Archive for the ‘Search’ Category

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DR. WHAW? – May 18, 2010


2010
05.19

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Measurement, Melissa, Search, Social Media, Twitter, public relations | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Melissa Cafiero.

I’m looking for new resources. Are there sites with content you can’t live without? I’m also looking for sites which talk about crisis communications specifically (both for personal reasons and so I can find new posts to share with you) so if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

DR. WHAW? – May 18, 2010

  1. A Twitter success story: Search leads to new market discovery by Fara Hain – In this post, Fara describes her less than enthusiastic initial perception of Twitter; however, she gave it a shot (simply by setting up keyword alerts for her brand and listening to the chatter) and discovered a new customer segment, and use, for her company’s product. It’s a really interesting post and a little inspirational, too.
  2. Digital PR Perspectives: The BP Oil Spill by Arik Hanson (with Danny Brown, Gini Dietrich and Heather Whaling) – I haven’t really investigated how BP is responding to this issue (partially because I don’t have time and partially because I can’t deal with the emotional pull at the moment) so this “roundtable”-type discussion was really nice. It’s pretty lengthy, though, so you’ll want to set aside some time.
  3. Sentiment vs. message in social media – which do you value more? By Rebecca Denison – How could I not include a post from Rebecca?! Because she asked a great question, and brought up a few more in the post, the comments shouldn’t be missed!
  4. The APR Process — Why It’s Worth It by Stephanie Q. Fitzsimmons – I’m not going to argue about APR vs no APR, but I thought this quick post was insightful and helped with the curiosity I had about the process.
  5. Why It’s Helpful To Send Back a Positive Reflection of a Person’s Actions by Gretchen Rubin – I know that something like 95% of my DR WHAW posts include a Gretchen Rubin/Happiness Project mention, but I just always find something useful from her. This post talks about “pro-social behavior,” and she goes on to say, “When we’re reminded of what we’re doing right, and when we realize that right action is noticed and appreciated (because practically all of us want those gold stars!), we’re encouraged to keep it up.”
  6. 33 Pictures Caught at Exactly the Right Moment by Gerri Elder – Some of these are quite funny and some make you scratch your head. Warning: Photo #3 is really graphic. It caught me by surprise and made me a bit nauseous. Ick.
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DR. WHAW? – May 12, 2010


2010
05.12

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Danny, Measurement, Search, Social Media | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Danny Prager.

There was an absurd amount of great content passed around the interwebs today (as per usual), and now I’m going to share some highlights. Without futher ado —

DR. WHAW? – May 12, 2010


 Let’s do a little point counterpoint/ roundup of the Facebook backlash:

“Is Facebook Really to Blame for your Privacy Issue? ” by Simon Mainwaring.

Simon makes the interesting, and complex argument, that it is Facebook’s job to push the envelope of socially defined notions of privacy as that is necessary for innovation. That semantic and open web all those big time analysts, futurists, and thinkers are talking about ? It may be in direct opposition to our socially defined norms of privacy. Who will win?

“Confusing *a* Public with *the* Public by Jeff Jarvis

“Facebook has confused sharing with publishing”. I think Jeff has hit the nail right on the head here. Social sharing has become ubiquitous. However, sharing is not the same as broadcasting or publishing. Sharing a hilarious video of kittens going down slides with your friends, is a different behavior, with different motivations, than creating that same video and publishing it.

What’s more? You may not want brands to assume that you have kittens and want discounts on cat food based on the fact that you shared that video.

What does all of this mean? Which side are you on? Has Facebook overstepped its bounds? Is it challenging societal norms of privacy too aggressively?

Personally, I love the idea of fighting for an open web, and viewing Facebook as pioneers in the struggle to redefine social norms of privacy. On the other hand, I realize that I am probably in the minority in that respect, and once the average Facebook user understands the privacy implications of these Facebook changes there will surely be serious backlash– Not just from early adopters, but from the Gen Xers and above who have recently joined the network in droves.

I want a personalized web experience where I am consistently given relevant content, even if it is in the form of advertisements and special offers from brands, but this thinking may not be true for everyone.

Enough about that, here are a couple of interesting articles, that are not focused on Facebook:

1) Should Ecommerce be scared of social shopping?

Good overview of why social shopping is on the rise, and how it could pose a challenge traditional ecommerce sites.

Look past the fact that the guy who wrote the article is a “social media optimization” specialist, instead focus on the video and think about the possibilites of social commerce.

2) Branding versus search, the Converse way.

In all of our focus on the next big thing and social media, we sometimes forget that we can innovate channels that already exist. Check out what Converse did with PPC ads to target teenagers. Talk about engagement:

3) The Digitization of Research and Measurement in Public Relations — by Don Bartholomew

When I saw this chart, and this post, I immediately thought of Rebecca and her work at Edelman. Good overview of how paid, earned, shared, and owned media work together on digital channels.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

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DR. WHAW? – April 20, 2010


2010
04.20

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Growing up, Melissa, Search, Social Media | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Melissa Cafiero.



Rebecca is kind enough to allow me the next two weeks off blogging duties while I move and transition into my new gig (yeah, she’s awesome). J So, this is the last post from me until mid-May, but I will be back! See you on the other side!

DR. WHAW? – April 20, 2010

  1. What Unpaid Internships Say About Your Company by Ross Perlin – I read several articles recently regarding unpaid internships (are they legal, etc.) so this post, which kind of looks at it from a different angle, was thought-provoking. There are some valid points here. And when you’re in the middle of work, bouncing from deadline to deadline, you don’t really think about how your company is being perceived when it offers free internships. But thinking back to my college days, I vaguely remember having similar thoughts about companies.
  2. Four Search Engines Marketers Should Know About by Monica O’Brien – Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I haven’t heard of any of these before! Definitely marking this as a favorite. Have you used these; do you have a favorite?
  3. Five Tips for Improving Monday Mornings by Gretchen Rubin – Ugh, Mondays. If you frequently dread Monday mornings, there are some great tips here. Have you done anything differently to help you look forward to Mondays?
  4. Job satisfaction: A study in favor of an uncluttered, detached career by Erin Doland – Have you ever heard of the “detached job (you clock in, do your job, clock out, like your colleagues, but rarely think about work when you’re not there)”? Do you have one? According to a study, it
    “…might be a cause for happiness and job satisfaction.” What do you think?
  5. Top 10 News Bloopers – As always, a good laugh. Some are oldies but goodies.
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DR. WHAW? – March 29, 2010


2010
03.29

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Posted in Clay, Community management, DR. WHAW?, Search, Social Media, Twitter | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Clay Schossow.

Hope that everyone enjoyed their weekends.  Down in Chapel Hill, we had some depressing weather, but at least there was some NCAA tourney action to watch (even if it wasn’t the Heels).  Did a lot of catching up on reading, today, and here’s what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work (but wanted to!).

DR. WHAW? – March 29, 2010

  1. Nine Common SEO Campaign Mistakes — It may seem like I include a lot of SEO articles on my list, and that’s because I do.  It’s a topic that is relevant to every vertical and every marketer; even if you focus on offline marketing, it’s still important to understand the basics of SEO, link building, etc.  This article does a great job of exploring some really common mistakes and how to correct them (love the long tail graphic!).
  2. It’s the People, Stupid — This article is a guest post on Rebecca’s boss’s blog –small world!  It’s a nice look at how social media needs to be embraced throughout an entire organization to be effective.  I also love the emphasis that Todd puts on focusing on the social rather than the media.  Good, quick read.
  3. Your Company’s Urge to Tweet (is wrong) — I think this is a nice companion piece for Todd’s article, above.  The article focuses on how so many big companies and other brands get set up with an FB page and Twitter account and think they’re done.  They blast out some message, get a nominal amount of followers, and call it a win — no measurement of ROI, no real scale, no real message.  It’s a good read.
  4. Twitter and the 9 Month Bounce — Yeah, this one is from TechCrunch, but I found it very interesting and appropriately analytic, so I decided it was OK to throw in a link from one of the “big guys.”  Social Media Analytics company Sysomos takes a look at Twitter usage based on how long one has been a member.  Pretty cool and intuitive stats — people start off pretty strong, go through a lull, and then really pick it up again around month 9.  Would be interested to see the same stats on Facebook; I bet they have a much quicker adoption timeline, since the network is so much larger and canonical.
  5. Agencies Enter Into a “Great Race” for Relevance — Some nice data on how clients see the divide between their different agencies.  Overall, they’re very hesitant to let an interactive agency lead their brand, but they’re even more hesitant to let their traditional agency lead their interactive efforts.  Wow.  Some staggering facts and a nice case for an agile agency model that has traditional agencies outsource interactive to specialist firms (like my firm’s ad agency web development partnership program), rather than taking it on themselves until they’re completely sure they can handle it.

There you go folks, those are my 5.  Some good reads already this week, encouraging me that there’s great stuff ahead.  Happy passover, Good Friday (in a few days), and enjoy the week.

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DR. WHAW? – March 22, 2010


2010
03.23

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Posted in Clay, DR. WHAW?, Marketing, Search | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Clay Schossow.
After a bender in Vegas and a red-eye straight to the office, it’s amazing that I’m still able to read.  So, after celebrating that fact, I quickly turned to my Google Reader and found these gems that I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work (but wanted to!) to help you all to start your week:

  1. How CRE Made $1 Million for SEOmoz with One Landing Page — I know that this title initially sounds spammy, but it’s actually one of the most thorough and helpful articles I’ve ever seen on a landing page case study.  CRE walks you through their entire process of identifying SEOmoz’s problem, strategizing a solution, and executing the plan.  It’s very long, but is a must read for anyone doing online marketing or curious about best practices.
  2. New Study on Scrolling and Content Below the Fold — Jakob Nielsen conducts a great study with interesting results on reading habits of web users.  Almost everyone of our clients gets scared of having any content below the fold; we assure them that in this day and age, people fully understand and are prepared to scroll on most pages.  This study reconfirms that fact, but it also demonstrates that 80% of attention is paid above the fold.  So, while you can count on users scrolling, you better not put any vital info or calls to action down there that you want the majority of visitors to see.  I expected the 80% number to be lower, but Nielsen’s study is very scientific and has repositioned some of my theories on usability.
  3. How to Kill a Great Idea — This Inc. feature looks at the history of Friendster and its founder, and uses them as an metaphor for the general dangers of the VC-startup relationship.  Are startups taking money too soon?  Do VCs have an inherent conflict of interest when they’re only trying to have 2 out of 20 investments really succeed?  The article explores these questions and also delves into the psyche of a visionary entrepreneur who majorly struck out and is now usually the butt of jokes.
  4. Groupon Marketing Results — I’ve been enamored with Groupon lately and have been recommending it to clients and friends who run services companies.  I hadn’t seen any case studies on it, but I just love the model and know that it’s tempted me and friends to buy many things we normally wouldn’t.  So, it was nice to see Phil Greenspun publish the results of his Groupon experiment for helicopter lessons.  While, the results displeased him, because they sold too many, they demonstrate to me that this really is a valuable tactic that can be leveraged by services firms.
  5. 9 Content-Driven Link Building Tips — Great article from my friends over at PR 20/20.  They provide some really great tips and tools to leverage offsite link building, which is the most important element in gaining your site credibility and high search engine rankings.  If you’re not doing all of these, you should definitely at least give them a shot as they the longtail benefits can be incredible.
A pretty marketing-heavy group of links, but I think these are really valuable resources to consider when marketing your own business or your clients’.  Let me know your thoughts on the individual articles and on the list.  Thanks!