Get Listed! Wikipedia Marketing Secrets Revealed

“ GET LISTED! WIKIPEDIA SECRETS REVEALED” Starring: Richard Laermer, Author, Full Frontal PR and co-author, “Punk Marketing”, CEO RLM PR Featuring: Sharon Nieuwenhuis, Acct Manager RLM PR and Wikipedia Expert Moderator: Brian Pittman, Partner, CommPRO.biz Friday, December 17, 2010 1 PM Eastern Starring: Richard Laermer, Author, Full Frontal PR and co-author, Punk Marketing, CEO RLM PR Featuring: Sharon Nieuwenhuis, Acct Manager RLM PR and Wikipedia Expert Moderator: Brian Pittman, Partner, CommPRO.biz Friday, December 17, 2010 1 PM Eastern

With appreciation to our sponsor, Sponsored by VMS

Why Wikipedia? Wikipedia is a crucial source for the Online Universe—not to mention being a top search result in Google. Because Wikipedia is managed by a community of editors (read: the collective group is in charge-not one person), editing Wikipedia entries is both an art (the style and tone of listings must be acceptable to the community) and science (information must be factual and referenced to credible outside sources). RLM creates, expands and corrects Wikipedia entries for clients to make sure information is correct and complete. Sponsored by VMS

Sponsored by VMS But … why is Wikipedia important to communications professionals?

The answer: The answer: Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference websites , attracting nearly 78 million visitors monthly as of January 2010. There are more than 91,000 active contributors working on more than 17,000,000 articles in more than 270 languages . As of today, there are 3,501,238 articles in English . Every day, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world collectively make tens of thousands of edits and create thousands of new articles to augment the knowledge held by the Wikipedia encyclopedia. Wikipedia:About From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sponsored by VMS

Use Wikipedia as a Marketing Tool In the age of social media, you can use Wikipedia—the world's online encyclopedia–as a marketing tool. Small businesses are find that getting a listing in Wikipedia can help validate their existence and more. Inc. Magazine , January 18, 2010 Only eight years old, Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit already has more than three million articles in English alone, covering nearly all major companies and a lot of minor ones as well. Should yours be among them?

Sponsored by VMS English Wikipedia right now Wikipedia is running MediaWiki version 1.16wmf4 (r77622). It has 3,501,238 articles, and 22,560,355 pages in total. There have been 431,889,936 edits. There are 854,651 uploaded files. There are 13,586,348 registered users, including 1,765 administrators . This information is correct as of 03:45 (UTC) on December 14, 2010. Update

What does this mean for your brand? For your clients? It’s about translating the value of Wikipedia to the C-Suite. Managing expectations Communicating the perceived value of Wikipedia Demonstrating the true value of Wikipedia Sponsored by VMS

Time to separate Wikipedia fact from fiction Sponsored by VMS

Wikipedia facts Fact = Wikipedia is an online free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit and contribute to. Fact = When comparing Wikipedia to other encyclopedias…“In a past comparison of encyclopedias, Wikipedia had about 1,400,000 articles with 340 million words in total, the Encyclopedia Britannica had about 85,000 articles with 55 million words in total, and Microsoft's Encarta had about 63,000 articles and 40 million words in total.” Fact = All text on Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License (CC-BY-SA), and in most cases, also the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). Sponsored by VMS

Wikipedia “fiction” The biggest fiction = Wikileaks and Wikipedia are tied. WRONG. The only connection between the two is that they are both built using “wiki” software. Sponsored by VMS

Definitions “ Wiki” = A wiki ( / ˈwɪki / WIK-ee ) is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked W e b pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used to create collaborative wiki websites, to power community websites, for personal note taking , in corporate intranets , and in knowledge management systems. Wikis may exist to serve a specific purpose, and in such cases, users use their editorial rights to remove material that is considered off topic. Such is the case of the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia . Sponsored by VMS

Definitions Stub = In Wikipedia, a Wikipedia stub is a short article in need of expansion. Orphan = In Wikipedia, an orphaned page or image has few or no links to it from other pages. Discussion/talk page = The purpose of a Wikipedia talk page (accessible via the talk or discussion tab) is to provide space for editors to discuss changes to its associated article or project page. Sponsored by VMS

Sharon’s discussion page tip “ Every Wikipedia article comes with a discussion page, and Nieuwenhuis suggests using this liberally to explain, for instance, that you’ll be adding more information or links, as well as asking for advice. She also advises setting aside a chunk of time once you post your article, as Wikipedians will likely find it and edit it quickly, and you want to respond right away to any concerns.” Inc. Magazine , January 18, 2010 Sponsored by VMS

Understanding Wikipedia… The five pillars All of Wikipedia 's official policies and guidelines are based on five pillars that define Wikipedia's character: Wikipedia is an encyclopedia . Wikipedia has a neutral point of view . Wikipedia is free content . Wikipedia has a code of conduct . Wikipedia does not have firm rules . Sponsored by VMS

Entering the Wikipedia world: Tips for getting started Contributor tips Create a user account Why create an account? How to sign your name on talk pages Advanced Signatures I Advanced Signatures II Sponsored by VMS

“ If you’re consumer-facing, it’s important to be in Wikipedia ,” says Sharon Nieuwenhuis , account manager at RLM PR , a public relations firm that offers Wikipedia placement and article correction among its services. “It’s a way of proving legitimacy, and not being in there has become something of a stigma. People go to Wikipedia to find basic information about your organization, and if they don’t find it, they think, ‘Why should I pay attention to you?’” Inc. Magazine , January 18, 2010 Sponsored by VMS

Getting adopted as a new Wikipedia user: Look before you leap. Wikipedia policy: Principles Five pillars What Wikipedia is not Ignore all rules Content standards Neutral point of view Verifiability No original research Biographies of living persons Article titles Working with others Civility No personal attacks Harassment No legal threats Consensus Dispute resolution Sponsored by VMS

Getting help… Are you looking for help? The best place to look depends on what kind of help you need: If you're doing research and need to know where to find a particular piece of information, or just want the answer to a trivia question, try Wikipedia: Reference desk . Are you a contributor who wants to get help with the editing process and understanding Wikipedia's policies and guidelines ? If so, ask a question at Wikipedia: Help desk . Ask about technical issues at Wikipedia: Village pump , which is a page where folks especially knowledgeable about Wikipedia hang out. The village pump is a metaphor for a community watering hole where lots of people gather to discuss many interesting topics. Sponsored by VMS

Preparing for success—Managing client expectations Set objectives Determine if your organization is ready, and if not, what steps to take to get there Gather appropriate information Determine appropriate timeframe for development and posting Maintain the page: When and how often? Get feedback and approval Sponsored by VMS

Execution and Essential Skills: How to Do It, Step by Step How to get started Information to gather Build your references before building your content i.e., begin with a stub (define and provide screen grab example) i.e., begin by building on your mentions in other people’s Wikipedia pages (define and provide screen grab as an example) Language to use (tips and screen grab examples) Notability (define and offer tips) What to do if you already have one/a Wikipedia page and it needs updating / changing Sponsored by VMS

Successful client campaigns using Wikipedia… face2face The Challenge: Multiple pages with same name Avoiding marketing speak to promote a new and innovative technology The Solution Disambiguation Statistics / The importance of context Michael H. Evans / Pablo Gimenez-Riili The Challenge Well known legacy does not prove personal notability The Solution Highlighting collective, global accomplishments Keep it simple Sponsored by VMS

Tips on maintaining and updating Check often to ensure no new tags are on the page – new edits can come at anytime Whenever you add a new product, resist the urge to update right away – only when that product or service has achieved a significant milestone When you make one minor tweak, it raises awareness of your page and could open you up to comprehensive page re-review – is it worth it? Sponsored by VMS

The ROI of Wikipedia… Time to measure results SEO improvements / rankings Amount of time Wikipedia definition is referenced / searched Is the page flag free? And for how long? Sponsored by VMS

Trouble-shooting: Tips for overcoming potential “challenges” How to approach flags Don’t panic – it’s perfectly normal Determine the real reason why – talk to Wikipedia editors Restate your language to make as encyclopedic, yet compelling as possible Edit, and re-edit to ensure perfection and proper tone What if there’s another page with the same name? Submit disambiguation request, work with live chat What is the page already exists and I need to edit ? Approach editing process the same as creating a new page, and most importantly, make sure full references are in place to back up any changes Sponsored by VMS

Making it work for your brand(s) Wikipedia is important – but it’s also important not to jump into it blind. Know the process, what is required of writing style and adhere accordingly. It’s a practice that makes us all better communications professionals, as it forces us to remove all marketing-speak and lead with the facts and a strong story. Sponsored by VMS

“ GET LISTED! WIKIPEDIA SECRETS REVEALED” TO LEARN MORE “SECRETS” CONTACT: Richard Laermer Sharon Nieuwenhuis CEO RLM PR Account Manager RLM PR www.RLMpr.com www.RLMpr.com [email_address] [email_address] Author, "2011: Trendspotting" 212-741-5106 Ext. 237 212-741-5106 Ext. 225 Twitter: @laermer Richard Laermer CEO RLM PR www.RLMpr.com [email_address] Author, "2011: Trendspotting" 212 741 5106 X 225 Sharon Nieuwenhuis Account Manager www.RLMpr.com [email_address] 212-741-5106 Ext. 237

Thanks again to our sponsor, Sponsored by VMS

Get Listed! Wikipedia Marketing Secrets Revealed

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