SMOjoe teaches us to “feed the humans and robots” with effective social media marketing practices

Written by Jane Reeves, of JRW Writing & Communications Consulting and IABC/Toronto member and volunteer
Photography by Alan Mckenzie Photography

When you attend a seminar, how often is it roaring with laughter? I’ll bet it’s common practice for Rob Campbell, CEO of SMOjoe.com, the engaging and unorthodox presenter at the Professional Independent Communicators (PIC) seminar held at Ryerson’s Oakham House on May 12, 2010.

However, Rob did much more than entertain; he enlightened and enriched our knowledge on the hot and ever-evolving topic of social media. "Rob Campbell, aka Smojoe, wowed the audience by delivering an engaging presentation chockfull of in-depth content about Social Media Marketing (SMM),” says IABC/Toronto PIC director of programming, Paulina Callaghan, ABC. “I am personally supercharged with SMM knowledge and can’t wait to enact on the ideas that have sparked since attending the seminar!"

Rob introduced more than 40 PIC, IABC, and other seminar attendees to his unique social media marketing practices that have brought him and his clients great success.

According to Rob, his success is a result of the right combination of classic storytelling and modern search engine optimization (SEO). This combination increases social relevance, which is measured by your Google Page Ranking. “It used to be that our dads would get invited to the company president’s house for dinner. That’s how they knew they made it,” says Rob. “Today, we are measured by our online social relevance. Where do you rank on Google? How many followers do you have?”

His process, “story funnels to buckstop,” includes creating a “keyword sandwich” that feeds humans (your readers, followers, and subscribers) and robots (the Google page rank algorithm) to increase your social relevance. Rob advises:

• Begin with a great story – your best article, written in a way that captivates and engages your audience. This is the meat.
• Fragment your message – put it anywhere you can in the social media realm (sell it, guest blog, bookmark it on Digg/Delicious). This is the bread.
• Talk about your message in discussion forums. This is also the bread.
• Tweet about your story; chat on Facebook. These are the condiments.

In each layer of the “sandwich,” repeat top-ranking keywords in your business category. He used case studies and client websites to prove this process works.

So where do you begin? Start blogging; post at least once per month. “If you are an expert at something you owe it to the world to blog,” says Rob.

I still smile when reviewing my notes from the session. Not only did he help me target my own social media marketing, he really made me laugh. If you get the chance to attend one of his seminars, go. Or, you can buy his book, The SMOjoe Social Media Manual.

Thanks to the PIC executive team for bringing us another great seminar: Donna Papacosta; Frances Roberts; Paulina Callaghan, ABC; Elizabeth Trew; Amy Sept; and Gary Schlee, ABC. Other volunteers who helped organize this popular event include: Sue Warner, Patricia Davies, and Cathy Ledden.

Left to Right: Gary Schlee, ABC, IABC/Toronto Past President 1977/1978 and Director of Social Media for PIC; Paulina Callaghan, ABC, Director of Programming for PIC; Speaker Rob Campbell, CEO of SMOjoe.com; Elizabeth Trew, Director of Communications for PIC

Presenting to audience – Rob Campbell, CEO of SMOjoe.com

Presentation of door prize