Facebook has a few of the Internet’s “biggies” rockin’ on their heels. This happens.

And one of them happens to be Google. From what I can see, Google has an impressive

advantage in competing (if you want to call it competing) with Facebook and any other “comers.”

A few of Google’s advantages, (at least the way I see it):

1)      First: Google is Google; they don’t, at least so far, feel they are bigger than the Internet,
or that they are the Internet, what Google does, (love em’ or hate em’) is leverage the Internet - to the max.

2)      Second: Google’s been around. It makes them the “crafty” veteran.

3)      Third: Google, for all intent and purpose is not about search. I know, you’re saying this guy’s nuts. If Google isn’t about search, what is Google about? Well, Google is about organization - first and foremost. High-quality search results are utterly dependent on the quality of information organization. And Google’s passion and obsession is organization.

4)      Fourth: and I believe this is important, and so painfully obvious as to be so easily missed, is with Google there is no need for a login…think about that.
(Gmail is email, that’s different.) For one, not having to bother with a login caters to a fundamental human desire, which is the need to be instantly gratified, and the freedom to roam – anywhere and anonymously. And as far as social networks go, any place that has a login pretty much makes for a “walled garden.” (Twitter may be the walled garden exception.) And human beings, by our very nature don’t like to be “walled in” for long, no matter how nice the garden.

5)      Five: Regardless of how lush a garden is, eventually, a lot of people get tired of looking at it, and they want to see a new one.

It could make things interesting if Google comes up with a no-login, (or the illusion of no-login) approach to the "Social Network"… or, have they already done that?

Now on to Facebook; why doesn’t FB let their stuff truly be crawled by Google? What makes them so special?  Well, let me see…hey… I know… it’s about the money. FB can come up with all the corporate jousting they want and I bet it still washes out to money; and it probably goes something like this: Facebook to Google; “hey Google, you want to crawl our exclusively exclusive stuff – pay me.” Then again, who knows how Google and Facebook may "buddy-up" to carve up the world in the name of "enhanced user experience."

Oh, by the way, you can Google us at Blackball Online Marketing Pittsburgh.

It’s not often I come up with advantages or praise for Facebook so let’s give it a try.

The Facebook advantages: (naming convention pun intended)

1)      They’re not Google. They don’t have to live up to a solid history. They can change things and test without global outcry so far.

2)      Google’s being the crafty veteran is also seen in Internet terms as an old company. Dare I say it; Microsoft-like. And not a place for the younger generation to hang out and converse.

3)      Facebook is about entertainment and interaction. Ever look into the traffic ratings of entertainment sites? It seems we want our entertainment far more than we want to work. (Trending Topics anyone?) This is one of the main reasons Google bought YouTube.

4)      Most Facebook users never logout. Thus eliminating the need to login. (Entertainment remember) If a user has to login to get in touch with all their needs, wants, wishes, desires so be it. Does Facebook log you out after 2 hours on non activity? I don’t think so. Why is that? Average time on site statistics ring a bell?

5)      Facebook’s ever changing design and user interface is what makes it appear different constantly. Pure hell for the companies trying to set up a page, but joy for the user apparently.

Our Facebook page is located at Blackball Online Marketing Pittsburgh. Like it if you can find it.

Doing Social Media Well - Audiences

As an Internet Marketing Business in Pittsburgh we hear discussions throughout Social Media circles like, “Is Social Media for my company?” or “How do I monetize Social Media” or “How do I measure the Return On Investment for Social Media” It seems folks want to make money on Social Media platforms by advertising and without doing the homework.

In our previous post Social Networks: No Pushing Please, we mentioned the need for activity and interaction without hard sales tactics. This is true throughout all of the stages of Social Media Interaction listed below. Support and Customer Service will promote you better and faster than any tagline. Remember the mantra of The Godfather “Helping People Is Good Business”.

Becoming familiar with the Social Media Landscape:

When we were children and were introduced into new social situations we all reacted differently. As adults we carry some of those same traits with us into the digital world.  Add to this uncertainty the fact that the technology can be a barrier to some. This has the effect of causing a boisterous demeanor in some whilst others sit silently and observe. In our opinion there is no right or wrong here; only differing methods of and levels of participation.

Identifying the audience is always the most important thing when conversing in any situation in real life or digitally. Such is the case with Social Media. Communication must start with a mutual understanding on some level. Let’s analyze the landscape so we can interpret our audience with more effectiveness.

Social Media has different forms of participants:

The Lurker – one who watches and reads but says nothing (observationalist)

The Toe-dipper – a former lurker who is just testing the waters

The Rookie – just starting to explore and participate

The Inter-actor – A Social Media pro in training who is beginning to interact in the community

The PRO – Someone well versed in the ins and outs of their platforms and conversation etiquette

The MASTER – One who knows they don’t or can’t possibly know it ALL

Everyone goes through some form of each stage on this list. There is a learning curve. We believe in persistence and perseverance. Our point is that Social Media takes involvement; lots of it. To cultivate a client relationship requires a level of trust. This cannot be overlooked. Social Media is not, in our opinion, advertising. Doing Social Media Well requires that personal touch that should come from within your organization, your audience can tell.

What do Libraries, the Internet, Search Engines and your Website have in Common?

Think of your Website like a book in the library

Well, just about everything. Search Engines index and organize information with the goal of fulfilling a particular search request. A library provides a structure for the organization of books, publications and other hard copy materials which makes it easier and more efficient for us to search and find what interests us. We enter the library, locate (search) the general subject matter we’re interested in by looking at the category title headings on top of the book cases, asking the librarian, or digging through the card catalog. We then filter our way through to our category of interest to the specific subject we want.

So, a book grabs our interest based on the title and cover, we then do a browse of the flaps or covers to learn a bit more from the description, then a peek at the author,  and if we like what we’ve read so far we flip through some pages and move on from there.

Here’s how it goes in a nutshell; we locate a structure, either digital or brick and mortar, which organizes and stores what we feel is the information or content we’re looking for, we then conduct our search, then we act on those search results.

Ok, so what? If you’ve been around a bit nobody really needs a primer on how we interact with a brick and mortar library, it’s automatic. So tell me something I might not know. Well here it is; Your Website, the Internet and Search Engines work just like a library, and your Website is a “book” in a global digital library.

Let’s say you happen to have a really great book in the library, but you don’t have a title, a brief description about your book, etc., etc., how’s anybody going to spot it much less get an idea on what your book is about? Right of the bat the library can't catalog or put your book anywhere because you didn't give the library anything to catalog your book with. It’s like a 6 year old walked into the library, hid your book, making your great book meaningless because nobody can find it even if they’re specifically looking for it.

We’re broaching this subject because of the vast number of Websites that we see daily which don’t contain the bare-bones basics necessary to be part of the party when somebody is using a Search Engine to locate a particular good or service which you may supply. Just like that book in the library with no title, flap, cover or back cover description and all those other things that initially define a book to a person with the intent of capturing interest. Think of the Search Engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo etc.. like a giant digital card catalog.

On the Web, content is king as they say, but the content has to be defined and organized in the background as well as on page. This provides the support which gives content its best shot at being seen as king. And history has proven that kings like to be seen.

Fundamentally, the point is to treat your Website just like a book in a library. This will give yourself the best chance at being found and included in the decision making by consumers when they look for your specialty.

Here are some basics to start with:

-          Title your Home page with what you’re about, not your company’s name, that’s not a title, that’s authorship, you can squeeze your name in at the title’s end.

-          Describe your primary offerings briefly in the Home page description.

-          Define each interior page like a chapter in a book with its own title and brief description.

-          Treat your menu / navigation items as a table of contents.

-          Treat keywords as your index.

In the overall scheme of things, think of what will resonate with the people you want to reach and talk to. Speak your customers’ language and they should respond.

Oh, as a side note, most of the nerds that devised these Search Engines we use today were very involved students of library sciences.

Think of Internet Marketing Companies in Pittsburgh like Blackball Online Marketing as your research librarian that help the search engines, and ultimately your customers, find you online.