99% of 18-24 Year Olds On Social Media, But Only 22% Use Twitter

These two charts say it all really: Of the 22% that do use Twitter: 85 percent follow friends 54 percent follow celebrities 29 percent follow family 29 percent follow companies Not much for brands to cheer about, but keep your chin-up, you have the same attention as Gen Y’s parents. Get the full study details from PMN.

99% of 18-24 Year Olds On Social Media, But Only 22% Use Twitter

These two charts say it all really: Of the 22% that do use Twitter: 85 percent follow friends 54 percent follow celebrities 29 percent follow family 29 percent follow companies Not much for brands to cheer about, but keep your chin-up, you have the same attention as Gen Y’s parents. Get the full study details from PMN.

HubSpot TV - SEO Wizardry with Guest Co-host Rand Fishkin

Episode #42 - May 29nd, 2009
(Episode Length: 26 minutes, 24 seconds)

Intro

• How to interact on Twitter - @mvolpe @randfish
• Special Guest: SEO Guru Rand Fishkin from SEOmoz.org
• Remember to subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.hubspot.tv
• Inboundmarketing.com: Post your HubSpot TV questions in the forums
• Sign up for free Inbound Marketing University: SEOmoz is an IMU Partner, and Rand is an SEO Professor
  

Headlines

Microsoft Announces New Search Engine - Bing.com

• Microsoft Announces Bing.com, Makes Its First Serious Challenge to Google’s Dominance
• Bing has a different user interface, and some features allowing you to search for photos similar to a specific image result, as well as an advanced travel search engine
• Marketing Takeaway: Play around with relevant search terms and see how your website shows up as compared to Google

Billboards Become Conversational

• CBS Outdoor merges text with billboards
• Using text messaging all CBS Outdoor billboards can allow people to send a text message with a keyword to get more info
• Does this encourage texting while you drive?
• Marketing Takeaway: You can even try to make traditional advertising more interactive and measurable.

Google Does the Wave.  What is it?

• Went Walkabout. Brought back Google Wave.
• Google Wave Drips With Ambition. A New Communication Platform For A New Web.
• What is "Wave"? How will people use it?
• Marketing Takeaway: Wave is still in development stage, and not worth thinking about from a marketing standpoint.
  

The Future of Search Marketing

• Did Google Change SEO Yesterday?
• Where is search going?  What are microformats and the semantic web?
• Marketing Takeaway: Make sure you are publishing content in a semantic/microformat-compatible way.  Blogs and websites built on CSS are a good start.

Forum Fodder

• Brandon Mulnix from Modern Photographics asks "What are the steps to optimize images for Google image search?"
• File name, ALT tags on images

Marketing Tip of the Week: Brush up on your SEO by checking out SEOmoz and registering for Inbound Marketing University.

Closing

Missed last week's episode? HubSpot TV - Lose Control of Your Marketing (May 22nd, 2009)

Search Engine Optimization Kit

Learn more about how you can optimize your site to rank higher in search engines so you get found by more qualified prospects. Download our search engine optimization kit.

Become a Fan on Facebook Get inside info and advance notice of HubSpot's free marketing webinars, ebooks and more. Click here -->

Some Thoughts from the Inbound Marketing Summit - Dallas

Having spent the last few days in Dallas I am ready to go home. Don’t get me wrong. Dallas is a nice town. The Inbound Marketing Summit put on by New Marketing Labs’ Chris Brogan was great. Here’s why I need to get out, though. You see, I am a New York Giants fan. Although [...]

Some Thoughts from the Inbound Marketing Summit - Dallas

Having spent the last few days in Dallas I am ready to go home. Don’t get me wrong. Dallas is a nice town. The Inbound Marketing Summit put on by New Marketing Labs’ Chris Brogan was great. Here’s why I need to get out, though. You see, I am a New York Giants fan. Although [...]

Welcome to Google-ington, DC?

The New York Times is reporting that Google’s head of global public policy, Andrew McLaughlin, is headed to Washington, DC to join the Obama administration. Considering CEO Eric Schmidt’s position on PCAST (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology) some are wondering if there isn’t a tether attached to the Google Mothership in Mountain [...]

Welcome to Google-ington, DC?

The New York Times is reporting that Google’s head of global public policy, Andrew McLaughlin, is headed to Washington, DC to join the Obama administration. Considering CEO Eric Schmidt’s position on PCAST (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology) some are wondering if there isn’t a tether attached to the Google Mothership in Mountain [...]

Bing.com; Is it Worth Switching from Google?

Whether it ends up being akin to Custer’s last stand or not, Microsoft has just announced Bing, as it desperately tries to find a way to take market share away from Google. Whether you love the new name or not–personally, I think it’s a huge improvement on Windows Live Search–you owe it to yourself to go [...]

Bing.com; Is it Worth Switching from Google?

Whether it ends up being akin to Custer’s last stand or not, Microsoft has just announced Bing, as it desperately tries to find a way to take market share away from Google. Whether you love the new name or not–personally, I think it’s a huge improvement on Windows Live Search–you owe it to yourself to go [...]

Google Android To Release 18 Phones by Year End

Google claims we can expect to see at least 18 phones with the Android operating system by year’s end, possibly 20. Which phone carriers they will be on has yet to be determined, according to the New York Times. Currently T-Mobile’s G1 and a phone available in Europe called “Magic” by HTC are the only [...]

Google Android To Release 18 Phones by Year End

Google claims we can expect to see at least 18 phones with the Android operating system by year’s end, possibly 20. Which phone carriers they will be on has yet to be determined, according to the New York Times. Currently T-Mobile’s G1 and a phone available in Europe called “Magic” by HTC are the only [...]

Time Warner Approves AOL Spin Off

Not so much a revelation, but more of tying-up a loose end. As expected, Time Warner’s board of directors have approved the spin-off of AOL–sans the dial-up division. Time Warner hopes to conclude the spinoff, which requires an SEC review, by the end of the year. The company also expects to buy back Google’s 5 percent [...]

Time Warner Approves AOL Spin Off

Not so much a revelation, but more of tying-up a loose end. As expected, Time Warner’s board of directors have approved the spin-off of AOL–sans the dial-up division. Time Warner hopes to conclude the spinoff, which requires an SEC review, by the end of the year. The company also expects to buy back Google’s 5 percent [...]

Managing Social Media and Encouraging Employee Individuality with Southwest Airlines

This past week, HubSpot was in Dallas sponsoring and speaking at the Inbound Marketing Summit. There were many impressive speakers throughout the event, including an inspiring presentation by Paula Bergs, Manager of Emerging Media at Southwest Airlines.

Southwest is a fantastic example of a company that does not limit its social media activity and community engagement, regardless of the company's large size. (You can follow Southwest on Twitter @southwestair.)

VP of Inbound Marketing Mike Volpe sat down with Paula after her session to ask her a few questions. Below is her interview.

At Southwest, the Emerging Media team manages the company's social media presence. Each person owns a particular channel and decides how they can best vocalize Southwest's messaging to fit the channel. 

Nothing is regulated by the corporate legal sector. Instead of discouraging employees with rules and regulations, Southwest  empowers employees to represent the company well.

Southwest encourages emoployees to be creative! David Holmes, Southwest's famous rapping flight attendant became famous after rapping the safety instructions one day. A customer filmed David and put it on YouTube. Southwest thought it was fun as well as a good branding opportunity, so it promoted the video on its traditional and social media channels. 

Since the video was published, David has been on Oprah and Leno, representing Southwest. Here's the original rap:

 

What do you think? Does your company empower its to be creative on social media channels? How?

Webinar: Twitter for Marketing and PR

Want to learn more about using Twitter for Marketing and PR? Download the free webinar for tips and tricks to drive inbound marketing using Twitter.

Become a Fan on Facebook Get inside info and advance notice of HubSpot's free marketing webinars, ebooks and more. Click here -->

Facebook’s New Incubator fbFund REV Announces Winners

You have to give Facebook credit. They get in the news more a lot. Maybe it’s investment. Maybe it’s a look at their numbers. Maybe it’s someone on the executive team has a hang nail. You name it they are there. That’s why this news seemed more interesting than just the usual talk. TechCrunch reports that [...]

Facebook’s New Incubator fbFund REV Announces Winners

You have to give Facebook credit. They get in the news more a lot. Maybe it’s investment. Maybe it’s a look at their numbers. Maybe it’s someone on the executive team has a hang nail. You name it they are there. That’s why this news seemed more interesting than just the usual talk. TechCrunch reports that [...]

Facebook Can’t Drive 55

Question for you rock and roll historians: Do you remember Sammy Hagar (The Red Rocker prior to his days as the front man for Van Hagar Halen)? Do you remember the song that made him just famous enough to replace David Lee Roth? It was “I Can’t Drive 55”. So what the heck does this have [...]

Facebook Can’t Drive 55

Question for you rock and roll historians: Do you remember Sammy Hagar (The Red Rocker prior to his days as the front man for Van Hagar Halen)? Do you remember the song that made him just famous enough to replace David Lee Roth? It was “I Can’t Drive 55”. So what the heck does this have [...]

Google Wave of the Future Revolutionizing the Web

You know, just the other day I was using my email and I found myself scoffing with disgust. “This is so last century!” Okay, not really. But apparently down at Google Australia, that’s exactly what they’ve been thinking lately—and Lars and Jens Rasmussen and Stephanie Hannon came up with a way to revolutionize email and instant [...]

Google Wave of the Future Revolutionizing the Web

You know, just the other day I was using my email and I found myself scoffing with disgust. “This is so last century!” Okay, not really. But apparently down at Google Australia, that’s exactly what they’ve been thinking lately—and Lars and Jens Rasmussen and Stephanie Hannon came up with a way to revolutionize email and instant [...]

Research Firm Predicts 2000% Growth for In-Game Ads; Fantasy?

Market forecasts are to be taken with a pinch of salt, but when a new report suggests in-game advertising is going to see a 2000%+ increase over 5 years, you may as well grab a handful of the stuff. ClickZ shares a new report by analyst firm Screen Digest and media firm GroupM that predicts the [...]

Microsoft Announces Bing.com, Makes Its First Serious Challenge to Google’s Dominance

Whether it ends up being akin to Custer’s last stand or not, Microsoft has just announced Bing, as it desperately tries to find a way to take market share away from Google. Whether you love the new name or not–personally, I think it’s a huge improvement on Windows Live Search–you owe it to yourself to go [...]

Microsoft Announces Bing.com, Makes Its First Serious Challenge to Google’s Dominance

Whether it ends up being akin to Custer’s last stand or not, Microsoft has just announced Bing, as it desperately tries to find a way to take market share away from Google. Whether you love the new name or not–personally, I think it’s a huge improvement on Windows Live Search–you owe it to yourself to go [...]

Research Firm Predicts 2000% Growth for In-Game Ads; Fantasy?

Market forecasts are to be taken with a pinch of salt, but when a new report suggests in-game advertising is going to see a 2000%+ increase over 5 years, you may as well grab a handful of the stuff. ClickZ shares a new report by analyst firm Screen Digest and media firm GroupM that predicts the [...]

Yahoo CEO Wants “Boatloads of Money” from Microsoft, but Has that Ship Sailed?

How would you define "boatloads?" One dictionary suggests "an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude." Well, thanks to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, we now have another definition of "boatloads"–its the precise amount of money it would take for her to sell Yahoo to Microsoft. Not a penny more, not a penny less! Speaking [...]

SEO Tool Review: BuzzStream for Link Building

As I work with our clients on their link building projects, I am often testing out new tools to make the process more efficient. After meeting with Lee at PubCon South in March, Jeremy Bencken - one of the founders of BuzzStream -  followed up with Lee for the opportunity to demo and test out [...]

SEO Tool Review: BuzzStream for Link Building

As I work with our clients on their link building projects, I am often testing out new tools to make the process more efficient. After meeting with Lee at PubCon South in March, Jeremy Bencken - one of the founders of BuzzStream -  followed up with Lee for the opportunity to demo and test out [...]

Yahoo CEO Wants “Boatloads of Money” from Microsoft, but Has that Ship Sailed?

How would you define "boatloads?" One dictionary suggests "an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude." Well, thanks to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, we now have another definition of "boatloads"–its the precise amount of money it would take for her to sell Yahoo to Microsoft. Not a penny more, not a penny less! Speaking [...]

5 Reasons to Publish Your Content in Multiple Formats

To ask everyone to read an 8 page white paper is like expecting everyone to read the hard cover, unabridged version of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Or, it's like sharing my monthly lead gen results in raw Excel data -- just numbers, no charts. Probably not the best format to share results with your executive team!

Let's face it: People have preferred formats for digesting information and the format needs to be conducive to browsing as well as deep dive study. If your company's site is a pure play of simple web text content it's probably missing an opportunity to tap into new audiences.

Here are the key advantages of publishing your content in multiple formats:

1. Maximize Your Reach

A few weeks back in my long tail article I emphasized a key way to tap into new audiences by spreading your content around. It's about being accessible.  You can upload your podcasts to iTunes, your presentations to slideshare.net, or your videos to YouTube (all for free). Is any of your content being found on YouTube -- the 3rd largest search engine?

How to Combine SEO, Blogging, and Social Media For Results HubSpot

View more Microsoft Word documents from Hubspot Marketing.

 

2. Better Lead Generation Offers

Packaging up your content assets into "kits" makes great lead generation offers. For example our Inbound Marketing Kit has a couple of videos, an eBook and links to some blog articles in there.

Providing downloadable videos helps us cater to end users who want to consume the info at their leisure or on the go, while the eBooks are for quick browsing, printing and annotating.  Each format has its uses!

3. It's an Important Future Investment

Last week Nielsen Ratings reported that Americans view video on the best screen available.  Ben Parr from Mashable covered that story with a blog post titled: "You Tube Generation: Online Video up 53 Percent in 2009".  Here's the data:



Online video grew 13% in Q1 2009 and consumption of video via mobile phones such as the iPhone grew by 52% from last year.

Chances are a good chunk of your Generation Y and Millennial audiences are not going to read your white paper. And if that's not your audience right now, just wait a couple of years!

4. It is Personal

Blog articles, interviews, video case studies are examples of content assets that are not only easy to digest but also a lot more personal than the typical content on a web page.  With video or audio especially you can put a face or a voice to the individuals you hear from and if done right the conversational, informal style can be easy to relate to.

5. It Shows Personality

Are you fiesty, sarcastic or just hillarious?  Formal web content rarely captures the personality or flavor or your company or individuals at your company.  Companies spend tens of thousands to millions of dollars on brand and personality for their website.  But sometimes a simple video could bring that out like text couldn't.

 

To Sum it Up

In order to tap into new audiences, maximize your reach and provide easy, accessible content you need to publish your content in multiple formats. Not only is this an opportunity to bring out your personality, it's also great for lead generation!

Are you experimenting with different content formats on your site?  Please share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Image courtesy: Amazon.com

 

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Stupid Social Media Tricks Down Under

It was only a matter of time before something like this would happen. Social media in the hands of most people is harmless. A marketing agency in New South Wales, Australia is about to enter the pantheon of social media for an ‘experiement’ it conducted. Of course, most who reach this status are put [...]

Stupid Social Media Tricks Down Under

It was only a matter of time before something like this would happen. Social media in the hands of most people is harmless. A marketing agency in New South Wales, Australia is about to enter the pantheon of social media for an ‘experiement’ it conducted. Of course, most who reach this status are put [...]

From Russia with Cash - Facebook Gets $200 Million

So all of the talk of valuations and all of the speculation regarding board seats and on and on and on has come to a close â€" for now. Facebook yesterday picked up a cool $200 million from a relatively unknown Russian investor, Digital Sky Technologies. All Things Digital reports The social network is selling $200 [...]

Google Didn’t Kill the Analytics Industry; Expected to Reach Almost $1B by 2014

The US web analytics market will grow to $953 million by 2014–a healthy 17% compound annual growth rate–according to a new Forrester Research five-year forecast being published today. Wait, didn’t Google’s free Analytics offering sound the death knell for paid web analytics? Apparently not. While licensing fees will drop 15% over the next 5 years, support [...]

Google Launches Easily Embeddable Web Elements at I/O 2009

The only really exciting thing you missed by not attending Google’s I/O 2009 developer event was the chance to get a free Android phone–apparently Google can give them away after all! The annual event is not as glamorous as Google’s other conferences, but if you dream in binary, then the chance to mingle with [...]

Google Adds Image Ads to AdSense Link Units

Are you using AdSense Link Units? The block of links to related-topic ad pages are getting a new “feature” after testing showed positive results—i.e. increased revenue for publishers. The old (and in case you aren’t familiar with the jargon—note that the page of ads looks a lot like ten blue links.): And the new version of the [...]

Google Adds Image Ads to AdSense Link Units

Are you using AdSense Link Units? The block of links to related-topic ad pages are getting a new “feature” after testing showed positive results—i.e. increased revenue for publishers. The old (and in case you aren’t familiar with the jargon—note that the page of ads looks a lot like ten blue links.): And the new version of the [...]

New Marketing Fundamentals by Brian Fetherstonhaugh at SMX London 09

Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman and CEOâ€"OgilvyOne Worldwide Once again SMX London was held at the rather grand New Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden. Unlike the typical chilly days of last November Spring was in the air and to begin the conference Brian Fetherstonhaugh of OgilvyOne took to the stage in front of a packed conference hall to [...]

Google Launches Easily Embeddable Web Elements at I/O 2009

The only really exciting thing you missed by not attending Google’s I/O 2009 developer event was the chance to get a free Android phone–apparently Google can give them away after all! The annual event is not as glamorous as Google’s other conferences, but if you dream in binary, then the chance to mingle with [...]

Ashton Kutcher Uses Twitter to Punk the Media

Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) is threatening to quit Twitter over (not so true) rumors the micro-blogging service had signed a TV deal. His exact Tweet: Now, I have to admit, this is either brilliant or naive. Brilliant, if Kutcher is punking the media with such a claim. After all, the guy is known for messing with people’s heads. [...]

New Marketing Fundamentals by Brian Fetherstonhaugh at SMX London 09

Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman and CEOâ€"OgilvyOne Worldwide Once again SMX London was held at the rather grand New Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden. Unlike the typical chilly days of last November Spring was in the air and to begin the conference Brian Fetherstonhaugh of OgilvyOne took to the stage in front of a packed conference hall to [...]

74% of Employees Agree Their Social Media Antics Can Ruin Your Company’s Reputation

Have you had the big talk with your kids? You know, the one where you explain the risks and how one night of craziness can result in them throwing their life away? Good. How about with your employees? No, I’m not talking about the importance of abstinence/protection, I’m talking about the importance of ruining your company’s reputation [...]

What Snapshot of SEO Drives Your Web Business?

Search Engine Optimization is a changing field. At any given moment in time, companies that rely on the web for new business or customer communications will consume information about SEO and then rely on that snapshot for months or even years. In the marketing mix, SEO is only one slice and company marketers are tasked with [...]

What Snapshot of SEO Drives Your Web Business?

Search Engine Optimization is a changing field. At any given moment in time, companies that rely on the web for new business or customer communications will consume information about SEO and then rely on that snapshot for months or even years. In the marketing mix, SEO is only one slice and company marketers are tasked with [...]

Google Didn’t Kill the Analytics Industry; Expected to Reach Almost $1B by 2014

The US web analytics market will grow to $953 million by 2014–a healthy 17% compound annual growth rate–according to a new Forrester Research five-year forecast being published today. Wait, didn’t Google’s free Analytics offering sound the death knell for paid web analytics? Apparently not. While licensing fees will drop 15% over the next 5 years, support [...]

Four Implications of Universal Search for Small Business SEO

Google first announced a new kind of search - universal, or blended, search - back in 2007 that, in addition to text-based results (web pages), would integrate different kinds of results such as video, images, and news, just to name a few.

Roll out has been slow (a Google rep recently reported that 1 in 4 searches now contain universal search results) and research on the effect on consumer behavior is limited and potentially inconclusive (both OTO Interactive and iProspect have conducted studies - iProspect mid-2008 and OTO late 2008, to be released soon).

Still, there are a few clear implications of universal search results for businesses who want to better optimize their web presence for this new search landscape.

1.) New Real Estate

Before universal search, SEO (search engine optimization) was all about creating remarkable content that people would link to and would be optimized for certain keywords so that your web pages would show up as one of those top 10 search results (the first page). But now, those 10 spots are cut down to 9, 8, 7, or fewer. Some of that old real estate is now reserved for different kinds of content across the web - video, images, etc. - that are on their own ranking algorithm.

There are new opportunities to get on that first page of search results, and businesses need to create multimedia content to take advantage of this new real estate. That means posting videos to YouTube, photos to Flickr, and tagging this multimedia content as thoroughly as possible.

2.) More Emphasis on Top Search Results

With these new, visually appealing, search results part way down the first page of search results, there is now a visual barrier that focuses users' eyes even more on the top of the search results page. We already know from eye tracking heat map analysis that users focus on the "golden triangle" (planted in the top left hand corner of the SERP) and few people scroll to the bottom of the page or go on to the second, third, etc. SERP.

It's very possible that this multimedia will continue to focus users' eyes on the top of the first SERP, so your website better be one of the first search results. 

3.) How Do You Convert Viewers of Multimedia?

Creating content is the absolute best way to attract more prospects to learn about and engage with your brand - on your website as well as social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, or Flickr. But how are you supposed to turn YouTube video views into leads and sales for your business? With this new SERP real estate going to multimedia content, this issue has become even more pressing.

For all of your multimedia, give people a way to further engage with your company, whether it's by including a link to your website or relevant blog article in the video/image/etc. description, or including your logo or call to action within the multimedia.

4.) Are You Listening to Your Customers?

This multimedia content is yet another way for content written about you by you, your customers, or fans, to bubble to the top of search results. While you may not yet have posted any multimedia about your company, your customers are most definitely already talking about you online, in a variety of ways and mediums.

Universal search results make it that much more important for you to listen and engage with your customers online, so that you know what they're saying, and so that you can promote flattering content and respond to negative criticism.

How does your business plan to create multimedia content to leverage universal or blended search?

Search Engine Optimization Kit

Learn more about how you can optimize your site to rank higher in search engines so you get found by more qualified prospects. Download our search engine optimization kit.

Become a Fan on Facebook Get inside info and advance notice of HubSpot's free marketing webinars, ebooks and more. Click here -->

Ashton Kutcher Uses Twitter to Punk the Media

Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) is threatening to quit Twitter over (not so true) rumors the micro-blogging service had signed a TV deal. His exact Tweet: Now, I have to admit, this is either brilliant or naive. Brilliant, if Kutcher is punking the media with such a claim. After all, the guy is known for messing with people’s heads. [...]

74% of Employees Agree Their Social Media Antics Can Ruin Your Company’s Reputation

Have you had the big talk with your kids? You know, the one where you explain the risks and how one night of craziness can result in them throwing their life away? Good. How about with your employees? No, I’m not talking about the importance of abstinence/protection, I’m talking about the importance of ruining your company’s reputation [...]

From Russia with Cash - Facebook Gets $200 Million

So all of the talk of valuations and all of the speculation regarding board seats and on and on and on has come to a close â€" for now. Facebook yesterday picked up a cool $200 million from a relatively unknown Russian investor, Digital Sky Technologies. All Things Digital reports The social network is selling $200 [...]

Pass or Fail: Twitter’s Reality TV Plans

In an effort to capitalize on its increased attention, Twitter has agreed to a TV deal with Reveille Productions and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. And not just any TV series, friends, a REALITY TV series (cue the hallelujah chorus). I think we’ve all had this void in our life, and in our TV lineups in particular, [...]

Pass or Fail: Twitter’s Reality TV Plans

In an effort to capitalize on its increased attention, Twitter has agreed to a TV deal with Reveille Productions and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. And not just any TV series, friends, a REALITY TV series (cue the hallelujah chorus). I think we’ve all had this void in our life, and in our TV lineups in particular, [...]

Social Media Doesn’t Drive Purchases?

Contravening prevailing wisdom, the results of a new survey from Knowledge Networks show that social media does not, in fact, drive purchases. Fewer than 5% of consumers age 18-34 “regularly turn to these sites for guidance on purchase decisions” on various product categories. Or, rather, a new survey from Knowledge Networks shows that very, very few [...]

Social Media Is Important to Everyone - Not!

Ok, we have turned a corner. We are on the other side of a holiday weekend. The unofficial start of summer has come and gone. Many people have walked away from their computers for a few days and have actually continued to breathe. Many are coming back refreshed. And, in the case of Gene Marks [...]

Social Media Doesn’t Drive Purchases?

Contravening prevailing wisdom, the results of a new survey from Knowledge Networks show that social media does not, in fact, drive purchases. Fewer than 5% of consumers age 18-34 “regularly turn to these sites for guidance on purchase decisions” on various product categories. Or, rather, a new survey from Knowledge Networks shows that very, very few [...]

New York Times Misfires by Hiring "Social Media Editor"

Time and time again I am saddened by companies hiring a "social media expert," and thinking that hiring one person to focus on inbound marketing will have a big impact.  And now an organization I respect a lot has done just that - see the Valleywag article "New York Times Hires Social Media Editor."

Companies try to do the right thing - they hear people talking about inbound marketing and how social media is an important component of marketing.  Then they hire an "expert."  The problem is that this is not the right strategy.  When TV first came out, I bet some advertising agencies hired a "TV expert" to do all things related to TV ads.  But the right strategy was to embrace TV as a mainstream platform, and train everyone in your agency to understand TV and incorporate it into all of your work, alongside print, radio, outdoor, etc.

What the New York Times Should Do:

1. Train all writers on the basics of SEO.  The best time to "do SEO" is at the time you create the content.  That way the writing, title and keywords can all be incorporated into the original content.  Going back and rewriting or re-optimizing content is expensive and time consuming.
2. Train all writers on social media.  Rather than having one person alone responsible for social media, train the entire company on it, and get everyone involved.  There is no way one person can use social media to any great effect.  Each person producing content should have a presence, develop relationships and promote their content.
3. Provide an ongoing inbound marketing training program for everyone.  This will allow for continued learning and development as the tools and technologies change, and it can be a forum for sharing best practices and case studies of things that have worked well.

The whole point behind inbound marketing is that it is not some sort of bolt on to your existing company.  You get the best results when you re-think your business and business model, and involve the entire company.  At HubSpot nearly every employee is on Facebook and LinkedIn, many are on Twitter, probably more than half of us blog.  There is not one person on the marketing team doing inbound marketing, we don't have a social media marketing expert.  That would be akin to having just one "software marketing expert" in marketing at Microsoft.

The New York Times gets points for trying, but they need to re-think their strategy to make the most impact.

What do you think?  Do you have a "social media expert" at your company?

Webinar: Twitter for Marketing and PR

Want to learn more about using Twitter for Marketing and PR? Download the free webinar for tips and tricks to drive inbound marketing using Twitter.

Become a Fan on Facebook Get inside info and advance notice of HubSpot's free marketing webinars, ebooks and more. Click here -->