Montauk.

An actual monster, some sort of rodent-like creature with a dinosaur beak, a government animal testing facility very close by in Long Island or it’s viral marketing for something?

Heather Dougherty:

For the week ending August 2, 2008, Fox News received the most traffic as a result of searches for ‘montauk monster’ followed by Gawker. Among the top 10 to receive traffic from the searches was one Long Island publication, the East Hampton Star as well as New York magazine who also posted continuing coverage along with Gawker. The story even reached British shores with coverage from the Telegraph.

Search queries for the Montauk Monster are a mixture of discussion topics around the mystery animal ranging from its authenticity, theories around what type of animal it could be, and of course, photos to see what it looks like. So far, raccoon and turtle are the top animals being named but recent stories are also bringing the pig into the mix.

Montauk Monster theories were all the rage this weekend on the beach and Twitter this weekend – what do you think is? I am still kicking around an X-Files viral marketing stunt theory while others point to Cloverfield 2. What I am really hoping is to never swim next to it!

One way link building is the most difficult type of link to achieve. There are several ways to develop a one way link building program that can work for you. A combination of several is your best bet.

Getting marketers and C-level executives to put corporate blogging on the front burner is so darn difficult.

Frankly, I dont have that problem whit my boss

Here are 10 of 27: case studies, success stories, and data regarding blogging ROI suggestied posts by Andy Komack:

1) Charlene Li - The ROI Of Blogging (Forrester), January 24, 2007 This is THE report that everyone references.

2) Debbie Weil - author of book titled ROI of Business Blogging (Debbie has published other blogging books as well); Debbie’s blog

3) Damian Peterson - Calculate Your Blogging ROI, May 9, 2008

Selected Quote: Ever wanted to know what blog posts you write require the least effort and get the most comments? No? Well I did and I threw together a bit of SQL to help me identify the areas I can improve upon if I’m to become a serious challenger for the title of the Laziest Blogger Ever™ …

4) Derrick Sorles & Michael Snell - What is the ROI of Blogging, Web 2.0 Strategies and Social Media Marketing?, May 1, 2008

Selected Quote: Good search performance is money in the bank. If you can “own” your keywords, that’s a huge ROI, that isn’t quickly translated to dollars, but will, eventually.

5) Chris Garrett - The ROI of Business Blogging, March 24, 2008

Selected Quote: Business blogs are amongst the toughest type of sites to do well. I can’t name a single blogger who does the whole thing perfectly, but that’s fine because you don’t need to be perfect to gain most of the benefits.

Before taking on a tactic, any business needs to know what the Return on Investment (ROI) will be. There are three areas where blogs provide a return. Attraction, Stickiness and Conversion.

6) Tadeusz Szewczyk - ROI of Blogging and Social Media, March 11, 2008

Selected Quote: This is also one of the most important differences between a social media campaign and a social media strategy. In a campaign you measure $ while devising a strategy you set other, more important goals that are not measurable by such simple metrics like ROI but may pay out in manifold ways.

7) Sarah E. Goodwin - sxsw: 3.11.08 Future of Corporate Blogs, March 11, 2008

Selected Quote: Synergize. By building a community of respect, problems can be solved in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. The refining of an idea by many can lead to the “magic” of social communication where 1+1=3.

8 ) Jeremiah Owyang - How Do I Measure ROI?, February 26, 2008

Selected Quote: Measuring “new” media isn’t as different as measuring “old” media, the trick is to figure out what your goal is first.

9) Andrew Chen - Is blogging worth it? What’s the ROI?, January 7, 2008

Selected Quote: These days, I mostly think of having a blog as the same as having a giant mailing list …

10) Marci Alboher - Blogging’s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool , December 27, 2007

Selected Quote: Now, after about two years of blogging, Mr. Harlow said he was pleased with the results. He gets about 200 to 300 visits a day, he said. He has also become a source for publications looking for commentary on regulatory issues in the health care field and has even gained a few clients because of the blog. In addition, he has formed relationships with other legal bloggers (who call themselves blawgers) and consultants around the country.

… Read the rest seventeen

Whether or not we should use humor as a marketing component.

Generally when a client is launching a “serious product” there is misnomer (IMO) that the product or company will not be taken seriously if humor is used. It’s a misnomer because most clients assume that humor-based marketing is an all or nothing affair.

Sam Huleatt belief that

In today’s market, video is a necessary component for any campaign: it’s low cost, viral, engaging and trackable. Because video is necessary, so is humor. Humor, without question, produces the best video content in terms of reach and engagement. Plus using humor is free!

Take a look at these two images captured from Youtube. The first is the view count for the most watched Ted Talk video on Youtube. Ted Talks are where the smartest folks in the world give an inspiring 20 minute talk.

Now compare the Ted Video’s view count (676,945 views) with this the top video from a search for Will Ferrell

4,776,391 views for Will! Now take a look at the view counts for the famous Blendtec commercials where a blender company uses its product to blend things such as an iPhone. (5,339,496 views)

Across the board, the videos that use humor crush videos that are simply smart or even those that are ‘well filmed’ — every time. Even Obama Girl’s view counts are higher than most Obama-endorsed own ads.

I believe you can use humor as a segment of a campaign and still be taken seriously. The reason that humor is an effective marketing tools is that it can be used to attract an audience that would not normally care about your product, thereby extending your reach. Additionally humor can be a significant differentiator among competing products or services. Finally – and take note here — humor can actually be smart. A great video can use humor and still get across a serious message.

Casie Gillete, gathered 22, of what are in here opinion, Hi-larious posts from bloggers in the search community to make as laugh. Here are the links along with some evidence of their funniness:

Lists of Funny

• Top 21 Signs You Need a Break From SEO (2007 version)
  “5) When your son tells you he wants to go play in the sandbox, you fear you won’t see him again for eight months.

• The 7 Secrets of SEO Success
  “Bribing DMOZ editors. Or paying their extortion demands.”

• 6 Ways That Bloggers are Like Rappers
  “Similarity #2: Guest Appearances as a Major Key to Success …Guest rapping to gain exposure hasn’t stopped since and the top two songs on the Billboard Hot 100 right now are by “Usher featuring Young Jeezy” and “Flo Rida featuring T-Pain Low”. Guest blogging is also a common means for gaining exposure on the blogosphere.”

• Top 10 Dreams Bloggers Don’t Want to Wake Up From…
  “Overnight the world has come to realize that Britney, Paris and Lindsay are boring, and business and marketing blogs are where it’s at. Thus, all the traffic from Perez and TMZ has been redirected to you…and your server is still kicking!”

• 8 Unfortunate Logos
  Ok this just makes me laugh but is a little inappropriate. You’ll have to see for yourself!

• 21 More Really Funny Search Queries
  “blog your way to a top job”…If only it was that easy

• 12 Signs that You May Be a Social Media Addict
  “Story, video, and image quality are important to you, but not as important as the headline.”

• 15 Ways to Be a SEO Conference Douchebag
  “10. Ask SEO questions first - Why SHOULDN’T Todd Freisen write all your sites .htaccess 301 redirects for your site migration the first time he meets you? Michael Gray OWES you at least a dozen good linkbait ideas for your dental practice because after all, he posts his picture on the internet and talks about marketing on his blog.”

• 34 Ways Sex is Like Internet Marketing
  “We are always learning something new…Free is best, but some people just have to pay…Sometimes it looks free, then they ask for $19.95…Exchanging favors can do wonders.”

Click to complete the list

Video widgets present the ability to continually add new content once a person has expressed interest by embedding the widget or forwarding one or all of the content pieces. But there’s a lot more to think about and execute on than just throwing some videos on YouTube.

GotVMail created this awareness campaign in-house. The project was a collaboration between RAMP, GotVMail and a couple of great Portland, OR companies, StepChange Group and SplashCast.

Here is business advice straight from the mind of Gary Busey on Business viral marketing campaign.

Traffic is being driven to this landing page and there is the requisite Facebook, MySpace pages as well as a hub of all the video content, Google err, YouTube.

Source

Rhea Drysdale compil the list of 5 Most Hated Companies Online presentation.

I’ll say, they just need our  - hmmm.hm, help.

5. Verizon

Google Search: “Verizon Sucks” = 17,100 results
Google Search: “I Hate Verizon” = 7,530 results

TOTAL VERIZON SUCKS POINTS = 24,630

Best of the Worst:

• Verizon Math
• 10 Reasons Why Verizon Sucks
• Verizon is Evil

How Bad Can a Cell Phone Company Get?

4. Wal-Mart

Google Search: “Wal-Mart Sucks” = 19,100 results
Google Search: “I Hate Walmart” = 17,700 results
TOTAL WALMART SUCKS POINTS = 36,800

Best of the Worst:

• The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know
• Walmart Watch
• Walmart Sucks Blogspot
• Walmart Blows

3. Comcast

Google Search: “Comcast Sucks” = 26,900 results
Google Search: “I Hate Comcast” = 10,900 results
TOTAL COMCAST SUCKS POINTS = 37,800

Best of the Worst:

• Comcast Sucks
• Comcast Watch
• ComCraptic

Comcast Technician Sleeping on Couch:

2. AOL

Google Search: “AOL Sucks” = 41,000 results
Google Search: “I Hate AOL” = 10,800 results
TOTAL AOL SUCKS POINTS = 51,800

Best of the Worst:

• Anti-AOL
• Why AOL Sucks
• AOL Watch

Canceling AOL Account:

1. Microsoft

Google Search: “Microsoft Sucks” = 64,800 results
Google Search: “I Hate Microsoft” = 81,800 results
TOTAL MICROSOFT SUCKS POINTS = 146,600!!!

Best of the Worst:

• Windows Crash Gallery
• Microsoft Sucks

Chris Pirillo Calls Microsoft Outlook Tech Support:

looking for some additions to the list…

Google Alerts allows you to input a desired keyword or phrase that you want to monitor, say for example “hmmm” or “Robert Black.” Google will then send you a daily e-mail alert letting you know where that particular word or phrase was mentioned. Then, you can visit the particular site that  mentioned your keyword or phrase and see what exactly is being said.  So why would you want to know

Step 1

Go to Google Alerts

Step 2

a)  Enter your desired keyword or phrase

b)  Choose the type: news, blogs, web, comprehensive, video, or group.

c)  Choose how often you want to be notified: once a day, as it happens, or once a week.

d)  Enter your e-mail and then click “create alert”.

You’re all done, your alert is now created.  Now if you ever want to manage or edit your alerts you can always click on manage alerts on the Google Alerts page.

Now you will be able to monitor your brand and find out what people are saying about you.

Thanks Jacob.

More metaphoric than most of this series, but it’s a great way to explain this. I expect to forward this to many who still don’t get social media.

Nicely done as usual!

Here are ten questions suggested by David Berkowitz, that you don’t need to ask other panelists about social media, along with the answers you’re likely to hear.

1) How are you measuring social media?

Likely answers: “It depends.” “It’s all about branding.” “You can’t use the same metrics as you do for other online media campaigns.” You can get a list of all the metrics panelists are tracking, but a panel won’t have time to address what all of those metrics really mean for marketers.

2) How do you determine the return on investment for social media?

This goes deeper than the measurement question, but more from the angle that social media marketing needs to impact sales. It can, and it is possible to develop some ROI metrics, but if that’s the primary and overarching goal, then stick with direct marketing.

3) How do you make something viral?

Do NOT use the V-word, unless you really want to hear Greg Verdino mention throwing up in his mouth again.

4) How do you plan social media campaigns?

Do NOT use the C-word either. You’ll hear panelists (like Adam Broitman) mention they don’t do campaigns; they do programs, engagements, or whatever more creative but astute answer Adam said. Now, if only agencies can figure out how to price lifelong social media initiatives, I can retire and devote myself to my true passion: playing Mob Wars and MouseHunt on Facebook ( connect with me there and we can hunt gangsters and mice together).

5) What are your best strategies for social media advertising?

More good advice: don’t use the A-word either. Then you’ll hear all about how it’s marketing, not advertising, even when you can advertise with social media, and even when at the same event companies like SocialMedia.com are launching initiatives to improve the effectiveness of social media advertising.

6) With the rise of widgets, are Web sites dead?

No.

7) What’s a friend worth?

Umm, next. Really though, it depends on what you do with that relationship — whether it’s just someone to add to your e-mail list, or you’re able to engage in a two-way and multi-directional conversation.

What’s the best thing about social media?

Listening. On a panel, the first person who picks up his microphone will say it, and then rest will either agree, or say a totally different, more verbose answer about buzz monitoring, garnering consumer feedback, or some other spin that can be summed up with one word: “listening.” At OMMA Social, Dr. Augustine Fou gets the credit for chiming in first on my panel; next time, doc, I’ll be ready and waiting.

9) What’s the point of (insert site, platform, or meme — Twitter, del.icio.us, Facebook, LOLcats, etc)?

The question’s fair, and panelists should be able to help shed some light on it, but get a panel talking about why they love something like Twitter and they’ll never shut up, each panelist trying to outdo each other with the impromptu testimonial. You’re better off asking for a show and tell session afterwards so you can figure out why you in particular should care and what it might mean for your business and your customers.

10) How can I get Joe Jaffe to speak at my next event?

The best part is, these are the 10 frequently asked questions