August 2007
StumbleUpon: Exposure That Lasts
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 31, 2007 | 11 comments
After looking at my statistics after numerous posts from my site were submitted and promoted on StumbleUpon, I saw a huge difference between traffic from the more mainstream socially driven sites (i.e. Digg and Netscape) and that from StumbleUpon, in a very positive way.
The Dangers of Digg Self-Submission (And How To Avoid Them)
Written by David Chen on August 31, 2007 | 7 comments
Although Pronet has made clear that our writers will not submit our own stories to any socially driven sites, hundreds if not thousands of people submit their own content (and often only their own content) to Digg on a daily basis. Today we take a look at this phenomenon and evaluate its dangers.
Social Media Success Beyond Digg
Written by Ben Yoskovitz on August 30, 2007 | 31 comments
Digg is the behemoth of the social media and bookmarking world. Hit the front page of Digg and you should get several thousand visitors at least. You could get many, many more. My best result on Digg was Top 10 Reasons Why Proposals Fail, which resulted in 50,000+ unique visitors over the course of a few days. But Digg is a fickle beast.
What You Can Learn From The StumbleUpon Top 50
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 29, 2007 | 6 comments
Any socially driven site is only as good as its top users. In line with the Pareto principle, most of the content that is moderated and is successful (or unsuccessful) on social sites is the result of a select few users. With that in mind, let's take a look at the top users on StumbleUpon and what we can learn about them and from them.
The Digg Upcoming Page and the Necessity for Digg Friends
Written by David Chen on August 29, 2007 | 1 comment
Last week we took a look at Reddit's New Page and praised its ability to drive traffic and serve as an interesting news source for social networking. Today we take a look at Digg's Upcoming Page and evaluate its effectiveness as a place to share news, blog posts, and other interesting websites.
Relationships on the Social Web
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 28, 2007 | 7 comments
While most people make the argument that the social web is doing exactly what the name suggests, making us more social and harnessing our collective strengths to deliver a better experience, others are not convinced.
The Brand Called You: 10 Years Later
Written by David Chen on August 28, 2007 | No comments yet
Ten years ago, Tom Peters wrote "The Brand Called You" for FastCompany magazine, a classic, stunning, and grandiloquent piece on the necessity of and the methods for branding yourself. The piece prompted this recent retrospective from BusinessWeek. Today we take a look at some of the promises and challenges of self-branding in the world of online social networking.
The Quest for PageRank
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 27, 2007 | 14 comments
PageRank is a number that Google uses to represent how important a page is for the search engine. As more and more people start exclusively using Google, the PageRank method for assigning importance becomes a priority for content producers wanting to rank higher in search results. But as with everything, there are those who will accumulate rank organically and those for whom the end justifies the means.
Speak Your Customers' Language Part 2: The Pitch
Written by Jay Cross on August 24, 2007 | 1 comment
Yesterday we discussed the importance of speaking your customer's language. Let's expound upon this concept with an example from a company that sells an instructional DVD on integrating Russian kettlebells into a baseball training program, since I recently bought the DVD myself, solely on the strength of their sales letter.
Wikipedia, Transparency, and Your Brand's Reputation Online
Written by David Chen on August 24, 2007 | 6 comments
Wikipedia has come to epitomize the Web 2.0 movement, with all its benefits and pitfalls. Small wonder then that many organizations have tried to harness the power of Wikipedia for their own ends. But the recent release of WikiScanner and the ensuing response show how Wikipedia's apparent transparency and neutrality can have the opposite effect of what companies intended.
Speak Your Customers' Language
Written by Jay Cross on August 23, 2007 | 1 comment
People in the marketing profession are often instructed to speak their customer's language. While no one doubts value of the above it is rarely defined how one might actually do it. So let's see if we can't breathe new life into this old maxim. Why is it important to speak a customer's language?
Acuity Mobile - A Mobile Advertising Platform That Could Work
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 22, 2007 | 6 comments
A few weeks ago the media was reporting that the bane of our internet browsing experience, the pop-up advertisements were set to make a comeback, on cell phones. I had a chance to have a conversation with one of the companies that was inaccurately mentioned as sponsors of mobile pop-up ads - Acuity Mobile.
The Reddit New Page - A Great Source of Traffic
Written by David Chen on August 22, 2007 | 28 comments
For many websites, Digg has become the de facto site for submitting content in an attempt at driving traffic. Today we take a look at an underappreciated source of traffic and a great resource or anyone interested in social news: The Reddit New page (yes, not the front-page).
"Viral" Videos as Marketing Tools
Written by David Chen on August 21, 2007 | 4 comments
Although they were first announced over a year ago, Adidas' adicolor short films received an influx of fresh new hits when one of them hit the front page of Digg's video section the other day. The video, "Pink," directed by Charlie White, is chilling and, some would say, brilliant. But were the films a good investment for the company?
Free Media: It's Cheaper But Not Free
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 20, 2007 | 3 comments
The term 'free media' is actually a misnomer because while it is much cheaper than mainstream media and traditional marketing, it does cost. Here's a look at free media and how to incorporate it into a traditional marketing campaign.
What Would We Do Without Advertising?
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 19, 2007 | 8 comments
While a large part of our audience flocks to San Jose to attend Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo, I wanted to ask an important question and present an illustration to go with it.
Privacy, Security, and Reliability - Part 1
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 18, 2007 | No comments yet
One of the first things anyone offering a service should keep in mind is that to ensure loyalty you have to create an atmosphere of trust through offering privacy, security, and reliability. While you can't always deliver on these promises, it is important to keep them in mind and acknowledge their importance in your success. In the next three posts I'm going to look at each of these three important elements one by one, and a company that has had to deal with one of each.
The Importance of Marketing Regionally
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 16, 2007 | 3 comments
More often than not, when we hear traffic numbers, they are in absolute terms. For example, 60% of users visiting social networking sites use MySpace. Figures represented in this way, though tell us enough for marketers with deep pockets, don't help small marketers very much.
Product Isn't Always Enough
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 15, 2007 | 9 comments
It's true that in most cases a good product is unique and innovative and self-sufficient enough that the maxim 'build it and they will come' stands true, but there are many other instances in which your products success can be prevented or limited because of things that are our of your control. Let's look at an example.
Online Video: The Complete Picture
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 14, 2007 | 9 comments
About two weeks ago we asked the very pertinent question of whether online video is sustainable or not and whether you should be using the online video platform to market your content/products/services. But just looking at sustainability is not enough and so today we're going to look at the demographics and viewing habits of the online video watchers and reach more conclusions about the medium.
The Search Engine Privacy Battle Isn't Necessarily a Win-Win
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 13, 2007 | 2 comments
The argument we hear often is how different search engines offer varying degrees of privacy options and how that effects the end users. The quite straightforward jump that we often fail to make is how the search engine privacy scorecard effects content producers and search engine marketers; and in all these cases, who wins and how isn't always clear.
A Tour of Streamy - If Looks Could Kill (Digg)
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 13, 2007 | 7 comments
Late last night I finally got an invite to Streamy, a social content aggregating site that is the forerunner in the race to replace Digg. While I am still getting the hang of it, here's a quick tour of the site. And might I say, Streamy gets all my points when it comes to design.
The Worst Form of Advertising is Alive and Spreading!
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 10, 2007 | 5 comments
With the advent of the social web and contextual advertising, marketing has not only become easier for the marketers and advertisers but has also become more palatable (because of reduced intrusiveness and increased relevancy) for the end-users. That said, it is surprising to see that not only do companies continue to use non-contextual methods such as banner ads and pop-up/pop-under ads but that their use is spreading to other formats.
Time to Look at MSN Live Search
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 9, 2007 | 13 comments
Back in April I urged our readers to not focus blindly on Google when optimizing sites for search engines and to diversify; and the latest search engine statistics from Compete further affirm that recommendation.
Making Money From User Errors and Downtime
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 8, 2007 | 10 comments
An article by Leonid Shalimov proposes an interesting idea. The article explains how to customize and monetize your 404 page, and while Leonid restricts it to user error pages, it can be extended to temporary placeholders while you're having downtime.
The Power of the Brand
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 7, 2007 | 2 comments
A recently and widely covered study shows us how the power of the brand can change people's perceptions and how they react to your products regardless of their quality.
Digg Bury Data Further Exposed - Find Out Why That Story Was Buried
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 6, 2007 | 4 comments
We've been inching closer and closer to this inevitability for a long time, and though Digg will probably plug this soon enough, catch it while it's still hot and still working.
Flickr Video Is Coming, But Where is it Going?
Written by MG Siegler on August 6, 2007 | 8 comments
Internet video has obviously been a hot property for quite some time now and while it might not be sustainable, we continue to see new entrants into the field. The latest soon-to-be entrant will be a big one, Yahoo's photo site Flickr.
The Unappreciated StumbleUpon Effect
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 2, 2007 | 15 comments
Content producers, service providers, and marketers alike, crave the Digg effect, the Slashdot effect, and so on, but you rarely ever hear about the power of StumbleUpon (and it is quite powerful).
Why You're Not Making Money Online
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 1, 2007 | 14 comments
Too many people think that they can just start a blog, put some AdSense on the sides, throw some links on there and start making money within the month. Of course that's just wishful thinking; here's a look at reality.
Is Online Video Sustainable?
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 1, 2007 | 7 comments
The question is quite straightforward. Given the new 'business model' of 'ad-supported' is online video a sustainable space and as a marketer, should you be looking at the online video space as a possible advertising platform? Let's see.
