By Jonathan Trenn

I just read Chris’ post on the recent relevation on techPresident that Hillary Clinton staffers - be they volunteers or paid  - were just caught astroturfing a blog.  I agree wholeheatedly with his comments, but…

This is politics and stuff like this will be the tip of the iceberg.  Some likely low level Clintonites let their enthusiasm get to them.  In reading the article I felt that the infraction was relatively benign.  About four staffers consecutively registered and commented on the liberal blog Blue Hampshire via a computer whose IP address was registered to the Clinton campaign.  They used nicknames for identification and personal emails for their contact info.  Their comments were in support of this post.

In response, a spokesperson from the Clinton campaign said,  “this was not an orchestrated effort but the product of over-eager staffers and volunteers.”  Which was followed by “this was not an orchestrated effort but the product of over-eager staffers and volunteers, done without her awareness, and that it will not be repeated.”

My guess is that the spokesperson is exactly right with exception of the last part.  It will be repeated and repeated and repeated.  In two ways.

One is that it’s my guess that most over-eager staffers and volunteers have very little understanding or concern about the standards and ethics that have been set.  They’re clueless (and sometimes in politics the clueless can also be ruthless).  My guess is that these people meant no harm.  They are basically minor league baseball players that get stuck taking steroids.  But that means that there’s a bigger problem.  Because when you get caught, you’re in trouble.  Not being transparent means deceit.

This leads to what I expect the second way I believe this type of transgression will be repeated.  I’d bet money that the campaigns are looking at ways to denigrate and destroy the opposition via social networks and blogging.  There will be the creation of fake blogs that spread false rumors (such as Barack Obama is a Muslim) and other nefarious blurbs out there.  Some will work.  Others won’t.  Some will get away with it.  Others won’t.  At least not right away.  But eventually the lack of transparency will lead to the ultimate truth.  Just like it did with steroids in baseball.  Just ask Roger Clemens.

It’s coming to a campaign near you.

1 Comment » Posted on December 14th, 2007

By Chris Abraham

I have always wanted to have a clean list of the Power 150 top 500 marketing blogs all in one place and I have finally found one thanks to NovaVizia.com (how Global) On this particular list, I show up ranked at 206 for Because The Medium is the Message and 327 for Marketing Conversation. Via NovaVizia.com
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1 Comment » Posted on December 14th, 2007

By Chris Abraham

Say is isn’t so, Hillary Clinton! It looks like you, your staff, and your campaign were caught stealth campaigning — astroturfing — by some folks who decided to do a little bit of Internet forensics. This sort of fisking is the ultimate big trophy hunt. Who would have guessed that a Clinton would be felled so early — not even sporting! Via Wired

Undercover marketing, Stealth marketing - Undercover marketing is a subset of guerrilla marketing where consumers do not realize they are being marketed to.

Stealth campaigning - Undercover campaigning is a subset of political campaigning online where voters do not realize they are being campaigned to.

Astroturfing - In politics and advertising, the term astroturfing describes formal public relations (PR) campaigns which seek to create the impression of being a spontaneous, grassroots behavior. Hence the reference to the “AstroTurf” (artificial grass) is a metaphor to indicate “fake grassroots” support.

Fisking - Fisking, or to Fisk, refers to the act of critiquing, often in minute detail, an article, essay, argument, etc. with the intent of challenging its conclusion or theses by highlighting logical fallacies and incorrect facts.

My advice to the candidates — free from me to you — is simple since I just posted it a couple hours ago on this very blog: Don’t Be Seduced by the Lure of Astroturfing:

“The blowback that can result from using a false name, a false email (a Yahoo, Google, or Hotmail address created for the campaign and the false name), and a false bio, isn’t worth it.”

No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007

By Chris Abraham

Pete Blackshaw wrote a pretty good article called The Official 2008 Web 2.0 Buzzword Forecast — I like it because I love it when the industry catches up me me (what, me modest?). Well, this is a great new buzzword that Pete defined: Shamsparency:

‘“Shamsparency”: Don’t get busted buying shills or engaging in unsavory activity. Just don’t do it, or the forces of shamsparency will catch up with you. It happens all the time, and firms in the CGM monitoring space (like my own) make it easier to uncover the imposters. My recommendation: avoid this term at all costs, and write the WOMMA ethics code on the whiteboard 30 times.’ The Official 2008 Web 2.0 Buzzword Forecast By Pete Blackshaw

I wrote something similar in Don’t Be Seduced by the Lure of Astroturfing:

Whenever you engage the Internet on behalf if a company or organization, you are acting as a brand ambassador. If someone is curious as to who you are and why you’re so passionate about an event, product, or service, the understanding is that they will pretty easily be able to find out that you’re a marketing professional.

For some, that is enough. Legally-speaking, it is enough. In terms of building a long-term relationship with your current, future, or present customers, hiding your identity as a professional marketer in the folds of your online profile may be considered deceitful.

You may be attracted to covert online marketing: special ops, black ops, spycraft – “fifth column marketing,” if you will. Don’t be.

The blowback that can result from using a false name, a false email (a Yahoo, Google, or Hotmail address created for the campaign and the false name), and a false bio, isn’t worth it.

There is a term for shooting for the short term by being opaque in your intent, no matter how effective it may be: astroturfing, which “describes formal public relations campaigns which seek to create the impression of being a spontaneous, grassroots behavior.”

Accusations of astroturfing can compromise the integrity of the organization you are representing, and further put your ability to communicate future messages in danger.

Over the short term, pretending to be just another denizen of an online community or a blog works if you can pull it off. It isn’t tough to sneak in and talk, talk, talk.

Even though your reputation online is more defined by your contributions to the conversations rather than who you are, the culture of the Internet doesn’t suffer being fooled, duped, or suckered.

If you are ever found out, you are screwed.

No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007

By Chris Abraham

Much like Search Moptimization, we catagorize “Wombagging” as Defensive SEO.

‘”Wombagging”: This exercise tries to protect, or sandbag, your brand from negative or undesirable word of mouth (WOM). This could include anything everything from buying negative keywords on search engines to putting videos on your Web site featuring your CEO begging for patience and forgiveness. For some companies, wombagging might even include employing staffers in defense of bad buzz. But again, all this falls into the defensive branding arena, not outright promotion.’ The Official 2008 Web 2.0 Buzzword Forecast By Pete Blackshaw

However, we at Abraham Harrison actually call the process online brand reputation defense, Internet land grab, domain name registration strategy, search engine brand protection, domain name strategy, and domain name protection — they’re all sort of part of completely owning your own space on Google, Yahoo!, and Live.com proactively, well in advance of anything going wrong.

Why? Well, if you own your first three pages of Google well in advance of an online brand perception crisis, there is a much reduced chance of some negative online buzz being able to shoot right up to the top-five results of Google. It is much easier to fortify your castle than it is to rebuild it. Wisdom, free of charge.  Tip of the hat to Jonathan Trenn, via ClickZ

No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007

By Chris Abraham

While we call the service we offer Defensive SEO (also online brand protection and online reputation management, search engine cleaning, reputation rehabilitation, etc), I guess the newest term for our process of “mopping” up bad search results has been given a name, and that name is “Search Moptimization.” Tip of the hat to Jonathan Trenn, via ClickZ

‘Yes, that’s “mop,” as in to clean up. This is the increasingly common, if not essential, brand practice of attempting to clean up negative search results against general or specific brand-related queries. For many brands, particularly in the consumer electronics category, hostile CGM (define) is beginning to fill, even dominate, the organic search shelf, a zone that we all know has an unmistakable impact on the awareness and trial of new products. For many brands, the mopping process can take two to three years (often longer) and heavily depends on operational and product, rather than marketing, decisions. Dell, for example, still has lots of “search moptimization” to clean up Jeff Jarvis’s two-year-old mess, though it’s worth noting its customer service blog and IdeaStorm initiatives have already helped mop up or reroute some of the venom.’ The Official 2008 Web 2.0 Buzzword Forecast By Pete Blackshaw

No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007

By Chris Abraham

Abraham and Harrison offers comprehensive campaigns that integrate Online Publicity and Public Relations, Search Engine Services, and New Media Marketing. We also offer our expertise in the areas of profiling, intelligence, forensics, crisis management, and training. Potential clients can cherry pick the services that best suit their needs from any of these categories, although when customizing packages of services, we strongly encourage our clients to focus on the power of a comprehensive approach.

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No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007

By Gary Cohen

I have started collecting my thoughts about new and social media marketing over at my Gary Cohen blog; however, in the meanwhile I would like to share my take on the power and effectiveness of online word-of-mouth marketing.

Since the advent of commerce, engaging customers in positive experiences has time and again resulted in natural word-of-mouth. That dialog or conversation wherever it happens can make or break any entity – business, education institute, government, etc.

The Internet and especially broadband has facilitated real-time communications between like-minded consumers in communities with rapid fire distribution of opinions - valid or not. This provides great opportunities to reach further, wider and deeper into audiences that were previously too expensive to target – however it also requires vigilance in defending your brand against negative comments that can and will go viral.

Your target audience spends 4+ hours online on search engines, pursuing their passions/interests/projects and reading if not joining others in online communities based on similar interests. The discovery process and being recognized are two separate drivers. It is important for these reasons that the development of a comprehensive Online Program that reaches these audiences where, when and how they consume their information and through what media channels.

In harnessing the Internet’s ability to deliver messages quickly and reliably across a vast network of users, I believe strongly in earned media as opposed to paid media.

That does not mean that paid media is not a component of what we do, we just do it in a way that creates leverage for the earned media while minimizing the expense and maximizing the outcome.

We are not in the PR business per se in that we do not disseminate press releases – online or offline. Our programs will always have a hook and will leverage at least two of three elements – Advertising, Marketing, PR, with Promotion and Publicity not far behind.

At the core of what we do is a requirement that our approaches need to include a component that is newsworthy, blog worthy or buzz worthy. This does not necessarily need to be about a product or a service as it can be about how a brand is doing unusual things to generate awareness.

In all cases, we will look to include a call to action that could include going to the website, taking an action that helps move the person to a more engaged relationship and moves the process along.

No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007

By Lasse Manthei

This is a follow up on my last Post about Otto, but this time in English!

Before I start complaining again, I will give you a brief summary of my last post.

The “Otto Versand” is the major German Mail-Order Company. But once again there is a huge gap between American and European Online Business. I guess Otto hasn’t realized the importance of the Internet yet. They still focus on rural stay-at-home Mums who order by old-school mail and this is supported by their Online Marketing practices. They use long cryptic URL s on their Web Pages, have no innovative Affiliate Programs like the “Amazon Wishlist,” and when you try to Google them, you have to assume that they have never heard of search engine optimization (SEO). Otto operates the second largest market in the world, but their web appearance is from ages ago!

Those were my thoughts two months ago and, to be honest, not a lot has changed in the meantime! The URLs are still cryptic, there is no new Affiliate Program, and the one they still use doesn’t have a good reputation at all!  However, all of a sudden they do appear in Google’s top search results about nearly any consumer good! Bravo!

Listen up Otto, this was a start, but if you want to catch up, there is a lot of work that needs to be done! Go Otto Go!

No Comments » Posted on December 12th, 2007

By Jonathan Trenn

BtoB Online reports that 60.1% of B to B marketers will increase their marketing budgets next year.  While that’s more than half, but still shows caution.  It’s probable that many are unsure about the direction of the economy.

The good news is that 79.1 percent will be increasing their online budgets for 2008.  Of all the methods of marketing, that stand as the highest.  What we’re going to be witnessing is companies taking money out of traditional and going online.  And we may see a lot of this happening.

Given now that we’re seeing consumer generated goods making their way successfully on the internet through the use of ad units, I’m going to guess that B to B will go that route as well.  And a very healthy dose of search.  Both should be essential.

I’m wondering though…will we see much devoted to social media.  Educational/promo pieces on YouTube, increased blogger engagement, the use of podcasts for current customers.  I’m sure this is being done, but more likely in the tech sector.  I’m just wondering what other industry cultures will move in that direction.

No Comments » Posted on December 10th, 2007

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