Most bookmarking sites allow you to download a widget to your browser allowing you to easily bookmark sites that you like and want to share.  Each time you find a site you like you can click to add it and to organize with appropriate tags.

Some of the most popular bookmarking sites are Reddit, Delicious, Stumble Upon and Digg for a more comprehensive list go to Wikipedia.  These are all social networking sites: online hubs where people connect, build community and communicate and interact online.  Like other types of social networks they can be very effective in driving traffic to your website, building online connections and increasing your online exposure.

If you think bookmarking sites may be a good tool to consider using as part of your Internet marketing strategy, you should take time to take a look at the sites above to ascertain which is most appropriate given your target audience and content (by exploring tags or categories and the type of sites contained therein).  As with any social media marketing activity, to be effective you need to add value, be consistent and to connect and build community with others.

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

Over a decade ago, an online marketing strategy was comprised by separate tactics that had only one concern in mind: to drive traffic to a site. The game was relatively simple: a site would be built, it’d be supported by email newsletters, advertising, maybe some traditional media, and that was all that there was to it.

Then, marketers became aware of the importance of search engine optimization, and added that component to their plan. Today, social media marketing is the new kid on the block. Not only that – it’s changing how the other online marketing elements interact with each other.

Below is a sample of how this interdependence plays out – and how you can combine each individual channel for the greater good:

Twitter and Google:

• Google’s new real time search results mean that tweets with your brand may now appear in search results. So, a strong visibility on Twitter can very well influence your site’s exposure on Google. That’s another reason to maintain an active Twitter profile, and populate it with quality content.

Twitter and Customer Opinion:

• Not only is Twitter the most important micro-blogging network, it is increasingly used as a search tool. It is a channel where people go to find the online equivalent to “word of mouth” about a product, service, etc. On Twitter, frustrated customers often share their gripes, and loyal clients rave about their favourite brands.  Here’s an example:

Imagine if you were looking for reviews on Virgin Mobile and came across the two tweets above.  They may very well sway your decision-making.

However, Virgin Mobile could have stepped in to have their say. It’d potentially have an impact not only on the three individuals involved in that dialogue, but Virgin’s update would’ve been found in searches made for that brand.

Here’s a positive example of how proactive companies observe Twitter conversations, and interact with users: on December 10th, I decided to try Pearltrees. I then tweeted this update:

Minutes later, I received a reply from Pearltrees CEO, Patrice Lamothe, with this message:

That update was not only relevant to me, but to any other individual making a search query for “Pearltrees” around that time.

So, the lesson is: people are going to use Twitter’s search tool to find information on your products or services. You might as well help them find information that is as positive as possible.

YouTube and Search Engine Optimization:

• YouTube videos are prominently represented in Google’s search engine results.You do have a YouTube channel, don’t you? Then, make sure that, among other things, your videos titles and tags are optimized. And guess what – this will help your presence in search engines, too.

YouTube and other Social Networks:

• YouTube also gives viewers the option to share a video via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, orkut and StumbleUpon, directly from the video’s YouTube page. You can also embed a video into your blog, and invite readers to share it – either by embedding into their own blogs, by adding it to Facebook, or inviting them to share it through social bookmarking sites like Reddit. Earlier today, I embedded this third-party YouTube video about Hewlett-Packard into my own Facebook profile:

I wasn’t the only one. According to the video statistics, it was watched an additional 279 times as a result of links from Facebook. Reddit, a popular content-sharing site, had also generated 1,317 views.

Blogs and Search Engine Optimization:

• By frequently adding fresh, relevant content to your company’s blog, not only will you improve your brand’s presence and clout in the blogosphere, but you will help your site become more appealing in Google’s eyes. That is because Google naturally gives more importance to sites that are updated on a regular basis.

Blogs and Twitter:

• Blogs can easily be set up to automatically promote a new post, as soon as it is published. You will be not only be driving traffic to the blog itself, but will also help to keep your Twitter profile active with new, original material.

I could go on and on. This just scratches the surface, but gives you an idea of how, nowadays, online marketing elements are so interdependent. When planned accordingly and executed in an orchestrated manner, these tactics will make the whole stronger than the sum of its parts.

About the author: Guacira Naves is an online marketing strategist who has 18 years of Internet experience. Her company, The Online Strategy House, develops and executes holistic online marketing strategies to help clients achieve their short, medium and long-term goals.

Thanks to Guacira for this.  If you are interested in contributing  a post – give us a shout!

SocialMention – a social media search engine that searches blogs, websites, microblogs and news sites amongst others for your keywords.

LoadedBow – I love this blog aimed at young women entreprenuers. Packed with handy advice, interviews and links its definately one to subscribe to.

Biznik - a new business networking site allowing you to network, share events, publish articles and promote your business.

ResizeIt – a handy tool that allows you to easily resize, crop and edit images for free online.

And on the lighter side, find out about: The State of the Web – Winter 2009

1. Update your site regularly – this may seem obvious but many corporate sites rarely change.

2. Post a video – it can be short and sweet but has the added benefit of enhancing your image.

3. Add a podcast – our traffic peaks every time we podcast and by submitting the podcast to top pod sites, the effect ripples. Coincidence? I think not.

4. Label your images – most sites don’t bother but this is viable real estate on your site, use it. Image titles should relate back to your keywords and offering for maximum impact.

5. Use Google’s webmaster tools – make sure your site is crawled regularly, submit your sitemap (okay I concede you might need a technodweeb for that) and identify any problems so that you (or your technodweeb) can fix them.  If you can’t work out how submit your sitemap do it page by page in Google.

6. Get bookmarks – book marks are like links the more you have the better. Hit on employees, partners and colleagues to bookmark your site.  Good sites include Digg,  or Stumble Upon.

7. Comment regularly on relevant blogs and always remember to insert your url correctly.

8. Spend some time developing a keyword map for your products and services so as to identify the most effective words to use and those to avoid.

9. Use bold and headings to identify key terms in your text.

10. This one should be first on the list but it seems so obvious I almost left it out. In case you haven’t done so, remember to submit your site to Google and other search engines otherwise there’s no hope whatsoever.

1. Blogging – Telus Senior Communication Business Partner Deborah Chatterton discussed the benefits to giving employees their own publishing platform.

First you should determine if social media is right for your company.  What is it all about? Its about engaging your target audience in conversation with you.  In the past you pushed information out now you get info back.

Types of social media:

• You Tube for sharing videos
• Digg is a site where you can share websites you like.
• Social Networks like Facebook.
• Blogs
• Wikis – user generated content that can be added to
• Social Networks – like Facebook

Social Media Considerations:

• You should ask if social media is right for your company.
• Are your customers there yet?
• Are your company’s communications old style and can they adapt to this?

Blogging – Deborah points out that ghost writing a blog is unethical and that a sales or marketing pitch is a no no.  You should keep the tone of voice real and hone in on actual experiences rather than trying to invent blog stories.
To find out if your company ready for social media culture – ask if they are you willing to give up control.

Q Why would you do it? A – The world is changing, people are retiring, knowledge pool is shrinking. Millenials are using this already, its a way of life for them and they are the next generation of new hires.  This is going to happen anyway. You have no control over it. This is an opportunity to: shape the conversation; demonstrate thought leadership; strengthen relationships; make executives more approachable.  Studies back up that social media actually increases productivity.

You have to have a strategy as to who will blog, what they will blog about, how often and whether you will allow comments.

Telus is not externally blogging.

Risks of blogging include: slander, bad behaviour – but these things happen in real life anyway.

Issues include: privacy, security, ethics, respectful workplace, insider trading.  To mitigate risk: – you should post guidelines before you start – its very important to have a policy.  Check out Sun MicroSystem’s policy for a great example.

Good social media examples:

• Dell were perceived to have terrible customer service  in the days of “DellHell”, now they have an online customer forum where people can contribute and the company can track reactions and respond accordingly.
• Cadbury Schweppes.
• I’m for GM
• Obama campaign

To learn more:

• Darren Barefoot
• Canadian Public Relations Society Conference
• Northern Voice (registration is now closed).

2. Podcasting – CBC Radio 3 Senior Producer Andrea Gin provided insight into podcasting:

Andrea gave an introduction to podcasting and her work with podcasts at CBC. They have on average 100,000 downloads per week and are the most listened to radio podcast in Canada

Q Is it simple?
Anyone can be a podcaster. All you need is:

• recording device
• audio editing software
• quiet

Before you start podcasting, Andrea recommended that you think about what you have to offer – what is your niche and why would people want to listen?  Also consider how people will access your podcasts.  You can offer them as downloads on your website or register in iTunes.  You can use images anywhere in the chapter or section of the podcast.

Q Do you edit it or broadcast live?  A – It is usually edited and posted rather than live.

Q How do you make money? CBC doesn’t have ads but is more about content and supporting Canadian artists?  Other companies have sponsors or use as a marketing tool.

Podcasting is different from radio in that people can listen to it anywhere they want when they want. With a radio show you miss it you miss it.  Its also much more interactive than radio, lots of people comment and contribute.

Q.Can you download to your Blackberry – A – You should be able to but it will depend on how much memory you have.

CBC Shows also appear on Web Radio and Siruis Satellite.

CBC Audience expanded worldwide thanks to podcasting – lots Canadian expats around the world tune in.

Q Do you use webtrends to track this? A -Mainly Google Analytics and an in house tool

Q – Podcasting vision has it changed over the 5 years since you’ve been doing? A – Yes at the start we treated it like radio now its more of a cycle: your listener gets involved and interacts/contributes.

CBC doesn’t launch a podcast till they have 5 or 6 shows under their belt.

Tips:

• don’t do it sporadically;
• build an audience by being consistent;
• podcast regularly.
• Encourage feedback – phone calls and emails and comments from the blog.

What kind of software do you use to edit? Adobe Audition

How long are your podcasts? We try not to go over an hour and a half. An hour is about as much as people can tolerate.

Stuff you should know is a good podcast from howstuffworks.com focused on answering questions like how long can you go with out food or water.

3. Online Market Research – Angus Reid Strategies Executive Vice President, Monique Morden, discussed proprietary online panels and communities for
cost effectively reaching the voice of customer.

Angus Reid provides research services – they are a full service company providing the soup to nuts. Vision Critical is a software company (AngusReid are their power users and parent company), its a nice  marriage of the companies.  Angus Reid has taken research online and has opened up a whole new world.  They are all across NA  and have small and large companies as clients.

Research used to be done on the phone now its all online. Some people don’t even have a phone particularly in the younger demographics so phone research results are skewed and you don’t know who are you reaching when you do phone research.  (No call doesn’t apply to researchers.) Online is becoming such a great communication tool – research is another form of communication.

How do you do online research?  Now you show the ad (or whatever your subject matter) and ask about it before you had to just describe it and ask questions to get feedback.

Types of research companies:

• Full service – Angus Reid
• Self service – ie Zoomerang,  Question Pro, Survey monkey
• Panel software – Vision Critical, GMI

Sample (the people to be surveyed) Sources:

• email list – be careful about legal issues – do you won the list and is it okay to send.
• advertise on a website
• Customer base
• Access panels set up by others

Angus Reid has a full serve service where they design the survey and bring in the survey group.  They have people they work with who form the survey group.

Validity of online research: Canada has highest internet penetration (about 86%).  55 years plus demographic is the fastest growing.   Angus Reid did polling for elections and were the most accurate of any of the pollsters all done online.
Comes down to quality of questions and who you survey.

Angus Reid works with a group of panelists – they know about their panelists: if they have diabetes, age, kids etc etc so you don’t have to ask every time.  They use only online polling because people tend to be more honest online – its less embarrassing and they tend to be more comfortable giving info online. They use open ended questions/comparisons to validate information. Usually panelists are surveyed once per week payment and have a small renumeration incentive of  1-4 dollars per survey. Online qualitative research is possible now: a group of people can have a conversation.

5. Webnames.ca COO Cybele Negris covered website and security pointers.

Domain Name Strategy – What domain name:
Depends on budget where you are – you should get at the minimum .com and .ca -

• .com is global 77 million globally registered websites;
• .ca is specific to Canada – 1 m .ca sites exists because it helps native companies to brand themselves.

Companies should have both – webnames.com was taken by someone else and he set up in competition to them. Protect your trademark/brand.
Canadians like to deal with Canadians. We ordered $5b worth of goods onlkine in 2005 – 63% from Canadian ventures.

Domains:

• 250 country code domain names in the world.
• 21 generic top level domain names: .net, .mobi (for mobile internet)
• .tel – used to store and share all contact information: Phone number, cell, home details, Facebook details etc. You can have different profiles for different aspects of your life. Works on any mobile device and gives you a geo location so that it will automatically generate a gigamap.

Domain Tips:

• Register as many as you can afford. You don’t have to pay for hosting – you can forward it to your main site.
• More sites = more links.
• You should register your domain for longer than simply one year as it shows Google continuity and improves ranking will have a better ranking.
• You should register your own domain in your name. If someone else does it then they are responsible and they can take it with them when they go.

Tips For Using Email Effectively

• Don’t use gmail, hotmail etc for your corporate communications it looks unprofessional use your branded email but gmail etc for entering on websites.
• Use departmental addresses – makes you look bigger/more established and allows you track email traffic i.e. info@yourcompany.com, sales@yourcompany.com, webmaster@yourcompany.com
• Use an auto signature
• Use rules and folders

Tips Online Privacy and Security:

• PIPEDA Act covers online privacy.
• Spam Act – first reading was 2008 – Still no anti spamming law in Canada.
• Phishing – people sending you an email disguising themselves as a company you deal with so that you are inclined to give them private information.

Intranet Connections – a great tool for any company looking to put the benefits of social media to use internally.

Pipl – wondering about your on line profile?  Use Pipl yourself and see.

In my constant search for tools that help me Twitter more effectively I found Twhirl, Tweetscan and Brightkit this month although none of them effectively manage Twitters from different times zones or auto replies (if you know of another share it please!).

Want to create a vector – try Vector Magic.

Blippr, Second Brain – new social media sharing sites, one for organizing media (books, music and movies etc) the other for online content.

Gliffy – create flow charts and diagrams.

Social media are tools or sites on the Internet where people and companies go to congregate, communicate and collaborate.  They include: blogs , podcasts, video sites (BlipTV), social networks (like Facebook, MySpace), micro blogs (like Twitter and Pownce), photo sites (Flickr), bookmarking sites (Stumble Upon, Digg) or any other site where you can ineract and share with others in real time.

I am from Britian so I like to use the real world pub analogy.  A pub is a place where people go to get together over a drink with others and to make new friends, to share their exploits, to show their stuff and to talk about whats happening in world around them.

Social media hubs are the same concept but in the virtual world: places online where people go (via their computer or smart phone) to get together with people they know, tell them about what they are doing, show what they can do, meet new people and to share their knowledge.  

From a business perspective, social media is a great marketing tool as it gives you access to millions of people across the globe but as with any other tool you use to grow your business, it is important that you know what you are doing, that you understand who you are trying to reach, what your goals are from using these technologies, which technologies to use to ensure maximum impact.  In short, you need a strategy.  Don’t just run around like a headless chicken trying to maintain a presence in every social media you hear about.  Plot your own course.  Know why you are using the tool in question and what you want to achieve from doing so.  

If you don’t take time to consider your social media strategy in advance and implement it correctly you can end up wasting a lot of time or worse you can seriously damage your marketing efforts.

1. Add a blog to your site – you can start blogging today using WordPress or Typepad.  Blog to establish your expertise and increase traffic.  Be sure to include a comments section for readers to give feedback.

2. Use a photo site like Flickr  to show case your talents – especially if your focus is visual arts.  Link these back to your web site and include in other forums – the more people who see your work the more interest you will get.

3. Add a Skype link so that people can contact you by phone and over the Internet making it easier for them to do business with you. 

4. Use widgets to get your audience interacting.  Participation increases return visits and makes your site more sticky.  Examples include easy to use poll widgets (PollDaddy) and traffic counters (Alexa).

5. Use video clips to enhance customer service and post them via YouTube to reach more people.

6. Consider Podcasting your expertise but read our New Experiences in Podcasting blog posts first to learn from our mistakes.

7. Use wiki technology like PBWiki to facilitate collaboration both within and out with the organisation.

8. Sign up and start using a professional or social network like LinkedIn or Naymz but choose wisely by considering where your prospects are most likely to hang out on-line.

9. Consider using a book marking site like Ma.gnolia to share your web discoveries and favorites, to further establish your niche and to network with like minded counterparts.  

10. Provide links to all of the above on your site to make your company even more accessible in these forums.

Out-Smarts Podcast – Todd Sieling of Ma.gnolia