Blog of the Week: TheFutureBuzz

Hey successful bloggers of the world: you are my new superheroes. This stuff takes time and energy, a good strategy, inspiration, and sticking to your blog’s hook or theme.

One of my favorites is The Future Buzz – Adam Singer‘s blog. Can I just geek out for a minute? This guy provides 100% useful, interesting, engaging content. Nearly everything he does is relevant to my interests. Thanks, Adam. The occasional list and graph is like the cherry on top of my social media geek sundae. Check out his  70 Usable Stats from the 2009 State of the Blogosphere. I can’t believe I wasn’t following him on Twitter yet.

For now, readers should know my blog is solely an experiment in becoming a web marketing practitioner. I’m eating up blog posts like 50 Blogging Lessons on Futurebuzz.com and Mashable lists. I feel a little like Neo in the Matrix, uploading information into his brain for the first time – except I actually have to work for it.

As I plan where this blog is going after I pass the “student” phase, or whether to keep it, my goal is to have a unique brand. The best blog authors are passionate about one thing, are experts/thought leaders, and probably don’t mind culling this information into a coherent post five times a week. I hope to be there someday.

Web Marketing Strategy – Day 3

In case you missed them, here’s Day1 and Day 2 of my Web Marketing Strategy in 5 Days, starring a marketing plan for fledgling non-profit Scrap 4 Schools.

Status Reports!

Scrap 4 Schools is in the fast lane, there’s no doubt about it. They’ve made connections, picked up scrap, and delivered to multiple elementary schools. Jennifer and the Board officially filed the necessary 501c3 status paperwork, which allows S4S to function as a charity and play with the big kids. This will allow them to register with sites such as:

• GuideStar.org – Necessary to establish credibility and start fundraising.
• NetworkforGood.org – Widely used online donation and web fundraising service.
• VolunteerMatch.org – Location-based volunteer registration and volunteer project search engine. Fantastic.
• GoodSearch.com/GoodShop.com – PPC fundraising portal for charities.

On top of it, S4S received half-page coverage in a local paper (click on News) and a truck full of paper rolls from their plant. As their sole marketing consultant, I had a mini nervous breakdown about press coverage coming way before an online media room or, uh, a mission statement. I added it to my web marketing strategy Must Do list, along with a bunch of ideas found on SocialEdge.org, a site for UK non-profits that works nicely for the US. Incidentally, this link became my most popular tweet ever.

Web Marketing Strategy Must-Do List for Scrap 4 Schools (on-going):

• Web Architecture and SEO. This is a really big part of the plan, but it involves some decisions I can’t make alone. Stay tuned!
• Press Room. Quickly becoming my top priority, especially since people will want to know how it works. Will contain: press releases, media mentions, boilerplate background, logos, and a fab photo gallery. Need: volunteers to make this happen, who can also write and function online. I smell internship.
• Testimonials. Quotes from satisfied corporate and school partners, and more importantly – video testimonials.
• Video Introduction. I aim to get Jennifer and Board members on video talking about Scrap 4 Schools as the first thing you see on the website, because they’re just so darned excited about it.
• Blogging. Our working mom-heroes don’t have much time to blog or tweet. I’ll introduce them to social media management tools, like HootSuite and TweetDeck, and scheduled posts. I know Jennifer lives on her iPhone, and that’s important to consider.
• Facebook. Firstly, I’ll set up a way that S4S admins can cross-post to just about anything. Secondly, Facebook will be a big arena for them. In just a few days with no promotional effort, their Facebook group already has double-digit fans. These women are connected and FB is a big score for them.
• Twitter. If the Board can get into it, Twitter will get them the connections they need, and fast. Remember, her dream is to have Governor Schwarzenegger following Scrap 4 Schools. If I can get @GuyKawasaki to follow and @Yuricon to list me, I know they can do it. #DontYouJustLoveTwitter??

The rest will come after a good, long strategic planning session in the new year. Days 4 and 5 are going to be a bit spaced out, folks. Stay tuned for my plans for analytics and measuring ROI – as best as can be achieved. The good news is we are basically starting with a blank slate with Scrap 4 Schools. This is also a challenge that will require focus and a few leaps-of-faith.

Web Marketing Strategy – Day 2

Do me a favor and ignore the sense of time passing in my “web marketing strategy in 5 days” posts, and it’ll make more sense. Like when you watch the Harry Potter films after having read the lovely books. The Hogwarts school term does not start the day after his birthday (July 31), that’s all I’m saying.

To recap, I’m helping a group of friends/colleagues with a web marketing strategy for their brand new non-profit, Scrap 4 Schools. Like that internal link there? See, I’m learning SEO.

Today’s lesson deals with client coordination. Amazing though the group of committed working moms may be, we haven’t had time to catch up on Castle, let alone sit in the same room together to discuss organizational development. Plus, most of them work in the Ventura office, and I’m up here in Santa Barbara with a busy schedule. It is what it is. Note to self: Google Chat, Yahoo!IM for the future. I’m taking suggestions for long-distance client communications.

At the company Holiday Party, I had a brief chat with Jennifer (founder of S4S, pictured on the left). She’s beaming. We talk about getting her on Twitter. So much to say, so little time.

The following week, she’s plugged into Twitter without much prodding from me – hooray. She says, “My goal is to have the Governor following us on Twitter.”

It’s not a full grown strategic plan, but I adore her way of thinking.

Pretty soon I’ll need to know the primary ways they think they’ll be raising money. I’m not a Board member, but I see them building a network of school and corporate contacts, keeping them engaged in person and online. I’m interested in ways supporters can get the most mileage out of the Scrap 4 Schools sponsorship, and how school art programs will get a little publicity out of it too. Benefits all around!

To start, Scrap 4 Schools will need a simple but dynamic website – with a friendly CMS and snappy look. I love that another co-worker has volunteered her time to design a site, and I introduce her to the idea of WordPress as a platform for the near future.

Meanwhile, here’s what I/we have done so far:

• Start S4S a WordPress blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook group page, and get on LinkedIn.
• Registered their blog with Technorati and verified it with the Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines.
• Outline an makeshift marketing plan and wing it until I meet with the Board to insert real goals here. SWOT analysis, the whole nine yards.

From this, I come up with preliminary marketing goals:

1. Create a functioning online network so people can find S4S
2. Build reputation of trust and reliability in connecting with S4S staff
3. Generate excitement by billing as a double-positive: helping schools and the environment
4. Integrate as much recognition as possible for corporate partners, donors, and the recipient schools

Skip back to Day 1 or forward to Day 3.

Web Marketing Strategy in 5 Days?

I’ll be frank: At the time of this blog entry, I’m a marketing professional-turned-web marketing student – trying to get a project finished for the most amazing class. I really must sing praises for the Web Marketing Applications class through UC Santa Barbara Extension, and for Lorrie Thomas, a fab teacher, and the students who blow me away with their great ideas.

I’m learning the ropes here, but my footing is pretty good. Naturally, I was anxious to help out everyone I knew with web marketing. When I came to my senses, I decided to keep it simple and assist a co-worker and friend Jennifer Johnson with her fledgling non-profit organization Scrap 4 Schools.

Scrap 4 Schools (S4S if you’re lazy like me) has a small team and simple mission: take large quantities of scrap paper and goods from commercial businesses – like the Santa Barbara News-Press – and donate them to community school art programs. This is a Working Mom-fueled enterprise, and their enthusiasm is generating lots of buzz. S4S is starting out as a rag-tag team of people with day jobs.

“School project” or not, I’m here to set S4S on the right web marketing path. My initial idea was to create a basic web marketing strategy in five days.

Ideals are nice.

• Skip to Day 2 and Day 3.