11:15 — Bergen Anderson introduces Social Media Explorer Jason Falls.
11:16 — Jason, “This presentation won’t blow you away because this ain’t rocket surgery, it just requires you to stop, think, apply”
11:18 — Word of mouth marketing for your product and your blog are different. Your blog is an entity of itself, and it needs to be marketed differently/independently of your product.
11:19 — If you treat the two differently, and actually understand that you have to market them differently, you’ll probably go back to what you’ve learned from books/school, and you’ll probably have more successes.
11:19 — Four rules of WOM Marketing for you blog:
- Be interesting
- Make it easy
- Make people happy
- Earn trust & respect
11:20 — Jason explains that you have to learn to analyze your metrics, and be a bit of a scientist to understand your audience better. You have to learn how to engage them. Don’t be afraid to let opposing view points in. It will help build trust.
11:21 — Jason says, “It’s okay to let what I like to call a, ‘turd’, come and comment because it builds trust.”
11: 22 — Jason asks, “Where does it all fit together?” Refers to “The Five T’s” from Andy Sernovitz’s book, Word of Mouth Marketing.
11:23 — Target industry leaders in your niche that have a large following. Whether that’s contact them, or going up to them at a conference, or even write the great content that the industry leaders will want to read, and talk about.
11:24 — Target industry peers. Who will tell their friends about you? Give your passionate readers the tools to tell other people about you. Stroke their ego
11:25 — Jason says, “This person keeps coming back, let’s give them the tools to tell other people.” You want to sell yourself to the people who will sell you.
11:26 — What will they talk about? Topics:
- Helpful ideas: lists, tutorials, best practices, little known facts
- Thought leadership: Be the leader on an opinion, or topic. Be the first to cover a topic. Be the only one to cover a topic early.
-Entertainment: Write about topics that are fun to read and entertain the readers to encourage WOM. Write content that gets people excited.
- Stir things up: Jason says, “Be bold.” You don’t have to be adversarial, or rude, but don’t be afraid to draw the line in the sand on an issue–and be prepared to engage in the comments and defend your opinion. There are going to be people on the other side of the line. Be prepared to discuss the issue at length.
11:31 — Jason says you can be polarizing on issues and still be a nice guy. Good conversation will generate good inbound links, and more search traffic.
11:32 — Jason briefly covers tools. How can you help that message travel? Don’t settle for mediocre content. Drive engagement. Make the sharing easy. Shine the spot light on your readers. “Incentivize pass alongs.”
11:33 — It’s okay to ask people to comment. You want people to share your information across the various social networks.
11:34 — Tweetmeme, Sharethis, tell a friend, Disqus comment system, are all great engines for encouraging sharing.
11:35 — Comment on your own articles.
11:35 — Jason makes a point to comment on just about every response on his blog. Commenting systems make it easy to keep track of your comments. Your content is your product. Make your product talk-worthy to give them a reason to share.
Q&A
Q: If your company doesn’t have a blog, where’s the best place to start? Content? Just start it?
A: Jason: If you don’t have any content it may be a good idea to get some to start so you don’t lose those first few visitors. To get a good head start have your friends, and/or employees comment at first to get the conversation started.
Q: What if you’ve covered everything you have to say in the post? What if you don’t feel the need to reiterate what you say in your blog? What do you do when you have to say thank you 300 times?
A: Jason: Some may perceive saying thanks is a way of padding your comment score, but I see it as a way of acknowledging your fans and making people remember that you appreciate their input. I want to acknowledge as many people as I can. If you don’t have more to add, then there’s no need to comment further.
Q: Is it smart to engage people who comment negatively?
A: Jason: Comment moderation is absolutely okay and acceptable as long as you tell your audience that is what you are doing. If a comment is particularly spiteful, negative, or personal, then hopefully that filters into the comment policy that says if you cross this line we will moderate your comment. I think every comment can become it’s own situation, so it’s good to respond, say thanks, and leave it at that. For a corporate blog, have a comment policy first, and say why you’re moderating.
Q: How do you handle as a blogger when you see that somebody has word for word copied your post and put it on their blog? Even with credit.
A: Jason: There’s probably several people who would disagree with me on this, but as long as they mention you, and give you a link back, let it happen. I see it as a complement. If they don’t, you need to comment, and reach out to that person. A link back to you is the current form of currency on the internet. It’s okay to contact them, and ask for a link back.
