This week they address the state of the Online PR Podcast – lessons learned and rationale for continuing the podcast, Google’s Panda update to its search engine, and recent IPO news from LinkedIn along with rumors of a Facebook IPO in early 2012.

About this Podcast

Although it was March when the last Online PR Podcast episode was published, Pete and Mark have discussed the podcast and scheduled and re-scheduled times to record the next podcast. The good news is both of them have been so busy that is has been difficult finding time to schedule the podcast. That’s the bad news as well.

Looking back, however, both Mark and Pete recognize the value of the podcast in maintaining a firm grasp on current trends and issues. They both feel that although it may take some commitment to schedule time to get together and record Online PR Podcast episodes, the time spent is well worth it.

So, the good news for listeners is that we plan to continue the podcast, at least posting updates every few weeks.

Google’s Panda Update

Mark and Pete discussed changes they’ve seen in Google’s search performance since the company initiated its Panda Algorithm update.

Before the podcast they reviewed this post on Search Engine Land that featured a Q&A with Google’s Matt Cutts, Google’s top spam cop, discussing Panda.

Mark mentions the tool WooRank for identifying inbound links on your site.

Social Media IPOs

Pete and Mark addressed the recent LinkedIn initial public offering and rumors and speculation about Facebook’s IPO which is supposedly planned for early next year.

See what Mashable reported on June 13 about Facebook’s upcoming IPO.

Feedback

We welcome your comments and feedback. Please let us know what you’d like to have us address or leave any questions by submitting a post comment or contacting us here.

This week our discussion is focused on expanding your network using LinkedIn. We brought in c-level executive Daniel Higbee to talk us through the possibilities within LinkedIn and social networking in general.

Higbee is the chief marketing officer at QGIA, which produces performance enhancing video. The company creates calls to action within online video.

We discuss reaching out to like-minded individuals through LinkedIn and other social networking platforms. Higbee even advocates forming relationships with competitors where you can share certain types of information and learn from each other.

Higbee outlines how he helped a nonprofit endeavor be successful by using LinkedIn to reach out to industry thought leaders. The earth friendly cause is called Eliminate Paper Time Cards. We encourage you to check it out.

Higbee covers the fast growing online media world and notes that use of video on your Web site increases conversion by up to 30%.

We also talk about the importance of conversion forms, contact forms and landing pages as part of your online strategy.

Third-Party Blogs

Codella highlights his experience with his Fast Company blog focused on digital public relations. The content on this blog is different from that of any of his other Internet properties.

He uses it as yet another vehicle with which to secure top search placement. If you search for his name, you’ll find the Fast Company blog on the first page of results, even though it’s not updated very frequently.

Polson reviewed the recommendations in Codella’s Jan. 30, 2009 Fast Company blog for a bare bones Web 2.0 approach to online positioning.

Facebook Pages

Utilizing Facebook pages for your business or product is a great way to put a human face on your company or brand. Social networking, interconnectivity and multimedia help contribute to a different experience that of any other online channel.

Polson discussed the importance of not using your Facebook page to hard-sell your customers. He also addressed three things you can do with Facebook:

1. Create a fan page
2. Build an application
3. Connect Facebook to other sites

If your business isn’t using the Facebook page feature, it should.

LinkedIn

Codella discussed the importance of individual LinkedIn profiles from a search perspective as well as that of a personal brand perspective.

Quite often LinkedIn profiles appear towards the top of search results for companies because of the high volume of traffic on the LinkedIn site and keyword rich content (i.e., the company’s name).

New Search

Polson briefly mentioned a very cool new search tool called WolframAlpha. Check it out!

Click here to see what WolframAlpha returned when searching for public relations.

Resources

Pete Codella’s Fast Company Blog
Facebook
LinkedIn
WolframAlpha