Five types of tools and techniques to keep up with the socialsphere
I think you'd agree that trying to stay informed and up-to-date with the latest developments in digital and social media marketing is a bit of a challenge? The scale of this challenge was brought home to me by these 60 seconds in social media infographics.
This is a particular challenge for me since I'm keen to keep my books up-to-date and deliver the most relevant info via SmartInsight to our Enewsletter, Facebook and Twitter subscribers. So I need to scan a lot of sources across the whole of digital marketing, as many non-specialist marketers/digital marketers do, but then find the most important ones - this is where software can help. So in this post I thought I'd share a couple of the approaches and tools I use.
It's not at all sophisticated really, so do let me know about how…
Twelve ideas for increasing your personal digital footprint
Competition for jobs in marketing seems to be getting tougher... Having a degree, a year or twos experience, and a Linkedin page just isn’t going to cut it any more.
We’ve seen marketers displaced during the recession creating YouTube or QR code CVs and auctioning themselves on eBay.
You’re going to be up against a new breed of digital natives when you next interview and you need to be able to meet the challenge head on.
Here are my top tips on personal branding and getting hired marketing 2.0 style.
1. Write a blog. It doesn’t have to be about marketing but it helps. Failing that, write about what moves you, what you feel passionate about, as it shows through in your writing. It also demonstrates creativity, opinion and staying power. Too many people start a blog and soon…
Whilst it's not the best designed infographic, it contains some really interesting stats. The "offline conversations" stat is intriguing, we've not all changed so much then!
I'm not sure how you separate 'WOM" from 'social media though', it's all people sharing information?
…
[caption id="attachment_7731" align="alignright" width="360" caption="Slideshare: a part of the hub-and-spoke approach"][/caption]
I think many readers will be familiar with Slideshare, a business-to-business (mostly) presentation sharing website which enables organisations to upload their PowerPoint presentations (or Mac Keynote) and Word documents and share them with the world. It’s an excellent way to showcase your thought leadership ideas as part of a content marketing strategy.
As an example, you may have seen Dave Chaffey's Slideshare, its power is shown because some presentations like this one on trends for 2012 will reach several times more people through Slideshare's platform than the embeds on Smart Insights.
This happens because Slideshare facilitates sharing within it's platform and through the social networks.
Elqoua and Hubspot are both great examples of leveraging Slideshare to its best potential, they leverage the paid service to turn Slideshare into a well branded…
Showing the power of blogger outreach
I thought this was a nice example of how a relatively small number of bloggers can get a campaign message across to a wider audience.
In 2010 Renault launched a new range of zero emission vehicles. Renault’s objective was to get people talking about the range, and especially the star model, the TWIZY. Renault wanted to create links with opinion leaders sensitive to the automotive sector but also to ecology and new technologies.
To reach influencers and help spread the word about the new model, Agency BuzzParadise organised a special meeting at an international event, LeWeb. The idea was for Renault to use this platform to set up viral advertising aimed at a target sensitive to technological advances.
Invitations were sent to thirteen bloggers from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain writing about High-Tech, Trends, Innovation and Scientific themes.…
and do you need one?
I'll be honest, I read 'social media newsroom' and I'm instantly confused. I've thought about it for a while now, since the term started being bandied about, and I still don't get it. I think this is a classic example of where PR jargon, marketing semantics and established ideas collide in the digital age. I am sure it's important for marketers to think through how their website can act as a hub to encourage engagement with customers, influencers and other stakeholders and it's too important to be thought of as a PR responsibility. A "News" area of the site with dull, drab press releases just doesn't cut it any more. I'd love to know what you think, and if you can share examples of companies getting it right.
Here's where I'm at…
What it a social media newsroom?
It's probably better to start by asking what a traditional website…
Advice on processes for managing crisis communications online
We've recently seen two different formats of helpful guidance on social media governance.
First, here are the recommendations from the SMI11 conference where Neil Chapman and Chris Reed share their insight into the ways BP and Eurostar, among other companies, have learned from social media fallout.
The event organisers have published this nice infographic to summarise the process visually. The company is also promoting a course where you can learn these skills first-hand.
Second, Altimeter who provide lot's of practical advice for managing social media marketing in larger organisations have this new deck on the same topic:
Social Readiness: How Advanced Companies Prepare
View more documents…
How popular is Quora? Latest statistics on Quora growth
As fans of the principle behind the online Q&A concept, we really like Quora so thought we'd share this infographic from Kissmetrics. We're not as wrapped up as some with the Quora concept though - you can see our previous see our previous review explaining options for using Quora for marketing.
Given how spoilt we are with the mega numbers on Facebook or You Tube, you're not going to be blown away, but Quora is showing strong growth (50% over last year) and has a committed user base. Most interesting is Kissmetrics have mapped how different users interact with it - this is useful from a broader social media context when you consider previous related models like Forrester's Social Technographics Ladder.
[caption id="attachment_4876" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Quora Statisitics"][/caption]…
Our interview with Dr. Andrew Starkey of Brand Aura
As you may have noticed, at Smart Insights we're keen followers of the latest tools that marketers can use to improve their online marketing. One of the most popular categories of technologies in are social media analysis tools. We had great interest in our review of social media analysis tools, so when I got the opportunity to talk to Andrew Starkey of Brand Aura I was keen to pose some questions to help marketers to select the best system for their needs.
Andrew is an expert in data mining and developed the Brand Aura system. You can get an idea of how Brand Aura works from this analysis of the recent X-Factor final.
Where should you start when selecting a social media analysis tool
Q1. There are a bewildering…
How organisations have to change mindsets to reap the benefits of social media marketing
"If you approach social media with the hope that you can either discipline or control it then you really shouldn"€™t approach social media at all.
It"€™s wildfire. You need enough confidence in your brand and in what you do to be resilient to the slings and arrows of online users "€“ they won"€™t like everything"
This quote from Matt Thompson, the group marketing directer at Trader Media Group really resonated with me since I've listened to so many frustrated marketers who know the potential of social media, but the HiPPOs in the organisation or corporate communications don't have the confidence in their brand and don't seem to realise the potential missed.
Those who seek to minimise the potential reputational damage from social media by excluding other social media activity don't seem to realise:
The importance of social channels - these are…
