Web 2.0 is like kindergarten . . . for people to like you, you have to share (Part 4 of 4)

by Laurel 7/16/2008 7:30:00 AM

(This is part 4 of a 4-part blog series on Managing Your Online Reputation.)

The beauty of public relations in Web 2.0 is that you create your own content, and you can publish it yourself. No more hoping on a middleman to get the word out about you, your company or your service. Isn’t that exciting? It should be!

The key, though, is your content has to be good. Some argue that everyone is an expert at something. You should be an expert on your business. Think about what your customers want to know about (hint: use some of that research from part 1 of this blog series) and create content that they will find valuable. Package it for them in ways they want to see it. Write press releases, eBooks, white papers and case histories (and distribute/publish them online).

Now… how to get the information out to others?

Tell your new friends in the forums, blogs and communities about your awesome stuff that you know they’ll want to read about. Share your knowledge.

Think your email signature is already long enough? Think again. Throw in a link to download your new eBook, a link to your blog, a link to your LinkedIn page… whatever you think the people you send emails to will actually care about.

Include RSS feeds on your blog, so that people don’t have to come to you to get your content. Instead, you send it out to them. Put share tags on your blog posts to encourage people to submit your content to sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, Sphinn and del.icio.us.

(If you want some tips on why it’s not a good idea to always submit stuff yourself, check out this blog post on the unspoken rules of social networks. I really can’t do it justice. Seriously, Daniel Scocco has included charts and everything.)

In short: Be genuine. No one likes a braggart, but if you have good content, share it, and encourage others to do so as well.