It takes more than establishing a presence on Facebook or Twitter, or launching a corporate blog to make effective use of social media. As Heidi Cohen points out, it takes a lot of work to make your social media marketing plans work.
As the new shiny thing on the marketing block, social media is filled with both mystery and promise. Many businesses are just beginning to get to acquainted with it, and may be infatuated with what it seems to promise.
If you read this blog regularly, though, you know we’ve said all along that social media is not magic. It’s a tool and like any tool, it takes time and effort to wield effectively and to learn what it can and cannot.
Cohen’s post summarizes points about effective social media that you’ll find in other posts on Hammock.com. These include:
• Frequent updating
• Consistent messages
• Participation by management and employees
• Clear guidelines for contributors
• Dovetailing online and offline efforts
• Buy-in and commitment by leadership
She doesn’t bullet-point it, but running through Cohen’s post is a point we cannot stress enough: Your social media need targeted, meaningful and creative content—content that instructs, informs, motivates and, yes, entertains those who access it.
We’d also add that media such as blogs and websites should embody good, functional design that makes them easy to navigate and to find desired content.
Each of Cohen’s tips suggests metrics to measure the effectiveness—or lack of effectiveness—of your social media strategy. That’s something we do for clients—we call it a Content Marketing Intelligence Report or CMIR. Measure early, measure often, and respond to what you learn.

It’s impossible not to get hooked on Zillow.com. The site provides historical data on housing purchasing prices and allows you, with a few clicks, to discover not only what your neighbor paid for his house, but also the purchase price of every house on your block. You can further feed your curiosity with the “Zestimate” feature, which provides an estimate on the value of your house today. It’s not hard to see why its site traffic last month was more than 10 million unique monthly visitors.

I think we are all tired of talking about the economy, on some level, but one thing I attribute to our downturn has been the subsequent rise in the value placed on content.
A friend of mine called me this week to talk about some clients of theirs that have vast amounts of content they are seeking to package and monetize. Another group we are talking to has a need to create vast amounts of content to springboard a community and generate highly positive organic search results.
Every day, I am having conversations with organizations about their marketing needs. Whether the organization has content and needs to be more effective in deploying the content, or whether the organization has a deficit of content or a deficit of resources, and needs help, the priority of content has increased dramatically.
I think it’s because content is like access to credit or capital, it’s fueling growth. Particularly in an internet marketing environment.
How did we get to this place where content became so important to so many companies?

I won’t lie: When the Associated Press announced they were changing the entry in their stylebook from “Web site” to “website,” several of us here in the office danced a little happydance. Despite being users (and lovers) of AP style, that was one word we did not agree with them on.
Robert Niles of The Online Journalism Review explains the importance of the AP’s change in this recent blog post, referencing a tweet he made regarding the change: “If you’re publishing online, Google style (i.e. SEO) always trumps AP style.”
I don’t completely agree with Niles; I think it’s still important for journalism students to learn AP style. But it’s also important that they learn to write for the web.
People are using Google to look for your content, and if you’re still writing like you’re publishing a magazine or newspaper, by default you’re making it more difficult for Google to find you and, therefore, connect a potential client, customer or reader with your content.
That’s not to say that all AP style is Google offensive, because it’s not. But if you’re writing a piece for your website or blog, you can’t ignore what search engines look for. SEO (or “Internet marketing,” for those who think SEO is a negative term) isn’t just making sure you have your title and alt tags in place. It also involves using words and phrases that accurately describe what your article or blog post is about in a web-friendly way to help Google connect the right searchers to you.
Read more from OJR: The Online Journalism Review.

Twitter is a great tool to expand the reach of your message beyond your website, enewsletter or blog. But you can’t measure your reach solely by the number of followers you have—you have to look beyond and consider the user who follows your followers.

Content marketing can be a cost-effective way to get the word out about a company, putting the small guys on a more even playing field with the big boys. One reason it’s an economical strategy is because you can repurpose your content in dozens of different ways, turning a blog entry into a white paper or an article into the script of a video. The idea is to recycle content so that it “takes advantage of the different ways that your readers absorb information,” says blogger Beth Hrusch.

So it’s probably no surprise that Joe Pulizzi’s blog on Junta42 is one of my go-tos for great content marketing insight, and Joe’s latest post illustrates just why that is.
The post is a tough-love tirade about content marketing and how a company’s content marketing strategy will fail if the content is all about the company and not about the customers’ needs. He gives an example of content marketing that doesn’t work (sorry, Ford Motors) and challenges companies to take this content marketing test.

Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign gained immortality for using the simple slogan “It’s the economy, stupid” to beat incumbent President George H. W. Bush. Today’s content marketers should remind themselves that “It’s the content, stupid,” that ultimately attracts, retains and persuades readers.
We’ve always said that, and it’s nice to see another content marketing company, Pace Communications, agreeing with us in this blog post by account director Kerry Andrews – plus she quotes one of our favorite marketing bloggers, Seth Godin.
To expand on what she says about relevance, your messages have to work well with whatever formats or media you choose to convey them. Apple’s new iPad has re-agitated the debate over online vs. print design, as well as how best to craft content for a new means of delivery.
Integrating medium, message and design should be part of your overall marketing strategy, and it brings into play designers, writers and marketing specialists. Ideally, the result will be, as Alexander Pope put it, “What oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed.”

Did you know that the average visitor to your website spends less than two minutes on each page? So you better get to your point—and fast. Writing for the web is different from writing for print, and so it’s important you adapt your content for those who skim, because the reality is that most of your visitors will only scan your content, rather than read it word for word. Ginny Redish’s book “Letting Go of the Words,” focuses on how to create content that will “answer people’s questions and let them get on with their lives.”

Blogging for your business is crucial, but working the right amount of marketing into your posts is also important, according to this recent article. It’s one thing to blog, but if you want it to help boost your business, you’ve got to have a goal in mind and tailor the content of your blog to meet that goal, whether it be offering information, asking visitors to watch a video, or showcasing an example of your company’s recent work.
Blogs are a great way to discuss business in a more laid-back manner than you might in a white paper or memo to a client, and you can’t underestimate their value in connecting with customers — current and potential.
Just remember: Content is king, but only if it’s targeted, quality content.