Social Media Results in Motion

The December 14th issue of BusinessWeek has an article entitled: Beware Social Media Snake Oil. The article is intended to be a balanced look at the lack of marketing success some companies are having with social media through industry consultants. I disagree that it’s balanced. I think the article is biased against the social media consulting industry. Here’s why…

As the owner of an inbound marketing agency helping clients get measurable marketing results through web marketing strategies which include social media, I take exception to the general characterization of “snake oil” to my entire industry. Sure, it’s hard. As Chris Brogan points out in the BusinessWeek article, social media marketing is still new. Many companies are still trying to figure out social media. And, some are doing it wrong. And, yes some may be getting bad advice from so called experts. But, that’s no excuse to call the entire industry a bunch of snake oils.

Historic Transition

We are in a period of transition in marketing history. As we close out 2009 there are still a mix of traditional marketing channels which allow marketers to deliver outbound messages through tried and true tactics including advertising, mail, events, contests, email, etc. But, as time passes some of these so called tried and true marketing tactics are becoming less and less effective. Ask yourself (as a consumer) how many advertisements you allow yourself to see or read? Better yet, ask yourself how many ads truly influence your purchase decisions? Now, ask yourself (as a consumer) where do you go to get information about products and services you’re considering? I’m not against advertising one iota.  But, I want marketers to ask yourself are you willing to ignore the connected consumer regardless of your industry? Are you willing to allow your competitors to engage your target market through social media while you ignore it?

Let the Experiments Begin

Most marketers are beginning to realize they don’t have a choice but to participate in social media. If some social media consultants irresponsibly lead you down a failed path ask yourself did he/she promise quick results?  Did he/she promise the tactics would work out of the gate? If he/she was one hundred percent honest he/she explained it will take time and the tactics you try may or may not work. A competent social media consultant will formulate a plan based on research and much dialogue with you to develop the plan. After the plan is developed, then let the experiments begin! That’s right – experiments!

Measuring Results

The BusinessWeek article is critical about the inability to measure results. There are numerous articles, books and blogs that have argued that measuring results in social media can be difficult. The issue is exacerbated by consultants counting Twitter followers as results. The only results that matter are tied to sales (or equivalent for non-profits). That said, there are many interim steps that lead to sales and a well planned social media strategy can facilitate those steps.  All marketers have the choice of implementing any combination of tactics to reach their consumer. The channels marketers use are a choice. It’s been said for decades by marketers: “Fifty percent of my marketing budget is wasted, I just don’t know which fifty percent.” This is no excuse for not measuring. The issue is how do we measure results? I’ve blogged about measuring results and written about it in my book, and so have many others more prominent than me such as Chris Brogan.

Results in Motion

All businesses want to get a return on their marketing. However, measurable results from a social media strategy may or may not look the same as they do in other channels.  And, they may or may not happen quickly. While there are many big brand examples of successful social media marketing including Dell, Comcast, IBM, Starbucks, Ford and  Zappos, there are also examples of smaller, unknown brands. I call these results in motion because they are a work in progress. Remember, social media is still new!

Consider how Utica, N.Y. based Indium Corp reaches a worldwide audience of engineers to educate them about their solder paste used in electronic assembly equipment. In this B2B example, Indium has 85 blogs staffed by 15 engineers. They also produce video content which is educational and sometimes humorous. Results: They produce contacts with engineers around the world, a portion of which become sales opportunities…Results in motion….

Consider how Toronto based Homemakers Magazine reaches Canadian women to engage them on topics such as cooking, health and life balance. They have a diversiied content strategy which gets delivered across various channels on the web. They measure the growth of their reach, which is a stepping stone to selling subscriptions and advertising…Results in motion.

Consider how Ford Motor Company developed their social media strategy as summarized in this slide deck:

Notice that the word “product” or “sales” is not in their social media strategy statement. But, look at their most recent sales results (below). I’m not suggesting that their social media strategy is entirely the reason for their positive sales performance. I believe strongly that Ford is an example of a big brand who is doing an effective job of integrating traditional marketing (e.g. television advertising) with social media through community centric events and activities which builds trust with the consumer and spreads through word of mouth, all under the leadership of Scott Monty, their head of social media.

These are just a few of many examples of businesses who recognize they must experiment with these new social media channels. In the process of experimenting they are willing to take some risk and learn lessons about what does and doesn’t work. They are measuring results that impact their brand, which impacts their ability to differentiate from competitors and compete for sales.

Choices?

Do marketers really have a choice but to experiment with social media? Remember the question I asked about where do you turn to gain insights about the products and services you buy? If your answer wasn’t the Internet are you being honest? When you turn to the Internet to search for products and services, do you rely on ads or do you  seek input from others and do you allow input from others to influence your decision?

I am a BusinessWeek subscriber and I have been for many years. I rely on BW to keep me informed on many business topics. I have seen BW do follow ups to stories in the past. For example, in May 2005 BW did a cover story on blogging and the impact on business. In May 2008 they did a follow up to that cover story called Beyond Blogs, which expanded the coverage to social media. While the social media snake oil story is not a cover story, I would like to see BW do a follow up story with favorable examples of companies (not limited to large brands like Ford) who are getting solid advice from consultants and who are achieving measurable results, even if those results are results in motion….

Inbound Marketing Summit Uncensored

Inbound Marketing Summit – Boston, MA, October 7 & 8, 2009

I have attended all three Inbound Marketing Summit events this year, starting with April in San Francisco, May in Dallas and October in Boston (Foxboro, MA). Following are my summary thoughts of all three events.

The Inbound Marketing Summit is organized and put on by New Marketing Labs (NML), headed by Chris Brogan and Justin Levy along with a small army of smart people who don’t share the limelight but deserve recognition. In general I am a fan of this event. But, so that you don’t think I’m a totally sold-out IMS groupee I’ll share my criticisms before sharing the many positives.

IMS Glass is Half Full

These events should have been attended by three or four times the actual turnouts at each event despite the state of the economy. In full disclosure Find and Convert was an event sponsor at all three events.  But in my opinion the number of people who missed out on the educational content is too many. Considering the cost of the two-day event is only $695 with $200 discounts offered, almost anyone could afford this event. While the Boston turnout was the best of the three (about 500), it still could’ve been better. The venues for each event were adequate. The Boston event was held at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. While this venue is first class, the layout was very poor for the event sponsors due to the fact we couldn’t hear the speakers without leaving the sponsor area. This was not a problem in San Francisco and Dallas. While all the speakers were terrific, some of them (very few) think it’s perfectly okay to drop a dozen or two F-bombs during their presentations. Not…

Inbound Marketing is the New Vocabulary

With minor criticisms aside, these events truly offer marketers at all levels actionable insights into inbound marketing strategies including social media, new media, internet marketing, content marketing, measurement tools and contemporary marketing strategy in general. The pace of content delivery was terrific. NML organized an impressive list of speakers and panels, none of which exceeded 20 minutes. These short bursts of brain dumps kept the audience engaged at all times. Marketers walked away from each event with insights and ideas to act on. The agenda covered topics ranging from what is inbound marketing, to how to develop a social media strategy, to how to create viral video, to cause marketing. The range of topics enabled marketers to capture actionable ideas. In addition to the awesome content, there were plenty of networking opportunities before, during and after the event sessions. I found everyone, including all the speakers very affable.

The undisputed star of the Inbound Marketing Summit was Chris Brogan. 2009 has been a breakout year for Chris. His speaking demeanor gives you transparent insight into Chris the person, or as he would say “the human.” If you ask Chris Brogan what he does, his answer is “typist,” which is an obvious reference to his prolific content development on his blog, as well as his new book, Trust Agents, and his numerous speaking engagements around North America.

While I appreciate Chris Brogan’s insights and intellect on what I call marketing 2.0, there is another aspect of Chris which I have observed and admire very much. Chris has a big heart for charity. He is a regular guy. I have never met his family but I bet he comes from a close, loving family. I speculate that because Chris clearly loves other “humans.” He is not arrogant in any way (though some think he is). He simply loves to help people. In fact, his rise to fame is built on helping people by sharing his evangelical advice and counsel on various social media marketing topics.

But, Chris Brogan’s generosity is not limited to sharing his gray matter. Chris also shares his compassion for less fortunate people. In other words, he puts his money and influence where his mouth (actually his heart) is. Below are two video interviews I conducted with Chris at IMS events that illustrate my point.

In San Francisco, Chris explains why he shaved his head for charity.

In Boston, Chris explains how he is using his influence to build awareness for Skip1.org, a charity whose slogan is, “Skip something. Feed a child.”

The Inbound Marketing Summit is a conference chock full of great content, great people, great networking and opportunities for all marketers. I’m sure Brogan and Levy and all the smart folks at NML will put their heads together to make the events even bigger and better in 2010. I suggest you stay tuned.

Epic Change, Cause Marketing on the Social Web

Interview with Stacey Monk. Founder, CEO of Epic Change.

If you’re not familiar with this story, get ready for some goose bumps. In addition to warming your heart, this story is a great example of cause marketing with many valuable lessons for marketers.

Epic Change is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization founded by Stacey Monk and Sanjay Patel. They help social entrepreneurs who are change makers share their stories to get funded for a charitable cause. Their current project is partnered with (change maker) Mama Lucy in Tanzania to build school classrooms in the Arusha district of Tanzania, Africa. First, a little background on Stacey Monk (herself an impressive change maker).

A Life Changing  Trip

Stacey always had the inspiration to work in the non profit sector. After graduating from college, she needed to repay student loans so she joined the workforce as a management consultant working in change management. She consulted for businesses and public sector clients on this discipline.  In 2007 Stacy took a life changing trip to Africa where she volunteered at Mama Lucy’s Shepherd’s Junior school. When Stacey returned to her consulting practice, she learned that the landlord sold the land that Mama Lucy’s school was on. That motivated Stacey to act on her life long dream of working in the non profit sector. She and Sanjay founded Epic Change and took on Mama Lucy’s school as their first project.

Using the Social Web to Raise Funds

Epic Change adopted social media out of the gate as a way to reach people for donations through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. They had a zero dollar budget. Stacey started using Twitter without any idea why. She connected with interesting people around the world which couldn’t have otherwise happened. One of those people is Sam Lawrence who has a popular blog called Go Big Always.  One day Sam said he didn’t feel like writing a blog post. Stacey volunteered to write it for him. She knew that Sam has a large following.  So, Stacey wrote a guest blog post about how she is going big to build classrooms in Tanzania through her non profit Epic Change. Sam shared that blog post on Twitter and it wound up reaching hundreds of new followers. It quickly struck Stacey how she could reach many influential people through Twitter and blogging.

That experience was a huge light bulb. Stacey figured out the power of the social web by connecting with influential people who can spread the word. Stacey’s connection to Sam Lawrence was game changing. His network turned out to be a huge door opener for Epic Change even though Stacey didn’t have a personal connection with Sam. Many new donors and new relationships came from that one connection with Sam Lawrence.

TweetsGiving 2008

Stacey started spending more time on Twitter as a result of her “going big” blog post and her new found connections on Twitter. This inspired Stacey to create a fund raising event called Tweetsgiving. Avi Kaplan, a new friend she met on Twitter, wrote a touching blog post thanking her for mentor-ship and passion for giving.  She was moved by his gratitude. So, Stacey invited the Twitter community to participate to show their gratitude. She asked influential bloggers like Jeff Pulver and Chris Brogan to invite people to give thanks for whatever they were grateful for and invited them to donate to TweetsGiving. The TweetsGiving event took place over just two days preceding Thanksgiving 2008. The goal was to raise $10,000. Over $11,000 was raised in just two days! TweetsGiving alone enabled Epic Change to build a classroom for Mama Lucy’s school in Tanzania.

TweetsGiving Success Factors

Why was TweetsGiving so successful? One reason is clearly stating the financial goal of $10,000 and stating what the money would be used for (to build a classroom). The call to action was to donate $10 for one brick. All the donators are listed on the wall of gratitude in the school.  The wall of gratitude was painted by local artists.  It reads: “This classroom was built from gratitude…Thank you!” All the donors are listed by their Twitter handle as shown in the picture below (that’s my Twitter name in the callout).  The entire classroom is enveloped by the wall of gratitude.

Five classrooms have been built as of this writing. And over $75,000 has been invested to secure land, a school bus, install flushable toilets and implement solar power. Over 300 children are now attending the Shepherd’s Junior school under Mama Lucy, which is triple the size since the beginning of the project! Equally important, this model is now proven which allows it to scale. Mama Lucy has also been certified now in national exams. Her school recently scored #1 out of 117 schools in their district in Arusha, Tanzania!

Building a Technology Lab is Next

An online vote has been mobilized to build a technology lab. Twitter people got involved in the voting along with the local people in Tanzania by going to internet cafes in town to cast their vote to get the funds for the technology lab. For many of them it was their first experience using the internet and they got to use it to vote to get more resources for their local community. On Stacey’s next trip they will teach people how to use the internet. The local people in Tanzania will also get to participate in TweetsGiving 2009.

TweetsGiving 2009

I asked Stacey about plans for TweetsGiving 2009. She was not ready to announce the financial goal when I conducted this interview. But, I’m sure we’ll learn about it very soon. She assured me the goal will be bigger than the 2008 goal. And, I have no doubt it will be exceeded once again.

Experiment that Paid Off

Stacey Monk’s story has so many inspirational lessons for us as humans and as vocational marketers. The main lesson I want to emphasize for marketers is to be willing to experiment. When Stacey launched TweetsGiving 2008 she didn’t know what to expect and she wound up exceeding her goal. She reached out and engaged influential people who helped her exponentially reach many more people. Stacey also produced content every step of the way. Her most successful content was user generated content, especially content that is produced in Tanzania in the way of photos and video.

Inspiration to Others

Many others have been inspired by Epic Change including me. I wrote a story about Epic Change in my book, Marketing 2.0.  Shel Israel has also covered Epic Change in his book, Twitterviille. Stacey was invited to speak at South by Southwest Conference where she learned that others have been inspired by her as a result of TweetsGiving. Many are frequently reaching out to Stacey for advice on raising funds on the social web for a charitable cause.

Stacey’s Advice to Marketers

Stacey is very grateful for the attention she has received, not for self serving reasons, but rather for the positive impact it’s having on Epic Change. Stacey advises marketers to consider partnering with charitable causes to make a difference. Along the way, you can reach influential people who align with the charitable cause. When for-profit businesses adopt a cause marketing mindset there are several winners. One of them can be the marketer. But, the biggest winner is the cause.

Thanks for advice Stacey!  I can’t wait to hear about TweetsGiving 2009.

Justin Levy New Media Results in Motion

Justin Levy is General Manager and partner at Caminito Argentinian Steakhouse in Northampton, MA. Justin is focused on the marketing side of the business.  His partner Joseph M. Gionfriddo is responsible for day to day responsibilities and is the head chef.

Although Caminito Argentinian Steakhouse is a local restaurant with a single location in western Massachusetts all marketing is global on the web but with a local target.

A True Marketing 2.0 Strategy.

I wrote a case study about Caminito Steakhouse in my Marketing 2.0 book. When Justin became a partner in Caminito in March 2008 80% of the marketing budget was in local print advertising. Justin cut most of it. Instead, Justin built the website which includes Google maps with directions, lunch menus, dinner menus, appetizers, wine specials, and more.  Justin made sure the website used SEO best practices in order to be found for desirable keywords such as  “traditional steakhouse.”

Justin also developed a blog separate from the restaurant website. The blog is called Prime Cuts. The blog is a thought leader with cooking tips, grilling tips and behind the scenes cooking insights filled with steakhouse expertise.

Caminito’s video strategy includes Prime Cuts TV which is tied into the blog and also shared on video channels like YouTube. They feature mostly Joe with weekly videos about real life examples of hard to explain cooking topics. They are mostly things that are fun and a little more difficult to do such as how to sharpen knives, how to judge the temperature on a grill, etc. You’ll have to check it out for a fun learning culinary experience.

Justin is very active on Twitter, through @justinlevy plus Facebook with feeds to FriendFeed, Google shared items and basically anywhere it can be fed. Flickr, Vimeo, Blip.TV, YouTube. Anywhere they can find a footprint on the web.

Broad Footprint

Old style marketing for a single location restaurant would be marketing to people within a 50 mile radius. But, Justin’s Marketing 2.0 strategy reaches people around the world.  For example, I can recommend Caminito Steakhouse to my network even though I’m located in Florida. My network includes people in Boston and around the world. This can have a multiplier effect.

Results in Motion

Before Justin joined Caminito Steakhouse they were averaging 5% to 10% decreases in sales each month. The last 18 months since Justin has set his Marketing 2.0 strategy through social media, sales have consistently increased 20% or more each month over the same month in the previous year. During the summer of 2009 they’ve been up 70% over the same months in the previous year.

Content Marketing Strategy

Caminito Steakhouse has created a broad footprint on the web with a lot of great content. They spread and share it. The result is great SEO rankings, in some cases ranking even higher than national steakhouse chains like Ruth’s Crist and Longhorn. “This stuff works!”

New Marketing Labs

Justin is also General Manager of New Marketing Labs. Their Inbound Marketing Summit is coming up  October 7/8 in Boston. This IMS is the third event of the year with previous events in San Francisco and Dallas in April and May respectively.  IMS has many rock star speakers including Chris Brogan and Brian Solis. I’ll also be on a panel on innovative marketing programs using new media strategies. Check out the Inbound Marketing Summit.

Hope to see you at IMS in Boston. Maybe we can have a steak together at Caminito Steakhouse.

Memories from the Inbound Marketing Summit

I attended the Inbound Marketing Summit in San Francisco April 28/29.  I’ve processed the event in my head and here are some of my memories from the event.

Chris Brogan’s humility is as impressive as his wisdom.

Justin Levy doesn’t need much sleep to get the job done.

David Meerman Scott offers countless triggers to turn your content into a world wide rave.

Paul Gillin is my choice to lead a panel session any day of the week.

Dharmesh Shah likes to give presentations no matter how much he tells us he doesn’t.

Tim Ferriss isn’t shy about plugging his services while he has the stage.

Brian Halligan’s parents had deep discussions about Tide detergent commercials.

Tim Street is my choice to close out a full day of presentations any time.

Tim O’Reilly is also my choice to close out a full day of presentations any time.

The private party sponsored by DNA13 was great. Too bad just two bartenders were on call for 200 people.

Here are some interesting factoids that caught my attention during the presentations.

The average age of the newspaper reader in the U.S. is 57: Paul Gillin

We learned to share in kindergarten. Our training for social networking started then: Tim Young.

To get your video to go viral create a spectacle, tell a story, create emotion: Tim Street

Companies who measure the lifetime value of customers measure the outcome of relationships in social media: Charlene Li. BTW, not to take anything away from Charlene, but I’ve been saying the same for quite a while…

Chris Brogan’s (self proclaimed) occupation is “typist.”

Here is a list of 19 things learned at the Inbound Marketing Summit by Jason Stewart.

I interviewed Chris Brogan to discuss why he shaved his head for charity (unedited):

I interviewed Mike Volpe to discuss the meaning of inbound marketing:

Hope to see you at the next Inbound Marketing Summit in Dallas, May 27/28.

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

Justin Levy Podcast Interview

Podcast Interview: Justin Levy – General Manager New Marketing Labs, Co-Owner of Caminito Argentinian Steakhouse in Northampton, MA.  Justin is also the chief blogger behind the Prime Cuts blog, where he offers advice on how to prepare meals, select wines and he also provides video examples on a variety of culinary topics.

I wrote about the Caminito Steakhouse in my forthcoming social media book. Justin uses social media to create community and buzz about the restaurant. When Justin first bought into the restaurant, his best friend and head chef was struggling with the business. It was declining. So, Justin set out to market the restaurant on the web. He first focused on SEO to own the top rankings in Google for desirable keywords like “steakhouse Northampton.” He became very active on Facebook and Twitter and created great results. The restaurant has been growing 20% each month, year over year as a direct result of Justin’s social media marketing efforts. Justin has branded himself, which has a very positive impact on the steakhouse. As he meets people on the social web, and at conferences they visit the restaurant and tell their friends about it.

In this podcast, you’ll learn how Justin juggles a busy life between the restaurant and planning three major events called the Inbound Marketing Summit. And, because we ran out of time, we didn’t even discuss New Marketing Labs new Internet TV venture. I guess I’ll have to have Justin back on the show again. Ya think?!

New Marketing Labs is Chris Brogan’s social media agency. NML works with medium and large brands to “move the needle” using new media. The upcoming Inbound Marketing Summit conferences are coming up April 28th and 29th in San Francisco, Dallas May 27th and 28th and Boston September 30th and October 1st.  The event theme is turning strategy into action. They’ve lined up speakers who are recognized thought leaders, and sponsors who have products and expertise that implement new media strategies that turn strategy into action.

The Inbound Marketing Summit has an impressive speaker list. Speakers include Timothy Ferris, Tim O’Reilly, David Meerman Scott, Chris Brogan, Charlene Li and many others.

Find and Convert is one of the sponsors of the Inbound Marketing Summit. I plan to attend each event and will also speak or participate on a panel session.

Justin is offering Find and Convert podcast listeners a VIP $200 discount at the Inbound Marketing Summit website.

You can connect with Justin Levy on Facebook,

Maybe we’ll see you at one of the upcoming Inbound Marketing Summit events…

Bernie Borges, aka @berniebay

What Do Social Media and Christmas Have in Common?

Sharing…

Why beat around the bush? The Christmas holiday season is a time to share and give. And, isn’t that one aspect of social media that we all enjoy?

The most prolific social media people are always sharing. They share their thoughts, their expertise, links to great content and their time. When Christmas time rolls around isn’t it natural for those of us who actively use social media to also share with those who don’t have our good fortunes?

In this blog post I want to recognize three recent examples of social media people who are setting an example. The reason I’m singling them out is because there are probably many others out there and I want others who know them to recognize them by adding them to the comments area.

The reason I want to recognize them is partially to give them thanks. But, mostly I want to use them as inspirational examples. We know the social power of the web. We use the social web to connect and to market ourselves. We regularly share links to content. Let’s use these links as inspirations and personal challenges to do great things for needy people.

As the world around us reels from economic hardships among other hardships, each of us can do something to help others. No matter how small, every little bit is a help to someone.

Let’s look at these examples for inspiration:

Your Donations Really Made a Difference: A few days ago Chris Brogan raised $1,200 in donations by putting out a challenge to his Twitter followers to make a difference. Chris is adding $700 of his own money to buy “really big” toys for underprivileged kids. Chris humbly says “You did this…You made it possible for me to pick up several carts full of toys” as he gives credit to his friends on the social web. Way to go Chris for showing leadership and caring!

A month ago Epic Change a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run by Stacey Monk ran a two day donation campaign in the 48 hours preceding Thanksgiving. Stacey assembled a group of volunteers to organize Tweetsgiving. This event raised more than $10,000 to build a school building in Tanzania. Way to go Stacey for boldly blazing a new trail on Twitter!

In October, JD Rucker wrote a blog post: With Great Social Media Power Comes Great Responsibility. JD is calling on the companies in social media and their executives to give back to the needy.

I don’t want to give you the impression that I believe you aren’t already generous with your giving. I merely want to point out the power of social media. No disrespect to Chris Brogan, Stacey Monk or JD Rucker, but you don’t have to be Bill Gates to make a difference.

Rather than sit by, these people just to name three, are stepping out and taking action. They are inspiring all of us to take action.

Last week I provided pro bono social media strategy advice to Meet the Need a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. After that experience I was inspired to do more of it. I will stay close to Meet the Need because it can reach so many people and because I’m in a position to help.

This time of year calls more attention to the needy. My challenge to all my friends on the social web is to share and give of yourself all year long.

I invite you to offer your comments and tell us who else you know on the social web that is taking action to share with the needy.

@berniebay

SEO Becoming SMO

I argue that SEO is becoming social media optimization (SMO). We devote a lot of attention to details to gain high rankings in search engines. Of course, this process is known as organic search engine optimization. But, when people search on a keyword in a search engine are all the search results limited to web pages? No!

A new organic SMO strategy is all about being found on the web by people who want your products or services. It’s great to be found by people doing a Google search. But, I don’t want to limit relevant traffic to my website only to those doing a Google search. I also want people to visit my website who are engaged in online conversations on the social web and visit it simply because of a referral by someone or a link from interesting content on the social web.

When I study my website analytics over the past 30 days I see the top referral source is Google organic, followed by a recent link building blog post on Hubspot and referrals from Twitter and Facebook.

How do I work at organic SEO? I still focus on relevant content and all the SEO basics pertaining to search engine friendly website architecture and organic link building strategies. These SEO fundamentals help get Google rankings which are still very important and very desirable.

But, as evidenced above Google is not the only valid referral source of traffic to my website.

When I find good content on the web I share it with others. On average for every 10 links to good content that I share, 9 of them are links to interesting articles from social media industry experts such as Hubspot, Lee Odden, Andy Beal, Paul Dunay and Chris Brogan among others. About 1 out of 10 links that I share are to my own blog posts because I sincerely believe that I provide interesting content too. I can say this with humility based on comments received from people on the social web.

The point I’m making is that organic optimization on the web is not limited to being found in search engines. Marketers who focus all their attention to being found in Google are potentially limiting their traffic.

This is more true in some industries than others. But, in most industries you’ll find people having online conversations, sharing links to content and generally engaged in communities on the social web. If your organic web strategy includes being engaged and found by these communities then it qualifies as a social media optimization (SMO) strategy.

So what’s your organic web strategy?

10 Ways to Promote Your Blog

Business blogging is a hot topic.  I recently podcasted on the importance of having a blogging strategy.

Yesterday, Chris Brogan wrote a great post with 9 ways to promote your blog.  I agree with all his tips, especially sharing your best blog posts (not all your blog posts) with your network.

But, I want to be direct about an observation many of us in the Internet marketing world experience.  Business blogging is getting harder.  Business blogging requires a big commitment.  Guys like Chris Brogan of CrossTech Media, Mike Volpe of Hubspot and Jeremiah Owyang of Forrester Research spend a lot of their time blogging because it’s a big part of their business.  And, not only do they have a lot of good content to share with us, they have developed a loyal following through their blogs.

What about the average business competing to sell widgets every day?   How do you develop a strong business blog with limited time for blogging?

I don’t know if my tip is the silver bullet….But, here it is.  Think “small.” Forget what you’ve been taught about “thinking big.”  Think small!

Target your blog for a narrow audience with a very narrow topic.  Don’t worry about what you can write about, unless you don’t have a subject matter expert (in which case don’t even consider this idea).  You’ll be surprised how much you can write about a narrow topic.

Most businesses have a well defined target market.  Pick a segment of your target market and start a blog on it.  Maybe it’s a very specific industry segment such as office furniture dealers.  Just write about office furniture dealers.  If you have more than one person in your company qualified to write about this narrow topic, that’s even better.

There are at least three advantages to a narrow approach to business blogging.

1. You don’t have to write very often.  If you write about once per week or so, that is sufficient.  Just be consistent and write good content for your target audience.  Don’t write every other month, then once a week, then every other month.  Your blog will go stale.

2. The probability of your blog being noticed is greater because it is so narrow.  In fact, if you get a little lucky, you may get a handful of people in your narrow niche that really embrace your blog and promote it for you to others in your niche.  If that happens, you’ll find out that your niche is bigger than you thought.

3. Less competition.  Tecnhorati is currently tracking 112 million blogs.  In your narrow niche you’ll only be competing with 10 of them.  Ok, I made up this (second) number.  My point is you’ll compete with a fewer number of blogs for mindshare in your narrow niche.

4. Promoting your blog will be easier.  Just refer to Chris Brogan’s list of 9 ways to promote your blog.  If you do just half the suggestions made by Chris, your blog has great potential to become popular and give your business great exposure and open new doors for your business.

I said there are three good reasons for a narrow niche blog strategy, but I gave you four reasons.  I thought the fourth reason might be added to Chris Brogan’s list for an even 10.

Send me a link to your niche blog.