The conference’s wrap up day had another good agenda.  Topics ranging from managing brands with search to thinking about search globally.  The most interesting session I attended was the Intersection of Social Media and Search.  Social media seems to be the biggest topic in the space today as the evolution of Web 2.0 continues and refines.  There was a great panel collected to discuss the topic:

Steve Marder – CEO Eurekster
Lee Odden – TopRank Online Marketing
Bill Flitter – VP Marketing Pheedo

Highlights:

Search is the mechanism for communication.  Social Media is humanizing this communication. 

The old social model was to have communication back and forth with consumers and media.  The new model has a new layer of communication which is social in nature, such as blogging. 

How does a company get involved in the social aspect of the web and how can they be successful?  Here are a few guidelines provided by the panel. 

Listen and understand what your market is passionate about.  Every company has one – know it or not.

1. Be authentic in all communications to your community.
2. Be compassionate with your audience.
3. Be transparent.
4. Exhibit integrity.
5. Truthfulness is key.

There are some best practices to follow when starting a social campaign.  These are merely steps to follow as you integrate your campaigns with all other form of media.

• Take an inventory of your existing media and content.
• Keyword optimization of your media and content.
• Research the social media communities for your space.
• Create profiles within the key communities and become an active member.  This must be on an individual basis and not a profile for your brand.
• Grow and foster a network of friends within the community.
• Participate in the community.
• Measure results.

Social bookmarking sites are an immediate way to gain traction within the social media segment.  These sites include:  Del.ici.ous, FURL, StumblUpon, Google Bookmarks, Yahoo Bookmarks, etc.

For additional information or coverage of the summit, check out the official cofference blog.

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