On Wednesday October 1st, about ten of TopRank’s finest will be making the trek from the Western suburbs to downtown Minneapolis for the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association’s (MIMA) “sold out” Summit.
As in years past, MIMA Summit will take place at The Depot with a new focus on the subject of “mutualism”. Mutualism centers on the open use of material in the online world, in which web marketers and users alike participate with one another and share information together. In that spirit, I’m going to take the information provided by MIMA about the Summit and share with our readers.
The MIMA Summit is an all-day event including two keynote speakers (Rebecca Lieb & Ze Frank), numerous breakout sessions on just about every interactive marketing topic you could wish for and of course, a happy hour. Here are a few sessions I’m planning on attending to give you a taste of what the MIMA Summit 2008 has to offer.
Opening Keynote: “The Decline of Advertising and the Creative Renaissance”Rebecca Lieb, former Editor-in-Chief for the ClickZ Network, will kick off the MIMA Summit looking at the shift from ‘advertising’ to ‘marketing’ in the digital sphere. You can read our recent interview with Rebecca here.
“Creativity: Bridging Traditional to Digital Adrian Ho and Christian Erickson of Zeus Jones explore the creative divide between traditional advertising and digital marketing. Using real-world examples, this digital marketing duo will give advice on blending creative messaging into the value-driven digital landscape.
What Conversation? The Summit’s second keynote address will be given by Ze Frank, online performance artist, humorist and composer. Ze will be examining how brands can successfully participate in online conversations. The MIMA description assures that Ze will most likely avoid the difficult questions and instead focus on his own experiences. Who doesn’t love tangents?
Corporate Blogger: Angel or Demon? Director of Marketing Communications and Blogger Valeria Maltoni explains the interesting phenomenon that is the corporate blogger. Valeria will draw on her personal experience to give advice on blogging effectively about an organization while maintaining an authentic voice.
Afternoon Keynote: “What Conversation?” with Ze Frank. Ze Frank will talk about his experiences creating online environments in which participants gather, create, collaborate and play.
Happy Hour with Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. While I don’t know much about this comedy duo from North Carolina, what I saw on their website gives me hope that their show will be entertaining. I also like the fact that one of the comedian’s last name contains the word ‘laugh’ and the other’s first name is ‘link,’ which is only fitting for a digital marketing event.
There are many more sessions taking place at Wednesday’s MIMA Summit. Between all of us, the TopRank crew should be able to attend most of them and bring our newfound knowledge into play with both officemates and clients. Plus with all the humor on the schedule, we should have a new set of interactive marketing jokes to share.
If you’re attending the MIMA Summit this week AND you’re a Twitter enthusiast, be sure to tweet @mima08 or #mima08 about the event happenings, questions and observations during sessions. To follow the MIMA Summit conversation, click or subscribe to #mima08. MIMA Summit info is also on Facebook.
You can read our past coverage of MIMA Summit events here.
I had such a great time yesterday at the local meetup for Music City Marketers. We spent a good 7 or 8 hours together, sharing resources and ideas and then grabbed dinner together afterwards as well.
Its a fairly small group, usually ranging from 10-30 people. There were about a dozen of us that met up yesterday so it was small enough to really pack in a lot of networking.
The lady on the far left in the photo above is Sonya Nave, and it was her first time joining us. She does graphics & copywriting, so that was a great connection. The guy on the far right is Zack aka techshaman and is very skilled at blog design & cover graphics - another great connection made.
Interesting to note is that everyone in the photo above is an Elite Member at my primary site, except Sonya of course since she was new to the group. But particularly interesting to me was to hear how many of the Elite Members are working together on the side now.
Several have partnered up on projects, they have formed accountability groups, etc. All of it was news to me, but I was really pleased to hear it. The SSWT community makes up some of the best people on the ‘net… I’m biased of course, but it truly has grown and taken on a life of its own over the years.
The man standing behind me in the photo above is Kirk Ward, and yes - he really is that tall (8 ft or so I think). I would guess that it takes that kind of height to house all of the personality that man has!
To my left (right of me in the photo) is Quinn Moore then Gary Leggett, and behind them is David Dutton and then Russell Portwood. Russell organizes the Knoxville TN meetups, the next one being November 15th.
I’ll close by sharing a few photos…
Kirk and his infamous note-taking system…
The seating arrangement was intentional (I’m deaf on the right side)
Make it a point to join us for a future meetup, or find local groups in your area. You’ll be glad you did! And be sure to join the SSWT Community online if you’re not already involved. Between the interactive newsletter, weekly webinars, discussion forum & elite group… there’s a lot of cool stuff going on
I ran into Warren Whitlock at BlogWorld Expo last weekend. We’re actually old friends, but havent had opportunity for a good sit-down since the Publishing Profits Seminar in Chicago a few years ago (4 or 5 years, depending on which one of us you ask).
It was a great opportunity to catch up a bit, and I was also interested in talking to him about his upcoming book release. He happened to be toting a box when I ran into him, and I whipped out my pocket video camera and convinced him to give us a sneak peak…
Twitter Revolution is coming out on October 15th. If you havent already, you’ll want to download the free version from TwitterHandbook.com. Once you’ve had an opportunity to read the Twitter Handbook, you can pre-order your copy of Twitter Revolution on Amazon.com:
Expect a full review - I have a signed pre-release copy I look forward to discussing this one once everyone has had a chance to get their copy of Twitter Revolution in mid-October!
One of the two sessions I attended during BlogWorld Expo specifically addressed blog advertising & sponsorships. Led by Wendy Peirsall, who had her Sparkplugging team sponsored by Epson to attend the event, each speaker discussed their experience with sponsors and with selling ad space.
In the video below, you’ll hear Dave Taylor’s “lazy advertising method” which is actually very good advice. Dave, of AskDaveTaylor.com, earns a steady monthly income from the ad space across his blogs so it was particularly interesting to hear exactly how he manages that…
Dave talks about using Google Adsense to establish stats, as well as a great tip for using the alternate ad option. His “lazy method” concept being to focus on content and community development, and to take a more natural approach to advertising sales.
He also advises against having space on your site that blatantly reads “your ad here” or similar. This tells potential advertisers that you are trying to sell ad space (unsuccessfully).
Instead, put a banner of your own there - or use that space for an affiliate promotion until it is sold to an advertiser.
There is another video I’d like to share with you as well, and this one was a personal interview that Wendy did with Dave Taylor prior to their BWE session. In this video, Dave goes into more detail about how he manages ad sales, and how he deals with advertisers that are interested in buying ad space on his blog…
One point that stood out to me was that Dave lets advertisers approach him. From there he gives them a very simple ‘cut & dried’ option. His goal being to focus on his community, and not to become engrossed in the position of Ad Management.
I like this stance myself, simply because without a focus on content and community… your advertisers are not going to get the best value. An ad is best served on a site where the publisher has a good relationship with their readers. Or at the very least, unique content and a strong readership.
While listening in to the session, the debate going on in my mind was selling ad space versus serving your own ads. And by that I mean Affiliate Marketing. It has never made good sense in my head to sell space to someone else when I could use that same space to advertise or sell products myself.
Take the ad you see to the right there in my sidebar (–>) for HostGator. It is a hand-picked recommendation for my readers, and offers great value (free month of hosting). I would be hard pressed to find an advertiser that is willing to pay more than what that spot currently earns.
I posed the question on Twitter while I was sitting there: Selling ad space… or using that same space to put affiliate links to sites you personally recommend: your preference?
I got the response I expected, which was that ad sales are guaranteed income while affiliate sales from same space is not. My question back to you is this:
If you cant sell products in that space yourself, how much is that space really worth to an advertiser?
Obviously there are exceptions in regard to value, as some advertisers are simply purchasing text links for the purpose of increasing PageRank.
Not a good idea, and for two reasons: 1) text links in static sections of a site or blog carry less weight than links within the content area, and 2) buying & selling text links for the purpose of increasing PageRank could potentially backfire on both the publisher and the advertiser.
That said, there is no reason that you cant sell advertising on your site or blog and promote affiliate programs at the same time. If you scroll up and look in the right sidebar, you’ll see that I use the ScratchBack widget here on ClickNewz.
ScratchBack allows advertisers to purchase sitewide exposure on my blog (and at a ridiculously low price I might add). The process is completely automated, which eliminates the need for hands-on ad management, and gives you full control over display & pricing options.
Dave Taylor is right- managing ad sales can become a full-time job, and its simply not where I want to invest my time and energy. That said, I’m not opposed to the ocassional ‘under the table’ deal when the offer is right so I also keep my options open.
I’m curious how you manage ad sales, whether you even sell advertising on your web properties -or would consider it, and what your take is on the debate of ‘affiliate vs advertiser’ in your own virtual real estate.
Best,
p.s. Whether you are promoting affiliate programs, or setting up a deal with a potential advertiser, you may want to read Best Placement For Affiliate Links or Banners for ideas on increasing value and profit potential.
It’s social media interview week here at Online Marketing Blog and we have another excellent interview with a social media sage just for you.
Gary Koelling is a blogger, Twitterati, public speaker and a social media pathfinder. He’s also Senior Manager, Social Technology at Best Buy. Best Buy is undoubtedly one of the “best” known brands in retail and in particular with many of the gadget-geeky readers of Online Marketing Blog. After seeing Gary speak at a MIMA event (pictured above) I thought it would be interesting to get a few of his insights as a social media evangelist within a large company as well as advice for others.
For the uninitiated, can you describe your creative and writing background as well as what you do in your current position as Senior Manager, Social Technology for Best Buy?
I’m a J School grad from the University of Minnesota . Unlike many of my classmates I took the low road and went into advertising. I worked as a copywriter for many years, most recently at Carmichael Lynch. I came to Best Buy in 2003 as a creative director. In the fall of 2006, six months after the launch of BlueShirt Nation, my day job changed. Most days my job involves building and maintaining social technology tools like BlueShirt Nation, Best Buy’s internal social network. And more recently Giftag.com, a universal gift registry slash wish list. With increasing frequency my job involves education, trying to help others understand what social media is and what it means to a corporation.
How would you define “social media” to someone not fluent in interactive or online marketing?
I hesitate a little to use the word education to describe the process of explaining to people what social media is. For one thing, what it is is constantly changing. New technologies and new ways of using them are being introduced all the time and this changes the tone and depth of our online and offline social interactions.
The other reason I hesitate is because it’s not so much education as it is re-education which often means having to unlearn a lot of what they think they know about how to act. A lot of people say to me “I’m completely ignorant about this stuff” or “I’m totally dumb when it comes to this stuff.” What I hear is “This scares me.”
What are some of the common issues large organizations encounter when trying to evaluate and adopt social media technologies? Are you seeing more internal or external facing applications? (ex: building a private social network vs engaging in existing/public social networks)
From about 1994 to about 2005 or 2006 our relationship with interactive media had been pretty much identical to the relationship we’ve had with mass media for about the last hundred years. The few create and the many consume. The how, what and why of the message is controlled and sometimes vetted by journalistic standards. Social Media doesn’t hew to this model because the center of control has been moved from the few to the many. This does not compute with our current math, our current approach of even calling it ‘media.’
As a result I get a lot plaintive if earnest looks from people who have either been sent to me by their bosses to get smart about this thing or who understand that something fundamental is shifting under feet and they’re terrified. In both cases they feel helpless. And there’s the tragedy. The corporation, as a way of organizing group activity, has little room for what is social; trust, thoughtfulness, vulnerability – human. It’s required that we suppress these things and substitute policy, process and ambition.
So when I tell people, “Be human” I get, “What does that mean?” or “Can we do that – who has to approve it?” At that moment I find myself having to help people remember what it was like to interact with real people. Could you get fired for acting human in this context? I suppose you could. The handicap that we’re running up against is that as a person, the corporation, or more specifically the brand that is presented internally and externally, behaves like a sociopath.
The external or customer facing effect (as well internal) is that when in normal conversation brands tend to act paranoid, or narcissistic. “Nice day today” begets “Compared to what?” Or “How’s the weather?” begets “Beautiful day … to buy some of my stuff.” To be fair, it’s not easy being social. It takes work. Even as “social” animals we have our struggles so is it really surprising that an abstraction that wants to be human struggles with it? Nah.
What kind of impact has Best Buy’s internal social network, BlueShirtNation.com had and how did you come about creating it?
The impact or value of social technology, like most ubiquitous technology, is hard to measure. You know a phone system has value but it’s hard to even know where to begin to take a measure of that. I truly wish I had a better answer but like any relationship, if you want to keep it healthy, you have to pay attention. You can’t just monitor it. You have to really pay attention. In paying attention the two things I tend to collect are 1) stories from users about how the technology failed them or helped them win and 2) admissions of fear. You can tell a lot by watching those two things.
Can you share a few high level tips for companies that are in discovery mode when it comes to tasks such as deciding on social platforms and applications, internal management and success measurement? Or should they take a less evaluative approach and just jump in?
If you’re ready to count more failures than wins and if you can get honest admissions of fear – you’re almost ready to jump in. But first ask yourself “What kind of relationship do I (not We) want to have with my employees or customers? Give yourself an honest answer. If it’s a purely transactional relationship that’s fine. If it’s something else, try to plot it on a line of intimacy somewhere between “Someone I see a couple days a week in the elevator” and “Soul mate.” Hopefully, for their sake, it’s somewhere in the middle. Then practice. Keep it small. Say hi. Get to know each other. Try things. Learn. If a jaded old ad guy like me can figure it out, the rest of you should be fine.
What are some of the resources (sites, blogs, books, events, networks, applications, etc) that you rely on for information on social media best practices?
Here are couple of books that have enlightened me:
The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value Through Global Networks by C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan
The Future of the Internet–And How to Stop It by Jonathan Zittrain
Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
Online Marketing Blog readers may remember a while back that our blog was shut down by a previous host with no warning because of too much load on the shared server. When they did finally respond/contact us it was to sell an upgrade while web requests for our site returned a 404 not found message.
We turned to a local web hosting company, VISI, for a dedicated server and things have been running smoothly ever since. Our experience with VISI is documented on this post, “VISI - A Web Hosting Company That Rocks“. We’ve been hosting with VISI for over 1 1/2 years and we’ve had very rare if any reason to contact them. When it comes to hosting, that’s a very GOOD thing.
So, consider this a love letter of sorts for our hosting company VISI. They have a top notch reputation for everything from co-location to hosting to internet connectivity and for TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog, they’ve delivered everything promised and more. I highly recommend VISI for any high traffic blog or corporate web site that needs super reliable hosting services and “go the extra mile” account services.
The cool thing about BlogWorld Expo is that almost everyone there is sharing their experience in real-time updates via photos, video, tweets and blog posts throughout the event.
From sponsors to speakers to attendees, you can get a great overview of the event highlights, from a variety of perspectives. Each individual person has their own objective and of course unique experiences, creating an interesting collage of updates from around the web…
Note: You can view various feeds (twitter, flickr, etc) on the BlogWorld Expo website, which will give you access to multiple sources in one easy spot.
I had a couple of objectives for this particular trip myself. I spent most of my time in conversation, meeting new people and getting an idea of who was who and who did what - and of course, how we might be able to benefit each other. I was there primarily for connections & content.
I also had a specific micro-objective, which was to meet Patrick O’Keefe author of Managing Online Forums. I bought the book on Chris Brogan’s recommendation several weeks before the event. While I didnt get the opportunity to do a video interview with Patrick (aka @iFroggy), we did meet up and swap thoughts & questions in the New Media Lounge for a bit.
I asked Patrick his take on discussion forums, now that so many other social media properties have entered the scene. His reply: “Forums are the foundation of the social web.” I couldnt agree more.
The book focuses mainly on community management, and is incredibly resourceful for anyone who is managing an online community of their own. I’ll share more on that with you in an upcoming book review here at ClickNewz.
I managed to attend two sessions - the last two sessions of the event, actually. I ended up spending the majority of my time in the New Media Lounge talking to various bloggers and ebusiness owners.
Highlights include meeting Wendy Piersall (aka @emom) along with her entire Sparkplugging team (above), Coach Deb, Mari Smith, Denise of BlogSquad, Warren Whitlock, Suzie Cheel, Ricardo Bueno aka @Ribeezie, Kim Dushinski, Michael Brito and Jonathan Fields.
There were also several from the StomperNet team in attendance including David Bullock, Dave Taylor and Tom Ham. Kristie McDonald, who is a Featured Stomper on page 41 of the premier edition of The Net Effect was also there - and a real pleasure to meet and talk to.
I had opportunity to say a quick hello to Jason Falls and Chris Brogan in passing, and then sat in on a session that included Lee LeFever and Darren Rowse towards the end of the last day.
I cant possibly remember everyone off the top of my head (I’m actually on the plane home as I write this), but I cant go without mentioning Barbara Rozgonyi aka @wiredprworks. She just happens to be a phenomenal note-taker, and so I was actually following her real-time updates on Twitter throughout the sessions.
I have more videos & notes to share with you about specific people and conversations that were particularly noteworthy, so definitely stay tuned
Best,
p.s. Here is a quick video from Saturday night, during and after the Opening Party at the BlogWorld Expo event:
Here is an idea for you. It’s not original. I simply analyzed a site that is kicking butt.
CSPANJUNKIE can barely serve pages it is getting so much traffic.
So how can we do it???
Make a topical site and put topical content in [...]]]>
Blogs are undoubtedly a big part of the social media world and that’s why the topic of social media was approached at Blog World Expo from many different angles from monetization and marketing to social media and blogs in corporate public relations.
This interview with Ford’s head of social media, Scott Monty touches on a few things large companies (or any size company for that matter) should be thinking about when evaluating social media as a communications, marketing and community building channel.
We shot this video on top of the Maker’s Mark RV parked in the Blog World Exhibit hall and you’ll have to forgive my sad camera movement technique. I think it’s time to invest in “real” video equipment, something that’s long overdue since we’ve been shooting interviews at confernces since 2006.
The Blog World Expo conference has brought together an amazing mix of marketing, social media and public relations voices making someone like myself feel very much at home discussing the convergence of these three disciplines. Jason Falls, Director of Social Media for ad agency Doe-Anderson, is one of those people who really “gets” the social web and what that means for marketing and PR.
Check out this interview with Jason after the “Blogs and PR” session we both sat on talking more about how to get the PR industry to wake up to the social web.
As you can see, Jason has a lot to say and he’s both insightful and entertaining. Read more of Jason’s social media smarts over on his blog at Social Media Explorer and I would also highly recommend that you connect with him on Twitter: @jasonfalls.
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He also advises against having space on your site that blatantly reads “your ad here” or similar. This tells potential advertisers that you are trying to sell ad space (unsuccessfully). 
