Are We Making Our Fans Work Too Hard?
Just because you CAN do something in social media, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. This point was driven home for me recently when reading an AdAge article about CKE Restaurants (Carl’s Jr. and Hardees) launching their own mobile loyalty cards via iPhone and Android app. “As far as we know, we’re the first quick-service restaurant to […]
Focus on ‘Being’ Social, Not Just ‘Doing’ Social
It’s more about the social, than it is about the media. It’s easy to forget that when we’re besieged by technology and tools inventions and announcements every single day. But the fact that your company has a Twitter account, or a Facebook page, or uses CoTweet (client), or has a blog doesn’t mean a damn […]
Maybe You’re Just Not Ready for Social Media
My Mom is a legendary high school English teacher. I took three classes she taught, including one where we studied Oedipus Rex and the difference between seeing and perceiving, which has widespread business and social media implications. Sometimes our brands write checks our operations simply can’t cash. I was in New York last week to […]
Brand Haiku – Delta
Today, I’m participating in a project with 20+ other bloggers. Each of us is writing a haiku about a recent experience we’ve had with a brand. Devised by the crafty Aaron Strout from Powered, this Brand Haiku initiative is set up so that you can link from here to the next blogger on the chain, […]
It’s More About the Social Than It Is About the Media
Sure, the gadgets and gizmos and the apps and androids of social media make it more convenient for us to interact with one another, and with brands. But it’s not really about the bits and bytes and data and Dick Costolo, is it? It envelopes us, but technology is only the third most important “ly” […]
Is Twitter Advertising a Threat to PPC?
Guest post by Shannon Suetos, an expert writer on phone systems based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively at Resource Nation. Back in February of 1998, Jeffrey Brewer of Goto.com first presented the concept of pay-per-click advertising (PPC) at the TED conference. Google started implementing search engine ads in December of 1999, and by […]
5 Staggeringly Simple Ways to Create Custom Facebook Landing Tabs
Do you have your copy of Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype? Visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble to get your copy now! Unless you can get people to click your “like” button, your Facebook strategy will be as limp and lifeless as Matt LeBlanc’s post-Friends career. That’s because the vast majority […]
When Will the Social Media Losers Emerge?
Today, social media is like a soccer league for seven year-olds: everyone gets a trophy. The vast majority of press coverage and conversations around social media centers around the fact that businesses are DOING social media, not necessarily doing it EFFECTIVELY. Do you know why every article or blog post with even a scintilla of […]
Runza Combines Social Media and Email – Something to Chew On
Remember, the goal isn’t to be good at social media. The goal is to be good at business because of social media. Here’s one of the best ways to live that creed. Proactively use your social outposts to drive behavior among your current and prospective customers that has a higher value than just a one […]
Rocket Content – Your B2B Secret Weapon
Guest post by Ian Greenleigh, the Social Media Manager at Bazaarvoice – the market and technology leader in hosted social commerce applications. He also blogs at Dare to Comment. There’s no doubt about it, those of us tasked with enterprise-level B2B marketing have some incredible hurdles to overcome. The business decision makers (BDMs) that have […]
Destroying the 7 Myths of B2B Social Media
B2B social media is one of the most nettlesome of all social media marketing topics. There are plenty of half-truths and misunderstandings about what, where, why, and how B2B social media works (or doesn’t). I tried to dispel the most common B2B social media myths in this Webinar for Genius.com and Focus. Destroying the 7 […]
Digital Sharecropping – Why Most Facebook Customization is Wasted Effort
Part 3 of a 3-Part Rant The time, money, and overall exertion being spent on customizing Facebook fan pages is largely misspent. Just because you CAN replicate much of your corporate website functionality on Facebook, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Your Facebook fan page is not a collectible automobile. You do not get extra brand advocacy […]
Mistake Math – Why We’re Valuing Facebook Fans All Wrong
Part 2 of a 3-Part Rant Brands are shouting from the rooftops about how many Facebook fans they have – and the number of “likes” does help you spread your message through the news feeds of your fans (more on that tomorrow). But let’s recognize it takes literally one click of one finger to “like” […]
Ra Ra Wrong. How Facebook’s Cheerleaders Are Blowing Smoke
Part 1 of a 3-Part Rant I realize it’s in the best interests of Facebook, the media, application developers, and sometimes even brands themselves to concoct pseudo-science that “proves” that people that “like” your company are instantly turned into a zombie army of influential advocates. But it’s simply not true. Despite a pile of coverage […]
The 7 New Roles Agencies Must Play to Survive Real-Time Business
Change is all around us, in many shapes and guises. Yet the nucleus of most of the shifts that have us feeling like we’re in a transformational maelstrom is speed. Everything happens faster now. Awareness can be captured more quickly than ever before. Sales can be closed instantly online. Customer service issues can be resolved […]
3 Reasons To Dig Deeper In Social Listening
Guest post by Connie Bensen, the Director of Community Strategy and Social Media at Alterian, which provides leading marketing products for the enterprise. She also blogs at http://communitystrategist.com. Brands have realized that social networks offer an opportunity to interact directly with consumers. They create pockets of communities where like-minded people share information and seek advice. […]