The Write Blog

With all the push for businesses to invest in and create social media marketing campaigns, more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon. And this is definitely a good thing. But there is a common misconception that a social media marketing campaign can yield highly scalable results in a short period of time. Yet this is something that needs major clarification.

The fact is, it’s just not feasible to completely quantify the results of your social media marketing campaign.

It’s an issue that www.doshdosh.com draws attention to in this blog about ROI and social media. The blog explores the benefits of social media marketing, and how to use it to your advantage. But most importantly, it says that the results of your SMM efforts are “not direct and immediate.”

What does this mean? Social media marketing is a great tool when used properly – it just takes a little time and TLC before the results can be seen. To some degree, results can be measured by paying attention to the number of hits to your websites from social profiles, social bookmarking sites, forums, and other sites where you are connecting to your audience through SMM.

However, the difficult part to measure is the “general PR effect” of your campaign – meaning you have no way of knowing who passes your information around or who remembered your brand name weeks later after reading a cool article on Digg. Unfortunately, without personally tracking each customer down and insisting they tell you exactly how your social media marketing campaign has affected them, it’s hard to get true tracking on your campaign.

So what do you do?
Even though collecting complete stats for your SMM campaign can be tricky, you can still get a good feel for what’s working. First, you need dedicate yourself to giving each SMM tactic a good run. Keep at it. Since your campaign typically won’t start a buzz overnight, push your campaign hard for six months to a year. Keep your social profiles updated, post blogs often, respond to any feedback you get, and build as many relationships as you can. The longer you push, the more of a presence you will create in the industry. Establish your brand in every way you can then “measure” which of your techniques are working best.

After a year, you should be able to concentrate on the areas that are drawing the most attention. If your online articles are getting tons of feedback, devote your time to writing more of them. If people are swarming to your LinkedIn profile, keep on connecting with them. Maximize your time and campaign by focusing on the marketing outlets that are specifically working for you, and you’re likely to watch your clientele grow immensely.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, then writing an effective press release can be easier said than done. But follow a few simple guidelines, and you’ll be on your way to successful promotion and publication. Listed below, you will find three steps to creating a first-class press release.

1. Know the purpose of your press release. A press release serves to market your business in a “newsy” format, and it can be one of the best ways to distribute information about your company. Before you even begin writing, decide on your main objective. Is there a big event you are trying to promote? Have you released a new product? Have you made important new business acquisitions that the public should know about? Make sure that whatever you write about is of interest and importance to the public. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to get your information out.

2. Follow the correct format. There is a correct format to follow when writing a press release. If you don’t follow it, your work will convey the message that you are unprofessional and that your work should not be taken seriously.

First, make sure to include a catchy headline that conveys the reason you are writing. (Sometimes, it is necessary to include a brief, italicized summary of the copy underneath the headline. For example, PRWeb.com, one of the largest PR release sites online, requires this.)
Next, be sure to include today’s date and the date you would like for the information to be released.

When you are ready to write the body, make sure to include a powerful lead and several paragraphs with all pertinent information. Quotes add credibility to your writing and make a strong statement.

Conclude your press release with a concise paragraph about your company – this is called a boilerplate – and be sure to include your contact information. The end of your press release is signified by typing “###” or “-30-” a few lines below your text. If your copy is more than two pages, write “-more-” at the bottom of the first page.

3. Include the right information. The most important thing to remember when writing a press release is to write it in a “news” style tone. Consult an AP or Chicago Style manual is you are not familiar with the standard conventions for abbreviations and punctuation. As stated above, a strong lead should give the reader a reason to want to keep reading, and the following copy should be factual evidence that supports the subject of your press release. Many times, newspapers and other publications will publish portions of your press release without revising or rewording anything as long as your copy is clear and free of errors. Write a press release that is newsworthy, relevant, and interesting, and you will be on your way to publication in no time.

So, you want to get your name out there, to be known, to market yourself to every possible venue. It’s easier than you think. With some strategy and a bit of research, you can delve deep into the social media marketing realm and produce significant results.

Just what, you might ask, is social media marketing, and how does it work? For starters, social media marketing is a way to embrace many of the web’s social facets and use them to promote your business or website. For example, you can blog, linkbait, post viral articles, and reach out through social networking sites all in the name of increasing traffic to your website. Best of all, if it’s done right, it can be extremely effective.

The question remains: Why is social media marketing important? In addition to just drawing traffic to your website, there are a number of reasons (not to mention benefits) behind this marketing strategy. Below, and in no particular order, you will find the top 4 reasons why you should adopt a social media marketing campaign.

1. Connect with your customer base. Say you begin a blog that relates to your website. Eventually, that blog will begin to attract a readership base, and your customers will be able to respond to these blogs. Or “hang out” with your client base on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn where you can personally interact with your customers – even on a one-on-one basis – and learn all about their needs and wants as it pertains to your company. Also, you can search review sites and forums to see what your customers are saying. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, you will have a solid grasp of their reactions to your products and services … which leads me to my next point.

2. Manage customer relations. When you are sifting through your customers’ reviews, forums, and blog responses, it can be exhilarating to read affirmative feedback on your services. On the flipside, it can be downright disheartening to read the negative stuff. But don’t fret. This kind of criticism can give you a chance to respond gracefully and show the consumer that you care about what they think. You may not be able to right all of the wrongs all of the time, but you can acknowledge each one personally. This way, your customer base knows that you care and are taking measures to create better results in the future.

3. Establish yourself as an industry expert. Publish articles and blog about anything and everything related to your specific industry. If your content is good and interesting enough, it is sure to be picked up by users of social bookmarking sites like digg, delicious, and others, then spread all over the Internet. All the while, you are not only gaining credibility but more hits to your website.

4. Show off your name. Saturating the internet with useful and viable content rich in keywords related to your business can help to bring a greater number of hits to your site. When a website sees regular updates and activities, such as that seen on blogs and forums, search engines will deem it trustworthy therefore ranking it higher in search results.

There’s tons of cool stuff available for writers on the web these days – some of which you may not even know existed. Listed below are a few of my favorites to help you think, organize, create, manage, and most importantly, write.

Buzzword: This is a free online word processor from Adobe. It runs just like any other word processor – just through a web processor. As long as you are connected to the internet, you can access your Buzzword documents. Cool features include a “share” button which allows you to share your document for edits with other buzzword users without having to email. Additionally, the same version of the document is available to all viewers no matter what edits are made – a definite plus for documents that go through multiple edits with multiple collaborators.

WriteWith: Just like its name says, this web application allows you to work on documents with others, in one functional program, without having to email. It was designed by two news editors who recognized the need for an efficient program to allow collaborative work and project management. WriteWith lets you upload documents directly to the site, assign tasks to other users, edit docs and see the changes immediately. It even keeps a history of all the edits you’ve made – just in case. This program is great for group projects and is extremely efficient.

Wrike: This project management software will send “to do” reminders to your whole team, create tasks from your email, and will create easy-to-read Gantt charts of project timelines. Also, different parts of the plan can be communicated to employees depending on their parts in the project. It’s a great way to keep your whole team on the same page while offering one, simple collaborative environment. One word – efficient.

Mozy: This program is awesome for a copywriter, or any writer for that matter, who must save multiple drafts of multiple projects. The free version of Mozy lets you store up to 2GB of your docs online. This means, if your computer crashes, your office gets struck by lightning, or you simply want to make some room on your hard drive, your documents will always be safe and accessible online.

FreeMind: This is super cool mind mapping software that helps you brainstorm, map out your thoughts, keep track of projects and timelines, and lets you change fonts and colors. Basically, you can organize your thoughts any way you want. Sure, this is a good tool for creative writers, but it’s also great for other types of writers who lack organizational structure otherwise.

Question: How do I draw more traffic to my website?

Answer: Write and publish articles online. Not only will pull more traffic to your website, but you gain credibility by establishing yourself as an expert in your field.

For example, if you are trying to attract people to a website promoting your Kickboxing Academy, then you would write articles like How to Throw a Punch, 10 Reasons to Try Kickboxing, Self Defense Techniques, and so on. Anything and everything having to do with Kickboxing is fair game – even How to Start Your Own Kickboxing Academy.

Since you are the expert, assert yourself as such so that your readers know your website is the real deal.

Question: What do I do with the articles after they are written?

Answer: There are tons of free, online article posting sites where you can submit your articles, and webmasters can use them as content for other sites. Some article posting sites include www.ezinearticles.com, www.articledashboard.com, and www.shorttext.com. These are just a few, but a simple Google search will give you lots more.

Question: What happens to my articles after they are posted?

Answer: Webmasters can use your articles for their sites as long as they don’t change any of your content, and they give a link back to your website. While they get free content, you get to keep your copyright on the material, tell a bit of information about yourself and your site at the bottom of the article, and get a link back to your website. The more sites that pick up your article, the bigger the boost you will see in traffic to your website.