Social networking is really something old made new by bringing it online. It turns out we humans still rely on other humans and technology simply allows us to expand the boundaries of our social networks. Studies have proven what we already knew intuitively, we pay attention to recommendations from real people. Social search, viral marketing and social networking are not at all new concepts.
Social search is really the technology derivative of asking friends and colleagues for recommendations, and fondly dubbed SMM by some.
The internet marketer’s goals remain the same - drive traffic and convert that traffic to profitable sales, but now add SMM.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Social Search Marketing
The internet marketer’s goals remain the same - drive traffic and convert that traffic to profitable sales. Social search will not change the foundation of marketing but it will change the way in which you present your information to generate leads. In other words, you will still need to apply good old fashioned Public Relations and Marketing tactics to the new fangled Social Search Medium.I recommend: http://www.socialsearchmedium.com (site will feature SMO services)
http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2006/08/5_rules_of_soci.html
Become an expert source of information.
Use the bookmarks and article submission features of sites such as Digg to establish yourself as a credible and recognizable source of information.I recommend: http://www.digg.com
Hitchhike on a blog.
Post relevant and informative content on high profile blogs in your industry. Contributing to a blog on relevant subject matter will increase your visibility and credibility with your target market.I recommend: http://www.Technorati.com
Share, share, share.
Create a Squidoo lens, write and publish articles to online article banks (i.e. ezinearticles.com), contribute to wikipedia. Issue quarterly press releases through PR Web.I recommend: www.squidoo.com/
www.wikipedia.org
www.prweb.com
Create your own friendly network.
Link sharing with complementary products and services is still a great way to expand your social network, and hence your visibility.I recommend: www.linkedin.com
www.friendster.com
Build on your existing foundation.
The technical aspect of search will not be eliminated with the dawn of social search. Rather social search will augment technical search. Thus, it is important to continue utilizing the tools and resources that drive technical search including optimization techniques and paid inclusion.I recommend: http://www.YourElevatorPitch.com/
Apply innovation directly to your site.
Super cool free services exist for Social Search capabilities on your site, services like EureksterI recommend: See http://microsaw-swicki.eurekster.com/ for example
Receive a complimentary ranking report to qualify your site
The best way to start, is to find out where you are today. Most services charge a fee, but I like the free ones...I recommend: http://www.microsaw.com/
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Social search will not entirely replace the traditional technical driven search but does open up yet another avenue for internet marketers.
- One of the more exciting aspects is that smaller businesses are better positioned to make the most gains from the social frontier
- Viral Marketing has helped YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, why not you?
- Use the simple techniques outlined in this article you will be well poised to take advantage of that opportunity.
- Social Marketing Resources: Digg, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Flickr, StumbleUpon, Newsvine, LinkedIn, Del.icio.us, MySpace, Ma.gnolia, Yahoo Answers, Reddit, Technorati, Squidoo, Shoutwire, 43 Things, YourElevatorPitch, Ning, Yahoo 360, Blinklist, Shadows, Wetpaint, Jotspot
- Article Banks: Ezinearticles, GoArticles, SubmitYourArticles (fee required), Buzzle, Articlealley
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