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By on December 23, 2008

Why 2009 is THE Year for Social Media!

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istock_000006187283xsmallBy: Carrie Hill

How many of you tried to take advantage of Staples.com’s free version of Quickbooks Pro 09 yesterday? I got my copy – first thing in the morning, but my dad tried in the afternoon and they were sold out. What happened? Well, I think Social Media happened, and that’s a lesson in Why you need Social Media in 2009.

There’s a reason this post went hot at Sphinn and why I’ve seen it “ReTweeted” quite a few times in my Twitter stream. As someone who works in an agency – we’ve hit the wall a few times on getting the executive office AND clients on board with Social Media. Todd Malicoat was right – we’re pitching it wrong.

Be sure you read and share the “How to Pitch Social Media Markeitng Internally in 6 Easy Steps” to get some ideas on how to get the bean counters and personnel managers on board. Here are some highlights:

  • Demonstrate the need and importance of links to search engine rankings – don’t talk about links SHOW what happens when there are no links. I was doing this wrong – and will be fixing that shortly.
  • Explain the value and process for obtaining links – “We need to get links”  isn’t good enough – explain how complicated it is and how spending time on linkbait might be the answer.

My takeaway? Plan the approach to social media the same way you attack a client you really want to land – be thorough, thoughtful and VERY prepared – don’t just expect them to take your word for it – show them the benefits and the roadblocks.

Malicoat then goes into the real meat of his article – the actual 9 reasons. My favorites are “Your Competition is Doing it” followed closely by “You can’t buy links anymore.”

If you’re trying to get a Social Media campaign going but your boss, your agency or your clients are hesitant -this is a must read article. I’ve filed it in my “arsenal” file of things to use when I need to persuade someone to agree with me.

Carrie Hill is the SEO Team leader for Blizzard Internet Marketing where she specializes in optimizing travel, tourism and lodging websites


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24 comments on “Why 2009 is THE Year for Social Media!”

  1. Nicole Price Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 am

    This is indeed very good advise for skeptics. Thank you.

    Nicole Price’s last blog post..Tips to Save Money During the Holidays

  2. Blog Expert Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 am

    Social media is only good for links. However, we all need of links for better search engine traffic.

    Blog Expert’s last blog post..8 More Kick-Ass Blog Headlines

  3. Erno Hannink Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    Strange, you say “You can’t buy links anymore.” and right next to post I see 2 banners for link brokers….

    Erno Hannink’s last blog post..Help! WordPress 2.7 is helemaal anders

  4. Andy Beal Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm

    @Erno – nice observation, but the “You can’t buy links anymore” statement was made by Todd Malicoat, not us. Buying links should be done wearing protective gloves, but that doesn’t mean people don’t still buy them–they just now come with a “handle with care” label. ;-)

  5. Erno Hannink Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    Andy, I understand you have to be very careful when buying links. There are still too many companies that are trying these short cuts for more links. Why not do something your target groups really likes; have a perfect product or service, this will get you links any time. It just is a longer route to take, but also with longer lasting results. Right?

    Erno Hannink’s last blog post..Help! WordPress 2.7 is helemaal anders

  6. Andy Beal Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    @Erno – I totally agree. I can’t remember the last time I paid for a link–but others find them very valuable. Each to their own, I guess.

  7. Carrie Hill Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    @Erno

    I think if you read Todd’s post you’ll see the “You cant buy links anymore” was said a bit “tongue in cheek.” People buy links every day – as Andy says, very carefully – but they still do it.

    In my opinion, using creative content as a means of linkbuilding (through social sharing) is a great benefit that doesn’t involve me paying “domain.com” for a link and shouldn’t be overlooked.

    Carrie Hill’s last blog post..Blizzard Expert to Present at SES Chicago

  8. Ken Acton Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    I agree, social media is the future. Speed and ease of communication, as you indicte in your article is apparent, and is very powerful. I read recently that facebook was adding something like 7 new members every minute. That’s massive growth! The implications are equally massive.

    Ken Acton’s last blog post..Traffic Or Fish Food?

  9. SEO Training Grounds Says:

    December 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm

    I hope 2009 will be a good year for Social Media. Best wishes!

    SEO Training Grounds’s last blog post..Holyfield VS Valuev Replay Video

  10. Jesse Liebman Says:

    December 24th, 2008 at 12:35 am

    Andy,

    I think it’s safe to coin the phase that, “2009 is the Year of the Conversation”

    Jesse Liebman’s last blog post..Strategic and Steady Wins the Race

  11. Web Design Beach Says:

    December 24th, 2008 at 4:11 am

    Thanks for sharing. This is perfect article for all anti-socials :) .

  12. Jon McCulloch Says:

    December 24th, 2008 at 7:31 am

    I think like many things, social media marketing is vastly overhyped. It’s my observation that the people making the most out of social media marketing are the ones selling courses and products teaching people how to succeed with social media marketing.

    There’s no doubt it’s useful for some businesses and industries. For others, I think it’s largely a waste of time. The trick is to know the difference.

    Another downside to it is it’s labour intensive: you stop doing it and you drop off the radar entirely. Not terribly efficient, even if it’s effective.

    And last of all is the old adage… if everyone’s doing something, then do the opposite. It has a lot of merit. There is a lot more to marketing than just the Internet. I think too many people forget this, especially many marketing professionals, who really ought to know better.

    – Jon

    Jon McCulloch’s last blog post..Dec 23, Direct-response copywriting

  13. Chris Says:

    December 24th, 2008 at 11:28 am

    I think the advantage of social media is the buzz that serround it at the moment.

  14. Kenney and Kim Says:

    December 24th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    I totally agree with social marketing really taking off even more in ’09, “as if it hasn’t already”. But what I am totally stoked to see the social media advertising models, like Technorati’s Engage, Myspace and Facebook ads. I can’t wait to see how they turn out this coming year. Also ’09 will be huge for businesses who give away “valuable” stuff. They will generate more leads and more sales in the short and long run.

  15. Greg Burrus Says:

    December 25th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    “You cant buy links anymore” hmmm i see people still buying but not sure why they are buying. I like the direction your talking about because i see the social media links having much more value since someone real is actually commenting and someone else can follow. I say onward and upward with social media. The corps will come on board.

  16. Milo Says:

    December 27th, 2008 at 10:38 am

    Social Media of 2009 will be the new Social Networking of 2008….
    I think that makes sense? ;)

  17. Argentina Warez Says:

    December 27th, 2008 at 11:16 am

    I think the social media is one of the best inventions, i send everyday to Digg and Delicious and some days to Mister Wong, StumbleUpon

    Argentina Warez’s last blog post..Windows 7 Ultimate Beta 1 Lanzamiento MSDN 32 Bits Descargar Windows 7 Gratis

  18. Dave Wheelock Says:

    January 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    As I click all the links of commentors to find out what business they are in, it becomes very apparent that they are almost all other bloggers trying to get a reputation for themselves and their websites (happens on all blogs). Don’t get me wrong, I’m posting my own as well, but you’d hope that Google figures this out at some point and puts far less importance on it. While I understand that the democracy idea is a good one, it quickly turns into meritocracy and then, due to the nature of the search beast, a monarchy. Importance of relevancy has taken a back seat lately and I do hope that social media is tamed this year from an SEO perspective. I do admit though, as far as SEO goes, it’s far easier than it used to be in this ‘everyone link to everyone’ type of world…

    Dave Wheelock’s last blog post..SEO For Michigan

  19. Jacques Seoman Says:

    January 3rd, 2009 at 2:09 pm

    Social media is just getting bigger and bigger, and allied to mobile is definitely where the strongest trend is.

  20. Jason Kuiper Says:

    January 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    I am sure this is the wave of the future!

  21. Utah SEO Pro Says:

    January 4th, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    It’ll be interesting to watch corporation fully embrace social media this year.

    Utah SEO Pro’s last blog post..An Interview with Utah SEO Pro (Jordan Kasteler) by Martin Bowling

  22. thewutzupphilippines Says:

    January 5th, 2009 at 5:54 am

    I used social media every so often and i guess its about time that it will finally shine

    thewutzupphilippines’s last blog post..No marriage plans yet for Rachelle Ann Go, Gab Valenciano

  23. Goran Web Design Says:

    January 12th, 2009 at 6:49 am

    Social Media is undeniably huge… I personally find it to be a mission to navigate and perfect, but it’s power cannot be ignored and the fact pushes me everyday to perfect it

  24. DF Marketing SEO Says:

    January 16th, 2009 at 10:32 am

    Social Media isn’t my forte’ – however I have seen spikes of 500 visitors from social media – its a nice little surprise to brighten up your day