This quarter we are covering the topic of social media marketing and I wanted to take some time to discuss social search, which is the integration of search engine marketing with social media marketing.

There are a couple of necessary steps to consider before launching a social search campaign:

• Make sure you have done the research on which social media communities are relevant to your product and/or service. For social search you will want to ensure that the content on those sites are relevant to the key terms you are focusing on for your search engine optimization efforts. Sites that appeal to your target audience which do not have relevant content may be extremely beneficial from a social media marketing standpoint, but will provide limited benefit in terms of SEO. Make a prioritized list of sites that you will target. Your highest priority site will be both relevant in content and relevant to your audience.
• Create a list of topics that you want to discuss on your targeted sites. The topics you choose should be prioritized as well. The highest priority topics will be those that focus on your SEO targeted key terms and relate your brand to your audience appropriately.

Once you have determined the most appropriate sites and topics for your social search efforts you can begin working on content for your posts. To achieve the SEO benefits from your posts on social media communities, keep the following in mind:

• When using targeted key terms from your search engine optimization campaign, use them as anchor text links so you get the value of that keyword pointing to your site. In addition to getting the anchored key term, you also get a very valuable backlink to your site, a major factor in the algorithm that determines your organic rank.
• If you are unfamiliar with the rules on social media sites about followed links, do some research on your targeted social sites. If your links are not followed by the search engines, you will not get a backlink for that post.

Always remember that your brand is being represented in the community when you engage in a social media campaign, including campaigns focusing on social search. While you are engaging in efforts to increase your search rankings, you will need to ensure that your brand integrity remains intact throughout the process.

Join Amberly Stitzel and Scott Million as they discuss the ways that Social Media Marketing can enhance Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click Marketing results.

 LFI University - LeapCast 05.12.08 - Integrating Social Media Marketing with Search Engine Marketing: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We have been tackling the topic of social media this month, and I want to take it into the realm of integration for a bit…

So just how does social media fit in the grand scheme of things? Perfectly, in fact, as it compliments the majority of the interactive marketing we are already engaged in. From PPC to SEO, online contests to brand building, social media can be used in conjunction with other efforts to boost not only brand equity online but also conversions.

Several recent marketing endeavors for our clients have included social media as a component. Social media marketing has been used to further the conversation online with the ultimate goal of singling out brand advocates and planting the seeds they need to carry our brand message to their social web. From carrying on brand conversations in blogs and forums to establishing a brand’s presence in well established social networking arenas such as MySpace and Facebook, social media marketing is a natural extension of a user’s current online behavior. We have chosen to use social media in conjunction with more mainstream interactive efforts because we believe it places our message exactly where it needs to be found.

To this end, we may place display advertising on a site where conversations have been very positive and numerous in an effort to further the brand advocacy we have already enjoyed. We may divert PPC media to the same blog temporarily to bolster traffic and discussion about our brand.

Bottom line: Social media is not always a singular activity or marketing endeavor. It represents one of many arrows we keep in the proverbial quiver to help our brands truly achieve online brand dominance. While social media was not coined until recently, the platform has been around for years and choosing not to take advantage of its tremendous benefits is the equivalent of sticking your head in the sand.

Join Michael Wunsch and Scott Million as they discuss Social Media Marketing and where it fits in a complete interactive marketing strategy.

 LeapCast - LFI Tips and Trends: 04.24.08 - Where SMM Fits: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Join Katina French and Scott Million as they discuss Social Media 101 and changes to the Social Media Landscape.

 LeapCast - LFI University: 04.17.08 - The Social Media Landscape: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The last year here at LeapFrog Interactive has been an incredible ride.  We’ve added fantastic clients, worked on exciting projects, and experienced a huge “growth spurt”–the clients and projects we’re handling has grown, the Team has grown by adding talented and hardworking new people, and everyone on the Team has grown their talents and areas of expertise. 

That growth is part of what’s behind this quarter’s editorial focus.  Social Media has been a major area of explosive growth in interactive marketing and advertising over the last year.  Social Media Marketing was the hottest trend in interactive in 2007, and it hasn’t slowed down a bit in 2008. 

Established technologies like blogs and message boards have taken on a new emphasis.  Social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook have developed huge audiences, and smart brands are learning to use them to recruit brand fans.  Social bookmarking and news services like Digg and StumbleUpon have come on the scene, driving massive traffic to the sites that can capture their audience’s attention and approval.  Other social media outlets, like YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and more, are still building up steam as agencies and marketers develop creative ways to use these web properties to make direct, personal connections with consumers. 

We’ve had the opportunity to work on some successful Social Media Marketing efforts over the last year, and now it’s time that we pass on some of what we’ve learned. 

Over the course of Q2, we’re going to be going into great depth covering Social Media and the unique opportunities it offers marketers and brands.  Our coverage is going to include blog posts, LeapCasts, our LFI University e-newsletter, and an all-new series of On-Demand Video Webinars. 

(I have to admit I’m a little nervous about that last one, since I’m going to be presenting.)

So be sure that you sign up for LFI University and add this blog to your RSS reader, if you haven’t already (that’ll make sure you catch not only the blogs but the LeapCasts as well).  If you’re in brand marketing, and especially if you’re puzzled by all the hub-bub surrounding this “social media” thing, you won’t want to miss a minute. 

This month we have been talking about online contests, but what happens after you choose your contest idea and logistics? Promoting and marketing your promotion can sometimes be as confusing as the legal rules and regulations regarding your contest, but I would like to give you one oftentimes forgotten piece of the puzzle when marketing your online promotion: pay per click.

The traditional means of marketing, including banner advertising or television advertising, only market to users by trying to gain their attention while they are doing other, sometimes related things. What if you could market to your users as they were searching for promotions of your kind? Pay per click is a means of being found not only for search traffic in general, but also for a specific purpose. There are thousands of searches performed each month for contests and promotions related to video, writing, and photo, to name a few. Why not have your promotion front and center in the pay for placement listings in Google, Yahoo and other search engines? Cutting through the clutter in banner advertising, for example, becomes more difficult than a pay per click ad because users are on that site for another purpose. When a user types in “online promotions” as a search query you know they are looking for promotions and are ready to click.

Pay per click offers something other advertising avenues do not and that is instant traffic. Not only that but you can track your traffic more effectively online than traditional advertising methods.

User behavior is a funny thing - on the surface it can look like a promotion or interactive contest is performing quite well - lots of entries, a growing database and good traffic numbers, but it isn’t until we start to drill down into the numbers that true behavior begins to surface.

When analytics shows that many users are dropping off at a specific point in the process, it is time to act. Here at LeapFrog Interactive, we use several industry leading analytics programs to track user behavior not only for the benefit of reporting but being able to tweak promotions and interactive contests during their run to maximize their impact.

This sometimes means daily analysis to label trends and behavior that have an impact on results and follow a user from start to finish to determine why they are making the decisions they are. The “why” is often the most difficult but also the most important as the contest progresses. Missing a user’s expectation leads to drop-offs during a contest and drop-offs mean lost conversions along the way.

It is also important that measurement be built into the process. For instance - if your promotional site is built in Flash, and many are, you must build in tracking databases to feed analytics. You also need to have a stepped conversion process. Figure out at what point to engage the user by asking for personal information. Ask for too much up front and you create a barrier. Ask for too little through the process and end up with a consumer database that is weak. Setting “goals” along the path will help identify the steps you are wanting the user to take and can help guide analytics.

Because everything we do as an interactive agency is tracked and reported on, it is necessary to have the right tools on hand. Knowing your tools is also an important step and often forgotten or tucked away as an unnecessary expense. We make sure our team is certified in the tools they will be asked to use and experts as they begin to measure and report. Having the right tools is extremely important - having the right tools in untrained hands is downright dangerous.

So - to sum things up… use the tools you have to learn user behavior. Be willing to make changes along the way and be prepared for surprises. Having the right tools and the right people makes a huge difference and will help your interactive contests succeed and achieve your contest goals!

Join Amberly Stitzel and Michael Wunsch as they discuss Interactive Marketing considerations for online contests.

 Mark: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Join Jeremy Kolonay and Michael Wunsch as they discuss the technical implications of user-generated content campaigns.

 LeapCast LFI University Feb 8 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download