The Ocean Agency

I was on LinkedIn the other day and came across the question, “Is SEO now irrelevant?” There were about 20 responses from various internet marketers, all with differing opinions. “No! SEO is THE way to increase business!” said some gung-ho SEOs. Others were less enthusiastic, saying, “SEO isn’t what it used to be.”

One thing that I’ve noticed since working for this particular SEO company is that the reality inside the industry is very different from outside the industry. Businesses who have just heard about SEO typically hear that it’s a necessary part of the business — that’s true. Others hear that it is a gold mine and their wildest dreams will come true — that’s not true. Still, SEO should be a major part of any marketing initiative, and without it, you’re missing out on a good chunk of business.

But is SEO dying? Yes, but like spiritual teachers have said, death is just a a transformation. Here’s how SEO is changing:

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As an interactive marketing agency in Chicago, we put out quite a few press releases every month for clients.

Press releases are an integral part of any SEO, social media, and overall content strategy. Here are 3 tips to mastering the social media press release.

1) Social Network Optimization

Make sure that your brand name is consistent across all social networks. While this has little to do with actually writing a press release, it is the first step to effective social media press release syndication.  A great tool to secure your brand name across the social web is Knowem.com. Social media profile registration in this day an age is just as important as domain name registration.

2) Write content that is spreadable, interactive, and stands out in a world of streams.

Press releases are notoriously dry, stale and snooze-worthy. While there is a distinctive style for press releases that should be followed when trying to get traditional media coverage, be sure to tailor your release for different avenues of syndication. Here are some tips about syndicating for different social networks:

Twitter: The headline of the press release is just as important as the content of the press release itself. Make a headline that is eye-catching and  makes the content appear newsworthy. Make sure  your content then matches the quality of your headline, and people will be even more likely to share your press release on Twitter.

Facebook: When tailoring a press release for Facebook, ask yourself, “Why would people share this?”. Sharing anything on the web, and on Facebook in particular, is a personal statement about a person’s viewpoints, opinions, and a part of the construction of their online identity. Focus both your headline and press release on issues that emotionally resonate with your audience.

Video: Nothing is better at forming a relationship with readers or viewers than a video. Press releases with visual elements tend to stay in our memory, stand out, and rise above the pack.

3 ) Make your press release interactive.

Form a relationship with your readers by telling a story that emotionally resonates with them, ask for their feedback, or even go as far as including a live chat within the press release like Ford recently did:

While every press release isn’t worthy of a live chat, including interactive elements like polls, questions, or contests makes your press release remarkable and noteworthy.

To recap: First step, optimize your social media presence so your brand is consistent and well represented. Second, tailor your press release for different syndication channels, and focus on making  content both interactive and spreadable.

Have more questions about social media press releases? Feel free to ask in the comments, send us a tweet, or shoot us an email.

1)  The Future of Influence Panel:

Influence evolves as the social media landscape changes. How is influence changing? How do we target influencers in a world where just about everyone has the potential to have an immediate impact? This panel attempted to answer many of these questions, and was one of my favorites of the entire week. Here is the full recap.

Major takeaways: Anyone has the potential to become an influencer on the web overnight. While this is a rarity, it also creates an environment where more voices than ever matter. As a brand, how do  you move beyond responding to the loudest voice and identify the quieter voices that carry a lot of impact?

2) Will Web 2.o Kill Real Estate?

Do we even need real estate agents in this day and age? How do real estate brokerages maintain a cost effective model while incorporating new technology. This round table discussion got pretty heated with developers, agents, and technology consultants from brokerages in attendance.

Major takeaways: Theoretically, with equal access to information, home buyers, sellers, and realtors are on an equal playing field. There is also bureaucratic structure between listing services, brokerages, and realtors that creates an a-symmetry of information. While this a-symmetry of information has been slowly eroding, it still exists. As it continues to erode further, realtors need to focus on networking and relationships, over controlling information and antiquated notions of expertise.

3) Social Search Panel:

Social search has emerged as a way to capitalize on our social graph to answer subjective questions more effectively than traditional search.

Major takeaways: Social search fills a need, as we look for more reliable and trusted answers to subjective questions. Social search also aggregates real time information in a way that is valuable for news rooms and advertisers alike. These two approaches and uses of real time search are exemplified by OneRiot, and Aardvark.

4) Web Video Thunderdome!

Web Video Thunderdome, a panel led by Bud Cadell and Mike Aruz from undercurrent, took a look at “viral” video content. They compared branded and unbranded successful online video, and invited the audience to participate in choosing a winner for internet video of the year. They also made a strong case for killing the word viral once and for all, focusing instead on creating content that is “spreadable” and remarkable.

Major takeaways: Brands are competing against more than competitors, they’re competing against things like bunnies, kittens, and hilarious kids singing along to popular songs.

Brands can compete through video, but they need to focus on creativity, video brevity, and remixing pop culture phenomenons. Be remarkable, tell more complex stories, collect your fans, invite participation, and start small riots.

My favorite branded video from the panel:

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SEO companies face constant competition when vying to get a client to spot one on Google.

If you were so inclined, you could say it’s a battle of sorts. And who better to listen to during battle than the great generals of old?

No one.

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Influence is a term that is thrown around the social media world constantly these days.

Many businesses see social media value in “influencer marketing” — using influencers to spur word of mouth and buzz around a certain product or business. As the social web evolves, and as our trust in peer recommendations declines, communication professionals and business owners alike are going to have to find new ways to create influence online.

The panel included:

Tim Schigel @schigel (from share this)

Mike JB John-Baptiste @peerset (peerset)

Paul Berry @teamreboot (CTO huff post)

Dave Knox @daveknox (P and G)

David Binkowski @dbinkowski (MS and L)

The panel was structured around statements/questions, so I’ll structure this blog post the same way.

Discussion Starter 1: We know where to find influencers

The panel was split on this statement. David Binkowski made the fantastic point that new influencers are popping up online everyday. How can you predict who will influence what? He went further to argue that anyone with enough time can create influence online; he thinks that people can pop up anywhere and become influencers with ample time and effort.

JB (@peerset) pointed out that we now have experts and community. How do you rally those influencers and deliver the right message? So maybe we should think more about rallying influencers than merely identifying them?

As a publisher, Paul Berry from the Huffington post had a different take. He argued that is the job of publishers to unite influencers with an audience.

My take, simply put: Influencers are everywhere, so don’t burn bridges.

Discussion Starter 2: Brands should influence consumers?

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Today is Day 3 of SXSWi and I am exhausted, but energized with all of the knowledge that I’ve come away with and the fantastic folks that I’ve met thus far.

In the last few days, I had the pleasure of having lunch with Kelly Olexa, went to a fantastic Chicago meet up hosted by Katie Zimmer and met some fantastic folks at Len Kendall’s meet up for the 365 website,  Stuart Foster and Edward Booches were among them.

It’s been amazing to me how many new folks I’ve met from Chicago while here in Austin everyone from people who work at Tribune interactive, to consultants, to Gen Y bloggers. It was amazing  to connect (albiet briefly) with Chuck Hemman at Lauren Fernandez and David Spinks meetup, two folks who both inspire me to do more with social media everyday.

There are so many more folks I’ve met over the past few days, but the entire list probably isn’t of interest to you.

Panels:

Today I panel hopped. I attended “Blah Blah Blah: Why words won’t work” by Dan Roam. Here’s a quick video that will give you some idea about what I learned:

I jumped over to the Facebook Developer garage party, where developers from Gowalla and Seesmic talked about how they integrate Facebook into their services. Facebook also briefly touched on “multi platform gaming”– where, no matter your device or console, you can still compete with your social graph though Facebook.

I just got out of the panel “Search Patterns: Tangible Futures for Discovery” led by information architect and consultant Peter Morville. The panel covered all aspects of search — from design to utility.

There is just so much information, meeting new people, parties, and swag. It’s hard for me to breathe. But I’m also having a fantastic time. Lots on the agenda for tonight, will check in tomorrow with a full panel recap of “social search, a little help from my friends”. I will also have other updates throughout the day, and night, on our Posterous and Twitter streams.

Margot Bloomstein is a content strategist who took to the stage on the first day of SXSWi. She provided a fantastic presentation about how content strategy underscores all aspects of a digital campaign:

Her presentation illustrated how content strategy creates:

• More airtight solutions
• Save time, budget, and energy on iteration
• More cohesive user experience
• Higher conversions

An organized and effective content strategy can inform the internal execution of every project:

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Content is plebeian without research.

Mr. William Shakespeare–you may have heard of him–once wrote “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

What he meant by this was that much responsibility comes with the title of “king,” and sometimes that responsibility is too much. I mean, just look at King Hamlet: he’s a ghost now.

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As an Interactive Marketing Agency in Chicago, The Ocean Agency is extremely excited about South By Southwest Interactive. South by Southwest offers the premier opportunity to learn, network, and perfect our digital strategy.

The conference is a mecca for all things digital and I am thrilled at the opportunity to attend. I will be conducting interviews, writing about different panels, and live tweeting some events for The Ocean Agency. Here is my full schedule:

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One of the major obstacles faced when explaining search engine optimization and what SEO companies do for new clients is explaining the impact of online marketing.

While you can regale your client hopefuls with statistics of SEO’s importance (like “42% of search users click the top-ranking link. 8% click the second-ranking link, and the click-through rate (CTR) continues to drop thereof” or “organic click-through generates 25% higher conversion rates than equivalent Pay-Per-Click (PP) click-through”), statistics can seem vast and vague to some. Luckily, there are stories.

This one is about indie rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

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