Make sure you give this podcast on social media monitoring a spin, but fast-forward to around 9 minutes and 30 seconds in. At this point digital marketing expert Daniel Rowles takes over and spends a good ten minutes explaining how businesses can use monitoring tools such as ViralHeat, Google Reader and LinkedIn Answers to get visibility over their brand online, engage with customers and build advocacy for around $9 a month.

My favourite of Rowles’ quotes: “It boils down to having quality content on your website in the first place that’s relevant for  your users, because if you’ve got no content to point people at then there’s no real further conversation to be had. You need something to share and that needs to offer value.”

Have a listen, it’ll be one of the most useful ten minutes of your day.

Joe Chernov, Eloqua

While small businesses continue to strive to find the most effective way to engage with the social media world, truly understanding the best use of these platforms still appears to be a stumbling block. Joe Chernov, director of content at Eloqua, outlines some of his top tips for using the major platforms available to maximise social media integration into marketing campaigns.

The Web in general is a great equalizer, but social media has made this phenomenon even more compelling. In many ways, a small business, being more nimble and being able to adapt more quickly to customer feedback or changing market demands, is better suited for social success than larger companies.  They just have to use the tools in a thoughtful, strategic manner.

The goal on any social platform is to attract new fans, engage existing advocates and guide both through the purchase funnel.  Authenticity is the key ingredient in this mix. Anything less than genuine interaction (i.e. real words by real people) may actually serve to hinder customer engagement rather than improve it.  So the first rule of social marketing is to be real. Social media is most effective when there are real people, with genuine intentions and quality content, behind every profile, tweet and tag. Trainings, review of best practices, adoption of guidelines, organised/planned editorial content, companywide awareness, and, most of all, peer support/promotion will all contribute to a SMEs ability to achieve these goals.

Outlined below are some of the best ways to engage with some of the major platforms at the marketer’s disposal.

1. Twitter

The micro-blog Twitter, which allows users to connect with the right people at the right time in 140 characters, hit the 20 billion tweet mark at the end of July. Twitter users have employed the platform to stage protests, coordinate disaster relief, break news, air grievances against brands and stay in touch with one another. Twitter is a strong, well followed resource but is a fleeting content tracking tool. The shelf life of tweets in terms of impact ranges from a few hours to a few minutes. While pure text tweets are appropriate when you have an original thought to share or when you want to start a conversation, your followers are likely to get the most value you mix in rich media (links, photos, videos) to keep tweets dynamic and inviting.

2. Facebook

Considered to be the most popular social network on the Internet, “super platform” (500 million members and counting) Facebook allows users to connect, publicly and privately sharing all kinds of information with the people in their network. Because of Facebook’s “closed’ platform (though recent indicators suggest it’s incrementally becoming less and less closed), users feel more comfortable sharing personal information such as their political affiliation, their favourite movie – and now their location – than they would on other sites. These granular details about a user’s preferences allow marketers to create campaigns aimed at much smaller, more appropriate audiences than ever before, while Facebook endeavours to balance marketers’ needs with member privacy.

3. Blogs

Blogs should ideally be the hub of a company’s content-creation wheel.  Effective blogs provide context for internal developments, expert commentary on industry news, and valuable content for customers and observers.  A strategic blog positions a SME as an “insider” within a particular industry.  The blog can be also employed to follow-up with a lead or connect with a new prospect – simply send them a link to a relevant article that someone from the company has written with a simple, “Thought you might be interested in this post.”  Note that blogs that tend to hype one’s own products tend to be lightly trafficked and ineffective.

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great tool for making business connections, cultivating leads, developing personal brands and growing professional networks. Connecting with other professional and educational contacts may serve as leads themselves, or connect you to other leads. The platform allows marketers to identify the types of connections that your connections have (e.g., first or second degree) and see how far away your contacts are from people you are trying to contact.

5. YouTube

Twenty hours of video is uploaded each minute to YouTube, the video social platform. Google rewards multimedia content with higher search rank and since the platform is owned by Google, the analytics tool includes key word and traffic sources, Hot Spots (showing when viewers stop watching the clip), and insights about what other content users also watched. Uploading videos to corporate channels can support search ranking and therefore makes it a doubly valuable tool.

6. Wikipedia

According to the website tracking service Alexa, online user generated encyclopaedia Wikipedia is the 6th most visited in the world, with more than 50 million visits per month. To engage effectively, digital professionals need to not only adhere to company policy regarding editing of its page but also the many policies Wikipedia has in place itself. The most important thing to remember in keeping to the correct policies is to be polite and objective.

7. Delicious

The social bookmarking web service for storing sharing, and discovering web bookmarks, Delicious, expands the utility of saving links to a desktop by making information to be accessible from the Cloud or the Internet. Users should look to use the platform as a highly refined, pre-vetted Google search with the ability to learn more about the person who saved the link in the first place.

8. Flickr

In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the Flickr service is widely used by bloggers to host images that they embed in blogs and social media.  The platform can be used to increase the reach and relevance of your photos. This can be done by tagging and titling photos to help them rank in Google Image searches and increase SEO findability.

9. Google Buzz

Designed to integrate into Gmail, Google Buzz allows users to share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments via organised “conversations” that are visible in the user’s inbox. Just like an instant message (IM), new posts and comments pop in as they happen, with no refresh required. This can help to keep marketers up to speed with relevant industry topics so that response comment can be supplied as swiftly as possible.

10. Geosocial

Geosocial networking platforms such as Foursquare – and now Facebook Places – are social networking tools on which geographic services such as geocoding and geotagging are used to enable additional social functions. The tool is a good way to reward those consumers that have showed loyalty to the brand. For example, a Foursquare “mayor” – someone who has earned their position after checking in at the same location a certain number of times – is often offered special deals on top products and services.

These tips will help you get your business started in the social media world, but you can find out more about how to enhance your business with these platforms by reading or downloading a copy of Eloqua’s social media playbook here: http://media.eloqua.com/documents/Eloqua_Social_Media_Playbook_Public.pdf

Although currently only available in the US, a UK launch of Places is not far away, and while many people may not even be aware of location-based social networks just now, Facebook could potentially unleash 500 million new users onto the scene, and even a small percentage of those would make an impression in a market where Foursquare boasts just three million users globally.

The concept may seem a little alien at first. The principle is that – via GPS – users can inform their friends where they are via their smartphone and also check out locations listed on Places. Why would people want to divulge this information, you may ask? But “why?” in social media is not the question; people just “do”, just like they tell the world what they had for breakfast on Twitter. As a business, you want to be a part of the conversation, and that means making sure you enter your firm on location-based social networks…before anyone else does, because they can and will take it out of your control.

Watch Facebook’s video to learn more (below), but as with all things social media, we don’t yet know which platform will win out. Ultimately, what’s important is that if you run a business you want to make sure you’re listed on each one, and play around to see what offers you can to entice users in and get them to tell their friends, many of whom are likely to also be in your vicinity. Keep an eye on Facebook Places for when it launches, but get practicing with Foursquare.

Social media: it’s all about location, location, location…(and conversation)

Some PR pros are excellent, with relevant, targeted, short pitches without the much fluff which journalists regularly moan about but that never seems to go away (hello, who’s training you?). I put out a Response Source request for opinion yesterday and have emails before me which include hyperbole such as ‘cracking’ and, yes, ‘leading’. I even had an estate agent-esque phone call, with that all-too-familiar undulating tone. I am worried that the rest of the PR industry is morphing in estate agent-hood and that soon we’ll be driving branded minis around the block clad in pinstripes.

Here’s the thing: To be successful at pitching to journalists, PRs don’t need to be something they’re not and, although it’s a sales-like job, the art is to NOT sound salesy. Be yourself, get to the point. You have ten seconds to hit the spot, either by phone or by email.

For more, listen to my podcast with Gordon Kelly about pitching to journalists.

In a week when every single A-level student got 51 A-Stars a-piece I hate to take a cheap shot at modern educashun. However, something that reeeally gets my goat – almost as much as BMW drivers or people who refer to you as ‘yourself’ – is the profane misuse (nay, ignorance) of the apostrophe in the English language.

I was approached recently on LinkedIn by a girl who said she had an English Language A-level and was “interested in speaking to company’s that…” – not once but TWICE during her pitch. This “company” wasn’t interested in speaking to her….or any other individual or firm that can’t use the apostrophe correctly. My house is currently on the market and I’m sick to death of reading about how “we provide EPC’s”…. What is it exactly that belongs to the EPC which you provide?

We need more vigilantes like The Apostrophe Man, like me a proud Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells, to help arrest this heinous decline in the English written language, especially in marketing materials, which is unforgivable.

If you’re unclear on correct use of the apostrophe – whether you’re a graduate or an EPC provider – why don’t you familiarise yourself by reading this article on correct apostrophe use?

Back in the day when I did purely traditional technology PR, no one was interested. When I responded to that whole “so what do you do?” thing I could see their eyes glaze over and drift towards the leggy brunette over my shoulder. Now, conversely, if I say “I’m an online PR consultant, you know, I do a bit of social media training, a bit of search engine optimisation, heaps of blogging blah blah”, suddenly their eyes light up and a volley of questions come my way. This week I already committed some free advice to an Argentine beef baron and managed to commit myself to setting up a blog for a vicar with basic WordPress training to boot (!).

My lesson for this week, therefore, is not only that everyone from small business entrepreneurs to maverick clergymen recognise the value of social media, but that as a skillset social media is highly sought after so don’t give away your secrets for free!

I’m too nice for this business…

I’ve been asked on many occasions on how one should get started in the never-ending battle that is search engine optimisation (SEO). It’s been a challenge to summarise the main tenets of search in under 800 words, but in a nutshell here’s a quick and dirty guide to DIY SEO:

What is SEO?

Search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo are the main way people research products and services. Back in the day one would use Yellow Pages to search from scratch; nowadays we can get this information at the touch of a few buttons. Also, when people do use search engines, they don’t often go beyond the first search engine results page (SERP), so you need to be on that first page to compete. If you’re not there, it’s sure as hell your competitors will be.

What determines a high page ranking?

Google – the dominant search engine and therefore your first concern – judges the value of any site on a number of factors mostly based around keywords and links. An inbound link to your site is seen by search engines as a ‘vote’, so the more inbound links (i.e. other sites referring to you as either link-backs or over ‘anchor text’ – the insertion of a hyperlink over certain keywords) the more likely it is that search engines will look at your site favourably. This is why ‘link bait’ – content that other sites will want to link back to – is critical, and blogs are great ways to get in-bound links.

Not all in-bound links are the same, mind. A link from the BBC is far more influential than one from a.n.other blogger, due to its superior Google page rank. Don’t just think externally, either. Search engines like links that delve deeper into content held within a domain, this is because if you have lots of internal links it believes you are more relevant to the searcher than those that don’t have internal links. Think about how you could index your pages too, as the URL should contain keywords to help those search engine ‘spiders’ locate your content.

It’s all about the keywords

Keywords are critical to your searchability and this is where marketing speak finally bites the dust. It’s all about what words people are using to find you. If you’re an accounting software firm then you need to say so, not just say “leading financial accounting solutions provider” or some such. Step outside your brand, think about what terms REAL PEOPLE are using to look for your products and services, and then let the Google Keyword Tool make recommendations for you. Look at the most popular/competitive terms, think about how you could get these into your text (roughly five per cent of your on-page words) and page URLs. Think about long-tail search, too – the longer, more abstract terms that people use, such as “How to build your own XYZ” and “Where can I find….”. For more on this read our SEO keyword tips and listen to our long-tail search guide and link building tips podcasts. (See! That’s anchor text in action – a relevant hyperlink over keywords)

Conclusion

Finally, analyse! It takes time to filter through to search engines, but keep an eye on your traffic and your ranking going forward. The more quality, shareable content you have, the better. SEO is a never-ending battle, as your competitors on those keywords will be continually assessing their own search engine marketing strategies and you need to make sure you’re top dog. Make it a key priority.

Do:

-          Treat every page on your site as a potential landing page, not just your home page

-          Make your site easily navigable

-          Stick to a handful of targeted keywords throughout, monitor them and alter if necessary over time

-          Blog regularly and keep them between 350-500 words

-          Tag accurately

-          Use plenty of internal links placed accurately over anchor text

-          Look at using online video for marketing – they’re many times more likely to get you on page one of Google than mere text

-          Constantly assess with Google Analytics, or your site’s own traffic analysis tool. Check your performance using tools such as Alexa or Xinureturns.com

-          Push content via social platforms to encourage the sharing of your content and therefore more link backs.

-          Get in touch with a search marketing agency or SEO copywriter if you’re unsure, as search marketing in the most important thing you can do

-          Think about using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising until your company is appearing on the first page of search engines ‘organically’. Check out our PPC advertising guide to help you more with that

Andy White, podcaster extraordinaire!

The popularity of podcasts among the general public is on the up, correlating with the rise in smartphones and iPods. As a marketing channel, companies can exploit podcasts – both as downloads and as packets of audio which can be played directly from a website – to help establish thought leadership and showcase their products and services.

To learn more about how to build the business case for podcasting as a marketing tool and to get top tips on how to create podcasts, RunMarketing caught up with podcaster and trainer Andy White of WireWorldMedia. Have a listen to this…

This is where social media news releases (SMNRs) come in handy. SMNRs are not new, they’ve been around for years, but most small businesses are largely unaware of them and what they can do for you.

‘Traditional’ press releases might work with some journalists, but they fail as social media tools as they’re often loaded with marketing jargon and one-way marketing speak, which doesn’t gain traction on social sharing platforms.

This is how we it

• Write your headline and subheads with search engines and humans alike in mind. That means keywords, folks
• Keep the content compelling and ‘social’ – no marketing spiel
• Convert your text to html – use a tool like Windows Live Writer, it’s easy – and then paste into an SMNR generator, such as PitchEngine
• Include add-ons – lots of them! What video, audio, text, image or presentation content have you got which will add value to the reader and also add depth and context to the release? This will help it to (a) be more likely to be covered by a journalist and (b) be shared
• Push via all your social channels – blog it, tweet it, Digg it (yes, people still use Digg.com), anything to get it seen
• Analyse, monitor, interact with comments etc. Be social with your social media news releases!

SMNRs give you the chance to be more creative, expressive and social – AND there are search engine benefits. Give them a try next time you have something to announce. Have you already used SMNRs? What was your experience?

Check out our podcast for more on how to write a press release or down load our press release writing white paper.

Whatever your level of engagement with social media for your small business, you will need to be able to monitor your ‘buzz’ – what people are saying about you online – and measure the impact and effectiveness of your activity on social networks.

Social media offers small businesses the chance to reach new audiences in a cost effective manner. But you may not be able to see all the benefits of social media if you don’t monitor social networks and engage with people who are talking about your brand, industry, product or service, and measure the impact.

‘Measurement’ in social media, similar to the public relations industry, is under discussion and the cause of some debate, so let’s focus first on the easy part – monitoring.

Finding Yourself

If you’re running fully-fledged social media campaigns or even just want to know what people are saying about you, your rivals or your industry, there are number of free tools which help you to do just this.

One of my favourites is Addictomatic, which enables you to enter search terms and delves through the Web to find the most recent entries on a number of platforms, including Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Wikio – a blog listing site. Logging on daily to Addictomatic to check for a number of key words will give you great visibility over what’s being said and giving you the opportunity to respond to any blogs or directly engage with individuals. Very similar to Addictomatic is How Sociable, which ‘scores’ a brand on its presence on various networks.

Taking the facets of Addictomatic a little further with some analytics of its own comes Social Mention, which offers you some measure of ‘passion’, ‘strength’, ‘sentiment’ and ‘reach’. Working on a similar principle Klout measures an number of metrics from microblogging network Twitter, including advice on how to improve your Twitter activity. Have a look at BoardTracker if you want to see what is being said in online forums.

And if it’s Twitter you’re most interested in then try Tweetstats, which presents you with statistics on your Twitter usage. If you’re blogging – and you should be blogging – look at Feedburner as a way to assess the impact of your blog. Setting a Google Alert for your company or keyword will help give you a regular update on the latest in your chosen field as it appears in the news.

These tools are all free. There are other more intuitive paid-for tools out there but these should give you the general picture if granularity isn’t an issue for you.

Made to Measure

So, how can you measure the influence of your social media campaigns and activity? It very much depends on what metrics you want to use to gauge ‘success’. Is it traffic? Is it conversion to sales? Is it increased awareness or increased conversations? What about sentiment?

Numbers are easy to come by in social media. Definitely start with Google Analytics or Yahoo’s analytics tool as this will give you an overview of traffic and where it’s coming from, plus inbound links. This will help you assess what’s working and what’s not. Have a look at Alexa.com or Compete.com to see how your website is performing overall, especially in comparison with your rivals’ sites.

If you have a Facebook page then using Facebook Grader will help you compare your page’s performance against other sites. Facebook pages in themselves are great – you can see how many fans you’ve got and on the left you will see you will see ‘Insights’, which shows you ‘Post quality’ and ‘Interactions’. The higher these are the better.

I’ve seen numerous graphs about social media influence that serve little purpose beyond confusing the user. At the end of the day, it’s up to you what metrics you want to use, whether it’s increased mentions or to generate more conversations around your brand, or purely just generating more traffic. Don’t forget to check out your competition and see how they’re performing. The basic free tools outlined here should help you but also listen to this social media podcast for more social media best practice.