360DigitalInfluence

I will be attending Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago from December 7-11 (at the Hilton Chicago - 720 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605).

On Tuesday I posted a Q&A with Bill Leake , President and CEO, Apogee Search.  Today I’m pleased to interview Matt Van Wagner of Findmefaster.com.

continue reading

I will be attending Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago from December 7-11 (at the Hilton Chicago - 720 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605).  As a lead-in to the conference I’m pleased to post a few interviews over the course of this week.

The first subject is Bill Leake , President and CEO, Apogee Search.  Bill also serves as the president of the Austin Interactive Marketing Association, and as the chairman of the SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization) committee.

Bill will be one of the speakers in the session called PR, Social Media and Search, covering how to integrate social media and search into your PR strategy.

It’s worth noting that the questions I’ve posed below not only reflect my relatively nascent knowledge of “search,” but also what I hear a lot of friends, colleagues and clients asking.  Hope you come away with a useful nugget or two.  Comments and additional questions welcomed.

More so than ever we see brands focusing on driving earned social media coverage as a way to help promote a product, service or even advocate for a cause.  For the uninitiated, can you give us the 101 on how social media impacts organic search results?

Google, in a nutshell, likes fresh relevant content (roughly 20% of the algorithm) and old links / offpage (roughly 80% of the algorithm).  Social Media, properly done, can get you both.  Fresh content, saying what you want it to say (contextually and semantically dead-on), linking back to one of your properties.

That being said, most social media folks know boo diddly about how to actually do SEO, and when they get rankings on a truly competitive keyword, it’s usually completely by happenstance.

In many organizations, PR, social media and search are “owned” by different factions within either the marketing or communications teams.  Any recommendations on how these disciplines can be integrated for the greater good?

It can get worse than that. Sometimes search itself is “owned” by multiple parties.  Paid Search / Adwords is often owned by field marketing or demand generation teams, operating tactically at the divisional level, while Natural Search / SEO is often owned by corporate marketing, or even corporate IT.

That being said, IMHO it’s vital that all customer-facing marketing teams coordinate their efforts.  Search & PR are already collaborating more and more, and I expect that ultimately social will be “owned” by the search & PR teams (at least the customer acquisition piece of social), rather than existing as a separate practice area.  Already, we’re finding that more and more of the better social media agencies are actually the social media practice areas of search engine marketing companies.

Can you talk a bit about Facebook in particular? What does it mean (i.e. what is the effect) that it’s a “closed” community in terms of search visibility (versus, for example, Twitter).  And where do you see this going in 2010?

I think Facebook is a sign that not everyone wants to be dependent upon Google for their visibility (and ultimately, their moneymaking).  Just like the Wall Street Journal has much of their content paid subscription only, and just like NewsCorp / Murdoch is talking about pulling much of their content out of Google, some of the major “publishers” (and Facebook is a publisher, in a sense, of user generated content), are going to make a courageous go of it on their own, trusting that they have enough critical mass to survive w/out Google’s help in attracting eyeballs.

In the Facebook case, they are able to use Google searches for a person to drive eyeballs into the person’s profile page, but if you want to read more (wall, etc) or see more (photos), you need to enter their walled garden.  If they can pull it off, this looks like a far more defensible business model than what Twitter has going on. Has anyone seen Twitter’s real revenue model yet?  I thought not …

This is a blog written by a PR firm, so it begs asking – what can PR people do as they build strategic and tactical plans to ensure we are leveraging search as effectively as possible?

Find a great search firm to partner with, and search firms need to make themselves partner friendly for their part as well.  A well crafted PR plan, whether a strategic plan or a tactical plan, if it covers online (and in this day and age, I’d hope that most would cover online), should have discussion areas in it about how best to integrate and leverage search.  Not just natural search / SEO either, but also paid search / PPC.

What are your three favorite blogs/online resources (besides your own) for relative beginners to learn about search?

I do like ours … as it’s one of the top ranking ones out there for a search for “Search Marketing Blog” and we really encourage rank and file participation from our team (rather than most Search Marketing firm blogs, where 90% of the posts are just 2-3 folks, including the company “great leader” type).  That being said, here goes:

1. Search Engine Strategies Blog
2. Danny Sullivan’s Blog
3. ClickZ

I’ve been thinking and writing a lot lately about the power the “vocal minority” exert in social media.  I know it’s not a new phenomenon, but I’m still fascinated at the seismic shift it’s causing in the brand-consumer power dynamic.  And it’s not all cake and balloons.

The latest dust-up that has me back on my soapbox has to do with ESPN.   Last week it was rumored - based on a single vague Tweet from an ESPN reporter - that ESPN had enacted a draconian social media policy.  Some of the most influential bloggers in all of bloggerville rushed to wag their finger at the network. Tsk Tsk they said.

Big problem though - no one (by their own admission) had actually seen ESPN’s policy at the time they were passing some incredibly harsh judgment.  So this “reporting”  was based on, um … [crickets].

By the time ESPN actually released the policy, countless numbers had blindly re-tweeted and propagated the negative POV, based solely on the uninformed opinions of others.  In fact two days after ESPN released the policy, I heard someone say “ESPN blocks social networks.” Wrong, misinformed and damaging to a brand that did nothing wrong.

Funny thing happened on the way to the forum … turns out the policy was, for the most part, pretty reasonable.  But clearly the point of this post is not about arguing the merits of the fine print.  You can see the policy here and decide for yourself.

Yet another tempest in the teapot. The vocal minority strikes again.

Can’t we all just get along?  What is with this rush to judgment?  And why the snarkiness?  Why not a rush to truth?  Isn’t the culture of cruelty era over and done?

I have no allusions of changing the dialogue, or even the tone.  But I can do my own small part.  So here are five rules by which I’ll behave moving forward … think you’ve got it in you?

1. Get your facts straight before the bashing begins. Or at least get a fact (any fact) on which you base your opinion.
2. Put yourself in the brand’s shoes. Have you worked at a brand in the era of social media? If not, take your fingers off the keyboard for a minute and just try to think what it’s like to be a brand trying to navigate the new world of social media.
3. Don’t blindly pass along the uninformed opinions of others. Do your own thinking. If you agree, go for it. But at least put some effort behind it.  No lemmings allowed.
4. Consider the impact your words can have on an individual or organization. I’m not saying “if you don’t have anything nice to say …” but do try and put a human face on the target of your criticism.
5. Get over yourself.  We all make mistakes.

[this post is edited from the original that appeared on my personal blog]

This past Tuesday I spoke on a panel in Chicago sponsored by New York Festivals.   The panel - Social Media: How to Profit from It & Get Clients to Buy Into It – featured a great group including:

John Geletka, Director at Ratchet; Len Kendall, Media Strategist, Constructive Grumpiness; Rob Saker, Business Partner, Marketing Technology at Miller Coors; Vinny Warren, CEO, Escape Pod.  Alan Wolk hosted.

The topics were what you might expect … who owns social media within an organization (everyone and no one); what role should legal departments play in policing social media activity (bring them in early, rather than during a crisis); how do you help overcome clients’ fear of opening themselves up to attacks in social media (people will talk about you either way, better to get involved than bury your head in the sand); can agencies run a client’s Twitter feed or blog (not recommended in most cases, but either way total transparency a must).

And while the conversation was spirited, what really got me jazzed was the depth-of-bond formed by physically being in the same room.

Alan Wolk is someone I “met” over Twitter and had developed a great rapport with.  But upon actually meeting him – hearing his voice, shaking his hand – I instantly knew him in an entirely different way.

Len Kendall and I have exchanged messages over Twitter for months – but it turns out he is more soft-spoken (in a refreshing way, compared to many in social media who are at the other end of the volume spectrum) than I imagined, which will undoubtedly factor into my future conversations with him.

John Geletka, Rob Sakar and Vinny Warren … had someone introduced me to them via email or Twitter, I’m sure I would have found them interesting, but they would likely have gotten lumped in with a lot of other people I e-meet every day.  Now, you’re darn sure I’ll pay closer attention to what they say moving forward.

We (meaning those of us reading this blog) lead an increasingly digital existence.  But once in a while we need to remind ourselves that nothing takes the place of some old-fashioned face time.  Since it’s Friday (and I’m in a Friday kind of mood), I’ll leave you with this classic … way ahead of its time.

Diana Ross

I’m excited to announce a new blog from the global Ogilvy PR network of travel, tourism and economic development experts … Being There, Doing That.

The inaugural post from my colleague, Joan Cetera, says it all.  See below and then come give us a vist:

Thank you for visiting the blog of the Travel and Economic Development (TED) speciality of Ogilvy Public Relations. We fondly call ourselves TED for short because, as travelers used to going from LAX to JFK or ORD to ORY, we are used to thinking - and working - in acronyms.

Beyond the acronym, though, we are a global group of PR professionals with a passion and focus for travel we hope you’ll see comes through in our writing.  Many of us have, and continue to, work with travel clients on a day-to-day basis. From airlines, car rental, rail and cruise lines; destinations and attractions; lodging providers; online travel planning and ticketing resources; and countries, visitor services and trade boards, we are immersed in the business of tourism.

Our blog is a way for us to share our insights and perspectives from this work.  We are an active group, so make sure you visit often, or grab the RSS feed.  We truly value your feedback in the form of comments on our posts.  Finally, if there are any topics you would like us to cover, drop us a note

Updated with slight correction from Chris Pan at Facebook.

More from The Word of Mouth Marketing Association University (WOMMA-U, Twitter #WOMMA).

Day 2 kicks off with a panel that is very much top-of-mind for many social media marketers … MySpace vs. Facebook (or both).  Empowered by a healthy dose of morning caffeine I will attempt to live-blog the panel (as such, please pardon my grammar).

The panelists are Heidi Browning, SVP, Insight & Planning, MySpace and Chris Pan, Head of Brand Solutions, Faceboook.  The panel is moderated by David Berkowitz, 360i.

Audiences:

• MySpace: 18-34 is sweet-spot.  125 million worldwide users
• Facebook: 60 million active users in US; 200 million (thanks, Chris Pan of Facebook for the correction) 100 active globally (active = have logged in the past 3 days)

Best practices for working with MySpace and Facebook:

• Know your audience.  Bring your challenge to MySpace and Facebook and they will help you understand your audience’s behavior on the network and how to reach them.
• Brands should strive to be entertaining, engaging or offer some kind of utility.
• Convenience is key.  Users are busy -  make it easy for them to find, consume and share your content.
• Make your profile picture interesting and captivating (see Aflac or Cheetos for good examples).
• Beta mentality … your page doesn’t have to be perfect at launch.  It’s a continuous process, not a one-time event.
• Use their resources:  MySpace created their ad platform to give musicians and small businesses a self-promotion tool.  It’s simple to use, but MySpace also has service representatives to help monitor a brand’s presence on MySpace if the brand doesn’t have the bandwidth.  Facebook also has a sales team that can help brands plus-up their presence with different products and consultation on best practices.
• Yes, marketers should look at social networks as a continuum, but shouldn’t get too caught up in the semantics of campaign vs. conversation.  Use the community tools to create dialogue in between key announcements and product releases.

Measurement

• MySpace looks at the momentum effect …  the value of WOM.  Using a combination of behavioral and survey technology to measure the effect.
• Facebook provides a lot of tools to track engagement - comments on posts, page ratings, etc.

Mistakes marketers make working with Social networks

• Thinking of a your page/presence as something static
• Too consumed with making it perfect right off the bat - be in perpetual beta
• Using canned ads in social networks when these communities offer such rich user targeting data

Other panel notes:

• Vitamin Water distributed 24 million bottles of water with caps that drove to MySpace for access to music and other musical content.  This promotion is being supported by above-the-line tactics.  Music is a big driver of MySpace activity.
• Chris showed Vitamin Water’s presence on Facebook.  The brand used a Kobe vs. Lebron theme, which Chris says was very well received.  Currently 334,000 fans (Facebook estimates that about half those fans would be on Facebook on any given day).
• Chris pointed out that when social data is added to ad content on Facebook (e.g. Your friend Bob likes this video) it’s more well received.
• Chris compared a microsite to a “farm” (a place you visit occasionally); a Facebook page as a “convenience store;” and Facebooks ads as the “delivery service.”
• Jack Bauer has more Facebook fans than “24.” “Gossip Girl” more than the CW.
• Social networks can be used for B2B marketing.  You can target by industry, geography, function, etc.
• Marketers can go here and here to see what other marketers are doing on these networks
• Both MySpace and Facebook will collaborate with brands to maximize their presence.

More from WOMMA-U (#WOMMA)

As I was listening to Matt Allen of NBC.com and Sarah Hofstetter of 360i I noticed an emerging conference theme … proving the value of WOMM to the leaders in your organization (or your client’s organization if you are at an agency).

Conventional wisdom goes that innovation comes from the bottom of organizations, culture from the top. If you want your organization/clients to embrace WOMM, maybe the first step is executive training. Trust me – if they buy it, everyone else is more likely to fall into line.

In my opinion, the key to engaging the C-suite is showing, not telling.  A few quick thoughts on what I’ve seen resonate with senior executives:

• Give the social media/WOMM overview in the context of your/your client’s business.  Don’t give the text-book version of social media – give the real-time case study.  Lots of screen shots of conversations taking place about your brand … Twitter conversations, Flickr photos, YouTube videos, Yelp reviews and blog posts. This is the most powerful argument you can make for getting into the WOMM game … People are already talking about you – you can either bury your head in the sand or get your skin in the game.
• Address measurement and ROI.  Tell them what exists, and don’t be afraid to discuss current measurement gaps (and how organizations like WOMMA are aiming to fill those gaps).
• Show what the competition is doing in the space.  It’s not a scare tactic, but rather a wake-up call.
• Give them some what-ifs … pique their imagination.
• Leave them with a toolkit that gets them involved and excited.  Keep it simple. The Daily Influence is a good start.

Securing WOMM and social media buy-in from the top brass will help unlock resources, make your WOMM efforts more effective/efficient and aid greatly in the case of a crisis (see John Bell’s post about digital crisis management).

I’m with several Ogilvy PR 360 DI colleagues and a couple of hundred other marketers at The Word of Mouth Marketing Association University (WOMMA-U).  Look out for blog posts here and check out Twitter #WOMMA.

Geoff Donaker, COO, Yelp kicked off the morning session at WOMMA-U with a session called Empowering Consumers With Local Knowledge.

A few takeaways from Geoff’s presentation:

• The good news for both businesses and WOM marketers is that every chart we’ve seen this morning is sloping up and to the right (in other words, more people are talking more frequently about more brands).
• Businesses have a love/hate relationship with WOMM … they love it when it goes well.
• Small businesses (some would argue, the engine of the American economy and spirit) have a lot to gain from WOMM, but are still just as afraid to relinquish control of their brand as are large brands.
• Utilizing WOMM can drive down marketing costs, but your customer service has to deliver … if you are going to rely on what people say about you (vs. advertising, where you say what you want about yourself) you have to deliver a stellar experience and respond to/fix the not-so-stellar ones.
• Manufactured reputation usually backfires … you can’t manufacture WOM.  You can provide the tools, the dialogue, the forum and the product – but the community will do with all that what they please.
• Your brand’s promoters, fence-sitters and detractors can, and should, be engaged.  In fact, engaging with detractors in an honest conversation can make for a big net-net win for your brand.  Don’t just celebrate your fans, always look to make new ones (or at least neutralize the negativity).
• While quantity of positive of WOM is good, quality is even better.

Last week an OOH advert on the Chicago El train - from Dentyne -  caught my eye:

I’m not here to critique the creative, although I do happen to like it.  Rather, I’m just a bit surprised we (or maybe it’s just me) haven’t seen more brands use popular social media cues in their marketing communications.

Again, creative aside I like a few things here:

1. It’s current (i.e. shows Dentyne is paying attention to the world around it)
2. The imagery is emotional
3. There is no URL on the ad.  That’s right, no URL.  Think about the call-to-action … “Make Face Time.”  A URL would be a conflicting message.  Glad to see this execution won out in what I can only imagine was a rigorous debate.

The full print and TV campaign is available on Dentyne’s site.  Unfortunately there’s no embed code for the TV spots — seems like a miss.

Have you seen other brands leverage the growing popularity of social media in their offline communications?  Please share.

I got to thinking about the best-practices hotels should keep in mind when experimenting with consumer-facing technology.   This is what I came up with:

• Make sure it works - this is the cost-of-entry
• Make it simple (and most times, quick)
• Make it contextual to the hotel experience – the technology experience should have relevance to the guest’s stay
• Work with the right partners to bring your vision to life
• Help people fight the loneliness of business travel
• Make it surprising and fun
• Don’t be afraid to experiment until you find something that really resonates with guests (but always remember the previous six bullets)

From 2004-2007 I logged hundreds of thousands of air miles and hundreds of nights in hotels.   While I spend much more time these days on terra firma, I still try to flag blog posts about fun/engaging consumer-facing technology experiences in hotel environments.

I’ll briefly discuss a few things I’ve found (thanks in large part to Springwise), but would be very interested to hear from the road warriors out there – tell me about all the interesting things I’m missing.

Interactive Surface Technology at Sheraton:   Guests at Sheraton hotels in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle can use Microsoft’s Surface technology to access entertainment content, local tourist information and information about other Sheraton properties worldwide.   Springwise recently documented the collaboration.
___________________

Westin Chicago Designs Special Rooms to Fight Jet Lag:   Also from Springwise, Westin Hotels and Philips have partnered to design a concept room specially aimed at helping jet-lagged travelers combat sleep troubles.   Amenities include Philips’ new blue-light ActiViva lamps, a light therapy box at the work desk station, a eucalyptus shower fizzer in the room’s “Heavenly Shower,” a guided-meditation sleep TV program, a special room-service menu and specially designed local running maps.
___________________

New York City’s Pod Hotel connects guests with each other before arrival:   Once guests have booked their reservations at this hip Manhattan spot, they are sent a link to the hotel’s PodCulture blog and a user ID, which allows them to connect and interact with others who will be there at the same time.
___________________

Sheraton (again) Invites People to Experience Their Brand In An Unconventional Way:   As part of their Global Out of Office Day, Sheraton invited New Yorkers to work from Central Park, where it recreated its new Link@Sheraton lounges [a collaboration with Microsoft to infuse useful technology into its hotels].
___________________

W Hotels Gives Guests a Quiet Place for a Cell Phone Call:   Something I am particularly proud of since I was Nokia’s point person for the partnership with W.   Simple concept - a modern take on the phone booth, combining Nokia NSeries technology/connectivity with W’s design sensibility.   Visit PSFK to read a short interview with Carlos Gomez de Llarena [the designer from R/GA with whom we worked on the booth design and interaction].

Note: This post is republished with edits from the original on Flagged For Follow Up.