Building Social Bookmarking Networks 101

Social Bookmarking sites aren’t a huge mystery.  If you think there’s some “special formula” to the Digg and Reddit algorithms, for the most part: you’d be wrong.  Sure, there’s an algorithm at work there, but before you make that attempt at the front page, you need to work on the 2 major pieces necessary for success: great content, and a network of users to help promote it. The need for great content is self explanatory, and if you still need help with yours, there’s plenty of articles on the topic.  But why is having a network so important?  If you’re one of those people that thinks Digg power users hit the front page so often because their submissions “count” for more than others’, again: you’d be wrong.  That success is based on a loyal following of literally thousands of users that follow their submissions and vote them up with and without being asked to. Building a network goes far beyond finding and adding users to your friends list.  You need to participate in a variety of ways that both gets your account noticed and shows you’re willing to reciprocate by voting for, spreading, and commenting on others user’s submissions.  And believe me, it’s a lot of hard work that you need to keep up on. Below is a basic guideline of some dos and don’ts roughly based on the regular habits of power users: Do: Friend, IMvite, and Follow power Users Don’t: Be a pest. If there ever was a starting point to creating a network for social bookmarking sites, making friends with the power users would be it. They have hundreds (if not thousands) of followers & friends, and a vote from them can often turn into a number of additional votes from their faithful. Also, once you’re seen in their company, people will ideally start coming to you. What you have to remember, however, is these people are super busy. They don’t have time to digg, vote, and retweet 100 links for you every day. They also don’t want to answer newb questions like: “How many diggs does it take to hit the front page?” Friend them, add them to your IM list, and follow them on twitter, but don’t ask too much of them. In fact, don’t ask a thing unless you’ve started giving first. Vote up their submissions, retweet for them on twitter, and if they IM you for a vote, make sure they know you got it for them.  After a while, they’ll take notice, and before you know it, they’ll start voting up your subs without asking. If not, a simple IM request isn’t totally out of the question, but remember: once a day is plenty. Do: Participate in the SOCIAL side of social bookmarking Don’t: Be a Troll Most social bookmarking sites allow comments…use them! Commenting and participating in the social conversation isn’t just about being funny or witty. It’s about being noticed and showing that you actually took the time to view a submission. Being the first to comment (hint: especially a power user’s submission) is a great way of being noticed. Making a great comment can even get you attention far beyond the person who submitted the post, too. Sometimes great early comments get up-voted as much as the story itself…you just need to know how to appeal to the community.  Spend some time reading comments to find out what gets up-voted, and what gets buried. While commenting is great way to network, here are some things to avoid: Don’t be too controversial (especially if you disagree with the article/submission) unless you’re sure the community agrees with your take..even then, your comment may end up buried. Don’t reply to comments to disagree…a flame war is not networking. Being funny is great, but remember not everyone has your sense of humor. Finally, don’t be offensive. In other words: don’t be a troll. Do: Embrace Multiple Social Networks & Technologies Don’t: Spread yourself too thin Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messaging, Skype, and the thousands of additional social media networks out there can be your best friend. Finding power users and your closest, most loyal contacts on these networks is a great way to keep multiple lines of communication open. As you network and add new friends you’ll find while most people have accounts on a number of networks, many stick to their few favorites. Twitter is a no-brainer if you want to expand your social network, while Instant Messaging ranges from AOL, Yahoo!,G-chat, and more. Using a program like Digsby can help you consolidate multiple instant messaging accounts into one simple application.  Just make sure you keep a separate account for your personal or business life.  If you succeed in building a strong network, you’ll likely get hammered with IMs every time you sign on. Another way to expand your reach is to join multiple social bookmarking sites. Digg and Reddit are great (and obviously the largest), but many (if not most) power users and users with larger networks are members of a number of the smaller sites as well. Being noticed on other networks (like Mixx, Propeller, and Stumble Upon) will really help you stand out, especially to users with large & powerful networks. Just be careful not to stretch yourself too thin. Maintaining a number of profiles on multiple social sites is a lot of work, so manage your time wisely. *Quick tip: remember to list and/or interlink your other social profiles when you can, and keep your user name & avatar as consistent as possible. Do: Submit content from community favorite sites Don’t: Submit commercial content As a member of a community, like Digg or Reddit, you’re likely to notice a trend when it comes to certain sites that produce front page content on a regular basis. It’s largely because they consistently break news or produce killer articles/videos/images/etc., and as a result, a large number of users regularly check these sites to submit and/or vote up their content. Being the first to submit breaking news or great new content from these sites is a sure-fire way to get noticed. It’ll also help build your profile with a fast track to hitting the front page (social networking pay-dirt). Be sure to add these sites to an RSS reader that you check regularly. On the other side of the coin, one of the quickest ways to fail in the social bookmarking world is to submit content that has no place in the community you are in. Commercial content, marketing (and yes SEO) articles, and poorly written content not only won’t achieve results, it will diminish your networking efforts. Just remember: most people hate marketers. (GASP!) They’ll down vote you, remove you as a friend, block you and even report you as a spammer. So do yourself a favor and make sure everything you’re trying to promote is WORTHY of the votes. Because even if you’ve built a strong enough network to push just about anything to the front page, it probably won’t last, and if you’re really careless, you even risk losing your account. Do: Submit content from a variety of sites Don’t: Consistently Submit content from a single site or short list of sites This concept may seem obvious to most, but you’d be surprised how many users submit their own content and nothing else. Oh sure, they’ll vote for other stuff every now and then, but their intentions are pretty clear: they’re in it for the marketing. In other words: you need to make sure you don’t LOOK like a marketer. The best way to do this is to submit content from a variety of sources. That way, when other users visit your profile (say, to add you as a friend) they don’t only see a single site* (or short list of sites) that you’re trying to promote. *This is especially true of Stumble Upon where one of the goals is to attract subscribers of your discoveries and up votes. Seeing the same site over and over on SU creates a bad user experience for your subscribers, and as a result, you’ll likely lose them. Do: Sign in, Vote up, Retweet, and Comment regularly Don’t: Leave huge lapses of activity in your accounts Even power users can’t afford to be away for too long…perhaps ESPECIALLY them, but I digress.  If you take too much time away from social bookmarking activity, you’ll soon find that all the hard work you’ve done networking will start to go to waste.  It’s not that you can’t take a week or two vacation if you like, but the more inactivity you have, the more you’ll find your influence dwindling.  Basically, the more available you are (or at least appear to be) to vote and spread the submissions of your network & friends, the more influence you’ll have with them to push your own. Do: Perform favors (like submitting content) for friends in your network Don’t: Ask too much of your friends & contacts without giving back It’s a karma thing: the more you do for others, the more they’ll be willing to do for you.   Don’t be afraid to submit content for others (as long as it’s appropriate and worthy of votes).  Vote up your friend’s submissions without being asked, retweet it, and be a regular commenter of their stuff even when they simply asked for a vote.  Go out of your way for them and they’ll go out of their way for you. If you start asking too much of someone, they’ll probably avoid you or simply ignore your requests from then on.  So what’s asking too much?  Basically asking anything of someone that isn’t a simple vote request (unless they’ve offered otherwise or owe you a favor) can be considered too much.  So if you need someone to submit something for you, make sure that A) you’ve built a strong enough relationship with this person first, and B) it’s TOP quality content.  Otherwise, you may never hear from them again. Do: Be a human being Don’t: Be anti-social or a computer What’s the point of “social” media if you’re not going to be social?  If you want a network of “friends” or followers to fulfill some ego driven goal based on a number, by all means, automate as much as you can.  But if you’re looking for contacts and friends who will be willing to do favors for you and can help you consistently reach the front page of your favorite social bookmarking sites, then you need to act like a human.  Be friendly and don’t be afraid to have conversations once in a while.  If the only IM-ing you do is “Can you digg this for me? Thx!” and “Dugg, can you hit this for me?”, then you’re missing a vital part of social media, and your networking efforts will probably suffer as a result. Do: Keep at it Don’t: Give up This list isn’t some secret sauce that will put you on the fast track to success. Building a network for social bookmarking sites takes a lot of work.  This is simply a starting point and guideline for you to succeed and (frankly) not waste your own time.  And while it’s a lot of work, the good news is you don’t need to spend all day every day on social media in order to be successful.  You just need to find a rhythm that you’re comfortable with and stick to it.  Persistence is everything. Todd Heim is CEO, co-founder, and SEO manager of Essential Internet Marketing, LLC , an SEM and Social Media Marketing company based in Albany, NY.  You can find Todd on twitter at: http://twitter.com/ToddHeim/ Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Building Social Bookmarking Networks

Marketing: Below The Line Spending

Marketing Below The Line Spending

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Marketing: Below The Line Spending

Think of New Client Meetings Like a First Date

I recently had a meeting with a potential new client who operates a high-end dating service similar to Bravo TV’s The Millionaire Matchmaker .  It was one of those meetings where everything clicked.  I was just as fascinated to learn about her business as she was to learn about SEO and Internet marketing strategies.  The conversation flowed—it was more of a dance, really.  And then she stopped me in my tracks by saying, “Oh my gosh, this is just like a great first date!” I was a bit taken back at first.  I’ve been out of the dating pool for a while, so I thought I’d better ask the professional matchmaker what she meant.  As it turns out, it was a compliment (not a line that I had crossed).  She summed up her feelings about our meeting in two words: Excitement and trust. Now think back to some first dates you’ve had.  I’ll bet that most started with a good deal of excitement, but a first date can’t be great until trust is established.  Without trust there’s no cutting loose, no real connection, and no potential of a future relationship. So what’s this got to do with new client meetings? A first meeting with a potential client is no different than a first date. Well, of course there are differences (thankfully), but the same rules apply.  In fact, my own “first meeting mantra” has been a big factor in the growth and success of my consulting business.  A lot of people go for the whole enchilada in the first meeting—the business equivalent of taking a girl to dinner on the first date with the hopes that she goes home with you that night.  Sure, it happens sometimes, but expecting to close the deal in your first meeting is an unrealistic goal that will set you up for failure.  I like to think of the first client meeting as a two-step conversion process: the first goal is to establish trust and then get them excited about working with you. Five Ways to Establish

30+ Self-Serve Ad Networks & AdSense Alternatives for 2010

Entrepreneur or SMB marketer drawing up an advertising budget for 2010? Try this massive list of over 30 ad networks I’ve compiled while browsing around the web. I’ve tried to focus on those that are SMB friendly with self-serve platforms. I’ve ignored CPA networks and tried to eliminate advertising aggregators, and the search engines. Particular demographics / audiences 1. FARK.com – 18-28 year old men – Flat rate text links sold on a weekly basis (through a redirect; they’re not for SEO points) 2. Facebook – The biggest social network has hyper precise targeting. Don’t overdo it though, or you’ll end up like I did once, targeting merely 20 people. 3. PlentyOfFish – The web’s second largest free dating site has an self-service ad platform 4. MyAds on MySpace.com – Self serve banners like Facebook, with similar demographic targeting 5. AdEngage – A variety of formats focused on humor and games 6. Canoe Klix – French Canadian contextual CPC on premium French Canadian sites 7. Adknowledge.com – Social network ads published on social games 8. Click-Share – A variety of demographic targeting options are available, including some not seen elsewhere such as household income, children in household etc. 9. Chitika.com – A focus on monetizing SEO traffic has made them attractive to retail advertisers. General – Most of these are available on a CPC basis, even if the ad format is banners 10. AdRoll.com – Offers help creating display ads, retargeting and other capabilities 11. BuySellAds.com – Blog banners, mostly 125

5 Reasons to Learn Social Media

Have you ever noticed how many bloggers and social media marketers just tell people that they should go out try social media? How you shouldn’t worry about learning social it? That you’ll learn it on the fly and everything will be fine. Well, I’m not one of those. It’s absolutely in your best interest to learn the basics of social media before risking your time and money. Jumping into social media without at least learning the basics could be a major disaster. It probably won’t ruin your company. It probably won’t ruin you. But it will be a waste of time. Why do I say that? Well an understanding of social media theory and fundamentals makes your strategy better. How, you ask? Well… 1. It Helps You Create a Starting and End Point Taking the time to learn social media fundamentals gives you a starting point. It helps you decide where you are and hopefully where you should go. If you don’t learn what the marketing technique is, how will you know what it’s capable of? How can you create goals and work towards them? Taking the time to explore social media and soak up as much information as possible gives you a better understanding of what social media can do and how to create a plan. 2. Knowledge Leads to Fewer Mistakes On social media, a misstep can spread just as fast as a good campaign and consumers can be less than forgiving. Learning how to interact and promote a business shouldn’t endanger the brand. Start with baby steps. Minimize the likelihood of something to go wrong. Learn as much as you can about web culture and online customer service. Online consumers expect something much different than offline customers. You should know how to deliver it. 3. Experience Comes With Time – Who Has the Time? Remember the common phrase, “don’t reinvent the wheel?” – Well don’t do it. Marketers have been testing and exploring social media theories and sharing them online. Why would you want to go through that powerful information and have to learn it on your own? You can test and explore and research your content, but we know that more often than not list posts go viral. There’s no need for you to take the time to test and explore that. Take advantage of other’s experiences to bolster your marketing. Don’t try to recreate or “re-find” what others have already shown works. Save your time for actual marketing. 4. Learning Keeps You From Getting Frustrated Think back to your childhood. If you’re anything like me, than math class was a horror. I’d sit there trying to do a problem and just not knowing how. After a few minutes of trying, I’d get frustrated and give up. It wasn’t until someone taught me what to do and explained to me why it is that way that I began to enjoy math. Social media is the same way. There are fundamentals and there are strategies that you should know and understand. Don’t allow frustration lead to you giving up. We know social media is a powerful marketing tool. Don’t let it go. 5. How Are You Investing In Something You Know Little About? It all comes down to money. How are you supposed to decide how much to invest in social media if you don’t know what it can do? Learn what you’ll need to invest, both time and money, before throwing resources at it. Have a plan and create a budget. This will help increase the likelihood of success. Information is key. To have a positive social media strategy you need to know as much as possible. That means both in regards to social media knowledge as well as strategies and fundamentals. How are others in your industry doing? Why did their campaigns work? How can you recreate their success without copying them verbatim? Is social media for you? If you don’t understand these fundamentals or have this information you’re marketing with a disadvantage. I’d love to know what you think. How are you learning social media? Where do you go for research and strategies? Are you learning from example or creating your own ideas? Check out Samir Balwani’s new social media guide at Training Social , a resource for anyone interested in learning social media marketing. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . 5 Reasons to Learn Social

2010 : A New Age For Search Marketers

We are in the midst of the largest algorithmic changes to Google’s relevancy since the Florida Update of 2003, and perhaps even the largest change for how marketers approach search since Google and Inktomi revolutionized the concept of citation based rankings. The interesting part of this change is that it is not focused on one concept, but rather several, that mixed together change the face of search as we move into the new year. What makes this change so important is that the future of search, whether it be Search “2.0″ or Caffeine oriented, is based on much more than the relevancy factors of content, links, queries and relevant infrastructure. This new “ Search-o-morphis ” brings factors into play which include site usability, site mobility, the presence of the site socially and also more and more offpage factors which go beyond traditional linking. Personalized Search Changes Real Time Search Growth of Android and Personalized Mobile Search Social Search Bing Growing into legitimate option 2 These concepts individually have an effect, but combined they leave search relevancy heading in a direction that will leave SERPs looking far different than they did in 2009. Looking at the way these changes are making search as a whole move, SEOs are going to have to focus on two new concepts in their marketing plan in 2010: 1. Social Media 2. Mobile Search Why is social media so important? Well, since social media is such an all encompassing metric, let’s look at one aspect of social media : the sharing of information. In 1998, links were important in the Google Citation algorithm because links were the way that people shared information and gave recommendations online. In 1998, in order to link to something, you usually had to hardcode a link in the HTML of your website. Doing so could take minutes to code, and hours to FTP via dial up, and if someone put that much time into linking to a site … well, that site must be of value, wouldn’t it have? With blogging, things changed. Blogging came into the forefront in 2003 with Google’s acquisition of Blogger.com and ultimately Google’s launch of AdSense; which monetized blogs and led to a new economic culture of self publishing. With anyone having the ability to launch a blog with the click of a button, any novice now had the ability to link. Links are easier to achieve, easier to manipulate and much more valuable, since the link is no longer the voice of few, but the voice of many. Enter microblogging and socially networked sharing, with Twitter and more predominantly Facebook. If Twitter is to an HTML link what Facebook is to mass blog linking. This analogy means basically that in my opinion, Twitter will hit its early adopter plateau while almost anyone will join Facebook, connect with friends and share information with others. What’s our point? Our point is that if Google is to still work off of a citation based algorithm based on relevant conversations and suggestions of websites using keywords, then the engine is going to have to catch up to the world of social media. Because bloggers don’t just blog anymore, they share thoughts and relevant information on Twitter and Facebook. If Dave’s mom reads something interesting, he’ll share it on Facebook. If Loren’s wife runs across a great recipe, she may tweet it out. Hence, microblogging . If blogging has become microblogging, then linking should become micro-linking ( ie. URL Shorteners ). If Google fails to incorporate social media signals via Twitter & Facebook sharing, TinyURL’s and other conversations … then they would be ignoring the direction of the Internet. How will social media effect search directly? Well these new changes are sending signals beyond search. Traffic The signal of traffic will not come simply from SERP use. The engines will be looking for how users interact with pages beyond their search product. How do they find the site? How do they share it? This can all be monitored from the methods above. Social media sites spread a ton of traffic throughout the web every day. But traffic is not measured in terms of shear numbers, the relevance of traffic to a site can be measured via conversions (sales, sign ups, shares), bounce rate, time on site (all hail video!), diversity of traffic, whether the user revisits the site, and how the site is viewed amongst its peers and followers. Engagement The more users engage with a document, the more it will show up in their personalized results. Methods and systems for personalized network searching (Google Patent) An embodiment of the present invention may comprise features to facilitate community building. For example, in one embodiment, the uniform resource locator comprises a community bookmark. The bookmark may be shared by a set of users or may be transmitted by one user and received by another. The second user can then perform personalized queries that are based, at least in part, on the shared bookmark. In another embodiment, a cluster of users is identified based at least in part on the bookmarks and annotations that they have previously identified. If a user spends a great deal of time on a site, it is identified as a bookmark for later personalized searches. In other embodiments, the implicit measure may comprise at least one of the quantity of repeat visits to the site or the quantity of click-throughs on the site…Other implicit measures include printing the page, saving the page, and the amount of scrolling performed on the page. Upstream and Downstream

Should You Be Marketing Yourself Online?

I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve landed just by coming up in searches for my own name in Google. Since I am an Internet marketing professional having a web presence is a must. What if you’re not a marketing professional, is a web presence something you should work on and will it benefit you? The answer of course is…Yes! As with any business your brand is what people identify with. If you are a freelancer or a consultant you are your brand. When you Google your name what comes up?  How many results are of you? How many are of someone else? If someone wanted to hire you and learn more about you what would they find?  These are important questions. It should also be important to you that when a search is done on your name that information pertaining to you and your area of expertise shows up. Why? The top reason “people searches” are done on the net is to establish ones credibility. Not having anything is almost as bad as finding something bad. Does your Myspace page show a picture of you flipping off viewers? That could be damaging and costly to your image and reputation. You can keep your personal profiles private, just don’t have damaging content or photo’s showing in your limited profile. How To Brand