Creating an Opp can sometimes seem like an overwhelming task, although in SocialSpark it's a very easy thing!  SocialSpark basically walks you through Opp creation step by step.  Also, as Karen mentioned in a the recent post, Customer Support in SocialSpark, there are question marks located all over Opp creation that you can click on to give you more information about what you are required to do!

Now I'll walk you through Sponsored Post Opp Creation in SocialSpark (I'm going to apologize now because this post is going to be VERY long - Sorry, but hopefully it helps)...

Step 1: Setup
- The first really cool thing in SocialSpark is the Advertiser's ability to clone a previously launched Opportunity!  This is exciting news because if you have a previously approved Opp that performed well and you would like to recreate it all you need to do is go to Section 1: Set Up and choose 'Clone Launched Opp'.  Then click on the drop-down menu and select the Opp you would like to clone and tada!  You have the EXACT same Opportunity.  The system will fill in all the fields automatically for you!!  How exciting!!!

- If you don't want to recreate an old Opp you can Create a New Sponsored Post Opportunity. 
If you opt to create a new Sponsored Post Opp, here is how you would do so.  You would start out by naming your Opportunity - please realize, this is completely for your use (it will not show up in the Marketplace, it will only be seen on your account).  This can help you keep track of your Opps in your account, but it is not for all the bloggers to see. 

Second, you will see that you can assign this Opp to a specific campaign.  This will be very useful for our Advertisers that create Opps for several different products/companies.  You can assign certain Opps to certain campaigns.  This will help if you have 5 Opps for toothbrushes and 7 others for toothpaste - you can keep the toothbrush Opps together and the toothpaste Opps in another campaign.

Thirdly, you can track the buzz of your Opps.  You can enter up to 3 terms in this section to see how many people in the blogosphere are using those terms.  I would suggest using terms that are very relevant to your Opp to see how many people in the blogosphere are using that term.

Lastly, you can pick how you would like your Opp created.  You can opt to use a 'Quick Opp' configuration - this is where the system will set up your Opp for you based on Marketplace standards.  Or you can opt to control ever aspect of your campaign by selecting 'Advanced'.  This would give you complete control over all of the Opp creation.

Ok, Step 1 is now completed!  Be sure to click on 'Save and Continue' on the bottom right hand side of the screen to get to Step 2.

Step 2: Your Opportunity
This is where the majority of the information to the bloggers is going to go - it's very similar to Opp creation in PayPerPost.  Let's go step by step to simplify this...
1.) Title of Your Opportunity - this is the title the Bloggers will see.  It is the title that will show up in the Marketplace.  Please realize this is NOT the same as the title from Step 1, which was the title that would only be seen in your account!!

2.) Opportunity Short Description - Pretty self-explanatory... I would suggest using something fun to catch the bloggers attention in the Opp title and short description - remember those 2 fields will be what is displayed on the Opportunity list so you want to put something there that will catch the Blogger's attention and make them want to take your Opp.

3.) General Requirements - Minimum words:  You can choose anywhere from 50 to 500 words.

4.) Opportunity Type - you can choose 1 of the 3 different types of Opportunities:
Standard: General Text Opp
Press Release Opp:  You would include a Press Release for the bloggers to copy and paste directly into their post for this type of Opp.
Video Opp:  Bloggers would be required to create a user generated video based upon your requirements in the Description.

5.) Multimedia Assets - You can upload an image that you require the bloggers to insert in their posts.  The files must be JPEG, PNG, or TIFF files and cannot be larger than 2MB.

6.) Opportunity Full Description - This should be the EXACT instructions of what you want the Bloggers to do in their posts.  Laying out exactly what the bloggers are to do will help you get what you want out of their posts (remember, bullet points are always helpful!)

7.) Informational links - these links are simply for the Bloggers to do more research!  They are NOT required in their posts!  (These are optional and do not have to be included in the Opp.)

8.) Third Party Ad Tag -  Now these tend to confuse Advertisers ALL the time.  You are to insert a bit of code in this box that the bloggers are to copy EXACTLY as you put it in and paste in their posts.  This can be a tracking image, video, additional link - whatever!  Just be sure it's code, not keywords or additional sentences.

Whew, now that was a ton of information right there - do you want to go on to the next step?  We can call a time-out and get some water if you need it?  No?  You're okay?  Alright we'll move on to Step 3 now...

Step 3: Targeting
Here is where you would choose the Blogs/Bloggers that are eligible for the Opp.  You can go to part 1 and choose from ALL the eligible blogs in SocialSpark.  If you choose the box 'All Verified Blogs' this would open your Opp up to EVERYONE in SocialSpark.  If you want to have a little more segmentation you would check the box 'Custom'.  You can then go through and choose from all the options below the 'Custom' box.  You can pick as many or as few as you want.  Please realize that this segmentation is the top 20% of Bloggers in SocialSpark.  What I mean by this is, if you choose 'Top RealRank' you would be choosing the Top 20% in our system.  The best thing about this is, SocialSpark will ONLY offer the Opp to those in the Top 20% based upon highest RealRank.

You can also go to number 2 and assign the Opp to one of your Street Teams (Street Teams are Bloggers that you have gone ahead and added that you would like to open your Opp to).  Or you can go to number 3 and choose one of your Blog Rolls (Blog Rolls are specific Blogs that you would like to open your Opp up to). 

- Here's a good tip: If you want to create an Opp JUST for your Street Team or Blog Roll you would click on 'Custom' under number one and then deselect all the other boxes below custom - you would then choose the Street Team/Blog Roll you would like to open the Opp to. 

Finally, under number 4 you can choose what language you would like the Opp to be open to - In SocialSpark we allow both Spanish Advertisers and Bloggers; I know, how exciting!!!!

In Step 3 you can choose any of the segmentation you would like and there is a pie chart on the right hand side of the screen that will tell you how much of the SocialSpark blogging community you are opening up the Opp to.  The green would be the percentage eligible for the Opp while the red is the percentage that is not eligible.  This will change depending on what segmentation you select to give you a better idea of what percentage of the Bloggers you are going to be targeting for this specific Opp.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired after this post.  I think this will be a good place to leave off for now.  Meet me back here tomorrow and I will go ahead and continue with the rest of the information about Sponsored Post Opp Creation.... until then have a great day!

Posted by Crystal Duncan at 04:03 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)