We all know the type: He’s the one at the cocktail party or networking breakfast you can’t escape fast enough.

Why?

Because he’s going on and on about nothing that you care about.

Recently, a friend introduced me to a web developer, usually one of my favorite new contact categories. He heard what we do at Market It Write – and proceeded to educate me on search engine optimization.

I (politely) interrupted him and told him that, yes, I understood what he was saying. We partner with many web development firms to create sites that combine relevant content with social media tools to achieve high organic search engine rankings.

Next, he tried to explain how descriptive file names and page titles can also boost your site rankings.

Before he got too far into his lecture, I spilled my drink and dashed to the ladies room.

Not really. I was, however, sorely tempted.

Where did he go wrong?

To start, this prospective partner didn’t consider his audience before launching into his pitch. He has identified what sets him apart from other web designers and relentlessly steers networking conversations in his direction.

• He did not acknowledge the fact that I was educated in his area of expertise – essentially insulting my intelligence. (Hint: Not a good way to impress a prospective client.)
• He did not consider my needs and how his services could help fulfill those needs.
• In fact, he didn’t bother finding out much about me before starting his spiel.

This example sounds pretty silly and obvious, but many websites commit the same sins.

• Focus on the business or organization
• A generic message intended for all visitors
• Lackluster organization and content, showing little regard for audience needs

The fix?

If you’re still operating a simple brochure site that lists name, rank and serial number (About Us, Products/Services, Contact Us), you probably need to start from scratch. Largely because the technology has evolved so quickly that sophisticated web solutions are available for all budgets.

To avoid making the same mistakes, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who are my target audiences?
• Why are they coming to my site?
• How can I make their lives better?

Answer these questions, and watch your online marketing ROI increase. If you need some help, we’re only a phone call or email away.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? How did you respond? (For the truly brave, have you ever found yourself on the wrong end of this situation? How did you recover?)

Social Media Success Summit 2010 came to a close yesterday, May 25, 2010.

The final day pulled plenty of information from previous sessions into a capstone of sorts. While only the last session was intended to do that, the first session of the day on blogging also included a number of tie-ins to demonstrate how different aspects of social media can work together with a blog to create a powerful social media presence.

The two sessions featured on Day 7 of the Summit were:

1. Making Your Blog a Social Media Destination
2. Easily Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Mix

Watch for my entire Summit wrap-up post here on Friday. For now, here are my takeaways from Day 7.

Session 1: Making Your Blog a Social Media Destination

Presenter: Denise Wakeman

A quick overview of the power of blogs began the discussion.

The theme of the discussion was integrating your social media efforts by using a blog as your “home base” to serve your audience, and other social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube as “outposts” or “embassies” to bring the audience to you blog.

Interesting Stats

eMarketer.com estimates that 31 million people worldwide now write on blogs and 104 million are reading blogs.

When asked what benefits they receive from their blogs, bloggers surveyed in Technorati’s 2009 State of the Blogosphere (discussed in Market It Write’s white paper on content marketing), cited:

• Greater visibility
• Increased sales of products or services
• Establishing themselves as thought leaders
• Getting asked to speak at conferences

Main Session Takeaways:

1. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., you OWN your blog and thus have complete control over it.
2. To make your blog effective, you need to be a “content machine”.
3. Your content needs to be wherever your target audience hangs out.
4. When creating content, use targeted keywords, create compelling headlines and tap into what your readers want.
5. To get your content found, you need to use effective search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.
6. Provide a mix of content on your blog, including How-Tos, case studies, reader Q & A, opinions, link roundups, polls, videos and interviews.
7. Repurposing content from your blog and publishing it elsewhere extends your reach and allows your audience to consume your content in their favorite format (written, printable, audio, video) and place.
8. Making it easy to share your content amplifies your message. Syndicating your content (via RSS and tools for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, YouTube, etc.) extends your reach and facilitates sharing and re-use by others.

Session 2: Easily Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Mix

Presenter: Chris Garrett

The goal of Chris Garrett’s presentation was to tie all of the previous sessions together into a cohesive whole on using social media to benefit both your online and offline activities.

Specifics he offered were:

• Attract your audience by sharing valuable content and using social media to boost your visibility.
• Retain your audience by lavishing attention on them so they remember who you are and keep coming back.
• Convert your audience into customers. Use social media tools to build relationships and establish trust to turn your visitors into long-term customers.
• Build referrals through social media. Your fans can become a referral machine that will attract new people to you and keep the cycle in motion.

Main Session Takeaways:

1. Social media is NOT a quick fix. Look for long-term value, not short-term gains.
2. Don’t rush in. Social media is all about integration and adoption, with all channels (such as marketing and customer service) working together.
3. Make sure at least every customer facing employee is aware of your social media strategy.
4. Find out what your audience is interested in, what they really want to know and then deliver it to them.
5. Social media can really help with your SEO efforts and help you get traffic. Social media and SEO are NOT mutually exclusive, and you shouldn’t plan to do one without the other.
6. Network, network network to build contacts with the webmasters and bloggers who already speak to your audience. Treat these contacts as people, not news outlets.
7. Keep your audience (prospects) coming back by giving them a reason to return, including awesome customer service, engagement and rewarding loyalty.
8. Encourage sharing, but try to provide something in return.
9. Use social media to promote and report on offline events before, during and after the event. Promote your online presence, content and events offline.

Social Media Success Summit – Index of Session Takeaways

Did you attend any of these sessions at the Social Media Success Summit 2010? If so, what were your takeaways? If not, what are your thoughts on making your blog a social media destination and integrating social media into your marketing mix?

Several weeks ago, one of the local papers recently began showing up on our driveway every Saturday and Sunday. This mysterious subscription was a nuisance. My husband and I both get our news electronically. These papers were more fodder for the recycling bin. Since we hadn’t subscribed, we didn’t bother canceling. Surely, one of our neighbors was missing her subscription, and the problem would go away. Right?

Well, yes, it did eventually go away. But not before raising some interesting issues about ethical marketing practices.

The Moment of Truth

We recently received a bill for the newspaper subscription. Since neither of us had ordered the paper, my husband called to complain. The person in the subscription department explained that the invoice we received wasn’t technically a bill; it was actually a statement of the amount due if we wished to continue our weekend subscription.

In an effort to boost home delivery subscriptions, the publisher had sent free weekend subscriptions to residents in certain zip codes. Then, these same residents received an official-looking bill with the amount due. Nowhere did this pseudo-invoice indicate that payment was optional. I’m willing to lay odds that at least some of these residents paid the bill without thinking. Sugar-coat the situation any way you want, I’m also betting that the geniuses behind this marketing campaign were banking on a certain number of people doing so.

Truth in Marketing

Perhaps I’m overreacting, but I was really offended when my husband told me about the paper’s “promotion.” The sham invoice struck me as sneaky and underhanded, and I suddenly had a very negative opinion of this particular paper, whereas I previously had no strong feelings one way or the other.

The whole situation reminded me of recent conversations regarding the CAN-SPAM Act and what types of emails are “technically” permitted.

Here’s a tip: Focus on delivering useful, valuable information – not on expanding your list by any and all available means.

If people are interested in what you have to offer, they’ll opt in. And if they’re not knocking on your door, that should tell you something, too.

Am I all wet in my reaction to either situation? Let me know what you think. Maybe I’ll even place a legitimate subscription with this Jersey paper.

Do you remember “The Gong Show”?

Brave contestants would go on stage and display their talents (or lack thereof) in front of three judges. If the contestants made a mistake, or just didn’t impress… GONG. Game over.

The world of online business has a gong equivalent. It’s called your bounce rate, and it tracks how often prospects click away without bothering to learn more.

When prospects click away, it means your time is up. It means you won’t get any more chances to win them over with your products or services.

Keep these tips in mind to avoid gong-worthy online writing mistakes, and keep your prospects on your site:

1. Nobody likes Bossy Betty. When you were little, I bet you didn’t want to play with the kid who bossed you around. Adults don’t either. Your prospects need to make up their own minds. Share what you can do for them – by showing, not telling. Suggest; don’t demand.
2. Empty promises = empty bank accounts. Online promises, guarantees, or over-confidences can come off cheap. Be careful of making empty promises. The Internet is full of them, and your prospect is wary.
3. Keep it human. Do you ever talk to those automated people on customer service hotlines? The ones who never understand your answer? Wouldn’t you rather talk to a real person? Me, too. The same goes for your Web presence. A warm, welcoming, powerful voice attracts prospects. Be personal. Show your human side.
4. Don’t assume. Your prospects are smart, but they don’t know everything. Especially when it comes to the intricacies of your product, your industry, or what you can offer them. Share this information in a way that makes people comfortable. Incorrectly assuming what people know leaves prospects confused – and you without customers.
5. They’re not third graders. Unless your prospects are, in fact, eight years old, then you shouldn’t treat them like third graders. It’s tough to find a comfortable balance between providing information, in a manner that works, and speaking to your audience like they are adults. Know your audience, know what they know, and know what they need more about. The goal is to make information accessible without condescending to visitors.
6. Watch for silly errors. A silly mistake in your content can make you seem silly to your reader. Professionalism means checking it twice, three times, or more. An extra set of eyes can make a big difference. By finding mistakes before they do, you help your audience focus on your message instead of your blips.

As many of “The Gong Show” contestants might have benefited from vocal coaching or dance lessons, your business can benefit from expert help, too.

If you’re too close, it can be hard to see things objectively. Market It Write can help you create powerful content (and avoid gong-worthy mistakes). Get in touch today.

Please don’t misunderstand my title. I’m in favor of customizing the audience’s online marketing experience. Just ask any of our clients. We always recommend ways to tailor content to the specific needs and interests of their target market.

What we don’t advocate, however, is insulting the audience’s intelligence in the process.

Like millions of other people around the world, I waste several hours a week on Facebook. This online community typically does a great job of using my personal preferences to show me ads that interest me.

Do I want to know about the upcoming fiction workshop in New York with Robert McKee? You bet. Would I like to join a new group for caramel lovers? Why not?

But am I really going to click on an ad because females in New Jersey of a specific age are eligible for a $500 gift card at the local discount chain? No way.

And it’s not because of a bias against discount chains. A similar ad from my favorite clothing retailer evokes an equally negative response.

Using my personal information to grab my attention when it has no relevance to your offer is a cheap ploy. It makes me wonder, do you really think I’m that dumb?

Maybe it works, and that’s why I keep seeing half a dozen of these ads every time I log on for my Farmville fix.

We recommend a different approach to customizing content: one that respects the audience and offers real value.