Is Zappos’ Email as Good as Their Social Media?
Guest post by David Hibbs, lifecycle marketing manager for integrated marketing firm Off Madison Ave. He specializes in developing strategies to reach the right customer, at the right time, with the right message. I’m a big fan of Zappos.com. They have personality, transparency, and the willingness to try new things (see every social media case […]
May I Contact You Please? The Evolution of Permission
Guest post by Doug Wick (@dougwick), who thinks a lot about marketing and is a Director of Business Development for Powered, a social marketing company in Austin, TX. He writes frequently for Powered’s blog, The Engaged Consumer, and at DougWick.com. In the past decade of direct marketing online, the focal point has become contacting consumers […]
Audit Your Intellectual Capital – 7 Ways to Find Your Stories
Guest post by Elizabeth Sosnow (@elizabethsosnow), Managing Director of BlissPR, a New York City based public relations firm. She develops and supervises strategic communications programs for major companies in professional and financial services, with a particular emphasis on the legal, consulting and insurance industries. Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy slips on banana peel, […]
Use Online Listening for Competitive Research
Guest post by Mike Corak (@mikecorak) who oversees strategic planning, Web development, and marketing services for Tempe, Arizona integrated agency Off Madison Ave. Are your customers telling you everything you need to know to improve the bottom line? Conducting primary market research and audience research, and purchasing secondary studies are fundamental ways communicators inform and […]
9 Things to Do When I’m Gone
This morning, I’m leaving with the family on a 2-week vacation of Denmark and Norway. We’re doing a home exchange, and a lovely family from Aalborg, Denmark will be inhabiting Convince & Convert global headquarters in Flagstaff. (We’ve done the exchange thing a few times via homeexchange.com and really enjoy it. If you have any […]
A Social Media Gun to the Head
I’ll admit it. I fish on Twitter. Sometimes, I’ll talk about a brand just to see if they’re listening. Too often, they’re not. Or, maybe they’re listening, but not responding. Some companies seem to have a policy of responding to positive comments, but not responding to negative comments. I think this falls into the “we […]
4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management
Is today your Domino’s? Social media can both create and solve crises, and the incredibly fluid nature of social conversations requires brands to be on a constant state of readiness. In April, two Domino’s employees created a foolish and disgusting video, and posted it to YouTube, setting off a firestorm of coverage on Twitter. It […]
Advanced Social Media Synergies
Last week, I was part of a panel discussion on how travel and tourism organizations can move beyond the typical Facebook and Twitter accounts to take their social media efforts to the next level. Part of the annual Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism, I was joined on the panel by the excellent Angela Berardino from […]
Beth Kanter – The Twitter 20 Interview on Social Media and Social Change
Beth Kanter is perhaps the best-known, most-respected voice in the world on the subject of using technology in a non-profit setting. A consultant to non-profits since 1993, her blog is consistently ranked as one of the best in marketing – and for good reason. It’s full of the kind of practical, tangible, viable advice that […]
Back Up the Bus – The Changing PR Timeline
Before I got involved in online marketing in 1994, I helped manage political campaigns. In those days, the formula was pretty consistent. You targeted different voter groups with direct mail, radio and TV. Then, with about two weeks left in the campaign, you brought out the big guns and dropped a big TV and direct […]
Your ESP has ESP – Use It
Is there a marketing medium in history as routinely underutilized as email? Not in terms of volume – few folks outside prison are clamoring for more messages in their inbox. But in terms of using the full capabilities of the medium, the vast majority of email marketers are just scratching the surface, and I don’t […]
Building Your Blog Community: It’s a Matter of W FACT
Are you building a community, or an audience? In the last couple weeks, I’ve had two experiences that really shook me up on the topic of community. First was Chris Brogan’s simple but devastatingly effective post about the difference between audience and community being the direction the chairs are facing. Second, was a conversation I […]
Crowdsourcing Your Dog Food
One of the most overlooked benefits of building or facilitating an online community around your brand is the market research opportunities. Your brand community – even if nascent and emerging – consists of hundreds or thousands of customers that are familiar enough with your company (and care enough about it) to self-identify as a fan/friend/member. […]
Valeria Maltoni – The Twitter 20 Interview on Conversation and Community
Valeria Maltoni is one of the most widely respected marketing voices in the world. And for good reason. Her extensive background spans marketing, public relations, and social media. If it exists in the realm of communications, she’s done it. Valeria was also an integral nucleus of the Fast Company Company of Friends, a business intelligence […]