Social Media Plus Sucking Equals Success

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Sometimes being wrong feels so right. Truth and candor are in short supply these days. Perhaps it’s always been this way, but it sure seems like there’s an awful lot of politicians, celebrities, and athletes that have been unmasked as liars and losers. Soon we’ll have someone taking steroids while cavorting with hookers and debating

Social Media Makes Everything Marketing

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It’s truly fantastic that so many companies are starting to monitor the social media conversations around their brands and their industry at large. But what’s not fantastic is the reflexive apoplexy when some of those conversations inexorably are less than complementary. I have seen corporate marketers (and even PR firm folks who should know better)

4 Ways to Increase Share of Voice

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The concept of “listening to the conversation” which is at the core of most social media programs, and is the foundation for many companies that sell listening tools, is really just a pseudonym for tracking content your customers create based on their satisfaction, or dissatisfaction. It’s often described as “share of voice” – the percentage

Why Twitter Needs Its Bottom Spanked

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I see Twitter being in real danger of becoming MySpace and SecondLife. Do you? If Twitter doesn’t get it’s act together and improve customer experience for the masses of new users signing on, it’s going to end up as an irrelevant, niche community for a self-referential subculture. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that

Why Social Media Helps the Rich Get Richer

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Do you accept the premise that “social media” has expanded well beyond its consumer-generated content roots to encompass a much larger trend of customer-centrism and candor? Do you believe that the core of a successful social media strategy is making your company more like a person and less like a machine? Do you believe that

David Armano – The Twitter 20 Interview on Visual Thinking and Social Business

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David Armano may very well be the best writer of any graphic designer in America. He writes about social business, visual communication, and micro-interactions on his own blog, and for AdAge and BusinessWeek. (He also makes insanely great presentations). David has worked with some of the world’s largest brands, creating successful online experiences that make

Optimizing the Impact of Please and Thanks

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When was the last time you applauded a company? On a Southwest Airlines flight to Austin for South by Southwest a couple weeks ago, our plane was delayed due to a flat tire. The tire was changed in about 30 minutes, and we were on our way. The flight landed late in Austin of course,

Don’t Put the Social Media Cart Before the Horse

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Are you eschewing the basics to focus on social media? At two recent conferences where I spoke (Online Marketing Summit and Email Evolutions) there were several discussions about the confluence of email and social media. Thinking about email and social media concurrently is healthy – and appropriate. Both are best used as customer retention and