Just a few short years ago, companies who had yet to launch web site were thought of as pre-historic or dinosaurs. The same in beginning to hold true for companies who have web sites but have yet to enter the world of blogging. The excuses are many, none of which are really valid. They essentially center around budget, lack of contributors and not feeling they have anything to say.
In part four of a series on why companies are slow to embrace social media, corporate red tape and multiple layers of bureaucracy is often the culprit that literally ties the hands of marketers. I have seen this occur time and time again with regards to search marketing projects. It is no surprise then that it would occur equally as much if not more when social media marketing is brought up.
In part three of a series on why companies are slow to embrace social media, budget or lack thereof comes into play. While large companies seem to have money to burn, the same is not true with most small to medium sized business which comprise the bulk of clients we deal with. Because budgets are limited, SMBs try to squeeze all they can out of every marketing dollar.
So when you begin to mention things like “social media marketing” and social media optimization” the wall of defense immediately goes up and most often along the lines of “we have no money.”
In part two of a series on why companies are slow to embrace social media, I want to look at another common excuse I hear from existing clients. When questioned as to why they have yet to get involved in social media, they complain that there is no one within their company who can actually monitor any social media sites they get involved with.
Traditional companies have been very slow to embrace the social media/networking phenomena. As I work with companies who are running existing search marketing campaigns, I hear a broad range of excuses why they have yet to jump on the social media/networking bandwagon. The first of many excuses is that companies fear they will not be able to control the social media environments should they get involved.
Danny Sullivan has a great write-up in Search Engine Land relaying his experiences in searching for small businesses and coming up frustrated. He had assumed that every business owner, large or small, must understand by now the importance of appearing before these customers in search. However as he recently sought out local businesses to help with his needs after a recent move, Danny was reminded of just how far behind some companies remain.
I’ve never been to a PubCon or even to the city of Las Vegas. So not only am I looking forward to attending this year’s PubCon in Las Vegas, I have the added privilege of being part of the speaking team as well. I will be speaking on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 in a session entitled “Is Social Media & Search a Love Story or a War Story?” along with fellow peeps Chris Winfield, Liana Evans, Bill Hartzer.
I’m freshly back from attending the 2nd Small Business Unleashed conference, this one held in Columbus Ohio where I served as one of four live-bloggers covering the sessions and workshops presented there. Like the first conference, this one proved to be an excellent time for learning, sharing and networking with small business owners from around the globe (one guy came from Australia). Out of all the conferences I attend, I have to say that this one is my favorite not only because of the quality, but the intimacy it provides seeing it is a much smaller conference than some of its larger counterparts.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with earning a link from a blog post you decide to comment on. In fact, if you comment often on blogs, it is a good way to increase the amount of inbound links pointing to your site’s pages. However, there is a “right” way and a “wrong” way to go about accomplishing this.
If you are a local business and want to be found on Google Maps, you will want to make sure you are listed first of all. Along with that, you might also want to pay close attention to some new guidelines Google has issued regarding their goal to keep Google Maps a great source of information for users and business owners alike.
