I like to check out the blogs and sites I follow, as well as Facebook. You know, like Copyblogger, Mashable, and Techcrunch. They’re all kind of industry related. However, sparked by a Monster-fueled Halothon, I decided to pop in on the Xbox community over on Facebook.

I had never been to their FB page, and it was nice. They have 3  custom FBML pages. One for everyone, one for the hardcore gamers (like me!), and one for the new Kinect. Of course, even though it has a separate tab, the “All” page had the Kinect, as well. And that was also the landing page.

Just recently, I had to ask the Guerilla Chefe how to set my custom FBML page as the landing page for everyone. It’s so simple, I felt dumb for not knowing. So just to keep you from feeling dumb, here it is really quick.

Go to a page you admin. On a page you admin, click “Edit Page”

See? I even highlited what to click.

Click “Edit” under “Wall Settings”

Select which landing page you want from the drop-down.

That’s it in it’s entirety. I told you it was pretty easy, and for some reason I even included pictures. So hopefully you guys learned something, and now, I have a few more Covenant to kill before bed.

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You should already be familiar with these sites!

That’s right, Guerilleros! As I promised, today we are going to look at how YOU can build a loyal fan base around your blog! I discussed the importance of a blog in the last post, and today I am going to give you 6 steps to follow for building a blog community that can attract real attention. Everything in it is easy, and with a little maintenance, you can have a killer blog following!

1) Provide Quality Content! (Duh!)

No one is going to read a blog with nothing on it, or worse, nothing good on it. So get a writer, or sharpen your pencil, because without some awesome content, written well, no one cares about your blog. Should this even be listed as a step?

The key is quality. An excellent test for this is to ask your self, Would I put this on my personal blog? If the answer is No, get back to writing. And it can’t be stressed enough: A Blog Is Not An Advertisement! You’re trying to give value to your readers, not sell them something.

2) Comment, Comment, and Comment Some More!

You can pack in as many keywords as you like, but that method is going to take some time to yeild results. Wouldn’t it be nice to find a large group of people who would be likely to be interested in your blog, all at once? You can! Unless you are blogging about something really obscure, someone else is already blogging about it. So go to their sites and leave comments.

But don’t just agree and leave a link. That’s not helping you. Leave insightful comments that show you know what’s up in your subject. Leave enough comments, and the readers will follow. Keep leaving comments, and you might get a link back! It takes time, but it will work!

3) Socialize Your Blog!

This is easy as pie. Put your posts up on Digg, StumbleUpon, all the major social bookmarking sites. This is a social media marketing page, and since you’re reading it, this too should be a given.

4) Keep Socializing!

Seriously, keep at it! Every word you write should go on all of these sites. And not just your writings either. you want to be very active on these sites, so people start to recognize your name, and trust you as a source for high caliber content.

5) Share the Page!

No one goes to just one person for advice, and that’s true for your blog, too! So instead of letting the reader go somewhere else for that second opinion, bring it to them. Ask other blog authors to write a piece for your site. They should be honored you asked, plus it’s free publicity for them, as well as a way to increase their followers with your followers. And your fans stay loyal, because you brought them a whole new place to learn from. Win-win for everyone!

6) Spread the Word Domestically!

Nothing is more aggrevating than asking an employee of your clients if they saw their picture on the blog, and they reply “What blog?” Really? Why are we even bothering, if your client’s employees don’t even know about it?

The largest fan base is initially  composed of an extended network made up of the friends of people directly connected to the blog. AKA, the employee’s friends and families are going to get the word out a lot faster than you. Use it!

That’s it folks! Building a blog community doesn’t get any easier than that. Yeah, it’s a little time consuming, but it’s worth it. Once you have a loyal fan base, you’re set. And speaking of loyal fan bases, make sure you join the revolution, and become a Social Media Guerilla!

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If your social media marketing is a silo, you're doomed to implode.

When I read this post over at Label:Indescript about social media silos, I immediately connected the subject to at least 4 business owners I’ve been in contact with.

Justin Boone, the author (and a darn good guerillero), talks about how companies start their social media strategies with a department (read blogger guy) that becomes completely alienated from the rest of the staff and from other departments.

I’d say that’s a better start than having NO SOCIAL MEDIA WHATSOEVER, but there are points to be taken from this when it comes to a powerful social guerilla.

The majority of businesses that decide to implement a blog or create dedicated social network accounts do so with only one objective: create more revenue.

Now that my guerilla is expanding into the fascinating world of “real” business (read offline companies), I’ve found that all these companies really know about social media marketing is that it’s “cheap” and can go “viral”.

Why They End Up With A Social Media Silo

The real benefits of creating an active community start when there’s a commitment throughout the entire company to share, engage, and participate in a public dialog.  A good guerilla is never won by one lonely guerillero, but by a tactiful team.

And I’ve experienced lots of lost battles when:

• Companies fail to communicate with the social media deparment

The poor “blogger guy” is left hunting for material to post, and is left out with the task of tracking customer feedback and analysing google and twitter alerts.

Or, what is worse:

• All of the social media material comes from the marketing department (the billboard approach)

That happens more often than necessary, but it seems to be that corporate mentality impregnated on offline people; old ads, product releases, listing of properties… The entire community is now a giant billboard!

Stimulate The Social Spirit

Turn projects in development over to the SM department, let them post updates. Collect feedback, and apply their comments into the design.

Integrate multiple areas of your company by asking them to report daily activities to the SM team. Motivate the staff to post their comments on the company blog and to interact with each other within the corporate Facebook page.

And one more thing:

QUIT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT CRAP!

There are tons of ways to measure social media buzz, to ignite content syndication, and those are valid strategies to evaluate strategies. Hiring a web analytics expert is also a good idea.

But enough with the constant cry about time and effort wasted: if these companies havent noticed yet, online content doesnt “die”, and even though it may not be immediate, a solid online participation will pay huge dividends as online usage wont stop growing anytime soon.

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