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Top 20 Best Practices for Creating and Popularizing Content on the Social Web
Last Wednesday I attended Cision’s online Webinar “Creating Social Media Content” and I couldn’t have been more impressed by the presentation. I found that HRB is already practicing most of these strategies, but I also learned about some new online forums and tools that can take our brand and our clients’ brands to a whole new level on the Web.
Presented by two of today’s leading public relations professionals—Heidi Sullivan (@hksully), Vice President of Media Research for Cision, and Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) of Sevans Strategy—the Webinar discussed social media strategies, tips and resources that companies should consider when promoting a brand or service.
In an effort to summarize what I’ve been learning from HRB, Webinars and other educational resources on the Web, I’ve created my own master list of the “Top 20 Best Practices for Creating and Popularizing Content on the Social Web.” The list includes social media strategies, tips and recommended resources for companies to consider when creating online content. Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments section or via my Twitter handle, @IowaHawkeyeMeg.
Top 20 Best Practices for Creating and Popularizing Content on the Social Web:
1 ) Every social media strategy needs to be well-planned. Ask these 4 questions before that first meeting with your coworkers and your clients:
- What’s your goal?
- Who will represent your brand on social media sites?
- When will you find time to produce content?
- How will you measure success?
2 ) Blog consistently and on a variety of topics. According to Cision’s research, there is a 2% to 4% increase in business for those companies that blog 2 to 4 times per week. The trick to write relevant and interesting posts and promote your content on a regular basis to grow your following.
3 ) When determining who should blog for your brand, choose employees that are passionate about your brand and industry. It’s counter-productive to make your employees blog if they’re not passionate about blogging, don’t keep up with news or can’t offer a fresh perspective.
4 ) Read, read, read! Knowledge is power and it’s to your advantage to stay on top of industry trends and news. Follow other bloggers’ RSS feeds in a Google Reader account and set aside 15 minutes a day to read your email subscriptions.
5 ) Be thoughtful when outsourcing your blog content. In some cases your employees are going to know your brand better than an outsider might. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on a specific topic or Web trend, consider outsourcing the work to professionals or set up a guest blogging section on your Website to seek out knowledgeable professionals that can contribute to it. Check out the “Young Minds” guest blogging series that Lauren Fernandez of Radian6 created on her portfolio Website.
6 ) Think like a journalist! Journalists are always looking for new angles and stories to share with the world. Create headlines that are “catchy” and unique. Do your research ahead of time and make sure your blogs have no grammatical errors to avoid negative backlash in your blog’s comment section or on your page’s news feed.
7 ) Assess your goals and progress every week with Google Analytics or other social media measurement tools. Creating content for the social Web is useless if you’re not monitoring your engagement with your readers. Create a weekly Excel spreadsheet or report to present to your boss and clients to show how many fans/followers you add each week/month/year and which blogs are getting the most hits.
8 ) Create a blogroll in a sidebar list on your company or client’s main blog page. A blogroll is a list of other blogs that a blogger might recommend by providing links to them. Create a headline for the blogroll such as “Recommended Reading” and use keywords and other SEO tactics to separate and promote your blog categories.
9 ) Encourage the CEO, CMO and/or President of your company or your client’s company to contribute to blogs and engage with their audiences via social media. Learning about a company from their perspective is both critical and interesting to interns and established professionals alike. It reminds people that they’re engaging with other people (not a logo) and often provides audiences with relevant personal stories and anecdotes. To get inside the mind of HRB’s executives check out the blog pages of our CEO, Jim Thebeau and our President, Steve Erickson.
10 ) It isn’t just about blogs. Create a Twitter and Facebook account for your company and client and link to your employees’ personal accounts on these networks. Show your audience that every team member is vital to the success of your brand or campaign.
11 ) Be transparent. If you don’t hide anything from your audience they’ll be more likely to subscribe to your newsletter and follow you on social networks because they trust and appreciate your “words of wisdom.” Publish your social media policy and white papers on your Website and publicize company news and internal policy changes on your social media networks.
12 ) Listen and engage with your audience on a regular basis. If someone comments on your blog, tweet or post, respond to them right away. If other Web users see that you’re paying attention to your followers they’ll be more inclined to get involved in the conversation as well.
13 ) Acknowledge your audience. Every once in a while post a shout out to your followers, newsletter subscribers and potential customers by acknowledging how their support inspires your company and its employees to continue producing amazing content. They’ll appreciate the love and might even recommend your services to a business partner or networking contact.
14 ) The social media release (SMR) is the new press release. It’s no secret that traditional news methods are quickly being replaced by alternative news methods. The goal with the social media press release is to write for your audience AND the average Web user. Pitch to bloggers via a “Twitter pitch” or create a list of blog contacts that have been helpful in promoting a service or campaign for you in the past. As Heidi Sullivan and Sarah Evans mentioned in their presentation, “Inbound links are the currency of the blogosphere,” so make sure you’re building mutually-beneficial relationships. If a blogger picks up your social media release and repurposes the content on their blog, be sure to return the favor and mention their blog in your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn updates.
15 ) Create an “Interactive Newsroom” on your company Website. Include daily or weekly featured news, videos, blogs and photo images about your company. The example provided in the Cision Webinar was Toyota’s interactive newsroom. It features each of these things in addition to a section titled “Our Point of View” that’s written exclusively by Toyota employees and explores current issues in the automotive industry.
16 ) Keep up-to-date on educational news, language lessons, films, audio books, campus tours and more via Apple’s iTunes U. This service has been around since 2007 but I’ve never heard about it before this Webinar. Since checking it out I have to say that I’m very impressed by the content that Stanford University has put out there for use by students and average Web users. According to Wikipedia, iTunes U was “created to manage, distribute and control access to educational audio and video content and PDF files.” I agree with the Webinar hosts that this is a great resource for interns (and education industry clients) because it’s a free service that includes over 75,000 files for users’ upload or download purposes.
17 ) The rule of thirds: It’s not all about YOU. As my internship supervisor likes to remind me, nobody wakes up in the morning expecting to get an email from you. It’s important to realize the value in creating online content but equally necessary to know your limits. If you have a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account, spend about 1/3 of your time posting information about your company, 1/3 of the time posting information about your clients and the remaining third of your time acknowledging others on the social Web (what the friendly Cision hosts referred to as “social karma”). Don’t walk around handing out your business card—instead, find out what your audiences’ and followers’ interests and jobs are. You should be entertaining your audiences but also engaging with your followers as these groups are collectively responsible for the success of your social media handle.
18 ) Aggregate! Create a “top 10 list” every once in a while to show your readers you’re paying attending to other writers in the blogosphere. After all, you’re not a robot!
19 ) Got a case of the “blogger blues?” Don’t fret! There will be days that you’re stuck and can’t find the words to write what’s really on your mind. (It happens to me all the time!) If you’re on deadline consult with your supervisor for new ideas or ask a coworker to switch blog days with you. It’s always better to wait and produce inspiring content rather than bore your readers.
20 ) Remember: Social media is a marathon, not a sprint! If you’re not seeing results in weekly analytic reports, try something new. There is no “correct way” to create and popularize content on the social Web but there are definitely promotional strategies that have grown companies and brands in huge ways. Dare to experiment!
Although this was only the second Webinar I’ve ever attended, I’m quickly learning that virtual tutorials are extremely useful resources. As an intern I always have questions and sometimes I find that my lack of knowledge about the media, the brand I’m representing or the audience(s) I’m reaching out to slows me down and prevents me from meeting deadlines. While this can sometimes be inevitable, I’ve realized that having solid research skills is critical in this industry—especially with the non-stop changes in progressive enhancement and the diversity of Web services offered today. I’m comforted by the fact that there are real people behind those usernames. I know if I continue to be proactive and seek out resources that help me master my shortcomings I can stay ahead of technology trends and promote HRB and its clients in unique and purposeful ways.
Megan Jasin
Public Relations Intern
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meganjasin
Extra! Extra! This Week’s Interesting Marketing Stories for CEOs and CMOs!
If you have an interest in sales and marketing, this post is for you. At HRB we’re constantly monitoring advertising, strategic planning, research and public relations trends that are driven by new software automation tools, unique bundling packages and social media marketing contests. Check out these stories and let us know your thoughts in the comments section or on the HRB Facebook page.
FTC Looks at Opt Out Option for Behavioral Targeting
If you have not been following the discussions surrounding online behavioral targeting and the resulting data gathering on individuals, you may want to start. Whether you are using behavioral targeting as a marketing technique or you are a consumer, you could be affected.
According to MediaPost, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering a “do not track” list to address Internet advertising privacy concerns, similar to the Do Not Call Registry pertaining to telephone solicitations. To learn more about behavioral targeting visit the FTC’s Wikipedia page.
What Are America’s Favorite News Sources?
As a former journalist, I find the rapid changes in news consumption habits fascinating. Of course, age, technology and access all play a role in how we get our news.
According to a new study by Gather, Inc., individuals are increasingly turning to the Internet to find, receive, share and discuss news. The report reveals trends in how people are receiving and interacting with various Internet news outlets and starting millions of conversations across America.
For instance, a whopping 53% of people still cite newspapers as their main source of news, although 65% of respondents younger than 25 years old described their news habits as interest-based, only reading about breaking news stories or stories of interest. 70% of respondents in this age group turn to the Internet to learn more about a breaking news story and share information with others via social networks.
Marketers Increasingly Seeking Online Tracking Metrics
Marketers are slowly but consistently moving more of their marketing budgets from traditional to online sources. And, the more they spend on SEO and social media marketing, the more they want to measure ROI.
The Forbes Insights and software and analytics firm MarketShare Partners reveal that marketers and agencies continue to struggle with finding the metrics to justify dollars spent on online campaigns.
Strategic Growth Planning for Business and Marketing Success
Ever wonder why some companies turn everything they touch into gold while others struggle to capture great market share? Why marketing doesn’t work with sales?
These questions keep CEOs from sleeping at night. It takes guts and experience to bring accurate, honest analysis and advice to today’s company executives. When it comes to growing a business, most companies struggle to find just the right balance of all the right growth ingredients.
Download the HRB GROWTH brochure and perhaps you’ll see how the “domino effect” can work for your brand.
Can the iPad Slow Newspaper and Magazine Readership?
Earlier this year, just as the iPad was being launched, BtoB Magazine carried a front page story about the possible effects the Apple iPad could have on reviving the ailing print media industry. For one thing, with its vertically-oriented color screen that mimics the size of a single magazine page, the iPad is seen in some circles as an ideal device for reading digital versions of print publications.
“We feel it’s an exciting, new, major media platform, and it can’t be ignored,” said Jason Snell, Editor of IDG’s Macworld, which is currently developing an iPad application.
Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
Follow me on Twitter @JimThebeau
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau
Relationships Matter: Why It’s Important to Build Bridges, Not Burn Them
Relationships matter. As someone very new to the working world of advertising and marketing, I often catch myself making little observations about professionals and how they interact with clients, coworkers and business partners. Being good at what you do is a given, regardless of your line of work—but it is also very important to build and foster relationships among those with whom you are working.
A healthy balance of outstanding professional work and maintaining good relationships are vital to the success of a company. Now more than ever, people from my past keep springing up through client work and business partnerships. When I accepted this internship position, I never thought that I’d be in client meetings with friends’ parents or fellow church members—I expected to work with people like “Client 04779” or something! The idea of such impersonal client interaction is a bit laughable now, to be honest—but when you’re growing up, you kind of forget that Sally Sue’s mom has a job outside of parenting or that the guy who sits two rows ahead of you at Sunday Mass could also be in business with your company one day.
We are conditioned from a rather elementary age to play nice with the other kids on the playground and be considerate and patient, even when it’s really, really difficult. The same concept applies to professionals working in a shared environment. In a city the size of Cedar Rapids, professionals are bound to run in similar circles. Certain clients might be more challenging than others and there will undoubtedly be times when no one can agree upon a branding tactic, what portfolio clip to include in a proposal, whether a client could benefit from social media marketing or which team members should attend a download meeting or seminar.
It’s important to remember that these situations arise in all companies. While it’s easy to lose your temper and fly off the handle, it’s equally easy to be respectful of other people’s opinions and ideas. Try to remain honest, sincere and open-minded. Remember that first impressions last a lifetime. Learn to build bridges rather than burn them and strive to maintain the attitude that there’s a high probability you’ll work with people you know from other places on a fairly regular basis. It takes a certain degree of professional maturity and experience to adopt and uphold this attitude, but from what I’ve observed, the practice yields a solid success rate.
Allison Maze
Creative Intern
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/allisonmaze
What Makes Apple’s Mobile Ad Platform Different
The iPhoneTM 4 has been out for over a month now. At that time, there was also a software update for older iPhones and iPodTM touches that added many features that were new on the iPhone 4. Part of the software update was the ability for app developers to display ads served up by Apple’sTM “iAd” platform. With the popularity of free applications that people download on a whim comes the desire for developers to monetize them to pay for their initial development costs and support further development.
The advertising model has now been brought into free apps, and it’s like a traditional Website that is mostly, if not entirely, supported by advertising. Apple’s iAd platform isn’t the first to offer developers the opportunity to include ads in their apps, but they do it a little differently.
The traditional electronic ad is either text, an image or a brief animation that, when clicked, will take you directly to the advertiser’s Website. iAd recognizes that most mobile devices either don’t support Flash or have a limited mobile edition of Flash so the common animated Flash ad isn’t possible. People often quote the statistic provided by Adobe that 96% of Web browsers have Flash installed, but that figure is actually representative of the percentage of Web browsers that are capable of running Flash and have it installed. That means it’s excluding millions of devices that have a Web browser that can’t run Flash, even if the device owner wanted to (this includes Apple’s mobile devices among many others).
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iAd instead focuses on the fact that 100% of all Web browsers have HTML support. Plus, all of the devices that iAd will be shown on also have CSS and JavaScript support for animation and interactivity. This method allows advertisers to show the full ad experience via CSS and JavaScript on all devices by default and shows the static version of the ad if they set JavaScript to be disabled. Using Flash will instead be shown as a blank block and will require the Flash plugin to show anything at all or requires the developer to also build the HTML version. This begs the question of, “Why not build the HTML version in the first place?” Ads haven’t been using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript until now due to the fact that CSS and JavaScript-based animations were introduced recently so Flash was the only option available to advertising / Website designers.
Click to view full size. Created by blog.monty.de
iAd’s extended ad view does include some new functionality that other ad services don’t offer. The ads expand within the current application when they’re tapped on instead of opening a Website in your Web browser. The ads are self-contained so that everything the advertiser wants to be shown can be included within the interactive ad, and can be closed at any time using a close button that is located in the same place for every ad. The expanded ad also has the ability to:
- Allow the user to submit a form (register for a giveaway / sign up to a newsletter)
- Download or purchase something from the App Store (purchase the full product / download a companion app)
- Save media to the device (wallpapers / videos)
- Access the camera (scan a barcode in a store / take a picture of yourself using the product)
- Integrate into other web services (social media / the product’s website)
- and more…
There’s the potential for a malicious advertiser to exploit some of these features or be a security risk but Apple is requiring each ad to be inspected and approved before being displayed. When iAd was announced, Apple brought up that finding a way to keep the advertising interactive while maintaining an emotional tone was very important to making this form of advertising engaging and effective. This is just another option that’s available to advertisers and developers alike and seems like a promising idea if used properly.
Kurt Zenisek
Web Developer
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kzeni
Say What? How to Decipher Communication Barriers Between Coworkers and Clients
The other day some HRB folks, myself included, were gathered for an internal meeting in the conference room. A team member had recently met with a client and was explaining to the HRB Creatives what types of designs were needed—only as a non-designer it involved some crafty miming on her part. Naturally, the Creatives immediately understood that her graceful, circular arm motions indicated a gatefold style of brochure. Clearly, they’d experienced a situation like this before.
The whole thing was quite humorous, what with the arm gymnastics and instant “aha!” moment that ensued, but it made me realize that language barriers can occur anywhere, at any time. They create one more professional hoop to jump through when communicating with coworkers and clients.
I used to think that language barriers mostly only occurred while traveling, probably because I’ve had my fair share of communication fails—like last February in Barcelona when I accidentally ordered something freakishly similar to a sea monster for lunch; my food had eyes, was covered in scales and maintained an uncanny ability to smile up at me despite its deceased state. It was so terrifying that one of my friends broke out in hives at the sight of it. The waiter noticed and was appalled by our reaction to his masterpiece. So, as a valid attempt to not further offend his restaurant, I ate the whole thing with a forced smile. Thankfully, the meal was served with wine.
Looking back on the experience it was rather amusing; but at the time it was totally mortifying. While I’d learned a few Spanish phrases before traveling there, I knew I wouldn’t really be able to navigate for myself and that I’d have to rely on Spanglish, miming or others for help when I needed to communicate.
Design jargon—even for those who share an office with Web designers—is comparable to a foreign language. It can sound unfathomably technical, complicated and even intimidating—especially if you’ve never had a need or a desire to learn it. It’s one thing for the designer to understand what’s what in design language, but it’s a bit unrealistic for the designer to speak it around non-designers and expect them to feel completely comfortable with the project parameters that you’ve collaboratively set.
I’ve noticed that when HRB Creatives present a design concept to clients, they drop the really technical design jargon unless it’s absolutely necessary. Instead, they stick to a more universal language that everyone can feel comfortable conversing in. I’m not talking about “dumbing it down”; I actually consider it a mark of humility when professionals don’t labor under the assumption that all parties involved fully understand design jargon.
Professionals encounter language barriers every day and it’s their job to communicate clear objectives to their coworkers and clients, not to impress upon them every bit of field-specific knowledge they’ve ever possessed. Think of it this way: it would be rather condescending to toss out a string of highfalutin terms, then stop and remark, “Oh, you don’t know what that means? Ah, well…” every few seconds while meeting with a client. Wouldn’t you feel irritated if your doctor only addressed your questions with a bunch of medical terminology during an appointment? Or if you received an earful of computery gobbledygook during a visit from your Internet provider?
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You should never feel like you need a dictionary by your side to have a simple conversation with a professional; it’s also not enjoyable for professionals to have to translate every little detail into layman’s terms. As an intern, I’m picking up on this bilingual necessity. I’m learning that it’s important to strike a balance between professional and non-professional jargon and I’m getting a good feel for how each language is best suited for each situation. I’ve come to the conclusion that, though it’s strange to regard language barriers in this way, it never hurts to know how to overcome them in a professional setting.
Allison Maze
Creative Intern
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/allisonmaze
