A brand new study of 2,500 participants from the New York Times in conjunction with Latitude Research reveals the top 9 reasons (or skip straight to the end for a somewhat surprising Key Takeaway):

1. Your customers don’t trust you

Corporate mistrust is rife. Globally, only 56% of people trust businesses “to do what is right” (Source: 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer), falling in the US, the UK and Japan from 2010 to 2011. People won’t share your content if there is a lack of trust, so use the social space to drive honest and open public conversations.

2. Customers don’t care about your brand

Sorry, but customers are a fickle bunch. If you don’t offer at a minimum: valuable information, great deals and a forum to meet other like-minded people, they will look elsewhere. Don’t just feed them what they want; actively exceed their expectations.

3. Your posts are boring

Intriguing and funny content gets the most shares. Look to Volkswagen for inspiration. Their Star-Wars spoof video ‘The Force’ racked up over 40 million views. Of course, it helps to have an established power brand behind you, but the principle is to create ‘got to share it’ content.

4. Your content lacks passion

Generally speaking, people care about causes more than brands. Whether it’s eradicating poverty, saving the Polar bears or helping a local charity, many people give their time and money to advance things they care about. Your brand may not have a humanitarian cause, but reveal the passion behind your product or service to get people excited about something bigger.

5. People share to build their social networks

Research has found that people value relationships with other people over relationships with brands. Since they’re seeking an online community, you can use your brand to help create a platform for that community. Offer content that facilitates people in finding kindred spirits and then staying connected to those people. Red Bull did just this recently, creating a weekend playlist and inviting people to share YouTube links to their own favourite dance tunes.

6. Consumers, like everyone, seek validation

We’re all still just insecure, gawky teenagers at heart. We want to build credibility in the eyes of our peers, and come across as experts – and content sharing is the perfect medium for both. Some 68% of the New York Times study respondents said they share content as an advertisement for themselves (or to better reveal who they are). Appeal to customers’ vanity by offering intelligent, cool content that will boost their kudos by sharing it.

7. People share to manage information

Social media marketing scientists have found that people process information more “deeply, thoroughly and thoughtfully” through sharing it, and also understand and process information better through reading others’ responses to it. Be sure to offer thought-provoking content and invite feedback and comments from your audience.

8. You’ve misunderstood your audience

Think back to marketing school and the concept of a marketing persona. The concept encourages understanding your audience by creating detailed pictures of your ideal target customer. The New York Times study came up with six sharing personas. Interestingly, five of these sharing types actually identified email alongside social channels as a preferred sharing tool.

9. People love to share content via email

This study confirms that social media users have by no means abandoned email. In fact, they see it as a valuable and personal means of sharing content. With this in mind, it may help to look back to last week’s post on integrating social marketing with email.

Key Takeaway:

People’s primary motivation for sharing content is the relationships they have with one another. Therefore, aim to create content that enhances consumers’ relationships with one another rather than with your brand.

Source: Socialmediaexaminer.com

Given that there were some 152 million blogs live at the last count (BlogPulse: December 2010), the bad news is that most people will never find you online. Follow these 10 steps, however, by Demian Farnworth for copyblogger.com, and the good news is you can beat online obscurity for once and for all…

1. Dominate LinkedIn groups

Joining LinkedIn groups in itself isn’t enough. Embark on a posting and commenting spree and the potential to become an online influencer is vast – even from groups that you haven’t started.

2. Give away content for nothing

Remember, visibility and exposure are the most important things for a nascent business blog. Farnworth cites online powerhouses Seth Godin, Hugh MacLeod and Leo Babauta among those who started off by giving away a large part of their best stuff for free.

3. Write guest articles (with a twist)

It takes time for a new website or blog to gain traction and reach the critical mass where people are returning regularly. While it’s naturally tempting to keep all the best content for your own blog, Farnworth suggests putting the best stuff on other established blogs to gain all-important exposure. The risk of using more mediocre blog content yourself is, he suggests, far outweighed by the risk of online obscurity.

4. Reply to comments

You cannot afford not to have a voice in the comment section of your blog. Rather than think of it as a time-consuming courtesy, see it as an absolute necessity. Ensure your comments are thought-provoking and always ask questions to lead the conversation.

5. Promote other experts in your industry

The first rule of blogging is to forget one’s fascination with oneself. Nobody really cares. But wherever you see excellence in others, spread the word. Use their case studies within your blog posts and spread exemplary work via Twitter or LinkedIn.

6. Facebook is your research laboratory

Ask questions, and then remember to listen. People like to be asked their opinions, and you can boost both popularity and visibility by working those questions and comments.

7. Follow 237 Twitter power users who follow back

Check out Social Media Watch’s list of Twitter users who will follow you if you follow them. It will take some time, but ask yourself whether you can spare an hour or two to see serious results in your Twitter marketing. Having rounded up the followers, maximise the relationship by asking questions and re-tweeting often.

8. Email key influencers

According to Farnworth, every single famous person that he emailed during the past ten years responded to him. Email works as a gateway into the minds of great people who can often help you. Don’t be shy.

9. Create SEO-friendly videos

Take a leaf from 20 year-old MC Lil B’s book, whose web repertoire appears lifted from a beginners guide to SEO. Constant tweeting, video dialogue with his fanbase and spars with other celebrities fire up his fans to make YouTube responses to his songs. Stick to the fundamentals of SEO (content, keywords and linking) to start showing up on more searches.

10. Wear an eye patch

Not literally, but think back to Ogilvy’s 1951 ‘The Man in the Hathaway Shirt’ campaign. For those that may have forgotten, Ogilvy put an eyepatch on its Russian aristocrat protagonist, and with that simple twist made his ad stand out from hundreds of others for men’s shirts. The point in all this: think unique, useful, urgent and ultra-specific to make your blog content stand out from the crowd.

These insights from Jon Steinberg over at Buzzfeed offer a great starting point, so we decided to share the love.

1. Keep it short

To create viral video – think 30 seconds good, 90 seconds bad. Any longer than that and people won’t reach the end, let alone share.

2. Offer an interpersonal, human angle

People only share what they know and feel a connection with.

3. Create rough content that feels authentic

Avoid over-produced content – people prefer a behind-the-scenes feel to a slick, edited product.

4. Make it something that people can engage with

People want to engage with content, not passively consume it. Include options to upload images, create quizzes or games.

5. Offer a platform for reactions/comments

The best business blogs offer a comment system, which you should aim to build into a community with viral potential.

6. Use lists and images

Why? Simple: people love them. Try creating blog posts that are lists and make it clear in your headline (it works for us!). Images are also highly shareable.

7. Limit page views

The more pages people have to scroll through, the less likely they are to share.

8. Make your headline compelling – use calls to action and lists

In the era of Twitter, RSS and Facebook – titles matter.

9. Consider your users’ reputations as well as yours

If your tweet or blog content is potentially embarrassing, nobody’s likely to share it.

10. Tweet appropriately

Leave some spaces in your tweet rather than using all 140 characters, and be sure to place a re-tweet button prominently near your blog content to drive shares.

Source: Tips adapted from businessinsider.com

According to a new report from MarketingSherpa, B2B marketers are responding to a rapidly changing landscape where increased expectations on marketing departments point to a marketing mix more complex than ever before.

The findings from the 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report indicate that 87% of respondents say they use a branded social network (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter). The report suggests that the popularity of this tactic may be due to the ease of setting up a profile on a social network site, but warns that this tactic requires a strategy and consistent execution for good results.

Maintaining a corporate blog and microblogging were the next two most popular social media marketing tactics, with both tactics executed by 64% of B2B marketers.

Although  corporate blog management was regarded as heavy on resources with the pressure of consistently creating and publishing blog posts being an issue, corporate blogging was regarded as a highly effective tactic.

The report suggests that speed of execution may contribute to micro-blogging on Twitter being an equally popular B2B social media marketing tactic. The report again recommended that the tactic should be underpinned by strategy for optimal success.

Sharing content on multimedia sites such as YouTube and Flickr was cited by 62% of B2B marketers, followed by utilising social media for SEO purposes (59%)

Other social media tactics employed included social media news releases, blogger relations, sharing email content with social media sites and advertising on blogs and social media sites.

Now fully integrated into the marketing mix, blogging has grown into a vital marketing tool for all types of companies. In fact eMarketer estimates that 34% of US companies will use a corporate blog for marketing purposes in 2010, a proportion that will increase to 43% by 2012.

“Businesses are increasingly using the blogosphere to further a variety of corporate functions, such as communications, lead generation, customer service and brand marketing,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “Corporate Blogging: Media and Marketing Firms Drive Growth.”

Advantages for firms implementing a blog include full control over branding and advertising and integration with all corporate websites. Studies have indicated blogging’s usefulness for lead generation.

The report also notes a growing integration between established and emerging media. According to PRWeek and PR Newswire, journalists are increasingly using corporate blogs as research sources, indicating a 9% increase over the past year.

The US survey reveals that 30% of large law firms had blogs, compared to 18% in the 2009 survey, indicating a clear shift in attitudes towards the value in social networks. In fact 10% of respondents “had a client retain their legal services as a result of use of online communities/social networking”.

Overall 14% of law firms of all sizes reported having blogs compared to 9% in 2009. However, the Above The Law blog notes “this data seems a little skewed downwards for small firms”, due to the probability that a large law firm with many staff is more likely to have staff members involved in maintaining a blog than a small practice.

There’s also evidence that large firm lawyers are more likely to use social media than solo practitioners. 63% of large law firms reported having a presence online compared to only 52% of solo respondents. Again this could be due to the input required to maintain an online presence, in addition to the demands of running a practice, limiting the participation of smaller firms.

The survey identified 83% of lawyers using LinkedIn, and 68% using Facebook, with an average of only 1.9% of lawyers reportedly using Twitter.

The report, commissioned by antivirus software company McAfee, titled “Web 2.0: A Complex Balancing Act, reveals Brazil, Spain and India lead in adoption of Web 2.0 technology for business, while adoption was lowest in Canada, Australia, the US and the UK.

The research highlights that although organisations see the potential value in Web 2.0 tools, companies are unsure about allowing employee use of the technology in the workplace, with 60% of companies surveyed concerned about loss of reputation as a result of Web 2.0 misuse.

While a quarter of organisations monitor how staff use social media, almost one in three have not introduced a social media policy in the workplace.

40% of companies found that Web 2.0 tools had led to increased productivity and better results from marketing, and 75% had increased their use of the technology in order to develop new revenue streams for their organisations.

Security concerns have clearly hindered adoption of Web 2.0 with half of the firms surveyed concerned about security threats- virus infections and greater volumes of spam were the most common.

McAfee chief technology officer George Kurtz said, “Web 2.0 technologies are impacting all aspects of the way businesses work…As Web 2.0 technologies gain popularity, organisations are faced with a choice — they can allow them to propagate unchecked, they can block them, or they can embrace them.”

The report surveyed over 1,000 business leaders in 17 countries and examines the drivers for Web 2.0 and social networking use in business.

“Companies are finding that blogs fill a specific niche that other forms of social media do not,” says eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna.

Emarketer estimates that in 2010 one in three companies are using a public-facing blog for marketing purposes, forecasting a rise to 43% by 2012.

“Studies have shown that marketers perceive blogs to have the highest value of any social media in driving site traffic, brand awareness, lead generation and sales—as well as improving customer service,” said Verna.

There’s also evidence that smaller companies are faster adopters of corporate blogs than large companies.

The advertisement, posted on Monster explains that Alicia Key’s voice has reached millions, but now she needs help “to blast it into the blogosphere”.

The goal of the site is “is to create an online community connecting, inspiring, and broadcasting important topics related to women”. the advert says. “You will be the main voice of the website aiming to motivate and encourage women all over the globe!”

Final candidates are to be interviewed in New York as part of a news segment on a national TV network morning show and in London, at the Black Ball.

During his tenure as a one man publicity machine the tourist board calculate that Southall posted sixty blogs on www.islandreefjob.com representing 75,000 words, along with 2000 photo uploads and 750 tweets.

“It was a job that needed 18 to 19 hours work every day,” he said. “Not just the interviews and the social side of it, but also sitting up late at night blogging and uploading pictures, it’s very time consuming.”

The demands on the normally indefatigable Southall’s time show through in his recent Twitter posts: “Bashing out the last of this years blogs – its Boxing Day what on earth am I doing!?!”

Leaving no social media channel unploughed,  Southall also recorded 47 video diaries, the last of which is below.

It’s not all over for Southall though, Queensland Tourism have rehired him on an 18 month six figure contract to promote Queensland around the world. Meanwhile, he’s got a few, very well deserved days off.