• 6-Step Corporate LinkedIn Strategy

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Jul 29, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Social Media

    LinkedInThrough active LinkedIn participation, there are tremendous opportunities to improve your company’s reach and influence. In addition, LinkedIn can be an excellent outlet for lead generation.

    Following is a six-step corporate LinkedIn Strategy that contains techniques and recommendations on how your business can effectively leverage LinkedIn to:

    • Build brand awareness.
    • Establish company representatives as industry experts.
    • Connect with prospects, customers, vendor partners and peers.
    • Drive leads and sales.

    The Strategy assumes that your business already has a presence on LinkedIn — including a business profile that is linked to individual employee profiles — and that you are seeking ways to enhance your visibility on the site through ongoing monitoring and increased participation. 

    Step 1: Identify Buyer Personas and Conversations

    In order to achieve the above objectives, it is important to identify the buyer personas with whom your company is looking to connect, and then determine if, and where, they are active on LinkedIn. Do some preliminary LinkedIn Answers and Group searches to see if your target audiences are active on LinkedIn prior to diving in. At this time, flag any relevant conversations or groups to share with your team. Note: It may be helpful to create an Excel document that lists potential groups with descriptions, links and notes to reference later.

    Step 2: Benchmark Current Site Activity

    By benchmarking your LinkedIn presence, you’ll be able to evaluate the success of your campaign on an ongoing basis. Consider tracking data such as referring traffic, employee connections and recommendations, and participation levels (i.e. how often employees are engaging in relevant conversations).

    Step 3: Select Employees to Lead Participation

    Designate a few employees to be internal LinkedIn champions. To be most effective, these individuals should be social-network savvy; knowledgeable about your products, services and brand messaging; and have a desire to engage with target audiences.

    Participants should also have the time availability each week to respond to LinkedIn discussions and questions relating to their areas of expertise. Note: See Step 5 for tips on how to alleviate some of the time commitment required from individuals.

    Step 4: Have Employees Optimize Their Profiles

    Encourage your employees to optimize their profiles. Be sure that all individual profiles are completely filled out — including the Summary, Specialties and Job Position sections — with keyword-rich descriptions. Also, include links to Twitter profiles, as well as optimized links to your company website and blog, if applicable. See our blog post “Six Tips for Maximizing Your LinkedIn Profile” for some best practices.

    Step 5: Set Up a Monitoring System

    LinkedIn Answers and Groups provide the most opportunities to connect with prospects, customers, vendor partners and peers. For this reason, it’s important to monitor these sections on a regular basis, and contribute meaningfully to discussions.

    When commenting, it is perfectly acceptable to share relevant blog posts and content pieces your company created. However, aim to be helpful and not overly self-promotional, and abide by group rules. To simplify the monitoring process, and alleviate the time commitment needed for each person, consider:

    • Designating one person to monitor and distribute opportunities to other team members. This saves time since only one person is monitoring instead of multiple. The monitor can then email relevant commenting opportunities to team members based on each individual’s core competencies/expertise.
    • Incorporating LinkedIn Answer searches into your RSS feed readers.
    • Using a social-media monitoring tool, such as HubSpot, Radian6 or ScoutLabs.
    • Having each person choose 3-5 groups that they will receive email updates for, and contribute to, on a regular basis.

    Step 6: Participate & Engage in Conversations

    On an ongoing basis, encourage employees to actively participate in priority groups and respond to relevant LinkedIn Answers queries. In addition, employees should update their LinkedIn statuses often. This increases their visibility on the site by ensuring that they appear more often on their connections’ home page feeds. Note: By integrating your Twitter account with LinkedIn, Tweets that contain #in will automatically be posted to your LinkedIn account.

    Employees should also be encouraged to proactively request connections with business contacts, and to continuously work to nurture those relationships. Some tips include: passing along relevant content via status updates and individual messages, and connecting like-minded individuals when appropriate.

    Your Thoughts?

    In what ways have you leveraged LinkedIn to increase your visibility in the industry, connect with target audiences and generate leads?

    Tracy DiMarino is an associate consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

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    Photo Credit: Nan Palmero

  • Social Media Strategy for Local Retail Franchises

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Jun 24, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Social Media

    Arbys OvenmittWhen it comes to franchise marketing, each franchise location typically lacks their own unique online presence. This is because online corporate websites and social networking initiatives are usually targeted at a general consumer audience — not any specific geographic area.

    There is an opportunity for franchise owners to increase awareness in their own markets through social networks as a means to:

    • Create an online destination to publish local information, such as promotions, coupons and community involvement activities.
    • Connect with local audiences in a more personal, authentic way.
    • Attract new customers through heightened online awareness.
    • Retain existing clientele through increased communications and local incentives.

    Below I’ve outlined strategies and sample tactics for local retail franchises interested in becoming more active online. I’ve concentrated in particular on Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and Foursquare because as a general rule these sites pose the most opportunities for local businesses, as they are the most used and fastest growing.

    Facebook Strategy

    Franchisees should create a Facebook page for their business to establish a direct outlet for customers to get location-specific information, ask the franchise questions, write reviews and share their experiences with the local brand.

    Sample Facebook Tactics

    • Create and optimize a franchise business page that includes a photo, complete contact information, and information on your business, products and services. Facebook offers a step-by-step guide for setting up your page.
    • Get everyone involved. As a means to increase exposure, encourage employees to set up personal Facebook profiles (if they do not already have them), be active on the franchise’s Facebook page and build relationships with customers.
    • Use the News Feed. Update your profile status often, as this is one way to push information onto the News Feeds of your fans and maximize your visibility on Facebook. Sample status updates may include: links to franchise news coverage and events, information on promotions and coupon codes, and community involvement activities.
    • Monitor page activity and participate in conversations. Be an active participant on your page by answering people’s questions, responding to comments and sharing information.
    • Offer incentives. Examples include choosing a fan of the week at random and sending them a voucher for free products or services, or posting special coupon codes only on Facebook.
    • Use “Notes” to develop blog posts, or launch a blog in Wordpress or Blogger and pull it in to your Facebook page via RSS.

    Twitter Strategy

    Create a Twitter Page for your franchise location to provide an outlet for real-time communication with your local supporters, and establish your franchise as a resource for industry-specific articles and tips, and local news and events.

    Sample Twitter Tactics

    • Create a franchise Twitter page by following Twitter’s step-by-step guide. Be sure to include a photo, link to the corporate website or local Facebook page, and a keyword-rich descriptive bio. Consider uploading a custom background.
    • Build followers and establish a monitoring and participation system that works for you. See our “Twitter Strategy: The Incomplete Guide for Beginners” post for more information.
    • Be an active participant by answering people’s questions, responding to comments and sharing information. Also, connect with, engage and support other local brands on Twitter. By working together you can increase each others’ online brand awareness.
    • Monitor regularly for comments about your franchise, brand and products, and be prepared to address concerns, offer customer service or thank people for praise. Twitter can be a great tool for gathering realtime feedback from customers to enhance your customer service initiatives.
    • Reward your followers. Examples include awarding the followers that help you reach certain milestones on Twitter (i.e. 100th follower, 500th follower, etc.) or posting special coupon codes only on Twitter.

    Yelp Strategy

    Register a Yelp page for your franchise location and use it to share promotional information, coupons and company news with current and prospective customers, as well as to respond to customer reviews.

    Sample Yelp Tactics

    • Unlock your franchise’s Yelp page by following this step-by-step guide.
    • Fill out the business information completely, including business hours, photos, product offerings, contact information and more. Include relevant keywords to increase your chances of getting found.
    • Proactively monitor reviews, and respond to them appropriately.
    • Offer incentives to increase your visibility on Yelp and reward customers. Regularly post offers and coupons.

    Foursquare Strategy

    Create a profile on Foursquare to identify and reward frequent franchise visitors, and to capitalize on mobile marketing trends.

    Sample Foursquare Tactics

    • Add your franchise location as a venue on Foursquare. To do so, register for an account at Foursquare.com. Click on “Add Things” in the menu at the top right, and then click “Add a new venue.” From here, you can add company information such as name, address, phone number and Twitter handle. If your venue already exists, Click on “Are you the manager of this business?” and follow the guide to confirm and create specials.
    • Offer specials. Provide offers to frequent customers of your franchise, as well as those of complementary or nearby businesses. See this Foursquare article on creating and promoting specials.

    What are you doing?

    Diving into social media may seem overwhelming to franchise owners. However, by starting small and mastering each social network one at a time, you can gain confidence, see which outlets work best for you, and tweak your strategy from there.

    For a great example of a local company using social media well, check out the social media success story of Northeastern Ohio’s Heinen's. Though not a franchise, this local grocery store uses social media to expand its customer service, share helpful information and create deeper connections with its customer base. Its story offers a great example for local businesses looking to get started.

    • How have you embraced social media to promote your local retail franchise?
    • What businesses in your area are really great at engaging with their local fan base?

    Image Note: Yes, that’s a picture of me in the Oven Mitt costume back when I used to work at my favorite Arby’s franchise in high school; and no, I’m not embarrassed...

    Tracy DiMarino is an associate consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

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  • 3 Reasons PR Professionals Should be Trained in Google AdWords

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Jun 16, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Public Relations, Search Marketing

    AdWords StudyingRecently, I took the new Google Advertising Fundamentals Exam, the first of two tests required to become a Google AdWords Certified Professional. And, let me tell you, it makes you think.

    The exam tests your knowledge of Google AdWords tools, account management, analytics and ad optimization techniques. Although it focuses particularly on online advertising, we highly recommend it for all PR professionals due to the test’s ability to foster analytical thinking, refine budgeting skills and expand knowledge in how search engines work. These skills are becoming increasingly more important in an evolving industry where there is a growing demand for hybrid professionals.

    In fact, we feel so strongly in its value that we require all PR 20/20 consultants to take and pass the Fundamentals Exam, despite the heavy time commitment involved.

    (The AdWords Learning Center contains 21 lessons for the Fundamentals Exam alone, totaling more than 400 pages of reading. For me, this translated into about 10 hours of serious studying and note taking. Think college finals all over again, and you’ll get the gist.)

    So, as a PR professional, why is it worth investing the time and energy into AdWords training?

    Encourages Analytical Thinking

    PR pros can no longer hide behind impressions and ad equivalency. Being able to demonstrate your success through tangible factors such as search engine rankings, website traffic, inbound links, leads and sales is essential in today’s business environment.

    The Google AdWords Exam forces you to think analytically, translate data into meaningful measurements and adjust strategies based on results. All of these skills are vital for PR pros looking to demonstrate their value to clients and manage successful campaigns.

    Refines Budgeting Skills

    An organization’s return on investment (ROI) using Google AdWords doesn’t necessarily relate to how much the organization spends; its determined by how well their budget is used through keyword and bid selections, targeting and optimization. These factors usually need to be tweaked often based on past performance in order to get the most benefit for your money. 

    This same logic can be applied to the financial aspects of managing any type of campaign. PR pros need to be able to work within a client’s budget - choosing those activities, which will have the largest ROI - while simultaneously being able to determine when a larger budget is needed to achieve desired objectives. They also need to continuously review their current campaigns and budget allocations to determine if their existing financial distribution is optimal, or if funds should be reallocated to better-performing activities.

    Provides a General Understanding of Search Engines

    In his post “7 Benefits of Partnering SEO & PR,” Lee Odden explains why search engine optimization is becoming increasingly more important for PR practitioners looking to reach and influence journalists, and connect with consumers who are actively searching for relevant information online. However, to optimize content for online audiences, PR pros need a sound understanding of search engines and how they function.

    The AdWords training program offers a general overview of Google paid and organic search. It also provides an in-depth lesson on keyword selection. While most information has a paid search focus, the knowledge derived can be applied to organic search as well. Having basic knowledge of how the search engines work can significantly impact the success of press releases and other PR-related content distributed online.

    What Do You Think?

    In an industry that traditionally has offered relatively few options for training or certification, we continuously look for outside accreditations that will showcase our value and expand our skill sets.

    • What tools are you using to enhance your expertise and refine your skills?
    • What courses, certification programs and classes do you recommend for PR pros?
    • How can the lessons from Google AdWords enhance a PR pro's skill set?

    Image Note: My colleague Natalie studying hard for the AdWords exam.

    Tracy DiMarino is an associate consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

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  • Social Media for Attorneys

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Jun 3, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Social Media

    Effective networking skills are crucial for attorneys looking to grow their practice. For years, lawyers have been visiting clients, attending trade association meetings, and wining and dining prospects, as a means to sustain clientele and attract new business.

    Now, social media sites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, are opening the door to a new array of networking opportunities that enhance these traditional methods. For example, social networking enables attorneys to:

    • Lawyer BooksConnect with existing clients in a more personal way.
    • Build stronger personal connections with colleagues and peers.
    • Expand their business development network with prospects.
    • Nurture referral sources.
    • Build their personal brand and profile within the industry.
    • Stay on top of legal industry trends, news and regulations.
    • Monitor client industry news and trends.
    • Learn from industry influentials/thought leaders.

    The following is an overview of why attorneys should be using social media, as well as some best practices for doing so.

    Why Social Media?

    While social media provides a wealth of benefits for attorneys, some key ones are outlined below.

    Benefit #1: Those attorneys that generate new business for their firms are more highly regarded, and thus more likely to be promoted. Social media can enhance your business development opportunities.

    Attracting new business goes back to the importance of networking. The more people who know you and respect you, the more referrals you will receive. These, in turn, lead to more business for your firm, and a more successful career for yourself. In fact, according to LexBlog, “Lawyers in the top 10% of the profession spend a minimum of 3-5 hours each week on practice development,” otherwise known as meeting new people and networking with existing contacts.

    Since more people are interacting online via social sites, you can expand your pool of potential new business opportunities, as well as extend the value of your practice-development initiatives, by connecting and engaging with prospective clients where they are already communicating. By establishing trust with these individuals and building your personal brand, you will remain top of mind, and your connections will be more likely to turn to you when they need an attorney - or when their friend/collegue/family member needs one.

    Benefit #2: Potential clients are talking about legal issues online, enabling you to become a trusted resource by sharing helpful content.

    People are using social networking sites to ask legal questions and recommend attorneys. See the following screenshots from Twitter as examples.

    Lawyer Twitter Stream

    By sharing useful, helpful and relevant information with potential clients online, you can differentiate yourself in the market as a trusted resource. To do this, post articles, answer questions, provide updates on new laws and regulations, and be an active participant.

    However, be careful not to violate any of your state’s professional rules of conduct (see below), and avoid giving legal advice. When communicating with people online, stick to the facts (news, regulations, etc.) and then point people to where they can find more information.

    For some examples of how attorneys are using social media effectively, check out Mashable’s post, “How Lawyers are Using Social Media for Real Results.”

    Benefit #3: Other legal professionals are communicating on these sites, allowing you to connect with peers and learn from each other.

    Networking with peers helps you stay on top of industry trends and legal news, ultimately making you a better practitioner. There are ample opportunities online for attorneys to network with peers. Consider the following statistics:

    In addition, establishing yourself as a thought leader and industry expert among your peers can enhance your credibility and visibility in the industry, as well as lead to other opportunities such as speaking engagements, and mentions in blogs and trade publications. As an active participant on these networks, you also won’t fall victim to social-media savvy competitors who could steal potential business away from you just by being present online.

    Best Practices for Attorneys

    Below are some best practices to consider as you get started in social media.

    Remain ethical, and stay true to your state’s professional rules of conduct.

    There are special rules that apply specifically to attorneys when it comes to social networking. For example, the “Specialties” section on LinkedIn could pose a risk for attorneys in regard to their State Bar regulations. Therefore, be sure to know how your state handles issues such as attorney advertising, recommendations and ex parte communications, and then adapt your participation accordingly. For a list of items to consider, check out “12 Social Media Ethics Issues for Lawyers,” which provides a very comprehensive overview.

    Overall, just remember that the same rules (such as client confidentiality) apply to social networks as they do to traditional communication platforms.

    Consider joining an industry online community.

    In addition to active participation on general sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, you may find value in niche industry communities where other attorneys are gathering to share information, resources and advice. Communities worth looking into include: Counsel.Net, Legal OnRamp, Martindale Connected and JDSupra.

    Focus your efforts on niche markets and your specialties.

    People are often looking for a specific type of attorney (for example: a tax, bankruptcy or divorce attorney). Therefore, consider your specialities and the client needs relating to those, and then develop relevant, helpful content that speaks directly to those individuals.

    Move communications offline when possible.

    Face-to-face meetings can add additional credibility and personality to your personal brand. Therefore, when possible, meet your online contacts in person. For example, go to lunch, connect at industry events or organize a tweet-up.

    Your Thoughts?

    • How have you used social media to connect with your target audiences and grow your business?
    • What tactics and best practices have resonated the most success?
    • What challenges have you faced online?

    Related Resources

    Tracy DiMarino is an associate consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

     Subscribe to receive the PR 20/20 blog by email or RSS feed.

    Photo Credit: umjanedoan

  • A Marketer's Guide to Website Redesign (EBOOK)

    By Keith Moehring | Posted May 10, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

    A website is the cornerstone of any marketing campaign. It is the place where customers, prospects, media, competitors, potential investors, peers and job candidates turn to first when learning more about your organization and its products/services.

    Because of this, it’s essential that marketers take a leadership role in any website redesign project, which for many means venturing into uncharted waters. To help ensure you are prepared to manage this type of project, we developed an eBook — “A Marketer’s Guide to Website Redesign.” (Click here to download the free PDF.)

     

    A Marketer's Guide to Website Redesign

    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD (no registration)


    When PR 20/20 first began offering website development services two years ago, we relied pretty heavily on our web partner to make sure we were doing and thinking of everything. As we completed more websites projects and continued to educate ourselves on all the different aspects involved, we started crafting an internal reference guide, which quickly grew beyond a simple task list to include resource links and definitions of key terminology.

    Eventually, we agreed that someone needed to formalize and structure this process, from start to finish — to define all necessary phases, set timelines, call out best practices and provide definitions for specific terms. 

    That led us to develop, “A Marketer’s Guide to Website Redesign.” This eBook is a reference guide for those marketers who are about to take on the responsibility of managing their company’s website redesign. Within it, you’ll find:

    The Website Redesign Phases

    There are six main phases to the website redesign process:

    • The Prep — Gathering everything you’ll need for the site upfront, so it’s ready when needed.
    • Discovery — Collaborating internally to define the most important aspects of the site.
    • Design & Structure — Developing a creative brief and working with your web team to design the actual look of the site.
    • Content & Optimization — Managing content development and optimization for all website pages.
    • Build Out & Q.A. — Populating the site with all content and testing to ensure everything displays and works properly across all browsers.
    • The Launch — Launching the new website and ensuring it is indexed by Google and other search engines properly.

    Definitions, Resources & Key Points

    In addition to the steps of the process, we tried to define as many terms and best practices associated with website development as possible, including:

    • Free Online Tools (e.g. Google Analytics, Search Engine Webmaster Portals, etc.)
    • Site Navigation Options
    • Calls to Action Tips
    • Suggestions on Adding Images
    • Developing Content
    • Optimizing the Site
    • Creating 301 Redirects
    • Building Sitemaps

    Free Downloads within the Free Download

    Within the ebook are links to download two templates we use internally for web projects:

    • Website Redesign Checklist — This Excel doc lists all the redesign steps included in the ebook, and provides a tentative timeline to help set expectations and deadlines on deliverables.
    • Content Sheet — The Content Sheet is simply a Word doc that has sections reserved for priority page content to assist in on-page optimization and organizing site content. Sections include page title, meta description, URL, image alt text, headline and body content.

    Special Thank You

    A very special thank you to our web partner, New Media Campaigns, for their support and outstanding guidance. I cannot stress enough the importance of working with a team of developers who you can trust to not only deliver a great site, but also watch your back and make sure you are not overlooking anything important.

    Additionally, I’d like to thank HubSpot for publishing some of the most useful resources on the topic of building websites to get found and converting visitors into leads. They provide great tutorials on website design best practices, how to optimize a site and steps to launching a new site, in addition to many other inbound marketing related topics.

    Your Feedback

    We welcome your feedback, and encourage you to share this eBook with any professionals and communities that you believe may benefit from its content and resources.


    Thank You!

    Click here to download this free ebook (no registration)

    Keith Moehring is business development manager and a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

  • Online Corporate-Giving Contests: Tips and Strategies for Nonprofits

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted May 5, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Social Media

    VoteA growing number of corporations are crowdsourcing the selection of their grant recipients through the use of online contests.  

    While the specifics of each contest vary, most are based on some sort of voting mechanism that enables community members to choose their favorite causes. Recent online-contest examples include:

    • Pepsi Refresh Project — Pepsi is accepting up to 1,000 ideas from its community every month on the topic “how to make a positive impact.” The top 32 ideas (those that receive the most votes) each month are given anywhere from $5,000-$250,000, depending on their final ranking.
    • American Express and TakePart’s Members Challenge — American Express selected 50 nonprofits — 10 in each of the following categories: Arts & Culture, Community Development, Education, Environment & Wildlife, and Health & Wellness — to participate in its Members Challenge. American Express then awarded $200,000 in funding to the charity with the most votes in each category.
    • Chase Community Giving — In January, Facebook users voted for their favorite charities using the Chase Community Giving Facebook application. Out of the more than 500,000 charities nominated by users, the top 100 (those that received the most votes) were awarded grants, ranging from $25,000 to $1 million, depending on their final ranking.

    In this blog post, I’ll outline a few tips for nonprofit organizations interested in online contest participation, as well as some sample strategies and tactics designed to engage communities and drive votes.

    Tips for Online-Contest Success

    As with all fundraising initiatives, online contests demand a nonprofit’s time and resources in order to be successful. Therefore, to increase your return on investment (ROI), be sure to get off on the right foot from the start.

    1. Know What You’re Getting Yourself Into

    The vote-for-me mentality these contests promote has spurred much debate among nonprofits, corporations and the public alike. Supporters see online contests as a way to rally a community, increase brand awareness and raise funds for worthy causes, while opponents warn against deceptive practices, pitting organizations against each other and turning giving into a popularity contest – instead of rewarding the best or most deserving causes. Be sure to consider your thoughts on the implications of online contests prior to jumping in.

    In addition, read the contest rules, research your competition and the corporate sponsor, and evaluate your internal resources and community base. Based on your analysis of these items, determine the following:

    • Are our goals aligned with those of the sponsoring organization? For example, if you organization is an adovocate for the environment, you likely don't want to participate in a contest sponsored by a corporation who engages in practices that go against your mission.
    • What is our probability for winning? Does participation make sense from a time and resource perspective?

    2. Develop an Integrated Marketing Plan

    If participating seems like a good fit for your organization, the next step is to develop an integrated marketing plan based on the competition objectives and your target audiences. Blend traditional marketing activities, such as public relations, sales collateral and email marketing, with emerging inbound marketing activities, including: search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, blogging, webinars and content marketing. Then, include strategies, tactics, timelines and budgets for the entire duration of the contest.

    Note: While this plan will likely be tweaked and added to throughout the contest, it’s a good idea to have a clear picture of all planned promotional activities upfront.

    A plan will help you forecast the amount of internal resources needed (i.e. time, money and people), allocate responsibilities among your team and volunteers, and integrate marketing activities. (For example: Is there a large event already planned during the duration of the campaign, such as an annual fundraiser, that can be used as a catalyst for votes?)

    3. Make a Commitment to Play Fair

    Don’t let the prize money compromise your values and your organization’s integrity. Follow the contest rules, avoid deceptive practices, and respect your competition.

    4. Start Early

    If you plan to participate in a contest down the road, begin forming relationships with people now! Just because someone is your friend or follower does not mean that you have a relationship. Establish trust with online stakeholders and engage them by sharing useful content, offering advice and answering questions. When the time finally comes to ask for their support, they’ll already know and respect your organization, making them much more likely to take the time to vote.

    Strategies and Tactics

    Below is an overview of potential strategies and corresponding tactics designed to grow stakeholder support, increase cause awareness and drive your community to the desired call to action — voting.

    1. Engage Target Audiences on Social Networks

    Many of the organizations that have done well in online contests are those that had a strong, loyal following of online supporters. Therefore, start interacting on these sites now and building your fanbase. Use social networks to educate people about your cause, and truly demonstrate why your services are needed.

    Remember that individuals on these sites will be more receptive to your requests for support (voting, donating, etc.) if they perceive your organization to be of value. Therefore, focus on building relationships through ongoing interaction and resource sharing. Some tactics to consider prior to, during and after the contest to build your reach and engagement levels on social media platforms include:

    • Build sustainable relationships that extend beyond the length of the online contest by interacting with people and becoming a trusted resource. Don’t just blast your messages on social networking sites and expect people to respond. Instead, be an active participant. Share information about your cause more than information about your organization, and become a helpful resource prior to asking for anything. Send @messages and direct messages (DMs) on Twitter, respond to comments left on your Facebook wall, answer questions on LinkedIn, publish useful content, share interesting articles, offer tips and advice, and more.
    • Incorporate offline activities into your online channels and vice versa. Advertise your social media activity and contest participation through traditional outlets such as annual reports, newsletters and direct mail pieces to increase your base of supporters online. Also, promote your offline events, news coverage and activities on your social network profiles to educate supporters and increase awareness levels.
    • Encourage your loyal supporters to promote your cause, and spread awareness about the competition, through their personal networks. Have employees, volunteers, board members and others who are heavily invested in your mission promote the contest to their families, friends and colleagues. Consider using internal contests or reward systems to encourage them to spread the message, or creating campaign captains who are responsible for recruiting a specific number of votes. Remember that the more people actively promoting your cause and the competition, the broader your reach will be.

    2. Create Compelling Content

    Using content, you can educate audiences about your cause, provide resources to supporters, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your area of expertise. A great example of this is the Invisible Children — the $1 million Chase Community Giving winner — whose blog, videos and photo gallery educate supporters about war-affected children in East Africa, and are compelling enough to encourage a response from those who view them. Some content tactics to consider as part of your online-contest initiatives include:

    • Use a blog, case studies, testimonials, videos, podcasts or other content pieces to educate audiences on your cause, highlight the success of your organization, and the need for your services in the community. Self-published content is a great way to demonstrate the value your organization provides to potential supporters. Therefore, create a mixture of non-promotional educational pieces and promotional case-study type pieces in a variety of formats. Then, promote your content on your website, social networking channels, and, if possible, on the voting page of the corporate-sponsor’s website. 
    • Increase contest awareness through existing content-marketing initiatives, such as newsletters, annual reports and direct mail pieces. For people that opt in to receive updates on your organization, be sure to include an overview of the contest, as well as a voting call to action.

    3. Integrate Public Relations

    Public relations involves more than just media outreach; it’s about establishing relationships and communicating with all of your target audiences, no matter the outlet. Some PR tactics to consider include:

    • Pitch your cause to targeted reporters and bloggers. For example, human interest and success stories may appeal to local and philanthropic publications, and social media influentials may be interested in guest blog posts, blog radio interviews or podcast interviews.
    • Build relationships with potential partners (e.g. local nonprofits, schools, businesses, events) in order to increase organization awareness, and generate support for the contest.
    • Distribute optimized press releases on wire services, featuring competition updates, and related events and partnerships.
    • Organize and plan events (e.g. voting parties) to spark large-scale voting, or integrate voting booths into existing events and fundraisers.

    Your Thoughts?

    By taking an integrated approach to online contests, nonprofits can effectively leverage key stakeholders both on- and offline, as well as establish ongoing relationships that extend beyond the length of the competition.

    • What are your thoughts on online corporate-giving contests? What are the pros and cons?
    • How can nonprofits effectively engage their stakeholders and maximize contest participation levels?
    • What strategies and tactics should be implemented to ensure contest supporters evolve into ongoing supporters?
    • How can nonprofits leverage their existing communities to spread a message?

    Tracy DiMarino is an associate consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

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    Photo credit: Theresa Thompson

  • Applying for Google Grants: A Guide for Nonprofits

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Mar 19, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Search Marketing

    Google Grants is an in-kind donation program that awards free AdWords advertising to qualified nonprofit organizations, helping them increase awareness, donations and support.

    By applying for and maximizing Google Grants, your nonprofit organization can advertise for free in front of an audience who is actively searching for information on your cause.

    Introduction to AdWords Advertising

    Google AdWords lets you bid for keyword search queries related to your cause. When people search on Google using one of your selected keywords, your ad may appear above, or next to, the search results. This enables you to reach an audience who is already interested in your organization’s mission.

    AdWords screenshot

    Users place bids on which keywords they would like to trigger their ads, called cost-per-click (CPC) bids. AdWords users are charged only for those clicks they receive. Google provides keyword traffic and cost estimates to help you make informed decisions.

    Including spaces, ads can contain 25 characters for the title, 70 characters for the ad text and 35 characters for the display URL. On Google, this is displayed on four lines: a title, two lines of ad text (each with 35 characters) and a URL line.

    Grant Application Requirements & Best Practices

    To apply for a Google Grant in the United States, you must have current 501(c)(3) status, as assigned by the Internal Revenue Service.

    Restrictions for eligibility include: primarily focusing on selling goods, products or services; requiring membership, having religious content on your Website or serving primarily as a political function.

    After checking to make sure that you meet all requirements, fill out the online application as completely as possible. Be sure to clearly convey how Google AdWords can benefit your organization, as well as your understanding of how Google AdWords works. In doing so, the following resources might be helpful:

    Note: The application contains sections on your organization’s goals and target audiences, but also asks for sample AdWords ads and keywords. (Google’s Keyword Tool can be used to help you find and decide upon keywords.)

    In addition to your application, Google employees will also review your Website before a grant is awarded. Therefore, be sure to maximize the strength and visibility of your Website by installing and using Google Webmaster Tools and Analytics. These tools will help you diagnose and fix any problems with your Website prior to applying.

    Grants are given on an ongoing basis, but they can take up to four months to process.

    Optimizing your Google Grant AdWords Campaign

    Most grantees are awarded a maximum monthly ad spend of $10,000 ($329/day) with a maximum cost per click of $1. However, the monthly budget can be increased to $40,000 per month for successful Google Grant campaigns.

    If you’re the lucky recipient of a Google Grant, make sure to put it to the best use possible by employing AdWords best practices. To maximize the impact of your advertising budget, consider the following:

    • Develop an AdWords Strategy to guide the campaign, including goals, target audiences, priority keywords and ad distribution.
    • Select keywords that are highly relevant to your cause and that have high search volumes and low competition. These will provide the most optimal return on investment. 
    • Separate keywords into different ad groups by similar core words.
    • Write targeted ad copy that incorporates targeted keywords and is action-oriented.
    • Create separate landing pages for each ad group to guarantee visitors are taken directly to the information they are interested in. For example, an animal shelter ad about dogs should take you to a landing page featuring only information on dogs, not on dogs and other animals.
    • Include a call to action on the landing page, such as “Donate now” or “Volunteer your time.”
    • Monitor your campaign using information from Google’s analytic tools; then, make changes to improve your ads’ effectiveness. Note: Google’s Conversion Academy offers tips on how to optimize your AdWords ROI with Google Analytics.
    • Log into your account regularly, respond to emails from Google’s team and continuously tweak your campaign. As long as you stay active on AdWords, you can stay in the program. There is no set end date or need to reapply.

    For more tips and tools on using Google AdWords, check out the Google AdWords Learning Center, which I mentioned earlier.

    Your Thoughts?

    • What tips do you have for maximizing a Google AdWords budget?
    • How has Google Grants benefited your organization?
    • What advice would you give to organizations interested in applying for a Google Grant?

    I’d like to thank Natalie Villalobos (@nataliaenvy), community manager at Google, for introducing me to the Google Grants program at SXSW. 

    Tracy DiMarino is an associate consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

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  • 9 Content-Driven Link Building Tips

    By Paul Roetzer | Posted Mar 17, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Marketing

    Google’s Webmaster Central Channel on YouTube is one of my favorite sources of information for marketers, and today it was my inspiration for a blog post. The Channel features short videos of Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team, answering user-submitted questions.

    It’s the perfect example of how organizations can use video to give their brands personality, connect with audiences in more authentic ways and bring true value to the online community.

    One of Matt’s recent videos addressed the most effective ways to build organic links:

    Link Building Question

    As we discussed in the Inbound Marketing GamePlan eBook, “in order to grow smarter and faster than the competition, organizations must maintain powerful and informative Websites, participate in social media and continually publish great content through blogs, podcasts, videos, optimized press releases, case studies, white papers, eBooks and articles.”

    Matt’s video reinforces a number of these points, and offers some additional ideas on how to participate, and what to publish in order to build links, relationships and brand:

    1) Participate in the Community

    It seems so obvious, but many organizations and professionals are still sitting on the sidelines. Get in the game!

    Answer questions on social networks, contribute reviews on products and services, and add value to other people’s blog posts by leaving comments. Helping people may not bring an immediate link, but it does build goodwill, which often goes much further than a link.

    Matt cautions to avoid controversy though in social media. We all know bloggers and commenters who spend their lives projecting their negativity onto others, and while we may read, and even react, from time to time, “people will end up paying less attention to you,” so don’t rely on controversy to consistently build links.

    Social media is not as simple as creating profiles on each social networking site and making random posts. It's about listening, learning, building relationships and bringing value to the communities relevant to your organization.

    Social media, when connected to search marketing, content marketing and public relations strategies, can help your organization boost search engine rankings, build relationships, manage and strengthen your brand, and enhance your positioning as a thought leader and innovator.

    As Matt points out, you might even begin to earn speaking opportunities as a result of your social media activity.

    2) Publish Original Research

    This is one of our favorite strategies because great original research can be an asset in your search, social, content and PR strategies, and have a direct affect on your organization’s ability to generate leads and build customer loyalty:

    • Search Marketing: Drives Website traffic and builds links, which help boost search engine rankings.
    • Social Media & Content Marketing: Contributes valuable content to the online community, which helps to establish and strengthen relationships while enhancing your brand positioning and thought leadership.
    • Public Relations: Provides unique content for targeted publicity efforts that support media relations and brand-building activities.

    Here are a few examples of original research in action:

    3) Distribute Email Newsletters

    Opt-in email newsletters are still effective vehicles to drive traffic, build blog subscribers and enhance engagement with your audiences.

    Every organization should consider newsletters as part of its content strategy.

    4) Use Lists (in Moderation)

    We all create and click on them (otherwise you wouldn’t be here now), but Matt advises to use lists in moderation, as they do, “tend to get a little tiresome after a while.”

    5) Get a Blog

    This one speaks for itself. According to Matt, “There’s no excuse for a company these days not to have a blog.” And I agree 100 percent.

    6) Provide How Tos and Tutorials

    How tos and tutorials, including videos like Matt’s, are excellent ways to provide value and position yourself or your organization as a thought leader.

    Consider offering a series of educational posts as part of your blog editorial calendar.

    7) Release a Free Product or Service

    Free tools can be great link builders and resources. While we’re not all developers with the resources to create powerful tools like HubSpot’s Website Grader, think about what your organization can offer that will generate links, and even leads.

    8) Maintain Good Site Architecture

    Make it easy on Google, and other search engines, to find and index your entire site. Visit Google Webmaster Tools to get started.

    9) Make a Few Videos

    If you’re not convinced of the power and impact of videos, according to a recent TechCrunch article, “Forrester Research found that videos were 53 times more likely than traditional web pages to receive an organic first-page ranking.”

    So needless to say, video is important. Check out these posts to learn more:

    Paul Roetzer is founder and president of PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. He can be found on Twitter @PaulRoetzer

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  • And the Sergey Goes To ... 2010 Inbound Marketing Awards

    By Keith Moehring | Posted Mar 8, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

    Inbound Marketing TrophyIn honor of the 2010 Oscars, we created our own award ceremony to pay tribute to those Inbound Marketers who have made the biggest contribution to the growth and success of our industry over the past year.

    The Inbound Marketing Award, or Sergey, is named after Sergey Brin, one of the two founders of Google. (We contemplated naming it after Larry Page, but “And the Larry goes to” doesn’t have the same ring to it.)

    Best Original Screenplay

    And the Sergey goes to ... Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan for their book, “Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs.” “Inbound Marketing” is an inspiring tale of how an ordinary marketer can transform his or her company’s Website into an awe-inspiring, lead-generating machine. It’s a heroic how-to for any little guy looking to make a big difference.

    Runner Up – David Meerman Scott for “The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 2nd Edition.”

    Best Ensemble or Cast

    And the Sergey goes to ... Mike Volpe and Karen Rubin, hosts of HubSpot TV. Every Friday, these two dazzlers of the computer screen deliver all the latest inbound marketing news of the week. In a short amount of time, their show has grown in popularity so much that it now draws A-List guests, including Twitter founder Biz Stone and MC Hammer.

    Runner Up – MC Hammer and his back-up dancers for their contribution to the Addams Family movie soundtrack. (The tie in to Inbound Marketing is YouTube. It is a stretch, but we make exceptions here at the Academy for catchy, but forgotten tunes.)

    Best Actor/Actress

    And the Sergey goes to ... Danny Sullivan and Search Engine Land. Sullivan and his team have received rave reviews for their performance at bringing marketers around the world the most useful tips and information when it comes to search engine optimization.

    In addition, they host the Search Marketing Expo (SMX) Conference Series, which brings together the biggest stars in the industry to collaborate and expand upon SEO best practice.

    Runner Up – Rand Fishkin and SEOmoz for creating great, useful tools complemented with blog posts full of insightful SEO tips, such as Whiteboard Fridays.

    Best Director

    And the Sergey goes to ... Bald Matt Cutts. Under his direction, thousands of unknown Websites have become stars, gaining both local and national exposure to millions of potential customers. These sites have been able to seize the spotlight and notoriety amongst their peers. If you haven't already, check out Matt's Google Webmaster Help YouTube Channel.

    Runner Up     – Matt Cutts with hair. Just as informative, but not as sleek.

    Best Picture

    And the Sergey goes to ... Google.com. Google gives thousands of unknown, talented businesses the opportunity to share the stage with their top competitors in a way that was not possible 15 years ago.

    The "Avatar" (highest grossing film of all time) of Inbound Marketing, this search engine dominated its competition this year, securing a whopping 66.3% of all searches. In addition, what separates Google as a master of its craft is the unique ability to evaluate its own performance.

    Google also reaches beyond the computer screen into the political/human rights arena, making a stirring social statement on the suppression of the Chinese government over its people.

    Runner Up – Bing.com for their homepage picture usage.

    In Memoriam

    MySpace.com — The first real dominant player in Social Media, MySpace brought together millions of people regardless of age or location. This true trailblazer paved the way for sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to really give companies the reach they need to effectively communicate with their target audiences. And, while the site would eventually be infiltrated by millions of porn sites, we remember it for the doors it opened. Rest In Peace Tom. 

    Keith Moehring is a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

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  • Blog Images: How to Find and Use Them Properly

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Feb 17, 2010 | 7 Comment(s) | Filed in: Content Marketing, Internet Marketing

    Girl Holding a Polaroid PhotoImages add value to blog posts by making them more visually appealing and interesting, helping readers conceptualize what you’re discussing, and providing searchers another way to find your Website (particularly if they are searching within the Images tab on Google, Yahoo or Bing).

    We live in a collaborative online environment; however, finding the perfect image is a little bit more complicated than a quick Google search, and copy and paste.

    Below are tips and resources to help you find that killer image for your blog post, without violating copyright laws.

    Free Photos Using Creative Commons

    Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that lets creators grant copyright permissions to their creative work. Using Creative Commons’ free copyright licenses, authors and artists are able to specify how the public can share, use, repurpose and/or remix their work, as well as assign attribution requirements.

    For example, some licenses allow only noncommercial use, while others restrict the public from modifying or remixing the creative piece. (See a full breakdown of Creative Commons’ licenses.)

    By 2008, an estimated 130 million Creative Commons licenses had been issued. By searching this database, organizations can find free creative materials that they can legally reuse, as long as proper attribution guidelines are followed.

    Searching for Images

    The following sites enable you to search for Creative Commons’ material:

    Creative Commons Search

    Creative Commons Search provides you with eight options to search for creative items: Google (Web), Google (Image), Yahoo (Web), Flickr (Image), Blip.TV (Video), jamendo (Music), WikiMedia Commons (Media) and SpinXpress (Media).

    This search feature is a great time-saver, as you can type in one search term in the bar and then search all eight sites at once, making for easy and fast searches of multiple sites for specific terms.

    Flickr Creative Commons

    Use Flickr Creative Commons to search for publicly available images by following these steps: Type a query into the search bar and hit “Search;" Click on “Advanced Search;” Select “Only search within Creative Commons material” at the bottom of the screen, as well as “Find content to use commercially” and/or “Find content to modify, adapt, or build upon,” if applicable.

    Google Image Search

    Google’s Image Search allows you to search for images within Creative Commons by using its advanced search feature. Once on this page, use the Usage Rights drop-down menu to select one of the following (depending on your needs): labeled for reuse, labeled for commercial reuse, labeled for reuse with modification or labeled for commercial reuse with modification.

    Image Attribution

    Once an image is found, be sure to review its attribution requirements. Creative Commons Copyrights will have a copyright icon and a link along the right side of the image.

    The link will then take you to a Web page that says how that creative can be used and under what conditions (i.e. not for commercial use, can’t be remixed).  For example, check out the usage page for the image in this blog post.

    The image will likely require attribution. To do this, include a photo credit that links to the creator’s page or Website (see the bottom of this post for an example), and then link the photo itself to the creator’s page or Website.

    Purchasing Photos

    If you can’t find the perfect image through Creative Commons, or you're looking for a hassle-free solution, consider purchasing royalty-free images. One affordable way to do this is through iStockPhotos. Images suitable for blog posts can cost as little as $0.95-$1.90 each.

    Note: If purchasing from iStockPhotos, the extra small photos are typically ideal for blog post images.

    Spice Up Your Blog Posts with Images

    Using the tips above, you can use other people's images to enhance the visual appeal of your blog posts without worrying about copyright infringement. Just, be sure to only use pictures approved for reuse and to provide proper attribution. When in doubt, ask the owner of the image.

    Or, for you adventurous souls out there, there's always the option of taking your own photos.

    Tracy DiMarino is an associate consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

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    Photo Credit: AllyAubry

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