Web Marketing Strategies, SEO, Web 2.0, Social Media, Trends & Tips

At Find and Convert we’re all about measuring.   We provide our SEO clients detailed metrics.  You know, the usual stuff including unique visits, page-views, time on site, conversions, bounce rates, keywords, referral sources, yada, yada, yada.  I’m not trivializing it by any means.  The metrics we track for SEO and PPC are very important.

But, as more of our clients enter the brave new Web 2.0 world the question is how do we measure results?  Great question!  Not a simple answer….But, there are ways to measure results from your Web 2.0 campaigns.

If you’re blogging, you can measure RSS subscriptions.  You can measure how many others link to your blog.  Who are they?

You can measure how many social bookmarks you receive from popular sites like DIGG and StumbleUpon and how easily your social media content is found in Technorati and Del.icio.us.

You can certainly monitor and measure the comments on your blog.  You can see the tone of comments and the trends in the comments.  In fact, you may find comments to be invaluable “research.” 

Don’t overlook your web stats reports.  You can track referral sources from social media sites.  When you see social media referrals increase, that’s a trend to watch.  If you run campaigns in social media sites, track your web stats carefully to observe traffic from these sites and time spent on your site.  Make sure to have conversion strategies in place for these referral strategies so you can track them easily.

Don’t overlook tools such as Google Alerts and Yahoo Alerts.  In Google Webmaster you can track links from social sites. 

If you manage a large brand, or multiple brands there are more advance social media tracking tools.  Some of them include Andiamo, Website-Watcher, WathThatPage and Visual Sciences.

Internet Marketing strategies require planning, measuring and revising.  The methods and tools used to measure Web 2.0 results vary somewhat from measuring SEO and PPC, but not drastically.  The web analytics field is evolving.  Keep up to date and profit from the results you can measure.

 

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Podcast Show Notes: Social Networking 3.0 - Why Are We Talking About 3.0?

Because we have to understand the enormity of the interactive web, IE., social media optimization strategies are here to stay.  We have to plan for social networking 3.0 now. 

I believe in tackling things in bite size chunks.  So, anyone who has not jumped into Web 2.0 needs to start now (in bite size chunks).  Those who are already active in Web 2.0 can accelerate their strategies by understanding what the future has in store with regard to social networking/social media.

Background:

Summary of a Podcast from a Stanford University Panel session: July 2007

Panelists from MySpace, Facebook, Ning, Demand Media, Wall

Panel moderator: Charlene Li: Forrester Research

Question posed to panelists: What will social networking look like 3, 5 and 10 years in the future?

Not possible to predict entirely, it’s easier to innovate than predict the future.

The way people will use social networking will change by connecting with people where ever you are in real time through mobile devices.  With more broadband connectivity increasingly available and reliable, the types of collaboration will expand with video, slides, pictures, and file attachments and other kinds of media delivered over the air (OTA).

Ubiquity in social media will become more prevalent.  Everyone has at least one email address so that will be your common denominator for your profiles in social networks. 

User generated content is what social networking is about.  Social networks will become more vertical based on interests, niches or demographics.  Vertical communities will explode!

Social Networks will explode according to the millions of interests and passions of groups of people.  The ability to engage with others as one identity regardless of how many interests we have will become easier.  I will be able to interact as a “golfer,” “dog lover,” “fisherman,” (three examples of personal interests) as well as my professional role at Find and Convert.  In the current social networking environment, I must set up different profiles for each interest and interact with others from each “persona.”

The concept of profiles may even become obsolete - especially multiple profiles.  Social Networking will become integrated into software applications and websites (we are starting to see it already).   We will allow people to intereact with each other on websites and software applications.

In 10 years the workforce will be comprised largely of people who have grown up in an online Social Networking environment.  There won’t even be social networks (as we know them today) because they won’t be thought of as social networks.  They will be ubiquitous (integrated into most applications and websites).

Question: When will today’s social networks become open (they are closed today)?  Currently, we have to maintain separate profiles, Myspace, Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn. 

Facebook is already open….What does closed and open mean in social networks? 

People want to take their identity with them from one social network to another.  Facebook for example has opened up their social network for developers to build apps that can be added and used by anyone in Facebook.  It’s considered complicated to “port” your identity to other social networks.  But, people have different profiles based on different interests.  For example a dog lover can interact in a social network with other dog lovers.  The same person may be a photographer and want to interact with other photographers in a social network.  They are different profiles but the same person. 

So you have the concept of a portable profile.  You should not have to check multiple inboxes and multiple blogs.  So you can respond to people according to your interest such as photographer, or dog lover, or IT manager.

Question: Monetization: In social networking 3.0 what are the new ways to monetize?

The advertising revenue model is only growing.  As social networks get more vertical more targeted advertising is possible.   It’s a huge market that is only getting bigger. 1.3 billion people are online and less than 15% are in social networks.  Viral videos, etc. offer more opportunities for targeted advertising. 

Another monetization opportunity will be in the ability to dress up our profile to maximize our profile’s exposure.  People will buy forms of self expression to dress up their profile.  In B2B it can be buying applications to use in a social network, e.g., a link to Outlook.

As the long tail is more accepted by marketers, social networks will continue to grow in very specific niches.

Current example: Classroom 2.0: a community of educators who is interested in exploring productive applications of technology for use in education.  It’s ironic that many educators are negative about Web 2.0, yet many of them are very positively exploring social networking.

So, what does all this crystal ball stuff about social networking 3.0 mean to a marketer in a business today?

It’s important for all marketers to understand what trends loom in the horizon.  Marketers must have insight into potential trends that could positively or negatively impact their business. 

There are many examples of businesses that didn’t look out in the near future and got blindsided, IBM/Microsoft, Beta/VHS, Apple iPod/music distributors.  The CEO of Data General (a defunct computer company) once said the PC was a passing fad in the mid 1980s.

Disruptions occur in markets and social media 3.0 will be an evolutionary disruption.  As marketers we need to be aware of it to understand it and avoid making costly mistakes, as well as to exploit marketing strategies available to us today, next, next month and next year.  We can exploit marketing strategies that may become available to us in Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.

Did you hear that marketing has been re-defined again?

In the 80s and 90s there was “relationship marketing,” and “one-to-one marketing.”  The funny thing about the different words used to describe marketing is that they have always had one thing in common.  All marketing (since the beginning) is about communicating to prospective customers over and over again (reach and frequency).

Regardless of how the communication takes place - advertisement, direct mail, phone call, email, website, search engine, seminar/webinar, trade shows - it’s always about communication.

Fast forward to today.  Web 2.0 has reshaped the way many marketers think.  In a world of Web 2.0 we have websites, blog sites, social media sites, podcasts, wikis, user generated content, etc. where communication takes place in a many-to-many way.   In other words, we are having conversations!  So, doesn’t it make sense to say that marketing is about conversations?!!!

Absolutely….Let’s look at some examples…I produce podcasts on web marketing topics.  People (around the world) find my podcasts in iTunes and on the web through social media and they subscribe.  Some of them engage me in conversations.  My brand exposure improves and so does my business…

A software company executive visits Facebook to seek out and find groups on relevant topics.  She joins select groups, engages in conversations on topics relevant to her industry and she learns things that help her make decisions about her marketing mix…

A consumer services company starts a blog about topics related to their service.  These topics offer people tips and hard to find information which builds a community and loyalty.  The blog visitors also visit their website.  Their brand is strengthened and so is their business.

In each example shown here the common denominator was conversations.  The new definition of marketing is indeed about having conversations with our customers and people they care about.  The influence of the communities in social media is so powerful, we simply can not ignore it!

I marvel at how so many marketers say “I don’t have the time to blog or visit social networking sites and get engaged in these conversations.”  I just hope all my competitors don’t have time for these conversations.  As for me, I couldn’t fathom not having time for these conversations.  I’ve seen enough proof. 

Have you?

This blogging tip is not my original idea.  I don’t even remember where I read it.  But, it really stuck with me. 

Most businesses who struggle with their blogs do so because they are not thinking about it the way a publisher thinks.  A publisher lives for content.  A publisher’s product would die without content.  So, a publisher and the staff constantly seek out content, put it into topical compartments and publish.

How often do you come across an email or an event or some activity that contains content you could use in your blog?  I’ll go out on a limb and predict - very often!  If you’re not seeing it, maybe you should enlist help. 

What may be content buried under a rock to you, may be big boulders to someone else.  I’m color blind so what others see, often I don’t see.  Get the point?

But, when it comes to content, I see it every day.  Heck, if I didn’t have a real job I could post interesting stuff to this blog 10 times a day.  But, I do…

So, the next time you’re sitting in a meeting think about something in that meeting (or something else in your day) that could be interesting to your blog readers.  You may have tripped over it many times already without realizing it.

And, if you think you don’t have time to act on these blogging opportunities, you’re probably right.  Just make the time.  Your blog readers will thank you for it.

In 2007 we jumped on the Web 2.0 bandwagon. We started this corporate blog. We started producing podcasts. We started advising clients to take a “bite” out of the Web 2.0 opportunity, and some have and some haven’t.

We believe 2008 is the year to take the plunge. Ok, maybe you should dip your toe in the water first. We actually recommend the dip first. Web 2.0 is an umbrella term for social media on the web. There are so many ways to harness it, dipping your toe (or a few toes) is the way to start.

If you’re reading this blog post, you’re already involved. We know that understanding the potential of Web 2.0 can be overwhelming. The most common objection we hear is “we don’t have time for it.” If you think you don’t have time, you’re right. I just hope your competitors don’t have time for it either. Get my point?

How long did you ignore email, cell phones or (if you’re old enough) the PC when it was first launched? I can name the former CEO of a computer company (no longer in business) who publicly stated “the PC is just a fad, it won’t last.” While you may not have that sentiment about Web 2.0, my question is - are you on the side lines or leveraging the marketing potential of Web 2.0? What is the marketing potential you ask?  Blogs, social media sites, podcasts, RSS feeds - these all offer you ways to strengthen relationships with your customers and prospective customers.  Guess what - they are looking for you in Web 2.0 properties.  Are you there?

Forrester Research is doing research on the adoption of Web 2.0 marketing strategies among B2B marketers. You can take their survey here. They’ll send you the survey results.

Now, I have a favor to ask. You probably know marketers who don’t visit blogs or know little about Web 2.0. Forward this post to them and give them a nudge to dip their toes in the Web 2.0 water. And, remind them their competitors may already be there.