Magnetic Content: Super Powers by Lisa Buyer

Let’s get visual! Join SEMPO’s Monthly Google Hangout and expert guest Lisa Buyer as she shares her latest Social PR Secrets with online marketers. The one hour session is designed to offer strategies and takeaways for brands  looking to gain publicity using social media and visuals.

Standing out in the social media newsfeed is critical and when done right it means free publicity topped with organic super powers. Positive editorial news coverage equates to more media buzz, better search results, priceless credibility and viral social shares!

Who: Lisa Buyer and SEMPO

When: Thursday, May 23rd at 4PM ET

What: Social and Visual PR: Creating Magnetic News Content

Where: Google Hangout https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/crubb984mqv94k3josf8shejoso

In this session you will find inspiration and actionable takeaways:

–The Social PR super power content opportunity

–How to optimize, publicize and socialize your brand’s news content and make your brand part of trending stories

–Best practices for creating a company online newsroom with actionable items you can do right away

–Visual Press Releases and Visual Pitches: Examples of inspiring ways to use visuals to share your company news story

–Distribution, amplification  and collaboration platforms to be most productive and spread your news

–Reporting and analytics strategies that your boss cares about – quick tips on pulling high level analytics that make you look like an Social PR analytics rock star

“I’m excited to share my latest Social PR Secrets with the SEMPO community,” said Buyer. “Today’s brands have more control than ever in delivering news to the the search engines, social networks, journalists and direct to mobile users. To be successful brands must wear many content hats. The challenge is how to do this effectively and productively without wasting time and money.”

This will be an informal presentation and discussion where you can get answers to your questions with one of the industry’s top experts on Social and Visual PR.

Got questions for Lisa? Ask them in the comments and we’ll try to answer them in the hangout.

Ready to Hangout?

Please RSVP to this event so and it will be added to your Google calendar. Ten minutes before the event starts, we’ll add the live Hangout on Air link so you can tune in live!

This is going to be a Google Hangout on Air so please make sure you have added SEMPO to your Google+ Circles so that you may be one of our on-camera participants. This session will also be include questions via chat and will be on YouTube. Twitter hashtag is #SEMPOchat. 

Not sure if this Google hangout is for you?

This session is designed especially for:

–Any size business, organization, or personal brand looking to gain more visibility from social media and public relations

–Public relations professionals and managers

–Marketing managers

–Internet marketing managers

–Business owners

–Social media practitioners

–Businesses not getting results from social media

–Businesses looking to take their social media to the next level

If you want to dig deeper on how to integrate public relations and social media check out the book SocialPRSecrets by Lisa Buyer. (that’s me)

Social Media Cupcakes and Mojitos Served Frosted and Chilled at Interactivity Digital #2013

Trending in the digital marketing conference stream: content, conversion, authenticity, cupcakes and #ID2013.  Interactivity Digital,  the new kid on the conference block and brainchild of Gary Henderson, glammed it up this week and scored some digital clout (and Klout) on the digital marketing conference circuit. Hosted by Interactivity Marketing, a Myrtle Beach-based digital marketing agency, the conference featured panel discussions and keynote addresses by some red carpet name droppers such as Rand Fishkin, Peter Shankman and 28 other top shelf digital marketing speakers. #ID2013 debuted in one of the world’s hippest locations, South Beach,  in a boutique setting that included some of my favorite female digital marketing leaders: Foiled Cupcakes CEO Mari Luangrath, SEOmoz Community Manager Jennifer Sable Lopez, Raven Tools Community Manager Courtney Seiter, Healthy Wellness Social Media Manager Victoria Edwards and Conversion Rate Optimization Pro Angie Schottmuller.

So what’s the real deal with Interactivity Digital anyway?

“Our goal with Interactivity Digital is to host an intimate event that drives the industry forward and increase attendees’ knowledge of digital marketing as a whole,” said Henderson, President of Interactivity Marketing. “To achieve that goal, we felt it necessary to foster an environment that allows speakers and attendees to connect on a deeper level than a traditional conference.”

Did it happen? Check!

The SoBe-based conference scored some serious points from digital marketing attendees and speakers.

Here’s what @aschottmuller and @Seoaware Melissa Fach had to tweet:

“PROPS: I’m super impressed w/ #ID2013 – well organized, great speakers/sponsors, & FUN! Nice job, @IMDigitalAgency @GaryLHenderson!” noted @aschottmuller.

“Hey search conferences, you have some serious competition from @IMDigitalAgency, this conference is outstanding! #ID2013,” said

@SEOAware 

I was front and center live tweeting #ID2013 along with some of my favorite conference friends.

Check out some of the highlights and gain some valuable insights on what the leaders in digital marketing have to say:

Likes and followers aren’t the metrics youshould report to bosses and clients. Tie it to a real goal, like $$$. #ID2013

— Courtney Seiter (@RavenCourtney) May 16, 2013

Know your audience. Be relevant. Learn to write. @petershankman #ID2013 – I wanted to yell “HELL YEAAAA” after his pres.

— Jennifer Sable Lopez (@jennita) May 16, 2013

Good writing is brevity. Brevity is good marketing. @petershankman #ID2013

— Jennifer Sable Lopez (@jennita) May 16, 2013

My Presentation on SEO Brass Tacks – The Most Common Mistakes people make slidesha.re/17Am6yt #ID2013

— Alan Bleiweiss (@AlanBleiweiss) May 16, 2013

It’s marketing strategy time, yo! bit.ly/strategytimeyo My 46 slides from today’s #ID2013

— Rand Fishkin (@randfish) May 15, 2013

DUDE! FollowerWonk is the favorite tool of the show! EVERYONE is mentioning #ID2013 and #SMX

— Grant Simmons (@simmonet) May 16, 2013

“There’s no reason for bad content in 2013″ #quote via iPullRank #ID2013

— Alan Bleiweiss (@AlanBleiweiss) May 16, 2013

Repurpose #Content Tips: Turn newsletter into a blog, turn blog into a powerpoint@tallchickvic #ID2013

— ClickZ (@ClickZ) May 16, 2013

Use images when promoting links on Twitter = more clicks @tallchickvic #ID2013

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 16, 2013

Don’t isolate your blog content @tallchickvic #ID2013 The whole purpose of a blog is to drive traffic to your website

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 16, 2013

Typing I hate my boss into Twitter = bad idea. #ID2013

— Jeff Perkins (@jeffperkins8) May 16, 2013

71% of consumers have ended their relationship with a brand due to poor customer service @simonheseltine #ID2013

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 16, 2013

Did you know that 89% of people say they like watching TV with a tablet in hand.Research and engagement @simonheseltine #ID2013

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 16, 2013

Whoa! #ID2013 RT @slidesharetoday: ‘The Science of Building Community’ by @jennita is featured on our homepage. mz.cm/17zpEB3

— Jennifer Sable Lopez (@jennita) May 16, 2013

Whoa! #ID2013 RT @SlideShareToday: ‘The Science of Building Community’ by @jennita is featured on our homepage. http://mz.cm/17zpEB3

The days of manipulating Google are gone. It’s time to look at overall strategy. – @andybeal Yes! #ID2013

— Courtney Seiter (@RavenCourtney) May 16, 2013

Social Media BFFs: Make your customers feel like they have been your friend forever! Via @foiledcupcakes #ID2013

— ClickZ (@ClickZ) May 15, 2013

Promotion LOVE – promote influencers and most likely they’ll promote you back @jennita #ID2013

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 15, 2013

Topsy is a great resource for finding conversations in your niche @jennita #ID2013

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 15, 2013

Rapportive is the best way to stalk people EVER @jennita #ID2013

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 15, 2013

Our brands reward us for talking about ourselves @ravencourtney #ID2013

— Michelle StinsonRoss (@SocialMichelleR) May 15, 2013

Mobile #PR: Make sure actionable buttons are on the mobile version of pages. Click to Call is critical for #CTA@aschottmuller #ID2013

— Lisa Buyer (@lisabuyer) May 15, 2013

Look for more #ID2013 action in Part 2 or if you want to dig deeper into how to integrate public relations and social media check out the book SocialPRSecrets by Lisa Buyer. (that’s me)

Next week marks the first #SFIMA PubCon in Fort lauderdale and If you can’t be there live, there’s a Twitter stream for
on the spot live tweeting and blogging at #SFIMA @Pubcon! On Tuesday May 14, SFIMA past presidents Maria Harrison and Joe Laratro join the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association to roll out the Search and Social
red carpet to host the SFIMA@PubCon Summit. The conference entitled “Optimize. Social. Monetize!” brings interactive campaigns together through search and social channels and includes best practices and take-aways designed to improve your conversion and ROI.

The day-long event takes place in Davie, FL at Nova University Southeastern Campus at the Miniaci Performing Arts Center and feature three session tracks covering the latest local social media and search-related research, with keynote addresses by Melanie Mitchell and Rob Snell, breakfast and lunch, all led by Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood area and national speakers!

So why should you go?

Here are Joe Laratro’s top 10 reasons:

1. Pubcon comes to South Florida!

2. Amazing Pubcon Speakers, more than 35 speakers!

3. Rob Snell – SEO with a Southern Twang, what could be better than that?

4. Melanie Mitchell – SVP Digitas shares their industry insights!

5. Todd Malicoat virtually giving away all his link secrets.

6. Dennis Yu blowing everyone minds with Facebook Advertising.

7. Did you see Lisa Buyer on agenda? Woohoo! Social PR Secrets will be revealed.

8. What’s the next major Google Update?

9. Great Value!

10. Did someone mention a session giving away the secrets of the next Star Wars Trilogy?

And, here are Maria Harrison’s top ten reasons:

1. Learn from national industry leaders without leaving South Florida!

2. One day that will change the rest of your digital marketing days!

3. Learn how to attract, engage with and convert more online visitors – can you say cha-ching?! $$$$$

4. Leave with hands-on advice that you can implement the next day! (kind of like washing your hair with Pert – remember “wash and go”?!)

5. Great networking

6. Social media gets demystified – practical advice that can move your organization forward into social media

7. Search engine marketing tips you won’t find anywhere online

8. Really passionate speakers – you’ll be re-energized and invigorated about social and search marketing

9. Yummy refreshments

10. Drop it Like It’s Hot – get information that’s hot off the presses that will change the way you’re doing digital!
    

PubCon/SFIMA Summit  takes May 14, 2013.  For more information and registration visit: http://www.sfimasummit.com/.

5 Social #PR Content Secrets From @JayBaer Wildfire Webinar

Three out of four B2B companies are creating Social PR content and many of them report doing it “because everyone else is doing it”, says Jay Baer, author of the upcoming book Youtility, at a Wildfire by Google-hosted webinar. Baer covered five important points:

1. Keep your business goals in mind when creating Social PR content

2. Think of your customer: Deliver the right content, to the right person, at the right time

3. You, you, you type PR content, Baer calls it Youtility – personalized content is most important to your customers.

4. Cross promote: Make a Social PR campaign for every piece of content.

5. Reward your brand advocates!

Social #PR Secret: Reward the unpaid brand advocates, keep the customers happy[Obvious but Missed by Many Brands] via @aknecht#pubcon

— Lisa Buyer (@lisabuyer) April 24, 2013

Baer pointed out that Social PR practitioners should realize that they are NOT in the eyeballs business. It’s not all about traffic and eyeballs. What?! That’s right, we are in the action business. Unlike big media that exists solely to serve up content that will bring more eyeballs and sell more advertising, social brands should be in the business of generating attention that results in making or saving your brand money.

How is this achieved? Baer mapped out five simple steps:

1. Know why you are making content.

Do not pass go, do not collect $500, do not write a single character of content until you have matched your Social PR with business objectives. Your business objectives lead the way. Baer shared the stat that today three out of four B2B’s are now creating content. Why? For most of them the answer is: “because everyone else is doing it.” Make sure your content is achieving your business objectives, not your content objectives. Put every content idea you have through the funnel below to make sure it passes muster.

2. Map content to the buyer’s journey

Baer, referencing Google’s Zero Moment of Truth, pointed out that customers in 2011 sought out an average of 5.3 sources of information prior to making a purchase decision, by 2012 that number had soared to 10.4! Why the increase? Baer theorizes that we need more information now because we have more information. Smartphones have put the world in our back pockets. You need to make sure you are one of the 10.4. How? by providing:

• The right content

• To the right person

• At the right time

Baer warns “Don’t be that 19-year-old dude.” You are not likely to close the deal on the first date. Look at your content as PROCESS NOT A PROJECT.

 3. Create You-tility!

If you help someone when they need it you will have a customer for life. Remember your content is not appearing on TV next to other marketers messages, it’s appearing in their Facebook feed next to their best friend’s baby photos. It better be meaningful, or better yet, useful. Baer offered a great example in Columbia Sportswear’s What Knot to Do; an iPhone app loaded with 70 beautifully animated how-to’s on knot tying (and Columbia doesn’t even sell rope)! You can bet this content is of great value to Columbia’s outdoor enthusiasts customers. Value = Brand Love!

4. You need to publicize your marketing

“Making the content is not enough,” says Baer. “You need a marketing plan for every piece of content you create.” This is where that social media gasoline comes in. Got a blog? Make sure you announce each new entry on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, and so on. Use social to drive awareness to your great content or sit back and watch it die on the vine! Got a new Pinterest board tweet about it and invite contributors to pin. Why should everybody else share your content if you don’t know how to share it yourself?

5. Seed your success with your brand advocates.

Show some love to your advocates and evangelists (and to your employees)! The best audience for your content is your existing customers. Give your loyalists something in return. Share exclusive content with them first. Remember social is about other people sharing your stuff and customer retention is still money in the bank!

Jay Baer (@jaybaer), President of Convince & Convert.com and author of the upcoming Youtility,  presented the Wildfire by Google-hosted webinar on “how to earn customer love with social and content” and was joined by Maya Grinberg (@papayamaya), Wildfire’s Chief Evangelist and Social Media Manager.

If you are looking to learn more about how to get more publicity using social media and SEO, sign up to learn about my book:  Social PR Secrets.

Have you made your Social PR or SEO life easier with a #workhack? Sarah Evans and Tracky want to know and the result….get published in an e-book, win an iPad mini or some other cool perk.

Maybe you figured out a way to mobilize your team of writers stringing together a few pieces of technology. Or maybe you are using Tracky to organize your non-techie PTA group. 

Sarah Evans and the Tracky team just launched the first virtual hackathon for communications professionals–#CommHacks. If you work in the PR, marketing, journalism or content space, you are eligible to participate and you don’t need formal training as a developer.

You can submit #workhacks for one, or more, of these

“Areas of Need:”

1. News

2. Community relations

3. Government relations

4. Media relations

5. Content marketing

6. Editorial calendars

7. Monitoring

8. SEO

9. Social networks

10. Overall communications (e.g. internal, email)

11. Wild card

What in the World is a Hackathon?

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the evolutionary party called the Hackathon famous by inviting techies to spend an all-nighter developing new products or cracking codes to better user experiences. Hackathons are typically associated with computer developers or those with a deep knowledge of software.

#CommHacks is Similar But Different. #CommHacks encourages virtual collaboration to improve the entire communications industry. If someone created something from scratch, hacked together two or more tools or used an API to create something new, then you’re eligible to submit an entry.   

Tracky official #workhackers

The Communications Hackathon (#CommHacks) plays off of this, but encourages virtual collaboration to improve the communications industry (and, of course, there are prizes for top honors).

Partners and sponsor include Sincerely, Inc. (Postagram), Casetagram and Pitchengine offering a wide range of prizes to five winners. Top prize receives an iPad Mini along with other perks. All of the best #workhacks will be packaged together in a free e-book following the end of the hackathon. 

SocialPR Tip: Winners get featured in a Communications #WorkHacks e-book published by Tracky! That’s good PR

The #workhacks submitted will be judged by:

• Originality: How original is this solution compared to other products and platforms already available? The submission should provide a unique approach to solving the problem.

• Usefulness: Does the application allow individuals to access useful and relevant information?

• Impact: What is the potential for the submission to drive immediate real world impact?

• Functionality: Working functionality of the application.

• Design / User Experience: How intuitive is use of the Solution? Accessibility: How accessible is your #workhack?

If you have any questions about #CommHacks, don’t hesitate to contact me.

• Announcement post: http://sarahsfav.es/2013/05/02/commhack/

• Overview page: https://tracky.com/commhacks

• Submission page: https://tracky.com/commhacks-submit

If you are looking to learn more about how to get more publicity using social media and SEO, sign up to learn about my book:  Social PR Secrets.

There was no shortage of online marketing, public relations and social media thought leaders at PubCon New Orleans this week. The Big Easy was the digital hotbed where the industry’s top talent huddled IRL for search and social sharing. Sessions, panels, keynotes covered topics on the art and science of using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google, Bing and more for online success.

Some of my faves included Florida #BFF Maria Harrison, PPC Player Matt Craine, #SEO Diet Doctor Joe Laratro, NOLA Soul Sister Kirsten Wright, Cheeky Mel Carson, Social Sweet Krista Neher, Web Wonder Woman Rebecca Murtagh, Social Dashboard King Dennis Yu and the PubCon Bionic Blogger Erika Thomas!

Facebook Social PR Secrets Considering less than 5% of fans ever make it back to your Facebook Page after that first “Like”, it’s pretty important to get your brand’s message across and into the newsfeed.  

Follow these buzzworthy tips from Dennis Yu, Alison Zarrella, Will Scott and Krista Neher:

Do

• Crowdsource your content by letting fans contribute.

• Make it exclusive and encourage repeat visits with special fan offers.

• Brand your updates for easier recognition and engagement in the newsfeed.

• Make it memorable by creating patterns and themes for your content.

• Amplify your social media coverage on Facebook by paying to promote posts for more exposure.

Don’t

• Warning from Dennis Yu: When taking advantage of promoted posts in the newsfeed, DON’T do it from the actual post. Set-it up using Facebook Ads Manager or Power Editor Tool and specify targeting and interests for best results.

• When it comes to creating content for your Facebook Page or any social media network: Don’t be B-O-R-I-N-G, warns Bootcamp Digital’s CEO Krista Neher.

PR Distribution Myths Debunked, Truths Told Questions people always ask me about press release distribution: What day of the week is the best day to do a paid press release? Which press release distribution service company is best?

The answer: It depends. And yes…that is a very aggravating and non-committal answer,  I agree! But the answers really depend on your business KPI’s, goals, budget, press release topic and how well it is optimized!

At New Orleans PubCon, Greg Jarboe, Sean Jackson, Jay Berkowitz and moderator Krista Neher reported the truths in social public relations.

“In today’s news world we have 36% less journalists we had 10 years ago,” SEO-PR agency owner Greg Jarboe reminds the PubCon crowd. “In order to  stay in the news, we need to stay in the search engine news and today’s public relations means we are now writing for the public;  not just the journalists.”

When it comes to press release distribution for best reach, the Pubcon PR panel agreed the real players are BusinessWire, PRNewswire, Marketwire and e-Releases. It seems PRWeb has it’s online benefits, but lacks in some of the reach and potential BusinessWire and PRNewsire (e-releases) can offer in getting picked up on news websites such as reuters.com.

Truths

• The reason to do a press release is to get links from the media – the ones you can’t buy, hint, hint!

• Adding multimedia and videos to a press release will increase your exposure, page views, referring traffic, organic traffic and chances for media coverage from other journalists, bloggers and search engines.

• Press releases as a reputation management strategy allow brands to secure more real estate on page one of Google and be proactive in the event of a negative story. (This strategy works best BEFORE negative stories happen)

• Press releases can help your brand rank in Google and Bing also attract more unique visitors

• Optimized press releases distributed online send quality visits (referring traffic) to your website or blog, add a picture or video and get even more!

Myths

• Weekends are not a good day to release a press release. FALSE! Saturdays and Sundays have the least competition for press release distribution and can carry the most opportunity for the public to see the news on Google! Jarboe presented the facts of a case study cased on Get City Dealz. 

• The same strategy works for all brands.

• Press releases are dead.

If you are looking to learn more about how to get more publicity using social media and SEO, sign up to learn about my book:  Social PR Secrets.

If you haven’t heard the latest Facebook Marketing Fashion Report, here’s the word on the street according to Dennis Yu, Alison Zarrella and Will Scott:

What’s OUT

• Buying Fans

• Custom Apps Auto Posted Content

• Right Hand Side Ads

• Poking

What’s IN

• Sharing

• Promoted Stories

• Custom Audience Targeting

The New Orleans Pubcon Facebook Marketing panel lineup includes a scoop of analytics, a dash of organic and a splash of local, blended well, shaken and never stirred. In preparation for the session I’ll be moderating on April 24th @Pubcon NOLA; Dennis, Alison and Will share some insider tips with the promise of more to come at the live session!

Dennis Yu Does Analytics:

Should brands go for the Facebook Like or Share? Dennis Yu is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at BlitzMetrics, a software company that builds social media dashboards for major brands, media, and retail companies, specializing in the intersection of local and Facebook advertising.

“Facebook’s News Feed algorithm gives up to 1,300 percent more weight to shares than likes when it comes to what’s shown near the top of a user’s feed, affecting a promotion’s viral performance,” Dennis said in a recent AdWeek story.

“Shares are the best for word of mouth,” he said. “It says people endorse your content to the point of putting their reputation on the line. Your ad or post is interesting enough where people are willing to share it.”

Favorite apps marketers should know about?

Boomerang for Gmail (for follow up reminders),  Marketo and Infusionsoft (for enterprise and smallbiz followup), and FancyHands (personal assistant for anything).

What Facebook Marketing news source should marketers subscribe?

InsideFacebook.com and AllFacebook.com

How many hours a day are you on Facebook?

Any time I’m not sleeping or taking care of bodily functions. But if I could shower with Facebook on, I would!

Biggest mistake/misconception brands make on Facebook

That Facebook ROI is not possible– it’s highly the key measurable and key to amplifying real world word of mouth.

Fave Brand on Facebook:

Marketo– they have made B2B sexy and profitable.

Alison Zarrella is Organic

Whether it’s tricks to avoid defriending, zeroing in on brands to follow for Black Friday or applying the best cover and profile strategy,  Alison Zarrella wrote the book on Facebook marketing – literally!  As co-author of The Facebook Marketing Book from O’Reilly, Alison is a self described Facebook fanatic who also happens to be married to a social media mad scientist and PubCon fave Dan Zarrella. I’m thinking they must talk about character count versus link placement at the dinner table in between Twitter tequila shots.

During the PubCon session, Alison digs deeper into these tips:

• Scoring: The new Facebook changes, combined with EdgeRank, make photos a key player in any Facebook marketing strategy
• Engaging Values: The increasingly important value of sharing; perhaps even replacing “likes” as social currency
• One Like Stands: The Newsfeed is front and center, and the place where more than 90% of fans view content, as most don’t return to your page after the first “like”
• Paying for Love: Both paid and organic targeting features allow pages to create unique messages that speak to sub-sections of their fans.

Favorite apps marketers should know about?

I love the Facebook Page Manager mobile app, it’s great on the go. For your page itself there are some great tab template tools that make contests and tabs a breeze if you aren’t a full-fledged developer.

What Facebook Marketing news source should marketers subscribe?

AllFacebook and Inside Facebook are my 2 faves

How many hours a day are you on Facebook?

However many I’m not sleeping =)

Biggest mistake/misconception brands make on Facebook

I think sometimes brands try a little too hard to be timely or trendy. If it doesn’t work for your brand, don’t try and make it fit. Not every brand has a tie to the Superbowl, for example. And that’s OK. Also, pushing too hard for a like or share–it should feel natural, not “Comment if you think A, like if you think B. share if you think C!”

Fave Brand on Facebook: Oreo

Will Scott on Local

Rumor has it that New Orleans residents should have five good costumes ready to go at any given time, we’ll have to ask Will Scott if it’s true since he is a #NOLA local who also happens to focus on Local Search and Social Marketing. Will plans to drop some serious local knowledge on the PubCon crowd when it comes to Facebook Marketing, but in the meantime some of Will’s marketing likes include:

Favorite apps marketers should know about?

Hootsuite App and CardMunch.

What Facebook Marketing news source should marketers subscribe?

CheckFacebook, All Facebook, aimclear Blog

How many hours a day are you on Facebook?

However many I’m not sleeping =)

Biggest mistake/misconception brands make on Facebook

That it can’t be used for direct lead-gen.

Fave Local Brand on Facebook:  Audubon Zoo, New Orleans

As CEO and founder of  Search Influence, Will leads a team of 20+ dedicated professionals who put customer enthusiasm first. The Search Influence philosophy:  the Internet, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media need to become accessible to small businesses for their success.

If you can’t make it to PubCon, follow the live tweeting via #pubcon from @lisabuyer @dennisyu  @alison or @w2scott

It’s a 5 Step Program. Brands flip out, sober up and discover Social PR ROI.

Control Freaks and Social PR Alert:  You have officially lost control of your brand message.

But have you also lost control of how customers perceive your brand? The good news is “no” but not without a high level strategy to guide your social efforts.

A new report by The Wildfire by Google Team — The Road to ROI – Building a Strategy for Social Marketing Success outlines five initiatives smart organizations small and large can use to build a strategy that will can rein in some of the madness that is the social web and make you a social star!

1. Integrating Social Marketing and Social PR into the Overall Marketing Mix

2. Organizing for Social

3. Aligning Social Objectives with Business Objectives

4. Engaging Customers

5. Building a Multi-Network Presence

Split Personality Social PR Stats says:

• 70% report that their social media efforts are meeting business goals

• Yet only 43% report  that they have developed a strategy dictating how their efforts will meet these goals

Hmmm, are you sensing a disconnect? Seems like for that 27% operating without a strategy, achievement might be difficult to measure, no? Don’t be one of the 27%! Building a smart strategy is not easy but the rewards are enormous! Here are the directions:

Start by integrating social into your entire marketing mix. That’s right, no more silos. Traditional advertising, Public Relations, HR, sales, customer service, IT all need to learn to play together. It takes a village to raise the social child. Wildfire warns that brands should avoid completely outsourcing social but should definitely call on expert social consultants to outline a high level, comprehensive social strategy in collaboration with the leaders in various internal departments.

Next, prepare internally. This means creating a social media policy  for employees that not only outlines rules but encourages participation. A structural organization to coordinate and manage all social activity must also be determined in this step. Google recommends a “hub and spoke” model for organization in which the “hub” comprised of a team of social and content experts supports the “spokes” who are department leads within every segment of the brand including c-level management, product development, sales, IT, customer service and PR. The hub lives in the marketing department is responsible for maintaining cross channel consistency in messaging and voice. 63% of advanced companies use this model.

Next, align social and business objectives. Your social strategy must be tied to measurable goals. That’s where that 27% mentioned above is missing the boat. What are your social goals?  Brand awareness, lead generation, CRM, driving sales, amplifying the reach of other marketing efforts, e.g. TV, print, PR, all or of a combination of these things?

Whatever they are list them and be specific. Football is a great analogy for goals and objectives, think of your objectives as the yards and downs along the way and goals as your touchdowns. Make sure to set KPI’s so you can keep score!

Then, focus on engagement. This is the holy grail of social. Research shows that customers who engage with a brand over social spend 40% more than customers who do not. This is where your expert creative content team comes in. Stop the sales speak and start creating sharable, likeable, pin-able, compelling content and offers that are valuable, useful and entertaining versus trying to use social as “free” advertising. Do your homework and find out which days and hours are best for engagement for your industry and for the platform you are using. Then, serve up all that great stuff you’ve created when your customers are ready to gobble it up and pass it along!

Finally, build a multi-network presence. Your customers are on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Vine, Instagram, forums, your Social PR blog and on and on and on! Are you there for them? If not, get there but do it right! Be mindful that most of your customers will be on an array of networks and will expect your messaging to be distinct and appropriate for the given platform. Cross-promotion is fine but don’t serve up the same content across all of your networks. Repurposed content can frustrate, even insult your customer and shows your brand’s lack of knowledge about what is right for where; it’s worse than not being on a platform at all.

Plug in an plot out roadmap created by the Google Social road warriors you are well on your way to a smart strategy, happy coordinated teams and real ROI. Enjoy the ROI drive and don’t forget the analytics!

Want to learn more Social PR Secrets? Lisa Buyer is dishing out the goods in her upcoming book titled Social PR Secrets and be the first to know.

Heard it through the Social Vine? Did you know now you can embed Vine videos into practically anything, including blog posts!

Social Media Expert Krista Neher shares the inside track on how businesses get visual mojo.

Yet another way of visual storytelling.  Things are getting Va-va-voom Visual.

But where is the business roadmap to visual?

CEO of Boot Camp Digital Krista Neher kicks off a new training program based on her latest book Visual Social Media Marketing. She is the author of the bestseller Social Media Field Guide and the co-author of Social Media: A Strategic Approach, which is one of the first textbooks on social media marketing.

Meet up with Krista Neher online and learn how to get visual!

What: Visual Social Media Marketing

When: April 9th, 2013

Online Training Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm (EST)

Investment: $27 for either class

*if you want the online training but can’t make the time, it will still be available on-demand as a recording afterwards

Register and get more information at http://bootcampdigtal.com/vsmm

Here is what you’ll learn:

• What is visual social media marketing? #VSMM

• What kind of content you should be posting online.

• How to come up with the right images and content for your brand to share.

• Case studies of companies that have had success using visual social media marketing.

• How to take advantage of visually-focused sites like Pinterest and Instagram

• How to focus your strategy on visual content on networks like Facebook and Twitter

• What kind of visual content you should include on your website and why

Make sure to register today, the online training price of $27 is for a limited time only!

Visual Social Media Online Training with Krista Neher

Social PR Stats: Images are now the most clicked content on Twitter, and visual content on Facebook gets 50% more interaction vs other content. The web is now highly visual, and if you don’t adapt you’re going to miss out on thousands of opportunities for your business.

Businesses today aren’t being heard on social media because they’re not adapting to the newest trend in social media – Visual Social Media Marketing (#VSMM).

Social #PR Tip “The key for businesses is to create a visual social media marketing action plan, and  I’ll show how to do that. We’ll cover how to create website content and social content as well as the hottest new social networks: Instagram, Pinterest, and infographics,” Neher notes.

Read more about Krista’s social media savvy credentials,  follow her on Twitter or better yet…order her latest book Visual Social Media Marketing. 

Go Va-va-va Voom with Visual.

Digital is the New Normal.

It looks like Social PR is part of a new ‘normal’ sweeping screens in an era where digital is the new ‘traditional’. By 2016, Forrester predicts advertisers will spend more than $77 billion on digital marketing, more than they spend on television today and that interactive marketing such as search, display, mobile, email, and social media will comprise a full 26% of their total spend. How will we get there? And what brand experiences will rise to the top? Only the most savvy CMO’S will be prepared to navigate the shift and embrace the digital innovation that is now a fact of marketing life.

In her recent Forrester Report Trends for The B2C CMO To Watch In 2013, Corrine Munchbach identifies 3 challenges CMO’s must be prepared for this year:

1. Embracing digital disruption

2. Placing greater emphasis on brand and consumer experience as a competitive asset, and

3. Using social principles to develop and deliver content marketing.

Embrace the Post Digital Era and Resulting Disruption

We are in a new era. The Digital Era has given way to the Post-Digital Era. Smart CMO’s must adapt by using rich digital tools at their disposal to create a branded experience that is:

• Remarkable

• Unmistakable

• Essential

• Trustworthy

To do so, exceptional CMO’s first must recognize that “all marketing and all experiences are now inherently digital.” That’s right, the lines have blurred and will continue to. The disruption is a fact of life. Media companies are now threatened by players like Hulu and YouTube and alternative payment methods like Square and Simple are giving financial services and banking platforms a run for their money.

Social PR Tip: CMO’s need to take stock of this digital disruption and embrace it by working across departments to assess their digital readiness and identify every area their brand experience can be improved including messaging, actions and product.

CMO’s will also need to move budgets out of silos and into cross platform teams comprised of marketing, R&D, IT and operations who can, in concert, assess values and improve the brand experience.

Your Brand Experience is Your Biggest Asset

Forrester’s latest book, Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business points out the importance of brand experience. One of the authors explains that “marketers are now creating relevant experiences to organically align brands with consumers.” He calls it “Branding in the Cracks: the art of telling a brand story not as a linear narrative but as an environmental thread that weaves through the customer experience.” How is this accomplished? Forrester suggests every brand must have a “North Star” guiding everything the brand does and ensuring the brand experience is lush, consistent and valuable.

Social PR Tip: “Branding in the Cracks: the art of telling a brand story not as a linear narrative but as an environmental thread that weaves through the customer experience.”

In 2013 we will see marketers increasingly blurring the line between physical and digital to achieve these lofty goals. A great example is Burberry’s new flagship store in London whose design is based on it consumer website: customer focussed, technically rich, fully branded, accessible and modern.  Customer experience reigns!

Use Social Principles to Develop and Deliver Content Marketing

Social PR Stat: 86% of B2C marketers reported they are now using some kind of content marketing, be it blogs, social PR, videos, or live events.

These tools make for a rich customer experience and help to differentiate brands. Witness Red Bull which garnered 50 million views in four days of its sponsored, heavily branded Stratos jump. A Social PR homerun if there ever was one!

In the on-demand entertainment space that promises to increasing pull your audience away from traditional media, social media as a means of brand experience and distribution becomes increasingly important.

Social PR Tip: Your content had better be good enough for people to seek it out or it will be lost in the ether.

That means creating content that consistently surprises, engages, informs and delights, all the while enhancing your precious brand experience. Also, must making sure you are on all the platforms your customer is so people can find that brand experience.

Yes, the challenges are formidable but brave CMO’s who embrace the changes in the Post-Digital Era and create compelling digitally fueled brand experiences will see rich rewards in the form of enhanced customer relations, brand affinity, engagement, loyalty and trust.

Digital is the new normal.

If you liked this article, get on the list for Lisa Buyer’s upcoming book Social PR Secrets.