Social Media Giving Thanks

It's Thanksgiving Eve and while the kids are ready for a 4 day vacation, many organizations are using the power of the internet to make change for people this holiday season.

Epic Change
I first started chatting with Stacey Monk a few weeks back while working on Creating Magic. She helped share the story of a volunteer, Zoe Flanagan, a student at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon. Yesterday I saw a flurry of Tweets about Tweetsgiving. Honestly I thought it was another Chris Brogan move, but come to find out its powered by Epic Change. The premise of Tweetsgiving is to to

demonstrate the power of the social web by raising $10,000 in 48 hours to build a classroom in Tanzania.

I think this is awesome. As of 10:30am on Wednesday, the site had already generated over $5,000 in donations. The Tweetsgiving fundraising is powered by ChipIn, a simple Flash application that allows you to keep people up-to-date on ChipIn events you organize to collect money. The power of this is that anyone who feels passionately about the cause can grab the embed code and put the widget up anywhere they want from Mysapce to their Blogs or websites.

Rock For Hunger
Using the power of some blog posts and the new Ning community, Rock For Hunger was able to organize an amazing Thanksgiving Breakfast for the homeless. They have organized over 60 local volunteers, oatmeal, eggs, fruit, OJ, plates, cups, utensils, socks, clothing and many other items via a forum post, a blog post and some email exchanges.

In fact, the SEO and search engine traffic to the post was so successful, they had to make 2 new volunteer opportunities to include all the volunteers.

Change.org + Myspace
Obama is not one to miss out on volunteers and an opportunity to get feedback from his fellow Americans. Change.org/ideas is a site where you can add your ideas to improve America and they can be voted on Digg style. The idea has also been replicated on Myspace to get teens and young adults involved in the new administration. Obama is really using this Social Media power to stay in touch with every American that wants to have a voice.

Do you know of any other organizations that are getting involved with Social Media this Thanksgiving to give back? Please let me know and I will be sure to add them to the post.

Happy Thanksgiving, be safe and keep rocking!

-Greg Rollett

The 5 W's in New Client Education

This week has been an awkward and fun week, and its only Tuesday afternoon. We have brought 3 new clients on board and they are from complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Also some fun projects and proposals.

Industries include:
Legal
Tourism and Attractions
Pop-rock bands
Real Estate
Travel
Gen-Y SEO

So here comes the fun part. I have ideas for all these clients. But I know nothing about how they conduct their business. Or anything about their industries, minus what I know, right.

You don't know what you don't know, ya know.

Going back to school
Well, not in formal classes, that is. The key to being an outsider working on a plan for an inside company is to learn and take in everything that you can without knowing too much. Having a creative edge comes from being creative and working on your creativity daily. Not getting caught up in numbers, routines, nonessential reporting and things that are honestly out of your control will allow you to focus on your key points to improving the business.

The 5 W's for New Clients

1. Who - Who is your competition, who are the leaders in your industry, who are you listening to, who should you be listening to
2. What - What are you willing to sacrifice, what kind of time commitment is there from you and your team, what are your goals, what are you really promoting
3. When - When is the timeline, when are YOU going to be ready, when are reports due, when are the big meetings with the bosses when you will need some proof that I am worth this kind of money
4. Where - Where are you now, where do you want to be tomorrow and where do you want to be when all of this cool social media stuff grabs a hold of your business
5. Why - Why do you need me, why are you looking to social media, why is this going to be good for your business

And you can always add the how:
How am I going to have access to your site, how do you want reporting, how are you going to allow me to make changes, how many people need to approve things before we can move forward

What else should be included in the 5 W's and the H? Let's add it together and make a resource for people grabbing new clients.

-Greg Rollett
(photo by Bright_Star)

Gen-Y Rock Stars and Role Models

I've been on my Rock Star kick lately and after reading an article someone passed to me, seeing previews for the new movie Role Models and my post on The Rock Star Lifestyle, I thought I would share a few quick words on what I think stars, athletes, musicians, movie stars and others have a responsibility towards Gen-Y and youth in general. Enjoy!

-Greg Rollett

Is It All About Them Benjamins Baby

photo by DavidDMuir

It's no secret that the startup life is hard. Jun Loayza and I have traded war stories over the past few weeks on the late nights, the relationship strains and the "damn I wish I had some Taco Bell money right now."

That brings us into a struggle I've had with my company over the last few months. To take, or not to take angel funding. In the beginning of the whole creation of Endagon Innovations, we were set on being a web application company that had clients to subsidize the money going out on development. As the summer ended and funding opportunities started to dry up, I started seeing more of a need for client services in SEO and Social Media.

Small businesses were starting to catch the wave, more and more younger employees were starting to take leadership roles in local companies and mainstream media started to jump in on the craze (Twitter + Current TV for the elections). It seemed an opportune time to look into helping businesses listen to conversations and find ways to improve their brand message, communication platforms and recruitment strategies.

As this switch in a business approach came about, our overhead should have been reduced. Did we possibly make a mistake in taking on office space and extra employees too early? Unfortunately I think so. While my team kicks ass and works even harder, I often think about running a smaller operation as we get our feet wet and build up advocates and a bank account.

Then comes the questions of funding
Now that we are 80%+ client side, I have voiced my opinion about staying away from funding. With fewer lenders to choose from and an above average interest rate, it would be ill-advised to take in funding and put our company into debt during the biggest recession in our country's history.

I understand the immediate freedoms, don't get me wrong. I'd love to actually get a paycheck from MY company and maybe even be in the office during business hours. However, I would rather build it debt free and have the freedom to make choices and business decisions based on our own goals and paths, and not of those that would benefit an investor or make us second guess to make sure we have their payments on time.

Do I think we will be successful either way?
Hell yea. We are in a prime position to create a great buzz around our services and find a niche that we can dominate for long term success. Does it mean living close to broke for a few more months? I think so.

So where does this leave us? I am not sure today, I might not be sure tomorrow. I might change my mind if someone waves 6 figures in front of my face. Or I might tell everyone on my sales team that they will get a super bonus if you can find a client willing to believe in us so much that they will allow us to take on a 6-figure contract to make their company better through the belief in Social Media and Search Marketing.

So help me out. Sell out or DIY? It's like deciding on a record contract, something that I still haven't ruled out! ;)

-Greg Rollett

Rock For Hunger Fest 3 Thoughts

I am tired. Almost 18 hours at the Plaza yesterday and 25 bands, 30 vendors, 10 big sponsors, hundreds of t-shirts, raffles, auctions, drama, running around and one hell of a good time, it's all over.

While the show might be, Rock For Hunger's work is not. This show was another demonstration that the youth, Gen-Y, care about issues that have a direct impact on their life. I saw it in their faces, in their excitement and in conversations. They care.

I'll get into that some more later in the week, but for now, here's some highlights from my day:

• Michele Wright is an awesome person, personality and co-host. Last year I was a one-man show host running around with way too much on my plate. Being able to trust her to jump in and do the job that she did was amazing. I'll post a link here to all the interviews and photos she grabbed including one with Chris, Michele, Kardinal Offishall and myself.
• The future of Orlando music is its indie singer songwriter scene and true musicians. Not so surprisingly, the Whole Foods Stage (ironically the smallest stage in the atrium and completely acoustic) was the place to be all day. From Kaleigh Baker to Peter Baldwin to Chris Burns to Emily Sessoms to Ranyai to, well, myself. Everyone on the stage had the place in a frenzy. Maybe it was the passion, maybe it was that the other stages were too loud or maybe the energy and talent was just too powerful to ignore. Anyway you look at it, the kids on this stage have a very bright future.
• Talk 4 Hunger is a success. The 1st issue of Talk 4 Hunger, our new monthly newspaper program to give the homeless jobs and create a steady income for Rock For Hunger debuted at the Festival, doubling as the official program. I will post an online version as soon as I get my hands on the files (cough, Logan) and you can see some inspiration articles from Logan, Chris, Ben and myself as well as learning about the bands and the festival.
• People care about where their money is going. Knowing that every dollar feeds 4 people is powerful. Now you know, so please contribute accordingly.
• Raffles with 3 stages is difficult. After calling 10 tickets and no peeps from the crowd I had to improvise (note: to the lady I pissed off, the money is feeding the homeless, not me or my bar tab!)
• Stage managers are live-savers. Thanks to Adam Purdy, Logan Lenz and Dustin Owens for keeping the egomaniacs in check.
• Lisa and Ana ran the merch like pros! Thanks girls.
• Chris needs to sleep for a week. You might say I am a work-a-holic, but you sir are just crazy. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication. It's taking longer than we want it to but everyday we are rocking for hunger!
• I have that fire to get back on the mic. It's itching, we'll see how life lets me react to it.

That's it for now. If you have pics or videos, please, please throw them up on Rock For Hunger's new site or email them to me. Now is the time to get involved, not tomorrow or next week. Make a difference today.

Greg Rollett

Gen-Y SEO Part 1: Keyword Research

(Over the next few posts I am looking at Gen-Y SEO. This is part 1 on keyword research. The goal of this series is to gather some basic research, bounce off conversation and end up with a community eBook/Report/Whitepaper that anyone can use when looking to target SEO to Gen-Y. I am by no means the authority on the subject, just the person looking to organize this madness. I need your help as well. Thanks. -Greg)

Keyword Research is generally the first step in any search or SEO campaign. You need to see what people are searching for, and for obvious reasons. When looking at Gen-Y and search marketing, there are a few things you need to consider when looking at keywords.

Tools
AdWords Keyword Tool - Free and generally reliable
SEO Book Keyword Tool - built off of the Wordtracker API, can't beat the price tag
Questions keyword tool - shows you relevant results for commonly asked questions, also from Wordtracker

Language
Gen-Y doesn't talk much different from any other demographic in conversation, yet when it comes to texting, instant messengers, e-mails, Twitter and other short forms of QUERTY communication, a whole new language has been born. How does this translate into search? Let's take a look:

I first looked at some typical texting terms and looked at the AdWords tool for relevance. The first was "message vs. msg."

(click the image for larger view)

Text messages is clearly a more searched phrase when compared to the short hand txt msg, and text msgs - although they are not terms I would completely rule out in a targeted search campaign.

Knowing if certain terms have shorthand, mispellings, clever spellings are other tactics can be a key strategy in creating copy for search in targeting Gen-Y and looking at creating keyword lists.

Places we hang out and associations
Knowing "hot spots" and hangouts online and off can help in generating keywords for Gen-Y. Looking at SocNets like Facebook and Myspace and how Gen-Y talks and acts can be a good indicator of what key searches are. Look at groups and see which have a large number of members to find what Gen-Y is being a part of.

Gen-Y is also a very socially aware generation. Knowing what topics may impact your business and gain some pull through content creation for search can be a big one up for your site. Knowing that your business is doing things to bring the "green" lifestyle to your business or the recent election can bring significant search traffic to your project. The key to remember here is to be authentic. Just because a cause or issue is popular to your target audience, does not mean you shold run, jump and force yourself into the conversation. It can cause more harm than good if you are not authentic or providing content that is relevant to the searcher.

Trending
Gen-Y loves to jump on trends and flavors of the week. This can be tricky for SEO but can be great for social outreaches that have search implications. Some places to look for trends include:

• YPulse - Teen and Gen-Y Marketing, News and tips (look for the YPulse essentials that are updated daily)
• Google Trends - Hot searches at the moment
• YouTube - look at featured videos, most discussed and most viewed to see what content is hot among the younger demographic

How to capitalize on trends with search? This is a hit and miss topic but if you target strong keywords, have great content and even better timing your stories can land great search traffic from Google due to Universal Search.

The screenshot below shows the first page for the term "obama election." It shows you the top 10 organic results, the AdWords that made the first page but also Blog Posts related to the terms show up at the bottom of the page. In terms of sites that I have worked with I alwayds say that its best to be #1 or #10 and not in between. Eyeballs like the bottom of the page and Google knows that. It's a good opportunity for Google to show relative results for that search before you look for another term. The posts below were written in the last few days and have to do with the topic of "obama election."

(click the image to enlarge)

So for a term that is getting somewhere around 12,000 searches a month, your blog post that was written today can get 1st page notoriety very quickly. Just be sure that your blog is being spidered quickly and frequently.

(click the image to enlarge)

I've written some blog posts on the hurricanes for local Florida sites and seen search engine traffic spike through the roof and then written about Fourth of July parties and seen in thud. The key is timing, writing great content and making sure Google stops by in the nick of time to spider.

Conclusion
When building your keyword list for a Gen-Y targeted search campaign, there are many factors to consider. I am sure that I left out a few factors and there are endless possibilities that can be used when gathering relevant keywords.

As an overview, be sure that you are taking the keyword research you gather and relate it to content that Gen-Y is willing to take action upon. Do not use slang for the sake of using slang. Do not jump on trends because its hot right now, jump on the train that your business has created track on. Having top rank for strong, demographic based keywords can turn into giant profit when done right, or it can create a bounce rate consistent with an Allen Iverson crossover.

The next post will revolve around an overview of market and competition research and apply it to a search campaign for Gen-Y.

For a complete look at keyword research beyond these short tips, check out Stoney deGeyter from Search Engine Land's 12 part series on Keyowrd Research. Or Rand and the SEO Moz guys have a beginner's look at keywords.

-Greg Rollett

Gen-Y SEO Series

There is more than a fair share of marketers using Social Media to entice Gen-Y buyers and dollars. Whether you are developing Facebook and iPhone applications, advertising on social sites like YouTube, iMeem or Pandora or creating contests, blogs and content to attract our eyeballs, there is no shortage of your efforts.

But what about search and SEO marketing for Gen-Y?

I saw an interesting article from Andrew Wheeler on Search Engine Land last Wednesday dealing with B2B and Gen-Y. Andrew, a search marketer at iProspect, goes on to list the growing number of Millennials in the workforce and those that have decisions to make regarding work related purchases. He also goes on to say:

...choose your keywords appropriately as they can make a big difference; they should definitely be words that your audience will relate to. For example, if you are a PC hardware reseller, you might traditionally target keywords that include cost specific adjectives like “cheap,” “discount,” or “affordable.” And you might even include feature/benefit descriptors like “low maintenance,” “guaranteed,” and “light-weight.” However, are you forgetting product comparison keywords to account for the fact that many Gen Y’ers rely on what other consumers have to say about these products and their experiences?

I know it was a random example, the PC hardware reseller, but Andy didn't explore any hard facts or numbers or real time examples of Gen-Y searches and the language barriers and differences that we have.

Over the next week or so I will be exploring Gen-Y an SEO in a mildly in depth review of the following areas.

Gen-Y Lingo and Keywords
I agree with Andrew that language is a key factor. However like any search campaign, doing the initial keyword research is key. Looking at competing sites and the language they use, the article titles that attract the most comments, the commonalities in the slang and the long tails in the content are key factors when targeting Gen-Y.

Gen-Y Market and Competition Research
Look to Gen-Y marketing leaders and see what teens are into. See the tv shows, the products, the sports teams, the music and celebrities that are "hot" today. There are some good tools to use as well.

Gen-Y Linking Campaigns
Getting links to your sites with Gen-Y in mind is just as tough as any other SEO link building campaign. The same rules apply and they should be dictated by your keyword assessment. Making sure to have organic links with great anchor text without being cheezy is a tough task.

Gen-Y PPC
This one is tricky as is any PPC campaign as you are playing with real dollars and cents and can blow a wad of money when targeting the wrong terms, misleading clickers or not generating clicks at all. I started to look at some cases to see what advertisers were using to attract teen and Gen-Y eyeballs. I got some interesting results.

This will be a fun series of exploring, testing and playing with a hot topic of the moment. When the posts are done, this report will be put into a white paper and will be available for free download to anyone that wants one.

Please be sure to add in your thoughts, arguments, ideas and tactics as I will be adding them to the guide as well. I want this to be a great resource for anyone looking to target Gen-Y with an SEO + SEM campaign.

Let's start the week off with a question: What are some ways SEO's can look at targeting Gen-Y in search campaigns?

-Greg Rollett

Living Like a Rock Star

I always love the weeks leading up to Rock For Hunger Fest. I mean, who wouldn't love no sleep, constant stress over paying the bands, the venue, raising money for the cause, unrolling new technology, selling tickets, organizing 100 volunteers, getting photographers, videographers, setting the band times, t-shirt designs, badges, oh crap no money and keeping Chris focused.

These things might make you go crazy considering this is something I volunteer for in addition to the 2 jobs that sometimes pay the rent.

But there is one thing that keeps me going. Bringing my Rock Star life into the lives of others.

(Me, Chris and Jessie McGuire at WPRK Studios)

Late last night before our interview with Rollins Radio, Chris and I were sitting in my office talking about the future. The future of everything from Endagon to a a venture of our own to going back to school. After making a mess on the table to where you wouldn't know it was a glass desk, I blurted out,

"I want to make everyone around me live a Rock Star Life."

That's when things got interesting.

Rock For Hunger
Every Monday when we feed the homeless we have the opportunity to make every person there FEEL like a rock star that night. WE have that power, the volunteers, teh board members, the staff and everyone else there. The food is the headliner for these individuals, but everyone has a hell of a lot of fun at concerts that has nothing to do with the music.

Think about it. Warped Tour brings you more activities than you can go through if you were there for a week. Trust me Chris and Logan know first hand. They have games, giveaways, listening stations, autograph sessions and so much more.

Look at every concert that you go to. Think about the conversations that you have waiting in line. The energy that you have while dancing, throwing your hands in the air, the laughter and the stress free environment.

(photo by: notorious d.a.v.)

Making every Monday night an experience for everyone involved will help create a brand around Rock For Hunger. A brand that people will want to be a part of. Where volunteers will never leave without thinking, holy shit, I changed someone's life, had a good time, heard great music and will remember this event for the rest of my life.

Clients
Making all of my clients feel like Rock Stars is another goal I have for myself. It may not be a stage with thousands of sweating fans, but a blog post that gets 20 comments and 5 sales is Rock Star status for small businesses. Having them feel the appreciation, the strength and reach that is possible with a little technique and planning, will instill not only confidence in that individual but for that team as a whole.

It's kinda like hip-hop. 50 Cent blows up and takes his crew with him. Now Llyod Bands, Tony Yayo and company are starts in their own right and their magic spreads far beyond that of just 50. Companies can feel this same power as one person lands a monster sale and passes their excitement on to the rest of the office. Rock Star status is contageous.

Rock Star status is a feeling
The feeling you get when you are so proud of your accomplishments that others recognize it for you. Being the voice in a PodCast. Meeting new colleagues, business associates or prospects on a Social Network and having the power to control the conversation. Recognition in your local community.

"Hey that's Jim the Realtor."
"Heck yea, I'm Jim the Realtor, I know this community and I can help you know it too!"

I have had some great moments being in the spotlight and I know just how amazing that feeling is. Giving that feeling to someone else is one of the most powerful things I have to offer!

My Rock Star Life
So as I roll on with the Rock For Hunger promotions in this stretch run, look at how much fun and excitement is in my voice as we roll through XL 106.7, Real Rock 101.1, Podcasts, Video Interviews, blog posts, interviews and other "Rock Star" like experiences.

I'll be thinking about you the whole time and how by being in my position, I can help you too. That's what I have to offer. Come and take it from me.

How big of a Rock Star do you want to be?

-Greg Rollett

Election Participation is Everything for Gen-Y

Tomorrow is the big day. The impact may be larger than you think in terms of youth voting. You see, there was more focus on Gen-Y than ever with this election and if we don't show up at the polls, once again we will have dropped the ball and proven that we are not yet ready to lead and take responsibility for the things happening in this country and the world.

There has been a tremendous push in the way the youth is reached and if the polls are no shows for Gen-Y, then marketers are going to have to rethink marketing plans to go along with this generation.

Social Media
For the last 2 years or so, Social Media has been pushed down the throats of marketers, PR reps, corporations, CEO and advertising campaigns. This election has been no exception.

Jeremiah Owyang, a research analyst at Forrester broke down the candidates response on the major social sites. He did it to show the lopsidedness that Obama has over Social Media yet if you add some numbers together there are a lot of people using Social Media to relate to the candidates.

Facebook
Obama: 2,379,102 supporters
McCain: 620,359 supporters
Total: 2,999,461

Myspace
Obama: Friends: 833,161
McCain: Friends: 217,811
Total: 1,050,972

YouTube
Obama: Channel Views: 18,413,110
McCain: Channel Views: 2,032,993
Total: 20,446,103

Twitter
Obama: @barackobama has 112,474 followers
McCain: @JohnMcCain (is it real?) 4,603 followers
Total: 117,077

These 2 men have an amazing stronghold on the Social Media landscape. If we estimate that Twitter has 2 million users, 5.9% of people on Twitter are following one of the Presidential Candidates.

How Will This Impact Social Media?
The numbers and the movement on these networks are the highest of any other users in the world. Their visibility is high, the conversations they spark are high and the attention they have grabbed are through the roof.

If the youth vote does not turn out, marketers will have to rethink how they use YouTube to market videos to Gen-Y. We know that views are not the end all statistic for market relevance or monetization, but if these videos that hit home cannot get us off the couch and into the polls, then well the future does not look bright for ROI or monetization on the platform.

Myspace and Facebook face the same dilemma. The noise that is occurring on the networks may be just that, noise. The groups, the online petitions the banners and avatars will mean nothing if no one goes to the polls.

Mainstream Media

• MTV held discussions with nearly every presidential candidate.
• CNN tapped into YouTube for debates and discussions.
• Current TV had live Tweets and will use Digg and Twitter all day tomorrow.
• Rick Sanchez is using Twitter for story angles.
• The Source, Rolling Stone, Vibe Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and other youth focused magazines had candidates grace the cover in a time when a bad month could mean doors closing

If the youth doesn't vote, we won't get another opportunity to have our voices heard like we did this time around. Why would companies like CNN put hard dollars into something that didn't make them money in the long run.

Why would MTV halt viewings of the Hills or other money making shows to put up election coverage if no one takes action?

Why would Rolling Stone put people on the cover if magazines won't sell?

Be heard.
Gen-Y has the ability to be a real threat to change in this nation. It's part of the reason that Barack Obama has come this far. We want to see a difference. It all boils down to IF WE ARE GOING TO STAND UP AND MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE.

I don't care who, where or why you voted, just vote. Get involved and take all this precious technology we have at our disposal, learn about what is happening in our world, in your backyard and do something about it. Voting is not the end all, be all, but it is a baby step in actually doing something that is bigger than your XBox, bigger than iTunes and bigger than that text from the girl at the coffee shop.

Let's prove that we can be Generation WE. Let's show them that Social Media doesn't just make noise, it also produces.

It's on you.

Greg Rollett