the social media marketing book

Beijing Cambridge Farnham Kln Sebastopol Taipei Tokyo

Dan Zarrella

The Social Media Marketing Book

byDanZarrella Copyright2010DanZarrella.PrintedinCanada. PublishedbyOReillyMedia,Inc.,1005GravensteinHighwayNorth,Sebastopol,CA95472. OReillybooksmaybepurchasedforeducational,business,orsalespromotionaluse.Onlineeditionsarealso availableformosttitles(http://my.safaribooksonline.com).Formoreinformation,contactourcorporate/institutional salesdepartment:(800)998-9938orcorporate@oreilly.com. Editor: Laurel R. T. Ruma Production Editor: Rachel Monaghan Copyeditor: Audrey Doyle Proofreader: Sumita Mukherji Indexer: Julie Hawks Interior Designer: Ron Bilodeau Cover Designer: Monica Kamsvaag Illustrator: Robert Romano

Printing History: November2009:FirstEdition. Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthisbook,thepublisherandauthorassumeno responsibilityforerrorsoromissions,orfordamagesresultingfromtheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein. Thisbookpresentsgeneralinformationabouttechnologyandservicesthatareconstantlychanging,andthereforeit maycontainerrorsand/orinformationthat,whileaccuratewhenitwaswritten,isnolongeraccuratebythetimeyou readit.Someoftheactivitiesdiscussedinthisbook,suchasadvertising,fundraising,andcorporatecommunications, maybesubjecttolegalrestrictions.Youruseoforrelianceontheinformationinthisbookisatyourownriskandthe authorandOReillyMedia,Inc.,disclaimresponsibilityforanyresultingdamageorexpense.Thecontentofthisbook representstheviewsoftheauthoronly,anddoesnotrepresenttheviewsofOReillyMedia,Inc. ISBN:978-0-596-80660-6 [TM]

Gramma and Grumpa, I am who I am today because of you guys. Thank you.

Contents
1. Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1
1 3 7 8

WhatIsSocialMediaMarketing? BigBrandsandSocialMedia SmallBusinessandSocialMedia SocialMediaandYou

Clients TakeawayTips

51 52
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. Social Networking
Introduction History Protocol Facebook LinkedIn MySpace TakeawayTips

53
53 53 57 67 71 73 76

2. Blogging

9
9 11 13 21 27 30 30

Introduction History Protocol Platforms ContentStrategies BuildinganAudience TakeawayTips

5. Media Sharing

77
77 79 79 83 89 97 102

3. Twitter and Microblogging

Introduction History Protocol

. .

31
31 33 35

Introduction History Protocol YouTube Flickr SlideShare TakeawayTips

6. Social News and Bookmarking

Introduction History Protocol Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Delicious NicheSites TakeawayTips

103
103 103 105 117 121 125 127 127 130

9. Virtual Worlds

. .

171
171 173 175 184

Introduction History SecondLife TakeawayTips

10. Strategy, Tactics, and Practice

. .

185
185 187 195 197 199 201 204

7. Ratings and Reviews

Introduction History Protocol Yelp OtherSites TakeawayTips

131
131 133 135 139 145 146

Introduction Monitoring Research CampaignsVersusOngoingStrategy Integration CallstoAction TakeawayTips

11. Measurement

. .

205
205 207 221 223 224

8. Forums

. .

147
147 147 149 159 161 170

Introduction History Protocol Research Engaging TakeawayTips

Introduction Metrics GoalSetting Software TakeawayTips

Acknowledgments Index
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

225 227

vi

Chapter 1

Introduction
Somethingstrangeishappening.Youradvertisingdoesntworkanymore,atleastnotlikeitusedto. YouusedtobeabletobuysomeTVtimeorputanadinanewspaper,butnowadayseveryone hasTiVooraDVRandgetstheirnewsonline.Theconversationsthattookplaceunderindustrialbroadcastmediaaboutyourproductshappenedinsmallgroups,andtheirwordsdisappearedassoonasthey werespoken.Nowtheconversationshappeninfrontofmillionsofpeople,andtheyrearchivedforyearsto come.Notonlyisyourbrandnolongerthehost,mostofthetimeyourenotevenawelcomeguest. Butitsnotalldoomandgloom.Youdonthavetotrytooutspendthebiggestcompaniesanymore;now youcanoutsmartthemwithviralvideos.Youdonthavetospendthousandsonsterilefocusgroups; youvegotyourmarketspulseatyourfingertipswithquickTwittersearches.Andyoudontevenhaveto doalltheworkyourself;thestuffthatyourfanscreatewillblowyouandyourcompetitorsaway. Morethan250millionpeopleareactiveFacebookusers.Morethan346millionpeoplereadblogs, and184millionpeoplearebloggersthemselves.Twitterhasmorethan14millionregisteredusers,and YouTubeclaimsmorethan100millionviewerspermonth.Moreconsumersareconnectedthanever before,andeverysecondyourcompanyisnotengagingtheminsocialmediaisawastedopportunity. So,getonboard.

What Is Social Media Marketing?

Social mediaisbestdefinedinthecontextofthepreviousindustrialmediaparadigm.Traditionalmedia, suchastelevision,newspapers,radio,andmagazines,areone-way,staticbroadcasttechnologies.For instance,themagazinepublisherisalargeorganizationthatdistributesexpensivecontenttoconsumers, whileadvertiserspayfortheprivilegeofinsertingtheiradsintothatcontent.Oryouresittingdown,watching
1

Figure 1-1. Burger Kings Facebook application was so successful that it had to be shut down.
2

yourfavoritesitcom,andsuddenlyyoureinterruptedbycommercials(luckily,youhaveaDVR,soyoucan fast-forwardthroughthem).Ifyoudisagreewithsomethingyoureadinthenewspaper,youcantsendthe editorialstaffinstantfeedback.Andgoodluckconnectingwithyourmorningradioon-airpersonality. Newwebtechnologieshavemadeiteasyforanyonetocreateand,mostimportantlydistributetheir owncontent.Ablogpost,tweet,orYouTubevideocanbeproducedandviewedbymillionsvirtuallyfor free.Advertisersdonthavetopaypublishersordistributorshugesumsofmoneytoembedtheirmessages;nowtheycanmaketheirowninterestingcontentthatviewerswillflockto. Socialmediacomesinmanyforms,butforourpurposes,Illfocusontheeightmostpopular:blogs, microblogs(Twitter),socialnetworks(Facebook,LinkedIn),media-sharingsites(YouTube,Flickr),social bookmarkingandvotingsites(Digg,Reddit),reviewsites(Yelp),forums,andvirtualworlds(SecondLife).

Big Brands and Social Media

IBMownsmorethan100differentblogs,adozenislandsinthevirtualworldofSecondLife,several officialTwitteraccounts,andapopularforumcalleddeveloperWorks.Itpublishesamachinimaseries (acartoonvideomadeinSecondLife)onYouTube,andseveralemployeesuploadpresentationstothe media-sharingsiteSlideShare. DellhastappedthepowerofsocialmediawithitshugelypopularIdeaStormwebsite,whereusersadd ideasfornewproductlinesandenhancements,votethemupordown,andcommentonsubmissions. Becauseofthesite,DellhasstartedtoshipcomputerswithLinuxinstalled,andhasaddedcommunity support.StarbuckshasalsostartedtousethismodeltosomesuccesswithitsMyStarbucksIdeasite. BurgerKinghasmadeheadlinestimeandtimeagainwithitsinnovativeviralandsocialmarketing campaigns,mostrecentlywiththeWhopperSacrifice.TheburgerchainofferedFacebookusersafree Whoppercouponiftheywouldunfriend10oftheirsocialnetworkconnections(seeFigure1-1).
3

Figure 1-2. Viral videos demonstrated how to pick Kryptonite bike locks with only a Bic pen.
4

CablegiantComcasthasbeguntosalvageitstarnishedreputationwithacustomerserviceoutpost onTwitterledbyFrankEliason,ComcastsDirectorofDigitalCare,andhis@comcastcaresaccount. WheneversomeonetweetsnegativelyaboutthecompanyandthathappensalotFrankjumpsin toofferwhateverhelphecan.Thishasledtosomeoftheonlypositivepressthebrandhasgottenina longtime.TheshoeretailerZappos,whichmostpeoplealreadylove,alsohasanawesomecustomer servicepresenceonTwitter. U.S.PresidentBarackObamahasbeencalledthefirstsocialmediapresident,andastrongargument couldbemadeforthelabel.Asacandidate,hehadoneofthemostpopularTwitteraccountsand Facebookpages,andhiswebsitecontainedasocialmediasectionwherehissupporterscouldcreate profilesandconnectwitheachother.ThecampaignwasalsopresentonYouTube,Flickr,LinkedIn, MySpace,andSecondLife. Bigbrandshavealsofacedembarrassmentonsocialmedia.OneexampleisshowninFigure1-2.In anotherexample,twoDominosPizzaemployeespostedavideotoYouTubeshowingthemdefilingfood thatwastobedeliveredtocustomers.Thatvideowaswatchedmorethan1milliontimesinthefirstfew days,andwasthesubjectofthousandsoftweets. Motrinreleasedacommercialthatoffereditsproductasasolutiontothepainwomenexperiencewhen carryingbabiesinharnessesattachedtotheirtorsos.Adaylater,asmallbutvocalgroupofmommy bloggershadmadethecommercialthemostdiscussedtopiconTwitter,mostlyexpressingoutrage. ThesemomsmadecriticalvideosandblogpostsandcalledforaboycottofMotrin.Eventually,the companyapologizedandwithdrewthecommercial.

Figure 1-3. Blendtecs Will It Blend series was a social media hit.
6

Small Business and Social Media

Asindicatedpreviously,socialmediaisagreatequalizer:bigbrandscanbeoutsmartedwithoutmaking hugeinvestments,andsmallbrandscanmakebignamesforthemselves. Blendtecwasarelativelyunknowncompanyselling$400high-performanceblenders.AfterseeingCEO TomDicksontestingthemachinesbyblendingtwo-by-fours,MarketingDirectorGeorgeWrighthad abrilliantideaforaseriesofviralvideos.Hestartedtoblendeverydayobjectsglowsticks,iPhones, RubiksCubes,andtelevisionremotecontrolsandpostedthevideostomedia-sharingsitessuchas YouTube(seeFigure1-3).Thevideoshavenowbeenwatchedmorethan100milliontimesandhave garneredthecompanyatonofpressandbuzz. AsmallspecialtybakerinNewJersey,PinkCakeBox,leveragesnearlyeverytypeofsocialmediathat existstobuildasubstantialbrand.Employeeswriteablogthatfeaturesimagesandvideosoftheir uniquecakes.TheypostthephotostoFlickrandthevideostothecompanysYouTubechannel.Pink CakeBoxhasmorethan1,300followersonTwitter,andmorethan1,400fansonFacebook. ThesoftwarestartupIworkfor,HubSpot,hasinvestedalotofenergyinsocialmediamarketingwith somesuccess.Ourbloghasmorethan19,000subscribers(fueledbyappearancesonDigg,Reddit, andStumbleUpon),ourcompanyTwitteraccounthasmorethan16,000followers,ourLinkedIngroup hasmorethan34,000members,andourFacebookpagehasmorethan6,000fans.Wevelauncheda marketingforum,andhavealotoffunmakingamusing(andsometimesserious)videosforYouTube.

Social Media and You

Whetheryouarepartofasmall,medium,orgiantbusiness,orareanindividualentrepreneur,yourcustomersareusingsocialmedia,andtheresnoreasonyoushouldntbe,too.Itcostsalmostnothing,its easytogetstarted,anditcanhaveanenormousfinancialimpactonyourbusiness. Thisbookwillteachyoueverythingyouneedtoknowtopicktherighttoolsandgetstarted.Whilewritingthisbook,Ispokewithsomeofthemostbrilliantsocialmediapioneers,includingpeoplefromFlickr, Yelp,Mashable,WebmasterWorld,SecondLife,andScoutLabs.Theysharedtheirwisdomonhowyou canandshouldbeworkingwithsocialmedia. Yourcustomersandyourcompetitionarealreadyinvolvedinsocialmedia.Whyarentyou?

Chapter 3

twitter and Microblogging

Introduction
Microbloggingisaformofbloggingthatlimitsthesizeofeachpost;forinstance,Twitterupdatescan containonly140characters.Thislimitationhasspawnedasetoffeatures,protocols,andbehaviorthat areentirelyuniquetothemedium.Twitterstartedtotakeoffintermsofpopularityinthefirsthalfof2009 asaresultofhigh-profilecelebritymembersandamentiononOprah,andnowithasbecomemore mainstreamthanothersimilarsocialmediatools. MostcompaniesshouldbeonTwitter;itseasy,requiresverylittleinvestmentoftime,andcanquickly proveworthwhileinincreasedbuzz,sales,andconsumerinsight.YoucanuseTwittertoannounce offersorevents,promotenewblogposts,orkeepyourreadersintheknowwithlinkstoimportant newsstories.

31

Figure 3-1. TXTmob was an early inspiration for Twitter.

32

history
In2004,agroupoftechnologistsandactivistscreatedanorganizationaltoolcalledTXTmobthat allowedprotestersatthe2004politicalconventionstocommunicatethroughshorttextmessagesthat werewidelybroadcastthroughSMStothecellphonesofagroupofpeople. Twoyearslater,web-basedpodcastingstartupOdeowasfailing,anditsboardmembersdecidedto spendadayinsmallgroupsbrainstormingotherideastoreboottheirbusiness.Onegroupmetona playground;sittingontopofaslide,groupmemberJackDorseyproposedanSMSbroadcastsystem similartoandinspiredbyTXTmob(seeFigure3-1). AndthusTwitterwasbuiltinMarch2006.Thefollowingyear,attheSouthbySouthwestInteractive conference,theservicereacheditsfirsttippingpointwhenusagespikedfrom20,000messagesperday to60,000messagesperday;thousandsofconference-goersusedTwittertofindoneanotherandto commentonpanelsessionsinrealtime.AsofMay2007,111microbloggingsystemswereinoperation, butTwitterisbyfarthemostpopulartoday.

33

Figure 3-2. Numbers and underscores in your username typically lead to fewer followers.
34

protocol
Themicroblogisatypeofsocialmediasite,andalthoughTwitteristhedominantflavorcurrently,thismay notalwaysbetrue.Illintroduceyoutothebasicelementsofthemicrobloggingformatinthissection.

Account
OnTwitter,personalandcompanyaccountsexistalongsideawiderangeoffictionalandinanimate accounts.Comparedtoothersocialmediasites,Twittercorporateaccountsenjoygreateracceptance. ItsOKtosetupanaccountforyourcompany,aswellasanaccountforyourselfindividually.Infact,my researchhasshownthatofficialbrandTwitteraccountsareoftenhighlyfollowed. ManysuccessfulTwitterersusetheirfirstandlastnamesjoinedtogetherintoonelongstringastheir handles (theTwittertermforusernames).Unfortunately,somepeople(especiallythosewithcommon names)cannotdothisbecausetheirfirstandlastnameshavealreadybeentaken,sotheyresorttoa namewithunderscoresandnumbers.ThismeansthatbecauseIalreadyuse@danzarrellaasmyTwitter handle,thenextDanZarrellatojoinTwittermightenduppicking@dan_zarrella.Thisisabadidea,particularlyifyouretryingtobuildanaccountwithlotsoffollowers,asmyresearchhasshownthatusers withunderscoresandnumbersintheirnameshavefewerfollowersonaverage(seeFigure3-2).

Avatar
Whenpeoplereadyourtweets(Twitterlingoforposts),thetweetswillbeshownnexttoasmallimage youhaveuploadedtoTwitter.Inmostplaces,thisimageisa4848pixelsquare.Thispictureishow mostpeoplewillrecognizetweetsasbeingyours,sousesomethingthatstandsoutanddontchange itfrequently.Forpersonalaccounts,agood-qualityheadshotisthebestoption;forcompanyaccounts, yourlogowillwork,aslongasitisrecognizableinasmallsize.

35

Figure 3-3. Certain titles in your bio tend to lead to more followers.
36

Bio
Whenyourecreatingyouraccount,youllhave160charactersinasectioncalledBiotoexplainwho youare.Thistakesverylittletimetowrite,andresearchhasshownthataccountswithbioshavefar morefollowersonaveragethanaccountswithoutbios. Iexploredwhatrelationshipthecontentofausersbiohasonthenumberoffollowerstheuserhas. Marketersandentrepreneurstendtohavemorefollowersthantherest,asdoaccountslabeledofficial, founder,expert,andauthor.Ialsolookedattherelationshipbetweenfollowernumbersandgenderand familyroles.Ifoundthatspousesandparentshavemorefollowersthantheaverage,whereaspeople whorefertothemselvesbythesomewhatdiminutivetermsboyandgirlhavefewerfollowers.While lookingoverthelargelistofcommonlyoccurringwords,Inoticedthatlotsofpeopleuseemoticonsin theirbiosandnearlyallofthemhaveanegativerelationshipwithfollowernumbers.Figure3-3showsa chartoftheresultsofmyresearchonfollowersbyoccupation.

Background
Twittergivesyoutheabilitytodesignanduploadacustombackgroundimageforyouraccountpage. Someuserstakeadvantageofthisandaddlotsofextrainformationaboutthemselves,includingother socialsiteswheretheycanbefound.Sincethesebackgroundimagesarenotclickable,theycanbe frustrating,especiallytonewusers.Thebestcustombackgroundimagetouseisonethatshowsyour companyscolorsorlogotoreinforceyourbrandimage.

37

Figure 3-4. Any tweet containing your username will be shown on your Replies page.
38

Following
WhenyoufollowsomeoneonTwitter,youllseehertweetsinhertimeline,andifshefollowsyouback, shellseeyours.Thenumberoffollowersyouhaveisthenumberofpeoplewhowillpotentiallybe exposedtoyourtweets,sotoincreaseyourreach,youshouldtrytogetmorefollowers. Itsnotabadideaforthoseoncorporateaccountstofolloweveryonewhofollowsyou;todootherwise maymakeyourbrandappearaloof.Severalweb-basedserviceswilldothisforyou.Thoseonpersonalaccounts,ontheotherhand,shouldnotfeelobligatedtodothis.Infact,myresearchshowsthat Twittererswhohavemorefollowersthanpeopletheyarefollowingtendtohavelargeraudiences. Whenyourefirstgettingstarted,youcanuseTwittersFindPeoplefeaturetolocatepeopleyoualready communicatewithviaemailtofollow.YoushouldalsouseTwittersearchtofindpeopletalkingabout yourcompany,industry,andinterests,andmakesuretofollowthemaswell.

Tweeting
ThecoreofTwitteristhetweet:a140-characterorlesstextmessagepostedtoTwitter.Thewordtweet canbeusedasanoun,asin,Haveyouseenthistweet?andasaverb,asin,Pleasetweetthis. TwitterwasoriginallyintendedasawayforpeopletoanswerthequestionWhatareyoudoing?And althoughsomepeoplepostreal-timeupdatesabouttheirlives,itisfarmoreusefulformarketersto tweetaboutnewcontent,offers,andnews,aswellasrespondtoquestionsfromotherusers.

39

Figure 3-5. You see the tweets of people you follow in your friends timeline.
40

Replies
ConversationsonTwitterareconductedthrough@replies.Whenyouinclude@usernameinatweet, whereusernameisthenameofthepersonyouretalkingto,itwillshowupinthatpersonsRepliestab. Likewise,youcanseewhohasmentionedyournamebyclickingonthe@usernamelinkwhenyoure loggedintoTwitter(seenearlierinFigure3-4).Ifatweetstartswithan@sign,onlypeoplewhoarefollowingbothyouandthepersonyoutweetedwillseeitintheirfriends timeline(seeFigure3-5).Replies suchasthisarestillpublicifsomeoneviewsyourTwitterstreamspecificallyorusesTwittersearch. Toseemapproachableandgenuinelyinterestedinconversation,youshouldrespondtoasmanymessagesasyoucan.Agoodwaytokeepaneyeonthisistolookatyourstreamandcountthepercentage ofyourtweetsthatarerepliesversusthosethatarenot.

Retweets
RetweetsarethemostpowerfulmechanismsformarketersonTwitter.IfItweetsomething,myfollowerswillseeit.IfyouarefollowingmeandyoucopyandpastewhatIvepostedverbatimtoyourTwitter stream,yourfollowerswillseeit,andoneofthemmayalsoretweetit.Thisway,amessagecanspread virallythroughTwitter,reachingtensorhundredsoftimesasmanypeopleasitwouldifonlyasinglepersontweetedit(seeFigure3-6).Itcanbeusefultoaskyourfollowerstoretweetsomethingyouveposted (butdosoinmoderation). ThepopularTwitterclientTweetDeckhasaretweetbutton,soithasdefinedakindofdefactostandard formatforretweeting.Manypeoplealsoaddtheirownthoughtsattheendofaretweet.Themostcommonlyacceptedretweetformatisasfollows:
RT @username: Original Tweet (Your Take)

41

Figure 3-6. Asking for retweets works.

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A Twitter client is a piece of software that makes it easier to use Twitter. I will discuss this in more detail in the Clients section on page 51.

RetweetingwasnotinventedbytheTwittercreators;rather,itwaspopularizedbyTwitterusers.As such,thereisnosinglesetofguidelinesforhowtoretweetcorrectly,buthereareafewpointstoget youstarted: Donotstarttheretweetwithan@sign. Trytocreditatleasttheoriginaluserwhopostedthetweet.Ifyouhaveroom,alsotrytocreditthe personwhoseretweetyousaw. ThemostcommonretweetformatisRT:@username.Typically,thisisreservedfortheoriginalposter. Iftheoriginaltweetincludedacalltoaction(suchaspleaseretweet),trytokeepthatinyourretweet. Iftheoriginaltweethasalinkinit,keepitthere. Trytokeepasmuchoftheoriginaltweetintactaspossible,butitisacceptabletoaddyourtakeon it(especiallyattheend,inparentheses).

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Figure 3-7. Retweets are noun heavy and use third-person verbs.
44

Becauseofthepowerofaretweet,Ivedoneextensiveresearchtounderstandwhattypesoftweets getretweetedmostoften.Atthetimeofthiswriting,itisimpossibletopredictwhatwilldefinitelyget retweeted,butIvefoundafewcharacteristicsthatcanleadtomoreretweets: Between11:00a.m.and6:00p.m.ESTisthemostpopulartimeforretweeting. Askingfortheretweetbyexplicitlysayingpleaseretweetsoundscheesy,butitworks.But dontaskeverytime. Mostretweetscontainalink,manymorethannonretweetupdates. Retweetstendtocontainmorenounsandthird-personverbsthannonretweets(seeFigure3-7). Talkingaboutyourselfwontgetyouretweetedverymuch. Postingaboutsocialmedia,Twitteritselfinparticular,willgetyouretweets.

Direct Messages
Direct messages(DMs)aretheprivatemessagesofTwitter.IfImfollowingyou,youcanDMme,and onlyifyourefollowingmebackcanIDMyouinreply.TwittersdefaultbehaviorsendsDMnotifications totherecipientsemailinbox,sotreatDMsasyouwouldtreatnormalemail:nospamming. Severalwebtoolsareavailabletosetupwhatarecalledauto-DMs,whereyouraccountautomatically sendsaDMtoeveryonewhofollowsyou,typicallywithagreetingandalinktoyoursite.MostTwitter usersconsiderauto-DMsannoying,soavoidthem.

45

Figure 3-8. Trending topics are now displayed on the main Twitter interface.
46

Trending Topics
Twitterhasdevelopedanalgorithmthattracksmentionsofwordsandphrasesuptothreewordslong, andhighlightsthosethatarethemosttalkedaboutatanygivenpointintime.Youllfindthisasatop10 listintherighthandcolumnofyourTwitterpage.Popularevents,news,andmemesgenerallymakeup thesetrendingtopics(seeFigure3-8).Ifyourcompanysnameappearsinthislist,itcandriveasignificantamountofbuzzandawareness,buttheactualnumberofnewfollowersortrafficproducedisoften surprisinglylow.AbetterwaytousetrendingtopicsisasabarometerforwhattheTwittercommunityis currentlyinterestedinandtalkingabout.

Hashtags
ToconnectideasandconversationsintoacohesivestreaminTwittersotherwisefree-formlandscape, peopleoftenusehashtags.Simplyawordprecededbythepoundornumbersign(#),ahashtagisused toindicatethatacertaintweetisaboutthesametopicaseveryothertweetusingthesametag.Inmany Twitterclients,clickingonahashtagwillbringyoutoasearchforthatterm.IntheTwittersearchresults, youcanseetheentireconversationthatusedthattaginrealtime. Popularusesofhashtagsincludesocialmediacampaigns,news,politicaleventsandissues,andconferences.Theyhelpunifytopicsthatmightbediscussedwithahandfulofdifferentwords.Tweetsabout theBostonRedSox,forexample,couldincludethewordsBo Sox,Sox,orRed Sox;using#RedSox keepsitallorganized.

47

Figure 3-9. To share URLs, you should shorten them with a URL shortening service.
48

Shortened URLs
Sinceeachtweethasa140-characterlimit,spaceisatapremium.URLstendtobefairlylongandtake uptoomuchspaceinatweet,soahandfulofserviceshavebeendevelopedthatallowyoutoshorten links.Withtheseservices,youenteraURL,andthentheservicereturnsamuchshorterversionthat redirectsvisitorstotheoriginaladdress(seeFigure3-9). Theseshortenerstakeoneoftwoforms:pre-Twitterandpost-Twitter.Pre-Twittershorteners,suchas Tinyurl.com,typicallyproducelongerURLsthanotherservicesanddonotallowyoutocountthenumberoftimesyourlinkhasbeenclicked.Mostpost-Twitterservices,suchasbit.ly,dotrackclicks.Heres abriefexplanationofahandfulofURL-shorteningservices: TinyURL (http://TinyURL.com) OneoftheearliestURLshorteners,TinyURLisstillthemostpopular.Itdoesnotofferclicktracking, butitdoeshaveabookmarkletforeasyshortening. Bit.ly (http://bit.ly) ThedefaultshortenerforTwitter.comandTweetDeck,bit.lyallowsyoutocreateanaccountand analyzethenumberofclicksyourshortURLsaregetting. Ow.ly (http://ow.ly) Ow.lyisintegratedintotheHootSuiteapplication,whichallowsclicktrackingaswellastweet scheduling.

49

Figure 3-10. TweetDeck allows you to manage lots of followers and friends.
50

Clients
TwitterwasoriginallybuiltformessagingfrommobilephonesviaSMS,andalthoughthewebsiteisthe mostpopularTwitterinterfacerightnow,hundredsofthird-partyapplicationsareavailablethataddmore featuresfortweeting.Someoftheseapplicationsmakeiteasiertomanagelotsoffollowersortoupdate yourtweetsfromyourphone.Hereisasamplingoftheseapplications: TweetDeck MyfavoriteTwitterclientandthemostpopularapplication,TweetDeck(seeFigure3-10)offersfeatures thatsimplifymanaginglotsoffollowers,suchasgroups,searches,andTwitpicintegration.TweetDeck isfreeandrunsonAdobeAir,soyoucanuseitonMac,Windows,andmanytypesofLinuxmachines. Tweetie TweetieisanapplicationforMacsandiPhones.TheMacsoftwarehasafreeversionthatisad supported,aswellasapaidversion.TheiPhonesoftwarecanbepurchasedthroughApplesApp Store.BoththeMacandiPhoneversionscanhandlemultipleaccountsandsupportthreadedreply anddirectmessageconversations. Twhirl TwhirlisanotherAdobeAirdesktopapplication.Itincludesaspellcheckerandisdesignedtobe verysimpleandeasytouse,makingitagoodclientfornewTwitterusers.Powerusersmayfindit toolimiting,however. HootSuite HootSuiteismyfavoriteweb-basedTwitterclient.Itallowsteamstomanagesingle(ormultiple) accounts,anditincludesfunctionalitytoscheduletweetstobepostedinthefuture.Itisintegratedwith theOw.lyURLshortener,andoffersextensiveanalyticsregardingclicksandmentionsofyourbrand.

51

takeaway tips
Microbloggingisaquickandeasywaytogetintosocialmediaandpromoteyourcontent. Setupyouraccountforoptimalfollowingandtweeting,withagoodavatarandanoptimizedbio. Followpeopleyoualreadyknow,andsearchforpeoplewhotweetaboutyourinterestsandfollow them. Twitterisallabouttwo-wayconversations;engagewithpeople,dontjustbroadcast. Askforretweets(politely)togetthem. MonitorthetrendingtopicslisttocheckthepulseoftheTwittersphere. UseTwitterclientsthathelpyoumanageyouraccountonyourdesktopandmobiledevice.

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acknowledgments
Thisbookwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthehelpofalotofpeople,andImsureImgoingto forgetsomenames. First,IwouldliketothankPeteCashmore,BrettTabke,LutherLowe,TaraKirchner,andJenniferZeszut fortheirvaluableinsightsandinsidelooksintotheirbusinesses.Sharingtheexperiences,opinions,challenges,andsuccessestheyhaveencounteredovertheyearsprovidedmewithauniqueperspectiveon howsocialmediacan,andshould,beusedaswellashowitshouldnt. ThanksalsotoLaurelRuma(@laurelatoreilly),RickBurnes(@rickburnes),AlisonDriscoll(@alisond),Matt Robinson(@mrobins),SamanthaStrauss(@sfsam22),JDLasica(@jdlasica),TristanWalker(@tristanwalker), andJordyneWu(@jordyne)fortheirobsessiveyetultimatelyhelpfuledits,suggestions,criticisms,andcomments.Everyoneneedsaneditor,andIwasluckyenoughtohavesomanywhoexcelintheirspecialties andneverscrimponfeedback. Lastbutnotleast,thanksto@bwhalley,@ellieeille,@mvolpe,@kylepaice,@dharmesh,@abdinoor, @karenrubin,@bsimi,@tedChris,@ed,@guykawasaki,@briansolis,@GabVaz,@eddiehebert,@webaddict, @yourfriendEVAN,@TheRealBenSmith,@YoavShapira,@SharonFeder,@adamhirsch,@tamar,@msaleem, @joselinmane,@repcor,andcountlessotherswhohavehelpedmeinonewayoranother.Everyinteraction wentintothisbook,insomeway. Andofcourse,thankyoutomymother,sister,girlfriend,andBJforputtingupwithmealltheseyears.

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Index
Numbers
2Channel,149 4Chan,149 Blogger,11,25 BlogHer,195 blogrolls,19 BlogRSSFeedReader,69 blogs,3,930 archives,1718 Blogger,11,25 breakingnews,2728 buildinganaudience,30 CAPTCHA,15 categories,1718 comments,1516 contentstrategies,2729 controversy,29 history,11 hostedversusself-hosted, 23 how-tos,29 HubSpot,25 links,19 listposts,2930 LiveJournal,11 Mashable,13 GodLists,13 microblogging(see microblogging) MovableType,25 news,27 permalinks,1516 pingbacks,19 platforms,2125 posts,13 protocol,1321 RSS,21 subscribingto,2122 tags,17 TakeawayTips,30 themes,1718 trackbacks,19 TypePad,25 WordPress,23,25 BoardReader.com,159,187 BoardTracker.com,159,187 bookmarking(seesocial newsandbookmarking) bouncerates,209 brandsandsocialmedia marketing,35 breakingnews,115 bulletinboardsystems (BBSs),53 BurgerKing,Facebook,3

A
Abrams,Jonathan,55 Alltop.com,195 Amazon,133 AOL,55 archives,1718 AsianAvenue.com,55 avatars,35 SecondLife,177

C
campaignsversusongoing strategy,197 CAPTCHA,15 Care2,129 Cashmore,Pete,13,23,27 categories,1718 Citysearch,133,135,137, 145 Classmates.com,55 Clicky,223 closed-loopmarketing analytics,207 Comcast,Twitter,5 comments,blogs,1516 CompuServe,55 contentmanagement system(CMS),9 controversy,29,117

B
BackTypeBlog,187 BalletPixelletheatre,181 Berners-Lee,Tim,147 Bicpen,5 big-boards.com,159 Bit.ly,49 BlackPlanet.com,55 Blendtec,7 WillItBlendseries,7

227

copyrightlicenses,93 CreativeCommons,93 CTA(calltoaction),201 conversion-based,203

engagementmetrics, 209210 eyeball-basedmetrics,211, 213

D
Delicious,127,189 strategyandtactics,199 Dell,3 demographicresearch,205 developerWorks,3 Dickson,Tom,7 Digg,3,105,111,117, 117119,187 HubSpot,7 digitalassetoptimization (DAO),81 directmessages(DMs),45 DominosPizza,193 YouTube,5 Dorsey,Jack,33 Drupal,169

F
Facebook,59,6769 BlogRSSFeedReader,69 BurgerKing,3,5 Causesapplication,65 Coca-Colapage,67 group,63 HubSpot,7 inbox,61 Obama,Barack,5 off-sitemetrics,215 pagemetrics,215 PinkCakeBox,7 privacysettings,69 StaticFBML,69 strategyandtactics,199 TheTwitterApp,69 Facemash,55 FeedBurner,211 Fishkin,Rand,109 flaming,157,165 FlashMX,79 Flickr,3,81,8995 CreativeCommons license,93

E
earnedmedia,off-site metrics,221 Edwards,Blake,133 Eliason,Frank,5 EliteYelpSquads,143

homepage,89 Obama,Barack,5 otherfeatures,95 photos,91 PinkCakeBox,7 profile,91 forums,3,147170 2Channel,149 4Chan,149 big-boards.com,159 boardreader.com,159 boardtracker.com,159 engaging,161169 flaming,157,165 history,147 InboundMarketing.com, 169 inbox,157 InvisionPowerBoard,167 lurking,151 metrics,219 moderatorsand administrators,153 off-sitemetrics,219 phpBB,169 postnumbermetrics,219 posts,151 privatemessages(PMs), 157 profiles,151

protocol,149157 reputation,155 reputationmetrics,219 research,159 rules,161 signatures,155 startingyourown,165169 TakeawayTips,170 threads,153 trolls,157,165 vBulletin,167 Friendster,55

G
games,115 GoogleAlerts,189 GoogleAnalytics,209,223 eyeball-basedmetrics,213 GoogleBlogSearch,19 GoogleNews,187 GoogleNewssearch,221 GoogleReader,187 GoogleVideo,187

H
HackerNews,129 Hall,Justin,11 headlines,109110 HootSuite,51

228

HotOrNot,133 HubSpot,7,25,223 closed-loopmarketing analytics,207

L
Lindendollars,175 LindenLab,175 LinkedIn,3,59,7173 Answers,73,189 HubSpot,7 Introductions,71 Obama,Barack,5 off-sitemetrics,215 Recommendations,73 strategyandtactics,199 Linkerati,109 links,19 listposts,2930 lists,115,135 LiveJournal,11 LOLcats,149 Lowe,Luther,139 lurking,151

I
IBM,3 BalletPixelletheatre,181 SecondLife,181 IceRocketBlog,187 IdeaStormwebsite,3 IFILM.net,79 InboundMarketing.com,169 InsiderPages,145 instantmessage(IM)away messages,66 IntermixMedia,55 InvisionPowerBoard,167

J
Jay-Z,75 journals,11 JudysBook,145

M
Mashable,13,23 GodLists,13 Match.com,55 mediasharing,3,77102 digitalassetoptimization (DAO),81 Flickr CreativeCommons license,93

K
Kirchner,Tara,89 Kirtsy,129,195 Kryptonitebikelocks,5

otherfeatures,95 photos,91 profile,91 history,79 off-sitemetrics,217 organiccontent,83 protocol,7983 SlideShare,9799 homepage,100 otherfeatures,101 presentations,99 registrationform,97 tags,81 TakeawayTips,102 YouTube,8389 channels,83 embeddingvideos,87 honorslists,87 videos,85 Metaverse,173 metrics,207221 bookmarkingsites,217 engagement,209210 forums,219 goalsetting,221 off-site,213221 on-site,207213 reviewsites,217 SlideShare,217 socialnewssites,217

software,223 subscriber,211 TakeawayTips,224 YouTube,217 microblogging,3,3152 protocol,3549 TakeawayTips,52 Twitter(seeTwitter) MiGente.com,55 monitoring,187193 Motrin,5 MovableType,25 MySpace,55,59,7375 bandsandmusicartists,75 bloggingfeature,75 bulletin,75 group,63 inbox,61 Jay-Z,75 Obama,Barack,5 MyStarbucksIdeasite,3

O
Obama,Barack,5 Odeo,33 off-sitemetrics,213221 earnedmedia,221 Facebook,215 LinkedIn,215

229

off-sitemetrics(continued) media-sharingsites,217 reviewsites,217 SecondLife,219 socialnewsand bookmarkingsites,217 Twitter,213,215 Ofoto,79 on-sitemetrics,207213 organiccontent,83 Ow.ly,49

Q
Quantcast,195

R
Radian6,191 RateMyProfessors.com, 133,137 ratingsandreviews, 131146 Amazon,133 Citysearch,133,135,137, 145 history,133 HotOrNot,133 InsiderPages,145 JudysBook,145 lists,135 protocol,135137 RateMyProfessors.com, 137 responding,137 search,135 sockpuppets,135 Superpages,137,145 TakeawayTips,146 TripAdvisor,137,145 Yelp,133,137,139, 139143 badgesandstickers,141

P
pageviewspervisit,209 permalinks,1516 Photobucket,79 photos,91,117 phpBB,169 pingbacks,19 PinkCakeBox,7 postnumbermetrics,219 posts,13 forums,151 presentations,99 privacy,66 privatemessages(PMs), 61,157 Prodigy,55 publicmessages,61

EliteYelpSquads,143 offersand announcements,139 unlockingpages,139 reciprocity,115 Reddit,3,121,121123, 187 HubSpot,7 reputationmetrics,219 respondingtonegative comments,193 returnoninvestment(ROI), 205,207 retweets,4145 reviewsites,3 metrics,217 Rickrolling,149 Rosedale,Philip,173,175 RSS,21

S
ScoutLabs,189,191 search,135 SecondLife,3,171,173, 175183 AmericanApparelstore, 183 avatars,177 BalletPixelletheatre,181

groups,177 Lindendollars,175 metrics,219 Obama,Barack,5 realestate,177 searchfunctionality,179 sign-onscreen,175 SLurl(SecondLifeURL), 181 strategyandtactics,199 TakeawayTips,184 teleportation,179 XStreetSL.com,183 SEOmoz,109 Shutterfly,79 signatures,155 SlideShare,3,9799 homepage,100 metrics,217 otherfeatures,101 presentations,99 registrationform,97 strategyandtactics,199 SLurl(SecondLifeURL), 181 smallbusiness,7 SnowCrash,173 socialbookmarkingand votingsites,3

230

socialmediamarketing bigbrandsand,35 defined,13 smallbusiness,7 SocialMention.com,187 socialnetworking,5376 applicationprogramming interfaces(APIs),65 connecting,59 events,65 groups,63 history,53 photos,63 privacy,66 privatemessaging,61 profiles,57 protocol,5766 publicmessages,61 statusupdates,66 TakeawayTips,76 socialnetworks,3 socialnewsand bookmarking,103130 breakingnews,115 Care2,129 contentformats,115116 controversy,117 Delicious,127 Digg,105,111,117, 117119

games,115 HackerNews,129 headlines,109110 history,103105 Kirtsy,129 Linkerati,109 lists,115 metrics,217 photos,117 popularity,111 powerusers,113 profiles,105 protocol,105117 reciprocity,115 Reddit,121,121123 Sphinn,129 StumbleUpon,125 submittingcontent,107, 113 TakeawayTips,130 timing,113 Tipd,129 videos,117 voting,107 votingbadges,107 sockpuppets,135 software,metrics,223 Sphinn,105,129 Spitzer,Elliot,55 Starbucks,3

StaticFBML,69 Stephenson,Neal,173 stickyCTAs,201 strategyandtactics, 185204 calltoaction(CTA),201 campaignsversusongoing strategy,197 conversion-basedCTAs, 203 Delicious,199 Facebook,199 GoogleReader,187 integration,199 LinkedIn,199 monitoring,187193 paidmonitoringtools, 191193 Quantcast,195 research,195 respondingtonegative comments,193 SecondLife,199 SlideShare,199 stickyCTAs,201 TakeawayTips,204 Twitter,199 Yahoo!Pipes,187 YouTube,199

StumbleUpon,125,189, 195 HubSpot,7 submittingcontent,107, 113 subscribercount,211 subscribermetrics,211 subscribingtoblogs,2122 Sugarloving,195 Superpages,137,145

T
Tabke,Brett,163 tags,17,79 mediasharing,81 TakeawayTips blogs,30 forums,170 mediasharing,102 metrics,224 ratingsandreviews,146 SecondLife,184 socialnetworking,76 socialnewsand bookmarking,130 strategyandtactics,204 Twitter,52 virtualworlds,184 Technorati,13,19,187

231

termsofservice(ToS),115 themes,1718 TheTwitterApp,69 timeonsite,209 TinyURL,49 Tipd,129 trackbacks,19 Trackur,191 TripAdvisor,137,145 trolls,157,165 TweetDeck,41,51 Tweetie,51 tweeting,39 TweetMeme,21,199 Twhirl,51 Twitter,187 accounts,35 avatars,35 bios,37 clients,51 Comcast,5 custombackground image,37 directmessages(DMs),45 FindPeoplefeature,39 following,39 history,33 HubSpot,7

IBM,3 microblogging,3152 Motrin,5 Obama,Barack,5 off-sitemetrics,213,215 PinkCakeBox,7 replies,41 Repliespage,39 retweets,4145 strategyandtactics,199 TakeawayTips,52 titlesinyourbio,37 trendingtopics,4748 tweeting,39 tweets,41 URLs,49 usernames,35 Williams,Evan,11 Zappos,5 TwitterCounter.com,215 TXTmob,33 TypePad,25

V
vBulletin,167 videos,85,117 virtualworlds,3,171184 history,173 SecondLife(seeSecond Life) TakeawayTips,184 votingbadges,107

W
WebmasterWorld,163 Webshots,79 WhopperSacrifice,3 Williams,Evan,11 WordPress,23,25 themes,17 Wright,George,7

badgesandstickers,141 EliteYelpSquads,143 offersand announcements,139 unlockingpages,139 YouTube,3,83,8389 BlendtecsWillItBlend series,7 channels,83 DominosPizza,5,193 embeddingvideos,87 honorslists,87 HubSpot,7 IBM,3 metrics,217 Obama,Barack,5 PinkCakeBox,7 strategyandtactics,199 videos,85

X
XStreetSL.com,183

Z
Zappos,Twitter,5 Zeszut,Jennifer,189 Zuckerberg,Mark,55

U
URLs,shortened,49 user-generatedcontent (UGC),77 usernames,35

Y
Yahoo!Pipes,187 strategyandtactics,187 Yelp,3,133,137,139, 139143

232

Colophon
Thecover,heading,andtextfontisHelveticaNeue.

about the author

Dan Zarrellahaswrittenextensivelyaboutthescienceofviralmarketing,memetics,andsocial mediaonhisownblogandforavarietyofpopularindustryblogs,includingMashable,CopyBlogger, ReadWriteWeb,PlagiarismToday,ProBlogger,SocialDesire,CenterNetworks,Nowsourcing,and SEOScoop. HehasbeenfeaturedinThe Twitter Book (OReilly),theFinancial Times,theNew York Post,theBoston Globe,Forbes,Wired,theWall Street Journal,Mashable,andTechCrunch.Hewasrecentlyawarded ShortyandSemmyawardsforsocialmediaandviralmarketing. DanhasspokenatPubCon,SearchEngineStrategies,Convergence09,140:TheTwitterConference, WordCampMidAtlantic,SocialMediaCamp,InboundMarketingBootcamp,andtheTexasDomains andDevelopersConference.HecurrentlyworksasaninboundmarketingmanageratHubSpot.