And so it was unveiled in the benevolent ribbon of 2009 that our October blog, “Is Your Blog Going for the Gold?” has been named one of the Best Internet Marketing posts of 2008.

To refresh your memory, the article examined the best practices of positive social-media marketing, specifically discussing how Kodak was able to leverage the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games through its blogging efforts. Blogging not only allowed Kodak to create and control the communication of tight-nit communities passionate about the Olympics, but also empowered its employees to be able to write and discuss the topics that mattered most to them. In effect, a nice double play for the point-and-shoot giant.

Thank you Tamar Weinberg at Techipedia for recognizing us with this award. And a deep thank you to all of our readers for all of your support. Without you, there’s no us.

2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony - The Bird's Nest

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In any case, we recently discovered this ranking of the Top 10 Visited U.S. Blog and Personal Websites, and were taken aback by what and who appeared.

The top three aren’t so surprising. MySpace has the most daily users of any single social networking site – even if Facebook is steadily closing in on its lead. And Blogger and LiveJournal, well, collectively they have a user base in the tens of millions.

It’s really #4 that caught our eye. Now, we know that PerezHilton.com is wildly popular (see our post on Ashton Kuster’s new social networking site that borrows some of Hilton’s signature snark), but this ranking proves just how popular it is.

Out of all the blogs and blog publishing systems in the United States – all of them! – PerezHilton.com owns roughly 3% of the market’s total visits. That’s huge! Beyond huge really, considering that five popular blogging services and one news organization lag behind the celeb gossip site in visitors. Incredible!

This raises so many questions about so many things – for instance, what statement does this ranking make about America’s Internet-using population, who’re clearly more interested in the daily deterioration of Amy Winehouse than the upcoming election (notice the CNN Political Ticker at the bottom of the barrel)?

We’d love to hear your thoughts!

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This new data comes on the heels of a Vovici Corporation study on behalf of Internet Retailer that found that nearly four out of 10 online merchants surveyed said they used social networks, with nearly one-third of respondents maintaining a Facebook presence and 25% each using MySpace and YouTube.

Naturally, these statistics had us wondering – knowing what we know about the social mediasphere and the treacherous waters companies tread by entering it, how many online merchants really have a handle on how to use the technique and how many are just playing a game of Follow the Leader?

It’s a toss up. Research firm Gartner claims that social media will be adopted by more than 60 percent of Fortune 1,000 companies with a Web site by 2010 – but half will fail.

Why? Because, says Gartner, the lesser-tuned companies will fail to establish a mutual purpose which will lead to eroding customer and company values.

Such a grim assessment makes social-media marketing hardly seem worth it, doesn’t it?

Depends on how fast your company can evolve.

Social media marketing is well worth the investment if those in charge of the effort can forget everything they know about traditional marketing and become a member of the targeted demographic. In this case, Generation Virtual (Gen V, for short), an anomaly of a group not defined by age, gender, social demographic or geography.

Sounds enigmatic, right? Well, it is.

As much as we think we know about online marketing, there’s still more to learn. The landscape is constantly changing. Sure, MySpace and Facebook are popular platforms today, but tomorrow is different – and if we’ve learned anything as of late it’s that the world as we know it can change in a matter of hours. Similar reasoning applies here. You have to – pardon the cliché – go with the flow. First, though, you have to find the five Ws that comprise that flow.

In his WebProNews article on this subject, author Mike Sachoff writes, “To do business with Generation V, marketers will need to attract online personas by creating multiple, engaging online destinations and provide tools for individual populations to socialize and express their different personas. By doing that marketers will have a better understanding of Generation V.”

In normal speak, that means that everything you thought you knew is worthless: You have to crawl before you can walk.

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We agree with many industry analysts that blogging – just one of the many legs of the social-marketing centipede – is a viable means to keeping customers up-to-date and interested in a brand while simultaneously attracting new devotees. In fact, we actively blog on behalf of many of our own clients. But, as with all online marketing techniques, there are proverbial potholes along the road to success that could derail a social-marketing mission if proper attention isn’t paid.

Before we get to that, take a look at this MarketingProfs.com interview with Kodak Corporate Media Relations Manager Krista Gleason and Chief Blogger Jenny Cisney on how they’ve managed to ‘click with social media success.’ There are a few lessons to learn here, and a couple caveats that we’re compelled to address.

The first technique to note relates to what Cisney says about how blogging enhanced the 2008 Olympic experience for Kodak, both among individual staff members and for the company as a whole. Cisney’s statement details how Kodak completely immersed itself in this campaign, focusing on one of the most anticipated events of the year. More importantly, it didn’t miss a beat. Kodak covered all its bases – and its success is clearly the byproduct of advanced planning and meticulous attention to detail.

Also worth noting is what Cisney and Gleason said about the impact blogging and social media is having on the company culture. Gleason mentions that blogging boosts morale by allowing employees to communicate their passion, while Cisney says Kodak’s three blogs give the company a human face and improves customer relations by offering information on products and services.

We agree with Gleason and Cisney on both points. By allowing employees to take on a task they consider to be “fun” – blogging about something that’s important to them, in this case – they’ll be happier in the long run. We frequently mention Google in our posts, and there’s a reason for that. Not only is the company an Internet juggernaut, but it’s also created a culture within its walls that other entities envy. Kodak seems to be working toward a similar model, and it’s likely that they’ll reap the benefits of increased productivity, improved quality of work, etc., which is a well-documented derivative of a lightly structured workplace.

Now for the bad news.

Blogging only works if you work it. A blog’s content must offer value to an intended audience to be relevant. Don’t just talk – say something. We’ve run across innumerable blogs that serve no purpose, the maintenance of which only distracts from larger initiatives – ones that actually stand a chance of producing an ROI. Kodak, however, found a way to engage an audience, and capitalize on a momentary craze. Props to Kodak. But just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t mean you should too (BTW, call your mother; she loves you). A blog may not be a good fit for your brand. Before you build it, consider the consequences. Will you consistently provide content of genuine value, or will you come off looking like a copycat who doesn’t know squat?

Also consider Kodak’s timing relative to its success. Its blogs were popular this summer because Kodak aligned them with a major cultural and historic event. By controlling the blogs’ messages to relate to the Games, the company was able to attract the attention of a massive audience eager for anything Beijing. The question now is, how well do those blogs continue to perform? It’s likely that they’ve experienced attrition, but how many avid readers have remained? If Kodak is smart – and here comes the pun – it will continue to focus on the big picture rather than super-specific topics that only niche groups care about.

Our final word on this subject is less caveat than it is caution. Don’t be naïve enough to think that every social-media marketing attempt you make will take off. Similarly, don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t. Before its success this summer, Kodak had global brand recognition and millions of loyal customers. Afterward, it still has that same powerful name and likely a few more followers. That’s not the norm. Most companies don’t have a built-in base to start with; the rest of us have to painstakingly cultivate customers through individual campaigns, grass-roots efforts, positive PR, etc. But it can – and should – be done.

So long as the end justifies the means, of course.

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