This morning, WIRED jumped on the “blogging is dead” bandwagon.  Ironically, they wrote the article, well, in a blog post.  The writer, Paul Boutin, makes some good points: too many mainstream publications to get heard, too many secret marketing campaigns and too much of a time suck to write.  So, um, now what?

Social Media marketing and PR is not about the next shiny thing nor is it a checklist built to match competitors.   It’s about combining the best tools and technology with the available resources to create a strategy that reaches your audience and meets your communications goals.  Today, socialTNT shares alternatives to blogging that might actually improve the amount of content being created.

You just drafted a flawless strategy.  The CEO will blog 4 times a month, CTO will blog 5 times a month and a VP of Marketing plans to blog 10 times a month.  Your team brainstormed ideas and created an EdCal.  You are sending relevant blog posts….but nothing seems to happen.  No one blogs!  Apparently no one seems to have the time or motivation.

Time is the resource we never seem to have enough of.  It’s also one of the resources we need the most of when conducting a social media campaign.  Don’t fret! You just have to reevaluate the tools to make sure you choose something that is most compatible with your spokesperson’s time crunch.  Also by offering a range of media through which spokespeople can create, you give them more opportunities to find which media motivates them most to create (that is, are they more videographer, sharer, photographer, talker, etc.).

Quick and Dirty Blogging Alternatives

• Tumblr or Worpress’ PressThis
  • No time to write a long-form blog post?  No problem! Both add a bookmarklet to your browser to help you share a link, a quote, video or picture you have found online.
  • Great way to share comments and opinion on posts and articles
• Twitter
  • One of many micro-blogging sites, Twitter has become the fastest way to share thoughts or links.
  • Lists are a great way to use this medium–text them in while on the go!
  • Also, since Twitter is an active community, you should easily be able to find like-minded people or influencers
• Utterz
  • Utterz is to podcasting what Twitter is to blogging.  Phone in thoughts while driving in to the office, or conduct a quick interview on the showroom floor–it’s that simple!
• Qik or Flixwagon
  • Spokesperson have a Nokia or an iPhone? Well, now you have the ability to do live streaming from wherever you like…AND it’s chatroom makes it fully interactive
• Seesmic
  • Film a quick video blog post once a week to discuss industry news
• Flip Camera
  • Flip video has become a mainstay in PR and marketing because it’s simple to use.  Shoot shorter interviews and upload to YouTube in one step!
• Flickr
  • Not a text person? Snap photos at events and let the captions explain the situation

The new social media plan will look like this: CEO phones in an Utterz once a week, Tweets on the morning commute, Qik’s once a week.  CTO take photos at industry events. VP of Marketing Seesmics twice a week and Flip interviews at industry events.

Now where do you house all that content? That goes back to your target audience.  Are they on Facebook? Build a page.  But until Friendfeed becomes the number one content aggragating platform, we have a feeling it’s going to be on *ahem* a blog.

Like what you read? Add our RSS feed! [what’s that?]. Or start your morning with socialTNT in your InBox! Or read Chris 24-7 on Twitter!

[The above photo, "DSCF1443" by James Sant on Flickr, used under Creative Commons]

Related posts:

1. “Don’t Talk About Shoes: How Zappos Creates Compelling Content to Reach Audiences Effectively”
2. “May I Have The Embed Code, Please? Evaluating the Oscars Social Media Strategy”
3. “2.0 Politik: Do Democratic Candidates Make the Grade?”

One of the questions I get all the time is: “What should we blog/tweet/video/facebook about?”  My response: Don’t talk about shoes.

When starting any campaign, don’t think about what products you can promote.  Think about your target audiences.  That may be business-decision makers or developers or shoe shoppers.  Who geeks out about your product? And what are they geeking out about?

My number one example lately for effective use of social media to connect with your target audience has been Zappos.  For those not familiar with Zappos, they are an online shoe retailer.  A dime a dozen, you say? Not so with Zappos.  They know the number one thing about sales: It’s all about a personal connection with your buyer.

How Zappos Uses Blogging To Reach Buyers

Zappos has tweleve blogs.  One CEO and COO blog.  Ten Consumer Interest Blogs. Check it:

Looks like Zappos has broken their audience down into Parents, Health Enthusiasts, Fashion Divas, Runners, Outdoorsy Types and Extreme Sporters (Surfers, Skaters, Snowboarders, etc.).  Each audience has a team of content creators writing about topics that pique the interests of these folks.  This army of mini-lifestyle bloggers are writing about things like:

And yes, they do occasionally blog about shoes–but more like the history of shoes, choosing comfortable shoes–not product-focused posts like “We have XXX now in stock” or “70 % Off Running Shoes.”

So how can you apply this to routers, processors, endpoint security or enterprise solutions and still stay glamorous? You don’t.  To be sexy, you have to stay true to your customers.

How to Create Compelling Content That Appeals to Your Audience:

• Listen
  • See what your target audience is saying: Where they are hanging out? What are they talking about? How are they saying it?
  • Bonus points if you actually survey your customers and audiences
• Check out your resources.  You may need to do some hiring.
  • Is there anyone on staff that can blog about certain topics? Are there developers already blogging? Any that might be interested?  Maybe it would be effective to hire a couple of content creators.  Juggle the budgets–steal from advertising
• Get ready to rock
  • What’d you learn during the listening phase? Incorporate that.
  • What stories can you tell? What conversations can you have? GEEK IT UP!!
  • Run out of ideas? What do *you* love about the product?
• Write compelling content. Just Effing Do it!
• Get involved.
  • Yup, you have to get these content creators to comment on other blogs with similar topics.
  • Not sure where to go? Check out alltop.com for a directory of ALL the TOP blogs. (Zappos gets dinged for this one!)

Results:

• Increased connection with your customer base
• Increase awareness of your product
• You increase your SEO and help customers follow the *ahem* tracks back to you

So what’s stopping you? Ask yourself: How can we sell shoes without talking about shoes? Create compelling content and conversations to pique the curiosity of your key customers!

What do you do to better reach your target audiences? Let us know in the comments!

Like what you read? Add our RSS feed! [what’s that?]. Or start your morning with socialTNT in your InBox! Or read Chris 24-7 on Twitter!

[The above photo, "I heart my red shoes even tho I never wear them" by lis rock on Flickr, used under Creative Commons] by  on flickr

Related posts:

1. “Breadcrumbs: Using Curiosity to Strategically Reach Audiences”
2. “And…Cut! How Not To Pitch Video Content”
3. “Getting Smart With Facebook, Part 1: Theory and Proof Points”

Today’s post was written by contributing writer Marie Williams.

With Blackberries and iPhones keeping us constantly connected to an online IV stream, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to disconnect. As of late, discussion around the problems of our “always on” lifestyles seem to be popping up everywhere. Last month, the Churchill Club held a panel on the issue of information overload. And, even more alarming, The New York Times recently chronicled the health problems–and two deaths–resulting from the demands of round-the-clock blogging. While not as severe as those tragic cases, I recently came face-to-face with my own info-addiction.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my sister for a week holiday in Seattle. The whole time I was there, I was either checking my Google reader or Twitter on my phone. I was so plugged in that I somehow managed to catch some major coverage of a client before my team even had a chance to see it. Yeah, I know: I was supposed to be on vacay. Don’t judge me!

The topic came up again a few nights ago when Chris and I met up with Twitter friends Paull Young and Christi Eubanks. After discussing some geeky, social media PR theory, the topic turned to being always plugged in. Neither Paull nor I could ever imagine completely unplugging from the Internet; Paull said (and I agree) that there are just too many important relationships that would be lost in the disconnect.

Chris and Christi weren’t as game to the idea, both affirming that they could see themselves easily wanting to escape their online life. Then, Chris asked a very interesting question: What if the Internet no longer existed? What if some major event happened and the Internet went kaput as a result? It’s almost a little too scary to think about.

No blogs? No Twitter? No Facebook? No way to always know any and all details about your friends? Is such an existence possible?! It must be; we’d all led an Internet-free life before, right?

This past Monday, Stacey Higginbotham over at GigaOm wrote a great post talking about her over-connected life. After discussing the stresses of being continually plugged in, she pointedly says: “I’m choosing to turn off my computer now.”

It’s a difficult balance, but I think Marshall Kirkpatrick from Read/Write Web says it best in a post discussing RSS feeds last week: “I don’t know why people feel obligated to read every item in every feed they’ve subscribed to. Get over that and you’ll already be a far happier person.” The same can be applied to our online existences. We shouldn’t feel obligated to be in the know all the time about everything that’s going on in the cyberworld. Maybe if we just dip in every now and then and we’ll be happier! I know it works for me.

What about you? Could you or do you ever completely disconnect? How do you prevent information overload?

Don’t miss a post: Add socialTNT to your RSS reader [what’s that?]. Better yet: socialTNT delivered to your InBox!

[The above photo, “Streeter Seidell, Comedian” by Zach Klein on flickr, is used under Creative Commons]

Related posts:

1. “OMG!! Blogging Is Dead! Now What?: Quick & Dirty Alternatives”
2. “3sday’s 3Q’s in 3 Min: iJustine, iJustine.TV”
3. “Top Tech Bloggers Define Web 2.0″

Whether building your personal brand or increasing conversation with your customers, there’s no denying that blogs have become a crucial part of any communications and marketing strategy. But with so many people blogging, sometimes it feels like the echo chamber is nothing but noise pollution. Today, socialTNT shares a few tips on how to establish your voice without adding to the pollution.

• Every day in our professional lives, we encounter experiences that can be used to help others learn. Write anecdotes of challenges or successes, or share tips and tricks. They’ll help increase your industry’s knowledge, and your readers will appreciate it.
• Do you have case studies, white papers or reviews you can share? Do it!
• Holiday coming up? Incorporate your blog’s focus into a post with a seasonal angle.
• Instead of posting every time you want to share a link, try using Twitter, tumblr, or del.icio.us to create a link log.
• One of the most revolutionary things about blogging is that it allows readers to participate in the news dialog. Before writing about the news or another blog post, check to make sure you are adding insight or evolving the conversation. It also doesn’t hurt if you are adding your own personal style to the news (for example, instead of covering the Final Four, what about covering how brackets have moved into the social media space, or the way brands are using these brackets to market to consumers).

Blogging is a great tool to share your unique point of view with the world. With so many people writing, you can’t always have original content. You can, however, always have your own style. Be genuine and you’ll always be able to add to the discussion.

What are some tips you can offer other bloggers on how to fight the noise in the echo chamber? Or is it even a problem? Let us know in the comments!

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Don’t miss a post: Add socialTNT to your RSS reader [what’s that?]. Better yet: socialTNT delivered to your InBox!

[The above photo, “Megaphone” by Indigo Goat on flickr, is used under Creative Commons]

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3. “20+ Ways to Fold Your Laundry Online: Social Media Tips for Packaged Goods Companies”

It’s Thursday afternoon and time for 2008′s first installment of “3sday’s 3Q’s in 3 Min.”

Every Thursday, socialTNT channels the spirit of citizen journalism by putting bloggers, reporters, PR pro’s or anyone with something to say about social media in front of the camera for a short, three minute interview. In addition to helping PR peeps pitch these individuals more effectively, the videos are meant to encourage dialog between reporters, PR/communications practitioners and marketers on the future of media.

This Thursday, socialTNT presents the first of two chats with Kara Swisher, Co-Executive Editor of All Things D. In today’s “3 Q’s in 3 Min” Kara tells us her interpretation of what the Wall Street Journal represents and why she’s never going back to print.

Kara is my video-interview idol. Her spy-cam style impromptu interviews with leading figures in the tech industry, coupled with her sardonic wit, will get you the day’s news and leave you in stitches.

All Things D sprung from the annual D: All Things Digital conference. Hoping to take the same type of forward-thinking commentary from the conference and hard-hitting journalistic integrity from the Wall Street Journal, Kara and colleague Walt Mossberg grabbed “Good Morning Silicon Valley’s” John Paczkowski, and set out to launch an innovative site to chronicle the digital revolution–Web 2.0 style. Although it’s owned by Dow Jones, parent company for the Wall Street Journal, this ain’t you father’s news source. Its perfect mix of text and video blogging make it any social media geek’s dream.

Kara and I met at the Dow Jones’ San Francisco offices, conveniently located across the street from my office. Although not laced with as much intrigue as my trip to the New York Times’ San Francisco Bureau, entering the Dow Jones offices still came with its own difficulties.

First off, the receptionist asked me three times if I was sure I was meeting Kara in the office. Kara doesn’t try to hide the fact that she graces her print counterparts once every six months. In fact, she spends so little time in the office, she wasn’t quite sure where her stuff was. We found it later, boxed up in a cube, identified by a single piece of paper.

Also, the Dow Jones SF offices aren’t quite as comfy as the NYT’s SF Bureau. In fact, with its rows of cubes, it really reminded me of a sweatshop. Like the Stock Exchange floor so oft covered in its princess publication, the Dow Jones office smelled a little like a mixture of stale sweat and white-collar fear. My nose couldn’t quite pinpoint whether it was coming from the sales team worried about declining print subscriptions, or whether it was coming from the editorial staff worried they might not be conservative enough for their new overlord, Rupert Murdoch. Kara isn’t scared of Rupe; she thinks he’ll offer a little more edginess and creativity than previously existed.

Kara’s Boomtown, originally a weekly feature covering Silicon Valley on the front page of the Marketplace section in the print edition of the WSJ, did snarky-for-tech years before ValleyWag–or Weblogs for that matter–existed. She is direct and honest, but in that BFF sort of way. When Kara dishes harsh criticism of Facebook, she is doing it out of love–if not for Facebook, for Silicon Valley and it’s beloved cast.

And Kara’s view of the Valley is quite the ensemble cast. Her subjects become characters with their own personalities. She finds the drama and absurdity in the Valley, and then tells a story without compromising the integrity and reliability promised by the Wall Street Journal brand. All commentary and analysis is based on hard facts, something that many feel the blogosphere is lacking.

Fun Facts About Kara

• Kara, her partner (GOOG exec Megan Smith) and their two children (shown here pleading with Yahoo’s Jerry Yang to meet with Kara at a charity lunch) live two blocks from me in a beautifully renovated Victorian. That’s just a few streets over from guy-pal John Markoff!
• A MacFan Girl, Kara has a HUGE Mac monitor and also introduced me to iMovie ’08–results seen in today’s video!
• Kara once blogged a series of posts on Huffington Post chronicling the life of a gay household raising kids
• She’s not wholly convinced of Twitter’s greatness, but after a little prodding, I’m sure she’ll grow to love it
• Kara has authored a couple of books, including There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for the Digital Future and Aol.com How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates
• If you can’t get enough of Kara’s All Things D videos, check out her YouTube channel

Check out today’s interview and listen as Kara explains her quest to legitimize blogs and the importance of staying relevant.

Join us next week for part two when Kara teaches TechCrunch how to “Just Say No” to PR pitches, gives PR Profs a few tips on relationship building, and shares some of her videographical secrets. Don’t miss out: Add us to your RSS reader, or sign up for our email.

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[The above photo, "Kara Swisher is looking at YOU, yes YOU. You know who you are." by Mark Montiero on flickr, used under Creative Commons.]

Related posts:

1. “3sday’s 3Q’s in 3 Min: Kara Swisher, All Things D, Part 2”
2. “3sday’s 3Q’s in 3 Min: John Markoff, New York Times Part 1″
3. “3sday’s 3Q’s in 3 Min: Jon Swartz, USA Today”

It’s that time again, folks! That’s right: “3Q’s in 3 Min!” Every Thursday, socialTNT turns citizen journalist by putting bloggers, reporters, PR pro’s or anyone with something to say about social media in front of the camera for a short, three minute interview. Lately we’ve had some high profile reporters/analysts. Today, I wanted to change it up a little.

One of the purposes of this blog is to really make sense of all the social media technologies in an effort to understand their PR/Marketing applications. Admittedly, I’m so far out in my high-tech PR world, that I forget what it’s like on ground zero. With that in mind, today’s “3 Q’s in 3 Min” takes a step back to look at how people outside the tech bubble are using social media to promote their businesses.

Today, Chef Liz Bills from California Table tells us why she started blogging, the challenges she has encountered along the way, and the successes she has seen as a result of engaging in social media. Her experience resonates with anyone who has started or is looking to start a blog–from personal blogger to corporate blogger to small business owner–or anyone embarking on their journey learning social media.

Liz, a former Kitchen Manager at SF hot spot NOPA, recently started her own personal chef/cooking class business. A confessed technophobe and computer novice, Liz felt she had to get her story online in order to compete in the tech heavy San Francisco Bay Area.

Liz’s blog focuses on the importance of buying local and organic food. It also helps to brand Liz’s company by offering up cooking suggestions. As she explains in the video, it has proven to be an invaluable piece of PR and word-of-mouth marketing.

One of her biggest challenges was learning how to use blogging software. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, all the emerging technology can be pretty crazy for me and I deal with it every day. Liz’s advice: “You just have to force yourself to learn, especially if you want to stand out.” Hat’s off to you Liz for trying!

Take a look at what Liz has to say. (PS: There was apparently some audio glitch in my camera. She wants to let everyone know she does not have a lisp!)

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=iCeRkmPCg4Y]

How have other new bloggers solved the content problem? Has blogging helped your small business? I’d love to hear success or challenge stories!

Thanks, Liz, for sharing your experience with socialTNT. It’s great that you are so intent on trying new things.

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Related posts:

1. “3sday’s 3Q’s in 3 Min: Kara Swisher, All Things D, Part 1”