Manager's Guide to Online Marketing

Jason Weaver (Madison, WI) is a leading authority in social media with more than 15 years experience as an entrepreneur, executive, and innovator. In 2002, years before the launch of Facebook and Twitter, he discovered the power of working collaboratively through social networks to help execute engagement-marketing campaigns within online communities. His invention, Shoutlet, is now a leading social media marketing platform that is used by global brands, small businesses, and marketing agencies to build, engage, and measure their social media communication. As a social media thought leader, Jason has provided strategic expertise on social media strategy to companies including Disney, eBay, and SC Johnson. He is a much sought after writer and speaker for organizations such as the American Marketing Association, Public Relations Society of America, and American Advertising Federation.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi

1. Benefits of Effective Online Marketing 1
Reduced Costs and Increased Efficiency 2
Increased Awareness 5
Improved Customer Service 9
Product Innovation 11
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 1 14

2. Web 1.0: Search Engine Optimization and Marketing 15
The Pioneers 15
Amazon.com 21
Search Engine Optimization 23
Making the Most of SEO 27
Search Engine Marketing, aka Pay-per-Click 29
Landing Pages 32
Affiliate Marketing Programs 32
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 2 34

3. Social Media (Web 2.0) 35
The Pioneers 35
Social Media Marketing Strategies 38
Earned vs. Paid Media 52
Podcasts and RSS Feeds 54
Quick Response Codes 56
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 3 57

4. Personal Branding 59
Establishing Yourself as an Expert 60
Blogs and Microblogging 66
Building Fans and Followers 69
Automating Content 71
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 4 73

5. Planning 75
Researching Your Online Audience 76
Resource and Staff Planning 81
Budgeting for Online Marketing 90
Building an Online Editorial/Event Calendar 90
Tying Offline Efforts to Online Strategies 91
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 5 93

6. External Online Engagement 95
Identifying Your Influencers 95
Garbage In, Garbage Out 98
Socializing Your Existing Website 101
Online Tools (Free and Paid) 102
Measuring Return on Investment 105
Epic Failure: What Not to Do 105
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 6 107

7. Internal Online Engagement 109
Setting Up a Company Intranet 111
Developing an Online Media Room 114
Measuring Internal Engagement 115
Sync Your Intranet Objectives with Your Corporate Strategy 116
Make Intranets Relevant 116
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 7 118

8. Social Commerce 119
Making a Sale Using Social Commerce 119
Attracting Two Types of Leads with Social Media 122
Tying Your Impact to Sales 124
Deploying Your Evangelists 126
Leveraging Your Existing Digital Investments 128
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 8 130

9. Effective Tactics Based on Business Type 131
Business-to-Consumer Marketing 131
Business to Business 142
Cultivating Brand Advocates 148
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 9 149

10. Establishing Brand Control 151
Who Should Create Your Social Media Policy? 152
Legal Issues and Site Policies 153
Regulating External Communication 164
Monitoring Your Brand 166
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 10 169

11. The Future of Web Marketing 171
Gamification 172
Virtual Worlds and Social Game Advertising 178
Dynamic Content Generation and Targeting 180
Location-Based Marketing 181
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 11 183

12. Staying Ahead of the Curve 185
Maneuverability: Don’t Build on Rented Land 185
Resources for Staying up to Speed 188
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 12 190

Index