Are you running email campaigns? What about sending out newsletters, blogging, and managing PPC campaigns? If you are doing all these things, that is most excellent! If you have synched up all of these opportunities and are utilizing them to cross promote each other, that is even more most excellent!

It is very important to synch up these campaigns because it will make your activities more effective and simple to manage. It is not difficult to set up cross promotion activities. Here are a few simple tips to get you started.

• Add a new PPC campaign that directs people to your blog.
  PPC campaigns are a great way to generate traffic to your website. It is not surprising, then, that PPC campaigns can also send traffic in droves to your blog for free ideas and information.
• Use your blog as a teaser for your newsletter once a month.
  Write a short blog entry about a pertinent subject and then mention that newsletter recipients will receive a more detailed article in your upcoming newsletter.
• Add a newsletter sign up button to your blog.
  If people are actively and consistently reading your blog posts, chances are they will want to sign up for your newsletter as well.
• Always mention your blog in your newsletter.
  Tell your customers that they do not have to wait a full month to read more great stuff, written by theirs truly and direct them to your blog.
• Link to your blog within newsletter articles.
  Try to refer back to your blog as well as your website within your articles. Soon your newsletter recipients will realise that your blog is a valuable source of information.

Properly synching up and utilising your email, newsletter, PPC management and other online campaigns as cross promotion tools will help generate interest and drive traffic to your website. It will also simplify your efforts. Of course, this will only work if you actually taking part in all of these marketing efforts, so if you have yet to set up that blog, newsletter, or email campaign, get going already!

If you have followed me in the past month, seen my video(s), you will know that I have gone Twitter crazy. I’m not sure if it’s an obsession yet, maybe I am still in the denial process, but Twitter is a very interesting social media channel that is full of surprises. What I find most interesting about Twitter is the following: it constantly changes. I realize all the other social media sites change and grow to better suite their customers, however, Twitter just never stops surprising me. Ok, so maybe I will admit it now, sounds like I’m hooked!!

I remember a past blog post I had written on Twitter only having used it for a short period of time. I didn’t really understand it completely and I read tons of articles about it, most of them saying the exact same thing. Create an account, follow people, post interesting information that will keep people following you etc. So, taking the advice from the experts, I did exactly that. However, no one really told me to be patient that it will take a long time. When everyone spoke, it was as if this stuff occurred over night, and that it was a no-brainer. Well, it definitely didn’t occur over night, and it definitely wasn’t an easy task. At least not for me.

I remember thinking what on Earth I was doing on Twitter and how would I ever make this work. It was a slow painful process that involved me following people who weren’t as kind to follow me back. My posts felt like they were reaching no one, and that it was all a waste of time. I was about to give up on Twitter, when I wrote a post on Linkedin. I asked professionals there if they thought Twitter was a waste of time or not. The majority said that it wasn’t, and that I should pursue. So, with a little bit of steam left I stuck with it. What changed my views on Twitter were the following occurrences. An elderly lady on Linkedin had told me Twitter was a waste of time. So I asked her why and she pretty much said the same thing that I was thinking although she sounded like she hadn’t really even done the right things, like follow people. So I told her what everyone else had been telling me and I added in my thoughts and that she should be patient. I told her that we should keep each other updated on our progress. She worked with a women’s group, and it wasn’t even a month later she emailed me excitedly telling me that she had more than 200 followers and that she was thrilled with how Twitter was another means for keeping her women’s group connected outside of their usual meetings. I couldn’t believe that an elderly lady had 1. Surpassed me with followers! 2. Made it her own. She inspired me to soldier forth and I must admit I am rather pleased with my results.

For some unknown reason to me, TV shows have their characters on Twitter, posting about either their show or who knows what. The news keeps people updated on the latest news with tweets. Article sites such as Digg have created various accounts for different categories that you would specifically like to keep updated on, for example if you would just like the science section or articles that have been dug 2,000+ times. Companies are using Twitter to promote sales and events. Inspirational quotes are sent out everyday to keep you up-lifted. Politicians are using Twitter to post their speeches and political views. Celebrities are posting their latest events aswell. I am sure there are more amazing accounts out there that I have yet to find, but Twitter definitely does allow ANY business to express themselves in which ever way they please. Twitter even has an array of tools that you can use to enhance your experience such as Twhirl, Tweetdeck, Twellow, Mr. Tweet, Tweetbeep, Tweetminster, Twithority , Twitterfeed etc

So if you take anything from this post, it is that I truly believe any business or person can use Twitter however they wish. You can use it to chat with your customers, post news or events, post pictures, links to your blog, links to any sort of promotion. Twitter does take time and patience, but once the balls starts rolling you won’t regret having spent the time or money on it.

To continue on the topic of my last post, the com.motion social media poll” clearly indicates that social media spend is on the rise. Along with social media marketing, there is one other area that is becoming the focus of 2009 marketing campaigns. Public Relations (PR) spend is rising along with social media marketing.

Please take a look at this very short video with Keith McArthur from com.motion discussing these findings.

com.motion poll

While other areas of marketing and advertising are taking a bit of a nose dive right now, it is logical that some of the dollars that are being trimmed from other areas are being funnelled into both social media and PR.

These two areas are distinct yet fused. Both are about reputation management and promotion. Both have a superior ability to respond, adapt, and amalgamate with changing consumer behaviour, and finally, both have the power to create a strong foundation for relationship based marketing.

It is important to incorporate on an offline marketing campaigns, and it is such a smart move to put social media marketing and public relations campaigns together. On their own they are powerful tools but when integrated they can accomplish so much more.

I anticipate that, as the economy worsens and belts tighten, smart companies we will see more companies turn towards permission and relationship based marketing campaigns and practices.

Being an active part of social media has its moments where you sit back and say “Wow”. I recently had a similar experience last week. Browsing through FriendFeed, and follow Chris Brogan of course, I found an interesting comment of his. Posted on FriendFeed, written loud and clear “For F’s sake do people actually READ any more? Before getting slammed maybe read my goddamned post you moron (Towards about 20 people so far today and counting”. It is an old post from Chris but because I have been writing about psychology in cyberspace, I thought it was a great opportunity to write about Conflict Resolution Online.

I have had a few discussions with people about the following. Some think that communicating online is pretty much the same as communicating in person, however, they aren’t entirely correct. In my past post, I commented about the online disinhibition effect and how it can really change how we communicate online but in this post I will mainly stick with how online conflict resolution can be a handy ‘tool’ to have when things get a bit heated online.

Only one thing is for certain. When you think you are in a fight online, chances are you probably are. And even then, you yourself might be misinterpreting the conversation. Here are 14 Tips to online conflict resolution.

We all know how online conversations can turn ugly and heated. It’s not uncommon to be chatting with people through any social channel (friends or not friends) and get caught in a heated debate, argument, or fight. With no visual or auditory cues, such as body language, tone of voice and facial expressions, communication online can be difficult.

A person can say one sentence 10 different ways in person, yet it is only 1 sentence in written text. So basically, anything in written form can be interpreted in a billion different ways because it all depends on how the reader interprets it. Their personality, how they grew up, and the mood they are in etc are all factors that can hinder a written message. I think having this knowledge can help everyone, business related or not!

On Monday of every week, I will be posting videos discussing the ‘buzz’ in the world of social media and offering my personal opinion on these matters. I came from a background of psychology with no previous knowledge of social media marketing. I started from scratch and learnt the dos and don’ts of social media. I have read for endless hours, followed ‘gurus’ of this field, attended conferences and taken courses. I have made mistakes along the way, as well as discovered incredible paths of endless knowledge and wisdom. With the great support of my team at Wolf21, I have been able to grow and learn from the best.

I hope these videos can add value to your social media experience. If you need any assistance be sure to send me an email at kim@wolf21.com or follow us on SMM.

I have attended a few conferences of late and I have noticed an underlying theme among presentations, lunchtime discussions, and even water cooler talk. ROI, and how online marketing companies are forced to utilize a strategic combination of tracking programs to give clients a good indication of how campaigns are working. Even these combinations of programs, however, don’t give enough detail and really pinpoint what are the best places to spend their money. They want more detail, more follow through, more integration with online and offline campaigns.

At Wolf we are always testing, improving and trying to deliver what the market wants. In this case specifically, that would be better marketing ROI.

Save money and cancel the pay per click keywords that you had previously raised the budget on because they had good click through rates, but now you know just tire kickers coming to your website. Stop the monthly magazine ad that isn’t even paying for its placement costs.

We have new technology that will enable our clients to track what print, radio, TV advertising campaigns are bringing new customers to their company and what keywords in natural search or pay per click are making the phone ring! This is huge, now you can spend your marketing/advertising dollars only on what’s bring you new customers and cancel what is eating your budget with no return.

Com.motion just published some very telling statistics about the social media landscape in ‘08 and where it is heading in ’09. This second annual com.motion – Pollara poll reveals that, even as the economy dives, social media spend is rising. I am pretty sure that most Internet marketers and SEM companies around the globe already knew and felt this but it is great to have the stats that back us up in client meetings.

Here is just one of the key stats published on the com.motion site:

“Despite the economic slowdown forcing marketers to modify their spending, 82 per cent of Canadian business leaders and senior marketers say they will spend as much or more on social media in 2009 than they did this year.”

Of course, there some other stats, followed by a table that breaks down social media spend as compared to other marketing mediums. Just as important as social media spend, though, is the dramatic rise in social media awareness:

“The number of business leaders who say they are less familiar about social media than their customers has fallen to 17 per cent, down from 26 per cent a year ago.”

I am interpreting this poll to mean that it is not just the guys who are already doing it that have seen the value of social media and, as a result, are raising their social media budgets. Instead I see more Canadian companies and corporations stepping out onto the social media marketing landscape. Whether they are doing so simply because they are desperate to try any alternative to traditional advertising methods, or because they really are true believers, still remains in question for me, but, regardless of whether they are “jumpers” or “feet draggers”, these stats show that they are all starting to end up in the same place!

The holiday season is upon definitely upon us! Shoppers are just starting their shopping scramble. With maybe a little more emphasis on budget than in previous years, holiday consumers are frantically trying to make up their minds about what to buy for whom. So have you adjusted your Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns yet?

ABT (Always Be Testing) is an important rule to follow when it comes to PPC campaigns, and that is never more true than during the holiday season. PPC ad messages need to keep up with and cater to shoppers’ moods and needs. As the countdown to Xmas begins, PPC ads should be evolving daily. And that is pretty much the brilliance of PPC ads, isn’t it? That we really can change our messaging instantly? So, if you haven’t yet, dust off your old PPC campaigns, dive in and start testing. Research shows that Canadians are spending more time shopping online (that includes research and price comparisons) than ever before.

Tired and generic Adwords are not going to cut it. Capture attention online with sale announcements, countdowns, and seasonal merchandise or offerings. Or, you know, let other competitors do it and see how it works for them…

On Thursday, Google announced their  Google Analytics Channel on YouTube. From basic to advanced analytics, you can now learn it all on YouTube. I watched a few of their videos over the weekend and they are very informative and very easy to follow. As we look ahead into 2009, staying ahead of your competitors by improving your return on investment (ROI) numbers will be mandatory. Google analytics is a great tool to start you in the right direction.

I was reading a blog post written by ‘smoothspan’ called Social Media: The New is the Old, People are People. This post talks about if you have a new piece of social media technology that you find might appear alien, he says compare how it would work in the real world. He says that “There is a real world analog for most any Social Media”. ‘Smoothspan’ backs up his arguments with blog post, Twitter accounts, forums, and groups. He says that although twitters 140 characters might seem weird, if we were to have a real conversation in real-life, then we would probably not go over 140 characters because other people would be talking back and forth. Blogs allow for comments at the bottom, and forums and groups allows for similar discussions. He likens them to group talks where you can comment after the person has spoken. He says that although social media changes things a little, people are still people and they interact in much the same way. However, although he brings up good points, I have to admit that I rather disagree with ‘smoothspan’ on his argument.

For a while now I have been reading up on the psychology of cyberspace. Conversations that occur through social media, however similar they appear to real life conversations, are not. The online disinhibition effect plays a major role in how humans interact with the Internet. There are several points to the disinhibition effect, such as dissociative anonymity (you don’t know me) and invisibility (you can’t see me) that affect how we interact with each other on the Internet. It is well known that people say and do things online that they would normally not face-to-face. Time is a huge factor that needs to be taken into consideration. Face-to-face, people have to react and act on the spot whereas online, responding to a person can be delayed and thought out well before a response is actually sent. A person’s personality and the mood that they are in at a particular moment will also hinder how the person behaves and reacts online. Shy people, tend to feel safe and secure behind a computer and thus interact differently with people online as opposed to people offline. The Internet is not actually a space at all, but a made-up world we created.

Interacting with the Internet does mimic to a certain degree how we interact in real-life, only because as humans we know no other way. However, disinhibition factors play a huge role in the way in which we communicate online. So to say people are people and interact in the same way is a bit of an over statement. I asked my Twitter followers what they thought and here are the responses I got.

@Xgalien: on the internet people are more spontaneous, less inhibited, you see more of the inside of them…

@anthonyidem: Geez, I hope not..

@chapin55 My interest is personality. Schizoids and introverts are much more outgoing online. I’ve heard some freaky things regarding online experiences.

I will be discussing more on this later next week.