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I speak about social media a lot - I’m interested in how customers interact with brands and how social media opens up a new dialogue…I’ve covered aspects of social media in this blog and highlighted some basic principles / rules of engagement.

This presentation by Marta Kagan says it best….it’s simple, irreverent in parts and very to the point - if you have any interest in social media and the basic why’s, how’s and who’s? then click on the link below and take a look.

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If you’re in the advertising, marketing, branding industries chances are that someone has chatted to you about incorporating social media into your campaigns. I’ve said before that social media should be evaluated like one would any other marketing platform - it also doesn’t work for or apply to every brand. It’s not a new miracle communication platform but rather a way of having a deeper perhaps more intimate two way conversation with customers.

Social media or web 2.0 marketing in my opinion is still an incredibly new medium which is changing by the day (hour?) especially here in South Africa where our broadband penetration is pretty dismal. There is much to learn and explore and test - this is the exciting bit

Blogger Jason Heller has a great rant in this post and has given his opinion on the issues in the form of a conversation between agency rep / marketer and social media maven, it’s a good read and raises some important points- I’ve quoted a few of his key points below:

- “all of this (social media) fits into the bigger picture of a multi-platform marketing communications plan. Integration with the bigger picture is a point often left out of the social media conversation.”

- “But the benefits of potentially connecting with consumers on a deeper level is huge, and truly the fact that the social media evangelists are trying to convey - observe, monitor, and listen before trying to become part of the experience or conversation.”

- “Social media becomes a valuable feedback loop or research base for some brands, and for others it’s insignificant. Yeah I said it - social media can be insignificant for many brands.”

- “So maybe the question marketers should be asking is not how to use social media, but how much to invest, which again, is a function of how consumers perceive our brands and what social media means to THEM - not to US.”

Take a look at the original post - It’s Not A Magical Parallel Universe, It’s Just The Internet (Yes, Social Media Too) - it’s worth a read.

If you’ve spoken to me or read my notes you’ll know that I’m a huge RSS fan. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication - Web feed formats are used to publish or deliver or push frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts in a standardized format.

RSS is mainly used by people to keep up to date with latest blogposts - all that is required is an RSS Reader - I find that the web based Google Reader system is the easiest, lightest and most efficient (all that is required is that you sign-up for a free Google account.) It’s really not that difficult but to many, RSS and RSS readers appear much more confusing than they really are.

I could explain it but I’ll let the Common Craft geniuses do that - they make the ‘complicated’ stuff easy to understand. If you still don’t get it after this then give me a shout and I’ll be happy to help.

This video explains the basics of what you need to know to get started. For me, the larger content benefits of RSS are perhaps even more exciting from a marketing point of view in terms of pulling additional content onto a website or syndicating your content to other websites. Automated search strings using RSS from niche search engines (this then has Online Reputation Management implications as it would work like a Google Alert but would be delivered to an RSS reader.) Many pre-filtered RSS feeds become one created using a mashup system like Yahoo Pipes to deliver niche, filtered, automated info….the list goes on. If you’re an RSS newbie give Google Reader a try - like anything web it needs a bit of practice and discipline.

This post has been in my draft folder for a while and I was prompted to publish it after reading Saul’s post where he moaned a little about RSS

I was involved in the initial planning around TEDAfrica 08 which as we know was sadly postponed so it’s  pretty exciting to have something else to look forward to; TECH4FRICA08 is going ahead in Johannesburg on 3rd & 4th October this year.

The event is being organised by Gareth Knight, founder of geneaology site Kindo.com and the speakers that have been lined up thus far look to be pretty exciting.

According to the site the focus will be on:

* Web 2.0
* Emerging tech in Africa
* Mobile trends
* Startups and telecoms

Registrations aren’t open as yet but in a true web 2.0 collaborative style the site is asking for suggestions and comments on the conference - check it out and add your 2 cents.

Many people seem to think that if you create a blog it automatically means people will find and read it. Not so. Like any other communication effort a blog requires careful management and marketing.

The way you market depends largely on your subject matter, if you’re building a professional profile then the points below probably apply. If your subject matter is a bit ‘left of centre’ then perhaps you don’t want to associate your blog with your professional persona.

If you’re considering starting a blog then here are a few very basic tools that I feel any blog needs as a starting point.

Name:
If you’re building a professional or industry opinion leader profile then my advice is to go with your real name. If your blog is of a more personal or niche nature then it may be a better idea to name it otherwise. Once you’ve named your blog don’t change it.

Subject Matter:
Decide what you’re writing about and maintain some sense of focus in your posts. Consistency is key so try and write as often as possible on relevant subject matter - if you don’t have anything to say then don’t post.

Get it out there
Your blog needs to be easy to find so list your blog with the local blog aggregators - Amatomu and Afrigator and internationally with Technorati. Each give you a tracking code which can be inserted as a widget on your blog.

Make it easy for readers to subscribe
I’d suggest signing up for a Feedburner account - this gives you better stats of who is subscribing to your RSS feed. It also means you can offer subscription via e-mail which is probably more accessible to most South Africans at this point.

Contact details:
Make sure your contact details are well listed - add in any other relevant sites or social networks than you use, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In etc. Your blog should be the a central hub of info so link to any associated business ventures also.

Spread the love
Links, links, links - building traffic and syndicating content is all about links - hyperlink internally to previous blog content where applicable as well as externally to referenced blogposts or sites. Comment on other blogs also and link back to your own blog each time.
List links to blogs you read (blogroll) - this helps readers find associated material and also builds the linklove.

There are other more advanced features and add-ons but I feel that the above form the minimum requirements.

Clever, well-targeted online marketing campaigns always catch my attention - this could be one to watch….If you think you’ve got the best pick-up line or the hottest seduction tip in town then head over to Seduction101 and let your peers decide. The top rated seduction tip wins an iPod touch.

Even if you’re ‘out of the game’ take a look at the site - some of the tips are very entertaining.

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