This week, I\u2019m headed to Baltimore for the\u00a02011 Vocus user summit. I\u2019ll be speaking alongside\u00a0Scott Stratten,\u00a0David Meerman Scott, \u00a0Gini Dietrich,\u00a0Ann Handley,\u00a0Joe Chernov,\u00a0Valeria Maltoni\u00a0and my previous CEO\u00a0Lee Odden\u00a0among\u00a0others. Quite the lineup for a user summit, even better than most conferences.<\/p>\n
Hopefully I\u2019ll see some of you there. But as readers here are dispersed globally I thought in advance I would share just a few points from my presentation.<\/p>\n
My talk is on the importance of\u00a0becoming a media company, something subscribers here are very familiar with (and some of you are already embracing). But many still aren\u2019t and I continue to see companies place emphasis at the wrong areas and wonder why they aren\u2019t achieving organic marketing returns.<\/p>\n
What are four common problems?<\/p>\n
Simply put, if you want to be taken seriously as a media company and\u00a0build a community, you must have cadence with content. Whether you are publishing a blog, moderating a forum or even maintaining an independent social network users demand\u00a0fresh content. Without cadence in updates, you can\u2019t possibly build organic momentum or\u00a0condition\u00a0readers to share or return. What reason would they have to come back?<\/p>\n Further, without cadence you can\u2019t scale up any KPIs.\u00a0Nail down consistency\u00a0before you worry about too much else. Sounds simple enough, right? It is surprising how few get this most basic step right. I have even had debates with people about \u201cif it is even possible\u201d to publish something new even just 2-3 times a week. Uh, of course it is. Modern marketers can (and do!) execute this. If you don\u2019t have this locked down you probably don\u2019t have much farther to look why your own brand of media hasn\u2019t taken off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sources of the previous ~1 million or so visits to a site I market. Obvious conclusion: the social web is more than Facebook and Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n As I noted\u00a0in a previous thread\u00a0on this subject:<\/p>\n A lot of marketers continue an unhealthy obsession with spending time\u00a0purely<\/em>\u00a0in Facebook and Twitter. I see it again and again. And while Facebook and Twitter absolutely should have a place within a larger\u00a0digital strategy, your marketing does not start and end with them. They\u2019re outposts but not a hub.<\/p>\n What happens when you take a\u00a0holistic approach\u00a0and focus\u00a0opt in at the source? You provide a valuable destination that a community of sites, networks and people can point at.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you are embracing an owned media strategy,\u00a0that<\/em>\u00a0is where you should be focusing your time: then market holistically across platforms that make sense. Don\u2019t only market in one or two platforms, rather be open minded to tapping lots of communities and building relationships across the web wherever that may be. Absolutely use Facebook and Twitter, but think beyond them too. The web is much larger.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n People make instant decisions about your brand on the web. The absolute first thing that reaches them, even before your content is site design. And yet still many companies are reticent to vest the effort in a high quality, attractive design. It\u2019s absurd because they then spend so much effort on content and trying to attract visitors there. But with a weak design you\u2019re already fighting an uphill battle.<\/p>\n Why would you do this to yourself? In any long term web marketing initiative, you want to vest any effort up front you can to optimize outcomes. Over time this really adds up. Think you need a\u00a0new website design? Here are\u00a0some tips\u00a0to get started. If you already have a decently performing website, think about how you can update it to\u00a0even better accomplish\u00a0your objectives.<\/p>\n Specifically if you are embracing owned media because you have limited resources and are interested in a more scalable, strategic form of PR you really need to look the part. Have a third party look at your site and give you honest feedback. Ask yourself seriously: are others, such as professional media, going to share or organically react to this or are your templates so bad they might stop someone? This is a self-imposed roadblock to success.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n So we\u2019re still on the content thing. I wish we could move past it but we just can\u2019t yet. There are so many different things\u00a0companies get wrong\u00a0with their web content it is far more than a single post or presentation can cover. If you\u2019re still really struggling to make great content the best possible thing you can do is\u00a0go through the process yourself. After all, modern communications professionals\u00a0should be executing\u00a0not just professionally, but personally.<\/p>\n Study the popular sites in your category (other companies, media, bloggers) and consider carefully what makes them successful. Learn your category inside and out and user preference for sharing. Also get out of campaign thinking and instead\u00a0develop an ongoing narrative.\u00a0Try things and iterate\u00a0and don\u2019t\u00a0overthink\u00a0it. Gain the executive perspective on content and speak to a specific worldview. Take a stance on issues and stir emotion.<\/p>\n Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I\u2019ll be going through much more Thursday, so hope to see you out. If there are any questions you\u2019d like answered, feel free to leave them in this thread and I\u2019ll compile with questions from my presentation for a follow-up post (or at the very least respond to below).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week, I\u2019m headed to Baltimore for the\u00a02011 Vocus user summit. I\u2019ll be speaking alongside\u00a0Scott Stratten,\u00a0David Meerman Scott, \u00a0Gini Dietrich,\u00a0Ann … <\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>If this is your brand of media, you aren\u2019t really serious yet about being a publisher \u2013 how could you be?<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n2. Only focusing on Facebook and Twitter<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. Stock or dated design<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4. Boring, unreadable or just plain useless content<\/strong><\/h2>\n