How to Boost Your Business with Flash Social Mobs, SEO and HashTag Optimization

A friend of mine who owns a popular travel site is looking to take her business to the next level by partnering with large scale social media influencers and well known destination points - a flash social mob approach. Brilliant!

To get the most bang from her social flash mob, she asked how she could sprinkle in some SEO and HashTag efforts:

1. First come up with a list of key search terms she thinks people will use to find the deliverables the hotel or popular destination point has to offer. A good way is to search what's hot is to scope out the Groupon and Living Social "destination offers" out there. Let the bigger fish do all the work ;-)

2. Once she has that information she simply needs to research the weight and competitive value of those terms on Google Ad Words 24 hrs before and during the time of her social flash mob (ie: Los Angles Vacation)

3. For her industry, I suggested she take a quick peek at Google Insights (beta) to see what time of year those words mattered most to hotel and vacation destinations. That will give her a better idea of the relevance based on the time of year people search those terms most often and allows the client (hotel or destination point) plan around their busiest times.

4. Then of course get bid figures for those words on Google AdWords. This is so she can figure out what to charge the hotel/destination point for this additional add-on.

5. For the campaign to maintain SEO and HashTag effectiveness, she needs to coach her influencers to incorporate the SEO terms and hashtag words into their posts, monitor the activity and offer some item of value. A downloadable code, a voucher...something to close the deal (a total conversion point).

On a final note, I suggested she maintain her finger on the heart beat by monitoring HashTag relevancy trends on Twitter. HootSuite is good tool. I'd also do a 48 hr. FB sponsored stories campaign matching both SEO terms and Twitter hashtags.

Louis Vuitton Web Designs for the Global Cloud Culture

Symbolic meaning is all around us; however in a new commercial world united by social web participants, it’s hard to draw the geographic boundaries on the perceptions formed from the symbolic meanings of a specific culture. To better clarify, "culture" is the patterned defined meaning of the symbols we see out there in the world. An individual’s interpretation of that symbolic value is the perception value those symbols are given from their target audience. As the old saying goes: Perception is reality.

On an internet marketing strategy level, of course design must lend itself to the culture of it’s target audience. However, use of color for regional sectors or international code is important. Most important (now a days) is the global understanding that dwells within the cloud. Take the high level of ambiguity specifically in the high fashion industry. As abstract as it is, perception and value are instant when one sees a pattern like this one:

Exploring it further, let's look the Louis Vuitton site. Immediately upon first impression, one is greeted with the choice of language and a textured background of travel stamps in the reds, blues and other hues that cater to all nationalities. It represents the vibrant meaning of happiness, luck and joy of Asia. It also captures the blue hues favored by the Mediterranean and the vibrant yellows of Latin America.

When entering the site under the various languages, you presented with photographic menu options transporting you all over the world. These are photos that translate to all cultures, but within each landing page, are specific photographic images relevant to the their dominating country of region. This is brilliant because they are requesting an active participation of the viewer to embark on the jet set lifestyle Louis Vuitton is trying to sell.