Creating a Syndication Engine Model for Social Media Marketing

Creating an "Associated Press" syndication engine model is a tall task for anyone to take on, but that’s exactly what 3-year old Mint Social is doing from its Scottsdale, Arizona base.

Mint Social is a social media marketing company, working with regional and national clients to deliver all types of web content, media, articles, videos, press releases, photos and more to spread a company’s organic search rankings. Mint Social president Matthew O’ Brien likens its business model to a ‘syndication engine for businesses.’

"Our clients come to us looking for help with social media marketing and helping them to develop content that can be used online in a variety of ways," said the soft-spoke
O’Brien, a 20+-yr. veteran of digital technology and Internet work. "Mint Social can help to educate, inform and engage a prospect, and market to them where they are online, hence the syndication model. And then we provide links and hooks back to our clients’ most relevant landing pages, in order to monetize and convert that traffic into some sort of response."

Steve Heideman, Mint Social’s Chief Technology Officer, calls this process ‘building gravity around your brand.’

"Our USP is this: we market content in a number of ways online, by repurposing blog posts, articles, video transcripts and more," says Heideman. "And we do it via social, local and mobile as well. In doing this, with concentrated effort over a period of time, a brand can achieve spectacularly higher awareness levels online."

Mint Social has also created its own model of social media marketing and brand awareness for companies doing business locally. It’s called ‘Geo-SoMo’ and it refers to geographically-targeted content for local, social and mobile.

"It’s a huge opportunity for local businesses to be found online" exclaims Heideman. "Only 7% of local businesses have claimed their business place on Google Places – that means 93% of those businesses have not, and that leaves a gaping hole in the business’s ability to be found by mobile users online."

Mint’s overall process with clients, as described by O’Brien, is one of online efficiency and relevant brand clarity.

"We create a ‘conversation relevancy match’, where we look at what's being searched in search engines and what's being discussed in social networks and Web 2.0, interactive dialogue-type websites. And then we look at how they're positioning their company, the terms and how they describe themselves, to see if there's a match, if they'll actually speaking to their prospective audience in the best light. Unfortunately, we usually find a disconnect there.

"So, we try to really make sure that we're matching the way our clients are presenting their businesses, with what people are looking for, searching for, and talking about online. And that becomes the basis of building out a company’s social media footprint, their online visibility, their brand."

Mint Social works with prominent business and consumer-focused brands in automotive, manufacturing, technology, legal, healthcare and other industries. It’s that variety that keeps things interesting and growing for Mint Social, which has seen a healthy yearly growth since it began.

It continues to bring to its clients an intriguing blend of content marketing, social media, good old fashioned editorial development and public relations, all mixed in with creative online strategies to bring about increased brand awareness. That’s where the future of marketing is headed, O’Brien thinks.

"Delivering content online in a variety of ways to get your brand found and to drive business goals – isn’t that what’s it all about today?"