The parking meter was rebooting. I guess we're supposed to walk to the other end of the garage and find one that's working. We're seeing digital awareness coming to just about everything. In this case, it was the parking meter near the library. Of course, it's not really a parking meter, it's a centralized fee collection system that saves the town a lot of money. It's easier to collect from, certainly, it doesn't waste the time of meter readers (who get alerted as to what spaces aren't paid for, as opposed to checking them all) plus it doesn't let a new parker enjoy a few minutes of the last…
Selected by jesssloss
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Most Topular Stories
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Digital analogs are no longer sufficient
Seth's Blog16 May 2012 | 2:00 am -
The Boring Tax
Social Squared16 May 2012 | 10:25 amWe the people are the media. At the very least we’re the media that’s most valuable to businesses. The referral from a friend, positive word of mouth, the “this band is so AWESOME you have to listen to it” kind of media. No amount of money is guaranteed to win us over. Not even $10 Million dollars (erghhmn GM) To activate “we the media”, your organization has to be built to do so. Built to be interesting, to create Social Objects worthy of our time, of our “share” capital. Threadless, Pebble, Amanda Palmer, these “businesses’ have… -
Keynote: Three Future Trends of Social Business (Slides)
Web Strategy by Jeremiah16 May 2012 | 8:33 am -
Yahoo's CEO And The Modern Believability Crisis
Influential Marketing15 May 2012 | 4:02 pmI don't actually have a degree in Irish Poetry. I share this because recently at a few events I may have mistakenly mentioned that I did. See, I studied English literature at Emory University in the late 90s. While there, I took exactly two elective classes specifically on Irish literature and as most people who study that field already know - Emory has one of the best collections of Irish literature and poetry in the world. So I did focus on Irish Poetry, but the degree that I earned in 1997 was a BA in English Literature. Why am I telling you all this? Well, you can hardly blame me for… -
NBA Star Uses Twitter — And a Platypus — to Prank Sports Media
Mashable!16 May 2012 | 1:28 pmAround the sports media scene, Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee has a certain reputation: Quirky, unique, a bit out there, something of a laughingstock at times. Reporters and fans love to chuckle at his on-court goofiness. Examples abound, but here’s the best one: a legendary GIF of McGee throwing up a wild shot and then earnestly running back on defense — except his team still has the ball. This week, however, McGee decided to turn the tables on those who love to poke fun at a young millionaire basketball player just trying to do his best. On Monday afternoon, he posted this…
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Seth's Blog
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Digital analogs are no longer sufficient
16 May 2012 | 2:00 amThe parking meter was rebooting. I guess we're supposed to walk to the other end of the garage and find one that's working. We're seeing digital awareness coming to just about everything. In this case, it was the parking meter near the library. Of course, it's not really a parking meter, it's a centralized fee collection system that saves the town a lot of money. It's easier to collect from, certainly, it doesn't waste the time of meter readers (who get alerted as to what spaces aren't paid for, as opposed to checking them all) plus it doesn't let a new parker enjoy a few minutes of the last… -
Hard work on the right things
15 May 2012 | 2:00 amI don't think winners beat the competition because they work harder. And it's not even clear that they win because they have more creativity. The secret, I think, is in understanding what matters. It's not obvious, and it changes. It changes by culture, by buyer, by product and even by the day of the week. But those that manage to capture the imagination, make sales and grow are doing it by perfecting the things that matter and ignoring the rest. Both parts are difficult, particularly when you are surrounded by people who insist on fretting about and working on the stuff that makes no… -
Worldliness
14 May 2012 | 2:41 amIntelligence is the combination of knowing a lot about a little while you also know a little about a lot. Deep domain understanding helps you create analyses. Your ability to understand how a particular system (no matter how small) works allows you apply a confident analysis to new systems you encounter. Once you know everything there is to know about nuclear physics, soccer or the praying mantis, it makes it easier to understand new systems. At the same time, it's impossible to be smart without also being aware of the wider world. That's because it's the random interactions and the… -
The reason the customer is always right...
14 May 2012 | 2:08 amIf you insist that they are wrong, they stop being your customer* (if given half a chance). People spend their time and attention and money in places that make them feel valued. *There's nothing wrong with asking customers who are wrong to leave. Just be sure you do it on purpose. -
Dedicating the merit
13 May 2012 | 2:02 amFor an author, one of the nicest parts of the traditional book is the dedication page. The dedication is far more than an acknowledgement to someone who helped you write the book, it's a permanent signpost, a capstone to the work of a year or more. Even if the person you've dedicated the book to can't read it, the writer benefits from the knowledge that a connection was made and that a memory was preserved. Here's the thing: you can dedicate just about anything. A project, a meeting, a tweet. You don't have to tell anyone but yourself. This blog post, like all the posts before it, has a…
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Social Squared
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The Boring Tax
16 May 2012 | 10:25 amWe the people are the media. At the very least we’re the media that’s most valuable to businesses. The referral from a friend, positive word of mouth, the “this band is so AWESOME you have to listen to it” kind of media. No amount of money is guaranteed to win us over. Not even $10 Million dollars (erghhmn GM) To activate “we the media”, your organization has to be built to do so. Built to be interesting, to create Social Objects worthy of our time, of our “share” capital. Threadless, Pebble, Amanda Palmer, these “businesses’ have… -
Visualizing 7 Billion People
31 Oct 2011 | 4:18 pmFrom 1 billion to 7 billion in two hundred years. -
Police iPhone App brings Facial, Iris and fingerprint recognition to the streets
13 Jul 2011 | 12:25 pmLook out criminals, that sexy bad boy style of yours may be your down fall, the police have an app for….umm … capturing that. I take wary pleasure in introducing you to MORRIS. Near Instant Biometric Identification, there’s an app for that Touted as Smarter and safer, First in the world and significant, MORRIS is an iPhone app that brings multiple biometric identification options to a police officers pocket. Officers will have access to Facial, Iris and Fingerprint recognition tools that tie in with multiple Department of Justice information sources. They claim to have… -
No Need to Take the Stairs – An Emergency Evacuation Elevator like you’ve never seen
7 Jul 2011 | 4:38 pmI want one, in my house. -
Man Accidentally Live Tweets Osama Bin Laden’s Death
1 May 2011 | 11:37 pm@reallyvirtual inadvertently live tweeted history. Live Tweets of US Raid and Osama Bin Laden’s Death As the world gets used to the idea that Osama Bin Laden is dead, we’re also getting used to the way such news travels. @reallyvirtual, an “An IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops” inadvertently live tweeted the US raid on Bin Laden. I’ve captured some for eternity below, but feel free to connect with @reallyvirtual for more on the story. Via @reallyvirtual in Abbottabad, Pakistan
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Web Strategy by Jeremiah
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Keynote: Three Future Trends of Social Business (Slides)
16 May 2012 | 8:33 am -
Video: Scaling your Social Business
13 May 2012 | 6:34 pmA few days before the hectic 2012 SXSW storm (my analysis here), The Dachis Group hosted the Social Business Summit (catch one in your city) with some of the world’s top brands to discuss social business. Kicking off the day, I shared Altimeter’s research on how advanced companies are scaling their programs –and avoiding programs that will slow them down. A few key points we iterated: Being prepared in advanced with: the proper policies, teams, roles, and education programs. These are the foundation needed to build a Center of Excellence. Advanced corporations have… -
People on the Move in the Social Business Industry, May 11, 2012
11 May 2012 | 4:00 amBoth the submissions on this job announcement board, as well as available social media positions at corporations continue to pour in. In this continued digest of job changes, I like to salute those that continue to join the industry in roles focused on social media, see the archives, which I’ve been tracking since Q4, 2007. People on the Move in the Social Business Industry: Although I’m a few months behind this, first of all, congrats to Mia Dand (twitter, linkedin) is Director, Global Social Media at Symantec, focused on building and leading social media strategy for… -
A New Category Defined: Social Performance Software
4 May 2012 | 6:32 amA new software category has emerged to bring performance marketing to social channels. After interviewing over 10 software companies and 10 agencies, a new trend has emerged that will change the social business landscape. What is this trend? The marketing performance techniques to refine TV, Radio, SEO and other marketing mediums are now moving to the social space. Read my definitive post on Mashable to learn how this impacts not only brands, but also Facebook and my long term predictions on how this will play out. Market Needs Companies are struggling to scale to keep up with all the… -
Podcast: Why The Term “Social Media Agency of Record” Will Dissolve
30 Apr 2012 | 7:08 pmI’m honored to be a guest on Mitch Joel‘s famed podcast, Six Pixels of Separation, to discuss my latest post that’s caught the Industry’s attention how Social Media Agencies are Turning to Ads. Mitch invited me on the podcast to discuss this further. One of the assertions I make is the term “Social Media Agency of Record” (aka SMaoR) will eventually go by the wayside, as those pure play agencies are starting to move into advertising (starting with social ads), digital, interactive, and more. My take? We’ll just have a broader focus as social becomes…
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Influential Marketing
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Yahoo's CEO And The Modern Believability Crisis
15 May 2012 | 4:02 pmI don't actually have a degree in Irish Poetry. I share this because recently at a few events I may have mistakenly mentioned that I did. See, I studied English literature at Emory University in the late 90s. While there, I took exactly two elective classes specifically on Irish literature and as most people who study that field already know - Emory has one of the best collections of Irish literature and poetry in the world. So I did focus on Irish Poetry, but the degree that I earned in 1997 was a BA in English Literature. Why am I telling you all this? Well, you can hardly blame me for… -
Why I Don't Want You To Buy Likeonomics (And This Isn't A Marketing Trick)
6 May 2012 | 8:36 amA few days ago I got the first shipment of my new book Likeonomics to my house. Right now the book is sitting in front of me and I really want to ask each of you to go out and buy it - but I can't. In fact, it really helps me if you DO NOT buy it yet - and the reason why explains a lot about the nature of timing, business, and what is broken with the publishing industry itself. Book sales, like movie sales, are reported on a weekly basis through a reporting system called called Bookscan. The Bookscan number is a key factor in helping to determine which books make "the lists" (NY Times… -
5 Marketing Lessons From Uber (The World's Best Travel App)
3 May 2012 | 9:28 pmSeveral weeks ago I was standing on a street corner in New York. (This is not the sentence I thought I'd start this post with, but go with me ...) After unsuccessfully trying to hail a cab, I decided to try out an app I had heard about called Uber. I had heard it was useful for those kinds of situations. From the moment of signup - a process which took way less time than I expected, to the actual act of immediately booking a car and heading happily on my way to LaGuardia Airport just 15 minutes later - the experience transformed my NY trip. Experience itself is getting lots of great media… -
Greensurfing - The Rise Of Voluntary Social Media Jealousy
1 May 2012 | 7:03 amThe idea that Facebook causes jealousy isn't new. A study back in 2009 essentially demonstrated that romantic relationships were often suffering from jealousy induced by Facebook. The same study is still being referenced today. Unfortunately, there are a few signs that this is becoming a much bigger trend than something driven by the insecurity of dating. For the first time in human history, there is a place where any of us can go to be surrounded by only good news. Despite the troubles in the world, or your personal struggles - Facebook offers a nearly pain free bubble. Every status… -
The Ultimate Business Question: Are We Having Fun?
23 Apr 2012 | 9:53 amThis weekend I found myself glued to a two hour piece of promotional television that I usually avoid desperately. The FOX network was having a special recap of their 25th Anniversary of producing entertainment programming. Amidst the 120 minute recap of over 140,000 hours of programming hosted by Ryan Seacrest (of course!) - there were a few moments when they brought actors of long running programs back into the studio and interviewed them. In some cases, they created a "cast reunion" to bring actors back together (like the casts of In Living Color or Married with Children) while in others…
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Mashable!
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NBA Star Uses Twitter — And a Platypus — to Prank Sports Media
16 May 2012 | 1:28 pmAround the sports media scene, Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee has a certain reputation: Quirky, unique, a bit out there, something of a laughingstock at times. Reporters and fans love to chuckle at his on-court goofiness. Examples abound, but here’s the best one: a legendary GIF of McGee throwing up a wild shot and then earnestly running back on defense — except his team still has the ball. This week, however, McGee decided to turn the tables on those who love to poke fun at a young millionaire basketball player just trying to do his best. On Monday afternoon, he posted this… -
Register Now to Join Mashable and Partners in Brazil for Rio+Social
16 May 2012 | 1:04 pmRegistration is now open for Rio+Social, the historic meeting of social media, technology, global development and sustainability leaders during the UN’s Rio+20 conference. Policy makers, journalists, technologists and environmentalists are now invited to register and apply for accreditation to the free conference. Ten exciting new speakers were added to the Rio+Social lineup Wednesday, including entrepreneurs, UN leaders and philanthropists. Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation chief communications officer Kate James are among the… -
Thirst App Will Change The Way You View Twitter
16 May 2012 | 12:53 pmA new iPad application called Thirst might reinvent how you look at your Twitter stream. Using its own natural language processor, Thirst filters, organizes, and presents your Twitter stream in an engaging way, helping you find the tweets you want to read quickly and in context. “I wanted to make an app that no matter how often you check Twitter, these are the things you need to see, ” Thirst Co-Founder and CEO Anuj Verma told Mashable. The app is designed so it can be useful for people who check Twitter constantly throughout the day, as well as those who might only check Twitter a few… -
The Facebook IPO Timeline
16 May 2012 | 12:32 pmIf the Facebook IPO were a real person, we certainly wouldn’t blame it for posting braggy status updates. This infographic, created by our friends at mbaonline.com, imagines the road leading up to the decade’s most-anticipated initial public offering, as if it were documented on its own Facebook Timeline. As a Facebook user, give yourself a pat on the back for helping the company make it this far. You are one of 900 million, and you spend an average of 20 minutes per day surfing the network. That means Facebook’s usership logs 16,000 years of combined time on the platform… -
Facebook Fans Get to Pick Bonus Levels in ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD’
16 May 2012 | 12:06 pmActivision is polling fans via Facebook on which levels will be included as additional downloadable content on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is a rebuilt version of the classic games. It features seven levels from the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, released in 1999, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, which came out in 2000. Players will be able to skate all over classic levels such as “Warehouse” and “Mall” that have been rebuilt using the old maps. Starting Wednesday afternoon, fans will be asked to pick which of their favorite Tony…
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ReadWriteWeb
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Startup Swingers: Swapping Founders to Generate Fresh Ideas
16 May 2012 | 12:00 pmRemember "swinging"? Two people in a committed relationship go to a party with a bunch of other people in committed relationships. They all separate, find new partners for the evening and get jiggy. It may sound lurid and gross, but it’s the cool new thing for startup founders. Swapping Ideas, Not Spouses First, let’s be clear. We’re not talking about sex. We’re talking about Founder Swap, a June 1 event in New York where teams from six different startups will get together, trade partners for a day and go home with an injection of fresh ideas. The tagline? “Like Wife Swap but for… -
Google Goes Back to What It Does Well: Finding Things
16 May 2012 | 10:00 amSurprise! Google has completely transformed the way search works again. But this time, it's a kind of search that would have made the old Google proud. Today, starting with U.S., English-language users, Google unveils the Knowledge Graph. Search now looks at the words of your query and identifies the things in it. You're not just searching the Web anymore. You're searching the world. From Words to Things Most of Google users' queries are ambiguous. In the old Google, when you searched for "kings," Google didn't know whether you meant actual monarchs, the hockey team,… -
Read/Write Daily: Bionic Eyes That Can See Clearly
16 May 2012 | 9:45 amToday's theme is improving on life. Nature did a pretty good job of engineering some hardy life forms. But now we're able to tinker with life ourselves. We're further along than you might think. Researchers have lifted the lid on turtle evolution, a perfect demonstration that technology is natural. But now we have our own genetic ideas. We're able to triple the physical endurance of mice in the lab. This paper shows that high-resolution prosthetic human eyes are possible! Here are slightly and greatly more accessible articles about these bionic eyes. We've also developed low-cost artificial… -
Why the iPad Works for Writing
16 May 2012 | 8:02 amWhen the first iPad launched in 2010, critics were quick to lampoon the device for being geared too heavily toward content consumption. The criticisms weren't entirely without merit, especially considering that the first-generation iPad didn't even have a camera, and external media slots are still nowhere to be found. Over time, the iPad has evolved into something that's much more creation-friendly. It still doesn't compare to a desktop or laptop computer for many things, but it's great for quite a few others. Writing is one of them. I happen to write things for a living, but the… -
The Truth About Why Yahoo's CEO Got Fired
16 May 2012 | 7:02 amWhat's the takeaway from Yahoo's recent CEO fiasco? Don't lie on your corporate bio, for one, and make sure no one else has lied on your behalf. But the real lesson has nothing to do with falsified credentials. Sure, the world will remember Scott Thompson as the Yahoo CEO who got fired over a fake computer science degree, but the context is crucial: A battle with Yahoo shareholder Dan Loeb for control of the company. If not for Loeb, we may never have found out about Thompson's juiced resume, and he might still be CEO. The real lesson is: Beware the activist investor. Four months…
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@ProBlogger
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5 Effective Tricks to Create a Killer Call to Action
16 May 2012 | 7:04 amThis guest post is by Greg Digneo of Sales Leads in Thirty Days. Here’s the dirty little secret: there are actually two steps to building an extremely popular blog. The first and most popular step is to drive traffic by guest posting, social media, and SEO. The far less sexy step is to convert that traffic into loyal readers who will become the backbone of your community. Who will share every piece of content you produce with their friends. And who will ensure that every post sparks an engaging discussion. But most of all, they will be the first to buy your products and services. The… -
Get Obsessed with Your Message
15 May 2012 | 1:01 pmThis guest post is by Danielle LaPorte of DanielleLaPorte.com. Blog = up? Posts = rolling? It’s time to get obsessed with your message. A quick dictionary moment, to differentiate between your voice, your topics and your message. Your voice is what makes your writing distinctive, compelling, unmistakably you. You’ll carry your voice from your blog, right into your book. Seamless, identifiable. Individual. Your topics are the categories or subjects you write about (Eco-luxe weddings on a shoestring budget! Savvy corporate management, with heart and soul! Thrifty vegan recipes!) Your… -
On the Elusive “Next Level” of Blogging
15 May 2012 | 7:04 amWe’ve all heard of it—the elusive “next level” that so many bloggers talk about online. But what is the next level? How many levels are there? Is there an end point in leveling up? These are all worthwhile questions—especially for more experienced bloggers who have spent a lot of time and energy in reaching the level they’re already at. For these bloggers, trying to reach the next level can involve a degree of risk, so the steps that get us toward the next level might be taken slowly and with care. On the other hand, the web isn’t exactly undersupplied with… -
Grab Your BWE Virtual Ticket for $100 Off—24 Hours Left
14 May 2012 | 5:09 pmWish you could get to Blog World Expo this year, but can’t make it to New York? Me too. I’ll be in Queensland with the winners of my blogging competition, but I know there are plenty of bloggers from other countries, as well as within the States, who won’t be able to attend Blog World this year. Fortunately, you and I don’t need to miss out on the information and fun of the Expo (and if the speaker list for this year is anything to go by, the conference is going to be really impressive). We “remote” bloggers can still “attend” on a BWE virtual… -
Install Your First WordPress Theme
14 May 2012 | 7:09 amThis guest post is by Karol K of ThemeFuse. Seeing a headline like “How to Install a WordPress Theme” on ProBlogger might seem strange at first. This doesn’t sound like a “pro”-thing at all, right? If you’ve been dealing with WordPress for a while then this is probably even more than obvious to you. However, everyone starts somewhere, and there are plenty of experienced bloggers who haven’t ever installed a WordPress theme—but would like to give it a try. Maybe you’re installing your first theme right now, and you’re searching for a…
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Logic+Emotion
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Social Business: Where It's Been & Where It's Going
6 May 2012 | 11:56 am"Chasing the past, I stumbled into the future". - T A Sachs I've always been a firm believer that in order to look to the future, we must look back to and fully grasp the past (and the present). Having had several recent engaging conversations with smart people who I respect, I've picked up a hint of exhaustion around usage of the word "social". Could it be that some who saw the "change" coming years ago are weary of having carried that torch for so many years as we move into the heavy lifting? It's natural to want to move to the next thing—but I'm convinced that today we are largely still… -
Own The Data, Own The Future
14 Apr 2012 | 9:15 amNow that some of the dust is settling around Facebook's massive acquisition of Instagram this past week, we can all take a step back and think about the bigger picture. Yes, Facebook understands the critical role mobile will play in how billions of people interact and communicate but they also understand that interactions, engagement, consumption or whatever you want to call it generates one thing. Data. Facebook wants it. Google wants it. And all businesses will want to understand it. There is huge, big business to be built around all kinds of data. Targeted marketing is the first salvo and… -
Thoughts on the Future of Social-Digital Agency Services
7 Apr 2012 | 10:29 am*The above does not reflect actual or estimated market share Now is as good a time as any to be thinking about the future of digital (and social) as defined by those of us who provide services or even products around these. If you work for any agency or consultancy—this article is relevant for you. If you're on the "client side" consider it relevant as well as ultimately it is your business model and needs which dictate the market conditions that affect your partners, vendors and professional service providers. I'm writing this piece from the perspective of having worked at several digital… -
Thoughts On Altimeter's Digital Influence Report
21 Mar 2012 | 10:13 amAltimeter's most recent report titled "The Rise of Digital Influence" revolves around the theory and practice of "digital influence". A trend that will not die despite the industry's counter movement against platforms such as Klout and the scores of imitators which have subsequently followed. (Full disclosure, I was interviewed in depth for the report). Altimeter rightfully begins the analysis of "digital influence" by calling out the distinction from how we view influence traditionally and offering a brief definition:"Traditional influence is defined as the act, power, or capacity of causing… -
Klout Targets Agencies Via "March Madness" Competition
20 Mar 2012 | 8:33 amKlout has dialed up their marketing efforts, this time placing agency individuals in a March Madness bracket style competition they are calling "Agency Insanity". Critics will scoff at it as another attempt to get individuals to pump up scores, but in actuality the effort is a straight forward marketing initiative aimed at raising awareness, generating buzz and getting Klout to show up in people's social streams. A while back, Klout's founder Joe Fernandez and I discussed something like this as part of a brand initiative and it's interesting to see it in action under a different context.
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MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog
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Should Your Marketing Message Require Reading Between the Lines?
16 May 2012 | 10:28 amYears ago, the political philosopher Leo Strauss wrote an essay entitled, “Persecution and the Art of Writing,” in which he advocated reading some philosophers “between the lines.” For a host of reasons, the philosopher felt that the truth he had to speak could only be spoken surreptitiously or “by means of brief indication.” Of course, one can run into a lot of trouble scholastically when arguing that a philosopher meant to say something other than what he explicitly stated. I mean, how are you supposed to prove that? Strauss insists that a “between… -
Learn These Four Classic Approaches to Marketing Campaigns
16 May 2012 | 7:03 amA guest blog post by Geoff Livingston and Gini Dietrich. A classic marketing strategy mistake is to select tools because they are new or talked about frequently in the media. Fascinated with the latest tool, marketing rounds (what we like to call your team) forget to select media and methods to achieve an objective. Measurable objectives, however, often require selecting a primary approach towards the customer, after which tools are selected based on budget, time, and other resources. There are four common approaches to marketing campaigns today. Direct Community Interaction With… -
Four Tips for Breaking Out of Your Slump Just Like Albert Pujols Did
15 May 2012 | 7:03 amA guest blog post by Maranda Gibson of AccuConference. Former St. Louis Cardinals powerhouse first baseman Albert Pujols traded the Midwest for the West Coast when he accepted a record-breaking deal from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. His start for the Angels was highly anticipated, so many people were shocked that Pujols had done more striking out than anything else since the beginning of the season. That’s right. A lot of money was invested in a man who could hit a home run off any pitcher in either league, but all he had managed to do lately was strike out—until May 6,… -
What the Evolution of Marketing Automation Looks Like [Infographic]
14 May 2012 | 7:03 amA guest post by Irv Shapiro of Ifbyphone. The term “marketing automation” often conjures up images of people waiting on hold or receiving out-of-office responses. However, smart business owners know that marketing automation equals measured results. The term “marketing automation” includes lead management, Web analytics, email marketing, voice-based measurement, inbound marketing, and social media. And marketing automation contains a wealth of opportunities for businesses to… Measure ROI and lead quality Streamline the leads-to-sales process Enhance user interaction… -
Content Management for Marketers: What’s the Difference Between Open Source and Cloud Platforms?
11 May 2012 | 10:49 amA guest post by Roland Benedetti of Nuxeo. Ten years ago, if you asked a group of marketing professionals which content management systems (CMS) they encountered most often, you would probably get a few blank stares. Nowadays, however, everyone knows what a content management system is because marketers use them nearly every day to create content, edit websites, and manage projects. But is there only one type of CMS? Do they all operate the same? Which type is best for which function? One of the biggest differences in CMS solutions is what is called open source vs. cloud-based solutions. Do…
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PR-Squared - Social Media Marketing and Public Relations
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Seven Principles of Content Marketing
14 May 2012 | 11:20 amNow that we’ve all agreed that “Content is King (Again),” and Content Marketing is all the rage, maybe it is time to think about some easy-to-follow tenets. Let’s keep this simple. Follow a 70/30 Rule – 70% of content curated, 30% branded. Why? Because the rest-of-the-world is at least 70% more interesting than your brand; and, promoting external content builds social capital, makes grateful fans of influencers. All content should be SHAREWORTHY. Don’t publish junk. Better to be quiet than to queer the signal-to-noise ratio. All content should benefit… -
Seriously, This Is Gonna Be Cool: The Corporate Social Media Summit
4 May 2012 | 7:05 amNext month I’ll be moderating a panel at the Corporate Social Media Summit, which is being held June 13-14 at the New Yorker Hotel in NYC. It’s gonna be a great time, with an impressive list of corporate attendees, including SHIFT clients such as McDonalds and H&R Block, among many others (Whole Foods! Dell! Lego! Mercedes!). I’ll be moderating the panel on “Reputation preservation and enhancement: Use social media to maximize the impact of your brand.” I’ll be joined by McDonald’s Heather Oldani, Director of U.S. -
Never Give Up, Never Surrender!
29 Apr 2012 | 5:22 am -
SHIFT Communications Named Digital/Social Agency of the Year
24 Apr 2012 | 9:00 amShameless self promotion time. Hang on. Wow, wow, wow. We are busting at the seams over here. Today the Holmes Group named SHIFT Communications the 2012 Digital/Social Agency of the Year – with “honorable mentions” in the category going to behemoths like Edelman, Ogilvy and Weber Shandwick. This marks the 3rd time in the last few years that SHIFT has nabbed “agency of the year” honors. We were the “Agency of the Year” according to the American Business Awards, and the “New Media Agency of the Year” (again via Holmes) back in 2008. Both times we were psyched. But this… -
What’s Old is New Again: Earned Media Can Be Your Hub
23 Apr 2012 | 6:17 amI was catching up with a former client recently. We launched their company a coupla years ago, and by almost any measure, it is now considered a hot commodity. They have tons of social media fans, lots of inbound media requests, do a lot of great content marketing, etc. We originally parted ways, very amicably, because they had reached a degree of success that no longer warranted as much proactive effort (and, being a startup, they were wisely watching their burn rate). During our catch-up session, this company representative described a newfound fever within the company to get more…
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Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips
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Is Mother Nature Causing Stormy Sales? Weather Underground Shows How Weather Impacts Your Bottom Line
16 May 2012 | 8:31 amIs bad weather good for business? Or is good weather a pain in the bottom line? Weather Underground has launched what may be the first of its kind — a tool that lets marketers track sales against local weather conditions. It’s called “Sales Tracker,” and it’s part of a... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
“Optimizing” Pre-Image Optimization
16 May 2012 | 8:16 amThe harsh truth on email image blocking comes as one of the earliest lessons in email design. It’s hardly a new one, though, and we have a standard best practices short list to “optimize for images-off” — use live text for copy, include alternative text on images, make buttons bulletproof and... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
Report: Google+ Engagement Down, 30% of Users Publicly Post Won’t Post Again
15 May 2012 | 6:47 pmYes, Google+ has 170 million users, but just how active are they? A recent report from RJ Metrics suggests that based on public posts from 40,000 Google Plus accounts, engagement is poor. The average public Google+ post is seeing less than one +1, less than one reply and less than one re-share.... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
Ahead Of IPO, GM Drops Facebook Ads; Forrester Warns Other Companies May Follow
15 May 2012 | 2:34 pmIt couldn’t have happened at a worse time for Facebook, which has its initial public offering of stock later this week. General Motors has decided to stop advertising on the social networking giant, citing concerns about the site’s effectiveness. Meanwhile, a Forrester analyst says... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
Marketing Day: May 15, 2012
15 May 2012 | 2:01 pmHere’s our daily recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web. From Marketing Land: Report: Social Ad Spending Expected To Double By 2016 Social media ad spending is expected to double in the U.S. between now and 2016,... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.
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Going Social Now
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Add Organ Donor Status to FB Profile. Brilliant.
1 May 2012 | 4:00 amToday Facebook is urging its US members (roughly 161 million of them) to add their donor status to their Facebook profiles according to the NY Times. There are around 7,000 patients waiting organ transplants. In addition to encouraging Facebook members to add their donor status, the company is also encouraging everyone to list their birth dates and schools to further create peer pressure to further push people to add their names to the rolls of registered organ donors.I couldn't be more impressed with the initiative. It's been done on a smaller scale by other companies on the… -
Sosolimited via The Creators Project
6 Apr 2012 | 9:55 pmAn inspiring perspective and worth watching. This isn't about digital marketing or about social media but how Sosolimited thinks about bits and bytes is how brands need to think too. -
Breaking down the Paid, Owned & Social Media Chinese Walls
25 Mar 2012 | 8:54 pmIt is easy to forget that social media marketing has one critical challenge. You cannot scale it consistently. If your plan goes really well, it'll scale on its own. Similarly, if things go really badly your marketing efforts (much to your irritation) will probably scale too. However, there's never any guarantee as to why and when your social media marketing efforts will scale. If you're trying to reach a certain number of consumers in a certain way in a certain time period, you simply can't depend on organic social media to do so. Even the most perfect marketer cannot depend on that.Hence… -
Interview with MediaPost on how Facebook is growing up in the eyes of marketers
24 Mar 2012 | 5:10 amPepsi is among brands that have recently updated its Facebook presence, when the social net redesigned company pages. Online Media Daily spoke to me, to discuss the upgraded brand pages, the new ad offerings and analytics tools Facebook introduced in February. Interview below.OMD: What's your take on the new Facebook brand pages incorporating Timeline?Singh: The first version of brand pages did not always engage consumers around a brand. This version does a few different things. One is putting the Wall front and center even more strongly -- that's a big step forward. With Timeline… -
Super Bowl Digital Advertising Madness
31 Jan 2012 | 8:11 pmSuper Bowl is upon us as is the advertising madness around. There are a few key themes that will hold true this year for sure and are already surfacing:1. Releasing ads online early is becoming table-stakes. Nearly everyone seems to be doing this and with good reason. It's about building momentum into the Super Bowl typically done with a mixture of paid and organic promotions of the TV ads online.2. The smarter advertisers are constructing narratives around teasers, the TV commercial and what should happen after the ad airs. Some are even focusing on second screen social TV experiences (we…
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Fast Company
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Mapping New York's Tech Jobs
16 May 2012 | 2:26 pmNew York City's government just announced a new listing service for tech jobs. But what about that pesky poor-business-broadband-in-NYC problem?New York City matters to tech. It's also a place where the high-tech sector is largely tied into existing industries such as fashion (Gilt Groupe), marketing (Foursquare), and media (Tumblr). Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been outspoken in the past about diversifying New York's high-tech scene, and the city government has just unveiled a new tech job directory--Made in NY--that lists jobs from hundreds of local firms.Bloomberg announced the initiative… -
How To Make The Most Of Your Too-Short Work Break
16 May 2012 | 1:34 pmIf you’re not the type who can sit on a park bench and contemplate nothing, and the conversation around the Keurig machine bores you, what can you do with 15 minutes that isn’t really work but pays off in productivity?After 90 minutes of meeting, working, thinking, and pushing emails, your glucose is in a bad place. That’s what project management consultant Tony Wong tells his clients. And everyone from NASA to the Berlin Academy of Music have run tests that prove you truly need the equivalent of a smoke break, a shift change, whatever you want to call it. But let’s say you’re… -
Little Wows, And Other Ways To Make Your Business Remarkable
16 May 2012 | 1:13 pmBy establishing your business as the truly remarkable option in a field full of snoozers and look-alikes, you will get more free and effective publicity than any traditional advertising budget can buy.Being remarkable is a never-ending process. To differentiate yourself from your competitors, you need to commit to the pursuit of constant innovation. As soon as you change the game by offering your customers remarkable products and services and talking to them in new and exciting ways, your competition will have to respond, upping the ante with innovations of their own. This means that if you… -
Why You Should Start A Company In... Savannah
16 May 2012 | 1:10 pmSteve Weathers, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, shares five things you need to know about opening a business in the Hostess City of the South. UNITED STATES OF INNOVATION New Ideas, New Markets, New Insights It used to be, if you were serious about starting a tech company, you went to Silicon Valley. But emerging entrepreneurial hubs around the country are giving startups new options. In this series, we talk to leading figures in those communities about what makes them tick. CLICK HERE for pockets of innovation in other U.S. cities. Can you name the top four… -
Why You (Yes, You!) Are The Future Of Branding
16 May 2012 | 12:44 pmNew research shows just how much we love to talk about ourselves. Twitter and Facebook have built massive platforms on this premise. How long before many other brands grab a piece of our action? You run through the latest collection of your party photos, psyched to share the best ones with a few good friends. You email them and post them on Instagram and Facebook. Then you realize what everyone will really be looking at in the pics. Hint: It’s not you, it's them. The first thing they’re scanning for is to make sure they look good. They then look at the people surrounding themselves in the…
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Inc.com
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Would You Give Up Citizenship for $1 Billion?
16 May 2012 | 12:14 pmEduardo Saverin turned in his passport ahead of the Facebook IPO. Proof that entrepreneurs are fleeing because of high taxes?It's a fun thought exercise for most of us. But whether or not to drop his U.S. citizenship for $1 billion was a legitimate question for Eduardo Saverin, one of Facebook's co-founders. Depending on what happens when the IPO actually launches, Saverin could get more than $3 billion. As an American, he might have owed about a billion in capital gains tax, but he won't owe any now because he decided to renounce his American citizenship.Reactions have fallen into two… -
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How I Use YouTube to Market My Business
16 May 2012 | 11:40 amTerrence Kelleman, owner of Dynomighty Design, a product development firm, found a huge audience on YouTube. Here's how. -
How to Ask Better Questions
16 May 2012 | 11:38 amYou may have what sounds like the best idea in the world. But before you do anything else, try to poke as many holes in it as you can.Some newfangled ideas are just too tempting to pass up. So entrepreneurs and managers rush to jump on them. Never mind asking key questions like, "How exactly will this work?" and "What do we want to accomplish?"Take C&A Brazil, a South American clothing store that recently launched an interesting marketing campaign. Customers can go to a special collection online and press a Facebook "like" button on specific articles of clothing. The votes get tallied and… -
Inc. Business Owners Council holds its first CEO Roundtable and announces its third event for 2012!!
16 May 2012 | 11:24 am15 members get to discuss burning issues at the top of San Francisco!On April 19th, fifteen business owners gathered on the 59th floor of the luxurious and newest high-rise in San Francisco, One Rincon Hill at 489 Harrison St. Besides the spectacular views, the participants engaged in a meaningful, moderated discussion on challenges they face in their respective businesses. This CEO Roundtable is a feature of the Inc. Business Owners Council and brings together CEOs and business owners in a confidential setting where they can discuss burning issues they face in their businesses and/or give…
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HBR.org
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Putting Facebook in Perspective
16 May 2012 | 12:12 pmEvery day brings some new bit of information — or hype — about social business. If you actively follow the social space, it's easy to get caught in the never-ending stream. If you don't, you may find all the talk about social overwhelming. So it's useful to step back, gain some perspective and see the bigger picture. And it is a big picture. Communication revolutions like this have happened before, but you have to go back to Gutenberg in 1450 to find one as significant. Before Gutenberg's printing press, monks laboriously produced written manuscripts and few people could read. The… -
The Inexperience Advantage
16 May 2012 | 8:53 amEver been shut down by someone who supposedly knows more than you? It happens to me daily. I get denied by people that are more senior, more polished, and more knowledgeable than me. I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed professional rejection, but I try my best to dust myself off and move forward, reminding myself that that a series of controlled failures are necessary for eventual success. Not surprisingly, I'm not the only one getting ignored because of my inexperience, and the rejections can be downright vicious. Just last week, Kate called me in tears after attending a media conference with… -
Are Women Held Back by Colleagues' Wives?
16 May 2012 | 8:33 amThe new millennium has not brought much progress for women seeking top leadership roles in the workplace. Although female graduates continue to pour out of colleges and professional schools, the percentages of women running large companies, or serving as managing partners of their law firms, or sitting on corporate boards have barely budged in the past decade. Why has progress stalled? A recent study suggests the unlikeliest of reasons: the marriage structure of men in the workplace. A group of researchers from several universities recently published a report on the attitudes and beliefs of… -
Great Businesses Don't Start With a Plan
16 May 2012 | 8:29 amYou want to start a business. So you need a plan, right? No. Not really. As part of the research for a book I'm co-authoring — Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck, due out in August from HBR Press — my colleagues and I interviewed and surveyed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs around the globe to better understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur and build a really great business. One of our most striking findings was that of the entrepreneurs we surveyed who had a successful exit (that is, an IPO or sale to another firm), about 70% did NOT start with a business plan. Instead,… -
The Myths That Prevent Change
16 May 2012 | 8:14 amYou probably think that the barriers to innovation are negative elements of your organization — that is, the wrong people, behaviors, and processes. But the most subtle and pernicious barriers to innovation may be the seemingly positive myths about what has made your organization successful. Every organization has myths about who are the great leaders, what are the behaviors to admire and imitate, what business you are in, what customers want, what are the best skills to run a process. Whenever someone proposes an idea, it is explicitly or implicitly screened with the myths.
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Business Blogs
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86 Common Sense Marketing Ideas for Startups
11 May 2012 | 6:10 pmWhen starting a business, marketing is (or should be) the business owner’s biggest priority. Yet many startups have no clue about marketing. With that in mind, I thought who better to learn what works in marketing than from those who have gone before? I reached out to established business owners across all industries to see what marketing ideas would come up. I got so many incredible tips; I decided to use them all! Of course they may or may not all apply to your business, but there are some great ideas and some common themes. Add yours to the list in the comments! 86 common… -
Conference Survival Tactics
9 May 2012 | 8:16 amI just returned home from a few days away at a conference. As always, getting back in the groove is difficult when returning from being away whether for pleasure or business. That is not what I am going to write about though. Rather, I am going to address the leaving for a trip instead. When I first started my business, every conference that I attended dropped me into an environment of all new people because business was a brand new field for me. Getting on a plane or in a car to attend a conference near or far with several hundred people that I never met before has made me a bit of a… -
Spring into SEO Action!
8 May 2012 | 4:24 pmSpring is here, and it’s time to take action before the “slow days of summer” arrive (when you’d rather be outside than behind your desk). With this in mind, what actions are you going to take right away to make things happen with your PR and search engine optimization (SEO) activities? Here are 3 ideas to help you get going: 1. Send out a press release optimized for the search engines. Make sure it provides valuable information to your customers and the media. 2. Write an original article or blog and see if a media venue would like to post the content. If not, post it on… -
Want a “Happiness Problem”?
2 May 2012 | 7:23 amYour phone rings off the hook. Your Inbox is flooded with requests. Your schedule is packed. When you can’t take on any more clients and you can set whatever fees you want because you are booked solid with work, this is called a “happiness problem.” And while it can be wonderful to have all this new work and money rolling in, it can also be a problem in that you now need to deal with an overload of business accordingly to keep customers happy and the referrals coming in to grow your business. Now, most of you are probably dreaming about this scenario. You would love to have a… -
5 Reasons You Should Not Write a Blog
25 Apr 2012 | 12:08 pmAs a small business owner, you’ve heard all about the benefits of having a blog for search engine optimization (SEO) and getting noticed online. But just because everyone else has a blog doesn’t necessarily mean you should write one too. Here are… The Top 5 Reasons You Should Not Write a Blog. 1. You are a horrible writer. If you are a terrible writer and hate to write, please do not write a blog. Not only will you provide a bad impression, but most people will not even read your entries because they are so badly written. 2. You have nothing to say. What are you going to write…
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Copyblogger
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What Does it Take to Write a Billion-Dollar Marketing Story?
16 May 2012 | 4:00 amIn 1984, two artists used a simple process to create a story that captivated an audience for years and generated billions of dollars in revenue. That same process is being used today by a master copywriter to attract hundreds of thousands of paying subscribers. With companies creating millions of web pages of content marketing, finding an untold story or a new angle can feel like an impossible task. Especially when you want to avoid creating a story so unique nobody understands it … or wants to pay for it. So how do you create a story that cuts through the noise and strikes at the heart… -
How to be a World-Changing Writer
15 May 2012 | 4:00 amAs a copywriter, you know that words have power. You know words can influence, inform, and inspire. They can persuade your fellow humans to do some amazing things (or to do the wrong things, but we won’t go there today). What you may not realize is that your words can change the world. Here’s something else that’s really cool that you might not have realized … The keys to world-changing writing are also the keys to damn good copywriting. But as you know, good writing doesn’t happen all by itself. So let’s talk about what it takes to be damned good …… -
WordPress Hosting That Means Business
14 May 2012 | 8:00 amDid you know Copyblogger Media has a WordPress hosting division? Many people don’t, because it’s been a bit under-the-radar. The whole thing started with our frustration with web hosting in general. Specifically, the fact that a lot of “WordPress hosting” amounts to generic one-click installation of the CMS on a standardly-configured box — which simply doesn’t cut it for optimal performance and security. So, last year we decided to manage our high-traffic network of content and product sites ourselves. We did this by bringing into the family a team of people who themselves… -
The Truth About Making Money While You Sleep
14 May 2012 | 4:00 amWant to hear about the day in the life of a so-called “successful entrepreneur?” Yesterday, I stayed in bed until about 2 PM. I watched the last few episodes of Mad Men. Around sunset, I took a leisurely stroll down the beach. When I got back, I hung out with a friend for a couple of hours, ate dinner, and went to bed. In other words … I goofed off. And while I was goofing off, my business generated a pretty decent chunk of revenue. You want to know the coolest part? I did absolutely nothing to “earn” it. I didn’t check my email. I didn’t talk to… -
7 Instructive Content Marketing Links
12 May 2012 | 6:00 amThis week on The Lede … Are Content Publishers Waking Up from Their App Dreams Nightmares? An Email Marketing Autoresponder Schedule that Sells 3 Quick Tips To Conquering Your Fear of Public Speaking Does Your Domain Say “Trust Me?” Why “Freemium” Fails for Startups: 3 Business Lessons from the Band New Order 5 Basic SEO Truths We Can Learn from Star Wars Peter Shankman on the Value of an Audience If you want to grab more useful links (than the seven we highlight here) every week, follow @copyblogger on Twitter. Are Content Publishers Waking Up from Their App Dreams…
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Online Marketing Blog
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Interview: The Future of Cloud Marketing Software with Vocus CMO Jason Jue
16 May 2012 | 4:50 amAt TopRank Online Marketing, we are fortunate to provide consulting to quite a few innovative B2B companies that serve other marketers. A great example of that is PRWeb and parent company, Vocus, both long standing clients. In late 2011 Vocus welcomed Jason Jue as Chief Marketing Officer. As Vocus & PRWeb’s Account Manager at TopRank, I was keenly interested in getting to know Jason better and learning his plans for the future – and what better way than through an interview for all readers of Online Marketing Blog to see? In this interview Jason talks about the undeniable… -
Channel Your Internal Marketing Warrior: 4 Tips for Strengthening Your Marketing Plan
15 May 2012 | 3:25 amRelease Your Internal Marketing Warrior In March of this year I made a decision: I wanted to get healthier. The problem I have always faced is that I didn’t see the point of exercise, just for the sake of exercise. Treadmills and stationary bicycles never did much for me, but I was looking for a way to regain some focus and start down a healthier path. About a month ago I spoke with my good friend Ali who had recently started a training program to become a yoga instructor. She convinced me to attend a class with her and I even though I’ve done yoga before, this was an entirely new… -
5 Ways to Optimize the Business Value of Attending Conferences
14 May 2012 | 9:37 amAre you optimizing your conference experience? TopRank receives a lot of value from having me speak at conferences but you don’t have to be a speaker to realize a positive return from events. Small, large online or offline, there are numerous ways to optimize and maximize your return on conference involvment both in the short and long term. If your company is considering whether to send you to events because of uncertain return or benefits, show them the following list. In fact, if I were running a conference, I’d make sure these tips are shared with attendees, sponsors and… -
Online Marketing News: Take Action on Social Data, LinkedIn Gets the Scoop, Google Reigns Supreme, Google & Big Data for SEO
11 May 2012 | 3:35 amActionable Social Analytics This recent infographic by awareness takes a dive into social analytics. In an era where virtually every brand is online, it is essential that action is being taken off of the data we are collecting from social networks. This infographic provides not only some of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that your company should be tracking, but how to calculate these numbers as well. Examples of the KPI’s your company should be tracking: Brand Awareness & Reputation Marketing Program Effectiveness Lead Generation Effectiveness Use LinkedIn to Get Juicy… -
Holistic Optimization Across the Sales Cycle: Optimize Speaking Events May & June
10 May 2012 | 8:08 amWhen you have a business that relies on attracting new business online the sheer volume of options can be confusing. Should offline advertising efforts transfer to online? Maybe email marketing? What about SEO or the hot topic, social media? So much focus is placed on tactics and channels, that a lot of misplaced digital marketing budget gets wasted or spent inefficiently. To bring some clarity to the myriad online marketing options available, I think it’s worth marketers taking a holistic approach that starts with an essential understanding of goals and customers. Who are your best…
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BrandingBlog by Dave Young
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CONTROL: Apple’s Secret to Delivering a Consistently Good Retail Experience
5 May 2012 | 10:04 amphoto: apple.com The short lesson from this article about Apple’s retail experience is that if you want people to have a consistently good experience with your store, you must CONTROL everything. No element of your store’s experience should be left up to a random element of choice as decided by an hourly employee. A 2007 employee training manual lays out the A-P-P-L-E “steps of service” with an acronym of the company name: “Approach customers with a personalized warm welcome,” “Probe politely to understand all the customer’s needs,”… -
BrandingBlog Radio: Ray Seggern and Wizard of Ads Events
27 Apr 2012 | 2:34 amHave you met Ray Seggern? He’s been one of our Wizard of Ads partners since about 2006. He’s stepping into a role as a sort of ringmaster for many of our partners. By ringmaster, I mean that he’s making an effort to herd our posse of cats onto a flatbed truck and getting them moving in the same direction. He’s filling a Colonel Parker role by finding speaking gigs for us and he’s creating events where he can sell our services. He’s got an event planned for May 16, 2012 in St. Louis and we had a chance to talk about it and he spills all the details in this… -
BrandingBlog Radio: Test My Marketing with Brian Schmitt
20 Apr 2012 | 7:48 amHave you ever poured your time and energy into an ad, or an email, or a blog post, video, phone message, sales pitch, or, or, or….? Sometimes you are just too close to the issue to realize what may be wrong with your approach, the words you’ve choosen or the the fact that you might be leaving out something critical. TestMyMarketing.com is a place where you can upload your marketing message and have it critiqued by at least 3 marketing professionals who promise not to hold back. If you can take the heat, you’re message will be tempered by fire. Back in August of 2011, the… -
Customer Experience at Virgin’s New Club
6 Apr 2012 | 8:10 pmWhen you’re sitting at the gate, and they announce a 20-minute delay for your flight, you can feel the frustration in the air. When you’re sitting in a domestic airline club and you get a 20-minute delay, you think, “well…at least I’m not at the gate yet. Maybe I’ll have another pretzel.” When they announced a 20-minute delay at Virgin’s new club in New York’s JFK, people applauded. Why? Because they got to extend their stay in the club by 20 minutes. Salon? check. Spa? check. Pool table? check. Cheap crackers and plastic-wrapped cheese? -
Shareworthy Customer Service – Tim Miles wrote the book
28 Mar 2012 | 2:23 pmClick on the thumb and go buy the book! Seriously, Tim wrote the book on shareworthy customer service. The book is called “Your Customers Like This – The whats, whos, hows & whys of Shareworthy Customer Service.” It’s pretty awesome and right now, it’s pretty inexpensive. In fact, Tim is only asking a donation of 99-cents to benefit Touchpoints Central Missouri Autism Project. You should grab it before he changes his mind. Did I say it’s awesome? Yes. Yes, I did.
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Ries' Pieces
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Visual Hammers speak to consumers
10 May 2012 | 12:12 pmA visual hammer is so effective because it says something about your brand. The “lime” that says Corona is the authentic Mexican beer. The “contour bottle” that says Coca-Cola is the original cola. The “cowboy” that says Marlboro is the masculine cigarette. A company makes a major mistake when it develops a verbal strategy without considering what visual hammer might help hammer that idea into consumers' minds. In the year 2010, General Motors spent $1.1 billion advertising its Chevrolet brand. The verbal strategy? -
Audi's Visual Hammer. An opportunity missed.
18 Apr 2012 | 11:26 amIn 1986, CBS broadcast a 60 Minutes segment about Audi entitled "Out of Control." The show chronicled the tendency of the Audi 5000 model to suffer from "unintended acceleration." (Three years later, the culprit was discovered. “The major cause," according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "appears to have been drivers unknowingly… -
NEW BOOK: Visual Hammer
12 Mar 2012 | 8:38 amForty years ago, Advertising Age published a series of articles by my father, Al Ries, and Jack Trout titled "The Positioning Era Cometh." Nine years later, McGraw-Hill published their book "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind." In the years that followed, "positioning" became one of the most talked-about concepts in the marketing community. In its 75th anniversary edition, Advertising Age selected positioning as one of its 75 “top ad moments.” But as revolutionary as positioning… -
Super Bowl of Advertising - 2012
6 Feb 2012 | 11:37 amWhile the gridiron battle between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots was close, the advertising battle on the tube was not. The Super Bowl battle for commercial success might better be described as a mixture of the old classics, the new stuff, the overly sexy and the over the top. Here is my brief recap on the best/worst ads of the night. The Old Classics The Super Bowl isn’t for also-rans. The big game is best served by big brands that are category leaders and that support the game year after year with consistent themes. Coca-Cola The three polar bear ads… -
Tim Tebow, the brand
16 Dec 2011 | 10:07 amTim Tebow is the hottest story in sports. While the Green Bay Packers are charging ahead with an undefeated record, everybody is talking about the Mile High Messiah and Tebowing. How did this happen? What can you learn from it? The Keys to Tebow’s brand success: 1. Be Different. While there is nothing new about the collision of faith and football, Tim Tebow went out of his way to show PDF – public displays of faith. He also lives the life of a church going goodie-goodie. No alcohol, no smoking, no drugs, no sex (he is staying celibate til marriage.) His outspoken and open…
