Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
In the past two weeks several of our clients have asked us about link baiting, the practice of creating valuable content for one’s website that encourages people to link to it from other websites. This practice is popular with some companies and individuals because the quantity and quality of inbound links are two of the many metrics used by a search engine ranking algorithm to rank a website – meaning the company with more quality inbound links will appear higher in searches via Google or Yahoo.
To learn more about the practice and pitfalls of link baiting, we reached out to several experts and learned the following:
- It’s acceptable. There is nothing wrong with the practice of link baiting from a moral or ethical practice. In fact, according to Joel Johnson, with Response Mine Interactive, “the practice of link baiting is one of the few forms of link building approved by Google, which endorses a model of links based upon content.” He went on to explain link baiting has the potential to create a substantial number of powerful links. So, all in all, this has the potential to be one of the safest and strongest forms of link building.
- Nonetheless, the practice of link baiting is not without challenges. One of the pitfalls is that creating compelling content can be time and resource consuming. Furthermore, it is not easy to figure out what content is going to be commented on or capture people’s attention. An organization may invest considerable time developing content that it believes is going to be successful in attracting link backs only to find it falls flat and is a costly failure.
- Stay within the spirit of your brand. From a corporate reputation or thought-leadership perspective, organizations need think about their overarching objectives when creating content for link baiting. Clearly, one does not want to create provocative content to drive link backs at the expense of alienating key audiences. Posting controversial material on one’s website as a ploy to drive comments or links can backfire if the content does not support your organization’s brand or thought leadership goals. One way to ensure content is supportive of an organization’s goals is to involve the PR or communications team in a discussion about it.
- Remember your reputation can be enhanced (or damaged) by the company you keep. When engaging in the practice of link baiting, it is essential that a company review each link before just accepting the link back. You want to avoid accepting links from sites creating spam as these links will clutter up your website and have the potential to damage your organization’s character. One SEO expert recommends only linking to sites that have a Google page rank of three or more and that you feel provide excellent value. Click here for a free page rank checker.
Like any other marketing tactics, when done right link baiting or link building can be very effective, however, it can also be expensive and time consuming. Attention-grabbing or gimmicky content is likely to attract the wrong traffic so be careful when engaging in this practice. Remember if you’re authentic, truly adding value or providing useful information to key audiences you are likely to see people naturally commenting and linking back to your content.
Earlier this week I attended a panel discussion called, “Piercing the Clouds: Emerging Opportunities in Cloud Computing” sponsored by the MIT Enterprise Forum. The panel featured cloud computing experts from Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Real Networks to discuss the opportunities, pitfalls and trends surrounding cloud computing.
Cloud computing is defined by Wiktionary as, “Computing in which services and storage are provided over the Internet (or “cloud”) and can include popular Web-based services such as Gmail, Pandora, Facebook and YouTube, virtual server storage solutions such as Amazon Web Services and product development tools such as Google Apps.”
The panel experts agreed that cloud computing is one of the most significant disruptive technologies in recent memory and it is here to stay. In fact, analyst firm Gartner predicts the cloud computing market is, “poised for strong growth through 2014, when worldwide cloud services revenue is projected to reach $148.8 billion.” One of the panel observations I found to be interesting is that the proliferation of mobile computing devices including mobile phones, iPads and e-readers has been one of the key drivers of consumer-driven cloud computing apps. However, the panelists believe that cloud computing will penetrate the enterprise further as the barriers surrounding trust and reliability of accessing content are broken and companies begin to view of cloud computing as a business model rather than a trend.
One thing is clear, cloud computing is not just a trend but represents a significant shift in how we access information and content. We work with several clients in various industries that touch the cloud and it will be interesting to see how this technology will evolve both consumption of content, and business models for organizations.
Earlier this week I attended a panel discussion called, “Piercing the Clouds: Emerging Opportunities in Cloud Computing” sponsored by the MIT Enterprise Forum. The panel featured cloud computing experts from Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Real Networks to discuss the opportunities, pitfalls and trends surrounding cloud computing.
Cloud computing is defined by Wiktionary as, “Computing in which services and storage are provided over the Internet (or “cloud”) and can include popular Web-based services such as Gmail, Pandora, Facebook and YouTube, virtual server storage solutions such as Amazon Web Services and product development tools such as Google Apps.”
The panel experts agreed that cloud computing is one of the most significant disruptive technologies in recent memory and it is here to stay. In fact, analyst firm Gartner predicts the cloud computing market is, “poised for strong growth through 2014, when worldwide cloud services revenue is projected to reach $148.8 billion.” One of the panel observations I found to be interesting is that the proliferation of mobile computing devices including mobile phones, iPads and e-readers has been one of the key drivers of consumer-driven cloud computing apps. However, the panelists believe that cloud computing will penetrate the enterprise further as the barriers surrounding trust and reliability of accessing content are broken and companies begin to view of cloud computing as a business model rather than a trend.
One thing is clear, cloud computing is not just a trend but represents a significant shift in how we access information and content. We work with several clients in various industries that touch the cloud and it will be interesting to see how this technology will evolve both consumption of content, and business models for organizations.
By now most people on Twitter understand they should not tweet information they would not be willing to say into a microphone. There have been countless examples to illustrate how even if you don’t have a lot of followers, a tweet can reach a broad audience.
In the 1990s people learned valuable lessons about communicating via e-mail with unintended flame mails, attempted humor that was misunderstood, or accidentally hitting reply all when the message was intended for only one person. Social media presents similar challenges.
One specific challenge that has not been widely discusses is considering the perceptions created by a post or tweet. As a PR professional, perhaps I am more focused on perceptions than most. However, I think it is important for people engaging in social media to consider not only what they are communicating, but how that information may be perceived by others. Short messages of 140 characters do not afford an opportunity to provide context and individuals who do not know you may misinterpret your message.
For some people, this may not seem like a big deal or worth further thought. But consider the following:
- A C-level executive posts photos of her high-end vacation to her Facebook profile, which is seen by recently laid off employees, existing employees, customers and partners.
- A social media “expert” only responds to tweets from other “experts.” (See recent blog post from PR Geek Speak “Social Media High School”)
- A professional spokesperson tweets about being away from home *again* while on the road promoting his own book.
In each of these instances, the actual content is not inappropriate, but it could create negative perceptions that are counter to the individuals’ objectives.
We all need to consider how information we share will be received by multiple audiences. It is not enough to ask, “Is this information appropriate for broad dissemination?” Instead, one must think about how people will feel when they see the information being shared. Other questions to consider:
- Are you reinforcing your personal brand?
- What key messages are you delivering?
- How does this align with your personal and professional objectives?
Each tweet and post you share is a reflection of you and your judgment – with the potential for unintended consequences – so make sure you think carefully about each and every Facebook update and tweet.
At Communiqué we often leverage social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, for our clients to reach new and existing customers. While some may believe that social media is only used by a particular age, sex or gender, new research shows that adults over the age of 50 are adopting social media at a significant rate.
A recent study of more than 2,250 Internet users over the age of 18 by the Pew Research Center, adults over the age of 50 are adopting social media more quickly than young adults ages 18-29. Some of the key findings of the study include:
- Forty-two percent of Internet users ages 50 and older now use social media compared to only 22 percent a year ago.
- Between April 2009 and May 2010, Internet users ages 50-64 who said they use a social networking site grew 88 percent and those ages 65 and older grew 100 percent in their use of the sites, compared with a growth rate of just 13 percent for those ages 18-29.
- Twenty percent of adults ages 50-64 say they use a social networking site daily, up from 10 percent a year ago. Thirteen percent of adults ages 65 and older use a social networking site, up from 4 percent last year.
“Young adults continue to be the heaviest users of social media, but their growth pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users,” said Mary Madden, a senior research specialist and author of the report.
While 86 percent of Internet users ages 18-29 say they use social media; it is clear that those older than 50 years of age want to connect with people from their past and present.
“Email is still the primary way that older users maintain contact with friends, families and colleagues, but many older users now rely on social network platforms to help manage their daily communications,” said Madden.
As older adults start to use social networking as a way to keep up with family and reconnect with lost friends, there is an ever increasing opportunity for companies to reach this demographic.
On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to get to attend a talk given by David Plouffe, President Obama’s political campaign manager and author of “The Audacity to Win.” As the visionary genius behind one of the most game-changing political campaigns in the history of this country, I went hoping to gather some tips for running a successful campaign that would translate to the world of marketing and public relations (oh, and also hoping a little of his genius may rub off on me).
David began the talk by providing us with a background on the challenges faced in President Obama’s drive to the White House. Obama had never visited many of the states in the U.S., and he was widely viewed as a political “outsider.” In the early days of the campaign, they weren’t even sure he would make it past the primary. They knew that if they solely worked to gain the support of the current voter base, a defeat was surely in the cards. In order to win, they needed to invigorate a new base of voters and empower them to participate in the political process. And that’s exactly what they did.
They realized that campaigns, political, marketing or otherwise, are a relationship. As such, they are built on trust, communication and the ability to work through crises together. To create this relationship, and in turn build a new voter base, the Obama Campaign decided to involve everyone in the process. They enlisted grassroots organizations, volunteer groups, talked to neighbors and visited anyone who would listen, including Republicans. Most of all, they listened to these people and learned how to reach them on their own terms – on the Internet. What resulted was millions of new voters and a large group of people who truly felt like they were a part of something important. The Obama Campaign was able to generate more than $500 million online with an average donation of a mere $85.
This is where his talk struck a chord in my mind. We’re getting to a point where people’s consumption of information and news is done completely via the Internet. That can be friends sending friends news via Facebook, Twitter or e-mail. Or, it can be a politician sending his platform via e-mail to his constituents. It’s not a secret that people are more skeptical of big news organizations these days, so it’s easy to believe that receiving news from your friends via word-of-mouth is easier to trust. With social media, we have the opportunity to reach millions of consumers without relying on press coverage. Basically, this means that just because your product announcement didn’t get covered in a New York Times’ or Wall Street Journal article, it doesn’t mean it didn’t find its way into the inboxes of 50 million people – via their friends and family.
You may still be asking yourself, “How does this knowledge apply to me and my marketing strategy?” To answer, I simply say take some of the best practices from David Plouffe’s campaign, and apply them to your marketing plans. When you compare a political campaign and a marketing campaign, they are really quite similar – a brand trying to get recognized by a target audience. Don’t be afraid to try tactics that haven’t been done before and don’t forget to utilize the Internet at every moment possible. If you can create a campaign that deeply involves your target audience and inspires them to participate in your movement, you will likely find more success in the long run.
Has anyone out there found a unique way to drive buzz and excitement without using traditional methods such as media tours and press releases? I’d love to hear any inspirational stories that are floating out there.