Sitting in the SEO & Social Media session, Barbara Boser the Social Media Director for 3 Dog Media, shared some great tips on marketing with social media:
Be prepared & Commit to Social Media
- Know that it is time consuming
- Read and learn what is popular
- Look for tools you can use on the sites and on the web
Your Profile
- Research to be sure that your profile isn’t the same as any of the other top users on the site
- Be anonymous if you’re promoting your own site
- Choose a unique name
- Choose an avatar that’s memorable
- Get a gmail account
- Get an IM that goes w/ your user name
- Use the same username on all sites, so you can build ‘profile recognition’
Adding Friends
- Identify top profiles (25,000+ digs)
- Add people to your IM
Voting
- Be one of the first to vote, people will see your icon first
- Leave comments
- Vote every chance you get
- Stumble while you vote (multi task!)
Submitting
- Leverage best practices for writing titles/intros
- Don’t submit more than 2-3 per day
- Submit from a variety of sources
- Share your stories with others who have shared with you
- Don’t get offended if in the beginning people steal your content
Networking
- Profiles should include all the sites you are a part of
WHAT NOT TO DO
- Create multiple accounts under one IP
- Ask people, who you don’t know, to submit for you
Good tips. One technical question: how do you avoid setting up multiple accounts under one IP if you are doing work for other companies? I know StumbleUpon is aware of this issue and allows you to set up multiple accounts based on their conditions.
What do you recommend?
Nate, I believe that is when using a proxy with your internet connection is appropriate.
I’m a little concerned about the need to be “Anonymous”. Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) guidelines are pretty clear that any participation in a community must be transparent and open. I think WOMMA even states the need to use one’s first and last name.
See:
We comply with FTC regulations that state: “When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product which might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (i.e., the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience) such connection must be fully disclosed.”
http://www.womma.org/ethics/code/read/