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Aaron has a great post about PR agencies in the social media / web 2.o space. Worth a read, if only for the Office Space inspired giggle.  Reading this made my brain connect what Aaron had written with a thought I had been having all morning about authenticity.

The attraction of blogging and social marketing for companies is strong. There is a feeling that with a little bit of cunning you can siphon off some of this juicy traffic and pump up your product. A lot of tips and advice out there reinforces this belief. Added to this, look at all these tools that are available now allowing you to “submit your content to hundreds of social media sites simultaneously”. Um, submit a lame story all you like, you ain’t going to get voted on!

Reality fortunately shows that this is not true. It is a lot harder to profitably game the system for your own commercial benefit than it appears.

It’s a real shame that many of these companies are going to try a half-hearted approach at gaming social media then decide that social media “doesn’t work”. If they would only truly engage the audience, take time to truly participate and create value, they might see a whole lot of benefit for both their company and their customers.

I have said this before but it is worth repeating. You have to start with the audience, what they need.  But saying the right things is not enough, you have to show with your behavior that you really get it.

Attracting an audience with the right words in the right places will only work so long, sooner or later you have to truly deliver what your audience came to find. If you attract people with one story but tell another with the way you act then those people who were once attracted and favorable will feel cheated. Consider Apple, they have a huge fan-base and now pundits are squawking about their percentage of the PC market but Mac customers don’t see Apple as a PC company. If they started selling generic beige boxes would the customers stick around?

Social media and blog marketing are not throwaway tactics, attracting an audience this way is setting up a promise that you are going to make yourself an authentic part of the conversation. Don’t waste the opportunity by only putting on an act, really take part and you will be rewarded.

Often clients assume I am always going to recommend blogging but that is simply not the case. I am not going to push blogs as the magic bullet solution because as you know, blogging does not suit every company or individual.

In most cases the decision is down to:

1. Will a blog provide significant benefit compared to other tactics? - There are a number of ways a company can market, build an audience, attract search visibility without blogging. While for some companies a blog will be ideal, this is not always the case.
2. Does the benefit outweigh the cost? - There are costs to blogging, from having the initial blog set up through to the staff time or paid cost in having it maintained.
3. Can you as a company create a worthwhile blog? - Not all companies have people on staff or the budget for good, consistent writing. Also you need to know there are enough article ideas to see you through long term.

Now all that said, the risk of “getting it wrong” is small in most cases. People do worry though if there is a greater risk doing a blog badly compared to doing nothing at all.Let’s take a look at ways a blog could conceivably damage your brand:

• Saying something damaging - This is the worst thing you can do through your blog, and it could well be much more damaging than saying something bad in person because as you know, internet news travels at light speed, provides its own evidence, and is hard to erase. If you have staff members with controversial views or who tend to run off their mouth then keep them away from the blog. Do not let anything go live without being checked for legalities, accuracy, intellectual property and good sense. My advice would be to avoid any form of snark or dark humor in a company blog. This is kind of the internet equivalent of letting the company big-mouth talk to the press. Just don’t.
• Not responding to an issue - Not posting can be as damaging. If there is an issue building and you have a blog but do not address it then it looks like you are being evasive.
• Over-prioritizing the blog - A blog is one thread in a multi-tactic strategy. Relying on your blog alone, to the expense of other marketing tactics, would be a mistake. Take me for example, I am a blog and marketing consultant but even I have to get out from my own blog, market myself and network.
• Using the blog as distraction from work - Sometimes people get caught up with the thrill of blogging or just would rather tinker with a blog than get on with their real job. Blogging is fun, much more fun than many chores you might have in a business, so be careful that hours are not wastefully spent “blogging” rather than being productive.
• Starting then abandoning a popular blog - This is not quite as damaging as people believe, but still can be a mistake when you have a lot of people who have subscribed only to find the posts dry up. Raising and dashing expectations is not the best business move. For this reason it is best to start a blog in “stealth mode” to see if it is possible for you to maintain a blog long term. Also do not think you have to post multiple times a day or even week. Once a week might be sufficient providing what you post is valuable. Far better to set expectations low and exceed them than the other way round.

As you can see, there are risks, but knowing risks before hand allows you to mitigate against them. I have in the past recommended companies go with an “articles” section and an email list over a blog when I didn’t feel they could keep up a blog. There are always options and ways around these issues.

Can you think of any other ways a company could harm their brand with bad blogging?

So you will do-doubt have noticed Darren Gave Away $60,000 of Prizes in a Week. You can already see Darrens conclusions, but after reading his list I had a thought I want to share and get your opinion on.

The Problogger give-away was a big success I am sure, and Darren has learned a great deal that will make the next much better, but what struck me about the prize bonanza makes me wonder about doing competitions at all.

Could competitions be a turn-off?

I don’t for a minute think Darren lost any subscribers, in fact he gained some. But for me, watching the blog, seeing all the competition-related posts fill up the RSS, made me think about the nature of competitions.

Say you have 10k subscribers and 1,000 people enter a competition with 5 prizes. That is 955 disappointed people and 9,000 people who were not interested in the first place.

Yes, you gain attention, links and some new subscribers, but how loyal will those people be longer-term when the prizes stop coming.

Perhaps the key is to combine the competition with lots of other great content at the same time so your main topic gets equal billing?

As I say, this is not a criticism of Darrens or any other competition, I just wonder if competitions in general could be damaging as well as great publicity?

What do you think?

Last night I was chatting with Brian about his recent article. We were talking about how when people get into online marketing they suddenly become enamored with the technology. Have you noticed that?

There is one key to success online and let me tell you now, technology is not it.

Yes, the technical side is important and has a very key role to play. Get the technology right without another critical ingredient and failure is guaranteed.

What is this magic sauce? People.

“People” are the key to your success, online or off.

What a bizarre thing to say! But it is true. Let me explain.

Take a look at this list and tell me what they all have in common …

• Subscribers
• Traffic
• Links
• Social Media Votes
• Comments
• Search Engine Results
• Advertisers
• Sales

Got it? They all rely on other people!

You might think that SEO is all about technical tweaks and tricks. Black arts, keyword stuffing, getting the right number of keywords in the right places. But I would argue the best Search Engine Optimizers are actually masters of psychology - Social Optimizers if you will.

Your best links come from other bloggers. Links and anchor text are key to search results. Social Media is partly about phrasing headlines and descriptions, but it is mostly about getting votes. Votes come from people.

Get the people side right and you have won over half the battle.

Focus on people first, when your audience is happy you will find the rest a whole lot easier!

User djinferno asked a question over at the Authority Blogger Forum that I know is on the minds of many bloggers.

It is a question I see a lot, expressed in many ways

• “How do I promote my blog”
• “What can I do to get more visitors?”
• “How do you increase traffic?”

In the thread already there is some great comprehensive advice from glblbuy that I totally agree with. Do read the whole thing but here are a couple of the main points.

1. Have great content - everyone knows content is a pre-requisite but it is always surprising how many people put one post up on their blog then ask how to get more visitors right away!
2. Make yourself known - Fellow bloggers are your best quality source of free traffic and subscribers. Participate in forums and carnivals. Comment. Make friends and partnerships and get them to link and Stumble your posts.
3. Guest post - Once people know you a bit build on it by guest posting. By writing on other peoples blogs you build contacts, raise your profile and can help other people while helping yourself - win-win
4. Be easy to help - Make your content easy to skim and quote. Use bullets, bold areas, quotes. Provide easy to use social media buttons. When it comes to Digging you up, linking to you or stumbling your stuff if it seems like too much work nobody will do it!
5. Take advantage of the traffic when it comes - make sure your subscription options are prominent, welcome people, respond to comments, follow up with more good stuff

Added: I was reminded of another good thread at the forum on the same topic

I’m sure you have your own advice, what has worked for you? Sign up to the forum and join the conversation or leave a comment here

One of the great things about the internet is the fact you can connect with people from all around the world with diverse backgrounds and interests. In fact I think technology has followed a very human drive for connecting, when techies connected computers together they were really connecting people.

Only yesterday I was telling someone how networking got me to where I am. It’s true success is as much about who you know as what you know. I owe a huge part of my career to online communities and I can not imagine ever having achieved anything without what I learned from participating in them.

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Since I wrote about how bloggers make money I have had three different people asking about the controversial topic of paid links. I know from past experience when one or two people ask there are usually many more people who are interested, so here are my thoughts and a small poll to see how you stand on the issue

It seems to me the various positions can be summarized as follows. Let me know in the comments if I have missed any.

1. Against - It’s bad for the web - This is the position of Google. Their opinion is that links count as votes and they find it hard to tell if a vote has been bought or given freely. They don’t want to rank sites highly that have bought the position (unless the site in question is buying Googles own Adwords advertising).
2. Moderate - It predates Google so they should butt out - Many people who actually don’t take part in the practice of buying or selling links nevertheless do not think it is Googles job to tell webmasters what they can and can not do where linking is concerned.
3. For - It is good for webmasters, good for buyers, and good for audiences, do it! - It is easy to like this form of monetization. Text Link Ads pay well even to the average webmaster, particularly when compared to the most common Adsense payout, without forcing the inventory in your face, and reward webmasters regardless of traffic. Buying links has been a proven traffic method for a while now, in fact there are some niches where the practice is so common place I am told you can not compete without taking part.
4. Depends - Sell ‘em by all means but be careful buying - The buying side of the equation poses more risks than the selling side though I am told the key is to make your link patterns look natural by mixing up where you get your links from.

Where do I stand?

My opinion is closest to #4. Full disclosure, I worked with Patrick from TLA for a long time and think he is a thoroughly good bloke so am perhaps more sympathetic to the company than I would otherwise be That said, if you are having a hard time making money off your blog I think Text Link Ads is a great scheme.

I don’t really care for Googles position and I believe if there is going to be a Policeman of the Interwebs it shouldn’t really be a monopoly that makes millions from monetizing spam like they do. Google incentivise splogs and click arbitrage with Adsense money so isn’t it a bit hypocritical? They even get users to out sites that are selling links. I am by no means an expert on all the nuances of this debate but is there only me that thinks what you will get is competitors playing dirty rather than honest search users filling those out? Perhaps I am opening myself up for a search penalty now saying that

Don’t think for a minute it is just the little guys who sell links. Huge properties do it. No, I am not going to out individuals, but many of the biggest household names and organisations on the web have sold links.

I do agree with one point that Matt Cutts makes, it is better for all parties if the links are relevant. The best approach is that put forward by Jeremy Zawodny (who happens to work for a big search engine, hmmm).

I rejected the on-line casino, drug sales, cheap hotels, and really offensive stuff–basically, anything the reminded me of blog comment spam I’ve bit hit with or that sends me to a sleazy feeling site. No need to encourage ‘em.

If you can earn a couple of hundred dollars a month selling links, is a penalty so bad? If Google decides your site no longer passes “juice” I don’t think most people would notice, but if your site loses rankings there could be more pain. I would actually advise people to build up non-Google traffic sources so one monster company can not arbitrarily hold you to ransom in this way. Fact is, most of the people who look to Text Link Ads as their major source of income isn’t getting much love from Google in the first place.

While I know bloggers with small blogs who are making hundreds of dollars a month with TLA, I also know there are also webmasters who look down on the practice. Everyone has their own thoughts and it is nowhere near a clear issue. My advice is to look around your niche and ask around. If you would like to check out more information about selling links on your blog, visit the Text Link Ads site here. While there is no commitment required to investigate further, that is an affiliate link and demonstrates another way you can earn from the system, you can make $25 if your click leads to a sign up

Am I wrong? Is this bad advice? 

Do not think from what I have said my mind is made up. While I didn’t want to sway the poll, as I say above, I have given advice on the topic already so I thought the honest thing was to let you know my thoughts. I am still completely open to persuasion on this. If you have thoughts or links that show a good argument in any direction, please share in the comments.

Now click your vote in the poll, I am looking forward to seeing how you guys think about this issue

I consider myself a pretty clued up geek but since my Social Media Marketing roundup I have been learning loads about my favourite social media internet tools. One new find for me that I am quite interested in is the discovery on CornwallSEO that you can send your Stumbleupon pages to your friends

If you stumble a page and want the people who have friended you to check it out. Click the “Send to” button, it will then display all the people you can send the page to. Next time they stumble they get to see your page and a short message from you.

There is also a helpful video from Tim Nash at Venture Skills to show how to do it

Is that cool or what? I just tried it, hopefully my SU contacts will not hate me too much for using it.

Now this is a concern, obviously this is open to abuse, and is potentially annoying. Of course it is. Probably this is the reason why you can only hit one person at a time.

But on the other hand I think a lot of the people who are my contacts will find similar stuff interesting.

Have you used this feature? Like it or loathe it, let me know in the comments …

Social Media seems to be quite a popular topic, you guys seemingly had no problems submitting your social media links. Thanks to all who submitted and for anyone who did not get featured, please try on the next one, better luck next time!

So What Is Social Media?

The main problem seemed to be from people wondering if they had the correct definition. Some folks have a stricter definition than me but here is mine:

The term “Social Media” describes tools, websites and software that allows people to connect and share.

Agree? So in my definition blogs, forums, bookmarking tools, toolbars, and such, all come under the Social Media heading providing they allow people to talk, share bookmarks, add buddies, and all the good stuff we expect to be able to do in modern Interwebs.

What Is Social Media Good For?

As I say in the definition, it is all about connecting people. You can use Social Media to find people with the same interests, to discuss and ask questions, to find cool new stuff, even for job searching.

One of the best uses of Social Media is “Social Bookmarking” which has become increasingly popular. This is where you add your own links, share links and discover new sites. You can use these tools to record, discover and research items you want to visit or write about later.

That is what Social Media is meant for but increasingly people are seeing it as a source of traffic to their websites, which is where Social Media Marketing comes in.

Social Media Marketing?

From the first time a website got a huge torrent of visitors from being “Slashdotted” there were people who wanted to know how to get that massive influx of traffic, and more importantly not leave it to chance. Social Media sites, the popular ones anyway, have an incredible ability to provide exposure, visits and inbound links. All stuff internet players want more of. Social Media Marketing is all about gaining that Social Media exposure in a tactical way, all why carefully avoiding getting blocked or banned.

In the past sites such as Digg seemed almost hostile to blogs but now most people agree that blogs are an ideal way to get social media attention, at times sending tens of thousands of visits to one article. Even if you are not a blogger it helps to think like one. Many sites though are not ready for the flood of traffic that can come with a big social media result. The flood of traffic can take down your site or flood your comment area with less than constructive feedback. You have to make sure you are prepared for the best and the worst these traffic spikes can bring.

While much of the attention is given over to the traffic spikes it is worth remembering that social media traffic can be surprisingly long lasting, due to the repeated discovery of your content and the subsequent links that are produced as a snowball effect. Getting on one popular social bookmarking site can get you on one or two of the others as copycat submissions, which then also produces blog mentions and forum link drops. One Digg homepage event can give you weeks of traffic goodness!

The key is to carefully select appropriate targets and approaches. While many small businesses are making inroads using social media, and cheaply too, not every venue is open to certain types of commercial content. For example a business to business company will probably find little success targeting MySpace but consumer brands, musicians and writers can do very well there.

Social Media Marketing Tactics

Social Media Marketing usually involves three tactics:

1. Building a powerful profile on the chosen tools
2. Creating content that the chosen tools audience will really go for
3. Funneling traffic from already popular sites

To succeed with number 1. involves making a lot of friends. There are other aspects as we shall see, but the core is about making connections and networking. Social Bookmarking success is about votes, it helps if you give the voting a big push at the start. Signing up to all these services can seem like a chore, and it is, but many are coming around to the idea of integrating with OpenId so perhaps this will be easier in future.

Number 2. comes down to LinkBait (or DiggBait, whatever you want to call it). Putting compelling content, well packaged, in front of the right audience and watching the hits sky rocket. Lately LinkBait has become associated with “Top 10 Lists” but it need not be the case. You will see suggestions for tips and tactics in the links below:

• Matt Cutts SEO LinkBait Advice
• Nicks Performancing Guide: Art of LinkBaiting
• Beginners Guide to Linkbait
• Andys Ultimate Guide to LinkBaiting
  

The last tactic is most commonly associated with YouTube and is a growing trend over at Squidoo, but you can think of it as a more modern and bolder version of dropping links in forums In the SEO world this is sometimes called “parasitic”. Build a video, page or site as part of an already well trafficked community and send it to your own. Another idea growing in popularity is to use Twitter like a feed, posting your links in Twitter to notify your followers. While it will not increase your link count it does get your posts noticed.

Social Media Sites

Below are articles for specific popular social media sites, also check out Andys list of lesser known social media sites. While the big guns will send maximum traffic, the smaller sites will be more open to your content. It’s well worth experimenting.

1. Digg

Digg is probably now the best known and the most sought after, but it can be tricky to get to the front page and the audience can be problematic. Just make sure you are wearing your flame-proof pants!

• People have been putting a ton of energy into Digg, is it always worth it?
• The key to Digg is building up your profile, see how Glen has been hitting the Digg homepage on a Daily Basis

2. StumbleUpon

I love StumbleUpon and recently I have received some nice flows of traffic from there. Just install the toolbar and surf the sites and you will have fun, but get to know the community and start reviewing articles and you will start to see just how useful it really is.

• Meg has outlined the main things you need to know in her Beginner’s Guide to StumbleUpon
• Learning what Stumblers like can help you create a great blog
• As Wild Bill says, you need to learn how to give and receive with StumbleUpon

3. FaceBook

Facebook is all about keeping contact with people you know. More recently people have been promoting their content with it. I must admit right now I am not convinced by Facebook but you can’t ignore it so I will keep trying it out hoping that the light bulb will go off

• Wal-Mart invested $300k on a Facebook campaign. How did that work out?
• Should employers ban Facebook at work?
• Should you use social media for your business? Anne-Marie thinks so.

4. Del.Icio.Us

You don’t hear much about this one any more but it still sends a great deal of traffic and it is a brilliant social bookmarking service.

• Using Del.icio.us as a web based inventory - This is a new one on me, using social bookmarking to catalog your stuff!
• How do you get more social bookmarking attention? Read Stevens 10 Tips for Making Your Blog Posts More del.icio.us

5. Reddit

I must admit I have never really properly looked at Reddit, some people speak well of it while others say don’t bother - what do you think? Thankfully Chris Gray has written a great post on What Reddit is all about and how can I use it to promote and market my blog posts.

That’s All Folks

I hope that was useful for you. Thanks to all who submitted articles and sorry to those who missed out from getting linked, better luck next time. Let me know in the comments if I have gotten anything wrong, missed anything or if you just have something to say

Drive a flood of new users and deep links to your website with the Social Media Marketing Service from Performancing.

I have just been going through and editing the Social Media Roundup for tomorrow (submissions closed by the way). As part of the process I have gone through the major social media sites for insights. One thing that is common to almost all of them struck me as missing from Facebook. What is it?

Discoverability.

Did I just make up a word? My dictionary thinks so …

I define “Discoverability” as the ability to discover or be discovered. Facebook lacks this but Digg, Del.icio.us, Blogs, Forums, Stumbleupon don’t just have it, they make a major feature of it.

Think about how you last discovered a cool site, a new blog, a great forum. When you last subscribed to a blog you didn’t subscribe and then see if you liked it I imagine, first you discovered it then you subscribed because you liked what you saw.

Facebook is based on a premise of already knowing each other. Many people I have connected with on Facebook I met through blogging and added them later. I think Facebook needs some sort of feature that encourages and eases the process of “surfing” from one profile to another. That makes it easy to find other people like yourself.

What do you think? Is there an opening there for a Facebook application? Am I missing a feature that is already there? Let me know in the comments …