Startup Revolution

Startups & Social Media (Marty Note)
Startups are so widget focused they often forget communication about their widget is just as important as creating the thing itself. Here are 15 "viral" social nets for 2015.

If you are going to spend a fraction of your time creating content and social marketing use the best tools. Several of these social nets are new to me and even though I believe setting out to create viral marketing is a fool's errand some of these "new to me" social nets look interesting.

I agree with the focus on VISUAL MARKETING this list implies too. Why is seeking to create viral marketing a "fool's errand"? Viral marketing HAPPENS. Trying to make viral marketing happen usually REDUCES your chances.

Best way to create viral marketing is to create great MARKETING or marketing that consistently earns more shares, likes and links.One day you will create something that goes BOOM and it will only be half a surprise.

They forgot one of my viral marketing faves - Scoop.it!

I like the linked post's ability to create a list of social nets rated by their viral marketing POTENTIAL:
http://blog.viraltag.com/2014/12/12/best-social-networks-2015/

Warren Buffet's tips for startups as Bill Gates says, "Stick 'em up
Finishing our Haiku Deck Analysis (Scooped here http://sco.lt/80QYs5 and on Curagami here http://www.curagami.com/featured/buffet-tools-conversations-top-haiku-decks/ ) we were surprised how much our #1 views deck: Startup Tips From Warren Buffett is in front of #2 (Content Marketing Tools).

Fuffett is 35% ahead in views, but Warren is NOT the most shared. That honor goes to our fastest scaling deck ever - The Invisible Giant: Why The New SEO Is So Hard To See (http://shar.es/11X9fa ).

If you are a startup the Oracle of Omaha has tips for you and our tip is to use Haiku Deck. .

SEO for content marketers shares 5 "Quick Tips" to avoid SEO bear traps like: dupe content, keywords as friends, little things, & it's a SoLoMo world.

Crowdfunding Where BUZZ Lives In Time For the Holidays
Working on http://www.curagami.com taught us important content marketing lessons such as:

* Buzz is HARD to create by yourself.
* Want buzz? Go to where the BUZZ is and mashup.
* Crowdfunding is highly SOCIAL and very BUZZ worthy.

* Crazy Guy / Girl in basement is a compelling aspirational story.

That last bullet is where the moneyball lives. The reason crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter ROCK SEO and content marketing is great entrepreneurs share their cool ideas AND their social network. Platforms such as Kickstarter get to sit back and pick and choose what to help BLOW UP (or their algorithm does).

Here MoMA creates a curated content partnership with Kickstarter helping to add legitimacy to everyone's hand (for MoMA, Kickstarter and the projects curated into MoMA's holiday guide). What is stopping YOU from creating a similar partnership with a cool crowdfunding platform and featuring BUZZ worthy products you curate?

Answer: NOTHING other than the limitation of our merchandising imaginations and those boundaries should be few and far between :).M

Pinterest & Startups
This image of Batgirl staring out of a doorway is one of Scenttrail's most popular pins (http://www.pinterest.com/scenttrail/ ). Pinterest is important for startups because:

* Marketing is becoming VISUAL & Pinterest excels at visual marketing.

* Pinterest is asynchronous to other social nets.
* Pinterest is EASY and doesn't require much time.
* Pinterest creates community faster than other social nets.

That last bullet should have a caveat. Pintererst builds community FAST once you figure out the secret handshake. I was frustrated with how long it was taking to develop a following.

I would share content on Pinterest and I could never understand what seemed to matter, so I shared LOTS more content (one key to success). I also Repinned from others and commented on pins.

All of those tactics helped, but the real dam breaker was creating the King and Queen of Pinterest boards:

http://www.pinterest.com/scenttrail/queen-of-pinterest/

http://www.pinterest.com/scenttrail/king-of-pinterest/

The real winner is the Queen of Pinterest with over 400 pinners now and a great daily rhythm. Community boards do get spammed so I developed some simple guidelines, pinned those guidelines (and do so again and again when the board starts to get spammy).

The victory with King and Queen of Pinterest shares an important secret. Pinterest is a tad solipsistic. People who love to pin really LOVE to pin. There are cult-like moments (lol). So one way to connect is to have a board that shares obsession with Pinterest.

Your startup may not be obsessed with Pinterest, but bet you need to develop a following. When I started the King and Queen of Pinterest boards I had 114 followers. Now, about six months later, Scenttrail has more than 5,000 followers.

Cool thing about community boards is people begin to tell their friends. I invited about half the people pinning on Queen of Pinterest. Interesting I invited 90% of the men (lol). Women understand the core of social media better. They are more naturally social about topics that people love to pin about such as culture, art, celebrity, travel, weight loss, etc...

If you are a startup you should be using Pinterest if only because it builds community, once you figure out a secret or two, faster than any other social net. The other reason Pinterest is important for startups is its focus on asynchronous visual marketing. Learn "asynchronous marketing" even a little and your startup will rock.