It is key to look at the digital medium as a whole, but while doing so also explore the space through the mind of a consumer. Investigating how each touchpoint is used by consumers will identify the market activity strength for each touchpoint to then map touchpoint performance within four critical dimensions:

• Web equity: Which touchpoint is most trustworthy?
• Pre-purchase research: Which touchpoint is relied on for product research?
• Post-purchase support: Where do consumers go for customer service support?
• Relationship building: Which platform is best suited to maintain the interest in ongoing brand communications?

Only through this process does the role of each touchpoint become clear, taking into account how the consumer is interacting with and conceptualizing each one. From there, each touchpoint is assigned an objective or task to carry out within the broader media mix.

The results in the chart above show that the influencing power of the brand website leads other touchpoints by an expansive margin. This is true even when revisiting the “dot com boom” and still in this exact moment; yet Social Media still dominates the mindshare of marketers today.

As shown in the example, Social Media typically performs well in the relationship building dimension, but does not for any others. This is critical to understand when building brand objectives, as it is important not to assign an unachievable task to the fan page such as customer service or product support priorities. So what this exercise tells us is that if you prefer to use Social Media, associated strategies should be built out by looking at the ideologies of consumers (which reveal that it should be used only to develop and maintain customer relationships).

This exercise is essential when creating a placement plan that hits with a relevant reach, relevant message and relevant strategy to improve ROI. Once this is established and a formidable plan begins to form that will improve digital marketing ROI, related decisions will satisfy the main challenges with rising confidence that should free up digital budgets. This is just the first insurance policy of three (to be discussed in subsequent posts) that will make the days of “CYOA” soon a relic of the past.

Recent buyer and management interviews tell me a lot of head scratching continues to go on. Plenty of internal angst and debate is taking place on how to get from here to there, what is needed, what should be done, and what a lot of people think. The what to do aspects of internal planning usually center on strategy and tactical questions such as:

How do we grow revenues?
What can we do to generate more leads?
How do we expand business with existing customers?
What type of content will drive more traffic to our web site?
Should we get more active with social media?
Do we need to improve our product quality and offering?
Should we boost marketing and sales budgets?
Do we need to hire more people?
What should our pricing strategy be going forward?
What new technologies do we need to adopt?

As you can see, the list of questions for B2B organizations can be endless. And plenty of them have to do with what should we do – probably more so than how to get from here to there. What is striking however is that there is a tendency to dive into the angst over and debated questions without truly having clarity on where from here to there actually should end up. As they say in the venture capital world: sometimes there is no there - there. So in this riddle of thinking, to figure out how to get from here to there, you first have to figure out where the there actually is.

What is the one thing you can do to figure out where the there is and how to get from here to there?

You have guessed it by now, I am sure, if you have read my articles before:

Attaining deep qualitative B2B buyer insights.

Investing in deep qualitative B2B buyer insights means talking to your customers – and yes that sometimes means with the help of a third party. Let’s face it – in certain situations buyers are more revealing to a third party when the perceived wall of sales agenda comes down and the expertise level to conduct qualitative research is not in-house. However the point is this: to be informed on where the there is actually means your company needs to be talking with existing customers and prospective buyers deeply outside of a marketing and selling context.

Revealing buyer insights can tell you plenty about where your existing customers and buyers are headed. Deep buyer insights give you a clue on where the planning of how to get from here to there is suppose to end up. Giving you answers to the above mentioned type questions as well as what you should be doing to align with your buyers.

Collecting deep qualitative B2B buyer insights – before you get in over your head in angst and debate – can alleviate much of the headache that comes with strategy and tactical planning. Imagine a meeting with less I think we should debating going on and more discussion on how we need to help existing customers and prospective buyers get from here to there. Helping your customers and buyers to get from here to there helps you figure out how you and your company will get from here to there. The definition of where that is, if you are aligned with your buyers, should be a two sided coin. Helping buyers achieve their emblem of success on their side of the coin ensures that you will have an emblem of success on your side of the coin.

The one thing you can do is acquire deep qualitative buyer insights. The type of insights that inform you on the map you need to put in place that shows you, your teams, and your company how to get from here to there. Now – can you imagine getting anywhere in the world without a map?

(Image by Kenny Madden © All rights reserved)

Follow @TonyZambito

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Why is this happening?

I cannot quantify every reason for this, but one is most certainly the social, viral coefficient--a concept most of you are familiar with.  We have seen this effect in the past on Twitter and Facebook, but in the case of Pinterest, I believe the viral coefficient is being triggered by people in a way that is not necessarily aligned with the vision of the site. Furthermore, I believe that that the staggering increase in traffic will dwindle after the current swell is complete. The traffic decrease will be due to the way in which people are "mass friending" one another without acknowledging what the point of the site actually is (I do of course believe that Pinterest will be very successful and the traffic will pick up again as it is a great site).

Why this will happen?

We have reached a new stage in the progression of social technology. Now that the generic social infrastructure for the web is firmly installed things are starting to get exciting. Social discovery through media is becoming a new way for people to connect, and valuable social discovery can only occur through meaningful content curation.

Social discovery is not about your friends, it is about your interests

I have been receiving friend requests from the usual suspects. The same people that I am friends with on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and so forth. I love each one of these people, but do I really need to be friends with the same people on Pinterest? Where is the value add in "re-friending" people on a new network?

The beautiful thing about the new wave of social media sites is meeting new people who share the same interests

So what Adam, why are you writing this post?

My motivation for this post is twofold:

1. I want to let people know, if you have requested to be my friend on Pinterest and I have not reciprocated, it is not because I don't like you and it does not mean I will never friend you.
   1. I am experimenting with meeting people purely through content, not prior relationships. If we are meant to be valuable friends on Pinterest (and not just a notch on each others social bed posts) we will meet via a photo, product or random image
2. I want to get brand strategists thinking about the essence of social content sharing before jumping on the bandwagon with no thought of how to best add value.
   1. The bottom line is, you cannot simply repurpose what you are doing on Facebook and assume people will care.

Now that we have over thought something that is meant to be fun we can get back to having fun. Happy Pinning!

More info on the influx of Pinterest email. A scandal is born!

The reality of this new environment is that speed equals emotion. Logic gets left on the curb when messages are passed along in tweets and status updates.

What do these things have in common: Netflix, Bank of America, SOPA, Susan G. Komen for the Cure?

Answer: they've all got tread marks on their backs from social media protests.

The last six months have provided an amazing string of case studies on how protests movements are being changed forever by the speed and reach of social media.

Forget about organizing workers to gather signatures on a petition, or emails calling for a boycott of some company's product. Those are your grandfather's protest tools. Today's protests take shape in a matter of days, and the battles can pivot in a matter of minutes. Gone are colorful posters with catch slogans. Today the canvases are short emotional messages with hash tags or links.

So every company that deals with the general public, makes large donations to causes, or has a line of business that can be considered even remotely politically influenced needs to rethink its communications plan. If you don't have a disaster plan already on the shelf then this is your chance to prepare for being hit by a runaway train.

Let's use the events surrounding Komen for our example. If you've been living under a rock you can find a good summary of the controversy here (under the heading Relationship With Planned Parenthood). If we pick apart the past seven days we come away with six critical lessons.

1) No decision can be viewed in isolation. We live in a politically charged world with the extremes on both sides of the spectrum sitting on hair triggers ready to pounce on anything that will advance their cause. If you think your company, your products or your leadership is apolitical then you haven't looked closely enough.

Find someone, either inside your company or from a communications firm, who can see a grey cloud where you see a silver lining. Listen carefully to their scenarios for disaster. If you're lucky, time will prove these people wrong. But if they are right, you'd rather think through the threat now instead of when Brian Williams is talking about your company on the evening news. Which brings us to the next lesson.

2) Plan now for the worst. There will be no time to think later. Those people you see boarding up their windows ahead of a hurricane, that's not you. There's no forecast tool that will tell you that a storm will be on your door step in three days. If you have a good social media monitoring program you might get a couple hours notice. But no more than that.

You have to know what you'll do when all hell is breaking loose and there are protest pages popping up all over Facebook. Who will post online? Who is talking to the media? Who is authorized to post online? Are your employees clear on this, or do you have to worry about some well-intentioned staff member making things worse by attacking your critics?

3) React quickly, but deliberately. Now is not the time to disappear. This isn't going away if you ignore it. Remember the key to successfully participating in social media is that you are part of the conversation, and not just when it's good news.
Tell people you're sorry they're angry. You don't have to respond to every comment, but under no circumstances do you start deleting the comments you don't like. The only things that get deleted are comments with profanity or libelous language. And even then you explain why you hit the delete button.

4) Get simple and be consistent. This is probably the most important lesson of all.
If you can't summarize your position in 140 characters then go back and try again. The reality of this new environment is that speed=emotion. Logic gets left on the curb when messages are passed along in tweets and status updates. The only reason you're now in this crisis is because someone framed the issues in concise argument that appeals to the heart, not the mind.

Press releases and videos posted on YouTube are useful only if they provide simple, easy to digest context for your message. Part of the problem for the Komen foundation was that once it did respond, it tried to ignore the politics of the situation and attempted to defuse the situation by advancing several arguments defending its actions. Instead their actions amplified the rage by allowing critics to accuse the foundation of constantly shifting their argument, like a child caught in a lie.

5) Never counter attack. This should go without saying. But when you're watching your company, your good intentions, your life's ambition being savaged by thousands of strangers it's tempting to rally your supporters for a counter-assault. Stop. Open the windows and find a friend who will talk you off the ledge.

The absolutely last thing you brand needs is to become the rope in a tug of war between extremists. That will only prolong your suffering and assure destruction of everything you've worked hard to achieve.

Make sure every communication is devoid of emotionally charged words that characterize your attackers in a negative light. After all, when this is over you want them to come back and once again be your happy customers.

6) Remember your friends. This is the really frightening part of the new protest movement. When Komen came under fire, it tried to portray business as usual by highlighting its partnership with Energizer on its Facebook page. Critics seized on that to go attack Energizer for its support of Komen.

When you're in the storm make sure someone is talking early and often to your partners, affiliates and other friends. Don't let them learn what you're doing from the news or social media. In Komen's case Ford stepped forward on Twitter with perhaps the best message possible:

"We understand the emotions raised by the #Komen decision. Our desire is to focus on defeating breast cancer rather than on politics."

Ford even paid to make that a trending topic on Twitter, assuring that everyone talking about Komen saw the message. Friends like that are hard to find. Make sure you take care of them.

The rules are still being written for how to survive and thrive in this social-media driven world. But the past few months provide more than enough evidence that you can't wait for a text book to be published. Nor can you presume you're immune from the risks.

But it's not all bad news. For every controversy that's ripping apart a brand, there are hundreds of brands thriving from all that social media offers. The opportunities are too rich to live in fear of the new online environment.

The goal of this article is to make your job a little easier by helping you frame your digital marketing successes in a way that even the most skeptical CFO would want to support you.

The 20 most entertaining Super Bowl tweets

Funny stuff. Naturally, a lot of ad references.

Via @PublicityGuru

Input Error – Histories of Social Media

Just came across this site. I like both the content and the URLs implication: That social media may be a new term, but it’s a long-standing phenomenon.

Via @jonathansalem

Glam Media launches Foodie.com, a culinary site with a social network baked in

In the social media wars, what will most likely pull large numbers of people away from Facebook: A new general social network, or something more niche? I personally think the niche sites have a lot more to offer in terms of a more engaging experience. I think the big question will be how well they can integrate with Facebook, and then slowly siphon off traffic to their own properties.

Via @lizstrauss

Where To Find Budget For Content Marketing

Good content requires resources. Some of the challenge is simply identifying the diamonds in the rough, and knowing how to put the right polish on them. This is a good list of places to look into if you find yourself in need of ways to fill out a content calendar.

Via @heidicohen

98 Content Marketing Articles to Make You an Insomniac

Maybe a bit overkill, but given the increasing importance of the subject, it’s worth perusing.

Via @copyblogger

The Only 4 Reasons Agencies Should Care About Their Own Content Marketing

Content marketing is a rapidly-expanding part of the marketing world, so it makes sense that agencies should practice it for their own gain.

Via @jaybaer

Confessions of a Young Digital Media Planner

No matter what division of the agency or marketing department you’re in, this is a good reflection on where the business is headed.

Via @UpstreamDW

This is what the first half of the Super Bowl looked like on Twitter

Looks like the Twitter user base prefers Madonna to football.

Via @bdainton

YAN is an even bigger issue when combined with the fact that 88% of online buyers had at some point intentionally left registration information blank or used incorrect information when signing up for a new account, up 12% from 2010. Also, the expectation of consumers for brands to support Social Sign-On has increased significantly as eMarketer and Janrain recently reported that consumer desire for Social Sign-On has increased to 77% of US Online Buyers in 2011.

The importance of leveraging a single sign on authentication platform that is socially enabled becomes the key to unlocking a brands social CRM strategy. The reason for this is that Social Sign-On can lower the barrier of entry for a user, increase validity of data via the users social graph as well as increase stay rates.

According to recent research from Gigya, web users who log into 3rd party sites with Facebook's Graph API spend 50% more time on those sites, and view twice as many pages. Think about the impact to a Fortune 500 retailer with 50% increase in stay rates and how that may impact purchase frequency.

When it comes to selecting which service is ideal for your brand, Gigya also released information that shows that Facebook accounts for 61% of those social logins.

Where social sign on really gets interesting is when a brand leverages an OAuth solution, such as Facebook's Graph API. Instead of depending on a user to input a few sets of pre-determined data, you potentially have access to 180 data points to associate with the user. This includes the ability to access data tied to their feed, friends, activities, interests, music, books, movies, television, likes, checkins and more based on the users privacy settings.

This increases the probability of accurate subscriber data as well as the ability to append your proprietary questions on the back-end of the authorization of the user. Users in this scenario are more likely to share information as they are not repeating the information process. This also means that for a brand, the ability to build a robust profile around an individual beyond the standard data points such as basic demographic data and purchase history becomes a reality.

One of the more progressive brands when it comes to Social Sign-On is Nike.

Nike offers multiple options for authentication.

When you choose to login via Facebook, look at the data that Nike gains access to in one session...

A possible user scenario is as follows. Nike is about to become the uniform provider for the NFL in the upcoming 2012 season. Imagine if Nike had the ability to quickly scan the profile data of those who have authenticated via social sign-on and find team & athlete related Likes, game Checkin's from the last season (Timeline makes this even easier), team related status updates, etc... tied to the users NFL team & players of choice. They would be able to proactively target those users with highly targeted and relevant offerings around the upcoming seasons jerseys and other merchandise that the user would then be compelled to engage.

This solution combined with other integrated tactics would most likely net better results than engaging in a mass e-mail/traditional campaign. Moving forward, the brands that understand how to leverage the immense amounts of data that individuals are providing via their social graph and then create relevant & highly targeted outreach campaigns will be the brands that will capitalize on socially enabled commerce.

As e-marketer shows below, in 2012 $3 billion in goods will be sold via social media this number jumps to $14 billion by 2015.

The key to this trend is not just positioning products via social channels, but lowering the barrier of entry, mapping CRM & social graph elements as well as highly targeted, relevant and timely offers via social & traditional channels.

The brands that understand how to better integrate their CRM programs with Social Graph data to create robust user profiles that are then the basis for executing their marketing strategy will be the winners.

It should be noted that integration of SSO is a cross departmental effort and this is one of the primary reasons more fortune 500 organizations have not adopted this method. It will take visionary executives who understand the value of data integration to push SSO forward.

Follow @BlackFin360 via Twitter

I’ve worked with a variety of “forward-looking” companies over the years, many of which have had the “foresight” to hire a recent college graduate “native” to social media, and put them in the powerful position of representing the corporate brand externally. There are a variety of challenges inherent to hiring inexperienced, unproven talent for such a critical role: inadequate communication skills, inability to self-direct, lack of business or marketing knowledge or understanding of company history and culture. Younger talent also lacks experience in working with management (assuming they are given access in the first place) as well as navigating corporate policies and politics.  The cost of developing younger talent, regardless of potential and level of enthusiasm, can be significant in terms of time and money.

On the other hand, hiring a “seasoned” social media professional will cost dearly up front (possibly a six figure salary) and may bring other issues to the table, including predisposed thoughts regarding overall social media philosophy and process. Assuming you do get lucky and find an affordable, intelligent socially-savvy individual to fill the position, the role is typically so time-consuming that they are unable to take the time to stay on top of the latest social media tools, trends and tactics. More importantly, they may not have the bandwidth to identify & respond to issues and opportunities in a timely manner. Last but not least, the uniquely powerful role may foster a desire to build a build a fiefdom, resulting in a siloed and fragmented approach to social media.

There is hope, if not a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, however. Many of the challenges inherent to hiring a Social Media Marketing Manager are avoidable. Consider turning the role upside-down, focusing on integrating social media throughout your organization, driven by a Social Media Evangelist. In the Evangelist model, the role is that of Chief Brand Officer/CMO/Editor-in-Chief/HR Director all wrapped into one. Instead of being the single voice for the company, the Evangelist manages the overall voice of the company, as created by employees at all levels.

Let’s make a quick comparison between the two roles of Social Media Marketing Manager and Social Media Evangelist. For starters, notice the “Marketing” is dropped, since the responsibilities expand well beyond marketing into R&D, customer service and sales. The other significant difference is the shift of responsibility of outreach from an individual to all employees. Essentially, the Evangelist is a director and less of a tactician. Here’s another way to look at it:

Social Media Marketing Manager Job Description:

• Develops and implements overall social media strategy
• Creates, optimizes, promotes and manages social media profiles
• Creates majority of content
• Primary voice of company
• Monitors social media platforms
• Provides reporting to management
• Responsible for keeping up-to-date on evolving tools, trends and tactics

Social Media Evangelist Job Description:

• Develops and manages overall social media strategy
• Ensures all corporate social profiles are properly claimed, optimized, promoted and managed
• Manages voice of company
• Manages content creation
• Trains employees to monitor & engage in social media
• Manages and analyzes reporting across company
• Responsible for keeping employees updates on evolving technology, trends and tools

As you can see, there are subtle yet important differences between the roles. One is an implementer and the other is more of a facilitator. There are a variety of benefits to this approach. For starters, the Evangelist can be promoted and developed from within the company, which is historically more affordable and efficient. The position relies less on intimate knowledge of platforms and audiences and more on common talents like management and organizational skills.

With an ability to hire mid-level talent to fill the role, the Evangelist position also allows for invaluable intimate industry or company-specific knowledge. The seasoned individual would be more likely to gain exposure to and support from executive management, as well as other key employees. With a distributed approach to content creation, this person would also have more bandwidth to identify and respond to critical issues and opportunities in a timely manner as well as stay on top of the latest social media tools, trends and tactics.

Start rethinking your current Social Media Marketing Manager job description. If you’re lucky (or smart) you may only need to redeploy your existing person with minimal disruption. More than likely, the existing employee would be more than happy with an opportunity to elevate their role within the company as Chief (Social Media) Evangelist.

The fact that people accumulate friends and family members and then post and watch countless still images and videos feels very primal and tribal. We are exercising the passive aspect of our flight or fight instincts as we build our social networks.  Recent survey data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project suggests that individuals extend their introvert or extrovert tendencies and play out predictable gender roles in social media.

Twenty to thirty percent of Facebook users are “power users”. Like those people who call into talk radio shows, these individuals create the most content, post more frequently, like more aggressively and comment on or tag others pictures and posts often. Yet only 5% of the Facebook user base, do all of these things. For the majority Facebook is a more passive experience where they get more than they give.

The Pew folks found that  …

• 63% got a friend request but only 40% made one
• The average person hit “Like”14 times/month but was “Liked” by others 20 times
• Users get 12 messages, but send only 9
• Comments outpace status updates 2.5:1
• 35% of users were tagged in photos, but only 12% tagged a friend in their photos
• Women updated their status 3 times more often than men

There seems to be an emerging engagement dynamic that combines a consensus on courtesy, expected behaviors and the desire to watch, listen and see without too much of an investment of time or emotion.

The average Facebook user has 245 friends. The average friend of a friend has 359. Each person’s friend list is loosely connected. There’s a mere 12% overlap when friends are matched against friends’ friends. Yet 80% of friend requests were reciprocated and fewer than 5% of Facebook users “unfriend” somebody. We seem link ourselves to the more popular kids in the class and watch them do their thing. Facebook feels a lot like High School.

Facebook also appears to be a habit leading to addiction for a segment of the user base. Psychologist Wilhelm Hofman of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago wired up 205 people in Wurzburg, Germany and quizzed them 7 times a day for 14 days to see what they were doing and feeling.  He found that Facebook and Twitter are more addictive and harder to resist than alcohol or cigarettes but not as desired as sleep or sex.

Hofman speculates that the addictiveness is hard to resist because the cost (in time or emotion) is so little. “ Desires for media may be comparatively harder to resist because of the high availability and also because it feels like it doesn’t ‘cost much’ to engage in these activities even though one wants to resist.” Resistance to the allure of Facebook degrades further as the day goes on accounts for strong evening and night usage.

It’s no surprise that as 50% of US Facebook users visit the site daily, 40% of women, polled by Lightspeed-Oxygen Media, admit to being Facebook addicts. One in three check Facebook before they brush their teeth or wash their face in the morning. One in four checks Facebook in the middle of the night or falls a sleep PDA in hand.

Facebook means you never have to be alone. Facebook insures you always have someone to talk to and something to see and react to. Facebook is so personalized that it borders on narcissism. On Facebook you can brag, rant, pose, emote, share, offer TMI and act out in ways that your real friends and family might not tolerate. And while many users voice privacy concerns about Facebook, a kind of cognitive dissonance is at play when people post all kinds of intimate thoughts, feelings and pictures.

It’s one of the very few experiences that almost always delivers on expectations. A Facebook session always includes something that each individual cares about. It’s much more reliable and friendly than most real friends. Facebook reaffirms connections to clan, tribe, class and community. Facebook might just be the antidote to existential loneliness.

The implication for brands is clear. Be human. Try to connect with each person individually. Tap the egocentric, the longing, and the sense of community, the feeling of inclusiveness that speaks deeply to us and keeps us coming back.

Starbucks' groundhog day line: "What if your coffee sees it's shadow today?"

Below is this week's Top Ten. You can click through to see any of the actual posts.

Our FREE Top Ten weekly report features the top post from each of the top ten brands on Facebook. You can either sign up or view the complete list of posts in our latest report, featured in the archives on this page.

Get a FREE TRIAL of Zuum, the leading Facebook Page Content Strategy tool, by just registering.

Moderator Jeffrey Rayport, Operating Partner, Castanea Partners asked the participants to crystallize their paid content business strategies.

Rob Grimshaw, Managing Director, Financial Times, said the FT was essentially trying to create a business that generates more and more revenue from its content, and settled on a metered model that charged users when they hit a threshold of articles.

He also discussed how switching its mobile experience from applications to HTML5 was a risk, but it has ultimately paid off handsomely. Since the FT launched the app, its traffic from Apple devices is up more than 50%, he said.

“We feel although it was a gamble, we’ve put ourselves in a much better position,” Grimshaw said.

Paul Smurl, Vice President, Paid Products, The New York Times Company, told the attendees that they need to research the tolerance of their audience to pay for content. He echoed Grimshaw’s previous comments that the Times found that people were more than willing to pay for premium content.

Unveiling a metered system has not impacted traffic to the New York Times, remaining at 44 million global unique visitors, which is flat year-over-year.

Another interesting aspect to the unveiling of digital subscriptions is that it gives publishers greater analytics to understand what type of content their users prefer.
“You want to know where the oil is on your site better than others,” Smurl said. “It allows you to think [deeper] about average revenue per user.”

LinkedIn, as a social media company, took a slightly different approach. They made sure they weren’t impacting the experience of those who use the site for general networking, while locating a paid model for recruiters and other power users.

“We [looked to] creating paid opportunities that didn’t overall negatively impact the ecosystem,” Sutherland-Wong said.

And because a majority of users spend time on LinkedIn in a free capacity, that active audience provides an effective ROI for those who use the paid services

The panel served up plenty of evidence that online subscriptions have a bright future, with the key takeaway that publishers will find success with paid models by putting resources towards understanding their customers and paying attention to their needs.

This post originally ran on the OPA Blog.

But are backlinking strategies starting to take a back seat to social signals as they relate to SEO? Is your time better spent investing in a “social signals strategy”?

In this blog post discover:

1. How Google’s algorithm changes impact both backlinking and social signaling.
2. How to build an SEO social signals strategy.
3. How your SEO backlinking and social signals strategies come together in your content strategy.
4. How to measure it all.

Google’s Recent Algorithm Changes Impact both Backlinking and Social Signaling

First off, yes backlinking is still important and yes you still need to build backlinks. Remember a backlink works similar to an academic citation. In academia, the more frequently a piece of work is cited, the more relevant it must be. Apply this to the web – the more frequently your website is linked to from authoritative sources (Forbes, The Wall Street Journal), the more relevant it must be.

So here are the academic Coles Notes on SEO backlinking strategies in 2012:

1. Be familiar with Google’s Panda updates. The Google algorithm will become suspicious and penalize you for being involved in link farms.
2. Be familiar with Google’s Freshness update. Fresh, relevant content with fresh, relevant backlinks will win.
3. Don’t buy backlinks. Don’t even think about it.
4. Don’t focus just on backlinks in your SEO strategy. Ignoring the fundamentals of SEO, social signals and fresh content is an opportunity for your competitors to outrank you.
5. Increase the number of backlinks to your site at a steady rate. Slow and steady will win the race.
6. Ensure your anchor text includes non-branded keyword phrases that are part of your keyword strategy.
7. Understand the quantity and quality of backlinks your competitors are producing on a weekly and monthly basis.

But more interesting are the Coles Notes on SEO social signaling strategies in 2012:

1. Social signals now account for 8 to 10% of both Google and Bing’s search algorithms. This will only increase over time.
2. Social signals include: Facebook Likes and Shares; Twitter activity such as number of followers, tweets, retweets; and now Google+.
3. Whether or not your organization has embraced social media and social networking, it emits social signals to Google. If there was a social signal scale from 0 to 10, think about the volume of social signals you produce in a month.
4. Imagine if your organization published content (blogs, case studies, etc.) in Twitter and Google+, and the New York Times or Forbes retweeted it or +1’d it. That would send massive social signals to Google indicating that significant, trusted and authoritative sources believe your content is relevant. This one retweet or +1 would improve your overall web presence.
5. Understand the volume of social signals your competitors are producing. What will it take to out signal them?

Building your Content Strategy & Social Signals Strategy

Ok, so now you’re asking, “How do I build a social signal strategy?” The answer is, you start by building a content strategy and consistently publish the content into the social channels (Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook). Remember, an overall SEO strategy is only as strong as the content, and without the content you cannot execute on either a backlinking or social signal strategy.

Content in your content strategy can consist of:

• Press releases
• Customer case studies
• White papers
• Research
• Blogs
• Guest blog posts
• News items
• Videos
• Webinars

Think about the types of content your organization already publishes over a month or a quarter (you may have a content strategy and not even know it). How do you socialize this content now? How could you more effectively socialize the content?

Here are 10 steps to generating both backlinks and social signals from your content:

1. Start with a newsworthy story and issue a press release about it. For example: a new product offering, a client success story, expansion into new markets, etc.
2. Within the content of the press release add sufficient backlinks to your website.
3. Issue that press release through PRWeb, Marketwire, Businesswire, etc. When done properly, your press release will get picked up by online news sources multiplying the number of backlinks to your website.
4. Ensure there are social icons on the press release for people to socialize with.
5. Publish that content on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
6. Ask employees and other trusted partners to help get the ball rolling by +1, Sharing, Liking, retweeting, etc.
7. A couple of days later publish a video blog or written blog that is an excerpt of the content. Again, provide ample opportunity for your viewers and readers to socialize the content. In the case of the blog content, ensure there are backlinks in the blog post.

Measuring the Performance of your Content in the Social Channels

The report below indicates how a particular piece of content (in this case, a press release) performed in the social channels. The press release can be tied to the number of tweets, likes and shares that were generated. (Note: when this press release was published Google+ was not in use.)

Summary

If you haven’t already, I recommend asking your SEO professional or in-house SEO team what their plans are for your SEO social signals strategy across your web presence. Start to think about how a content strategy drives a strong web presence. When we see organizations base their SEO on content, they win. They win on backlinking, social signals, and ultimately organic search rankings.



http://www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio372/class/behavior/sciproc.htm

Some executives in the marketing community tend towards the more creative aspects of the business, but even the creative marketer must recognize the scientific elements of marketing, or suffer severe losses—no matter how creative their ideas are.

I am currently working on a feature for iMedia and in it I talk about platform envy. My current platform envy gripe is around the "brand-grab" on Pinterest. Have we learned nothing from social platforms past? Have we not learned that a thoughtless presence is NOT better than no presence? I am all for experimentation but, experiments are science, not art!

Take a look at what the top brands are doing on Pinterest. Some are doing interesting, value adding, content driven things. Others are create just plain garbage--“me too” initiatives that are not only uncreative, they lack strategy and any ability to achieve the types of benefits from what a “test and learn” environment can bring.

I plead with you, my fellow advertisers and marketers. Create a plan. Devise a test and learn scenario in which the learnings are more substantive than,  “thoughtless use of product shots and logos do not work on Pinterest”.

Strategy?

Goodbye Zuck, Hello Street

Days from the IPO, Mark Zuckerberg insists that connecting the world and making it more open will remain the primary objective of Facebook. That is admirable but also a bit naive. Once public trading commences, Zuckerberg will no longer be responsible for delivering remarkable user experiences. He will be charged with delivering remarkable ROI to the Street. Although this may bring social media marketers a step closer toward solving the great return on investment riddle, it may do so at the expense of loyal users. How?

Ads Ads Ads. Did I Forget Ads?

If there is one thing that drives social media users crazy, it's intrusive advertising trumping content. Well users, get ready for your straight jacket fitting. Revenue generation will become, by necessity, Facebook's main priority, especially as the social network positions itself as a stronger mobile player. Marketers and brands leveraging Facebook as a monetization tool will be more readily accepting of increased online advertising. Joe Schmoe from Avenue O may not be as forgiving if more ads clutter up his otherwise clean page.

And Then There's That Privacy Business

Wall Street will expect Facebook to knock on the digital doors of its users in order to maximize the profitability of information. Basically, the Street won't be all that interested in regulating privacy. Facebook has gone to great lengths to correct its many privacy foibles from the past helping re-establish trust with its mega-robust user database. Any perception of broken trust with users in pursuit of Wall Street wealth could prove devastating in the short-term and long-term.

Time to Play The Waiting Game

Of course, the IPO filing is merely the tipping off point. It will be months before users, social media experts or even Facebook see significant changes to the social network. For now, we're all in wait and see mode. That includes Team ZuckStreet.

Super Bowl XLVI...is once again more than a football game, and the social aspect of the game is more than simply breaking Twitter records. This year Super Bowl XLVI will create connections. Viewers are expected to use mobile devices at unmatched levels and the demand for mobile interaction is tremendous.

What is certain? Immediate and direct access to “more” is expected, and brands are challenged to create spectacular interactive experiences

Extraordinary relevance

Promises of brilliant content are certain, but tremendous value is most often created when fans discover, conquer, own, and share stories about who they are and what they know. Creative brands will be prepared to listen, will adapt quickly and respond with authentic messages. So, what is the outcome? Emotional connections, possible when brands nurture dialogues and support the role of people in the process.

How will we connect? Apple shipped over 15 million iPads in Q4 2011

Position a very different kind of strategy

Honda has had great success with the early release of the Ferris Bueller's Day Off big game commercial. The video already has more than 8 million views, great news for Honda as they launch the all-new 2012 CR-V. Still,with almost 60 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, imagine the possibility for unique opportunities. Enable people to capture original video and celebrate the imagination of people in real-time, as they are watching the game.

…Raison d'être

#GameDayPolarBears

Living, breathing, and ever-changing content. Coca-Cola® has given their Polar Bears permission to throw a Super Bowl Party. While watching the game, the polar bears will be chatting with, so far, more than 18,000 friends. As of now, the popular hosts have only invited a little more than 64,000 friends via Facebook.

Become a resource

Chevy is sponsoring “Road To The #SuperBowl”

Chevy has become a resource for those wanting to track tweets per minute and see who is sharing content in real-time. Chevy has also reached out to Detroit Labs to develop a great mobile app. The Chevy Game Time App offers viewers a chance to interact with exclusive content, get real-time stats, and be a part of the game with live trivia. At this point are we fans or players? Players can win 1 of 20 Chevys and other prizes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Service…extended brand experience

Xbox LIVE Gold access will be free February 2-5. Xbox wants to make sure that fans experience ESPN via Xbox LIVE. The Super Bowl is ideally targeted and Xbox will extend the brand’s experience with Madden Bowl XVIII! Last night, NFL players and celebrities teamed up in a 3-on-3, playing for the coveted title of Madden NFL 12 champions!

I like this idea, but would love to see real-people also involved. Celebrity overload I guess. During Super Bowl week, the last thing some of us care to see are more celebrities.

Consider the value of social media...Loyalty and Learning. Then add the perception of “people” defining their personal value by what they share. Now consider the passion and true emotion within sporting events. This is only the beginning, the 2012 Olympics are only a few months away. The games will further test brands to create strong resources and enable “my” Olympics.

Super Bowl Goes Mobile viaInteractive Advertising Bureau

Leading off, Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, VivaKi, identified audience, brand, content, data and enterprise as the key components for ongoing success for marketers.

He focused on marketers needing to understand their audience, but not just the people who buy the most of their products.

“Most marketers focus on heavy users, but we also have to focus on the heavy voice, or influencer,” Tobaccowala said. “If you don’t defang your detractors, it doesn’t matter what you do with your advocates.”

The three most important forces guiding the next phase in marketing are the Internet as “connection engine”; “digital leakage”, or how the digital spaces makes unlikely competitors of key brands; and D.A.D. (disaggregated, accelerated, distributed content).

“The next 10 years will be fantastic for the [publishing] industry if it lives up to its potential,” Tobaccowala said.

Tobaccowala, however, pointed out that there will always be unforeseen challenges and opportunities, or “black holes” when looking to the future. In 2002, he reminded the audience that Facebook didn’t exist, Google was just a search company, and Apple was given up for dead.

Matt Freeman, Vice Chairman/Chief Innovation Officer of McCann Erickson, highlighted how online publishers and advertising agencies have shared goals.

“The agency business and online publishing are not that dissimilar,” Freeman said. Adding that the goal is to determine “how we can work together to create new ideas in partnership with online publishers.”

Linda Descano, CFA and Chief Administrative Officer of Global Marketing & Corporate Affairs at Citi, talked about how her company is taking a stronger approach to content, from holding Twitter parties to launching social media sites.

The company asked itself: “How do we thrive in a conversation economy?”

Descano said that Citi’s previous marketing efforts lacked cohesion and a singularity of message, so they needed to alter their approach.

Citi has subsequently transformed its content strategy from the sort of formulaic “About Us” approach to identifying what information is relevant for its customers.

This post originally ran on the OPA Blog.

Tumblr hires a dedicated team to write about…Tumblr

Tumblr demonstrating they understand the value of content marketing.

Via @jodiontheweb

Social business: Social media integration

A nice data visualization from a survey on how companies are integrating social media, and what their expectations are. One stat that really stands out to me is, 52% of the respondents said their most important social media metric is leads generated. All roads lead back to ROI.

Via @wearesocial

Is Social Media Killing the Website?

I think a lot of people are asking this question. I agree with the author, that while a Facebook page seems a must for many businesses, it’s not time to mothball the website yet.

Via @Robert_Rose and @MeganLeap

Ten Things To Think About When Designing Your iPad App

If you think you’ll ever sit down to create an iPad app, bookmark this link.

Via @DesignerDepot

Mapping Facebook’s growth – Decoder (1:10)

You’ve seen a lot of charts on Facebook’s growth, but this short video is still stunning. Especially how the growth has continued through recent years.

Via @AntDeRosa

Five books you should be reading.

A short list from David Armano, EVP, strategist at Edelman.

Via @maddiegrant

What brands register with a five-year-old?

This is both funny and insightful. Some interesting insights, such as the Apple logo standing for ‘the Apple store’. That was one of Jobs’ reasons for wanting to launch the store — the brand recognition.

Via @johnboese

How Brands Can Manage Facebook Comment Overload

A fire drill that anyone managing a Facebook page should go through.

Via @jasonkeath

Why Reddit Rules in the Social Media Age

Sometimes success isn’t due to unique features, but rather having just the right balance of familiar features.

5 tips to increase engagement on your Facebook Page

A good overview and a quick read.

AD SPEND RISING

The STRATA Survey found that 81% expect their client's approach to advertising and marketing to either increase or stay the same.  This is up 14% based on the same figures reported third quarter 2011. Adding to this positive economic surge, nearly half of respondents said they project the 1^st half of 2012 to be better than the last half of 2011 with increases in business compared to the same time last year. The impact shows 31% of agencies noted they plan on hiring in 2012, which is up 29% over third quarter 2011 and up 28% over the same time last year.

DIGITAL

Digital advertising dollars were nearly unchanged during the fourth quarter 2011 compared to the previous quarter. When agencies were asked about their client's focus on digital, 81% said it was more than it was a year ago, which is actually down 4% from the previous quarter. There is also significant confusion around Digital due to the fact that agencies still say clients don't understand the value (54%). On the social front, Facebook continues its dominance in ad campaigns with 89% of agencies planning to utilize the medium for clients (followed by Twitter (39%), YouTube (36%), LinkedIn (21%) and Google Plus (18% - up 28% over 3Q 2011).

MOBILE

Agencies reported Mobile advertising during the fourth quarter 2011 was up 39%. The iPhone remains the top choice as reported by 83% of agencies surveyed, though Android continues to close the gap, up 32% over third quarter 2011 and up 50% over the fourth quarter 2010. Although the iPad is still third for Mobile advertising, 76% do say that with Apple and Amazon continuing to focus on building tablet content, there will be an increase in interest in advertising on the newer medium.

TOP MEDIUM OF CHOICE

The STRATA Survey reveals that the top medium of choice for clients in the fourth quarter was Spot TV (Broadcast and Cable) as reported by 51% of agencies surveyed. Digital was second at 31%, which is down 9% from third quarter 2011, followed by Spot Radio (8%). Spot TV (Broadcast) continues to be an area of interest as 28% of respondents said that they are more focused on it than a year ago, up 12% over fourth quarter 2010. As for Spot Cable, 26% say they are more focused on it than they were a year ago, which is up 66% over last year.

About the Data: STRATA conducted the survey of advertising agency respondents online and via telephone in Q4 2011, and had about 90 respondents.

Have buyers changed? Answer: Yes
Does B2B Sales need to change? Answer: Yes
Will buyers still require the assistance of B2B Sales? Answer: Yes

I suspect many of you will answer the same way. B2B Sales will continue to matter very much and it will go through periods of redefinitions and transformations over the next few years. Although, in the Social Age, it may seem that people want to be devoid of actual interactions with others in such buying settings, I for one believe buyers are actually seeking more. However, more of what has not defined interactions and relationships in the past.

5 Ways B2B Sales Are Affected

New buyer behaviors are emerging and evolving. The rate of change will, without a doubt, continue to take place at a significant rate. B2B Sales will have to charter a new course that gets them rethinking about how interactions, engagements, and relationships are changing. Let’s take a look at new buyer behaviors and how they are affecting B2B Sales in particular:

Buyers Have New Knowledge Expectations

The instantaneous availability of information and knowledge at buyer’s fingertips puts pressure on B2B Sales to match their expectations when it comes to what we can call knowledge readiness. If buyers are truly able to access information and knowledge for researching as well as assessing potential opportunities and resolutions, then B2B Sales needs to bring more to the table when an actual engagement takes place. B2B Sales needs to pick up where the buyer left off. Let an actual buyer voice be heard:

“Okay, so what gets my goat more than anything is that after I do all the research and such, I finally get to talking to a sales rep. And what happens? They just regurgitate all the stuff I found online. They are not telling me anything new. Just telling me what I already know.”

For B2B organizations today, not only is sales readiness important but so is knowledge readiness.

Buyers Seeking Advisement, Not Ready-Made Solutions

A generalized assumptive statement can be made, based on numerous surveys conducted over the past two years, that buyers are generally 50% to 60% into the buying process before having direct engagement with sales. They’ve done the spade work in looking at potential solutions, scoping out what might be a good resolution, and approximating budgets. This changes the game significantly for B2B Sales. Buyers already know about your ready-made solutions found in their researching. What they seek is skills and knowledge in advising them on how solutions – modified, customized, and most definitely altered – will help them to achieve the specific goals and outcomes they seek. The implication for B2B organizations is B2B Selling organizations must have talent that reflects excellent advisory skills.

Buyers Including More People in Their Ecosystems and Networks

Driven by social and Enterprise 2.0 technologies, buyers are able to expand their ecosystems and networks in complex situations. The degree of interdependencies between not only users and influencers but partners, suppliers, and their customers as well makes for more complexity. And once again – more knowledge needed. Decision-making is getting more participative within ecosystems and networks. B2B Sales will need to adapt and address complexity as well as possess knowledge that makes them an important participant within a buyer’s complex ecosystem and networks. I believe this will be B2B Sales toughest challenge over the next few years. Why? I believe wired into the DNA of selling organizations are systems, training, processes, and the likes all oriented towards the tunnel vision of a single buyer making a non-sophisticated decision. Today’s realities tell us otherwise.

Buying Cycles Are Getting Longer

Counterintuitive to today’s hyper-connected and hyper-speed world is the acknowledgement that buying cycles in complex B2B Sales situations are actually getting longer. Increasing need for more knowledge, more advisement on problem-solving, more modifications and customizations, more participants in buyer networks, and more complex global environments all point towards why buying cycles are getting longer. This means B2B Sales will need to exercise patience in serving in the advisory role and slow down the train on ready-made solutions selling. What we will see here is boiling tension points begin to emerge. Many organizations are still wedded to pipeline thinking and management. Mandated for decades has been to push sales opportunities fast and furiously through the pipeline to meet quarterly projections. Readjusting thinking around this tension point is very much akin to turning a freight ship around in a harbor – it’s going to take a while and some tug boats are definitely going to be needed.

Buyers Are Relating Differently

Emerging generational differences are beginning to sprout into the workforces. A generation is rising that has little knowledge of a world without an Internet, email, social networks, ubiquitous smart phones, and always on connectivity to their social and professional networks. How interactions takes place and how relationships are formed are undergoing major transformations. The implications for B2B Sales is that it will need to look at their buyer groups and determine how advanced they are along these lines and are they impacted significantly with generational differences. Causing a reexamination of what the coveted ratio between field and inside sales should be in the future. Which is better suited to interact with and relate to the social buyer will be the new determining factor on this ratio – as opposed to some arbitrary cut off line between large accounts and small accounts.

Where Is B2B Sales Headed?

These emerging new buyer behaviors will contribute towards the changing face of B2B Sales. They will impact traditional vanguards such as sales planning, sales strategies, pipeline management, sales training, and sales hiring. Solving the decades old marketing and sales alignment issue will need to be reexamined as well. Much of the debate has been around functional definitions as opposed to how an organization best coalesces around changing buyer behaviors and dynamics.

There are three things we can be sure of in the future. One, new buyer behaviors will continue to impact B2B Sales. Two, how we define B2B Sales will undergo drastic change. And lastly, B2B Sales will continue to play a vital role in how organizations engage with buyers in the future.

How is your organization being impacted today? What changes are taking place that you see?

(Image by Kenny Madden © All rights reserved)

Follow @TonyZambito
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Related articles

• Buyerology: The New Science of Understanding Buyer Behavior (buyerology.com)
• Buyer Perceived Value (BPV) Scorecard: Qualifying and Quantifying Value (buyerology.com)
• 7 Burning Questions for B2B Marketers in 2012 (blogs.imediaconnection.com)
• 5 Ways New Buyer Behaviors Will Affect B2B Marketers in 2012 (blogs.imediaconnection.com)

Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi discussed the economic outlook for the next couple of years in opening comments.

While he says full recovery is a few years away, he is optimistic and predicts that 2012 will be better than 2011, and 2013 will see additional improvement.

Mark indicated that the next big opportunity for US companies is in China, but that products and services must be re-imagined in order to succeed in that very unique and different culture. This holds true for content as well.

Our next speaker Peter Francese, Demographic Trends Analyst for the MetLife Mature Market Institute, noted that the state of the union for publishers is strong, considering how limitless the demand for content has become.

He broke down the various demographics that will be consuming the most content. He focused on both the young–noting that children are starting to access content online at around 5 and 6 years old–and grandparents, of which there are 65 million in the US alone.

For the latter, he said that when users encounter a new life stage, e.g. becoming grandparents or seniors, the need for content that explains the new worldview increases.

Genevieve Bell, Intel Fellow and Director of Interactions and Experience Research, Intel Labs, INTEL, spoke next about how Intel uses anthropology to better understand how its products fit into this changing landscape.

She highlighted the fact that the world is not just more connected, but that the US is no longer the center of the web-driven world.

“17% of the world’s Internet users were based in the US in 2010 vs. 65% 10 years ago,” she said.

“You need to be clear about who you are targeting, not just creating a fantasy of who your user is,” Bell said. “It is essential that technology providers and content providers make things that cut through the clutter.”

She highlighted a number of trends that impact the publishing space. For example: the proliferation of devices. While consumers are struggling with what devices are relevant to their lives, they have decided that no one device will do it all.

But not everything is changing; Bell is quick to point out that Americans still watch five times more TV in a month than spend hours on the Internet.

Plenty more to come tomorrow and don’t forget to tune in at 9:15 am ET and 9:50 am ET for the next two live streamed sessions from the summit.

This post originally ran on the OPA Blog.