example, don’t just tweet that you had a great breakfast. Tell us where you ate, what to order and what time to get there to beat the rush.

Be generous. Insanely generous. This is the corollary to being valuable. Ask not what your followers can do for you. Ask what you can do for your followers. If you have knowledge or expertise to give, give it freely. Many people who are experts in their fields don’t want to share on social media for fear that if they share what they know publicly, others will steal it and they’ll lose their livelihood. The reality is that if you are an expert in your field, or even just moderately good at what you do, most people can’t just steal your stuff and become you. The other thing is that the world is changing so fast and there’s so much information to consume that no one person can possibly own all of the expertise. The winners in social media marketing are those that share freely. They become known and trusted authorities in their field, whether that be knitted baby booties or business intelligence, and opportunities flow their way because of that. So whatever you’ve got to share, pay it forward.

Be genuine. It’s just too much work not to be. And it’s the best way to make friends and find like-minded people. You don’t have to create a social media personality for yourself. Just share your passion and let your personality bubble to the surface. If you’re an engineering geek and Giants fan who loves to surf eBay for used golf club parts and build clubs in your spare time, talk about it. People are attracted to passion, sometimes even when they have no affinity for the subject matter. Communities are built around shared passion.

Be patient. Social media marketing is like golf — it’s endlessly perfectible and you’re never done. Whether you’re at square one or already have 10,000 followers on Twitter, there’s always more to learn and more people than you could possibly ever have time to connect with. But social media is here to stay, so you can build your presence over time. Whether you’re marketing your business or yourself, put forth as much time and effort as you can. Eventually, you will reach critical mass and start to experience the benefits. Lastly, don’t take it all too seriously. Yes, we’ve all seen some high profile people get themselves in a lot of hot water on social media, particularly on Twitter. But for most of us regular folk, social media is equivalent to water cooler or cocktail party conversation — fun and frivolous and occasionally over time, the basis of a meaningful and lasting connection.

About Lynn Bruno
Lynn Bruno is the owner of Virtual Ink Marketing, which helps small businesses and subject matter experts create smart content and smart content strategies for the web. Lynn is a former writer and editor for The Wall Street Journal. She has also written for MSNBC.com and TodayShow.com. She is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, and holds Master Certificates in SEO and Social Media. Learn more about Lynn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnmbruno.

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Posted in Social Media |
Tags: social media

The Problem with Wikipedia

Anyone who has ever an online search (which is a good portion of the planet) understands how highly Google and the other search engines rank Wikipedia entries. The entries in the “free encyclopedia” often rank higher than even the websites devoted to the company, product or topic being searched.

But that popularity might come at the price of inaccurate information.

A recent survey found that 60 percent of Wikipedia articles about companies contain factual errors. “The problem is that according to Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, a ‘bright line’ rule exists that constitutes best practice: do not edit Wikipedia directly if you are a paid advocate.”

I understand that concern. Wikipedia doesn’t want its authors to have conflicting interests. The goal is to avoid slanted, distorted or otherwise inappropriate content.

The problem is that the rule may be having the opposite effect. It appears to be encouraging the very inaccuracies it sought to prevent.

I know. I tried to get Wikipedia entries corrected on behalf of my clients, with little success. I’ll spare you the details except to note that the Wikipedia content (which we did not provide and which was deleted) basically repeated information from respected, mainstream media. We thought such coverage more than met Wikipedia’s requirements for a “neutral point of view,” “verifiable content” and lack of “original research.”

Evidently, we were wrong.

Of course, there is a process to get changes made. Fully 35 percent of the survey respondents had engaged with Wikipedia to get content corrected, but almost one quarter of them felt that “making changes was near impossible.”

In fact, the respondents who requested corrections through Wikipedia’s Talk pages “found that it took days and weeks to get a response, and 24 percent said they never received a reply to their inquiries.”

The impact? “…(T)his leaves factual errors on Wikipedia articles for longer than should be necessary.” And that, of course, is the concern.

A bright note on the horizon. A new Facebook group, the Corporate Representatives for Ethical Wikipedia Engagement (CREWE), has the “goal of having a forum to discuss the relationship between public relations/communications professionals and Wikipedia.” The group provides guidance on how to navigate the challenging Wikipedia editing process in the CREWE Wikipedia Engagement Flowchart.

Complete results of the survey are available in an article published in the Public Relations Journal. A total of 1,284 public relations professionals from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) participated in the study. The Arthur W. Page Center funded the research

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Posted in Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media, Writing |
Tags: social media, Wikipedia

5 Easy Steps Towards Your LinkedIn Strategy

This blog post was written by a colleague, Sandra Clark, for the Women in Consulting (WIC) blog. I am reprinting it with permission.

What’s your LinkedIn strategy? By now we all know that having a strong LinkedIn presence is essential. However, many of us are still uncomfortable with so much being shared publicly. Since LinkedIn is a professional network, we’re even more concerned about setting it up correctly and the possibility we might look bad.

I often say that my specialty is social media for the socially reluctant. As a LinkedIn coach, I enjoy giving people the confidence to use LinkedIn and to develop a LinkedIn strategy based on sharing their authentic self.

Along the way I also show my clients how to come up higher in searches and promote their brand,  expertise and company effectively. You may need a little hand-holding along the way but you can also do this on your own.  Here are five key recommendations to get you started:

LinkedIn Strategy Basics

Add a photo to your profile. Before meeting a potential client or after a meeting I always look at their LI profile and photo. I know few of us like having our photos taken but please – would you not answer the door to your guests because you were having a bad hair day?

I want to look at your photo after I’ve met you at a marketing event so that it triggers that great conversation we had.  I want to look at a photo before I go to meet with a potential client or someone I’m thinking of hiring.  More and more these days our work is largely virtual and having a photo to look at personalizes the experience and helps cement the relationship. It makes me feel like I know you on a personal level.

Make the most of your professional headline. Don’t waste that valuable real estate by repeating your job title. You are not your job – you are so much more! Here are some examples of how the headline can contribute to your LinkedIn strategy:

• Jennifer Berkley-Jackson writes “Providing insights into what customers value most via market research, surveys, interviewing and focus groups.”  Notice this includes keywords for her area of expertise and also shows the value of what she does.
• In what could be a boring profession one of my connections wrote “HR Compliance Uber Enthusiast.” I’m not sure if it’s what I would have recommended but I love that she was willing to put herself out there with her sense of humor. And HR Compliance are the keywords for her.
• Talking of someone with a sense of humor (though it’s her human side that she shows here), I have to mention Kathy Klotz-Guest’s “Marketing messaging strategist. I improve client results by turning marketing-speak into compelling human stories.”

Optimize your summary section.  This is the place you can really express your personality.  You’re going to add keywords to help in searches for your expertise but this is also the place that you are giving your 30 second elevator speech that makes others want to know more.  Add something personal.

• I like Karmen Reed’s “I absolutely love working with entrepreneurs and small businesses to help them harness the marketing challenges of the new online world.” Doesn’t that give you a perspective on her particular strengths and interests and her target clients? It also differentiates her from other marketing professionals.
• Joanna Nowak adds a little more personal to the professional “As a fee-only financial planner, I do not accept any commissions or loads and, as a result, am under no pressure to sell or recommend any particular financial products. I am committed to a variety of non-profit causes, especially ones that focus on financial literacy.”  In a profession like financial planning, Joanna has already begun to show she’s someone you can trust.

Add all your e-mail addresses to your profile.   Who only has one e-mail address these days?  No one I know.  If you have only your work email on your profile and a friend who knows your personal e-mail sends you an invitation to link, you may end up with multiple profiles – confusing and annoying to untangle. The most common reason is not listing all your e-mails in your settings.  Note: Only your primary e-mail will show to others.

Use the ‘notes and tags’ capabilities of LI. This is an essential, but often overlooked piece of your LinkedIn strategy. You should know who everyone is in your list of connections, even though you have hundreds or thousands. It’s not an impossible task. You just need to take advantage of the tool LI gives you.  On the right hand side of the page of every one of your connections, there’s a box that says “contact information.”  This field is also visible on your connections page. I fill this in every time I add a connection.

You can use the existing tags or create your own. I have “WIC” and “clients” for example.  I also generally write a note with the date I met or added them and, if possible something about them, e.g. “8/12 met at WIC meeting, talked about being an empty-nester.”  Next time I talk to that person I can reference a conversation we had and continue to develop the relationship. Note: These notes are only visible to you. This reminds me how I know people.

You can also send individual groups a targeted e-mail.

There is so much you can do with LinkedIn – research, prospecting for new clients, looking for new jobs, staying up to date, developing expertise, networking, and developing relationships.  Your LinkedIn strategy starts with having an inviting profile that encourages people to connect to you.

For more guidance on developing your authentic LI profile and optimizing your personal SEO, join me for the September 5th webinar (live or available as a recording) as I do a makeover of one of our WIC member’s LI profile.  Everyone who registers will receive a copy of my LI profile evaluation form.

About Sandra Clark

Sandra Clark is the Principal of Silicon Valley Training Connect – a training company offering on-site, customized training in leadership, project management and technology to Silicon Valley companies. Sandra also specializes in coaching individuals to build an authentic and inviting LinkedIn profile to help grow their small businesses.

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Posted in Social Media |
Tags: LinkedIn, social media

TEKGROUP’s Social Media Survey

TEKGROUP International released the resulted of its Third Annual Social Media News Survey recently. Some findings of interest (at least to me):

Almost 90% of respondents say they use Facebook and 70% use Twitter as a primary source of news and information when following, sharing or posting. That’s more than double that of the Wall Street Journal and significantly more than CNN.

Almost half (49.6%) rate news gathered via social media sources as “roughly the same” or “more accurate” than traditional media.

Nearly 95% of survey respondents say they begin their search for news and information on a search engine. That’s not surprising. But 25% said they use Google every time searching for news stories. That really underscores the importance of the integration of social and search.

Almost 75% of survey respondents indicate they sometimes or often visit a corporate website after learning of a news story through social media channels.

Almost 75% of the respondents think that news gathered through social media channels is either slightly (36.1%) or much more (38.3%) timely than traditional news outlets.

YouTube and Flickr are being used more as news and information-sharing tools.

The full report is available at: http://www.tekgroup.com/pdf/2012SMNSR.pdf.

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Posted in Media, Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media |
Tags: media, Twitter

The Problem with Wikipedia

Anyone who has ever an online search (which is a good portion of the planet) understands how highly Google and the other search engines rank Wikipedia entries. The entries in the “free encyclopedia” often rank higher than even the websites devoted to the company, product or topic being searched.

But that popularity might come at the price of inaccurate information.

A recent survey found that 60 percent of Wikipedia articles about companies contain factual errors. “The problem is that according to Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, a ‘bright line’ rule exists that constitutes best practice: do not edit Wikipedia directly if you are a paid advocate.”

I understand that concern. Wikipedia doesn’t want its authors to have conflicting interests. The goal is to avoid slanted, distorted or otherwise inappropriate content.

The problem is that the rule may be having the opposite effect. It appears to be encouraging the very inaccuracies it sought to prevent.

I know. I tried to get Wikipedia entries corrected on behalf of my clients, with little success. I’ll spare you the details except to note that the Wikipedia content (which we did not provide and which was deleted) basically repeated information from respected, mainstream media. We thought such coverage more than met Wikipedia’s requirements for a “neutral point of view,” “verifiable content” and lack of “original research.”

Evidently, we were wrong.

Of course, there is a process to get changes made. Fully 35 percent of the survey respondents had engaged with Wikipedia to get content corrected, but almost one quarter of them felt that “making changes was near impossible.”

In fact, the respondents who requested corrections through Wikipedia’s Talk pages “found that it took days and weeks to get a response, and 24 percent said they never received a reply to their inquiries.”

The impact? “…(T)his leaves factual errors on Wikipedia articles for longer than should be necessary.” And that, of course, is the concern.

A bright note on the horizon. A new Facebook group, the Corporate Representatives for Ethical Wikipedia Engagement (CREWE), has the “goal of having a forum to discuss the relationship between public relations/communications professionals and Wikipedia.” The group provides guidance on how to navigate the challenging Wikipedia editing process in the CREWE Wikipedia Engagement Flowchart.

Complete results of the survey are available in an article published in the Public Relations Journal. A total of 1,284 public relations professionals from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) participated in the study. The Arthur W. Page Center funded the research

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Posted in Media, Public Relations (PR), publicity, Social Media |
Tags: social media, Wikipedia