I love this infographics case study from Wordstream about how they just got into using infographics as an internet marketing tool. I’ve been recommending friends of mine to small businesses who want to get in on it. The potential for links and traffic is huge.

You can see how Wordstream tied social media into politics and the actual infographic here: http://www.vizworld.com/2010/01/infographic-coakley-brown/

I wish they would post some of their best performing infographics to illustrate their points. It’s a long post but worth the read as they give a lot of helpful tips. They tell you about the design part and how to do research.

Here are a few quick tips for creating a killer infographic:

• Make your infographic relate to your business.
• Don’t just use Wikipedia as a source of research – pick up the phone. “I’m not slamming Wikipedia. It’s great. But I don’t understand why some people in the field rely on flaky sources when it’s so easy to call a University or news source and say, “Hi, can I just verify something?”
• Create a killer headline. “A strong title, illustrative header section and recognizable theme are very important when trying to grab a user’s attention”
• Promote your infographic. Do some Google searches with your keywords and the word “blog” then send a person note to each. This related post has more detail about tweeting and promoting your content.
• They confirm what I’ve seen, the links and traffic aren’t as high from sites like Digg as they once were – finding an influencer to tweet or blog your infographic works wonders. But be realistic too. “While everyone would love a mention by a superstar (like Seth Godin), it’s probably not going to happen. I would advise talking to a few slightly less famous people whom are likely to help out if they find what you’ve done interesting.”
• Send out a press release about the news (something I always do before and sometimes after if it performs very well – they used Market Wire).

What should your infographic be about? Emotion sells.

And like really great link bait, infographics that go viral seem to evoke some sort of emotion, be it humor, fear, lust, shock, empathy, etc.

My favorite advice is this: For your link baiting to be effective, you must be willing to promote the living crap out of it. Even great content doesn’t go viral on its own. It often needs help.

This is important because some people give the bad advice that you just have to create good content & it will spread. It will — if you’re Seth Godin. The rest of us have to work for it – or if you hire someone – pay for it to be done.

It’s one thing to write a press release but you need to do the extra work to push the news or pay for the extra work to promote the content. Sometimes people get confused and think creating and promoting the content is one in the same.

I know I summarized a lot of the post – but it’s still worth reading them both – there’s a lot of details I didn’t cover.

I love Affiliate Summit and here’s why: it’s immensely popular but it remains unpretentious. Is that because its founder Shawn Collins is that way? I’m not sure, but I’ve finally got around to posting about last year’s Affiliate Summit.

The big names – people like Sugarrae, Shoemoney, John Chow, Graywolf, Peter Shankman and others – are totally approachable. You are in the company of millionaires a lot of times but you’d never know they were (except when you hear them talk & behold the talent & brains). There are also many first time affiliates. This is what keeps Affiliate Summit relevant after all these years.

Mr. Big Heart
I was in heels this time (dumb idea) and there’s a lot of walking to do at a conference. By the end of day 2 my feet were so sore. I carried way too much already but after visiting the exhibit hall and picking up swag it was even worse. I had a bag on each shoulder and one in my hand. All heavy. I was running late to catch a cab back to the Trump.

I was at the wrong door trying to find my way to the cab line when I noticed someone trying to help by getting the door for me. He noticed that I was in pain and asked if he could help carry my bags. I saw his Affiliate Summit badge and figured I could trust him. He took the heaviest bag from my shoulder and walked with me to the exit where the cabs were. The line was very long and I would miss my show if I waited. So I decided to walk to the next hotel over to save time and improve my odds.

I wish I’d taken a picture and that I remembered his name but I was focused on the goal. I’m hoping someone will read this and recognize the affiliate with big feet who started his site to sell shoes to people who had a tough time finding shoes that fit. I want to give him an anchor text link!

To my surprise he offered to walk to the next hotel over with me. He waited until I got a taxi and was on my way. He told me he has big feet. What I remember is that he has a big heart.

Update!
A savvy Bryan Goodman who goes by Mr. Bigfoot (hey, I was close) had a Google alert set for “Mr. BigFoot.” He saw this post the same day I wrote it and sent me a kind email. The reason I remembered to post this is because Peter Shankman DMed me on Twitter about a post he wrote about conferences. It reminded me of meeting him and this story. I’d saved this post as a draft hoping to remember Bryan’s name (which didn’t happen.) Hearing back from him made my day – again.

p.s.
Now I wear my stylish but comfortable Fit Flops everywhere in Vegas – especially to conferences.

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I’ve been thinking about clients – the good ones and the not so good ones (which can be subjective).

In Joan Stewart’s free PR tips ebook she mentions the dilemma we face when deciding if we want to take on a new client that we have doubts about. Many times this is obvious – it’s a yes. Then there are clients you have doubts about. There doesn’t seem to be good communication from the start or your prices are too far of a stretch.

Here are some reasons that you might pass on a new client:

1. They have unrealistically high expectations (like that their press release will go viral).
2. The client doesn’t appreciate your skills or think your work or time is valuable.
3. They keep expecting more and more for the same price or even less.
4. The client isn’t willing to pay your fees and try to talk you down (there are all levels in the marketplace – what you think is too low is someone else’s target market. There are also people priced much higher).
5. The client asks you provide service or products that you do not offer.
6. You share different values.
7. You cannot accommodate the volume of work requested.

Any of these sound familiar to you? I wonder if the recession and need for money might tempt you to say yes even when you know it should be a no (but try to talk yourself into).

Are you taking on clients you might otherwise pass on because you need the work? Please share your stories in the comments.

I love to read newspapers and blogs on Sunday. It’s my catch up day. Other people visit friends and family, I read a lot. Here’s something I learned that might help you.

Tip: Use your social media profiles to welcome people.

What do I mean? Here are some examples:

Let’s say your blog is featured in the newspapers - welcome your new readers. I read about a web site for weight loss today and went to the site. I looked for an intro and guidance and found none. The blogger could’ve written a post welcoming new readers and I would’ve felt more at home instead of like a newcomer – a little disoriented and lost.

Here’s someone who got it right. GeekDad blog was featured on Time.com and writes:

Hello and welcome to any and all new readers of GeekDad! We’re glad you decided to check us out, and hope you find something here that interests you enough to return…Enjoy, and thanks again for stopping by!

The entire post tells readers what to they’ll find on the blog, links to archives and introduces readers to the team. It’s very welcoming.

Another example is if you’re a hotel on Twitter and you know there’s a big convention in town. Or a wedding party. Or, people told you they are coming via your Facebook Page. You should welcome them. It makes people feel special, appreciated.

Or maybe you’re a spa, or visitor’s convention or state that has a group of special guests coming. High rollers know that when they show up the venue expects them. It’s easy to recreate that feeling by welcoming the group on social networking sites the guests are on.

A Missed Opportunity
I let a local restaurant know that my husband’s company was coming to dinner that night. And the CEO was in town. On their Facebook Page. They could say welcome, please let us know if there’s any special requests we can accommodate for you in a message back. Or, they could greet us and ask if we were the people who wrote on their wall and welcome us and thank me for being a fan. They didn’t. The place wasn’t very crowded and we were obviously there straight from work.

Trump Las Vegas Tweets a Welcome
Trump Las Vegas welcomed people in town for conventions. This would be especially effective if the convention were held at the Trump. They could also give tips because while we’re there we’re going to want to know things like where to eat, the best shows, how to get a cab, etc.

Here’s the tweet:

This hotel gets it too

If you’re active on social media sites – consider yourself the welcome wagon. Let guests know you’re glad they’re there. It’s a great way to do some online PR and build some loyalty by treating your guests like stars. It doesn’t cost anything to do — just some extra thought.

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I once did some contract work for a business owner in California. I was born there but have never done business there. I blogged about California businesses and it was eye-opening.

The laws sounded good on paper but they were often horrible for business (read: expensive). They legislated laws that were costly and amounted to public welfare. California still suffers from the weight of these decisions.

Though I tend to be more moderate to liberal I live in very conservative Utah – and have since 8th grade. Somewhere along the past few years I’ve really loved living in Utah.

Despite what people say (we’ve been called Utards, close-minded and all sorts of things) it’s one of the best run states in the nation. Utah was voted #2 (again) for the top 10 pro business states.

In fact, we were cheering when my husband’s company decided to choose Grand America hotel in Salt Lake to host their annual sales meeting for financial planners in 2012. We can’t wait to show off the hospitality and beauty of this state (which many of you saw during the Olympics). First rate athletes from all over the world live and ski here.

There are a few recent announcements that have been HUGE for Utah. Let me start with the two tech companies who’ve announced that they are expanding or opening operations here. Neither are lightweights. Both could expand in Silicon Valley but chose Utah. They are companies that I’ve been invested in (starting with Photoshop): Adobe (which bought Omniture last year) and Twitter.  Adobe plans to build $100M campus and hire 1,000 workers. And Twitter just posted their first job listing for its new Utah data center.

We already have eBay offices here. I can only hope that Google is next – and that a Utah city is in on their pilot program to offer free high speed internet.

Here are some reasons that Utah is attractive for business:
Relatively low taxes for businesses
Educated young high tech work force who is used to being underpaid
Entrepreneurial spirit
Many people are fluent inbanother language
The airport is close to downtown and will soon be connected via light rail

I worked in HR at Novell several years ago and saw first hand the number of quality applicants we got every day for high tech jobs. Many graduated from BYU or the U and wanted to stay in Utah. Novell has never returned to their former glory but it showed me that tech companies are in a very strong position to recruit here if they are based in Utah.

Now for some other Utah news that has had me cheering. Energy Solutions (formerly EnviroCare) was constantly lobbying to bring foreign waste to Utah, which proved very controversial. Instead they reversed their strategy for the good of their long-term future, Utah and the country. They have withdrawn their application to import nuclear waste.

Instead of taking the waste the company will consult and offer technology to help countries handle the waste on site. Governor Herbert seems to have taken the credit (I couldn’t get the straight story when I asked the company at a recent lunch they held – so I haven’t confirmed this). This is very good news  (I bet Terry Tempest Williams and Sam Rushforth were cheering too).

Last of all the LDS church which is based in Utah and a major land owner in the country is testing new building designs for churches that generate as much energy (or more) than they use. Using their purchasing power they have gotten the cost of installing solar energy and other green features to affordable levels. They are going to expose many church members around the world to recycling and solar power. This will have a big affect on their lives and sets a very strong example. I’m waiting for the day when we have solar operated temples (esp for the lights).

I don’t usually write about politics but I couldn’t resist. I was inspired by Holly Richardson’s blog over the weekend and wanted to emphasize what big wins these are for Utah.

Way to go Utah!

Today is the last day of the Fourteen Days of Foursquare series. I’m relieved it’s over in a way – fourteen days was long! However, focusing on Foursquare has given me a lot of insights into how businesses are using this social network to recognize and reward people for visiting. I have a lot of case studies to draw from.

For online PR value – we got retweeted by Pizza Hut and Six Flags. We got noticed by PR Newswire for including them – most of the posts came as a result of press releases posted by the businesses themselves on PR Newswire. We could’ve done even better at the promotion part and could even write a press release about the series.

My favorite posts were the ones about good causes and discounts on Foursquare. Many people joined in with examples via Twitter or in the comments. My least favorite was about sports (probably thanks to having a closed mind about pro sports thanks to 4 brothers who watched them more than I could stand growing up).

Here are Four Foursquare Trends to watch:

1. Foursquare badges go off-phone and on page.
   The idea of rewarding people for taking action can apply to more than just checking in through your iPhone. You can reward people for participating in your forum, commenting on your blog or otherwise contributing to your web site. The most visible example of this is Huffington Post. The site came out with their own set of badges to identify and recognize super users.
2. Foursquare joins the social media marketing promotions mix.
   To enter contests, win giveaways or otherwise qualify for promotions online, many ask you to take specific actions online (thereby increasing traffic, links and exposure to their business).  They usually ask you to comment on their blog, become a fan on Facebook, tweet the offer, etc. I’m seeing more people add Foursquare check-ins to the list.
3. Foursquare becomes another way for fans to stalk celebrities and for celebrities to capitalize on their  fame.
   Celebrities are already getting paid to check-in at sponsored events. Additionally Foursquare has made it so you can follow celebrities and get updates without the need for them to follow you back. Since celebrities really don’t want you to know exactly where they are at all times, they can use this selectively and reward check-ins at concerts and other events. You can also see what restaurants or venues celebrities favor. I’m waiting to see rock stars give a mayor deal of a free concert t-shirt or back stage passes.
4. Foursquare as a way to crowdsource the best places to eat, visit or shop in any city.
   Thanks to talks with all 3 of the major search engines, Foursquare is poised to become part of web searches. Search results wouldn’t show individual check-ins but give you an idea of which places draw the most crowds. If you were looking for a place to eat near your hotel when traveling and one showed multiple check-ins you would probably be more likely to follow suite.

One trend I hope to see is auto check-ins – a possibility that Mark Cuban recently called on his blog.

Here’s a recap of all of the Foursquare posts – please feel free to link to any of the posts on your blog and do a trackback so we’ll know:

• Foursquare for Real: 14 Days of How Real Life Businesses Use Foursquare
• Day 1: Foursquare for Tourism
• Day 2: How Pro Basketball Let the Foursquare Games Begin
• Day 3: Foursquare for Fun – Six Flags
• Day 4: Foursquare for Jobs
• Day 5: Ford’s Foursquare Road Trip
• Day 6: Pizza Hut Goes Social with Foursquare
• Day 7: Foursquare Etiquette at Weddings
• Day 8: Foursquare Discounts
• Day 9: Foursquare for a Good Cause
• Day 10: Teen Influencers not Hip to Foursquare
• Day 11: Seven Foursquare Partnerships
• Day 12: Foursquare Courts the Search Engines
• Day 13: Unofficial Foursquare Offers
• Day 14: Four Foursquare Trends to Watch

You don’t need official channels to be effective on foursquare.

Did you know that you don’t need to go through Foursquare to have a badge or leave tips  or create a special for mayors or check ins? It’s true. A lot of Utah businesses and others are forgoing the official route and fast-tracking their Foursquare marketing by going unofficial.

Why be official?  Be unofficial.  Create a great offer that people will talk about.  Create great service that makes people come back over and over again.  Create a great product that people will buy no matter the price!

Head over to Nigel’s post for some examples of unofficial Foursquare offers. If you have any examples to share with us, please post in the comments.

Yesterday I wrote about Foursquare partnerships and promised to write today about the biggest potential deal — with search engines.

Recently Foursquare has been in talks with the big 3 search engines: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. They would index check-in data in search results (likely alongside news, videos and images relating to your search. Now you’ll also see check-ins). I can even imagine this being integrated with Google Maps.

Let’s say you’re in a new city. Maybe you don’t have a taxi and just want something close by that’s good. You can check reviews but what if you want to know what’s currently most popular (or where to go to possibly meet some singles or what a celebrity likes). You could get aggregate information about check-in popularity through a search engine.

This would take Foursquare into the mainstream because you wouldn’t have to use it to find it helpful. However, they would still rely on check-ins (which I’ve heard are at about a million a week). If it’s like most social networks there are a lot more lurkers than participants. For now Foursquare doesn’t have critical mass. But more exposure through search engines could help there too.

Twitter is about what people are saying and Foursquare is about where people are going. Foursquare cofounder and CEO Dennis Crowley said,

“Twitter helped the world and the search engines know what people are talking about. Foursquare would allow people to search for the types of place people are going to – and where is trending – not what.”

I see more integration with Twitter and other social networks like Facebook – if not officially at least unofficially. In other words, multi-platform promotions that integrate with Foursquare. Mom bloggers do this all the time with giveaways. You enter their contests by commenting on their post, following them on Twitter (or tweeting about the contest), becoming a fan on Facebook (or writing on their wall). They just need to add, checking in on Foursquare.

Here’s a small example of how McDonald’s integrated Twitter and Foursquare:

Watch for how search engines will get in on this game. First they tried to buy Foursquare, and when they were turned down now they want to work with them. Signing new partnerships with search engines would cement Foursquare’s leadership in the location based social network space. The deals wouldn’t be bad for investors either.

On KSL News last night I saw a story that is the classic David vs. Goliath story. Then I read about it on City Weekly (so should you). Pillsbury is suing a local Utah business for copyright infringement. The name of the company that sells cookie dough is My Dough Girl. Apparently that is too close to Pillsbury’s trademark Doughboy name.

So I guess that it also means that you can’t have a company called Dough Mama or Dough Daddy, Dough Brother or Dough Sister. The American Fork company Flour Girls and Dough Boys may be next. If your name is close to Doughboy, you could lose a lot of real dough. My Dough Girl plans to change their name in response — which could cost about $50k.

Sadly, My Dough Girl plans to meet the demands – because they cannot afford to fight it.

Thus, the My Dough Girl name will disappear because Cromar plans to acquiesce to the corporation’s demands. While she would like to fight General Mills, “I’m afraid I’ll be broke and homeless if I do that,” she says.

While Pillsbury have won by brute strength, a move like this is a bad PR move. It leaves people with a bad taste for a brand with a sweet image.  I know it has left a bad taste in mine. With social media, people have more power. They will boycott and hate the company for their bad faith efforts.

My friend Julienne sent this tweet.

Here’s another:

There’s already a Facebook Page against the move, which is also a target of General Mills lawyers. “Corporate counsel for General Mills has asked Cromar to not talk to the media about the squabble and to kill the Facebook page” — which was started by her supporters.

I hope this brings a lot of new business and support to My Dough Girl. It certainly makes General Mills look like a bully. I wish I were an artist and could draw the image of the Doughboy bully to illustrate how I feel about it. One thing I love about social media is that it’s pretty hard to squelch disagreement and it gives people a public voice that they didn’t have before. You can’t really control it and that can be good in cases like this. Social media is a huge asset to freedom of speech.

All of this reminds me of another sweet lawsuit involving cupcakes.

Today Nigel wrote about partnerships on Foursquare. One of the indicators of Foursquare’s success besides their growth rate is the company they keep. They stay ahead of their competition through high profile partnerships.

Starbucks was one of Foursquare’s first high profile partnerships (note the success):

“Since running their  Mayor Special on foursquare, Starbucks (already the most checked in retailer on the platform prior to running the Special) has seen a 50% increase in Check-Ins at its locations.”

Foursquare reminds me of Google in that they are willing to innovate and try things without worrying that they are perfect and ready for prime time. For example, on their blog they don’t always capitalize Foursquare (see above quote.) Imagine that getting by your marketing department!

But Foursquare is still the young, hip company on the block. Sometimes their partnerships don’t go perfectly (see this post about the Starbucks offer.) Still they continue to sign big name deals.

Here are 7 high profile Foursquare partnerships besides Starbucks

1. Zagat
   The partnership will provide Foursquare users with new “Foodie” badges when they check in to Zagat rated restaurants.
2. New York Times
   They created special badges and features for the Winter Olympics.
3. Lucky Magazine
   Foursquare added the Lucky Shopping Directory, which is a list of about 700 stores. If you check in to a store, you get tips and deals as well as Foursquare badges.
4. BART California subway system
   BART ran a promotion to give $25 promotional tickets and to enter you just had to log on at BART stations.
5. Huffington Post
   The popular blog not only partnered with Foursquare but they copied the idea of Foursquare badges and now rewards people active on the site with special badges (this is a new innovation — steal this idea!)
6. MTV and VH1
   MTV is not the star it once was, they are one of the brands who are innovative in their use of Foursquare. You can follow celebrities (they don’t have to follow you back) and see where they are checking in (when they want you to). Celebrities also leave tips about their favorite venues. As the article points out they may get paid to do that – because it’s a form of endorsement. Which brings up the next wave I see which is: endorsed venues and sponsored recommendations.
7. Harvard
   Heading to college this Fall and want to know the town and campus hot spots? Foursquare can help. I’m surprised more colleges and universities haven’t offered this. You can get tips and connect with classmates and professors and most importantly see where the popular spots on campus are.

Tomorrow I’m going to talk about another wave of partnerships that are even bigger for Foursquare’s future.