Ask Kalena

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I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something about social media space Sphinn that keeps me coming back, day after day. Here are just a few reasons I dig Sphinn:

• It’s a cross between a social media community and a webmaster forum. In that respect it’s unique in a market bombarded with social media sites.
• It has a clear target market aimed directly at my specific industry: search.
• It has a fantastic, enthusiastic and welcoming community of users.
• It isn’t plagued with egos and bury brigades.
• It attracts well-respected professionals and industry rock stars.
• It has features such as stalk, save and sort that just aren’t found at other social media sites.
• It always has the freshest content! Whenever I want to learn more about a breaking story or what’s brand new to the scene, I can always rely on somebody to have Sphunn it.
• Spam is pretty rare and tramped on quickly if found.
• The quality of traffic from Sphinn is always top notch.

About the only thing I dislike about Sphinn is the name. I’m sure a bit more lateral thinking and better domain hunting would have produced a better brand. But for now, I’m proud to call myself a Sphinnster.

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Dear Kalena…

Just found your website today (I think from Sphinn), so I thought I’d see if you can indeed answer my big question, so here it is. Does social media marketing (SMM) have a place within the Media Agency?

As the online marketing industry continues to focus on Social media, with Social Networks getting all the buzz, should traditional media agencies venture into this field? Although I continually see a need for SEO firms to embrace SMM, and forecasts for Social Networks to reach massive spends, I struggle to see how the traditional media agency (which typically manages PPC/Display/Affiliate budgets for clients) fits into social media.

Are there areas where media agencies can benefit & monetize the market? if so, what kind of services do you see them providing and how?

Thanks
Matthew

Dear Matthew

I should start by saying that I have never worked for a dedicated media agency. I’ve worked for a large Internet agency that managed media spends for clients along the lines you discuss, but not for some years. So I’m not familiar with current service trends in such agencies.

However, I would think that social media marketing will play a big role in the service offerings of both traditional advertising and media agencies over the next year or two. For starters, blogging as a phenomenon is being take up at an unprecedented rate globally, with podcasting and video-blogging gaining momentum. The ability to quickly create and monetize blogs as well as advertise on other people’s blogs has created new advertising channels that are laser-focused on niche markets. Being able to pick and choose channels where qualified leads hang out is a media agency’s dream scenario! These new channels greatly expand the limited PPC channels that agency clients have been stuck with for the past 8 years or so.

Apart from the blogs themselves, there are the large social media networks such as Digg, Sphinn, Facebook, YouTube MySpace etc. Smart agencies and media firms are already taking advantage of these networks by running viral marketing campaigns and competitions designed to promote their client’s brand or product via online word-of-mouth. Word travels fast in cyberspace but bad press travels faster so online reputation management should go hand-in-hand with any social media campaigns.

The book I’m reading at the moment Do It Wrong Quickly by Mike Moran would make excellent reading for media agency staff trying to get a handle on social media and how to leverage it.

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