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September 30, 2008
5 Things to Consider When Hiring a Social Media Consultant and/or Company
Here's my take regarding the 5 things a company should look for when trying to hire a social media consultant and/or company:
1 - Company Credibility
How long has the company and/or consultant you are looking at been around? Are they new to this industry or do they have a significant, quality experience under their belts? Who are their current clients? Do they have a list of referrals for clients that have utilized their social media services in the past?
In addition to asking these important questions, you should also get acclimated to what is being said about that consultant within the social media realm to see if there are any negative connotations associated with their name. You will want to ensure you are working with a social media consultant who has a credible name online since his or her reputation will affect yours once he or she begins working on behalf of your company.
2 - Past Projects
Can you view some of their past work? This will give you a good idea as to whether or not they have the creative experience necessary to help you achieve your goals. Seeing what one has done for others will give you a very good understanding of what is possible regarding your endeavors. Has this consultant worked with small, medium, or large clientele? The answer to that question can sway your thinking because your brand may be larger and need someone who has dealt with major companies to truly create synergy for your social media objectives. Lastly, ask questions related to if this consultant has worked with other clients in your particular vertical market? Utilizing a consultant who already has knowledge about your industry can save your social media campaigns an enormous amount of time because a good deal of the learning curve on their end will already have been established.
3 - Strategy Best Practices
Have them define their strategy without asking them to give away the bank. A reputable social media consultant should have no problems letting you know how they conduct business and what they think are the best practices within the social media industry.
Additionally, you should consider the following: How will they interact with community members among social media hubs online? What approach will they take to get community members excited about your brand without looking like he or she is trying to utilize marketing tactics? How many hours will they spend in the “trenches” on your behalf each month? How are they going to measure the buzz being generated about your brand online? What are their SOP’s regarding making their clients aware of reputation management issues surrounding their brands online? Lastly, how have they handled reputation management issues for clients in the past?
4 - Guidance
A company should have the consultant they are looking at hiring give them feedback as to what type of social media campaign can be conducted with their current multi-media resources. It is also imperative to have the consultant give you a taste of what you will get from having them conduct social media consulting on your behalf. They don’t have to create a major social media strategy before starting the relationship, but it is good to see what’s under the hood before you embark on a business relationship with this person. Have them take a look at your current social media assets and walk you through a micro-strategy that could be used to enhance a small area of your business. This will give you the chance to see how this consultant thinks and really how creative they can be with your brand. It also shows that this consultant is willing to invest some energy to get your business--both parties win in this type of relationship!
5 - Like-ability
It all comes down to the amount of trust the social media consultant has created for you up to this point. Your questions have been answered and you have seen their work, now what? Do a gut check and review all of the facts that have been presented by the potential social media consultant. Generally you will have a feeling one way or the other and it’s your responsibility to ensure your company works with a consultant that can be trusted. If you have questions about the information that has been presented to you, then bring them up to the consultant for further clarification. After receiving his or her feedback you should present this information to other members of your company to see if they have questions to be answered. The main point here is to seek insight from others to be sure you are making the right decision by creating a strategic business alliance with this consultant.
Finding the right social media consultant to work with does not have to be a daunting task.
By conducting all of the activities mentioned above, you will be ready to make an educated decision as to whether or not it will benefit your company to work with this potential social media consultant.
Posted by brett at 11:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 29, 2008
Branded Phrases, Sites & Conversions
A recent comScore study for the Pharmaceutical industry analyzed the brand awareness and conversion impact of search marketing and visits to a brand web site.
The conclusion? "Branded Websites Are the Most Effective Online Marketing Tactic"
For those of us in the Search Engine Marketing industry, digging into the study provided some new conversion rate data for brand sites:
"Getting a patient to visit a branded Web site is the most effective form of online pharmaceutical marketing, with an incremental patient adherence rate nearly 20 percentage points higher than among those who did not visit the Web site...."
As search marketers, there is no revelation in these numbers. We know that search engine traffic from branded phrases often brings higher conversion rates.
However, this is a good reminder and does provide us with another study and statistic that shows the importance of an ongoing strategy to have your brand's web site above the fold at search engines for your branded search phrases.
Posted by doug at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 19, 2008
Linking External and Internal Search Terms in Google Analytics
Have you ever wanted to match up internal search terms (i.e., terms that people searched for from your site's internal search feature) with their corresponding external search terms (i.e., terms that people used to find your site in the first place)?
In Google Analytics you can, and while finding the information is not particularly intuitive the first time, it's pretty quick once you know how to do it.
First, of course, you have to set up Site Search, which simply amounts to identifying your site's specific search parameter for Google Analytics so it can scrape the query terms out of your site's search results URLs. Once you've done that (and have begun to gather data for a little while), you're ready to go.
First, drill down to the Content | Site Search | Search Terms report, as shown here:
This shows you all the terms that people searched for on your site, from within your own internal search feature, in the given time period. Pick a term and click it, as shown here:
The resulting screen is the Search Term Overview, which tells you how many people searched for that term, etc. From the Dimension drop-down list, select Keyword, as shown below. This tells Google Analytics to report which external keyword was used by the visitor(s) who eventually searched for "404 redirect" (or whatever search term you selected).
The resulting screen will list the keyword that the user searched for at a search engine to first arrive at your site. In this case, the user searched for "seo using 404 301," as shown here:
If you have a popular search term on your site, the image above would likely be populated with several different external search terms. In this example, however, only one person searched for "404 redirect" on the site in the time period, so there's only one external search phrase that drove the traffic. To find the referring engine, select Source instead of Keyword from the Dimension drop-down.
Exactly what to do with this data is the topic for a separate post, which I hope to have ready soon.
Posted by erik at 11:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 16, 2008
Local and Links: A Match Made in Heaven?
A good friend of mine, Adam, suggested that I do a post on How can local information, events, news, and other local fodder help your link development campaign? Oh, let me count the ways. Local search is a huge marketing push right now online. From Google maps to your local radio station’s Web site, the opportunities are endless for link development.
Of course, this is taking into account a couple of factors. First of all, that you are, in fact, local. If you have a brick and mortar location, you have the opportunity to be listed in the local search engines of Google, Yahoo, and the like. You can also get submitted to other Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs) and Local Directories like Best of the Web’s.
But there’s more to it than that. There is a world of opportunity when you look at your community and what is currently happening in it. Of course, the second assumption I am making is that you are active in your community. Whether it be community service, local festivals, or other popular events that you are participating in, you can make a name for yourself (and get some links) by doing some selfless service.
1. Sponsoring community organizations or events – Do you faithfully sponsor a local race, fundraiser, hospital or charity every year? Ask for a link from their Web site to yours if you don’t already have one. If you do have one, check to see if the link says what you want it to say. If the link is actually a hyperlinked image, make sure an ALT tag is included.
2. Receiving awards from local organizations – Ask if the organization has a page on their Web site for past recipients and see if a link has been included by your name. If not, a gentle suggestion may be a good idea. But, of course, don’t be pushy. It’s their site, they can do what they want. Additionally, ask if you can do an online press release about the award. Ask for a quote and syndicate it to an online service. Include a link to the organization as well as to your own site. If they are planning on doing their own, ask them to include a link to your site as well.
3. Current events – is your community going through some rough times and they need your expert advice? Create content that is specifically geared towards the current state of affairs and give tips on what the community can do. Then reach out to your local newspaper’s site and let them know the resource is available on your site.
4. Local Business Organizations and the Chamber of Commerce – Are you a member of a local group that is affiliated with the professional community or your particular industry? See if your terms of membership include a link from their Web site to yours.
If you’re not currently doing any of these things, get active. If you can make a positive impact on your community, you’re sure to be rewarded. Of course, I’m hoping that links are not your only motivation for doing good things for those around you. But, getting active in your community and staying on top of the needs of your potential client base will pay dividends in the long run.
Posted by angela at 05:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 12, 2008
Video Social Network Recruiting: uBoast
For job seekers looking for work on the East Coast who have exhausted all normal online job sites there is a new recruiting platform offered by uBoast. This new recruiting platform allows account holders to create video resumes to showcase their skills to a new breed of recruiters willing to use cutting edge technology to find job candidates. uBoast is able to partner with local Universities to help students excel their careers by providing them with interview tips and best practices in order to develop confidence that will develop compelling video resumes. They reach out to recruiting agencies and employers to find out what they are looking for in an employee to better help their candidates align themselves with the right employers. uBoast also offers services related to video creation coaching, filming & editing, and hosting of account users video resumes from within their professional Web site.
uBoast describes their video resume services as a means of allowing job seekers to "show off their mannerism, energy, confidence, professionalism, and communication abilities." The company also makes its services available to recruiters and describes those services as "helping employers establish a more complete overall impression of the applicant (Applicant's personal page will include their video resume, paper resume, answers to interview questions, endorsements, references, Google links, and portfolio docs) all on one screen."
This type of service will make it easier for employees to provide a better impression to hiring companies as well as give recruiters the best depiction of each candidate looking for work. The site and services are pretty new but should look promising to individuals seeking to use technology to the fullest extent when trying to find employment. Social media is now changing the way everyone looks at finding jobs as well as candidates online. I have a feeling more sites like this will be hitting the market to meet the needs of social media adopters looking for work online.
Posted by brett at 03:26 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
September 11, 2008
How to Evaluate a Link Development Firm
So, you’ve embarked on an SEO campaign and now you want to get more links. Welcome to my world! You understand it’s critical to your optimization efforts and you’re evaluating a firm that offers link development services. For many in the industry, link development is the thorn in the side. Very few people actually like doing it (present company excluded) and I’ve seen that some companies’ approach to the process is indicative of how they feel about it.
Here’s how to tell if you’re getting a good deal whether you’re hiring them only for link development or it’s part of the SEO campaign they are executing for you.
1.Tactics – does the firm offer only tactic (ie directory submissions) or are their campaigns more diversified? The more white hat options that a firm offers, the more keen they are as to how link development works. If a content development strategy is a part of the puzzle, even better.
2.Communication – how often will they be talking to you about your campaign? Regardless of whether it’s by phone or email, regular and thorough communication will make you feel more comfortable about what’s going on behind the scenes.
3.Reporting – how often you get reports and what is detailed in them is important. Are you only getting bare bones information? Like how many links are pointing to your site? Or are they telling you where those links are coming from, what pages on your site those links are pointing to, and what anchor text they used? The more data that is incorporated into a report for you, the more that firm actually cares about your project.
4.Competitive Information – this goes back to tactics, but if a firm is telling you what the competition is doing (something more substantial than “they have more links than you do”) they’ve taken the extra step to dive deep into what’s happening online on your behalf.
5.Analytics – does the firm jump into the analytics fray and tell you what’s going on beyond just how many links you’ve gotten? Do they talk about site referrals, type in traffic metrics, increases or decreases in brand-related searches? All of these and more would tell me that a firm is in tune with all the benefits of link development, not just rankings.
This is just a small sampling of what you can look at in regards to a link development firm and how they will handle your campaign. Other things can include what advanced strategies they offer, results of brainstorm sessions (if they are having them), and industry trend information being sent your way. Be sure you are spending your money (and your time) wisely by choosing a firm that not only does a good job, but actually cares about your links.
Posted by angela at 05:33 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 08, 2008
iWidgets Soon to Syndicate Full CBS Episodes Online
iWidgets, a Social Syndication Platform has announced that it will soon be distributing its first major client's (CBS Interactive) video content tomorrow September 9th, 2008 at 3pm PST at the Sheraton Hotel in San Diego, CA. The demo will showcase iWidgets Social Syndication Platform that will enable CBS’ audience to watch full episodes of television programming directly within popular social networks, and to socially engage the viewers with engaging such features as sharing, polls, ratings, and contests. iWidgets Social Syndication Platform makes it easy for widget creators to build and syndicate their applications with ease in a user friendly widget environment. There are plenty of widget building Web sites (Sprout Builder) that offer site users a general ability to build widgets but rarely offer the customization features of iWidgets. Now that iWidgets has a large client like CBS Interactive to showcase its widget syndication services I wouldn't be surprised to see other major content providers take their system for a test drive.
Posted by brett at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 05, 2008
Micro-blogging Tracker with Eye Candy
I had the opportunity to check out a neat micro-blogging tracker site today called Dipity. It offers users a pretty cool way to keep track of what's being said about many topics, as well as what others are following via the Social Media space in a very nice visual layout. There are many ways to follow others in their system whether you use RSS, Twitter, Flickr, and a host of other ways to integrate mainstream Social Media platforms into their system. The main premise behind Dipity is to present information about users of multiple Social Media applications from a visually stunning platform. The concept of bringing together many Social Media sources into one location isn't new but the idea of enhancing the visual display of such content in the manner they have chosen is pretty impressive.
Posted by brett at 04:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 04, 2008
Underwhelmed by Chrome? Tweak Firefox for More Speed
Over the last few days I have felt like I was back in the 90's during the old browser wars. After I listened to Google's webcast announcement about Chrome I dashed to Google Gears and downloaded the much ballyhooed browser.
To be honest, I'm underwhelmed. Yes it's cool to be able to arrange your tabs but browsing for me is all about speed. I've tweaked Firefox so much that it just screams and Chrome hangs and hangs...and hangs. So, if you're a dedicated Firefox user, try Fasterfox to upgrade your speed.
Recent competition in the browser arena even had me conduct my own mini browser war. A really pleasant surprise is the 9.52 version from Opera; which I have been using more often as it is relatively fast (especially loading large images better than it used to). If you like to play with widgets, access to popular Opera widgets like the T-Online Newsticker and Pandora's Music Widget is easy from the Opera toolbar.
So for now, I can't say I'm a huge Chrome fan. Especially for business use I need to be able to zip from web page to web page at top speed. Firefox still is the speed king for me.
Please comment on your recent browser experiences. Are you enjoying the new browser wars, and do you have any cool browser tweaks you'd like to share?
Posted by lisa at 02:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 02, 2008
Link Development Vocabulary
First, I want to say thank you to the entire Intrapromote team for the warm welcome and another big thanks to Erik for his introduction on this blog.
Now, onto the thing that I love to talk about: Link Development. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about link development. A lot. So, it's probably a good idea to start with some basics and clarify some of the lingo we use in the industry.
Link Popularity: First and foremost, it's a metric. Why do we care? Because Google says it's important, so all professional SEOs and Google-wannabes have followed suit. This measures both the quantity and quality of the links coming into all the pages on a site. Link Popularity is more than just how many links are coming into a page / site. It also measures how good the linking sites are by looking at things like how many links are pointing to that site, the quality of the content, the history of the site online, PageRank, and how often that site is updated, among others. The better the site, the more valuable the link. And these links play into the ever-elusive algorithm of how Google returns search results for keyword searches.
Link Building: In a nutshell, this refers to "getting" more links either through solicitation, submitting to directories, or other various methods. It focuses on only getting new links. In fancier terms it can also called "Link Acquisition." I prefer the latter when referring to this type of link work. It sounds prettier.
Link Development: This is more holistic in its approach. Not only are you building links and getting new links to a site or page, but you are also looking at the links that already exist and identifying ways to improve them. There are lots of ways to do this and it's most often referred to as "Link Reclamation" or reclaiming the links that already exist. It is also called "Link Sculpting." This is what we focus on at Intrapromote.
I'm sure we'll get more into a lot of this as these blog posts continue to roll in, but for now I think that's a good start. Again, I'm excited to be a part of the Intrapromote team and I'm looking forward to the exciting conversations ahead.
Posted by angela at 01:32 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack