More and more new media advocates of late have been saying that establishment corporate types, the over 40 crowd let's say, and traditional PR firms and practitioners, are responsible for the lag in social media adoption among businesses. Earlier this week, for example, Hollis Thomases, the President and Founder of Web Ad.vantage, Inc. sent me this item. By Mike Grehan, it is about his astonishment upon learning, after checking around, that a lot of traditional PR firms aren't up to speed with social media. Responding to a reader comment to an earlier column he wrote, Mr. Grehan says:

What struck me particularly was her comment: "I think traditional PR firms may be on their way out as well."

How many traditional PR firms are embracing new style strategies such as the ones Mettler describes? I started looking at how many PR firms are up to speed… I was stunned at how few I came across that actually had search and social media in the mix.

Then just yesterday I came across this piece. By Janet Driscoll Miller, and entitled, "Can We Close the Marketing Generational Gap," I found it a rather astute assessment of why reluctance to social media still runs high in established corporations principally run by establishment, older middle and upper management types. I hasten to add there are exceptions. We have clients who are exceptions, in fact. Age isn'talways the defining factor, of course. But speaking generally…

Ms. Miller writes: I’m 36, and I can tell you that with a few noted exceptions, most of the marketers I know over the age of 40 don’t really seem to understand the cutting edge of online marketing, much less the basics.

You'll really want to read both of these posts.

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PROVIDE QUALITY CONTENT – This is the most important thing of all. Some suggest having a minimum of 20 posts before you even begin to promote. I would say that it depends on the industry/depth of your posts, but you get the idea.

Post comments on other blogs, building your reputation as an expert on your given subject, and ALWAYS include a link back to your blog.

Place links to other blogs and websites that have content relevant to your readers (Some call this a Blogroll, but I recommend you include more sites than just blogs. Include other related industry links which will:

a. Build a relationship with other sites and bloggers who will return the favor by adding a reciprocating link back to your site on their blog.

b. Make a phenomenal difference in where your site ranks in search results. Understand that, besides your own site's content, two of the major factors in how a search engine ranks results are- what other sites your site links to that are other relevant results for the same search, and which of these sites link back to you.

c. Make your site "sticky" and keep people coming back. If you have the most relevant list of related links to the same topics, even when your site's own content hasn't been updated, others will still return to your site as a portal to other content on the same subject.

Also, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this:

WRONG WAY: Don't add another page of "links" or "favorites". This kills the gain with search engine results.

RIGHT WAY: You want that list of links to appears somewhere, usually on the right margin, on the SAME PAGE with your content.

Also, make use of sites like Digg, Google Blog Search, del.icio.us, reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati, etc., and incorporate their links into the closure of each blog post so that users link you. Many subjects have networks or web-rings of sites on the same or similar subject matter. It is a form of banner exchange - you get to rotate in a banner spot on other websites that participate in the same web-ring. You reciprocate by placing the banner code on your own site too. Another handy way to easily promote your blog is to place a link to your site in the signature of your emails.

TRACK YOUR TRAFFIC! If your blog software provides site statistics, use them. If it doesn't or to augment the data provided, install the tracking code from one of any number of popular traffic-tracking services (personally, I augment my tracking data by also subscribing to Google Analytics and Clicky).

And once again, I cannot reemphasize enough: CONTENT IS KING.

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Podcasting should have a place in every marketer’s budget - especially for lead nurturing and installed base customer communication. Why? The simple answer: easy to consume content anytime, anywhere – many listen to their favorites while exercising, driving, running errands, waiting in lines, and even while washing dishes. All of the information syndicated in a podcast is timely. Since users have the option to subscribe to daily or weekly feeds from sources that they choose, the information is looked at as more credible and consistent.

Recently I came across this slideshow from John C. Havens of Blogtalkradio.com which touches on some important points regarding what makes podcasting so valuable for corporate and business applications.

We endorse podcasting as a very low cost way for you to augment your installed base customer communications and lead nurturing campaigns with another mode of delivering thought leadership pieces. Keep the pieces to five to ten minutes max and use formats such as interviews with experts, short speeches by company executives, and practical tips for the week. The key is to deliver bite-sized content consistently, at least monthly if not more often, to your subscriber base.

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