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:

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:

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.

Much of the promise of social media marketing lies in the ability for your business to go “viral”. However, unlike an actual virus, which spreads no matter what, people actually have to choose to share content to make it spread.

Before you make you business promotion, advertising, or messaging go “viral” you first need to understand why people share online content.

To elaborate on this chart, let’s work with an example:

Let’s say that you own a dive bar and have created a humorous 15 second video that promotes your bar. At the end of the video there is a coupon “password” that will get people a free pitcher of beer on a Monday night. Beyond questions like “is the video entertaining” or ” is the coupon effective” you need dig a little deeper and get at the motivations for online sharing.

Where are people going to share this information?  How will sharing impact their percieved value among their digital networks? To make matters more complicated, everyone utilizes their online networks differently, and shares accordingly.

When you share a piece of content it means something. We all know that “sharing is caring”, but with online content sharing is usually more about caring about yourself and your image than anything else.

So next time you’re looking to make a branded piece of media and you want people to share it, make something that will make the sharers look and feel cool, intelligent, and in the know. Don’t worry, you don’t have to come up with it all on your own, The Ocean Agency can help you out.

For more great discussions of “viral” campaigns check out these other posts from The Lost Jacket, and  Big Spaceship.

This post is part of the Guest Blog Grand Tour over at Life Without Pants – an epic journey of over 75 guest posts. Want to learn more about Matt Cheuvront & see how far the rabbit hole goes? Subscribe to the Life Without Pants RSS feed & follow him on Twitter to keep in touch!

Remember a couple years ago when the term “Social Media” was foreign to all of us. Now, everyone and their mother (literally – my mom friended me on Facebook last week) is on the bandwagon trying to get the hang of this Social Media thing.

It’s become much more than a tool to stay connected with your old high school buddies, or to update your friends on what you ate for dinner last night. Social Media has become a regular part of our daily lives, and for businesses, an integral part of their marketing and PR strategies.

So with everyone on board – how does a business stand out from the rest? At the end of the day – Social Media is about forging, nurturing, and promoting relationships. The one on one connection Social Media allows between businesses and their consumers are allowing small businesses to not only compete with larger corporations, but thrive and succeed where the competition falls short.

Here in Chicago – there are a lot of businesses who “get” Social Media –
Threadless
Foiled Cupcakes,
GroupOn and
Grubhub to name a few.

Our generation is wise to the corporate act – and very rarely do we buy into a straight up sales pitch. This is why, when it comes to online advertising, we’re seeing more affiliate geo-targeted campaigns rather than pure Google ads. Businesses that get it focus on building a relationship first, helping us realize that there is a need or want there, and then acting on it.

Mari Luangrath, founder of Chicago-based Foiled Cupcakes, connected with me as a friend. She followed me several months ago and since then, we’ve become good friends both on and offline. Not once did she sell me on her product – not once did she throw a sales pitch my way. She focused solely on building a genuine relationship and friendship with me. Now I’m days away from signing a contract to have Foiled Cupcakes cater my wedding.

So what can business learn from this? What’s the take away? Here are some basic takeaways to implement into your Social Media marketing strategy:

Social Media is a fascinating thing. With a computer at your fingertips, you have the opportunity to be a praised poet, filmmaker, journalist, musician, designer, lobbyist, thinker; a creator of any kind. Essentially, technology offers us the chance to try on any identity. Your creative monster gets the go ahead to rise from within and speak out to an endless anonymous audience. It can call out in any voice, at any time, in any medium. Your thoughts are heard, processed, communicated, and practiced by fellow creators and media magicians, and a new understanding of community is formed. The world is simultaneously a bigger and smaller place.

And so, in honor of being whatever you want to be, let us celebrate the holiday of disguise with some festive videos. Be warned though, some creative monsters are scarier than others.

Happy Halloween!