Marketers should think twice before focusing on Digg.com to produce traffic. Search Engine Guide Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Laycock began her presentation at the Search Engine Strategies SEW Live one-day event in Columbus, OH, with that theme in mind.
Though social networks and social marketing have become the hottest topic in online business these days, Laycock advises that Digg.com is a bit narrow when it comes to audience.
Depending on what a business owner is selling, there’s a high likelihood they are targeting the wrong market. Digg is mostly male, young, IT professionals and engineers – a fantastic audience for certain interests.
(It should be noted though, aside from the traffic Digg can generate, that too much about its audience shouldn’t be presumed. Hunting equipment, most probably, wouldn’t appeal to this Silicon-Valley-and-Star-Wars-minded crowd, but there is a range of things that could surprise the presumptive marketer. For example, a Digger may have a father who likes to hunt; they also have wives, mothers, daughters, brothers, uncles, aunts, and friends.)
Laycock scores, though, with the thought that marketers shouldn’t put all of their eggs in one basket. Focusing all of your attention on Digg, like relying solely on Google for traffic, is a bad idea.
She recommends establishing a business presence in a number of social places like StumbleUpon, Netscape, del.icio.us, and Reddit, and especially MySpace.
A Flickr portfolio can be a great place to market, she says, because it is visual. YouTube, too, is nice for the opportunity to demonstrate products.
Remember, remember the YouTube blender?
And YouTube, well, can you think of another video medium that offers an audience of 34 million people hanging out for nearly a half-hour daily, and the only cost is for production, then you might find another video site just as valuable. You also might find out why the TV networks are so threatened by YouTube – it’s not only about copyrights.
Some Bullet Points from Laycock’s Presentation:
Understand which social networks fit with what you are working with
40% of MySpace users are ages 35-55
Don’t forget other popular destinations like Xanga, Facebook, and Bebo.
Utilize discussion forums; an online community devoted to Corvettes is perfect for select offerings
Enlist consumer review sites like Epinions, Hotels.com, Amazon.
If you have a brick and mortar presence, or a local angle, don’t forget local search, like CitySearch.
Give incentive to review, like coupons.
Have the right story for the right crowd.
Provide lots of information, lots of humor.
You’ll need a catchy title and a buzz-worthy hook with a call-to-action that’s easy to spread via link motivation.
Make the viral part easy. “The less work there is, the more likely that they are to [spread] it.” Heh, like creamy peanut butter.
Build relationships with community members
