Content is King, President and Pope
August 6, 2008
I just finished re-reading an excellent book The New Rules of Marketing & PR.
Some stuffy PR guys would probably like to challenge the contents of this book as it does not promote the old truths of PR and marketing. David Meerman Scott has focused on explaining the world of opportunities that have opened up for aspiring journalists, marketers and small business owners via web-based tools and services. Free or low cost applications such as blogs, podcasts and social networking tools such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn are changing the old rules. Niche buyers can be reached with targeted messages that cost a fraction of big-budget advertising campaign. In addition, these marketing efforts often allow instant feedback and measurable results, so the “train can be stopped much sooner when it’s headed to the wrong direction”.
One-way interruption does not work as well as it used to. Instead, marketers have to create a dialogue with potential buyers and deliver useful content at the moment their prospects, buyers or constituents need it.
Readers learn that online marketing is not about pretty websites either. Per Meerman Scott, content is not only KING, but President and Pope as well. The key to interesting and entertaining content is the collaboration between the different departments of the organization. Websites cannot be stale either – content needs to be fresh and the reactions of the visitors should be measured and analyzed, so the content can be improved. I agree with all these points as I prefer information rich blogs and websites to flashy and design driven sites.
Here are some steps David Meerman Scott suggests for creating thoughtful content. These steps apply to websites and all social media tools in my opinion.
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Do not focus on writing primarily about your company and products. Content should be designed to solve buyer problems or answer questions.
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Define your organizational goals before you design your website.
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Based on your goals, decide whether you want to provide the content for free without any registration, or you want to include some kind of registration mechanism (much lower response rates).
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Think like a publisher. Consider buyer personas.
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Write for your audience. Use examples and stories, make it interesting.
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Choose a great title that grabs attention.
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Promote the effort like crazy. Offer the content with easy-to-find links.
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Alert appropriate bloggers, reporters and analysts that the content is available and send them a download link.
What is the main reason I like The New Rules of PR and Marketing?
It gives easy to read instructions on how to become a thought leader while remaining authentic and transparent. No need to pay a top dollar to reach your audience if you have expertise, find your voice, target a specific group of people and keep improving your skills.
Educate, entertain and motivate!
Ms. Yahoo Becoming Friends With Mr. Google
March 28, 2008
I did not think I will be blogging about Mr. Microsoft again today, but the relationships I am following are getting more and more complex. While Mr. Microsoft is learning to be social, Ms. Yahoo is getting close and personal with Mr. Google. Ms. Yahoo and Mr. Google were rivals, but they seem to be becoming the new best friends. Mr. Google wants to maintain its leadership role in the online advertising arena as well as control search space, and Ms.Yahoo does not want to get married to Mr. Microsoft. She has perhaps checked Mr. Microsoft’s Facebook page and does not like what she sees. She definitely dislikes the proposed prenuptial agreement.
Mr. Microsoft is Not Anti-Social After All
March 27, 2008
As it turns out - Mr. Microsoft is not as anti-social as I claimed in one of my previous blog posts as it has collaborated with Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, LinkedIn and Tagged to enable its users to access their contacts from more web portals. The collaboration includes an exchange of application programming interfaces that will allow users to move their contacts and relationships between Windows Live services and social networks more safely and securely.
Well, maybe Mr. Microsoft has found his new role as a security policeman of social networks?
The Internet might eventually turn into a web of user-controlled web networks that focus on the interests of the individuals, compared to the community-run platforms. As data is freely transferable over the Web, users can easily recognize information of interest. User-oriented content is replacing writer-oriented content. Just like blogs are starting to replace home pages. Security issues can’t be overlooked, however.
YahooSoft and FaceGoogle?
March 5, 2008
As I wrote in one of my earlier posts – Mr. Microsoft did not like the rejection by Ms. Yahoo, who is playing hard to get.
I still believe that these two could make their partnership work. Search has been hard for Ms. Yahoo to master, but she attracts more socialites than Mr. Google who is being bullied by Mr. Microsoft right now. Mr. Microsoft has been resistant to join Mr. Google and others in web-based online workspace application development, but is making a belated step to keep up with the Jones’s. Unfortunately Office Live Workspace does not come with enough features for me as I have tested Wrike, BlueTie, HyperOffice, WebEx Office, Basecamp and Google Apps. Mr. Microsoft could win Ms. Yahoo’s heart by showing enthusiasm towards mobile applications. Ms. Yahoo has demonstrated her smart side and already unveiled a cell phone tool, OnePlace, which will allow users to keep up with their favorite topics via dynamic bookmarks.
Mr. Google at the same time may face a mild identity crisis - will FaceGoogle be the next big thing?
Small Business Owners and Social Networking
February 14, 2008
Salesconx, a growing online business referral company, recently surveyed 700 small business owners across North America in an effort to understand how they value new client relationships, approach lead generation and how they utilize the Internet’s networking features.
Survey findings indicated that word-of mouth and client referrals are the main source of new client acquisition for small businesses. Most small businesses are slow at implementing new marketplace techniques. Why?
Small business owners are concerned about the expense and they mistrust unfamiliar marketing methods. While Facebook has 50 million users and LinkedIn has 14 million users, only 11% of survey respondents noted that they belong to either of these communities. 79% of the participants do not belong to social or professional network.
Referral and word of mouth account for nearly 50% of all new business for surveyed small business owners, however, only 9% are using online lead generation. I could not find any data about the age of the small business owners who were surveyed, but I know several small business owners who are 45 or older and need help understanding or learning Web 2.0. They state they don’t have time for social networking. They view social networks as popularity contests as well as question the importance of online networking . Many of them still don’t have websites.
I keep learning and teaching them in the process….
October 31, 2007
Facebook privacy settings keep names, photos out of search engines
By now, the names and photos of Facebook’s 40 million users are available to anyone who searches for a name on Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. The full profile of a user, which includes their interests, hometown, birthdate, and friends, is not viewable.
It’s good business for Facebook, which is projecting that the IDs will attract millions more people to their site, making it far more profitable. At the same time, the move has set off privacy alarms among customers who don’t want their listings to be public information.
The public searches show any Facebook member with a search privacy setting set to “Everyone.” Individual users, however, can change the setting and opt out of public searches.
Facebook started as a network for college students and expanded to include high schools and workplace networks. It has increased its membership four fold since it make its service available to everyone a year ago.
Now the company is placing more targeted ads on its site in order to generate even more income.
Many who are familiar with Facebook’s change in policy say the company has preserved its sensitivity to privacy by limiting profile listings, giving customers a chance to opt out, and giving them fair warning of the policy change.
Ready for Social Networking?
September 4, 2007
Are you ready to network online? Would you like to find your college friends?
Top networking sites:
linkedin.com (recruiting talent)
facebook.com (started as a site for college students, but now is used as a communication tool among webbies)
youtube.com (user created videos)
taxalmanac.com (accountants)
fastpitchnetworking.com (small business owners)