I just came across this great presentation on maximizing your blog's exposure.
"This presentation, originally given at the SixApart Business Blogging Seminar in November, 2006 offers ideas for using the emerging concept of SMO to market and promote your blog."
I found it interesting as to how SMO (Social Media Optimization) is now coined as a legitimate term in the industry. The term was invented by Rohit Bhargava, Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy & Marketing at Ogilvy PR Worldwide. His 5 rules for SMO are:
1. Increase your linkability
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy
3. Reward inbound links
4. Help your content travel
5. Encourage the mashup
6. Get communities connected
The free video sharing website, Hulu, has prooved to be a big social media success. Hulu was launched just over a year ago, in August 2007. Neilson Online has reported that the website had over 142 streams in the month of September, it's highest numbers yet.
Hulu not only lets you watch free movies and tv shows, but also has kept up with Election 08' footage. Obama's acceptance speech and McCain's concession speech were posted immediately after the live delivery, courtesy of MSNBC. Hulu also provided much of the debates and other commentary in their coverage.Hulu is supported by advertisements which media buyers are definitely paying attention to. Web TV Wire reports that currently 93% of Hulu users are content with the amount of advertising they see while using the website. This is good news for Hulu now, but the number of ads will surely continue to increase. I surely hope it's not a matter of time before ads take over this website, too.Websites like Hulu are changing the way we watch entertainment. Along with other media devices such as digital video recorders, which allow us to record programs on television and watch them later, as well as give us the ability to fast forward through advertisements, social media is changing everything. You don't even need to own a television set to "watch tv" anymore. If you have a computer, a high speed Internet connection, and a good screen and speakers.. you are good to go.I have to say that I absolutely love Hulu. It's great to be able to watch entire seasons of shows and movies that I haven't seen yet at no cost to me. The advertisements don't bother me at this point, but like I said earlier, I hope they don't increase too badly as the website begins to become more and more popular.
Do you think a website like Hulu can ever hit YouTube status?
It was just released this morning that an 18 year old, Terry Gene Starnes, from Hayden, Idaho, was arrested last week for stabbing his own mother. The cause for this stabbing? She would not let her son get on MySpace!
Terry's MySpace page headline reads: "School work sleep!!!!! that's it!!!!".. and MySpace, of course.
Social media addictions amongst young people, Generation Z, are continuing to become more and more apparent. Ask any 13 - 18 year old to live without Internet access or texting for a week and see what would happen. Chances are they would not be happy about it and would not be able to fulfill the challenge. It is somewhat disturbing to think that kids are growing up more and more online instead of being outside with their friends playing, interacting with one another, and enjoying real life.
So what are your thoughts on this story? Do you feel that social media has the potential to turn into a big social problem amongst young people? Would you be able to live a week without Internet access? Without Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter? Without SMS (texting)?
Thanks to Google reader, one of my favorite social media tools; I was just informed of a new post by social media connoisseur, Marta Kagan, on her blog (The Secret Diary of a Bonafide Marketing Genius). In one of her latest blog entries, she discusses some interesting stats:
- 3/4 of US online adults now use social tools to connect with each other (compared with just 56% in 2007). On average, they spend one hour per week using these tools; however, 19% [and growing] are averaging 7 HOURS PER WEEK. [source: Forrester Research, October 2008]
- 75% of Fortune 1000 companies with Web sites will have undertaken some kind of online social-networking initiative for marketing or customer relations purposes in the next year. [source: Gartner, October 2008]
- Marta Kagan
Social media usage is going up and it doesn't look like it will be stopping anytime soon. It is pretty clear that social media is the future. 7 hours per week may not seem like much to you and I but the increase of usage from 56% in 2007 to where it is now (just in the span of a year) is pretty darn impressive. People of all demographics are beginning to understand social media tools and how helpful they can be.
What are your thoughts on this increase in numbers?
After being formally introduced in class to Twitter, I decided it was time to give it a try. When I first got on, I was instantly reminded of Facebook status updates. Basically, they are the same thing. Micro-blogging allows you to post short messages of up to 140 characters. I really like the fact that you can follow your friends and family, as well as other interesting people you many come across. Not only are individuals the ones to Twitter, but organizations, projects, and celebrities are doing the same. I came across Whole Foods, Social Media Club, and even Britney Spears! From a PR perspective, I think Twitter offers a great connection to consumers. Consumers are able to follow what is going on and get a better feel of the company's personality.
SocialVibe, recently founded in 2007, is a new type of social media tool that is taking people and their online activity to the next level. Already with 160,000 members and counting, SocialVibe is all about giving back. The company understands the huge influence users can have online and are now giving people the opportunity to help causes that they are passionate about.
"SocialVibe is a new social media platform that facilitates interaction between people, the brands they love and the causes they care about. SocialVibe recognizes the influence people have online and has created an easy way for people to use their influence for social good. Social media advertising opportunities are plentiful, however SocialVibe's unique platform empowers communities of real people to make a real difference. With SocialVibe, people enhance their online experiences by getting sponsored by brands to support the causes they believe in."
Broken down to three simple steps, here's how it works: - Select your favorite cause to support.
- Choose a sponsor & post your badge to your social profiles. (MySpace, Facebook, blogs, websites, etc.)
- Earn points for donations to charity and perks.
Once you earn points they are then turned into funds for the charitable cause of their choice. Basically, users are advertising their sponsors for a good cause on their social networking sites. Some of the sponsors featured on SocialVibe include Apple, Colgate, Gibson, and Billabong. Examples of some of the causes featured are To Write Love On Her Arms, Stand Up To Cancer, World Wildlife Fund, and Invisible Children. Currently, an impressive $20,395 has been raised by 30,731 supports for TWLOHA.
I think the SocialVibe is a great concept! People can put all that time and effort they put into their MySpace pages to good use by supporting and help earning money for a cause they are really into. SocialVibe has the potential of really catching on and making a difference in the world. This is another great example of the positive effects of social media.
Would you consider joining in on SocialVibe and posting a badge in support of the cause of your choice? What do you think about this new type of social media and what they are trying to accomplish?
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