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

While it’s recognized that only about 12% of the Fortune 500 have a corporate blog, those that do take it seriously.  Companies such as Intel, Google, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Dell and Kodak have devoted people resources to their corporate blogging strategies.

The companies in this list are Fortune ranking companies.  But, companies like Junta42 and Hubspot are not Fortune ranked companies (in fact considerably smaller) and they devote equally impressive resources to corporate blogging.

I’ll single out two blogging trailblazers from each category above.  Matt Cutts is the corporate blogging face of Google.  And, Mike Volpe is the corporate blogging face of Hubspot. 

Matt Cuts is often seen at Internet conferences in a t-shirt and jeans talking about whatever topic is hot at the conference de-jour.  Matt is also very active in his blog which appears to be sponsored by Google, or at least sanctioned by Google.  Matt is the official “webmaster” guy who represents everything Google.  In my opinion Google has very effectively humanized their corporate identity through Matt.  He is a regular guy.  He is not an executive.  He doesn’t speak over any one’s head.  In fact, he is a like-able guy who speaks in plain English.  Even if you don’t like Google’s position on topics as represented by Matt, it’s hard to have a hostile view of Matt, as the face of Google.  He is truly a regular guy.

Hubpot’s blog is branded under their name.  In full disclosure, I am a fan of the Hubspot Internet Marketing platform.  One of many things Hubspot does well is devote time and energy to their blog.  The main guy who is the corporate blogging face for Hubspot is Mike Volpe.  Mike’s title is V.P. Marketing, a pretty mundane title for a cutting edge Internet company.  I’ll forgive him for this because Mike does an excellent job of blogging on a myriad of Internet Marketing topics (he has help from some of his colleagues too).  In essence, Mike is educating and evangelizing the benefits of corporate blogging for Internet Marketing benefits.  Hubspot is a young company.  Their rapid brand growth is evidence of how effective corporate blogging can be. 

Corporate blogging can’t be effective without first deciding that it is important to your business.  Those businesses who think the benefits can’t be measured haven’t studied it enough.  These are the same companies who will eventually be blind-sided by their competitor’s corporate blgging strategy. 

The biggest risk to a corporate blogging strategy is not recognizing that it should be part of a bigger picture social media strategy.  You wouldn’t launch an advertising campaign without first setting the corporate marketing strategy.  The advertising should support the corporate marketing strategy.

Social media is fast becoming a strategic element in corporate marketing.  In some businesses people’s jobs are being defined under the social media umbrella, and in some cases whole departments.  We’re starting to see titles such as “Chief Blogger,” and “V.P. Communities and Conversations.” 

The commitment these companies are showing is to a strategy of conversations with people they want to converse with. 

Being in the conversations is everything in a social media strategy.

The online publication B2B Online covered this topic recently.

I am sometimes asked about my title: “chief find officer.”  Hmmm…Maybe it’s time for a title change…

Last week I gave an updated presentation on “What B2B Marketers Need to Know About Web 2.0.” The venue was TechSelect in Las Vegas (a private conference put on by TechData). The audience was VARs and Systems Integrators who purchase products through TechData. I presented once each on Friday and Saturday.

In both sessions I encountered many similar questions and concerns. Many people had limited knowledge of Web 2.0. Some attendees had profiles in LinkedIn, Facebook and a few in MySpace. Some were familiar with blogging, but surprisingly few. A few attendees had corporate blogs. Most were very interested in learning how to implement a blog strategy.

My advice to those interested in blogging was to start an internal blog first. Even for a small business that can include extensions of the company such as partners, suppliers, customers, etc. This is a relatively safe way to experience the dynamics of a blog. Beyond that, starting a public blog starts with studying the industry landscape to determine a sound blog strategy.

We also discussed micro blogging (Twitter), podcasting and social networking. There was very little awareness of Twitter, but we had interesting discussions around Twitter’s potential business applications.

There was particular interest in podcasting, especially as we discussed how technology buyers often rely on podcast content to help shape their opinions of products and services they consider before making a purchase decision.

We also discussed SEO at a very high level.  In particular we reviewed the growing importance of delivering content through social media platforms to help create links and to contribute to organic rankings. 

I provided up to the minute statistics on most of the topics mentioned above.  The two presentations were very interactive and were interesting and enjoyable for me to deliver.  Based on feedback I received it was informative for the attendees.

The full presentation can be accessed here.  I welcome comments.

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.

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?

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.