BulletProof » Six @ Six

Six@Six: Six Tips for Managing Your Wikipedia Reputation

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:20:51 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

The seemingly authoritative and impartial articles found on Wikipedia often provide Web users with easy-to-access information on the topics, issues, companies, and products they care about. As the Internet’s “free encyclopedia,” articles on this popular information-sharing site are almost always at the top of search results for millions of keywords and topics. This deep library of content has made the site the seventh most popular on the Web. But, the site’s reliance on community members to add and update these articles leaves it vulnerable to inaccuracies that arise from simple mistakes and malicious abuse.

With such wide reach and tremendous potential for misuse, how can companies protect themselves within the confines of this dynamic resource? This week’s Six@Six outlines tips for managing your Wikipedia reputation and protecting against unwarranted online attacks to ensure that users can find positive information about your company or organization. Do you have additional suggestions? Share them with me @pjkerley.

1. Monitor Your Brand

The most basic online reputation management tactic – for Wikipedia and elsewhere – is to monitor for mentions of your brand. Without actively monitoring your Wikipedia reputation, it may be too late to reverse the damage by the time that online attacks or misleading allegations are noticed. Even if you don’t take any proactive steps, it is imperative to set up a robust monitoring system to track if and how your brand is discussed on Wikipedia. And monitoring doesn’t mean just checking your own Wikipedia page every now and then. While your brand’s own Wikipedia page is obviously the most important from a monitoring perspective, also be sure to consider mentions of your brand in other Wikipedia articles. And remember, just because there’s no article about your brand today doesn’t mean somebody won’t create one tomorrow.

2. Correct Misinformation

Once your monitoring system is in place, be sure to take note of all negative references, especially anything you know to be untrue. Misinformation on a corporate or individual’s Wikipedia page can have devastating consequences, as many Wikipedia readers do not bother to fact-check what they find on the site and will consider the information found on your page to be the gospel truth. While some companies may hesitate to make updates to their own Wikipedia page in an effort to avoid stirring up controversy and encouraging allegations of corporate manipulation, correcting misinformation in a straightforward and transparent manner is always acceptable. In many cases, the Wikipedia community will correct the error itself, but there’s no shame in doing it yourself, especially if you include third-party citations to back up the correction.

3. Be Objective in Your Content

Especially when creating or editing your own Wikipedia page, it is imperative to maintain an objective tone. Wikipedia users are quick to point out and remove anything that seems too promotional, sometimes even going on to attack the individual or organization that initially uploaded the promotional content. As such, approach any Wikipedia updates the way you would an op-ed or journalistic publishing opportunity; while it’s acceptable (and recommended) to portray your organization positively, do so in a factual manner. Include numbers, awards, data, and any other supportable information – and avoid sweeping subjective statements. For example, instead of writing “the best restaurant in the city,” try something more along the lines of “has been on City Paper’s list of Top 100 restaurants for ten years running.” This goes for companies, brands, or individuals who are far enough removed from the spotlight that no Wikipedia page exists as well. If you fall into that category, it might be time to consider developing an objective description to upload to the site – before someone else starts shaping your online reputation for you.

4. Footnotes Add Credibility

On a site such as Wikipedia where anyone can make updates, add content, or delete selections, credibility is key. You can add as many positive references as you like, but there’s always a chance someone else may swoop in and remove them. The best way to prevent this is to include footnotes and citations linking to third-party validation of such claims, as these help boost credibility and discourage other users from arbitrarily removing such references. Link to news articles, blog posts, academic studies, or any other sources that support of claims or facts. Doing so will not only discourage other users from removing positive references, but will altogether strengthen your Wikipedia reputation by encouraging those reading your page to find out more about your brand’s positive attributes. As the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding.” In the case of Wikipedia, “the proof is in the links.”

5. Don’t Disguise Your Identity

Trying to disguise your identity on Wikipedia is a surefire recipe for disaster. While it may seem like a good idea to make it seem like just any user with no specific agenda has made updates to your company’s Wikipedia page, there are serious reputational consequences for getting caught. We’ve seen it happen before – most often when political candidates and public officials caught trying to disguise their identities land in hot water. It’s OK to make updates from your home computer or an IP address not tied to your corporate server, but avoid creating user profiles based on false pretenses. Transparency is critical in today’s online environment, so don’t be afraid to have your company’s name tied to Wikipedia updates. If you follow the guidelines above, are objective in your updates, and include generous footnotes and citations, users won’t be concerned.

6. Consider Uploading Images

If you want to improve your Wikipedia page, increase visits, and focus readers’ attention on particular items, it may be worthwhile to consider uploading images to your Wikipedia page. Images grab readers’ attention, improve search optimization (making your page easier to find), and add an advanced perspective to a Wikipedia page. From a reputation management perspective, some of the best images could be charts or graphs that clearly illustrate some sort of success your company has had – such as sales increases or stock price jumps. Such images can draw visitors’ attention to specific accomplishments, especially if they represent complex items that are difficult to explain in just a few words. Even uploading images as simple as a company logo, photo of the company headquarters, or a headshot of the CEO can improve the readers’ experience and make your page (and the photos) easier to find.

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Patrick Kerley is a Senior Digital Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and is on Twitter @pjkerley.

Six@Six: Six Tips to Optimize Your Video for Search

Andrew Stoltzfus — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:46:40 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

As Web speeds continue to increase and storage capabilities skyrocket, rich media content – especially video – is growing increasingly crucial to Web users’ daily online experiences. Videos are easily shared and more engaging than plain text. As such, it comes as no surprise that YouTube recently surpassed 2 billion daily video views.

As a result, most successful online campaigns today incorporate a video component, often with the hopes that it will “go viral” and become the next online phenomenon, much like last week’s Old Spice video series. But with 24 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube alone, it’s not enough to simply create strong content and hope for the best. This week’s Six @ Six outlines tips and tactics for optimizing video content to win the ever-evolving online race to be found. Do you have additional suggestions or success stories? Share them with me on Twitter @astoltzfus.

1. Optimize the Title and Description

As the saying goes, don’t put the cart before the horse. Before you try any fancy optimization techniques, start with the very basic: include important keywords in the title and description of your video, much the way you would in a news release or Web page. Take a step back and think about what terms your target audience is likely to search, as these are often not the same as the terms you may be inclined to use. Particularly in the title, be sure to consider synonyms of key terms and, where appropriate, add adjectives such as “epic” or “official” to help differentiate your video from others among the top search results.

2. Use Appropriate Tags, Including Geo-tags

“Tags” fields present an ideal – and often underutilized – opportunity to associate critical key terms with your video. Be sure to carefully consider which terms are likely to achieve the greatest success before publishing. As with all search optimization efforts, consistency is key: use the same key terms throughout the title, description, and tags. In certain situations, and particularly if your video relates to a local event or place, geo-tagging can help improve search rank among local geographic areas and in association with key geographic terms. For example, if your video focuses on the preservation of a park in Bethesda, Maryland, be sure to geo-tag your video to improve its rank for relevant local searches.

3. Upload a Closed Captioning File

YouTube now features automated transcriptions of most videos, particularly those that include significant dialogue or speaking. While experts may debate precisely how large of a role these transcriptions play in current search algorithms, most agree that if it doesn’t already, it will soon heavily influence how a video is indexed for search. Unfortunately, the current automated transcription service often leaves a lot to be desired – with frequent misinterpretations, misspellings, or even omitted words and phrases. But YouTube does offer the opportunity for users to upload their own closed captioning track to accompany the video, providing an ideal opportunity to customize the text surrounding your video and allowing you to define how search engines interpret it. In order to upload a closed captioning track, simply click the “Captions and Subtitles” tab when editing a video. Then click “Add New Captions or Transcript.” But remember, this is a tool to ensure an accurate transcription, not to try to spam the system by adding lists of key terms.

4. Integrate Videos with Other Web Content

Integration across Web platforms is critical for any company or campaign to improve search visibility. After all, your website and social media profiles present unparalleled, high-authority opportunities to link to other content, including videos. No matter whether it’s a website, a video, or a Tweet, inbound links are among the most important criteria in determining search rank – and there’s no easier way to generate links than to link from your own website or social media profile. Wherever possible, embed your videos on your website, blog, or other Web properties, as most research indicates that the number of times a video is embedded plays a significant role in YouTube’s search algorithm. And be sure to send out links via your Twitter feed or Facebook page. If the video is interesting, your followers and fans will likely share the content with their networks as well – spreading the video to an exponentially larger audience.

5. Share Your Video with Influential Users

If your company was announcing a major new initiative, you wouldn’t simply mention it on your site; you would actively reach out to interested journalists and bloggers, possibly even offering an exclusive scoop to those with the widest reach. Likewise, if you have an interesting or groundbreaking video, figure out which influential YouTube users, bloggers, or even journalists might be interested and share it with them. Be careful not to go overboard with this tactic and spam them with your newest video each day, but if you have something particularly noteworthy, this is the best way to get the word out. After all, search optimization is not all about technical coding or fancy techniques, as traditional public relations efforts are at the core of any successful SEO campaign. Considering the importance of inbound links in not only spreading your video to new audiences, but also improving search rank, don’t be afraid to contact relevant, influential users to share your video.

6. Consider Promoted Videos

Unless you happen upon the magic crossroads of events that leads to instantaneous viral success, these efforts can take time to really drive significant traffic to your video – especially if it’s about a more “evergreen” topic. However, if you have the resources and want to quickly boost your video’s total views, YouTube and other sites offer solid options to purchase ads or Promoted Video space. While the YouTube homepage banner ad is outside of many budgets (there’s a reason most of these ads are for upcoming movies), Promoted Videos allow your video to be appear in a sponsored link box on YouTube and on compatible sites across Google’s content network. This is often a more affordable and customizable option, offering the capabilities to target particular search queries or keywords. In addition, this service can come with a free overlay ad on the video itself (which often remains even when you pause the campaign) to help improve click-through-rate on your call to action.

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Andrew Stoltzfus is a Search Optimization Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis communications firm. He also is a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with him on Twitter: @Astoltzfus.

Six @ Six: Six Reasons You Should Begin Live Online Video Broadcasts Today

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:06:12 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

Until recently, webcasting was complicated and costly. However, with the introduction of new online services and consumer-friendly hardware, live video broadcasting is becoming easier by the day. Once reserved for corporations and organizations with large budgets looking to push their messages and increase audiences, live online video broadcasting now provides an easily-accessible platform for everyone to produce engaging content.

Mobile technologies and the advent of smaller, cheaper, and better recording devices will no doubt expand and improve this rapidly growing communication tool in the weeks and months ahead. And if your company or organization is still on the fence, this week’s Six @ Six outlines six more reasons brands should begin live video broadcasting today. Have you used online live streaming? If so, share your experience with me Twitter at @pjkerley.

1. The Ease of Plug and Play Technology

While it’s not yet as easy as just plugging in a camera and streaming live to the world, you can be ready to broadcast live video to the online community in a matter of minutes with the use of just a few simple tools. Essential to any online video broadcast is a video camera – be it part of your smartphone or connected to a laptop – and a strong Internet connection. Other accessories such as an external microphone and lighting equipment will surely improve your broadcast, but depending on your goals, may not be necessary. There are a number of companies that will charge you to live stream video, but there are also free services such as Ustream.tv and Livestream.com that enable you to create branded broadcast channels to stream live video content. Simple setup instructions are included on both sites and the broadcast quality is surprisingly strong.

2. Expanding Your Audience

One obvious reason for live streaming of events, meetings, activities, interviews, and other content is to expand your audience. Online video streaming provides a global platform for Internet users around the world to tap into your content – meaning that people who might not have previously known about your company or organization can now listen to a keynote speech or watch a live product demonstration. The added features offered by video streaming providers also enable live video players to be embedded and shared – enabling the most captivating live content to go viral on social networking websites. Also, live video streaming has developed niche communities all its own, which further promotes live video content based around location, industry, interest, and topic.

3. Interact with your Audience

Live online video broadcasts offer much more than the pre-recorded, static video that has become the norm on the Internet. Now, brands can take advantage of the opportunity to interact with the global audience in real time and even change the direction of the broadcast based on audience response. For instance, live side-by-side chat rooms next to the video player and social network plug-ins for Twitter and Facebook feeds allow broadcasters to solicit audience participation such as the ability for Internet users to ask questions of representatives as a town hall meeting miles away. Live video has become so commonplace that websites and corporate social networking profiles have permanent live video tabs or sections further personalizing and socializing their content.

4. Convenience

When you host an event with low attendance, it is often not for a lack of interest in the topic or the speakers, but rather a direct result of the audiences’ inability to attend the event in person. While we will not knock the benefits of attending an event in person (there are still real benefits implicit in actually being present at an event), it is not always possible to make it across town in traffic for a lunchtime event in a reasonable amount time. However, these kinds of events can offer streaming video that professionals can access from their desktops at work. This level of convenience promises greater attendance and increased exposure for your events.

5. Tracking

While many of the above benefits focus on the audience of a live online video broadcast, audience tracking represents a benefit that is especially advantageous for the broadcaster. Most online video broadcasting platforms track detailed information about viewership totals, length of engagement, audience location, referrals, video player embed locations, and other useful data to judge the success of your live video content and respond where appropriate. For example, if archived footage of an event is viewed by a large audience in a certain geographic region, consider hosting future events in that area to achieve higher in-person attendance and greater engagement long-term with the online audience.

6. SEO Opportunities for Keeping a Record Online

Most streaming services allow footage to remain online after the event. This content provides a valuable opportunity to showcase your company’s activity and expertise on myriad issues. In addition, each video segment offers another place to insert the keywords important to your overall search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Tagging the archived video streams of your live events as you would a YouTube or Vimeo video will help attract traffic from search engines. In today’s “race to be found,” the popularity and pervasiveness of video is unmatched. Live streaming your next conference or event provides yet another opportunity to take advantage of video’s growing popularity for both human viewers and search engines.

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Patrick Kerley is a Senior Digital Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and is on Twitter @pjkerley.

Six @ Six: Six Tips for Engaging with Mobile Audiences

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:38:23 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

The ever-increasing popularity and penetration of smart-phones has created a strong demand for mobile Web content designed for those accessing information on the go. While phones used to only offer limited and unappealing Web content, newer devices such as the iPhone 4 on AT&T, the EVO on Sprint, and the Droid series of phones are breaking down roadblocks and making it possible for brands to publish easily-accessible mobile resources. However, creating a mobile experience for consumers requires a different approach than other media.

This week’s Six @ Six looks at six basic principles to keep in mind when developing a mobile website or downloadable application. Do you have additional suggestions or war stories from mobile campaigns? Share with me on Twitter @pjkerley.

Not Everyone Has an iPhone:

The release of Apple’s iPhone 4 late last month generated sales of 1.7 million phones in only the first three days the device was on the market. And, with Apple proclaiming this to be its most successful product launch ever, it would appear that companies seeking to market to the mobile community should quickly develop a mobile application for the iPhone. However, a recent report by Nielsen shows that only 28% of smart-phone owners are currently using iPhones, while 35% are using Blackberries and an additional 28% access the mobile Web with Windows Mobile or Android powered devices. Embracing this large market share of consumers is vital to a successful mobile marketing strategy. After all, providing an inferior mobile app for these users or only developing content for a competing device will turn potential customers away, if not alienate them entirely. So remember, when creating a mobile brand presence, look beyond iPhones.

Not Everyone Has a Phone That Runs Apps:

Similar to the point above, it is important to remember that not all users have mobile devices that run downloadable applications. While apps are growing in popularity and provide for a more user-friendly experience than traditional mobile websites, keeping an up-to-date mobile site is a great way to make sure that even those users with less advanced phones can make a basic connection to your brand. If a full-fledged mobile site is outside of your budget, at least consider providing contact information and other generic data to take advantage of a simple opportunity to connect with mobile Web users.

Location, Location, Location:

When a user connects with your brand on the go, more often than not their experience can be enhanced by broadcasting their location and receiving mobile content unique to their specific location. Mobile applications and websites that leverage a phone’s GPS receiver not only benefit the user by providing personalized content, but also have the potential to help your brand collect valuable information about its customers. The ability to connect certain demographics with specific places has endless possibilities, making it a solid idea to incorporate location-tracking features into corporate mobile applications.

Out of Date Equals Out of Use:

The purpose of mobile content is to provide on-the-go users with access to your brand when they are away from their desk or in a rush. Therefore, it goes without saying that antiquated mobile applications with outdated information fundamentally defeat the very purpose they were meant to serve. It is critically important to make sure that your customers are exposed to relevant and updated content, especially mobile users who may frantically try to access important information while they rush to catch their train or be on time for their next meeting. Just as you would update content on your website or blog, make sure your company’s mobile app or website is easy to update and spend a few minutes each morning to make sure that the technology is comparable or superior to that of your competitors.

Push Notifications:

While not available for all mobile devices, push notifications are probably one of the most effective ways to communicate with current and prospective customers. These notifications come in the form of simple alerts, similar to text messages, and can contain generic or user specific data. When combined with location tracking technology, push notifications can even be sent to smart-phone users as they pass by a brand’s storefront or when a user’s habits signal a match with a target demographic. Push notifications are especially important in conjunction with mobile applications, as it keeps users checking back on a regular basis. But, brands be warned, sending too many of these little messages can drive users away, so keep to the point and be strategic. Free offers, discounts, or other privileged information are usually the most welcomed forms of push notifications.

Keep it Simple and Functional:

At the end of the day the most important thing to remember when developing a mobile web presence is to keep your eye on the ball. The goal is to allow consumers to interact with your brand remotely and easily. Overloading a user with too much functionality and complicated interfaces can detract from even the most practical services. Make sure to keep your product, whether it's an app or a mobile website, user friendly and clean, even if this means not providing all the features possible. As more and more non-tech savvy consumers start using smart phones it is increasingly important that mobile presences can be used by those with minimal smart phone experience. Design is almost as, if not maybe more, important than information when it comes to mobile.

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Patrick Kerley is a Senior Digital Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and is on Twitter @pjkerley.

Six @ Six: Six Critical Takeaways from Digital Capital Week

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:41:46 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

Earlier this month, Washington D.C. was transformed into an East Coast version of Silicon Valley – thanks to the first annual Digital Capital Week. Produced by Shiny Heart Ventures and iStrategy Labs, Digital Capital Week was a “10-day festival in Washington, D.C., focused on technology, innovation, and all things digital in our nation’s capital.”

More than 5,300 people registered for DCWeek events, which took place throughout the city and covered all aspects of technology, digital, and social media. My colleagues and I attended Media 2.0 Day, Brunner Digital and PointAbout’s Get Mobile panel, Tech Cocktail, and the Social Media Club Breakfast. All in all, it was an educational and fun-filled week that brought together some of the industry’s foremost thought leaders to discuss best practices, lessons learned, and what’s coming next.

This week’s Six @ Six highlights six takeaways from Digital Capital Week. Did you attend any DC Week events? Let me know what you learned on Twitter @pjkerley!

1. Mobile Must Not be Overlooked:

The buzz around mobile technology is well deserved. By 2013, mobile Web usage is expected to surpass desktop or “tethered” Web browsing. As consumers rely on their mobile devices more and more for all types of communication, brands need to take steps toward developing a mobile communications strategy. How your brand is presented and interacted with on mobile devices cannot be an afterthought. This point was readily apparent during our discussion at the Get Mobile panel. Mobile strategies should be integrated upfront; not tacked on to a campaign. Designing for mobile can be challenging since we have moved from the Internet to the “splinternet.” This means that specs are no longer standard and the differences need to be accounted for during planning. Although it can present new challenges, brands need to consider how a mobile presence will lead to success and what resources are needed to ensure your tactics are well executed.

2. Mobile Isn’t Just Apps:

Mobile strategy isn’t just app development. While apps are a fantastic way to engage audiences, market your brand, and solicit feedback, they are not the only way to reach your key audiences on mobile devices. In fact, feature phones still lead the U.S. mobile phone market. As discussed at the Get Mobile panel, text messaging is still a viable and valuable option for many brands to engage customers and spread messages. Brands need to think of their mobile presence as more than just one smartphone app. 69 million Americans surf the mobile Web – a figure that is only likely to grow as smartphone use increases in the next year. Is your website formatted for a mobile device? For example, when a user visits Moviefone.com on their iPhone, it automatically asks them to enter their zip code so they can quickly find a theatre nearby. The brand’s iPhone homepage is completely different from visiting the site from a desktop browser. Taking steps to ensure information is presented correctly and easily on a mobile device is a must for all brands in today’s marketplace.

3. Content Alone is not Enough:

In the vast sea of online information, reaching audiences and registering your brand’s messages with them is a struggle. Throughout all the panel discussions during Media 2.0 Day, the importance of an audience engagement strategy was stressed. Brands should take a cue from media organizations that have put user engagement first to maintain a loyal following in the digital age. Organizations such as USA Today, NPR, National Geographic and CNN seek out ways to involve their audiences via discussion, feedback, interactive features and more, which has resulted in strong participation. Such an approach should also be used by brands to maximize the value of the content they are distributing throughout social media communities.

4. Become Part of Your Audience’s Lifestyle:

A key take away from the USA Today Panel on Traditional and New Media was the advice to become part of your audience’s lifestyle. The media’s audience, just like a brand’s audience, is pulled in multiple directions on a daily basis. It’s the organization’s responsibility to create ways to interact with them online. For example, National Geographic makes this a priority by considering how its content will provide value and benefit to those consuming it. Taking it one step further, this idea also translates to offline activities that impact your brand. How does your brand’s social media strategy inspire and take advantage of offline engagement? When the audience’s lifestyle is considered, your brand is able to have a presence throughout the day – not just when an audience member visits your social media community.

5. The Rules of Engagement to be in Business Have Changed:

Jeff Pulver’s talk during Media 2.0 Day was one of the best sessions I attended all week. At the beginning, he stressed that the rules of engagement have changed. The point is one many businesses are aware of, but have yet to act on. Social media gives everyone a voice. Those who may not be influential today can inspire a movement that could greatly impact your brand tomorrow (see the next point!). As Jeff pointed out during his talk, consumer-to-consumer marketing is the future, which means every organization needs a Chief Listening Officer. How is your brand adapting to the new customer service standard? Are you prioritizing the conservations taking place online and determining how what is said could influence your bottom line? As Jeff stressed, success on Twitter is achieved when you listen, connect, share, and engage. The same four principles should be applied in every online community your brand uses.

6. Many Smart Companies are Still Struggling to Leverage Social Media:

While many companies have fantastic social media marketing efforts, a number of brands still struggle to capitalize on the organic word-of-mouth marketing taking place on social networks. The consumer-driven conversations taking place about your brand online are often the most valuable since they offer clear insight into your audiences’ likes and dislikes. The discussion led by the folks at Save Screen on the Green during the Social Media Club Breakfast revealed the opportunities HBO has missed to strengthen its brand since threatening to cancel Screen on the Green the past two years. Screen on the Green, which is sponsored by HBO, has been entertaining D.C. residents since 1999 and turns out approximately 15,000 people during July and August for the shows on the National Mall. When HBO announced the festival would be canceled due to funding constraints, Save Screen on the Green sprung to action and was able to preserve the festival. But what became evident during our discussion is HBO’s missed opportunity to leverage the city’s love for Screen on the Green and turn it into positive PR. HBO does a fantastic job marketing its programs online, but like many brands, it missed a chance to bulletproof its reputation simply by listening, responding, and leveraging the conversation that took place.

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Patrick Kerley is a Senior Digital Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and is on Twitter @pjkerley.

Six @ Six: 6 Evolving Search Optimization Tactics from SMX Advanced

Andrew Stoltzfus — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:49:36 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

As the search marketing space continues to evolve, I traveled to the SMX Advanced Conference earlier this month to find out more about what’s next in search engine optimization (SEO) and to better understand how businesses can adapt accordingly. With 88 billion monthly searches executed on Google alone, it is critical for companies of all shapes and sizes to understand the importance of optimizing Web content to appear among the top relevant results.

Recent months have seen drastic changes to the ways search engines work: real-time social media indexing, new sorting options on Google, the launch of Google Caffeine, the advent of of Bing, and the upcoming partnership between Bing and Yahoo have all dramatically altered the landscape. In the wake of such evolutions, this week’s Six @ Six outlines six new search optimization insights and tactics gleaned from SMX Advanced. Do you have additional suggestions? Are there other tactics you’d recommend? Let me know on Twitter @astoltzfus.

1. Speed of websites is critical

One often-overlooked factor that is becoming an increasingly important component in search engine ranking algorithms is the speed with which a website loads. After all, search visitors in particular tend to be looking for quick results and will often hit the Back button instead of waiting for a slow-loading site. Search engines, with Google leading the way, are now treating site speed as a significant factor in determining the most useful results to searchers. In order to ensure that your site appears among the top results, try to avoid using heavy multimedia content whenever possible and be sure the server that hosts your site can handle expected traffic and maintain speed under heavy conditions. If you’re unsure how fast your site speed compares with others, there are plenty of online tools to help test it.

2. Look beyond Google

It’s true that the focus of most search marketers over the past decade has been Google. But with Bing’s successful launch last year and this fall’s upcoming partnership between Yahoo and Bing expected to capture 25-30 percent of search engine market share, it’s important to focus on sites beyond Google as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean creating separate sites optimized for different search engines the way many sites were ten years ago – but it does mean you should test and track results on Bing, Yahoo, and Google. Additionally, search-based advertising on Google will likely no longer be sufficient for saturating target audiences, as Bing and Yahoo become increasingly popular platforms on which to advertise services or products.

3. Traditional PR tactics can build inbound links

If content is king in search optimization, then links are its queen. Generating critical inbound links doesn’t have to involve underhanded negotiations or magic code manipulation. Instead, try using traditional public relations tactics to build inbound links; such as reaching out to the owners of related websites with useful content and building relationships with other site owners. A tried-and-true tactic is to develop interesting content that others will want to share (such as a timely infographic or relevant blog post), and then share it with high-authority bloggers and other online outlets. Other successful link-building tactics include authoring guest blog posts on related sites, leaving comments on relevant blog posts elsewhere on the Web, and leveraging other online publishing opportunities. In the end, it all comes down to relationship-building and developing interesting content – both of which are mainstays of traditional PR.

4. Optimize real-time updates

Search results today increasingly feature “real-time updates” – or recent updates pulled from social media sites such as Twitter, Friendfeed, and Facebook – among the top search results. This presents an ideal opportunity to jump to the top of the search results for any currently trending topic. While it’s unknown exactly what criteria go into determining which updates appear in search results, it is nearly impossible to rank among the “real-time search” results without a regularly updated social media profile – so, if companies are still looking for a reason to get involved in social media, here’s yet another reason. Once you have a social media profile, a few of the factors likely to play a role in determining the search rank of social media updates include user authority, freshness of content, the quality and quantity of followers, follower-to-following ratio, number of recent re-Tweets, and inbound links to the account – all of which reflect general best practices for effective Twitter engagement.

5. Add “juice” to existing content

Once you’ve developed content and put it up on your site, it’s easy to let it sit there and hope its popularity will organically grow. But old content also provides great raw material to help “juice” a site and boost the search ranking. Consider creating podcasts out of old press releases or blog posts and push them out via iTunes and podcast directories – as this can generate new, high-authority inbound links and can even spark a new type of audience for your site. Additionally, you can create RSS feeds of old content, use RSS Footer plug-ins to automatically add links to new posts, and create custom RSS feeds that include your content as well as external content to help piggyback off other sites.

6. Chase after a positive user experience

With so many changes to search ranking algorithms taking place on a near-daily basis, it’s tempting to chase after the minor adjustments and optimize your content accordingly. But as Matt Cutts, Senior Engineer at Google, pointed out at SMX Advanced, search engines always try to provide searchers with the content that best fulfills their search needs. As a result, chasing after an overall positive user experience is much more valuable than trying to identify the next algorithm adjustment. Content should load quickly, be easy to navigate, be organized well, and speak to the needs of your audiences. Developing strong content and creating a positive user experience is the only guaranteed way to ensure top search rankings that will last through the next week, next year, and beyond.

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Andrew Stoltzfus is a Search Optimization Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis communications firm. He also is a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with him on Twitter: @Astoltzfus.

Six @ Six: 6 Brand Threats Presented by Mobile Apps

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:45:52 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

Since its launch two years ago, Apple’s App Store has served up more than 3 billion downloads from its library of more than 140,000 apps. Combined with the growing popularity of the Android phone and the availability of new Blackberry apps, this deluge of smartphone activity has presented companies with a variety of new ways to market to and interact with consumers. With Nielsen estimating that smartphones will soon dominate the U.S. mobile phone market, it’s clear that we’re on the cusp of a new era in corporate consumer engagement.

At the same time however, we may also be embarking on a new era of Web-driven corporate crises. User-friendly, highly-integrated mobile applications have increased the number and frequency of conversations taking place about brands that run the gamut. With potentially-damaging content now able to travel the world faster than ever before, companies must now be prepared to respond to consumer concerns with the same speed and precision with which they are now virally shared.

As such, this week’s Six @ Six outlines six brand threats presented by mobile apps and how companies can best mitigate the reputational risk at play.

1. Real-time updates:

Companies already face the difficult task of monitoring the millions of online updates made about their brands each day. But now, Twitter apps, Facebook mobile, and Yelp, have doubled the challenge by enabling consumers to join the conversation from their mobile devices. As mobile apps grow more popular, brands must be mindful of how some sites will be more easily updated. For instance, Wordpress blogs that once required a computer are now supported by apps on iOS (e.g., iPhone, IPad, etc.), Android, and Blackberry. That mean bloggers can now send messages just as fast as Twitter users. Today, mobile apps allow customers to make updates as their experience unfolds – making the Web a more dynamic source of consumer information and facilitating a need for more agile corporate response mechanisms.

2. Prominence of Reviews:

Consumers no longer need to be sitting in front of a computer to find a place to meet friends after work or gather the information that drives buying decisions. Whether they decide to leave a tip about a venue on Foursquare, post a photo of the insect in their food on Foodspotting, or access reviews on Yelp, mobile apps allow consumers to research and make educated choices on the go. The increased exposure reviews now receive thanks to mobile apps means that companies need to be cultivating and engaging brand ambassadors. These allies are critical for sharing positive experiences and responding to negative reviews. Encourage current brand ambassadors to use mobile applications so they are able to engage in the conversation at the same pace as potential detractors.

3. Mobile Ads:

Although mobile advertising has typically focused on SMS, dollars are increasingly being directed toward mobile applications. Mobile advertising provides companies with a personal and interactive way to reach consumers – but at the same time, it also opens the door for competitors to take control of your brand, as anyone can purchase ads and target them to mobile browsers through various ad networks. In addition to monitoring paid advertisements that appear on searches from desktops and laptops, brand managers must also monitor keyword search results on mobile browsers.

4. Data Security:

Mobile apps provide a higher level of convenience, but they also often require consumers to share personal information to access the benefits they provide. Companies need to take into account the security measures necessary for protecting customer data and be prepared to handle a data breach should it occur. Collecting information on consumers is always a tricky balance between obtaining the data you need to effectively market and not appearing too greedy for personal information. Not only can collecting too much information cause consumer concern, it also opens up a company to more responsibility in managing personal data. As such, ask for and store only what you need and give users the choice to re-enter their information if they do not want you to save their information.

5. An App is Like Any Other Product:

Often times, companies are so eager to put out an app that they fail to think through its utility. When it comes to engaging customers via mobile apps, a bad app may actually be more damaging to your brand than not having one at all. If your app does not offer clear value to customers, integrate with social networks, and reinforce positive brand messages, it is time to consider why you launched an app in the first place. Before releasing an app, take time to define its purpose and goals. Ask your customers for feedback on the app and make adjustments accordingly to accommodate their suggestions.

6. Photo and Video Sharing:

While consumers may question the authenticity of a review, it is hard to argue with the authority of a photo or video. Before mobile apps, consumers had the option of sharing a photo with people in their phone book or uploading it later to a site like Facebook. Mobile apps have changed this process. Now, consumers can take a picture or video and share it on blogs and sites such as Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Ustream in real time. YouTube alone experiences more than 2 billion views a day. This exposure could severely damage your brand if you aren’t prepared. Develop a brand presence on popular media sites that have mobile applications and interact with customers who frequently post content related to your brand. By building this network in advance and leveraging positive brand content shared via mobile apps, the impact of negative content can be more easily controlled.

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Six@Six: Six Key Items to Include in Your Employee Social Media Policy

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:30:14 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

In 2009, one in every ten U.S. companies reported that employee social media activity had done damage to the corporate brand. With increasing engagement on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites enabling employees to share thoughts, photos, personal information, and even gripes, it’s clear that companies need to do more to ensure that their people understand the implications of social media activity.

How can companies empower employees to become brand ambassadors while also protecting against the potentially devastating consequences of unauthorized online behavior? Developing a corporate social media use policy will help employees understand the space, the impact of their participation, and best practices for taking part in your company’s online brand presence.

This week’s Six@Six outlines six key items every company should address in its employee social media policy. Leading social media policies vary widely in how much emphasis is placed on each component, but no social media policy is complete without at least touching upon each of the following. If you have additional suggestions or examples, let me know @pjkerley.

1. Explanation of Social Media

While it may seem basic, helping employees understand the social media space is essential to compliance with the rules of the road. Employees’ range of online knowledge and experience is likely to vary widely, so establishing a baseline understanding is an important first step. Some companies, such as Kodak, describe each major social media platform, while others simply define social media as a whole. In addition to providing a similar primer, take care to outline the success metrics your company will use to evaluate its social media efforts. Remember: the way in which your company defines and describes social media will determine the scope of your social media policy.

2. Role of Social Media for the Company

Does your company maintain official social media profiles? Can employees contribute to the company blog? Do you want employees to help promote company social media content? These are critical questions to address when compiling an employee social media policy. Your company’s level of social media adoption and openness will play a large role in how employees interact with your brand online. Some companies encourage users to spread the brand’s messaging through their own social media profiles, while others ask that employees’ personal social media activity be separate from their efforts on behalf of the company. Every company’s employee social media policy should explain the role of social media for the company and how employees can best support it.

3. Encouraged Activities

In addition to outlining the role of social media for the company as a whole, it’s important to clarify the ways in which employees can interact with your brand online. For example, if employees are encouraged to participate in discussions, how should they identify themselves? What resources can employees point customers to online? Offer examples to guide engagement and illustrate best practices. Remind employees how to safely interact with others and that participation is voluntary. Guiding employees in the right direction will help them embrace the online space in a productive manner that will, in turn, benefit your brand.

4. Discouraged Activities

A good social media policy also clarifies unacceptable online behavior and actions as they pertain to the company. Yahoo’s social media policy is a stellar example of explaining the risks and rewards of social media, particularly as it relates to the branding and legal consequences of sharing sensitive information. Similarly, your social media policy should leave no ambiguity. If an action is off limits, explain why and offer parameters. Additionally, explain the consequences of unprofessional social media activity and remind everyone that updates and blog posts remain online forever.

5. Consequences of Careless Activities

For those not familiar with social media, the idea that a single tweet could damage the company, or their personal reputation, may seem mind boggling. A good social media policy not only presents tips for successful online engagement, it also discusses the impact of social media activities. Take time to discuss the type of professional behavior that should be exhibited online when representing the company brand. As with any employee policy, it is critical to explain to employees the consequences of violating the company’s social media policy. This will help convey the importance of social media to employees and encourage them to take the policy seriously.

6. Where to Go with Questions

Finally, because it is next to impossible to create a completely comprehensive social media policy, be sure to provide employees with additional information about where to go with questions. Social media is constantly evolving and employees will likely have questions. When they do, where should they turn? Their supervisor? Public Relations? Marketing? Does your company have a dedicated social media manager? Providing employees with a point of contact can help avoid social media missteps and protect the company’s reputation and bottom line long-term.

Six@Six: 6 Steps to Protect Against Online Imposters

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:37:01 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

Controlling brand identity has long been an integral part of any reputation management program. Companies have a vested interest in protecting their names and logos from unauthorized use – printed, spoken, or otherwise. While social media have forced companies to cede more and more brand control over to the public in recent years, there are still instances where business interests have not only a right, but a responsibility to protect their online reputations from those posing as something they are not.

A new study by eMarketer notes that usage of social networking sites rose sharply in 2009 and estimates that two-thirds of Web users will be regular users of social networks in 2012. More than a decade ago, URL squatters purchased corporate Web addresses before companies engaged online, usually in an effort to sell them at a significant markup to the company later on. Today, that trend continues on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube where squatters capture unregistered social media profiles and use them to pose as the brand – pushing out damaging content under the auspices of authenticity. A noteworthy example of this came just two weeks ago with the creation of the Twitter account @BPGlobalPR which is attracting followers at an exponential rate, but is not the beleaguered petroleum company’s official profile.

This week’s Six @ Six outlines six steps companies should follow to regulate social network imposters. Do you have your own story about managing an imposter on a social network? Let me know on Twitter @pjkerley.

1. Understand the Network Policies

Before even creating a corporate profile – and especially before seeking the removal of an alleged imposter – it is critical to read and understand the legal policies of the social network in question. Every network is different, but general guidelines around personal or corporate misrepresentation generally apply across all platforms. Knowing your rights will ensure your profile is correctly established and will come in handy should you discover an imposter. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and LinkedIn have all made their terms of service available online.

2. Apply for a Verified Profile

In response to several highly-visible social network imposter instances, such as Shaquille O’Neal’s fake Twitter profile, most social networks are experimenting with various verification systems to certify account holders and publically recognize their “official” profiles. Twitter features verified account badges that appear on profile pages and identify accounts officially associated with a brand or celebrity. While this feature has been historically reserved for accounts “constantly competing with parody or impersonation,” new business features arriving in the coming months will grant companies access to this tool. Facebook is also slowly verifying a select number of large fan pages by directly reaching out to those individual account representatives. While Flickr and YouTube do not currently have official profile verification options, it is important to stay tuned to new developments and take advantage of any opportunities to verify your corporate online identity.

3. Use Alternative Verification Tactics

For networks such as Flickr and YouTube, which currently do not have official profile verification options - and as a general rule for all networks – consider using alternative methods to verify your official profile and prove to followers and fans that your brand is in control of the account. The best alternative verification method (and also a solid tip for boosting your profile’s visibility) is to add a profile badge or social network icon to your website that links to your specific social network profile. Adding an email address to your social network profile that is officially affiliated with your company domain (e.g., Twitter@BulletproofBlog.com) as well as a linking to your legitimate company website will further assure visitors that the profile they are viewing is officially sanctioned and that content is reliable and accurate.

4. Claim Variations of Your Account

When creating your social network profiles, make sure to grab the unique usernames and URLs for each network that most accurately reflect your brand name. In addition, you should also reserve similar variations of usernames and URLs that could be confused for your brand or manipulated by others to impersonate it. While capturing such variations is a critical first step, you can truly leverage these opportunities by incorporating links or otherwise directing those who stumble across these extra accounts to your official profiles. KnowEm is a useful tool that quickly scans more than 350 social networks for the use of your brand and helps secure your brand and identify imposters.

5. Leverage the Potential Positives

If your brand’s identity has already been hijacked on a social network, the understandable initial reaction is to fight back and remove the account, no matter what it takes. However, there are certain instances where you may be able to leverage the hijacked account to positively impact your brand and reputation. If the hijacked account has already built a strong following or a broad network of fans who are interested in your brand, consider pursuing a partnership rather than simply looking to delete the imposter profile. Coca-Cola provided a recent example of how this can work when it partnered with fans who owned the Coca-Cola fan page. Be mindful when you approach an imposter, as any communication with them might end up in the public domain. Before reaching out, weigh the potential benefits and challenges of partnering with or shutting down the account – as BP recently did – and think strategically about your outreach.

6. Request the combination or termination of the account

Should the above efforts fall short, you can always contact the social network and request the termination of an imposter account. Each network has a different policy for this process; so be sure to read the terms of use and have the necessary proof of trademark infringement to present in your claim. LinkedIn requires that you simply send an email, while YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter encourage you to complete an online form. After reviewing the claim, some networks will provide an option of merging the imposter account with the official account to transfer content and network connections, while other social networks will permanently delete the account and all of its content.

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Patrick Kerley is a Senior Digital Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and is on Twitter @pjkerley.

Six @ Six: Six Tips for Leveraging Twitter as a Crisis Early Warning System

Patrick Kerley — Tue, 25 May 2010 20:51:26 +0000

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

Speed is an essential ingredient of effective digital age crisis management. The Web’s ability to virally spread critical commentary or misleading information around the world in minutes means that companies caught flatfooted put themselves at an extreme disadvantage. But while the real-time nature of digital communication does present problems for companies in crisis, it also pro vides solutions. When companies actively monitor the online space for mentions of their top brands, they can often nip brand crises in the bud or even prevent them altogether.

This week’s Six @ Six highlights six ways companies should be leveraging Twitter as a crisis early warning system. Do you use Twitter to monitor what’s being said about your top brands? Do you have additional suggestions? Share your feedback @pjkerley.

1. Monitor Mentions of Your Handle

The most basic tactic for using Twitter as an early warning system is tracking for mentions of your brand’s Twitter handle or handles. All of the major Twitter apps, including Twitter.com, group mentions of your handle in chronological order. If Web users attack or criticize your brand via Twitter – and particularly if they are disgruntled customers – they are likely to include your Twitter handle in their complaint to garner your attention, particularly if your handle is well-known. In addition to this basic and essential step, you will also want to expand your monitoring to include mentions of your brand and all variations, such as misspellings of your handle, product names, and industry issues. After all, a Tweet foreshadowing an impending crisis need not directly reference your Twitter handle.

2. Set up Comprehensive Topic Monitoring

In order to most effectively identify looming crises via Twitter, consider investing in a comprehensive social media monitoring tool such as Techrigy, Radian6, or ScoutLabs. For a monthly fee, these services make it easy to track all conversations related to particular topics of interest, whether they be direct mentions of your brand, discussions of particular pain points, or references to growing problems in your industry. These services will help you identify and track spikes in conversation, causes for increased conversation, tones of dialogue, and links shared to other online sources. These services also help manage workflow to ensure any necessary follow-up takes place. Nine times out of ten, if a regulatory, litigation, or reputational crisis is about to strike, the first place those directly affected will go to voice their concern is Twitter – often before traditional news outlets even have a chance to pick up the story.

3. Follow Influential Industry Users and Critics

Another critical resource for identifying potential brand threats is other Twitter users – particularly “power” users who cover your particular industry or field. While these users may not always include the keywords you monitor, their Tweets can help provide valuable insight into possible issues of concern for your company, industry, or competitors. In order to identify these influential users, start with journalists and bloggers you know cover your industry. Then, check out Twitter directories such as WeFollow, Twellow, or Twubble. Consider developing lists of these key influencers on Twitter.com so it is easier to track their tweets. By actively following and monitoring influential industry pundits and critics, Twitter can be a valuable early warning tool for crisis communications and reputation management.

4. Engage with Strategic Allies

As important as monitoring is to a crisis early warning system, it is just as critical to build relationships with those who might give you a heads up should they notice potential crises arising. Much as you would in real life, engaging and building relationships with strategic allies is critical for both building a base of support should a crisis strike and for establishing a network of listening posts across the Web. Consider fellow industry professionals, journalists who cover your field, and any other influential Twitter users who could be strategic allies both before and during a crisis.

5. Receive Updates on Your Mobile Device

No matter how many of the above tips you may implement, their use as tools for a crisis early warning system is limited if you don’t receive the information in real-time. As we so often see, crisis can arise in a matter of minutes, spreading across the Web like wildfire. Receiving critical updates on your mobile device ensures you don’t miss a tweet. There is no way to control when a crisis will strike, meaning there’s a good chance you might be stuck in a meeting, out of the office, or otherwise not at a computer to monitor the tools outlined above. Fortunately, many of the tools for monitoring and managing Twitter – ranging from third-party apps to social media monitoring software – include options to receive updates on your mobile device. This can keep you up-to-date on any potential problems as they happen – giving your company the advance warning necessary to prepare and launch an effective and comprehensive crisis response.

6. Look Beyond Twitter.com

While Twitter’s own website, Twitter.com, has seen revolutionary advancements in recent months, its functionality still pales in comparison to third-party Twitter apps such as Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Tweetie, CoTweet, and Seismic. These services make it far easier for companies and individuals to track Twitter conversations, manage relationships, share workflows among team members, and sift through the myriad daily Tweets that populate your Twitter.com homepage feed. For example, Tweetdeck allows you to filter content based on keywords into separate columns so it is easier to monitor pertinent tweets. This type of functionality is critical when tracking online conversations. Consider building searches for your company, company’s leaders, or industry issues to find the most relevant Twitter users and the most germane Tweets.

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Patrick Kerley is a Senior Digital Strategist at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and is on Twitter @pjkerley.