book

The New Community Rules

by Tamar Weinberg

July 2009

Beginner

366 pages

11h 57m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Organization of the MaterialQuestions and CommentsSafari® Books OnlineAcknowledgments
Where We Are NowWhat Is Social Media Marketing?Bringing Traffic to Your WebsiteDriving Relevant Links to Your WebsiteMaking Consumers Brand-AwareDriving ConversionsTriggering ConversationsWhat Makes “Social Media” Marketing Different?Social Media Marketing Is a Cheap Alternative to Traditional Marketing—with High ReturnsWhere is my return on investment?Measuring successA Brief Introduction to Social Media PortalsSocial News SitesSocial Bookmarking SitesSocial NetworksEverything ElseThe Web As a Means of Giving Consumers a VoiceIt’s Time to Join the ConversationContent Is Not King (Not by Itself, at Least)Are You Ready for Social Media Marketing?You Must Be Willing to Give Up Control of the MessageYou Must Be Willing to Dedicate Time and Energy to Achieve These GoalsSo What’s Next?Summary
The Hurdle: Overcoming Fear About an Uncontrolled MessageTransparency Is CriticalListening Is RequiredAsking the Right Questions: Setting Goals for Your CampaignIncreased TrafficWhat does increased traffic do for you?There’s just one catch…Increased Brand AwarenessImproved Search Engine RankingsReputation ManagementIncreased Sales in Your Product or ServiceEstablished Thought LeadershipSocial Media Marketing ScenariosScenario: An online publication seeks additional page views and trafficScenario: You have a product and want to get the word outScenario: A search for your company name yields negative pages listed in the first four search resultsScenario: You’re an expert on a particular subject and want to share your advice with the worldMaking Your Goals SMARTSpecificMeasurableAttainableRealisticTimelyResearching Your Social Media CommunityWho Is Likely to Buy My Product or Participate in My Service Offering?What Websites Are They Visiting Online?What Are People Saying About My Business and My Competitors?What Tools and Services Does My Target Audience Use on a Regular Basis?What Kind of Content Does My Audience Prefer to Read?Formulating Your StrategyAre You Ready to Handle Possible Negative Backlash?How Will My Employees Integrate Social Media Strategy into Their Day Jobs?Are You Willing to Take Risks and Experiment?When Should I Pursue Social Media Marketing?Summary
When Is It Appropriate Not to Respond at All?How Do You Monitor the Conversation?Free ToolsPaid ToolsOther ChannelsYou’re Listening—What Now?Make Sure You’re Being Real!Planning Your Social Media StrategyDetermine Your Desired End ResultDetermine Your Resource NeedsBrainstorm with Your TeamMind mappingNavigate the red tapeNetworking Within a Social MediumUnderstanding and Listening to Your AudienceThe Newcomer’s ParableHelp Your FriendsThe Importance of GivingCommunity ManagersPower AccountsTen Commandments of Power Account Submitters#1: Thou shalt distinguish thyself with an avatar#2: Thou shalt be genuine#3: Thou shalt network#4: Thou shalt submit high-quality stories to the social sites#5: Thou shalt be fast#6: Thou shalt study the sources that have achieved greatness on social sites to understand what the community likes#7: Thou shalt dedicate time to the task#8: Thou shalt help thine friends#9: Thou shalt use consistent account names over all social networks#10: Thou shalt use other social networks for inspirationShould I Become a Power User?Summary
The Cluetrain Manifesto: Markets Are ConversationsThe “Participation Is Marketing” PhenomenonParticipation Is Marketing for Public Relations ProfessionalsGraco Baby Case Study: “Participation Is Marketing” Translates to Brand Awareness and ExposureTyson Foods Case Study: We Have a Blog and We’ll Use It for GoodThe Home Depot Case Study: Tapping into the Mindshare of Valued CustomersCaminito Argentinean Steakhouse Case Study: The Steakhouse That Engages Online EverywhereReputation ManagementNetwork Solutions Case Study: Reputation Management by ListeningReputation Management Monitoring: 12 Reputations You Should Monitor OnlineConsidering a Reputation Management StrategySummary
A Short History of BloggingThe History of Blogs, 1998–2009: Who Is Writing and Who Is Reading?Blogs As Online InfluencersHow Blogs Are ConsumedDirect HitsRSSBlogs via EmailA Beginner’s Guide to Blog PlatformsFeatures and FunctionalityBlogging PlatformsWhat Software Should You Use?Writing for Blog AudiencesCrafting the Blog’s VoiceTechniques and TacticsUse visual elements to capture attentionKeep it clean and to the pointLink to appropriate sourcesWrite powerful headlinesProvide reader-friendly listsWrite informative how-to articlesUse storytelling to your advantageUse interviews to encourage engagement credibilityWrite reviews of relevant products or servicesUse regular features to build a followingListen to your readersDon’t abandon your readersContent Strategies for Bloggers: How to Find Inspirational ContentGoogle AlertsOther blogsBlog searchSocial bookmarkingNews storiesGoogle Trends and InsightsBlog Enhancements That WorkWidgetsVisualsVideosCommentsInvolve Your AudienceAsk your readersUtilize contact formsKeep the comments openHold regular contestsRun polls and surveysHow Blogs Are DiscoveredBlog DirectoriesBlog CarnivalsMemesSocial MediaWriting ProjectsWhat to Do If Your Corporate Policy Disallows BloggingGet Other Bloggers to Talk About YouDevelop a Corporate Social Media StrategyCorporate Social Media Strategy for BloggingSummary
A History of TwitterTwitter for Business Is BornUsing TwitterHow to Achieve Business Goals Through TwitterUsing Twitter to Generate Sales: The Big GunsUsing Twitter to Generate Sales: The Smaller CompaniesUsing Twitter for Customer ServiceThe Comcast storyThe JetBlue storyUsing Twitter for Brand AwarenessThe Zappos storyUsing Twitter for Client AcquisitionThe Verizon storyUsing Twitter As an Official Communications ChannelOther Business Uses of TwitterBuild a Personal Brand and Establish Thought LeadershipGet Feedback InstantlyNetwork with Like-Minded IndividualsJob-Hunt, Organize Events, and More!Tools of the Twitter TradeTwitter ClientsURL ShortenersTwitter TrendsTwitter Personal StatisticsSearching for People to FollowMaintaining (or Scrapping) FriendshipsTwitter SearchMobile ApplicationsSummary

Introduction to Social Networking SitesFacebook: The Digital YouProfile Customization and Blog PostsThe Facebook “Product” Page: Aligning with Your Favorite BrandsPersonalizing your Facebook PageSharing your Facebook Page with your companySharing your Facebook Page with the communityPaid Advertising on FacebookFacebook Groups, User Profiles, or Fan Pages?Facebook Applications for MarketingMySpace: Personalized ConnectionsCreating Your MySpace ProfileAdding a Blog to Your ProfileNetworking and Broadcasting Your Profile to the WorldDon’t Be Forgotten!Is MySpace Marketing Worth It?Getting Professional with LinkedInLinkedIn Answers: Showing Off Your ExpertiseRecommend ExpertsLinkedIn User Groups: Connecting Users Based on Interests and AssociationsConsiderations when creating a LinkedIn groupCommunication within LinkedIn groupsLinkedIn Company GroupsLinkedIn ApplicationsLinkedIn DirectAdsThe Big Social Networks AbroadSummary
Human-Edited Social SearchWikipedia: The Living EncyclopediaStructure of a Wikipedia entryArticle textDiscussionHistoryOther Wikipedia featuresWikipedia social media optimizationUse caution when editing WikipediaWikipedia is not an appropriate place to build linksAvoid spamming on Wikipedia: You will get caughtThe contents of Wikipedia belong to the publicBuild relationshipsMahalo: The Best of the WebThe structure of MahaloContributing to MahaloMahalo Greenhouse: Curating a search pageMahalo Social: The community of contributorsMahalo Answers: Ask and ye shall findChoosing the Best Answers: Using Yahoo! Answers for Social Media MarketingPromote Your Business on Yahoo! AnswersGive Back to the CommunityFind Questions to AnswerAssociate Yourself with Your BusinessYou’re Encouraged to Self-Promote!Keep Abreast of the Latest Questions, and Answer AwayOther Q&A Websites to Be Considered in a Social Media Marketing StrategyKnowledge Is PowerCreate Your Own WikiSummary
A Timeline: The Past, Present, and FutureThe Past: Bookmarking Without the Help of Social SitesThe Present: Socially SharedThe Future: A Likely Integration into Search ResultsUsing Social Bookmarking SitesStumbleUpon: A Content Discovery Engine with Bookmarking FeaturesSigning up with StumbleUponUsing StumbleUpon: Toolbar basicsSharing your content with all your friends in one fell swoopStumbling and reviewing contentUnderstanding a StumbleUpon user pageInteracting with tagsdelicious.com: One Social Bookmarking Site to Rule Them AllHow delicious.com aids in understanding your brandHow delicious.com aids in content discoverySocial media marketing and delicious.com: What you need to knowDiigo: A Promising Contender for the ResearcherOther Social Bookmarking SitesMento: A Small but Promising ToolTwine: Interest-Based Information DiscoveryMister Wong: Multilingual Social BookmarkingSummary
The Wisdom of CrowdsSocial News Is “Social”What Is Social News?What Are Social News Websites?Factors That Influence Social News Front Page PromotionThe userThe diversity of votersThe number of votesSpeed of votesThe story’s categoryThe number of negative votesThe number of comments receivedThe time the story was submittedWinning on Social News SitesBuild your power accountBuild the right contentCan social news promotion really further my social media marketing goals?The Big Players in Social NewsGeneral Social News SitesDiggredditMixxShoutwirePropellerFarkYahoo! BuzzsocialmedianTopical Social News SiteskirtsyTip’dSphinnSlashdotHacker NewsSmall Business BriefWeHeartGossipDesignFloatCare2The Pros and Cons of Social Bookmarking and Social NewsSummary
Using Your Pictures to Market YourselfFlickr: Your One-Stop Shop for Image SharingSigning up for a Flickr accountFlickr’s community featuresCreative Commons: Licensing your images for sharingThe popularity of your pictures: Flickr’s statistics“Marketing” on FlickrOther Photo-Sharing ContendersPhotoblogs and Galleries: Dedicated Portals for ImagesPixelpostGalleryCoppermineBeyond Stationary: The Video Marketing GuideMarketing on YouTubeCreating your videoTips to promote your video on YouTubeFind out how your video is performingOther Video-Sharing SitesThe Art of VideobloggingEvangelizing Content Producers Through Photos and VideoThe Emergence of Podcasting and the Podcast TodayHow Do I Start My Own Podcast?How Do I Promote My Podcast?Summary
Identification: Telling People Who You AreThe Social Media WorkflowRevisiting Return on InvestmentReachFrequency and TrafficInfluenceConversions and TransactionsSustainabilityAm I Done Yet?Committing Yourself for the Long TermNever Stop ListeningRemember the CommunityStrategizing in Social Media CommunitiesYour Blog Is Your Hub of CommunicationBuild Your Brand on Other Social PropertiesKeep Your Options Diverse: Don’t Fixate on One CommunityAdopt a Social Media MindsetBuild Those Strong RelationshipsThinking Outside Social Media Communities: Face-to-Face InteractionsFostering Creativity OnlineViral Strategy #1: ListsViral Strategy #2: The Quiz or QuestionnaireViral Strategy #3: Participatory and Interactive Video or GamesViral Strategy #4: Tell a Story with ImagesViral Strategy #5: Build a ToolViral Strategy #6: Teach Your Users How to Do SomethingEncourage “Old-School” Tactics, TooThe Bottom LineSummary
FacebookTwitterLinkedInSocial News—Digg, Sphinn, Mixx, Reddit, Tip’d (and a Whole Load of Related Sites)FriendFeedYouTubeStumbleUponBlogging and CommentingOther Social SitesFinally, a Word on Social Media Etiquette in GeneralConclusion
Recommended BooksBlogroll

Content preview from The New Community Rules

Chapter 6. Microblogging Magic: How Twitter Can Transform Your Business

Twitter is a free microblogging service that allows users to communicate with one another using short text-based messages that can be a maximum of 140 characters in length. Twitter provides robust tools for sending and receiving updates on a variety of devices and through a plethora of tools. Launched in 2006, today Twitter has over 14 million accounts—with much of the growth attributed to celebrity adoption in the first quarter of 2009—and serves both professional and personal needs. Companies are using Twitter to tap into business prospects, influencers, and customers. As such, although it relates to topics discussed elsewhere in this book, Twitter deserves a chapter in itself.

A History of Twitter

The original goal of Twitter was to have users answer, “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less. When the service launched in 2006, that is exactly what people were sharing. Users of the service provided updates about the food that they ate for dinner, the places they went, and the people they met. Initially perceived by most individuals as a tool that served no purpose and was a waste of time, Twitter’s original influencers realized that there was more to the service than just users talking about nonsensical happenings in their everyday lives. Twitter’s capability of connecting individuals seamlessly through so many devices created a sense of intimacy and closeness and forged incredible bonds. Individuals ...