David Siteman Garland, founder of TheRiseToTheTop.com is an avid entrepreneur, internet marketer, and is in the know when it comes to social media marketing. He was kind enough to do an interview with Socialize Your Cause and share some insights on the current landscape on digital marketing and how he has effectively been using online video to build his organization to where it is today.

The internet has created this unbelievable platform that allows you to reach out to influential people at virtually no cost. The barriers to entry that existed in the past are being broken down and there is no better time to leverage online video to build your brand. David interviews some of the top entrepreneurs and marketers today (Mike Volpe of hubspot, Robert Scoble, Brian Solis, David Meerman Scott just to name a few) and shares this content on his blog.

He points out that becoming a trusted resource/expert will organically build online trust and your organization will become a resource people will seek out. Push marketing is dead and pulling people in with relevant useful content is the new way of marketing online.

The Video Interview (runtime 36min)

Expert Interview Series w/ David Siteman Garland - Socialize Your Cause from Socialize Your Cause on Vimeo.

Key Points

People don’t share ads online. They share remarkable content.

Making video content and picking the brains of the biggest and brightest minds in the industry will bring exposure to your organization, expand your knowledge base, and that of your viewers.

Try and build your content around your organization and provide education around that.

Use your content to connect with influencers online. Don’t lead with asking for anything, provide value first. Social Media is a give to get environment, much like the real world.

Your website is your house and when you invite people into your house and it looks like crap, that is going to reflect badly on you. There is something to be said about having an up to date site that looks credible and conveys trust. Especially when asking for donations!

Using a professional Wordpress theme can be free/cheap and look GREAT. =)

Make your site sticky. Ask yourself: why are users coming to to your site? What will make them come back over and over again? This could be a tool, resource, or extremely valuable content that you are providing.

The product/cause pusher. When you are first getting into social media people make the mistake of cramming their products or causes down peoples throats. It takes time to build up credibility within these social spaces and if your message is all about you you you, that is going to shine through. (That wasn’t supposed to rhythm).

Provide Value – No one wants to hear about the sandwich you just ate. They want to be informed of achievements, breakthroughs, and what others like you are doing in your space. Having a personality is important within social media channels but there is a fine line.  A balance between personality and valuable content must be achieved.Social media is not an easy fix. It takes WORK! The hustling nonprofit can do this more effectively right now because they have the agility to maneuver quickly, without too much red tape. Larger organizations need to adjust and become more open to outside influence and input to thrive in social media.

If twitter dies and flitter starts up the next day… How many of your “follows” would find you immediate on flitter? How many meaningful connections are you making with your “fan” base?

Make sure to follow David on Twitter @TheRiseToTheTop. And check out his site www.therisetothetop.com. He has some amazing interviews with some of the smartest people in the marketing world and we are a big fan of his work.