Wall Street Journal: How to get attention in a new-media world...a summary

Don't miss today's article in the Journal. How to get attention in a new-media world by Gwendolyn Bounds talks about blogs, Google Adwords, podcasts, YouTube, and PR firms. I really liked the story of the Minneapolis taxi driver who drummed up business using Adwords to get customers searching for taxis with their cell phones.

Summing up the article:

Holly Dunlap starts the I Love Hollywould blog and dumps her PR firm five months later when her blog is pulling in most of her customers.

Localized search is on the rise. People are looking online more and in the phone book less for finding local companies. (I haven't used the phone book in over a year now.)

Companies can be blogging in "about five to 10 minutes" with Typepad, Blogger, or Wordpress.

Blog Carnival is a website that brings like-minded bloggers together for some networking and publishing. (I'm not sure I agree with this one since I know no one who uses it.)

Kenny Kormendy created ads with Google Adwords that generated enough business since 2004 that he now has about three dozen cabs in his fleet. All this on $200/month for advertising.

Mark Hughes of Buzz Marketing used keyword density techniques to get his site to the top of search engine results for "Malcolm Gladwell", a competitor.

New marketing techniques include using Technorati, Flickr, del.icio.us, YouTube, and podcasts.

PR firms are still useful for generating mentions in large magazines. (In other words, they aren't that useful, especially to smaller companies who can't afford $3,000+/month to hire them.)

Finally, Ed Keller of market-research firm Keller Faye group says word of mouth is very important and takes place offline 90% of the time. He suggests rewarding your customers that bring you the most business from word-of-mouth. (I'd like to know where this "90%" figure comes from. I'm suspicious that this has a great deal to do with the type of company. After all, there are several companies that I've reviewed that rely 100% online word-of-mouth and I think the number of these types of companies are growing.)

Technorati : Blog Carnival, Buzz Marketing, I Love Hollywould, adwords, ed keller, google adwords, gwendolyn bounds, mark hughes, wall street journal, wsj

Comments

[Shaula Evans]

Brian, Blog Carnivals can be very valuable -- if they are valuable to the community that your business is part of.

For example, the Blawg Review (a law blog carnival) is one of the most successful, high-end carnivals around -- thanks largely to the dedication of its Editors; and it provides a great tool for the law blog (aka blawg) community.

And actually, you *do* know someone who uses blog carnivals -- because Dennis Kennedy, whom you've featured here, has an article in this week's Blawg Review.

[Brian Brown]

Shaula, thanks very much for the post. I've learned something today and I will have to look into these things.

In fact, this would be a nice subject for 'Social Media Week' if that's what gets voted for in my 'Theme Poll' at the top of this blog.

Go Vote (please).

[Shaula Evans]

Just voted. :) My fingers are crossed.

[Brian Brown]

Shaula, I have to ask...
There is a remarkable resemblance between the cow
on your website, and Bertha,
the Janesville, Wisconsin cow (where I live). Is this a coincidence? It
has to be the same cow! What's the story behind it?

[Justin Evans]

Shaula asked me to answer this-- I'm the designer at stresslimit--

Actually, it IS Bertha! Nice call...

The theme for the art direction of our site in development is a playful take on the power of big crazy ideas-- my girlfriens family took a "worlds largest" monument tour of North America when she was about 8 years old... so we have this really incredible collection of the "worlds largest" cows, turkeys, balls of string, etc... that will be our future corporate identity...

I'm so impressed that we got called out!

[Brian Brown]

Heh, I KNEW it! After all, it is THE landmark in Janesville (from what I can tell), and since I live here, it's hard to miss.

So I'm guessing you added the scafolding? I think that cow has been there for years and years, way before your girlfriend was 8. Yes?

And Justin...make sure you vote in the reader poll! Top right of page.

[Justin Evans]

I think the cows been there a LONG time.

The scaffolding is from the Worlds largest buffalo (Alberta, I think) I'll ask Emily which town), they were fixing it up when she was there (and you can see the outline of the buffalo behind the cow). The Buffallo is HUGE.

I voted!

[Brian Brown]

Oh that is freakin' weird. Now I see the buffalo! That's quite a graphic. I'm guessing you had some fun layer masks to churn that one out.

[Shaula Evans]

Brian, I did't know about the cow *or* the buffalo and I *work* there.

I am forever indebted to you for revealing the secrets of my company website to me. :)