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 […]
Find Your ONE THING Before Launching in Social Media
(originally written for MarketingProfs Daily Fix) The history of marketing has been an unending stream of “biggest sale ever,” “now with extra raisins,” and “easy financing available.” The power of social media is that it allows consumers to peek behind the curtain of brands that have historically been stoic, pushy, and unresponsive. Successful social media […]
The Ultimate Social Media Quote
As I go dark for a few days to enjoy some family (and snow shoveling) time, I wanted to give you this quintessential social media quote – which I believe is suitable for cutting out and taping to your desk. Think about it as you consider your plan for 2009, which will be the Year […]
The Incredible Efficiency of Social Media
(originally written for TalentZoo) The explosion in marketing and message conveyance opportunities is simply breathtaking. We’ve gone from 3 TV stations to 500+. Satellite radio. Hundreds of new magazines. Out-of-home advertising on every available surface. And a little something called online advertising that’s now larger than radio in ad dollars spent. As a result, audiences […]
Build Your Brand by Marketing Sideways
Marketers have been told for years to focus on benefits, not features. In this new era of marketing, you can toss both out the window. I wrote a post recently on Marketing Profs Daily Fix about finding your one thing in social media, and building your outreach efforts around it. The one thing isn’t something […]
Ann Handley – The Twitter 20 Interview about Social Media, Content and Journalism
Ann Handley is kinda busy. She’s the Chief Content Officer of Marketing Profs, crack editorial overlord of Marketing Profs’ Daily Fix blog, contributor to the Huffington Post, author of the Annarchy blog, and a mother. She also co-founded the digital marketing portal ClickZ. In addition to her lengthy resume, she’s truly one of the best […]
7 Ingredients in the Perfect Twitter Profile
People are drinking the Twitter Kool-Aid like it’s the last day before Prohibition. It’s fantastic that so many are finding value in something so simple that can be so powerful. But many in the latest wave (more like a tsunami) of Twitterers seem to be overlooking a fundamental premise of the Twitter follower/following paradigm, which […]
3 Absurdly Simple Ways to Tie Together Social Media and Email
Increasingly, active email marketers are wondering how they can engage with their subscribers in social media. It’s a bit scary, because most email is still of the “batch and blast” variety, and that dog will not hunt in social media, where the marketing is conversational and the name of the game is relevance. But, assuming […]