Social Bookmarking - The Ultimate Viral Marketing

Social Bookmarking - The Ultimate Viral Marketing by Matt DeAngelis

Social Bookmarking could be one of the best things that ever happened to websites and blogs.

Basically Social Bookmarketing sites allow users to create a set of content bookmarks. These bookmarks are organized by tags, which are (usually) arbitrary words or phrases the user can assign to content. This gives the user a way to classify, rank and organize content using tags. The most popular Social Bookmarking Site is del.ici.ous, which has millions of users.

Social Bookmarking sites have an intrinsic advantage over search engines and other bots -- people choose what to bookmark rather than relying on a program to categorize and qualify content. There is an implied quality in something that someone has taken the time to select.

Social Bookmarkers read other people's bookmarks and add them to their own if they like them. There are also RSS feeds so people can see what others are tagging, which I think is really cool, and a textbook example of viral marketing.

About 4% of my referrers this month are del.icio.us related, including .8% off the home page, meaning that people click on my link when they see it pop up in their RSS feed. I get a goodly amount of traffic from technorati as well, but I would call that site a business bookmarking site, so I'm not going to mention it here.

I only provide a facility on AffiliateBlog for del.icio.us tagging. There is a terrific WordPress plugin called Sociable that allows direct tagging for tons of Social Bookmarking sites. If you don't have it as part of your blog you should get it and install it today. This blog is being redesigned and should be done in a few weeks. The new design will incorporate Sociable.

So...what can YOU do to get the social bookmarking virus ramped up? I see two basic considerations:

1. Write good content. Darren Rouse had an interesting observation about del.icio.us items that make it to the top of the site. You can take a look, but basically he observes that lists, how-tos, technical articles and humor get to the top faster.

2. Give people the tools to bookmark easily. If you have a blog, use Sociable. It's terrific. If you have a site, there are plenty of interesting tools that will help you make it easy for your visitors to bookmark your content. AddtoBookmarks.com is a good one.

There are Social Bookmarking sites popping up all over the place. Here are the Top 10. Where did I find them? In someone's bookmark list on Listable, of course.

Del.icio.us Listible Digg StumbleUpon BlinkList Spurl Magnolia Furl BlogMarks Reddit

About the Author
Matt DeAngelis runs Affiliate Blog. Matt is the former CTO of Modem Media, a pioneer in the Internet ad space. As a foot soldier in the Internet revolution, Matt devised the technology behind many of the most successful ad campaigns of the time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Way to promote your Dental Web Site

As this blogs new fresh coat of paint is being completed, I thought I'd drop two hints on promoting your Dental Office Web Site , which these tips can also be used to promote your Real Estate marketing efforts. 1. If you are emailing clients or distributors remember to include the link to your web site on the bottom! You will be amazed at how people will follow this link. 2. Tell everyone with whom you communicate about your dental or real estate web site to start a viral marketing effort! More dental and real estate marketing tips to come! Regards, MK If your in need of that new car, visit the car buyer guide to learn features and upcoming car selection to pick the right car for you!
Read more

The A to Z Guide to Getting Website Traffic

The A to Z Guide to Getting Website Traffic by Shawn Campbell In September of 1999, Brett Tabke wrote "26 Steps to 15k a Day" in the Webmaster World forum. A lot has changed since then, and now is the time to consider a new 26-step plan that meets the current needs of webmasters in 2006. Some of the old ones still apply (writing new content everyday, for example), and some don't (submitting to the search engines is no longer necessary), and we're here to tell you which is which! As you probably already know, bringing in traffic is not easy - it takes hard work, determination and lots of elbow grease. So if you're ready, roll up your sleeves and follow these 26 simple steps, and within just one year you will generate enough traffic to keep you busy for a long, long time! A) Keyword research Before you do anything else, use a keyword research tool and do an extensive job researching the right keyphrases to use for your site. What keyphrases are your direct compe...
Read more

Strategic Internet Marketing

Strategic Internet Marketing Have you ever been lost in the woods - wondering around aimlessly, not knowing where to go or what to do next? Most online marketers are lost in the woods of the internet. So if you want to get out of the woods and be an online marketer, you better start thinking strategically! That is, you need to practice strategic internet marketing techniques. You're probably asking, what are strategic internet marketing techniques? Let me start by telling you what it is not! Strategic internet marketing is not buying 100,000 guaranteed hits. It is not aimlessly placing banner ads all over the internet. It is not about using free classified ads and it is certainly not about depending on surfing for traffic sites. Strategic internet marketing is simply about having an advertising PLAN that utilizes proven marketing tactics to get high converting results. Every promotion must have a purpose and it is critical to track the results of each and every advertisement. Track...
Read more