Social Marketing Revolution

*Cool We're On +feedly"
Feedly is rapidly becoming a favorite indispensable #cooltools . If you don't know Feedly you are about too. Read why on our G+ page and thanks to menshy team at Feedly for sharing our post. 

I think we can all agree that the world is a pretty complex place. It would be easier for most of us if it was simply cleary black and white, right and wrong, for and against, like a LOTR movie with all nuances wiped away. That is, however, never the case. Whatever stories we want…

Blogging and Social Media
Asking if blogging matters to social media is to ask the wrong question in the wrong way. Social media, like blogging, is a marketing tactic. Like all marketing tactics blogging and social media should come wrapped in a blanket of strategy.

Like all marketing strategy the tactical and strategic blanket that wraps blogging and social media should start with a brand's why - the raison d'être for a product, company, brand or service to exist. 

Every communication should flow from the spring of what Simon Sinek so well defined in his must read book Start With Why (use that link to buy the book on Amazon to make a small donation to cure cancer).  Sharing is what is happening. 
 
The "sharing economy" may be part hyperbole, but sharing is a form of communication and a tactic and a strategy few can afford to not embrace. Our Curagami post notes the importance of content curation in support of blogging.

We mention @Scoop.it as the best content curation tool we know and use. Curation is important to form community and so your voice doesn't begin to sound shrill and demanding. Better to curate the relevant (to your branding) communication of others than attempting to create (write or blog) you way to submission these days. 

Blogging, done right, is a conversation between a company, brand or product's WHY and customer reactions, ideas and desire to join the movement. Movements are bigger ideas than brands, but smart brands have harnessed the power of bigger ideas.

Nike's Just Do It, North Face's "Never Stop Exploring" and Apple's Think Different are all brilliant examples of connecting brands to bigger ideas (read Jim Stengel's excellent Grow for more on Brand Ideals). Blogging is a share and so a natural extension of harnessing brands to movements and bigger ideas.

Goes blogging matter? Yes and in more ways than we know or fully appreciate. Is blogging critical to social media? Yes since blogging confirms a company, brand or products digital listening skills while reaffirming the brand, company or website's presence in the game / conversation.  

Adding Feeds To your Blog / Site
I wrote a Curagami post recently about how the future of ecommerce is a symphony of feeds. (http://www.curagami.com/ecommerce-future-a-symphony-of-feeds/?v=7516fd43adaa ). One tool, our beloved @Scoop.it, is leading the way in making it easy to curate with your left hand and add valuable content with your right. 

This post shares the 5 easy steps to add Scoop.it feeds to your blog or website.  

Ello No Worries
Here is what I just posted on GPlus about Ello worrying about becoming the Walmart of social if they allow selling:

1. Setting up authorize.net gateways isn't easy.
2. Getting PCI compliance from banks and credit cards isn't easy.
3. NO ONE has shown how a social feed can be successfully monetized.

So to the team at Ello I would say imagine you are about to take a trip around the world. You are at the foot of your driveway and "becoming the Walmart of social" is a world away :). M

PS. If Ello allows selling what does that do to their "no ads" positioning?  

Maybe the first thing to worry about is scaling their social network to a point where it is beloved and used by us INSTEAD of Facebook or Twitter then worrying about becoming the Walmart of social may make some sense. 

In my mind this is another social net whose invitation only beta has all but killed it.  So worry less, do more is my advice. 

Social Media Darwinism
The world is irretrievably social. If you combine the Eli Pariser’s “Filter Bubbles” with how social media is becoming a search engine you will understand how your online branding and marketing can win and win big. 

Why LinkedIn Doesn't Work for Content Marketing
Having a fascinating conversation with +Cendrine Marrouat about LinkedIn. Linkedin's "edgerank" or whatever they are using to depress how many of my connections see content I post IN LinkedIn is working. 

I created a test between Linkedin and my blog recently posting half on Scenttrail marketing (http://www.scenttrail.com/why-im-not-an-seo/ ) and the other half on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-im-seo-martin-marty-smith ) Scenttrail Marketing, my personal blog I just dusted off, crushed Linkedin confirming what we've been feeling - there is no "there" there for LI and content markeitng. 

Post continues on G+ where there is a there there despite naysayers.l  

Weekly Cool Tools from The Tool Guy
If you've never followed or read Robin Good's tool reviews they are works of art. Robin is the best "tool guy" on the planet. Robin has started sending out a weekly Tools of the Week email. Here are his selections for this week:

5) Cloud Storage Cost Comparisons
https://cloudvertical.com/

Foll @Robin Goodand subscribe to his Tech Tool Roundup (couldn't find the link to encourage subscription, so Robin if you read this ping the link to subscribe and will include).

Sign up for Robin's Newsletter Here:
http://forms.aweber.com/form/61/518534561.htm

.Horowitz confirmed that Google plans to split off Hangouts and Photos as their own products separate from Google+. Horowitz will be in charge of Photos and "The Stream," which is what he called the social network part of G+ in his announcement.While Google Product

Marty Note
Excellent post by Mark that confirms G+ is changing but unlikely to be junked. As I heard Mark propose in a speaking engagement - use G+ as a powerful engine and you get views, conversations and a great free tool that works FOR your content not against it.

Social Impact Counter
Frustrated with not being able to see social following, impact or value over time or across networks we are creating a cool new tool - the Curagmai Social Impact Couinter.

http://www.curagami.com/wonderful-life-social-counter/  

That link will explain why we created what may be the first such counter. Soon we will have a quant help us create better math and hope to widgetize  the counter to auto-scrape the only universal social network number - Following.

We think knowing your "impact" scores will add new dimensions to personal branding. Hey you work your butt off developing your personal brand wouldn't be cool, helpful and profitable to have a summary of your impact? All things being equal bet hiring managers start looking at social impact HARD before hiring anyone. 

If you would like a Social Impact Counter, bet willing to give feeedback and share how you use your counter we want you (lol). We may never charge for the Curagami Social Impact Counter, but the first 100 "testers" will get theirs for free for sure.

 email martin(at)Curagami.com or use the form on the post and we will send you a free Social Impact Counter once pepople smarter than us get done with it. Thanks, Marty 

http://www.curagami.com/wonderful-life-social-counter/

Lessons From Links
We learned 3 big things from doing some spreadsheet work and producing this REPORT about Curagami's Top 10 Posts by Links In:

* Know Your 80-20 Rule
* Surf Waves Don't Create Them

* Write What You Know & Tell Stories

Learn more about what we learned from Curagami's links: 

http://www.curagami.com/top-curagami-posts-by-links/?v=7516fd43adaa