Analyzing Social Media Exam 2
Nine step process for writing white papers
1. Assess needs 2. Plan 3. Acquire information 4. Organize content 5. Design the look and feel 6. Write 7. Illustrate 8. Review, revise, and approve 9. Publish
Podcast Defined
A podcast is a digital audio or video file that is Episodic Downloadable Program driven mainly with a host and/or theme Convenient, usually via an automated feed with computer software Podcasts can be consumed 3 ways 1. Played directly off the website on a computer 2. Downloaded to a computer and listened to offline 3. Downloaded to portable MP3 players for listening offline
Hosting webinars
A webinar is a seminar conducted live over the web and is designed to be interactive Webinar technology has evolved over the past few years, making the medium an effective, low-cost marketing solution When selecting a host for the webinar, consider The number of attendees The visual content The frequency with which the webinar is held
What is a blog?
A website that has regular updates where the most recent updates are displayed first Blogs often allow readers to leave comments and respond to the blog posts A blogger is then a person who administrates, writes, and updates a blog
Key Terms
An article directory is a website where users submit original articles for approval and syndication An article submission generally runs 400-500 words in length with a 2-3% keyword density (percentage of times a word appears in article
A brief history of video sharing
April 2005 - first video was uploaded to YouTube October 2006 - YouTube purchased by Google 2010 - 13 million hours of video were uploaded onto YouTube Currently - 35 hours of video are uploaded every minute The site gets over 100 million views per day YouTube possesses a dominating 78.5% share of the market
Creating a content strategy
Ask yourself "What subjects related to my brand is my audience passionate about?" The best strategy to building an audience is to be as niche and specific as possible The future of publishing and content creation lies in serving niche markets effectively on a large scale In order to build a blog's viewership and influence, the blogger must focus on specialized content that's not easily replicated
How to create appealing video content
Authentic - real people in actual locations Entertaining - people enjoy fun content Intimate - stories or personal drama experienced by peers Offbeat - videos that challenge a taboo or that seem otherwise strange and unlikely can be highly popular Unusual - an unusual image or clip may be edited by other content creators, an action that amounts to free advertising for the company Get to the point quickly, or otherwise convince the viewer to keep watching Try to keep continuity of theme between videos Don't focus solely on creating a viral video
How to monetize online video sharing
Best practices for aspiring video producers to make money from online contributions: Focus on content first - if content is lacking, chance of success is close to zero Promote the channel - use every tool available to get more eyes on the video Update frequently - a steady stream of content demonstrates commitment Keep up with analytics - good content depends on reaching correct audience
Marketing benefits of blogging
Communicating with potential customers - the audience rewards thoughtful posts and fully developed ideas WOM marketing - make messages portable and easy for others to link to or share, creating new topics, and providing a center for conversation Receiving feedback - due to its comments feature, a blog makes it easy for viewers to respond to the topic at hand
Creating and sharing podcasts
Creating a podcast can be as simple as leaving a voice mail Podcasts are one of 3 lengths - 10, 30, or 60 minutes 3 primary formats Presentation - a live monologue or simple talk on a subject Q&A - question and answer session Cohosted - an on demand talk radio show
Encourage user generated content
Encouraging others to share content related to the brand is a powerful social media marketing strategy User generated content is highly useful in a social media campaign Contributions from nonaffiliated individuals are often taken more seriously Providing links and recognition to user contributions may be enough to spur more content submissions
Benefits of the marketing with online videos
Engaging viewers - video stimuli are more appealing than dry text or listening to a podcast, thus, video deepens the communication experience Large audiences - more people choose to consume their information visually Showcasing the product - as either an old-fashioned infomercial for promotion or as instructional videos benefiting those who have already bought the product
Creating white papers and e-books
Good white paper is written for a business audience defining a problem and offering a solution, but it doesn't pitch a particular product or company A white paper is expected to have at least 6 pages of text, provide useful information about a business or technical issue, and allow a reader to review before making a purchase
Producing podcasts
In deciding the content focus for a podcast, there are 3 different possibilities - instructional, informative, or entertainment To sound professional in your podcast Choose an articulate moderator Create talking points, not scripts Be brief, but determine the content first and the length second Avoid overediting Include music
A brief history of podcasting
Mid 90s to early 2000s - technology to improve the encoding, delivery, and reception of audio and video files via the internet 1999 - RSS developed 2000 - RSS extended to handle audio files 2004 - Term podcasting - combo of ipod and broadcasting
Monitoring the Blogosphere
One of the primary benefits from blogging is to learn about the tone of the online community with regard to certain subjects One crude metric for public sentiment is a look at how many views that posts on different topics generate BuzzMonitor is one example of free software with powerful monitoring applications Developing knowledge about public sentiment and response on other blogs makes social media marketing efforts through blogging much more fruitful
Distinguishing features of a blog
Publishable Findable Social Viral Syndicatable Linkable
Tips for aspiring authors
Read and re-read the editorial guidelines Decide on important niches and write title ideas or potential topics for each Look up top authors in their area of interest Spend time analyzing the titles in use Check out tips for writing article titles
Preparing for and executing the webinar
Risks associated with a webinar include There is no way to gauge the audience's reaction Webinars are live with no chance to rerecord if speaker stumped or misspeaks Without proper planning for multiple speakers transitions or even the start of a webinar may be awkward Background noises can be a distraction to the audience It is difficult to anticipate the number of questions that will be asked
Marketing with podcasting
Tailor podcast content to the business marketing objectives Podcasts can bring in independent revenue through paid sponsorships and fee-based content Speak persuasively to demonstrate confidence and expertise Distinguish your company as a thought leader in the industry
Linking a blog to marketing objectives
The difficulty of blogging successfully is why over 50% of blogs are abandoned within the first 90 days When deciding on whether to start a blog and what the goals of blogging should be, it is important to consider the overall marketing goals and objectives A half-hearted blogging attempt may be worse than nothing at all, so it is crucial to set a long term strategy before creating a blog for social media marketing
Everyone is a publisher
The online space has changed from a read web to a read-write web where it's possible to create in addition to consuming content With publishing tools so accessible, anyone can be publisher There are millions of blogs, websites, and podcasts published In addition to creating interesting and relevant content to publish, part of the strategy must include how to build an audience and where to syndicate content online
Sharing online videos
To be widely disseminated, an online video must pass through 3 stages Primary sharing - when the video creator posts it online Secondary sharing - when fans, friends, customers, or early viewers begin spreading the video within their own social circles Tertiary sharing - when content is spread on the internet by others
Marketing with articles, e-books, and white papers
Ultimate marketing goals: Draw attention Develop a company's reputation for thought leadership Use that expertise to generate sales Don't include the product name in the description or title Don't miss the larger opportunity to advance a brand's image and reputation with the mistake of treating publications as purely a marketing platform e-books and white papers have high perceived value to the recipients
Tips for successful blogging
Use catchy titles Update frequently Keep posts focused Invite comments Promote the blog Engage with others Avoid negativity Stand by the content Cross promote
Marketing with webinars and/or podcasts
Webinars an ideal format for training sessions or information sharing Webinar registration used to gather information about potential clients Webinars are interactive and effective collaboration tools Podcasts are less interactive and less effective teaching tools Marketing strategies that leverage that deeper connection can be highly successful in using webinars and/or podcasts
Publishing and distributing articles
What really distinguishes an article from a blog is the length of the piece and the depth of content Readers will typically expect more research, fact checking, and polish than they do from blogs Most marketers favor article directories without the no follow requirement Creating appealing title can make or break article's distribution success The article itself should deliver on the promise made by the title
