Friday’s Fun Finds 4 Business: Google Alerts

Three weeks ago I was posting about mission-driven marketing (Oct. 1) and I recommended a book of the same name by Peter C. Brinckerhoff. The next day, waiting there in my in-box was an email from one Peter C. Brinckerhoff. It seems he had set up a Google Alert for the appearance of his book title & name anywhere on the Net, and when I blogged about him, it triggered the alert and he was notified. He read my blog and—being a good networker—followed-up by sending me a pleasant email. I emailed him back and the interchange led me to even more good books and some information that will help me serve an upcoming client. Since that day, I, too, have instituted this practice (for my company and name), and so far it has yielded interesting results.

Google Alerts are nothing new but I choose them as this Friday’s Fun Find because they warrant a little awareness building for the uninitiated and some attention to highlight their many uses.

Features & Uses
First, Google Alerts are an easy, useful tool to track buzz for your business, brand(s), product or service. Google’s search is broad, covering the Web comprehensively, including articles, blogs, videos, news, and groups. They can be set to issue results as-it-happens, daily or weekly. And not only can they help you assess the content of buzz out there but they can also help you gage the amount of buzz or when it’s heaviest. Second, you can also use them to track a competitor, client, or industry-related trends. Third—and especially of interested to publishers and authors—they can be used to track reviews, publicity, or sales leads for a publication. Other creative uses include harnessing the wisdom of the Web community to improve future publications, product development, talks and presentations. A humble Mr. Brinkerhoff told me he uses it “for times when people dis my work on their blogs—so I learn about things I might have missed.” If the author, editor, brand manager, or publicist is diligent with follow-up, you will not only have learned something new about your work or subject matter, you will also have etablished yet another avenue to build your brand-stakeholder relationship. Peter Brinkerhoff did and I’m the better for it in several ways. Now I’m even more likely to recommend his book—and that’s successful brand-building!

Finally, the great part of Google Alerts is that it’s one less thing you have to remember in course of your busy day. You “set it and forget it,” letting Google do the work for you.

Some Parting Advice:

1. Choose your search terms wisely—avoid generic words;
   
2. Add common misspellings to your search terms;
   
3. Set your alerts to run weekly if you don’t want to get the same listing again and again or if you have more common search terms and wish to avoid results fatigue;


4. Adjust and improve your search terms over time; and


5. Don’t forget to follow-up on real buzz or good leads, lest the whole purpose be lost.

Enjoy!