Embrace Your Customers Through Social Media
(Today’s post was written by a very special guest, Jacob Morgan. He’s a social media consultant of considerable prowess, and also manages a team of SEO specialists. He recently launched a new social media consulting firm called M&M Marketing. Read his blog (it’s great), and follow him on Twitter) When you get involved in social […]
The Consequences of Social Media Silence
Is your inaction in social media killing your brand? Most companies know they have some sort of operational or customer satisfaction skeletons in the closet, and fear a customer that has had a genuinely inadequate experience pointing out those shortcomings to an audience that is far larger than one. But isn’t it possible that those […]
The Wisdom of Social Media X-Rays
Are you actually helping your company via social media? Much of contemporary social media effort and brand reputation management is focused on uncovering the positive. Number of friends. Number of followers. Blog posts. Blog comments. Share of voice. Net promoter score. Brands (and their agencies) are creating reports and smiling when those reports show how […]
Don’t Put the Social Media Cart Before the Horse
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 […]
Marketing Sideways to Win at Social Media
Are you ready to kill features and benefits? You need to find the one thing about your brand that’s inherently interesting. The one thing isn’t something obvious. Instead, it’s an unusual aspect of your operations or corporate culture that often requires some anthropological thinking to uncover. Once you find the one thing and build social […]
Social Media Adds Viral Frosting to the Email Cake
Are you enabling your email subscribers to spread your message via social media? Call it Forward to a Friend 2.0. Call it the inevitable marriage of two sides of the customer relationship coin. Call it the next big thing in email marketing. The hand-wringing in the email community about the impact of social media is […]
Linkedin – 22 Ways to Dominate
Linkedin is in a resurgence. Since adding applications and mimicking some other Facebook-style functionality, the Grandaddy of social networks is becoming more relevant. Its important to recognize that Linkedin has different demographics than Facebook, Myspace and other social networks. Linkedin is older (68% are 35+), wealthier (66% make $60/year+), and better educated (72% are college […]
David Alston – The Twitter 20 Interview about Social Media Listening
David Alston is a singer. A photographer. The former host of an improv comedy show. He’s also a vastly experienced technology marketer – currently the Vice President of Marketing for the conversation monitoring software company Radian6. He’s also Canadian, so is helpful and kind as a default setting. I first met David at the excellent […]
AdAge Social Media Blindness
Ken Wheaton penned an acidic column in AdAge that discounted the impact and legitimacy of social media. And not just in a “I’m not sure this social media thing is all it’s cracked up to be” kind of way, but with snarkiness, derision and hubris. Here are excerpts from the piece, titled “Web 2.0 cured […]
9 Blog Failures and Remedies
Are you maximizing the potential of your blog? I’m not. After 7 months with this version, I’ve embarked on a redesign of the Convince & Convert blog. I have three goals for this new design: – Make the blog easier to use for you – Encourage conversation – Make the connections between me and the […]
A Social Media Slam Dunk
This is a case study about social media usage by the very tall. To the coverage of H&R Block, Dell, Comcast, Southwest, Papa John’s, Whole Foods and other brands for their successful use of social media, I offer another: The Phoenix Suns. Led by Suns’ Director of Digital Media Amy Martin (@phoenixsunsgirl) the NBA team […]
A Trickle of Transparency
Can the principles of social media work offline? Many brands are unsure of how (or whether) to dive in to the social media pool. That’s not surprising. To fundamentally reconsider the relationship between brand and its customers isn’t a course correction that can be accomplished over a plate of chicken nachos and a margarita. After […]
Brands Must be Social Media Selfish
Are you protecting your social media brand? I was followed on Twitter last night by @trynetflixfree As a long-time Netflix member, I clicked the link to determine whether I should follow back. Much to my surprise, @trynetflixfree is a Netflix affiliate, trying to drive new subscribers via banal appeals on Twitter. I don’t begrudge the […]
Mack Collier – The Twitter 20 Interview about Blogging and Being Helpful
Are you as good at social media as Mack Collier? Probably not, as proven in this sweeping, live Twitter20 interview. Mack opines on how to write a good blog, how to help others in social media, and why you need to know where your traffic comes from. Mack is a social media consultant and trainer, […]
Strategy Destroys Social Media Tools
I’ve written a lot about social media strategic planning and how to find the “hook” for your social media efforts. Why do I write more about strategy than I do about social media tools and tactics? First, because I’ve been an Internet marketing strategist for 15 years, so that perspective is my home turf. But […]
7 Critical Elements of Your Social Media Strategy
(Originally written for MarketingProfs Daily Fix) It’s fantastic that interest in social media is so high, but I’m alarmed at the number of brands and agencies that are ready to jump into social media to take “advantage” of audience concentration in Facebook, Twitter, and other fast-growth outposts. What’s lacking in most social media programs is […]