Tagged: semantic

SPAM-A-LOT: It's going to get worse…

… before it gets better. We are talking about social spam on Twitter.  Other social networks suffer from this problem as well, however recent changes to Twitter this last month has made the issue worse. We feel the worst is yet to come.

This last month, Twitter launched its new front page / logon screen. This gave us insight into their revenue model, which includes trending data and analytics. Many companies  understand that their brands need to be in this space, but they don’t understand how to use social networks.

The proven models are about volume and numbers, not about engagement or advocacy on the social web. Therefore are many semantic bots that have been created and are now spaming the Twitterverse with hashtags and links. Volume, not authenticity, is the focus.

Businesses understand Pay-Per-Clicks and numbers more than they understand brand equity, authentic fellowship and brand advocates on the social web. We at Activating Word of Mouth use a metric that measures a brand’s Social Web Impact. This measures how influential your following is and how authentic.

The reality is, that brands still focus on volume and not engagement. Thus, new strategies like pay-per-tweet and celebrity endorsements are moving forward. This type of marketing will inevitably trend high on the twitter feeds and consequently land on the front page.

Is this good? Continue reading →

Should My Brand Be on Twitter?

By Jennifer Kindred

Tweet, tweeps, tweeter, twead, tweetup…the list goes on.  The phenomenon called Twitter has taken on a language and life of its own.

So what is all the Twitter hype really about?  Community.   The most recent numbers from Nielsen taken in January 2009 indicate that Twitter grew 1,382% year-over-year, registering a total of just more than 7 million unique visitors in the US. Not only is that huge growth in one year, but in one month like in January, Twitter.com clocked 4.5 million unique visitors in the US, meaning the service grew by more than 50 percent month-over-month.  7 million people (just in the US) are using Twitter…who are these people?  Its like knowing that there are millions of Brittany Spears fans but yet you have never met one of them.

Twitter is simply a social network where people are allowed to post comments to their “followers” (people in their network).  The catch is that the posts can only be 140 characters; given these restraints I have seen some interesting uses of the English language.  But what is Twitter really about….just posting random thoughts under 140 characters, surely there is more?  I argue that yes, Twitter is much more than random posts.  It is where millions of people have gathered to start conversations.  What are these conversations about, are they meaningful, or spamiful?

The Harvard Business School recently published a study of 300,000 randomly selected Twitter users during the month of May 2009.  Study results showed that the top 10% of Twitter users are responsible for 90% of the tweeting.  More numbers…what does this mean, is Twitter just a vehicle for white noise and spam?  We at ActivatingWOM argue, NO.

This study actually legitimizes the Web3 semantic marketing approach.  The 10% of Twitter users that use their social networks to engage in authentic, meaningful conversation are the most active and will receive the most responses from their networks because they are not spamming their followers.  The spamming/dark side of Twitter does not receive real interaction with their networks, the socialites of Twitter will not interact with spambots and therefore, those profiles become idle. It is about influence of these conversations.

So what can Twitter do for you, your brand, your company?  Build.  Twitter can be a vehicle to build a community of brand advocates for you, a social network of people interested in what you are talking about, producing, or selling.  However, in order to build on Twitter you must engage the community in a smart, meaningful and most importantly authentic way.  This is word of mouth marketing.

Use Twitter wisely and a whole Community will be there to Build for you!


Is SEO Dead?

There has been a lot of talk about PR firms embracing current SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques  in their digital service packages. Today, for example, Jason from C&C posted a really great post outlining the details that should come in these packages.

He lists some great “How to” steps to familiarize yourself with this word and how it MUST be included in current PR work.

I couldn’t agree more, but there is a big part missing; the evolution of search engines, semantic data, and word of mouth is the trend of Web2 to Web3 boundaries.

There are technical limitations to typical “meta data” that is associated with traditional SEO data. The New Media Knowledge group has pin pointed this as why SEO might be dead in an article here.

Technical limitations such as code standards and non-indexable data (videos, flash, etc.) are only small aspects to why traditional SEO techniques are dying. As the web evolves, influence/word of mouth marketing and transparent networks are increasing online traffic to brands. What does that mean?

Think of it this way. If you know what you are looking for and can break it down into keywords, then by all means Google it. You most likely will find it. Just like you would if you went to a library and searched for something on a subject using the dewey decimal system system. There is still a need for that fundamental way of searching for your product online and making sure your data is coded and optimized for this standard.

However, as conversational networks exponentially grow daily, semantic (conversational, back and forth exchange of data) data is being indexed. There are no influencer gatekeepers on the web. If someone loves Oprah and wants to buy everything she suggests, she is on Twitter, Facebook, Skype, etc. The content that she puts out as an influencer in the market attracts consumers already willing to buy these products. Her conversations are retweeted by lesser influencers to networks and then talked about again and again. If you wanted to know about the best products to buy in your given trade or hobbyist obsession… you can find those influencers in that trade, interact with them, and every little didgibit is archived and index into searchable content. This is the new SEO. Semantic search and inflencual conversations.

SEO is still important, but without a comprehensive word of mouth plan that involves strategic semantic optimization, PR firms will not be ready for Web3. Web3 is transparent, honest, and all about word of mouth. Traditional SEO was about frequency of keywords and searches. Word of Mouth & Semantic Marketing is about authenticity. It is not about frequency of conversations, it is about the integrity of the conversation.

Is SEO dead?

No… but the methods have evolved.

Time to catch up.

The Evolution of Data & Marketing

By Kevin Spidel

This weekend we were told RSS feeds are dead and Semantic search engines will kill Google.  Awesome technology… but is it game changing?

Remember the days when market data was just phone lists, snail mail addresses, magazine subscriptions, etc? I have spent 10 years working with voter files and effectively getting campaign messages to voters. Trend data and cross tabs are very similar to traditional direct marketing. This type of information is still extremely important in marketing, but acquiring this information is now more accessible and accurate… or is it?

Semantic data from the social web is data exchanged from user input (conversational, personal, and experiential.) This data can be searched, collected, categorized, and targeted.  This is what Activating WOM is all about.  The trick is in understanding what data is relevant and accurate.

As the web evolves, users range in their evolution– some are quick to jump on the newest technology, some stay tight to their Google Readers or Bookmarks until they start to feel behind the curve. It is important to stay abreast of the new technology while not allowing your focus to shift away from traditional online communication.

In online marketing, culture is king. Not technology. Understanding who, why, and what people do online is critical to authentically engaging and empowering brand advocates.

Here is a reflective exercise:

What are your online morning rituals?  How do you get your information?  How has that changed in the last 6 months?

Here is my order in the morning:

  1. Check twitter DM’s and mentions
  2. Facebook notifications and inbox
  3. SMS and Voicemail
  4. Email
  5. Top 5 blogs in order: 1 – TechCrunch 2 – NY Times 3 – Drudge Report 4 – Mashable 5 – Digg

6 months ago it was:

  1. Facebook notifications and inbox
  2. Check twitter DM’s and mentions
  3. Google Reader
  4. Email
  5. Voicemail & SMS

A change in priority and a step away from aggregation may be a sign that RSS dying; however, it is important to understand that I am one of those who moves fast to new technology. We can not discredit that RSS and aggregation tools like Google Reader are still very important information sources for many online consumers.

What are your morning informational rituals?