Social and Search Marketing in 2010: It’s Complicated

Nightlife professionals, as you prepare for 2010, there’s one thing you can count on: your job in online marketing won’t get any easier compared to last year or the year before that.

Why?

The proliferation of consumer devices, technology advances such as real-time search, and the popularity of social networks all bring new complexity to marketing strategies.

That means you need to figure out how to connect with consumers who are playing FarmVille and Mafia Wars, friending and unfriending each other, shooting and posting video and photos, tweeting, and more.

Social Search, Social Sharing, and SEO

Google said this week it will include real-time Twitter and other instantaneous updates from the Web on search engine results pages.

For nightclubs, Social search is the next frontier.  The ability to search Facebook Wall posts is a good first step.  Imagine:  someone searching for “Miami nightlife” or “nightclub” would first see reviews or comments made by trusted friends and associates.  If you’re not paying attention to what people are saying about your club, you’ll miss out on some important information.

YouTube Your Nightclub

Sure, you can create a YouTube Page for your nightclub and create branded videos for YouTube, but will anyone see them?  Listen, social initiatives must be accompanied by a plan, plus money, to encourage people to participate.

Consider this factoid: 20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.  Nightclub marketers must make their videos “findable.” Tactics include: leverage existing networks, such as Facebook or relevant blogs, to promote a video; leverage recognizable people, such as celebrities; and use advertising.

While many nightclubs do not make it a priority to post video assets on YouTube, they should reconsider that mindset. After all, YouTube is the second largest search engine and they are missing out on an opportunity to rank high in YouTube search results for generic terms such as “Bob Sinclair.”

A YouTube search for “Miami Nightlife” turned up promoted videos for TravelChannelTV alongside a well-known nightclub in Miami called Club Space.  In contrast, a search for “Miami Nightlife” on Google turns up 2 sponsored links, both insignificant.  Club Space is not among them.