Scrapblog.com's Community Guy

Recently a few of us at Ten Golden Rules attended a media breakfast and one of the panel speakers was Alex de Carvalho. Alex is the community guy at scrapblog.

The community guy takes care of social media management and uses all the online social tools to connect and promote the brand online. With the large amount of social websites and tools now available, managing these tools effectively is definitely a daunting task and his position intrigued me.

I asked Alex, "How do you get to be the community guy?" He told me the community guy is the online voice of the brand and most importantly needs to know when to speak and when not to speak in front of virtual everyone on the web. I know he’s savvy on the scrapblog brand, and if you wanted to hire a community guy Alex definitely recommends not using a noobie for the position. This person will be spotting any good or bad publicity and making the right decisions to engage these communities who ultimately he wants as fans and users of scrapblog.

So what is this really about? I just want to get you to think about harnessing the power of social online media for your own business. Do you have someone now who is familiar with online social tools and who can start taking advantage of the web in this way for your brand?

To close I just want to mention scrapblog.com rocks. You can host your own custom scrapblog online and share it with friends and family.

Free 411!!!

Google has now taken over our phones and made 411 FREE!!!! All consumers are able to dial 1-800-GOOG-411 from any phone and find out the phone number and location for any business in your area, from local pizza delivery to a local dry cleaners.

Watch

Google has started to promote this campaign by using billboards showing you the number to call.

Happy Birthday Google!

Today, September 27th, according to the Google Homepage and their Doodle today is their Birthday. Depending on where you look, today may not be their actual birthday, but isn't that like Google to keep that bit of information private as well. Danny Sullivan over at Searchengineland a couple weeks ago tried to determine when the "birthday' was and for that matter, if Google is 9, 10 or 12 years old. A look at Google's history, does not specifically address that matter nor does it even mention September 27th as an important date in their history, but they are pretty vague in specifics throughout their corporate history. No matter the date, or how old Google is, in the words of Deanna, "Chen Dandy"

4 Marketing Lessons From One of My Favorite Sites Woot.com

4 marketing lessons from one of my favorite sites woot.com

If you like the newest gadgets and gizmos then you’re most likely already a fan of Woot.com. I personally love my technology and Woot fills this love daily. This brings me to marketing lesson number 1 from Woot.com.

1) They change the offer daily. Every day at 1am east a new product is featured for sale on the site. They only sell one item, but it’s the cheapest on the web for just 24 hours. This tactic attracts daily traffic. With this traffic Woot is able to capture the attention of these visitors through a valued offer and effective community rich features.

2) Creating a community. Products are entered on the website in forum format so all the users can comment, rant and rave. On any given day depending on the product there will be 100 – 1000 comments and this information is helpful to anyone looking to buy this product type. This creates a live up to date information database that’s interactive and fun. Woot makes this space even more fun with weekly contests and cash prizes. The contests are real zany and definitely attractive to the computer tech geeks.

3) Using effective social web tools. Woot actively uses social tools such as Twitter to keep users up to date and connected to the site even when not visiting.

4) Great Copy. They amaze me with their copy. Any site can post statistics on a printer but woot.com makes this information interesting through dynamic and hilarious copy. Trust me and read the copy for today’s product. It will open your eyes.

How can you apply these tactics to your own site? Turn your existing static websites into a feature rich fun and dynamic web space. It will keep your users entertained and create more fans for your brand.

Our Recommended Reading list featured in The Wall Street Journal

We were flattered today to have been selected by the Wall Street Journal for their recommended reading list.

Please comment on this post and add to the list! What else should marketers be reading?

Journalist Keith Huang did an amazing job sorting through over 60 books, websites, blogs and podcasts that we recommended. Here is a list of some of the references we love that didn't make the editor's cut.

We love Podcasts, weekly radio style recordings you can listen to when you have the time:

6 Pixels of Separation , Mitch Joel, with his incredibly involved audio community, is warm and engaging as he covers the latest new media and connectivity tools

For Immediate Release Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson cover new marketing from the public relations perspective.

Video Podcasts from the Web 2.0 Summit feature major industry leaders at Tim O’Reilly’s major industry event.

WebmasterRadio.fm has a range of great shows covering the latest marketing topics.

Blogs:

Scobilizer Robert Scoble ex-Microsoft video blogger covers the latest tech tools and trends in interviews with the movers and shakers of silicon valley


6 Pixels of Separation , Mitch Joel covers additional content in his blog

Newsletters:

Click Z has a range of internet marketing topics including search email and emerging trends.

Micro Blogging

The latest flavor in social media is Twitter . I describe it as Instant Messaging on Steroids, many call it micro blogging. When you register to follow someone on Twitter, you see every 'tweet' they post, a short message limited to 140 characters. I am following some of the leaders in internet media and business tweets such as CNN Breaking News, this is an incredible new way to get new news fast. Two competitors are Pownce and Jaiku

9 BILLION SERVED!

No, I'm not talking about hamburgers. Amazingly...shockingly...perhaps even incomprehensibly, I'm talking about video downloads. 9 billion is the number of videos viewed online in a SINGLE month. According to a recent release by comScore, nearly 75% of U.S. Internet users watched an average of three hours of online video during the month of July 2007, with Americans viewing more than 9 billion videos total.

9 Billion downloads in a single month is a staggering number. The statistics further reveal that nearly 3 out of 4 internet users viewed videos - each with an average duration of 2.7 minutes. The average online video viewer watched more than 68 videos in a month, or just slightly more than two per day.

And although I knew video was incredibly popular online, I was really quite surprised by this figure. I wonder how much of it is attributable to the new Google Universal Search and other "blended search" results arising in the popular search engines. The unprecedented access to videos in search results may be the cause.

Google Help's FIght Harmful Websites

Google has started to notify their visitors of potentially harmful websites as they search on their site. When users conduct a search and a potentially harmful site appears, a message notifying the visitor about this particular website will also show. Below is an example of the message.

People are still able to click through to the website; however, Google wants the user to be aware of potential malicious software that could be installed without the user’s knowledge or permission. In the Google Web Search Help Center, you can find more information about these types of sites and how to protect yourself. You can also visit Stopbadware.org to learn more.

For those who are webmasters and your site has been identified you need to follow the instructions in the Webmaster Help Center. FYI - After you contact Google, it will take a few hours for them to re-review the site.

Online Polls

Normally, I do not fill out online polls or sign up for petitions, it is always difficult to decide which are real and which are just marketing studies or coregistration deals. This one is different, designer Marc Ecko outbid everyone for Barry Bonds Homerun ball #756 paying over $750,000 for the ball. The man semifamous for "tagging" Air Force One, launched a website vote756.com to decide what he should do with the ball. The three choices are Bestow It (to Cooperstown), Brand It (put Asterisk on it and then send to Cooperstown), or Banish It (put in Rocket and launch into space). I am not telling you how I voted, but giving it the Bartman Ball treatment would have also been a viable option.

Click Fraud Article on Forbes.com

Forbes.com released an interview today with Shuman Ghosemajumder, the business product manager for Trust & Safety at Google.com. Shuman discusses click fraud in depth including discussing how third-party auditors overestimate the amount of click fraud that actually occurs, how it is in Google's best interests to stop click fraud, and then what Google does about click fraud. That last issue is what most people are concerned with, what is Google doing about click fraud, Shuman does not get into specifics because then more people can get away with click fraud. The one top level statistic they monitor closely is click through rate, a dramatic increase in CTR is often a clear sign of click fraud but they also monitor IP addresses and the proportion of visitors from IE to Firefox. Shuman says that Google "analyzes hundreds of different factors, the majority of which are secret."
The interview is interesting in that it is surprisingly proGoogle, not your typical Click Fraud will ruin CPC advertising forever article. The bottom line according to Shuman is the better the ROI that advertisers get, the more they are willing to spend on Google, and therefore increase Googles profits.

SEO - Even More Important Than You Think....

One of our clients filled us in on some recent testing they had done on their website by a company called "CreativeGood". They had completed what the company refers to as a "Listening Lab", which "combines the best of traditional usability research and less directive market research methods".

The client noted, "We had 8 people instructed to visit our website by giving them the domain name. Can you guess how many FIRST went to a search engine to find our website - even though they were told the domain name?" I told him it was probably far more than he ever expected - and I was right - as he admitted it was 7! And the only one who didn't was a computer tech.

I wasn't surprised, as I've seen results like these again and again, depending on the mix in the group. But the part that DID surprise me was the client's reaction - which basically translated to "Wow - all the stuff you've been saying about SEO - I guess it REALLY does matter - because even if they know our domain - they are going to search for us anyway!"

And I had to admit, I'd never thought of it that way. But the fact is, being found in search engines is more important than any of us think. If 7 out of 8 people who have used a computer and the internet before are going to use a search engine to find your site - even though they KNOW your domain - then we've all got a lot of work to do on our SEO!

Bloggers Come Back For More

According to a new online study that was performed by Synovate/Marketing Daily, in 1,000 people surveyed, 80% of them knew what a blog was and almost half actually visited one.

The survey found that those who visit blogs are faithful. 46% of those surveyed visit the same blogs regularly rather than seeking new information. This could also be related to age, as younger people are tending to be more active and even want to start their own blog.

Of course, while more people begin to blog, so does their ability to be used as marketing tools. Advertisements are popping up more frequently and readers are beginning to notice. According to the release, “43% of blog visitors indicated that they had noticed advertisements on blog websites, rising to 61% among those aged 18 to 24.” They also found that this method of marketing is working with almost “one-third of consumers having clicked on an ad while reading a blog.”

Here at Ten Golden Rules we strongly recommend that companies have a blog and contribute to it daily. Your customers are able to keep up on what your business is doing and will also keep you on the top of their mind.

Pitching News to Bloggers

A novel concept or a savvy online press release tactic?

Bloggers put out about 1.5 million postings per day, which is 10 times more than articles put out by traditional media. This powerful group of writers are motivated and passionate about their chosen topics. A well-crafted pitch can earn their interest or scorn depending on how well you pitch your news to this fickle but powerful group.

First, do your research. Make sure that you're pitching the right story to the right set of bloggers. Read their blogs to see what their favorite topics are, what their style is, and be wary of bloggers who tend to be scornful and sarcastic of the subject matter in which they write on (although negative publicity does have it's time and place). Ten Golden Rules Tip - Technorati is an excellent place to find popular bloggers.

Next, develop a personalized pitch that speaks to the blogger. A canned letter is likely to make it to the trash or worse, in a negative blog post. Keep in mind the subject matter. For example, technology news is going to be pitched differently than the latest fashion accessory.

Lastly, offer an incentive or special scoop that makes the bloggers feel special. If it's a product, offer to send it for free for them to review. Or give your bloggers the scoop, telling them the news ahead of time, so when the news is released to the general public, the bloggers you select can offer some special insight. Ten Golden Rules Tip - Host a "press" conference via GoToMeeting giving your bloggers a chance to ask questions and get the answers they're looking for.

Harness the power of bloggers to work for you. But be careful, you should only pitch real news.

New! Twitter Blocks

Another creative application from a Social Networking site, Twitter Blocks! Facebook led the way by opening up their back end to allow developers to add applications, small programs that provide functionality (or fun) for users.

In an email from founder Biz Stone I discovered that Twitter has launched a new application called Blocks. This application lets you see the recent 'tweets' from your community and their community. In this screenshot of my blocks, social media magnate (and very recently ex-Crayonista) CC Chapman has sent his morning tweets.

The inclusion of a Motorola Razr ad is an interesting way to monetize this powerful and growing application.

Linked In Question - - What Podcasts are you listening to?

I asked a question last week on internet social networking site LinkedIn and we have received about 10 replies so far.

My question was what podcasts do you listen to and have you listened to The Ten Golden Rules Podcast yet?

"Questions" on Linked In is a really great tool that allow you to tap into your network and their expertise, here are the first replies we received:

- Susan Geraeds wrote: For search engine marketing and optimization I recommend the Daily Search Cast, hosted by search engine expert Danny Sullivan,
- John Flight wrote: I listen to This Week in Tech, with Leo Laporte religiously, every week.
- Bill McGrath wrote, Hey Jay, I've heard of your podcast and I'm about to give it a test run. I also subscribe to Six Pixels of Separation, Across the Sound, Inside PR, For Immediate Release, Managing the Gray, The Hook and a few others which I don't listen to as religiously. We're about to embark on our first Podcast as well and would love to chat with you from time to time concerning your experience.
NOTE - Bill check out Episode #56 of Six Pixels of Separation, Mitch did 6 points for starting a Podcast, it was a big help to me!
- Jean-Paul Desmarais wrote: I'm a passionate listener of Manager Tools. Outstanding, usable advice on being a manager of people.
- Thomas Parrott wrote: I listen to TWIT, Buzz Out Loud, Cranky Geeks and Adam Curry DSC. I also listen to Russell Brand (BBC2). I have added your podcast to my list and will take a listen.
Alex Harris wrote:
Diggnation, business 2.0, Adam Curry, NY Times Video, Future Now Inc.
Dan Scott, Chief Marketing Officer, Scott Kay, Inc., Good for you Jay! Way to embrace podcasts.
Jason Knappel a former co-worker from eDiets... I listened to my debut (Ten GOlden Rules)podcast this morning. It was packed with information. Good job. I'll continue listening.

Apple has fun with Adwords

As many of you are probably aware, yesterday Apple announced several new products as well as dropping the price of the 8gb iPhone by $200. This announcement has been met with mixed results. The Fanboys, early adopters and those that waited in line for hours and days are upset as this is only 60 days after the product launch. All of the late adopters now have a reason to go out and buy the iPhone. And in an attempt to drive sales, Google is using this copy in its Google Ads, "Congrats, Late Adopters iPhone drops $200. Now You Get All the iPhone for 2/3 the price.


Will this price drop get you to buy the iPhone? Not me, I'm holding out for the Google Phone.

Optimizing Multimedia Files for "Blended or Universal Search"

With the advent of Google Universal Search, Ask 3D and other "blended" search services, images and other multimedia files will increasingly be appearing in search results. If you're not optimizing these files on your web site, you're missing out on capturing some of this increasingly valuable real-estate.

So, what is this all about? Well, if you realize that while search engines are good at "seeing" text - they cannot "see" the contents of a multimedia file. They can't "see" images like photos, they can't "play" a flash file, and they can't "see or hear" a video when it plays. So, proper file optimization is basically a way to tell the search engines what they're missing – and guide them on how to index and rank these files as part of your overall SEO. Not sure how to optimize multimedia files for search engines? Here are some quick tips:

• Use keywords in file names. For instance, if your page is about Pomeranian dogs, then instead of naming the video clip of this year's Westminster winner "winner.wmv", name it "pomeranian-breed-winner.wmv".
  
  
• Include keywords in the image ALT Tag. An ALT tag is HTML code specifically used to clue the search engines into what the file is all about.
  
  
• Limit the overall number of images per page, as too many will dilute your keyword mix.
  
  
• Provide a keyword optimized summary or recap of the file as text on the same page – and put the text near the file it relates to.
  
  
• Submit your video files to YouTube and/or Google Video. As of now, Google is not crawling websites for video files to include in search results, so you can rely on these two to get your video files noticed. (This applies to video files ONLY, not to image files – which ARE crawled and indexed.)
  

Jewelry Television Viral Video

glumbert.com - Jewelry Television has got wood

There are several televised home shopping channels on Cable and DirectTV, whether it be QVC, the Home Shopping Channel, or ShopNBC to name just a few. Well, if you are JewelryTelevision.com what do you do to distinguish yourself from everyone else out there and build a name, well you produce a tongue in cheek video selling a different product, wood. The minute and a half clip is styled like any other segment you would see on any of these home shopping channels, with a brief introduction and then some canned witty banter between the two hosts of the show. In this case, some of the characteristics/benefits of wood. The video which some may call offensive, is sexually suggestive but is meant to be truly in jest. Hopefully, this is the first of many segments.