14 Day Social Media Challenge

Colin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:27:57 +0000

My Twitter stream is flooded.

And not in the you-follow-too-many-people kind of way. It’s more like a too-much-of-the-same-content kind of way. Every day my stream gets inundated with the same content from the same dozen sources, and I think we can do better.

There are hundreds of blogs that are just waiting to be discovered. Some have, and just haven’t found an audience yet. Most will have better content then many of the top blogs on the Internet. They’ll teach, provoke thought, and encourage the discussions that this industry needs to move forward.

That’s why I’m starting this challenge.

The Challenge:

I challenge you to find 10-15 blogs that are not ranked in the top 150 on AdAge’s Power 150 List, or within Technorati’s top 100.

The Rules:

For 14 days, when you tweet blog posts, it can only be from those blogs. (the only exception being your employer’s or personal blog)
Before starting the challenge, you must blog about your list.
When you tweet posts from your chosen blogs, include the hashtag #smchallenge.
Optional: At the end of the 14 days, write a follow-up post about some new post or blog that you found inspiring or enlightening.

As the tweets come in, I’ll compile digests of the blogs that people are finding (and enjoying). I’ll also create a Twitter list for those of you who participate in the Social Media Challenge.

The major point of this exercise is to find and promote blog content that may be a bit obscure, but just as deserving. Abide by that guideline, and you’ll do well in the challenge.

Do we have a deal?

My Ten Twelve:*

I’m starting on Monday – are you?

Photo Credit

*I added 2 more!

The Single Most Effective Tactic For Online Marketing Success

Colin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:27:23 +0000

Create great content.

There’s just no other way around it. If you want to have success online, you have to be creating great content and you have to be doing it on a regular basis.

Look at some of the best and most highly trafficked websites online, Mashable, Chris Brogan, Search Engine Land, Copyblogger. What do they all have in common?

Great content.

I find it funny when I meet with people to discuss online marketing, and they don’t want to create content. Either they don’t have time, they don’t know what to write about, or they’re worried about what people might say.

Trying to achieve success without creating content is like trying to lose weight without going to the gym. It’s not going to happen.

What kind of content should you create?

It depends what your goals are. If it’s search engine traffic, text based content like blog posts might be the best approach. If it’s social traffic, blog posts, video, audio, and images would be good choices. If it’s for lead generation, try a white paper or ebook.

The really successful ventures will find ways to create all of the above.

But I don’t have time

Make time. Or hire someone to do it for you. This is an activity that you must work into your schedule. Start with at least one new piece of quality content each week. That will be enough to keep the content on your website fresh, keep the search engines coming back to index your site, and hopefully – build your presence online.

Note: if you work in a highly technical or tightly regulated industry, be sure the writer you hire has a solid knowledge of your industry, otherwise it can get dicey.

Pro tip: don’t wait for inspiration to come to you, instead, head down to your local bar or coffee shop and have an all night brainstorming session. Then, create an editorial calendar for yourself. Then stick to your schedule.