Neighborhoodnow Chronicles

While Social Media may be “new” to most people, the concept of conversing online has been around for a long time. But a new phenomenon is emerging of people claiming to be social media “gurus” and ”evangelists” – but how do you decide if the person you’re talking to about creating your social media campaign is truly an “expert”? Just because they have a profile on Facebook or have read one or two best-sellers on Amazon does not make them an expert.

Lots of companies these days are looking around for someone to help them create an online media campaign that includes Twitter and Facebook – simply because they’ve heard this is where they should be. Before you hire that kid who’s promising to get you 10,000 followers on Twitter, or the PR guy who tells you to blog everyday without rhyme or reason, ask a few questions first.

Don’t know what questions to ask? Here are my top 5 questions to ask your “Social Media Guru”…:

1. How long have you been involved with Social Media?
a. “I write a blog…” – run, don’t walk.
b. “6 months, 12 months, 18 months” – well, Social Media is new but it’s not that new – ask some more questions.
c. “I’ve been involved with developing online marketing campaigns utilizing Social Media and other tools for several years” – this one’s a keeper.

2. List 3 references for your Social Media work.
a. “My brother, his uncle, my nephew.” – see 1a.
b. “Social Media is too new for references…” – uhuh. 1a.
c. “Here are my references, and here are their testimonials.” – nice, but contact the references anyway.

3. How do you incorporate existing websites, microsites, newsletter applications and other tools into your overall social media strategy?
a. “We only do Twitter, and get you 10,000 followers” – this is a no-go.
b. “We can talk about it, but we have to find out your needs first” – not bad, a starting point for a dialogue.
c. “We have a comprehensive view of your online presence, and part of our discovery process is to analyze your currrent online situation, including your websites, newsletters etc. against your goals and objectives. Once we’ve accomplished that, we can determine what needs to be adjusted to develop a strategy that fits your needs.” – ding, ding. Good one.

4. Can you provide a list of your company’s social media communication channels e.g. Facebook page, Twitter account, Company blog?
a. “I don’t blog, it takes too much time…” – yikes…blogging is one of the cornerstones of your online value/content/link strategy/conversation.
b. “Sure, we just set them up a couple of months ago – and don’t mind the pictures of me with the family on the beach…” – this is business, folks. Just because it says “social” doesn’t mean you should put your Great-Aunt Sophie’s pics up on your business profile.
c. “Yes, here’s the list.” – ready, set, go.

5. What tools do you use to measure ROI?
a. “We see how many fans and followers you have.” – while the number of followers is always touted, it’s not necessarily a reflection of the quality of ROI.
b. “Google Analytics” – ok, not too bad, at least you have a start.
c. “While there are a number of analytical tools available for basic statistics, including Google Analytics, it’s difficult to measure the ROI on social media – there are tangibles and intangibles, including customer acquisition and retention, customer support and satisfaction, revenue growth, branding, visibility, and so on.” – a better answer than most.

So, while these are some very basic questions to ask – at least you have a start.

So I’m meeting a lot of people these days…through work, through the SocialBiz Conference, sometimes just because I need to get out and away from my computer every once in a while….But what’s astonishing to me is how many people I meet who are still unconvinced or procrastinating about the fact that they need to have a strong internet presence. I think a lot of the hesitation has to do with people being afraid of losing their humanity by being connected to technology, and that’s not an unreasonable fear for people who aren’t used to being immersed or strongly connected to the internet-sphere.

Now for those of us in the technology or marketing world, we’re faced with a barrage of information every day that tells us it’s imperative that we get with the program – and if we’re not online and writing and communicating and living a pseudo-life online already, then we should be. Between our Blogs and Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn, let alone YouTube and Flickr and Search Engines, we’re just happily hopping from one online hub to another all the while absorbing the rapid change of pace… (just imagine what it’s like for those of us in the technology and marketing world).

But what about the rest of the world? How about all those people who aren’t in the technology or marketing or communication world? Yesterday, I sat with a Health Educator, an Interior Designer and a Travel Agent as they tried to learn the brave new world of LinkedIn. This is foreign territory for them – remember that to connect to people online instead of face-to-face is a whole new ballgame for a lot of business people. But their sense of urgency to “do something” was strong. They talked about how they could tangibly see a difference in their business as more and more, those who are more agile and flexible and willing to take risks are going to be where they’re not – and these days, that’s online, communicating and engaging.

Hitwise is reporting that Facebook just surpassed Google in pageviews yesterday for the first time ever. The share of visits to Facebook for this week has increased 185% over the same week last year, while Google increased only 9% in the same time. Why? Well, I think it’s because people see the value of conversation and communication more than they see the value of search. Some are even saying it’s the death-knell for Google – it’s a bit early for that prediction, don’t you think? I do think we’re only just beginning to see the evolution of Social Media, though – and what it’s going to take to stay competitive in the business world.

So take a look at your business. What are you doing online? Do you have a website? What does it look like? Does it reflect your brand? Is it a glorified business card or does it actually bring you leads or clients? Do you have a blog? Are you using Social Media to communicate with your customers? Just because it wasn’t necessary to do so in the past is not a good reason to not be online and using the tools we now have available. If you’re not there, you can be certain your competitors will be.

What’s a “strong internet presence”? A website that delivers more value than just being a billboard. A Social Media strategy that consists of goals first and tactics second – and don’t forget the metrics. A defined identity for you and your company – what do you really do for your clients? I mean, what do you really do – as in value and achievements? What do you really stand for?

Yes, I know – this is all work. And sometimes it means we have to take a good long look at ourselves and ask some tough questions – who are we, what do we stand for, what do we want? For many of us, we’ve been doing the same thing for so many years, self-examination is tough. But if we don’t take a look and figure out who we are, neither will anybody else. But it doesn’t mean we have to give up our humanity – on the contrary – I think it forces us to look at ourselves with even greater depth. It’s not about the technology, it’s about us, who we are, what we try to do with our lives, and what we represent.

And by the way, the reward for self-examination and trying something is tremendous. At the least, it’s cathartic and eye-opening. At the most – who knows – the sky’s the limit.

Ok, and here’s Macy Gray’s I Try – just another one of my favorite songs…

We had a great Business Blog training session on Saturday…lots of excitement around the possibilities and potential. So let’s talk about what a Business Blog looks like, and why it’s an imortant component of your Online Marketing and Social Media strategy.

You’ve heard me say that Social Media is a conversation – a way to create a communication between the content provider and the end reader to create a mutually benefit relationship through the exchange of information. Blogging is simply a tool that provides you with the opportunity to start that conversation with those who are interested in what you have to say.

Your Business Blog should reflect your mission, your values, your business personality, your information and your message. By providing consistent value through high-quality content over time through your blog, you can build an audience and a community around your blog.

Blogging is important for a number of reasons:

1. Blogging is Inbound Marketing – it attracts an audience by being a flower rather than a hammer
2. Blogging is SEO-friendly – keyword-rich, content-rich and link-rich
3. Blogging helps with social networks – can be connected to multiple other social media tools and websites
4. Blogging helps with social news sites – can be distributed and read through RSS feeders and readers
5. Blogging is permission-centric – based on the concept that only those who are interested in the content will read your blog, giving you ‘permission’ to have your voice heard

There are some fundamentals that you need to consider that will make your site an effective vehicle to convey your message and a powerful communication tool to reach your customers:

1. Your Blog – Do you have a blog? How does it rank on Technorati? Do you post regularly? How often do you post? What topics do you post on? Do you have a blogging strategy? Do you read/comment on other blogs?
2. On-page SEO – Does your Blog consider content, metadata, keywords, images, readability, quality, outbound links 
3. Off-page SEO – Is your Blog optimized for domain info, page rank, indexed pages, traffic rank, inbound links, directory listings
4. Social Mediasphere – Is your Blog linked to other Social Media tools including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, does your Blog get bookmarked (del.icio.us) and submitted to Digg
5. Converting Qualified Visitors – Do you have an RSS feed and a subscribe/conversion form on your Blog?
6. Metrics – How do you track your Blog rank, # of visitors, # of clickthrus, search engine results,  and how do you compare your score against your competitors?

As you can see, your Business Blog isn’t just about writing a few words every now and then and hoping people will find you. It should be part of a wider marketing campaign that’s defined by goals, strategy, tactics, execution and metrics, as defined by your business needs.

So you’ve heard about blogging, your friend is blogging, you’ve thought “maybe I should be blogging too”, but you’re not really even sure what a blog is and why you should really invest the time, resources and effort…Here’s what you need to know to get started and why it’s an essential tool in your marketing toolkit.

So…What’s a Blog?
A blog is nothing more that a website that allows you to update the content on your site using a built-in Content Management System – which is simply the editing software that allows you to post your content, without needing technical or programming skills.

The word blog is derived from the word “web log” – intended originally as an online diary that allowed people without technical knowledge to easily post information, ideas and opinions online quickly and easily. This site – www.neighborhoodnowinc.com – is built using a blogging platform, Wordpress.

The History of Blogging
Before individual blogging, people shared information in online discussion forums and other digital communities, like Usenet, bulletin board systems like Compuserve and other internet “threaded” conversations. By the late 1990’s, people started using services like Open Diary, LiveJournal and Blogger to post running commentaries on their personal lives and news. Open Diary, founded by Bruce Ableson in 1998, was the first social blogging platform to allow others to post comments on each other’s diaries, and is credited with being the first to bring “online diary writers” together into a community.

With the advent of Blogger, acquired by Google in 2003, and the evolution of b2/cafelog, an open source blogging development platform, into WordPress in 2003, blogging became more and more popular as people discovered their voice could be heard with ease online.

The Psychology of Blogging…
Well, I think one of the most interesting aspects of blogging is that it’s fundamentally a channel of self-expression. Jessica Wapner wrote a fascinating piece in The Scientific American in June 2008 on the very real benefits of expressive and creative writing to our mental and physiological being…and how blogging may very well stimulate us in the same manner as other creative or stimulating outlets including music, art and even sports.

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that we all want to be heard – which is why Social Media is becoming such a transformational engine of online communication. Blogging allows us to express our opinion – and publish it to the wide wild world (my version of the www) – and suddenly we’re authors, creators, producers and creative geniuses (we hope) instead of just consumers. It gives us a sense of control – and who doesn’t want that?

Why Should you Blog?
So other than the fact that I think it’s an incredibly healthy creative outlet, here’s my list of the Top 10 Reasons why I think you should blog for your business:

The Top 10 Reasons to Blog:

10. To Demonstrate Commitment - you want people to know that you’re dedicated to your line of work, and that you’re willing to put time and effort into collecting and sharing information for your customers.

9. To Increase Name Recognition – with a blog, you can promote and manage your brand and your reputation to some extent – at least to the extent that you publish information about yourself.

8. To Establish yourself as an Expert – build credibility, gain trust and tell your audience why they should buy from you.

7. Blogs are Search-Engine friendly – a blog is mostly text (unless it’s a video blog), but either way it’s generally text-rich and link-rich, which are things that search engines like when looking for content that’s relevant and of high value to people who are looking for information on the web. Another reason blogs are search-engine friendly is that they’re frequently updated (or should be) – so it gives search engines a reason to come back and re-visit and re-index the website.  

6. To put a Human face on your Business – your blog should be as real and as authentic as you, a reflection of who you are. Remember, people prefer to do business with real people, not nameless, corporate entities.

5. To Create and Leverage Influence – have an opinion that you want to express? It’s especially important to remember that you can leverage your blog to generate and create influence, just be aware that it may have an effect on how you do business.

4. To Build an Information Library  – older blogs are archived, and if you blog over a period of time, you’ll build quite an information resource – great for your audience, your customers and for continuing to show up in online searches.

3. To Engage your Customers – blogs allow you create a following with your audience, as you build a relationship with your readers – and blogs that allow comments give your customers a reason to engage with you in a two-way conversation – which is even better for deepening that relationship.

2. To Learn More about your Business - in order to blog effectively, you’ll learn very quickly that you have to research and refer to other sources, check facts and learn even more about your line of business. It’s a great way to build knowledge about your industry.

And the #1 reason to blog….

1. To connect, connect, and connect again – those of you who’ve attended any of my seminars know I talk about Value a lot - you must provide value in your blog content so that your audience feels that you’re giving them a reason to have a connection – and an ongoing conversation – with you. And as you build that connection, you have the opportunity to gain trust, create credibility and convert leads into customers.