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conversation marketing

Blogging in the dark: The vital data no one has (or talks about)

by Ian Greenleigh on August 31, 2010 · 10 comments

Blogging in the dark

Blindly searching for the data we don't have. (Flickr photo credit: Pranav Singh)

There’s something that’s been bugging me lately, big time. It’s not your average annoyance, or mild setback. It’s a huge problem for all of us in social media marketing, but no one seems to say much of anything about it.

Let me illustrate the issue with a real-life scenario, though there are countless others:

You’re hired as a social media manager or consultant to a company that sells something, B2B or B2C—whichever. Dreaming up a social strategy to generate conversions from qualified prospects (email subscriptions, webinar registrations, contact form submits, etc.) to fill the pipeline for your company’s overall sales and marketing efforts is central to your job description.

Because you’re smart, you know that simply creating and distributing content on your own blog is only half the story when it comes to blogs. Outreach in the form of blogger relationship building, commenting and guest posting form the other half. Of course there’s more, but let’s keep it simple and continue…

So, which bloggers do you engage with, and where do you comment? You can find blogs that other bloggers say are the best in your industry. You can look at lists like The Power 150 that are informed by a mix of data, including traffic and external links. You can piece together which others think are the most important in just about any niche you’re trying to market to, but you’ll be comparing apples and oranges.

The truth is, no matter what numbers you look at, the numbers that should really matter to you simply aren’t there. Anywhere. Because you want to be on the blogs your prospects are on.

Who reads these blogs?

I don’t mean how many people. I don’t mean from where their IP addresses originate. I mean:

  • What industries do they work in?
  • What are their job titles and/or roles?
  • How often to they read this blog?
  • How influential is this blog to them, and how much do they trust what’s on it?
  • What other blogs do they read?

Try finding that information. It’s simply not there. So how do I back my decisions, as relate to external blogs, with data? I don’t.

If you were a media buyer for television campaigns, you would know where to place your ads. All the data would be there—who watches what programs at what times on what channels. It’s why you see ads for for-profit colleges on daytime TV.

Lots of other web marketing strategies can be backed by data. Search ads can be informed by myriad useful numbers. The decision to purchase banner or interactive ads on 3rd party websites is usually based on data provided by the site owner on audience.

So why not blogs?

We need a Nielsen of blog audiences.

I’ve tried in vain for months to locate a single useful source for blog readership demographics.Yes, it would be difficult to create. But it would also be insanely lucrative, and incredibly helpful to those of us in the industry (and the DIYers).

Until then, we’re just blogging in the dark.

Why don’t you think we have this tool and/or service? Am I missing something? Or is this data far less important than I believe it to be?

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Standing Out in the World’s Toughest Crowd

by Ian Greenleigh on December 3, 2009 · 7 comments

Not too long ago, I was looking for a job. The central emphasis of all my work-seeking efforts was on standing out. This much I knew: Now more than ever, you’ve got to positively differentiate yourself from the competition. You’ve got to market yourself.

Visiting LA recently, I started thinking about this again. The cruel paradox of LA is that it’s simultaneously the place where being noticed matters most and the hardest place in the world to be noticed. In this impossibly-crowded market,  nearly everyone you meet is trying to “make it” in some form or fashion. Whether they know it or not, they’re trying to market themselves to influencers. This is especially true of aspiring actors. As evidenced by whichever bad movie you saw recently, being a bad actor does not–sadly– preclude one from getting serious screen time.

Enter an actor friend of mine, Logan Fahey.

logan_head_1I’ve known Logan since the second grade, and I’m not the only one that thinks he’s great. Daryl Miller of the LA Times called a recent performance of his “letter perfect” (and it was). It absolutely kills me that Logan isn’t using new media to capitalize on his recent successes, and I told him as much. He, if anyone, should be a standout.  Within five minutes of meeting the other night, we had mapped out his next steps in order to make it so.  I’m confident the plan will work, even in a place like LA where everybody is trying to get in front of anybody who’s somebody (say that five times fast).

Most of what we discussed applies to new media, personal branding and conversation marketing quite generally. To illustrate their applications, I’ll include some specifics regarding how Logan might take these steps, but just add a little imagination to construct your own game plan. It’s never too late to start marketing yourself.

  1. Claim a central online outpost; a place that aggregates all the new media presences you’d like to put in front of influencers. Once you’ve put up some decent content, slap this URL on everything you send or give out. In Logan’s case, he should print www.LoganFahey.com right on his headshots.
  2. Flaunt it tastefully. As Brian Clark writes, brilliantly, “What other people say about you is more important than what you say about yourself.” Collect and publish your praise. Don’t be shy about it. Smart people make choices that are informed by testimonials above all else. These are the people you want to get in front of, so give them what they want–or someone else will.
  3. Play to your strengths. Put up a blog and write about what you know. Come across as both informed and interesting! Most settle for one or the other. Go for both. Comment on the posts of those who influence you, but also start conversations with other beginning bloggers, as they are more likely to reciprocate, link to you, etc. Logan is easily the funniest guy I’ve ever known. I see him posting biting observations on the travails of the aspiring actor and the excesses and of LA culture. If his observations are as sharp and witty as I expect they will be, he’ll be able to create a substantial following.
  4. Pages, not profiles. Logan the friend has a Facebook profile. Logan the actor should have a Facebook page. Pages offer far more functionality, customization and marketing flexibility. They allow you to construct and maintain a rich new media presence on one of the globe’s top websites–free. Using touches of FBML and following basic web design principles, pages can be a one-stop showcase of a brand’s value. Logan’s page will use video, photos, press clippings and carefully-written verbiage to create a mixed media demonstration of his talent and commitment to excellent presentation.

There’s more that Logan can do, but the above will keep him busy for a while. Rather than spreading ourselves too thin, it’s much more effective to carefully select  a few new media tools, create deep content experiences and update them often. Every time someone comes across one of your online outposts, make sure they’re encountering the person you want them to see, and not a bit of you here and a bit of you there, scattered across a trail of half-finished profiles.

As much as I’m excited to show a dear friend the new media ropes, doing so has forced me to consider my own reflection. Staring back at me, I see an incomplete picture of myself. I have a lot left to do and even more to learn. Yet, I like what I see. With a little work, it’s only going to get better.

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What Klout Can’t Calculate: Dimensions of Influence

by Ian Greenleigh on November 24, 2009 · 7 comments

Sorry to get your hopes up. This is not a screed against Klout. I’m not angry at if for ranking me too low, or listing a mortal enemy as one of my influencers (fortunately, neither is the case). Just the opposite, I find that Klout has managed to pull off something remarkable. The list of so-called “twitter-graders” is lousy with failure and lack of imagination. The volume of data created by the actions of the average twitter user is enough to fill a long, boring book. The minds at Klout took these data, decided which should serve as metrics, weighed the various streams and came up with first influence-measuring tool that stands up to the “five friends” test. Pick five of those you most closely follow on Twitter, plug them into Klout, and see whether, for the most part, you agree with what’s served up about each. You probably will. That’s huge.

Klout’s new feature, a way to find, track, and list influencers, is similarly impressive. As can be expected this early after its arrival, it can be hit or miss. The way it locates online leaders by vertical or subject, however, is a powerful step in the right direction. Brian Solis has an accessible exploration of the mechanics behind this “Twitter list engine” over at PR 2.0.

But here’s the thing: Klout and other tools like it do not track the offline influence of online personalities.  This has a lot to do with a question as old as science: Correlation or Causation?

Are these people and brands influential because of their new media efforts, or did they already carry influence as they created a new media presence? What about the individual or brand that is highly influential, but has barely begun to leverage their reputation by building a social online presence?

This third type should interest conversation marketers just as much as (if not more than) the other two. Budding efforts are simply easier to engage with. Some will argue that it’s better to target those with large networks and, therefore, extensive reach. But it’s a trade off. Yes, these new media participants have the power to perpetuate your message through their extensive networks. Yet, your voice will be just one of so many vying for their attention.

Offline influencers with a limited new media presence are more likely to see and hear you. As one of the few that find and engage them, your message will be all the more resonant if you approach them in the right way. They are also more likely to reciprocate and to appreciate any help you send their way.

Smart new media marketers get in front of both groups.

Klout and other influence-measuring tools can’t measure offline influence in any meaningful way, and we shouldn’t expect them to. But should we want them to? A complete picture of one’s influence is multidimensional. Such evaluation should require user input and a discussion about concepts that are unapproachable mathematically. To me, this is refreshing. There is still a need for a human touch in evaluating the influence of other humans.

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Be 3D.

by Ian Greenleigh on November 17, 2009 · 4 comments

The advent of the new media era has changed the way smart people think about marketing. Most new media are purposefully designed to facilitate conversations,allowing participants to share and rebroadcast the words of others with whom they agree (or disagree). In this powerful, democratic way, our mores and ideas about things like merit and authority are being patched together and paved over, layer upon layer. Until recently, this picture was anarchic, and made new media seem unapproachable to those of us that crave structure.


New media has reached critical mass. From this patchwork of layers has emerged a fascinating value system—coherent, but in a constant state of flux. It’s stillmalleable and lawless enough to allow trailblazing, innovation and, of course, exploitation, but finally developed enough for newcomers to learn the ropes before they attempt to do their own thing.


People and businesses of all stripes have realized the marketing opportunities these new media present. But too many of them figure they can simply refocus their current marketing efforts to address these new channels without much thought or development. This approach has failed, and will continue to fail.


New media marketing is about participating in the conversations that will go on with or without us. It’s about understanding what those involved in these exchanges value, what they expect from them, who they listen to, and why.


If we want to successfully market anything to this audience —our products, résumés, candidates, ideas— we need to respect and understand it. This is an audience that values genuine interaction. Its members have little tolerance for the stilted jargon many confuse for professionalism. They want to know what we really think. They expect us to listen, to respond.


New media marketing is thoroughly, refreshingly human. Be 3D.



Dimension 1: Authority


No one is an expert on everything. Chances are, however, that you know quite a bit about your industry or niche. Share it. Brand yourself as an authority by adding value to the conversation. Share your professional insights and build a following of those that wish to learn from you. At the same time, be sure to communicate with peers and leaders alike. Learn when to speak up (when you know what you’re talking about), and when to listen and ask the right questions (when you don’t). Don’t be afraid to show fallibility—asking a great question can demonstrate authority just as well as providing an answer.



New media is not a sales presentation, contrary to popular belief. Trust me, the obviously self-promotional blog comments, posts, and tweets are not getting those guys anywhere. Want to get people to take an interest in whatever it is you’re trying to promote? Answer a question they have about something else. Join a twitter chat and say interesting things. Give someone helpful feedback on their blog posts or intelligently challenge something they write with words of your own. Do it enough and people will look at you and your widgets.



Dimension 2: Personality



This one seems so intuitive; it’s amazing how many get it so painfully wrong. Would you invite a telemarketer or robot into a conversation between humans? Neither would those you’re trying to market to. Show some skin. Be funny, interesting, even self-critical—be authentically human.



Make friends, not sales leads. Part of cultivating a three-dimensional new media presence is recognizing the humanity in others. The friends you make will promote you; rarely will they promote whatever you’re selling. Don’t take advantage of them and ask them to hawk your wares or confuse an endorsement of you with an endorsement of your products. Engage people on the right level and they will be interested in what you do. People love to buy things from those they like. There is no need to push it.



Dimension 3: Consistency



Don’t dabble. Being inconsistent dilutes the perception of authority, and shows others that you don’t value new media. If your last blog post was five months ago, and you’re not turning out good content at regular intervals, delete the blog. The same goes for the twitter account that you use once every 2 weeks. The chance someone will see your biweekly tweets, however profound, is slim to none. To make your new media efforts worth your while, you’ll need to persist in creating and sharing value. Be a frequent contributor to the online conversation, and eventually you’ll be known as such.



Keep your ear to the ground. It’s not just about monitoring what people say about your brand and your competitors. Recognize opportunities to be among the first to comment on industry developments, innovations and other changes that will be talked about. Use amazing free tools like RSS feeds and readers, Google alerts,TweetDeck streams, and start conversations where none exist yet. Be proactive.


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