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The SEO Arena is About to Change

By Mike Blankenship, PepperDigital

Ranking high in searches and appearing on page one has always been a battle royale, but it is about to become an ultimate cage match rumble. Rumor has it that Google and Twitter are working on a deal that would allow Twitter posts to appear in Google search queries, and Microsoft is also working on similar deals with other microblogging services.

If these deals do indeed happen, it means a change in how the PR, advertising and marketing industries approach SEO. Search engines will have greater access to millions of web pages, meaning greater competition in the search market. The search competition is fueled by real-time search capabilities, and having access to microblogs allows search engines to include real-time content from microblog sources.

The benefit to the PR industry is that microblogs with high traffic and huge audiences can bolster a site's page rank simply by providing a large number of inbound links to a site. Each time a press release is issued or a blog post is added to a company blog, most companies with Twitter accounts announce the new article via a tweet. Potentially, those inbound links will be counted toward a web site's page rank. As a result, link-building programs are about to get easier, which could also be detrimental.

Link-building programs already have a black eye. Typically, a site deemed a link farm (a large group of spam sites that link to one another in an attempt to build SEO credibility) is discounted by the search engines. With the inclusion of microblogging platforms in search queries, link farms will more than likely take hold across the microblogosphere.

It will be interesting to see how search engines combat the spam sites of the world who take advantage of this opportunity. For those of us who practice ethical SEO strategies, the inclusion of microblogs in search queries not only opens the door for greater SEO opportunities. It also legitimizes the power and influence of microblogging.

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

By Rob Longert, PepperDigital

I was taking a glance at the Center for American Progress’ list of the “Top 100 Effects of Global Warming,” which is somewhat of a downer, but then I remembered why I am participating in Blog Action Day, and that is to be part of a movement that makes people aware of what is happening to our planet.

Some of the effects on the list seem ridiculous, but also make a lot of sense. I mean, can you imagine a world without guacamole? Don’t laugh… “hotter temps will cause a 40 percent drop in California’s avocado production over the next 40 years” and “researchers project that the region will lose more than half its winter chill by the year 2100.”

Others on the list make us feel a bit more sentimental… cannibalistic polar bears, gender bended lizards and death by smog, to mention a few.

But on a serious note, it is hard to picture a day when an animal that I have seen in my lifetime is extinct due to habitat loss. I read an article in USA Today a few days ago, about how polar bear tourism is on the rise due to the possibility that they will become extinct.

Preserving the beauty of the earth must be a higher priority on our lists, and it can start with little changes in our lives; social media can help us bring that to each other.

Staying aware of what is going on by following "green" influencers on Twitter, reading blog posts about energy efficiency and touching base with your local utility company are great places to start small. Some utility companies, like Puget Sound Energy, who we worked with in the past, have blogs and Twitter accounts where customers can receive energy tips and easily access people who can answer their questions.

I can’t wait to see the response of people who don’t believe in climate change. Let’s see them respond to nearly 9,000 bloggers across the planet.

Check out this slide show from the Nature Conservancy’s public Flickr page… With 15,000 plus members, it seems like a great amount of people do care about the environment. Can you imagine if generations to come were forced to only see these scenes in museums?

Did you do anything today to help them? 

FTC to Start Fining for Failure to Disclose

By Mike Blankenship, PepperDigital

Full disclosure: The FTC did not solicit nor seek my opinion for this post. 

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission unveiled new disclosure guidelines for bloggers and word-of-mouth marketers who offer product and celebrity reviews. Anyone failing to disclose that they received cash or in-kind payment in a specific post or review faces a fine of up to $11,000 per post. The changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising are the first updates since 1980 and further bolster the power of social media in PR and marketing.

Specifically from the new law:

"The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."

For the most part, blogging rules have been set by individuals who create a blog. This new oversight by the FTC offers the first set of rules to govern the blogosphere. Most respected and professional bloggers--especially those who crossed over from the newspaper business or those who blog for online news publications--already practice the art of full disclosure. The new guidelines, though, are going to have the biggest impact on groups like mommy bloggers. Casual bloggers who write posts about a product after using a coupon they received in the mail or the Sunday newspaper now, based on the new rule, must disclose they wrote their post based on the use of a coupon. Sounds far-fetched, but rules are rules.

Furthermore, how is the FTC going to enforce the new rule? Since 2000, more than 133 million blogs have been indexed by Technorati. And, although the FTC's oversight is U.S. blogs only, what about foreign blogs writing about U.S. products? Or foreign blogs hosted by servers located in the states? Oversight and enforcement is going to be a challenge.

Live Blogging Over Lifeline Reform

By Brooke Winebrenner

Throughout life I have always been told that there are two subjects that you should avoid in a public setting, and those of course are religion and politics. Well, lately it has been challenging to keep politics out of daily topic of conversation, and even more so after last night’s speech—given by President Obama, addressing the health care reform. 

For the political aficionados that like to comment and argue every point—but need an outlet other than their opposing party roommate or opinionated significant other—venting was made easy through several sources that provided live blogging during the entire speech. This gave bloggers the opportunity to comment and question Obama’s statements in real time. 

The New York Times offered various blogging perspectives with David Herszenhorn on Capitol Hill and Katherine Seelye in New York, both blogging about the speech and reactions throughout the night. According to Seelye, reactions amongst several Republican representatives were vocalized with fact-checking gestures, disruptive outbursts and cynical laughter. Seeyle also mentions that the speech may have cost Obama some liberals. 

Whatever the case, Obama’s speech was certain to make clear the unclear and reassure Americans about the “stability and security” the reform has to offer. Is this so certain? Several blog responses prove otherwise, stirring about more anger and questions. 

Some of the live blogging sources include the GOP.com website, which hosted the RNC Live Response—providing ‘real time’ fact-checking that evoked many ranting comments. The Wall Street Journal featured a live blog that resulted in several bickering statements toward Obama’s promises. And, of course, you can conduct a simple search and stumble upon a number of personal blogs that posted speech feedback up-to-the-minute with their favoring or wavering opinions as well.

I have decided that live blogging is a hit in my book. I was simply amazed at the ability to learn about everything Obama spoke about last night (as if I was in the room) from a blog, as well as having the chance to hear the next “Joe Schmoe” comments at the same time. This is a great opportunity, not only for the bloggers, but also for the White House to take advantage and monitor the blogosphere realm. I wonder if they are frantically doing blog damage control today and putting a spin on America’s comments, or if they will actually take them into consideration as they move forward? 

Say it to My Face or Don’t Say It at All

By now, you may have heard about model Liskula Cohen’s lawsuit against Google, pertaining to an anonymous blog post written about her, which refers to her as a “sexually promiscuous woman.”

According to a New York Post article from Monday, “A Manhattan judge ruled yesterday that a blogger can't hide behind a web of anonymity while flinging the ugly words "skank" and "ho" at somebody online.” 

According to David According to PC World, today on Good Morning America, Cohen said that “the culprit turned out to be a woman she vaguely knew, not someone close to her as she had feared,” and that when she contacted the woman, Cohen “apologized if she had done anything to the culprit, whom she said she has forgiven--but still plans to sue for defamation, though she hinted that an apology from the woman could change that."

 

Its great that Cohen made nice with the anonymous blogger, but there is still an anti defamation suit to come and there are even bigger questions of ethics and libel on the part of the blogger. Cohen learned the identity of the anonymous blogger, but will there be more bloggers who do the same thing as the accused in the future?

Should bloggers be forced to reveal their identities, just as a journalist would? Do the same rules apply? Are there any rules of blogging at all?

In terms of having a code of ethics, Andy Beal makes a great point in a post from 2007, in saying, “Blogs became popular because they had no rules. You could write about anything you wished, take money from advertisers if you wish, push your company’s evil agenda – anything was possible. Any attempt to coral the blogosphere will turn it into nothing more than a collection of online newspapers – and who want’s to be vanilla, when you can be Rocky Road?”

Based on that sort of thinking, where does the Liskula Cohen ruling leave us? Well actually, it doesn’t leave us in a very different place than we were before the ruling, but there may be implications down the road for the legal system. Will every person that was ever called out online anonymously now want to go to court so they can sue Google or whatever host was used for posting that blog?

Bloggers can write whatever they want as long as they are transparent. If you are going to write it, put your name on it and fess up. We write what we write for a reason. Maybe it is for networking and to push out a personal brand, maybe it is to criticize a brand that left us in the dust in terms of customer service or just maybe it is to speak our mind, but as along bloggers are transparent and truthful, we should be fine.

So, do you have something to say about me or anyone for that matter? If you are going to use a blog to say it, and not say it to my face, at least let me know who you are, so I can offer a rebuttal and or hunt you down.

Just kidding… about the hunt you down part… Then again, you don’t want to mess with this do you?

Find Your Niche

by Jessica Slevin

This afternoon I had the opportunity to attend Internfest, an event put on by the Council of Public Relations Firms for PR interns in New York City. The panelists spoke on a variety of topics but soon enough the discussion inevitably turned to social media.

Let’s face it – social media is becoming increasingly relevant for this industry every day. There is no way to ignore it, and as one speaker pointed out, if you try to ignore it you are only doing your clients a disservice. However, just because social media is the hottest thing in PR right now and “everyone is doing it” does not mean that you should dive right in and try to be involved in every single social media outlet that exists.

When using social media for public relations, it is important to always keep in mind your strategy for each individual client. Maybe some brands would do great with a blog or a Twitter account, but it’s something that deserves some careful consideration. Is this client’s audience active on Twitter, do they read blogs? A strategy that is perfect for one client may be a waste of another client’s time. Which brings me to the next point from this discussion. Is the client capable of maintaining all of these various social media sites? Some clients have more time and budget to devote to these activities, while others just may not be able to afford it right now. This line of thinking is important for personal social media use as well. While it’s great to establish your personal brand through various social media sites, there is no point to setting up all of these different profiles if you don’t take the time to update them frequently.

There will always be new social media tools coming out, but it is important not to get distracted by the “next big thing” just because it’s new. As public relations professionals, we have to keep in mind the fundamentals of our industry and remember our original strategy before we can implement these tools effectively.

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Blogger Scorned

by Jacqueline Kolek

Any PR professional worth their salt knows the opportunity and risk associated with product reviews.  Getting Walt Mossberg to review your client’s product can be a blessing or a curse.  A journalist’s love or hate of a product can send sales sinking or soaring.  Yet today’s New York Times seems to report that there is significantly less risk associated with reviews by bloggers and many are profiting from it.

"Approval by a Blogger May Please a Sponsor" starts with the position that bloggers who don’t like products simply just don’t write about them.  Now, while my mom always told me “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all,” I don’t think this applies to media – traditional or digital.  Many a company, product and person has been filleted by online journalists.  In fact, many bloggers can be more vicious, direct and personal than traditional print reporters.  To assume that they simply don’t write about things they don’t like is misguided and extremely dangerous.  Social media has opened up an entire universe of opportunities to get honest, open and direct feedback on everything from cars to books to travel destinations.  Amazon and Yelp, for instance, are built around negative audience reviews.  I was recently looking to book a trip to Block Island and having never been there, turned to tripadvisor.com to get some input.  One review of a hotel I was looking at said “if you have a choice between staying in this hotel and sleeping in your car, choose the car.”   That was all I needed to know!

The article goes on to say that companies are taking advantage of the world of blog reviewers by giving away free products to try, funding trips and sponsoring Twitter programs.  Many of the bloggers quoted in the piece mention various states of transparency, from disclosing when products are giving to labeling tweets as {SP}, meaning sponsored post.  This is a very slippery slope for both the company and the blogger.  Social media is built on foundation of authenticity and transparency.  Any violation of that trust is likely to permanently tarnish the reputation of a company employing a “pay of play” model with bloggers and the bloggers themselves will lose significant credibility with readers. 

The FTC is looking into the matter of sponsored product reviews and considering disclosure guidelines.  Of course, WOMMA has been promoting transparency since its inception.  At PepperDigital we often tell clients that in the world of social media, you need to take the good with the bad.  Yes, leveraging social media enables you to create creative and targeted programs, build a dialogue with key audiences, reach niche markets and get real-time feedback.  But along with that comes risk, such as having your own Wikipedia page.  Many clients want one, but they have to ready to live with the true, but sometimes ugly information that people have the ability to post.  

Social media brings with it great risk, but even greater reward.  In fact, negative reviews can serve as a great tool for companies to essentially conduct free focus groups, generate honest and insightful feedback and improve their products or services. But in the end, the greatest way to mitigate that risk is to be as authentic and transparent as possible.

PR: Public Relations, Not Just Press Relations

by Carl Foster

You can always rely on the prolific Bob Lefsetz to bring you the news you need to know. For the unaware, Lefsetz is the author of the The Lefsetz Letter, a daily (sometimes thrice daily) newsletter on the state of the music industry. But music is just the hub for many other topics that Lefsetz touches on, and today it was PR. Specifically how social media is turning PR on its head.

Lefsetz draws on a must-read article for any PR person from Sunday’s New York Times. Entitled "Spinning the Web: P.R. in Silicon Valley", the article tracks how the days of press releases, pitches, embargoes and parties have long gone and how blogs, wikis and Twitter have changed our industry. The focus of the article is on Brooke Hammerling, who is what Malcolm Gladwell would label a connector. Hammerling is not just a flack but a go-to person for businesses looking for strategic growth. Name-dropping seems to be the name of the game with Arianna (Huffington) and the Twitter boys (Biz Stone and Evan Williams) all casually dropped into conversation.

One of the best illustrations of how the PR world has changed comes towards the end of the article when Hammerling suggests that she approach Quentin Hardy at Forbes about her latest venture, not so he’ll write about it in the magazine but so he’ll tweet about it to his followers.

They very end of the article sums up why PR should own the digital space. As Hammerling says “it’s still about relationships.”

Technorati Takes a Step Toward Relevancy—Again

There was a time—just a few months ago—when Technorati seemed to be the end all, be all authority of discussions and content appearing on blog sites.  With the explosion in popularity of Twitter during the first half of this year, scouring the front page of Technorati for news percolating on blogs seems laborious.  Why go to Technorati when I can follow people who share my interests on Twitter and read what they are reading?

Technorati realized how stagnant and almost irrelevant they had become.  Their answer is a new feature on the site called Twittorati.  According to the site, “Twittorati tracks the tweets from the highest authority bloggers, starting with the entire Technorati Top 100 and soon including many more of the web's most influential voices.”  Technorati has basically created an aggregate Twitter feed of its Top 100 bloggers allowing followers to track the Top 100 in one feed. The site itself is more or less Twitter in a different skin.  It even goes as far to claim that it is “powered by Twitter.”  The site may prove to be a useful resource as more functionality is built into it, but as of now, it doesn’t seem much to improve Technorati’s relevance.

Since it just launched today, the jury is still out on how useful Twittorati will be as a tool.  Judging by the little fanfare and the not-so-overwhelming reviews on Twitter and in blogs, Technorati might help themselves rolling out the additional functionality sooner rather than later.  Or perhaps they should have waited to launch until everything was ready.

To Blog is Human... To Successfully Pitch a Blogger is Divine

By Rob Longert, PepperDigital

A few weeks ago, I penned a post about how we can take the ideas of a “successful PR campaign and apply the things that made it great to the digital world.”

In the post, I mentioned six points that can be applied to traditional and digital PR and marketing, one of which focused on building solid media relationships online and off.

For now though, let’s keep things focused in terms of online channels.

Last week, Text 100, a “global boutique PR consultancy,” released survey results based on the responses of 449 bloggers from 21 countries based on “preferences of chiefly technology, business and lifestyle bloggers across the globe.”

Check out some of the takeaways mentioned in the press release, below.

1. Corporations are increasingly recognizing the influence of bloggers – The increased contact points to the “mainstreaming” of blogging as a communications channel, and the recognition by corporations that bloggers have increasing influence over their desired audiences.

2. Corporate News Releases are out - Bloggers say Social Media Releases will experience far greater usage in the coming months.

3. RSS feeds are a key source of information for bloggers, second only to other bloggers – If companies aren’t making their information available via RSS feeds, then they’re failing to use one of the bloggers’ most-trusted channels. Corporate bloggers and Web sites are also consistently deemed more credible sources than microblogging, newspapers, social bookmarking sites and television (and magazines in Europe and Asia Pacific).

4. The majority of bloggers are still part-timers – adjust your strategies accordingly - Outside of the United States, the majority of bloggers surveyed blog for less than nine hours per week.

5. Most bloggers will acknowledge when a post is supported by a corporation - While more than 80 percent of bloggers, no matter their region, say they would acknowledge sponsorship of blog posts, North Asian bloggers in particular tend to be less likely or willing to acknowledge sponsorship.

If you are in the social media space, some of these takeaways are no brainers, but as PR people, we know how important it is to put numbers behind our thoughts.

There is no question that Twitter is all the rage right now, but when we know that “microblogging is used by more than 75% of all bloggers, and those in APAC and Europe believe they are blogging more often because of microblogging,” it tells us something about how bloggers worldwide like to communicate, and that is what we can take away from this survey.

It is not necessarily eye opening to find out that “PR professionals are failing to read the blogs and truly understand their target bloggers’ communities,” as many of us know from reading the Bad Pitch Blog, but what is eye opening is that bloggers realize that some PR people are trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

Take a look at the findings when you have a chance, but if you don’t, just remember that your client may have the best product, service, idea or spokesperson in the world, but if you do not know how to communicate with the media you are pitching, whether it is print, online, radio or broadcast, you won’t get too far, and you will wind up with some frowning clients.

Thanks to Jessie Dienst for passing along this Text 100 survey.