1. Your efforts are just not interesting enough - so spice it up a little.
2. Blogger backlash - beware the prima donnas and know your blogetiquette.
3. Rejection or backlash - could haunt you forever.
4. Efforts die on the vine - because of improper resource allocation.
5. You have Cluetrain goggles - social media is another tool in your marketing arsenal not the be all and end all.
6. Too self absorbed - always blowing your own horn rather than adding real value to the audience.
7. Be Proactive - do your homework and be prepared.
I would add only one thing to this and that is the risk of missing the mark. When considering any marketing effort, its always important to put yourself in your audience’s shoes and determine which social media hubs you are most likely to reach them in i.e. which Internet networking hubs they hang out in. For example, if your target audience is educated professionals, a MySpace focus would be less appropriate than LinkedIn or even Facebook or if you plan a campaign to promote a hi-tech device to bloggers you should hone in on tech bloggers not knitting bloggers.
A recent Information Week article asks the question - Is podcasting dead?. The article cites that “there is no easy way to sample podcasts without an excessive and irretrievable investment of time” as the reason that podcasting hasn’t taken off.
Lets look at the numbers to see if podcasting is indeed dying a death. eMarketer estimates that the total US audience for podcasts reached 18.5 million in 2007 and is expected to grow by 251% by 2012. These statistics hardly reflect the death throes of a dying medium but the growth rate isn’t exactly stellar if you compare it to other web 2.0 technologies.
The reason for its slow adoption rate is indeed, as Alexander Wolfe of Information Week suggests, a result of podcast complexity. And this doesn’t only apply to users.
Creating and publishing a podcast is not as seamless or as simple as it should be either. If you’ve read any of my new experiences in podcasting posts you will know of my own frustrations with the technology and I am relatively tech savvy. It seems to me that if you want to podcast you have to be a true propeller head. At this point that is podcasting’s main barrier to entry.
iTunes has tried to streamline the podcast publishing process but even using Garageband to create a podcast on a Mac doesn’t guarantee simple podcast submission.
On the bright side for podcasting, more and more traditional media outlets are using the technology to disseminate audio so that users can listen on the run and users are recognizing the benefits of being able to listen on their terms (coincidentally, one of my first ever blog posts back in 2005 touched on this). Global TV in Vancouver offers video and audio podcasts of its news content.
Podcasting is not dead but its not exactly burgeoning either. As podcasting is promoted more to the mainstream it will become more prevalent (it is slowly gaining popularity, especially in the 35-54 age group) but until producers can create and publish podcasts efficiently and users can access them as easily as turning on the radio, podcasting growth with remain slow.
Spring is still threatening to visit us in Vancouver, the birds are chirping and new media moves along at a swift pace. This months reasons to be cheerful also include:
Plaxo Pulse - I’ve avoided Plaxo like the plague since using it a few years ago on a client project and having it constantly crash so I was skeptical when a friend invited me to join Pulse. I have to say though it seems that the Plaxo team have been working away to develop a real alternative to professional networks like LinkedIn and to integrate other social media sites.
Ever on the search for the right accounting package, I recently met with LedgersOnline a local firm specializing on online bookkeeping solutions. Could this be the one?
Goodboog is another local offering that provides an on-line catalogue designed to facilitate the promotion of products and services online in 25 different languages.
The sun is shining, the daffodils are blooming and Spring is in full swing. If these weren’t enough reasons to be cheerful then here are some more on the Internet front.
The main reason to be cheerful this month is the release of the latest WordPress blog software - version 2.5. I only started using it today but so far so great - my spacing problems have been resolved as have my cut and paste issues.I am looking forward to finding out what other goodies version 2.5 brings.
Another discovery this month was the ThoughtFarmer knowledge sharing solution. Aimed at providing organisations with an Intranet portal that enhances knowledge sharing and collaboration, ThoughtFarmer combines the best of wiki technology with social networking to allow organizations to deploy a unique and highly usable portal.
Suitable online invoicing systems are few and far between. Some are good at handling expenses, others good at tracking time but I haven’t found one that does both well, one that is easy to use, customizable and can link to Paypal. Canadian online invoicing provider Freshbooks may just be the solution.
Looking for any easy way to involve your visitors on line? PollDaddy is a great code generating tool that allows you to create a poll on your site (you define the question you want to ask and the answer criteria). Simply cut and paste the code to your web site and start polling your audience.
Another easy way to enhance your site and make the user experience more enjoyable is to add forms. Wufoo simplifies this by giving you a catalogue of templates to choose from (everything from customer surveys to registration forms).
Social media for marketing and business development is the hot topic on the networking circuit in Vancouver these days and today’s SMEI event was no exception. With expert panelists from BCIT and Oracle bringing their unique experiences in SM to the panel, the event proved to be insightful.
It started off with a brief intro to Web 2.0 described as being “Tech, Process and People - but most of all collaboration” then went on to a 101 of web 2.0 terms such as RSS, blogs, podcasts for the real newbies in the audience.
Once the panelists got started the true value of the event became apparent. Justin Kestelyn, Director of Development Programs at Oracle discussed their web 2.0 adoption and the benefits they have gained from using a more transparent strategy and involving their customers and partners more. He made a great point in that by involving their customers and allowing them to have a voice these invariably become evangelists at little or no cost to Oracle. He points out that Web 2.0 is an attitude, a new way of doing business and not just an Internet term.
Next up was Robert Duncan from BCIT whose presentation centred on LinkedIn as a means of developing relationships (a topic close to my heart). He focuses on LinkedIn in particular of the social networks available and has over 800 contacts that he uses extensively to spread awareness of what he is doing at BCIT and in his work with innovators. He pointed out that by joining groups in LinkedIn you have access to all other members of that group - a great way to extend your network further. Its easier to do business with people you already know something about.
The last panelist to get up was James Wells also from BCIT and a founder of Lendary Social Financing a company that uses web 2.0 technology to build trust online and to put investors in touch with entrepreneurs looking for money. “Word of mouth is vital to growing any business these days”, he pointed out - “go out and do it - if you fail you learn”.
The conclusion - if companies don’t embrace web 2.0 then they face failure or a steep catch up. It costs very little to adopt these technologies and the benefits in terms of buzz are profound.
Interesting to see Vancouver mega blogger Miss 604 there. I am looking forward to her take on proceedings too.
A while back it was the in thing to set up a web site that would act as a brochure, telling people who happened to visit what you have to offer. It was nothing better than a flyer in the mail. The days of the static web site done, finished, caput okay!
These days its all about interactivity and collaboration. Its easy to make websites more dynamic and to involve your audience rather than communicate at them. There are thousands of widgets out there to allow you to question is are you doing it? Go on - interact with us - you know you want to…..
An article on Collective Thoughts about raising your Twitter profile got me thinking about the social media wave that is upon us. The article discusses why Twitter is a viable marketing tool and how the writer went about increasing his Twitter profile in 30 days. It has many valid points and yes Twitter can be a great marketing tool but so can blogging, social networking, wiki’ing and forums - to mention but a few. If you spend time marketing in each and everyone of these as the buzz out there would suggest, you would have very little time to spend on actual revenue generation or traditional marketing efforts (woe betide you would do those).
Its important (as with any marketing project) to do some research and planning up front when considering these new collaborative web 2.0 technologies. Don’t just rush out and start Twittering your head off just because its the latest in thing. Take time to consider your client and determine whether they are Twittering. If they are then its great to use Twitter as a marketing tool but schedule the time you spend Tweeting and set goals so that you can monitor the effectiveness of your efforts. Same goes for the other Internet networking hubs, always ask yourself first and foremost if your customer is active in these and how they are using these technologies. Plan your marketing campaign up front: time spent, strategy, goals and measures. Otherwise you might find that you get to the end of the day and Twitter has sucked up all your time and nothing else on your list has been done. Take it from me I am talking from experience!.
The reasons to be cheerful have been bountiful this month as we traveled the virtual world. Links include everything from on line CRM to complete and utter whimsy and we have more reasons than usual for February:
Myplick - never battle with uploading a Powerpoint again.
Buzzshout - want to find out about the latest web technologies? Buzzshout is the place to go.
Highrise - simple on-line CRM to allow you to easily manage your contacts. Great if you’re just starting out but not so easy if your contacts aren’t in Outlook and your forced to manually upload.
Got vmail - this service helps you manage your calls, provides toll free numbers and an answering service.
NCIX - this one is bricks and mortar and online and its great to have an alternative to the cowboys at FutureShop and Best Buy.
meez - while away your Friday afternoon creating an avator for your social networking profiles. Mine is “so meez”.
Strutta - Vancouver is a buzz with the yet to be launched Strutta. Is it a bird, is it a plane? Who knows (our launch invite got lost in the mail) but rumor has it its something to do with online video and gaming.
An article in the Vancouver Sun’s business section today blazes the headline “Adults spend more time in cyberspace than teens”.
According to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted here in Canada, adults spend an average of 5 hours more online than teenagers doing everything from banking, shopping and booking holidays to socializing and playing games. So much for the Internet being the domain of the young. Even more interesting is that off those polled 70% of adults had participated in online social activities.
That should be reason enough to integrate social media marketing into your strategic plan and to spread awareness of your offering in this medium.
I had the pleasure this evening to present at an event co hosted by the Professional Women’s Network, the YWCA Mentoring Program and the Downtown Networking Association aimed at introducing mentors and mentees to professional growth strategies to help you realise career goals. My topic: “Building Valuable Business Relationships in the Virtual World”.
As promised, I am going to blog over the next few days about some of the issues I touched on at the event, the first of these being Internet networking hubs.
Internet networking hubs are great forums to expand your business network and extend your reach. Obviously those you use will depend on what it is you do. For example a photographer would likely use photo sites like Flickr to showcase their experience. Someone in the music industry is likely to benefit more from MySpace than Facebook. And a lawyer might is more likely to join a law forum than a web development forum. Its up to you which you choose but Internet networking hubs are great places to grow your on line network and in turn your business. Here the handout I gave out tonight:
