Social Web Thing

Slides of my Presentation on Writing Content for Search Engines

Ben — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:00:33 +0000

I’ve recently penned three posts for Social Web Thing containing tips on writing content for search engines and thought it would be a good idea to put those posts into a presentation deck. For reference here’s links to the three posts:

Here is a copy of the presentation – if you have any questions, please do get in touch.

10 Steps to Writing Super Content for Search Engines

View more presentations from Ben Cotton

Takeaways from the Edelman Trust Barometer 2012

Ben — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:11:44 +0000

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2012 findings were published this week, once again on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The past 12 months will undoubtedly be remembered for the Fukushima disaster, occupy Wall Street movement, Euro zone crisis and phone-hacking scandal, all of which have impacted upon trust in government, business, NGOs and media. These major incidents have resulted in a historic fall in the trust of government and business, creating a leadership vacuum that has being ably filled by the quality, not tabloid media, whilst employees, have replaced CEOs as a credible spokesman.

In addition, this years Trust Barometer has its largest ever sample, having surveyed 30,000 people from both the general public and opinion forming elite.

Whilst there is a lot of data to digest, the following points are what I think will have the biggest impact on my role in 2012.

2012 Edelman Trust Barometer: Global Deck

View more presentations from Edelman Insights

1. Empower employees advocates
Anyone who works in digital media will be acutely aware of the importance and trust people place in those who make up their social networks, essentially, a regular person or somebody like yourself and it comes as no surprise to see trust in a ‘person like me’ jump from 43% to 65%. Interestingly, a ‘regular employee’ also rose from 34% to 50% and is now the fourth most credible spokesperson for your business, behind academics, technical experts and a ‘person like me’.

People are turning to each other for validated information as trust in government and business is fractured. If businesses want to communicate effectively they need to identify, train and empower employee advocates (read ‘person like me’ or ‘regular employee’) who they can put forward as a spokesperson across earned, paid, social and owned media,

2. Re-prioritise the CEO
It has been a torrid year for both business and government in terms of trust, resulting in a clear and resounding vote of no confidence in the CEO. Trust has declined so rapidly that CEOs are considered the problem in some industries and it’s almost a bad idea for CEOs to be wheeled out. The key point here is that businesses must continue to engage stakeholders, but at this moment in time, there are better, more authentic, more trusted people to speak out than CEOs.

Over the years we’ve seen a certain fragility in trust, in that it is easy to lose, but difficult to regain. However, trust in CEOs can be won back by ushering in a new era of radical transparency; with new accountability and responsibility. Society now expects businesses to not only make money, but behave in a ethical way, whilst engaging all stakeholders. To regain trust CEOs have to be principle, not rules based leaders and their performance should be measured against business, ethical and engagement objectives.

2012 Edelman Trust Barometer infographic

View more documents from Edelman Insights

3. Social media surge
One of the most important findings is the surge in social media (defined as social networking sites, content-sharing sites, blogs, and microblogging) as a trusted source of information, which saw an incredible 75% increase in trust among media sources. Although, traditional media remains the most credible source, the growth in social media trust, represents the maturation and acceptance of social as a trusted source of information – and for PRs, this further strengthens the case for PR campaigns to have a social media element.

4. Media are filling the leadership vacuum
A leadership vacuum has emerged as the public now distrust government and businesses as they flounder under mounting debts and require more bail-outs. People are unsure who to trust, however the quality media have done admirably well filling this gap; reporting on the economic crisis and holding institutions to account. It’s important to recognise that not all media are considered equal, the phone-hacking scandal was uncovered by the Guardian and has been positioned as a tabloid vs. broadsheet battle. Nonetheless, the quality media continue to be well-trusted and should form an important part of your PR outreach.

5. Engage NGOs
One of the standout findings from this years barometer is that for the fifth year running NGOs are the most trusted institution in the world, and in 16 of the 25 countries surveyed, more trusted than business. This has big implications for business and serious consideration has to be given to NGOs and the role they could play in a communications program. NGOs have far more credibility, trust and influence than many give them credit for and businesses are well advised to begin identifying and engaging with NGOs who are broadly aligned with their objectives and world view.

You can check out the EdelTrust2012 hashtag to see other people’s thoughts on this years findings. It’s always insightful to see what the Edelman Trust Barometer discovers and I would be interested to hear what your key takeaways from this years findings are.

10 Attributes of a Fantastic Community Manager

Ben — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:00:19 +0000

As we celebrate Community Manager Appreciation Day today, I’ve thinking about the attributes, skills and behaviours that make a successful Community Manager (you can view all the #CMAD conversation on Twitter).

I’m lucky enough to have managed several high-profile communities throughout my career, ranging from mobile phone to sports apparel to food brands, so I’ve drawn upon my experience when compiling this list.

My colleagues Britta Heer and Jasper Krog correctly point out that Community Managers should be appointed based on their strategic, communication, social and management skills, so here’s what I consider to be the 10 attributes every successful Community Manager needs.

1. Strategic focus
There are many challenges and opportunities awaiting brands who engage in real-time conversations with fans, but this activity needs to be underpinned by a clear strategic framework and an effective Community Manager who understands and can execute the strategy.

2. Relationship development
The central focus of all Community Management activity is the ability to identify, nurture and develop long-lasting relationships with new and existing community members for the mutual benefit of fans and the brand.

3. Leadership
Effective Community Managers help shape the conversation which takes place online and they need to possess strong leadership qualities in order to guide the conversation and community in line with the overall strategy.

4. Issues identification
There are many examples of crisis’ blowing up on Facebook pages, but a successful Community Manager will be able to identify, monitor, intervene and escalate issues where appropriate, before they develop into a crisis.

5. Emotional intelligence
Admittedly, this is a very broad term, but Community Managers need to have high emotional intelligence and be able to spot, assess and respond to the emotions of the community using the correct tonality, language and frequency.

6. Attention to detail
Paying attention to detail at all times is critical to being a successful Community Manager. Whether it be posting content, replying to individuals or recording daily activity, focusing on and appreciating the detail is crucial.

7. Authenticity
Great Community Managers have the ability to let their personality shine through when engaging with fans, whilst staying true to the voice of the brand. These types of authentic, personalised conversations are what the community wants, rather than default, corporate answers.

8. Mediation
Frequently within online communities there are opposing views, which can often lead to inflamed, passionate and angry exchanges taking place between different community members. However, a good Community Manager will be able to calm things down, mediate and bring any conflicts to a resolution.

9. A ‘thick skin’
Online communities contain a wide spectrum of views and there are bound to be times when people vent their anger at the brand, product or community manager. Subsequently, having a ‘thick skin’ and the ability to remain calm and not take things personally needs to be part of the Community Manager’s personality..

10. Respect
Following the last point and it may seem obvious, but treating all community members with the respect at all times is absolutely essential when looking after communities. There have been many examples of bad Community Managers engaging in slanging matches with fans, causing reputational damage.

What attributes do you think somebody needs to be an effective Community Manager?

Writing Content for Search Engines [PART 3]

Ben — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:29:34 +0000

This post is the third and final in my series looking at writing content for search engines. With a break from the previous format and to bring the series to its conclusion, I’ve written in more depth about less topics in this post and it contains some tips to consider, rather than immediately act upon.Nonetheless, I’m confident the issues covered will provide PRs with food for thought and I’ve included links to further reading for each topic, as they easily warrant an essay in their own right.Incidentally, it seems fitting that in the middle of penning this guide, the BBC’s Rory Cellan Jones asked if mastering Google’s search algorithm and Wikipedia’s editing system are essential skills for the modern PR executive or lobbyist? Rory is nearly right. A solid grasp of search and an understanding of how to go about ethically editing a Wikipedia entry are two attributes in the ever-expanding digital skill-set. Whilst, these are standard skills for digital PRs, I’m unconvinced if they will become more widely adopted.

However, it’s hugely significant that Cellan Jones mentioned both Google and Wikipedia. They are interlinked. If Google is the first place people go to search, then Wikipedia is often the first thing people find and I remember back in 2008 Ste Davies proclaimed Google as ‘your new corporate homepage.’

CIPR Northern Conference – Sept 08

View more presentations from Stephen Davies

Understand the Long Tail
To really make the best use of keywords and search budget, you need to understand the Long Tail. Ian Lurie, CEO of Portent hits the nail on the head when he describes the Long Tail as: “specific, niche search phrases, usually more than 2 words in length, that offer a low competition, low search volume and high searcher intent.” In short, it makes good business sense to understand and focus on Long Tail keywords to increase search visibility. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the couple of keywords you aspire to rank #1 for are likely to be very competitive and therefore more expensive.Secondly, Long Tail searches are more specific and the lower volume actually adds up to a larger figure than the Short Tail – a widely quoted statistic from SEOMOZ says Long Tail comprises 70% of all search queries.

Thirdly, given the descriptive nature of Long Tail phrases, they often convert better into sales as people know exactly what they are searching for e.g. ‘jacket with red stripes’ is much more specific than just ‘jacket’.
Further reading: http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2010/10/long-tail-seo-101-defined.htm

Recognise the growing relationship between social and search
For the last couple of years we’ve been hearing about the impact social media is going to have on search results. The starting pistol to deepen the relationship was fired when Tweets began appearing in Google results and Facebook ‘Likes’ on Bing, but Google’s recent‘ ‘Search Plus Your World’ which integrates normal search results with content that has been shared on Google+ represents the biggest convergence of social and search to date.

The full impact of Google+ on search is yet to be felt, but this play by Google shows the definition of search (or at least what it encompasses) is expanding. Future SEO campaigns will need to be more social with a focus on great content, as well as incorporating traditional (perhaps fundamental is more apt) search techniques, such as page names, meta tags, headings, anchor text etc.

Social is important for search as it provides the most natural platform for humans to link, vote, and endorse content and its inclusion into search algorithms adds a layer of human verification that is more difficult to game, resulting in better results for users, as Google continue their search for the perfect search engine.
Further reading: http://www.edelmandigital.com/category/viewpoints/social-search-viewpoints/

@MEATliquor Review

Ben — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:00:50 +0000

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that beneath ‘Welcome’ on this blog I mention ‘Great Food & Drink’ amongst my interests. Subsequently, over the coming months you may begin to see the occasional restaurant review on Social Web Thing, especially if there is a social business/media element to the eatery.

There are several reasons for this move; my reluctance/laziness to create a food blog elsewhere, simply wishing to broaden the topics I write about and more selfishly, because I want to. But fundamentally I view writing about social business/media and food and drink as not only matching up some of my interests, but the merging of passions.

Right then. Introduction over. Lets get reviewing.

Whilst I was back in London over the festive period I had the pleasure of visiting Meat Liquor. Although, lots of foodie bloggers have well and truly beaten me to the punch to pen a review, there are still many who have yet to hear about Yianni Papoutsis’ latest venture.

For those unfamiliar with Yianni’s rise to fame, his story is one of social media stardom, one that has seen him go from selling burgers out of theMeat Wagon to having a fully fledged restaurant in one of the most sought-after west end postcodes.

Its been quite a journey and a year ago I blogged about the mythical #MEATEASY operation happening above a pub in New Cross Gate, as well as finally getting my hands on an awesome Meat Wagon burger in the Mahiki tent during Henley Regatta.

Meat Wagon became something of an underground movement – and whilst the secrecy of the Meat Wagon may have diminished, I’m pleased to report the taste and quality has not. That’s the history out of the way. Now lets get back to that review.

It was towards the tail end of 2011 that I decided to treat myself to another brilliant burger and apart from great grub, we turned up at Meat Liquor(just off Oxford Street) not knowing what to expect. As we entered the dimly lit premises, we were hit by the waft of delicious smelling food.

Once seated we had the opportunity to look round at the decor and absorb the atmosphere. With a name like Meat Liquor the interior of the restaurant was always going to be bold, brash and in your face – and we weren’t disappointed. In fact we were met with loud music, dark colours and striking images adorning the walls.

Whilst the environment was good fun, it was the food we had come for. I eagerly ordered the Chilli Cheese Fries as a starter, followed by the infamous Double Bubble with slaw and onions rings, all washed down with a couple of bottles of highly recommended Meantime lager.

The starter came quickly enough and was a generous portion of fries smothered with chilli beef, cheese, onions, jalapenos and mustard. It was delicious. The starter tickled the taste buds and was a perfect re-introduction to Meat Liquor. However, it was the exquisite burger which stole the show.

The Double Bubble consisting of two beef patties, cheese, pickles, white onions, TK and mustard was packed full of flavour. Messy, juicy, tasty. The Double Bubble had it all. Served medium-rare, the freshly made burger tasted absolutely fantastic and was perfectly matched to the beer. If I was forced to be picky, I would say the slaw wasn’t to my taste, but that’s more of a personal, rather than quality issue.

French philosopher Voltaire was correct when said “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.” and Meat Liquor is definitely the place to eat some pleasurable, tasty and unashamedly unhealthy food.

To sum Meat Liquor up in three words I would say; dark, dingy, delicious. You should pay a visit. Fantastic burgers are in its DNA – and after all, everyone loves a great burger.

2011 Review of Social Web Thing

Ben — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:00:13 +0000

The start of a new year is always a fantastic time to take a moment, look back and reflect on the year that was.

I’ve been studying Google Analytics to see how this blog performed throughout 2011, as well as to gain an understanding of what topics are popular, how readers land on the blog and what terms people are searching for.

I’m fascinated by the vast quantities of data that we increasingly have at our fingertips and more importantly how the insights gleaned from this information can be used to inform future content, search and communications strategy – and I fully intend to utilise the data below to shape the direction of Social Web Thing.

2011 Summary

Social Web Thing received 42,664 Pageviews
There were 47 new posts
The busiest day of the year was 6 October with 465 views
The most popular post that day was So You Want to Work in PR? Here’s My 10 Top Tips

Top posts

Top referring sites

Twitter
Facebook
linkedIn
Edelman Digital
Hootsuite

Top search terms

pr graduate schemes
pr graduate schemes 2012
social web thing
pr graduate scheme
personal seo

The data above validates much of what I already thought about Social Web Thing with regard to content, traffic and search terms. It seems people find genuine value from posts that offer tips or advice on landing a PR or Social Media role. Interestingly, three of the top five posts were written in 2010, but enjoyed fantastic longevity throughout the year. All the numbers have proven insightful and will certainly give me food for thought for the year ahead.

Writing Content for Search Engines in 5 Steps [PART 2]

Ben — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:00:54 +0000

2011 seems to have been the year that many woke up to the fact that search and content are the two key battlegrounds of digital marketing. They are the starting point in the user journey and put simply; search engines are the first place people go for information, so ensuring you have great content with relevant, high-authority links is vital to win the online content battle.

This realisation has had a big impact on organisations and many now know if they want their content to have the best chance of being shared, commented upon or ‘Liked’, Google bots needs to be more than an afterthought. That’s why I have put together the second of a three part guide on writing content for search engines (you can find Writing Content for Search Engines in 5 Steps here).

Before we start it’s worth referencing some best practice examples of organisation winning the online content battle in the form of online publishing powerhouses; the Daily Mail and Huffington Post. The Mail masterfully strike the balance between news, trending content and celebrity gossip to create one of the worlds most popular news sites.Whilst, HuffPo excels at producing excellent news coverage and content people are searching for. Despite the vast editorial differences between these giants of traditional and hybrid media, they both share a similar strategy that has improved search visibility and increased both readership and revenues.

1. Maximise meta description
Meta description is the couple of lines which appear on a Google search below the title. It’s perhaps best thought of as your pitch to readers, as well as Google – and strong meta description can be the deciding factor that gets someone to your website. There is a character limit of 160 to consider, but the principles of writing for both humans and search engines in mind, as well as front-loading with relevant keywords apply here. So make every character count.

2.Keyword URLs
Wherever possible use relevant keywords in web page URLs. This is for two reasons; Google says that it helps SEO efforts and inner pages now rank more frequently for keywords than homepages. Secondly, people will be likely to link to your website using the keyword URL as anchor text; further strengthening the association between your website and particular keywords – all of which increase search visibility.

3. Rename image ALT text
Although the importance of ALT text has diminished somewhat in recent years, it still acts as an effective way to drive traffic to your website and should be considered as part of good SEO practice. Many websites automatically generate a random title for ALT text which is unhelpful. You should amend this to describe primarily what is happening in the image, but also look to incorporate relevant keywords.

4. Use images
Although, the Google search page is constantly evolving, it won’t have escaped your attention that images feature prominently at the top of listings. So if you want your content to score highly on search, images should not only fully be optimized for search, they have to be an integral part of your SEO strategy. It’s also worth noting that search results with images tend to have higher CTRs and lower bounce rates.

5. Utilise SEO plugins
If you’re thinking about re-designing your website I would recommend using WordPress due to its formidable online community of developers who are constantly innovating and improving what has become an industry standard platform. Another reason is that WordPress boasts many fantastic SEO plugins, such as Yoast, All in One SEO and Platinum SEO Plugin all of which can optimize content with relatively little effort.

Merry Christmas from Social Web Thing!

Ben — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:00:30 +0000

To kick things off, I’d like to wish everyone who has read, commented on and shared a Social Web Thing post over the past 12 months a very Happy Christmas.

All in all, 2011 has been a fantastic year, both personally and for this blog – amongst the many highlights are moving to a new country, gaining promotion and once again being nominated for the CRAPPs.

For something which started as nothing more than a hobby, I find it extraordinary and humbling to see how the Social Web Thing has evolved over the past 27 months. It’s been quite a journey and the growth has been very pleasing; with the blog exceeding 40,000 Pageviews in 2011.

Another source of much pride has been continuing to write for the Edelman Digital blog, as well as penning posts for The Next Web and Clare Siobhán Callery’s excellent blog, both on a topic close to my heart; employability.

Throughout 2011 I’ve learnt so much, from too many people to name, but I’ll be forever grateful to everyone who has made it such a wonderful year. I’m not quite sure what 2012 will hold for me, but I’m always optimistic and I’m sure it will be an exciting, memorable and enjoyable 12 months.

At this time of year, it’s almost customary to make some predictions about what trends we can expect to see in the year ahead, so I’ll put my head on the block and make some predictions – I’d be interested to hear yours too (here’s my 2011 predictions).

2012 will…

Be the year of Social Business
Be remembered for gamification coming to the fore
See us have more control over our online data
See the emergence and use of near-field communication (NFC) technology

2012 will not…

See us any closer to the Rusbridger Cross
See the death of SEO

Again, I’d like to thank you all for reading Social Web Thing and for your continued support over the past year, it’s much appreciated.

Wishing you and your families a Merry Christmas and great New Year,

Ben

Awe or Ambivalence? Does a Gap Year Make You More Employable?

Ben — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:00:45 +0000

Recently I’ve been thinking about employability and specifically if a gap year, before or after university impacts upon your chances of landing a job.Despite the ‘death of the holiday gap year’ proclaimed by Mary Curnock Cook, Chief Executive of UCAS in favour of a re-branded, but essentially the same ‘bridging year’, I’m unconvinced we’ll be reading the last rites of the gap year anytime soon.

Naturally, the potential 166% increase in tuition fees, up from £3,375 per year in 2011/12 to a hefty £9,000 just 12 months later has resulted in more people opting to go straight to university this year, rather than take time out to see the world. Indeed, with such market forces at play it would be strange if people did not choose to attend university this year over travelling. Nonetheless, I’m confident the trend will simply be negated by people taking a gap year at the end of their period of study, instead of at the beginning.

But none of this answers the question about gap years and their dubious employability claims. Before we start, I must say that I recognise gap years are beneficial in terms of personal development. Travel broadens horizons and enables people to sample a different culture, as well as providing many memorable stories.

However, the employability benefits are over-hyped at best and fatuous at worst. With graduates jobs harder to come by, the allure of a backpacking adventure has never been greater, but people are mistaken if they think it will enhance their job prospects once they return home.

I appreciate gap year-ers demonstrate organisational skills, such as researching locations, arranging travel insurance (annual travel insurance are deals available for backpackers) and arriving at the destination in one piece.

However, there is room for wider debate about gap years. The potential employability arguments often put forward do not stack up. ‘Having an adventure’, ‘getting out of your comfort zone’ and ‘growing up’ are frequently cited benefits of a gap year, but I’ve not heard of anybody employed as a result of a gap year – have you?

In my experience employers are more likely to respond with ambivalence than awe when interviewing someone who has experienced a gap year. Awe, ambivalence or worse, I’d be interested to hear what students, graduates and employers think when they see an extended period of travel on a CV.

Disclosure: this is a sponsored post, but contains my honest opinion.

10 Reasons Why Sales Might Be For You

Ben — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:00:25 +0000

On Social Web Thing I predominately discuss issues around social business and employability, however with a break from tradition, this week I’m going to look at the importance of sales, rather than social – and why a sales job might be for you.

The reason for this shift is that over the last 12 months, I’ve observed many sales and marketing departments merge or at the very least, be required to be even more closely aligned; with marketing activity being measured against cold, hard sales, rather than other outcomes such as brand awareness, customer loyalty or the old classic, column inches.

This shift has seen many marketeers have to immerse themselves into the world of sales and vice versa – and that’s why I was delighted to catch up with Miriam George, an executive coach and Managing Director of PDC Healthcare who gave 10 reasons why sales jobs might be for you:

Excellent career prospects – Sales can be found in any industry. Most businesses rely heavily on revenue generated by sales. Given this, a successful salesperson can aim higher within a company and, more easily than other industry, change company … or even switch to another industry.
Continual personal development – There is no shortage of training workshops available for salespeople. There are also sections in bookstores dedicated to becoming a sales person. While some training programmes out there are less than great, there are many resources available to improve your sales skills.
Variety - One thing that can definitely be said about sales is that it’s not boring. It’s a career filled with excitement, often generated from opportunities you found and seized upon.
Opportunity/freedom to work on own initiative – One of the greatest skills a sales person can have is initiative. Some people have it, others don’t. But for those who do have it, it means great freedom when working because you select your own plan of action. Your company sets goals for you, but you’re the one who figures out how to achieve them.
Rewards for success – As an integral part of the main source of money for companies, it is right that you reap financial rewards. You will come across excellent salary packages that include base salaries, benefits and generous commission schemes. And unlike with most jobs, the harder you work, the more you make.
Stability – Companies are always in need of a sales department. In fact, in times of trouble, companies put a bigger push on sales.
You get to dress nice for work – As a sales person, you need to present a confident image, which means that spending a money on nice clothes is practically a business expense.
Work for companies you believe in – Because sales can be found in virtually all companies, it means you can go after companies and brands you believe in.
Great career prospects – With a strong sales career, not only can you continue up the ladder to sales manager but often you can go into business administration. Sales gives you several transferable skills, such as learning how to be an entrepreneur, manage budgets, improve time managment and speak in public.
You’re great at it – While you can learn sales techniques, certain people are natural at persuading others. Be proud of your gift and use it to create a great career for yourself.

I would like to put on record my thanks to Miriam for taking the time to talk to us about the world of sales.

Disclosure: this is a sponsored post.