Archive for the ‘social media’ Category

What is Social Media?

Social Media is often described as being about conversations, communities, and relationships. If one were to ask an expert about all the moving parts of social media they would receive an entirely different answer. This creates a lot of confusion about what social media is and isn't.

all aspects of social media can be described as either building, maintaining, or recovering something for a company as it relates to that company's presence on the web. Other forms of online media require the traffic generated to be filtered by the company's website. Social Media, in most instances, creates conversations. Instead of a website being the first filter for that traffic, it conversations that are the first filter. Traffic without a purpose is an opportunity lost. It is akin to the instant web celebrity and their 15 minutes of fame. If they don't know what to do with that fame then their opportunity may be lost forever.

Let's describe the three essential parts of social media.

1. Community building/Maintaining/Recovery

The purpose of the is to reach out to the social media sites to develop a network of friends and company advocates. This involves wikis, social media profiles, and social bookmarking. With 500 friends it is easier to start a conversation or spread a video than it is with five friends. This can be useful for spreading positive news about the company. With friends to help spread news, even negative reports will have defenders. For example, no matter how many people attack Microsoft, there are way too many company advocates singing their praises for Microsoft's repuation to disappear completely.

2. Reputation building/Maintaining/Recovery

This is about creating enough positives to help support the reputation while pushing out the negatives. This can at first appear to be almost identical to the first aspect of social media, except the mentality is different. This is not about developing company advocates. This may require building profiles and reaching out to the wikis to create positive links that drive down negative links. This is about finding positive articles and making sure they get in front of a large number of eyes. This is about helping satisfied customers of the client are easily able to post positive reviews, and their testimonials are in the right places. If it can't be found, it might not as well exist. Many of the same effects are achieved in this aspect as well as the first. The first aspect usually requires more time, while this one usually requires more expertise. Saying the wrong thing, no matter how well intentioned, can be devastating.

3. Information & buzz building Maintaining/Recovery

This is where the exciting world viral videos and blogs are addressed. The secret is not only knowing how to create information and buzz people want to see and read about, but to know how to filter the traffic so it flows to the client. all of these fall into three similar categories.

Unique – Some may be unique, like an offline convention. an offline convention may require being hyped by the first two aspects, but the subjects covered at the convention create a great deal of traffic about subjects covered during speaches.

Episodic – Many web events are episodic, such as a weekly blog or vlog. The usually have dramatic effects on certain keywords for 2-5 days following the posting. Some effects may even linger for a few weeks.

Viral – While viral videos or images sound great, but the secrets and successes are even more difficult to tap into. Viral anything rarely happens by itself any more.

The online community is growing exponentially, and they have a very powerful voice. It's time to turn that voice into a choir for your organization.

ITConversations: Conversations on ROI ideas Social Media and Social Networking Systems

There are subtle differences between online marketing that leverages
social media to carry its message and the methods of traditional
marketing. With online marketing, even though you're not re-inventing
the wheel, you're still riding on a different vehicle. When marketers
forget that, they land themselves into trouble. The gestation period,
for one, is much longer in online marketing efforts. building a MySpace is not the goal. Getting people to use it and draw their attention to your product is your goal.

One
of the biggest areas that they goof up on is not having respect for the
platform and the audience that they're trying to get the attention of
by launching campaigns that do not speak to the demographic. Simply
utilizing screen real-estate to make people click on your advert and
download a white-paper is cost-prohibitive and isn't worth the social
media effort and investment.

The two essential formulae to
success with online marketing are — building a community and carrying
the message back with the metrics collected. Essentially these are two
different functions requiring diametrically opposite faculties of the
brain. They must be done by two different people. Creating a community
must be left to an evangelist who thrives on the human factor. This is
the most difficult part. Creating a website such as MySpace or Facebook
where people put their pictures is not rocket-science. You have to have
an evangelist work for you to build a community around your product and
then exploit the attention of your audience once a community is created.

In
this talk, Giovanni Gallucci, a search engine optimization and social
media expert, a speaker, blogger and co-founder of Dexterity Media,
spills out the secrets of a successful online marketing philosophy that
leverages the communal strength of social networks such as MySpace, Facebook,
etc. He contrasts social media against traditional marketing by
providing case studies of companies that succeeded as well as those
that've failed at it.

---

Click here to go to the IT Conversations site to listen to this episode of Talking Portraits.
 

ITConversations: Conversations on ROI ideas Social Media and Social Networking Systems

There are subtle differences between online marketing that leverages
social media to carry its message and the methods of traditional
marketing. With online marketing, even though you’re not re-inventing
the wheel, you’re still riding on a different vehicle. When marketers
forget that, they land themselves into trouble. The gestation period,
for one, is much longer in online marketing efforts. building a MySpace is not the goal. Getting people to use it and draw their attention to your product is your goal.

One
of the biggest areas that they goof up on is not having respect for the
platform and the audience that they’re trying to get the attention of
by launching campaigns that do not speak to the demographic. Simply
utilizing screen real-estate to make people click on your advert and
download a white-paper is cost-prohibitive and isn’t worth the social
media effort and investment.

The two essential formulae to
success with online marketing are — building a community and carrying
the message back with the metrics collected. Essentially these are two
different functions requiring diametrically opposite faculties of the
brain. They must be done by two different people. Creating a community
must be left to an evangelist who thrives on the human factor. This is
the most difficult part. Creating a website such as MySpace or Facebook
where people put their pictures is not rocket-science. You have to have
an evangelist work for you to build a community around your product and
then exploit the attention of your audience once a community is created.

In
this talk, Giovanni Gallucci, a search engine optimization and social
media expert, a speaker, blogger and co-founder of Dexterity Media,
spills out the secrets of a successful online marketing philosophy that
leverages the communal strength of social networks such as MySpace, Facebook,
etc. He contrasts social media against traditional marketing by
providing case studies of companies that succeeded as well as those
that’ve failed at it.

---

Click here to go to the IT Conversations site to listen to this episode of Talking Portraits.
 

Why have a killer web site if no one sees it?

Learn the secrets of new media marketing and pr with me! Podcasting, Online Video Secrets, and Social Media are all the
latest, most dependable marketing strategies. Let xTrain help you learn
these skills to add traffic and marketability to your online business! For the next few days, xTrain.com is running a holiday special for new sign ups for all the Online Marketing classes. Get this deal while the gettin's good!

For $25/month you can learn with xTrain.

Just use Promo code: MarketingOnline.
Hurry! This promotion expires Saturday Dec. 8th, 2007.

Why have a killer web site if no one sees it?

Learn the secrets of new media marketing and pr with me! Podcasting, Online Video Secrets, and Social Media are all the
latest, most dependable marketing strategies. Let xTrain help you learn
these skills to add traffic and marketability to your online business! For the next few days, xTrain.com is running a holiday special for new sign ups for all the Online Marketing classes. Get this deal while the gettin’s good!

For $25/month you can learn with xTrain.

Just use Promo code: MarketingOnline.
Hurry! This promotion expires Saturday Dec. 8th, 2007.

Improving Customer Loyalty via Online Videos and Podcasting

Strengthening ties with your customers will be an ongoing process that you will need to streamline.  When you have an organized way of contacting your consumers, you can focus on the important part of your relationship like sending compelling content.  Podcasting (this can be audio or video) is a great way to enhance your relationships with your clients and keep them up to date about what your business is doing.

• Podcasting helps your audience become a part of your community.  Podcasting efforts helps your audience connect with you.  Most times, they’ve already chosen to participate in your business since they’ve elected to be on your RSS feed or have you transmit your media casts to them on a regular basis.  This is a perfect opportunity to draw them in even further and strengthen your customer loyalty.
• Podcasting provides alternate ways that consumers can participate in your business.  Get creative with this opportunity to keep in contact with your consumers.  Offer contests or giveaways.  Use this time to get your audience engaged even more.  at this point, you can take your relationship with your clients even further by describing added benefits of doing business with you.
• Podcasting engages your clients.  This is a good place for soliciting feedback and getting your clients to participate in your business.  You can poll your audience.  Offer a “what do you think” section or just offer ways to get them more involved in your business.
• Podcasting can be a way to reinforce your genuineness and sincerity towards you consumers.  People don’t like advertising in general, but this is your opportunity to show your customers your sincerity and appreciation for their loyalty.  This can essentially change the view of the way consumers see businesses.  Much like stock holders, they begin to take on some form of ownership with your business and you’ll gain a client for a lifetime.
• Podcasting affords you a way to have consistent contact with your consumers.  Consistency will be what you need to further your relationship with your client.  Even if it’s weekly or monthly, you should be diligent about reaching your client.  You’ll be building brand loyalty with every contact you make.

Customer loyalty should not be a fleeting thing.  Using podcasting ad viral video, you have available to you one of the best ways to engage your clients in your business.  When you are consistent in the process, you will reap the lasting results and watch your business grow!

Photo Credit: Víctor R. Ruiz

Improving Customer Loyalty via Online Videos and Podcasting

Strengthening ties with your customers will be an ongoing process that you will need to streamline.  When you have an organized way of contacting your consumers, you can focus on the important part of your relationship like sending compelling content.  Podcasting (this can be audio or video) is a great way to enhance your relationships with your clients and keep them up to date about what your business is doing.

• Podcasting helps your audience become a part of your community.  Podcasting efforts helps your audience connect with you.  Most times, they’ve already chosen to participate in your business since they’ve elected to be on your RSS feed or have you transmit your media casts to them on a regular basis.  This is a perfect opportunity to draw them in even further and strengthen your customer loyalty.
• Podcasting provides alternate ways that consumers can participate in your business.  Get creative with this opportunity to keep in contact with your consumers.  Offer contests or giveaways.  Use this time to get your audience engaged even more.  at this point, you can take your relationship with your clients even further by describing added benefits of doing business with you.
• Podcasting engages your clients.  This is a good place for soliciting feedback and getting your clients to participate in your business.  You can poll your audience.  Offer a “what do you think” section or just offer ways to get them more involved in your business.
• Podcasting can be a way to reinforce your genuineness and sincerity towards you consumers.  People don’t like advertising in general, but this is your opportunity to show your customers your sincerity and appreciation for their loyalty.  This can essentially change the view of the way consumers see businesses.  Much like stock holders, they begin to take on some form of ownership with your business and you’ll gain a client for a lifetime.
• Podcasting affords you a way to have consistent contact with your consumers.  Consistency will be what you need to further your relationship with your client.  Even if it’s weekly or monthly, you should be diligent about reaching your client.  You’ll be building brand loyalty with every contact you make.

Customer loyalty should not be a fleeting thing.  Using podcasting ad viral video, you have available to you one of the best ways to engage your clients in your business.  When you are consistent in the process, you will reap the lasting results and watch your business grow!

Photo Credit: Víctor R. Ruiz

Video: Web 2.0 TV Launches @ Innotech in austin

I visited with Ron Sterba from Web2point0.tv at their stage on the floor of the Innotech trade show in austin and spent the time smacking my lapel mic around during his interview with me.

Right-click on the cheesy ipod to download this video to your desktop. You'll need quicktime player or itunes to view. Or click on the "subscribe to iTunes Or click on the "subscribe to iTunes" image to subscribe in…iTunes.

Video: Web 2.0 TV Launches @ Innotech in austin

I visited with Ron Sterba from Web2point0.tv at their stage on the floor of the Innotech trade show in austin and spent the time smacking my lapel mic around during his interview with me.

Right-click on the cheesy ipod to download this video to your desktop. You’ll need quicktime player or itunes to view. Or click on the "subscribe to iTunes Or click on the “subscribe to iTunes” image to subscribe in…iTunes.

a2Z Pilot – Tip 1- bETa

This is the beginning of a journey anthony will be taking the brave new world of social media. He's got a fancy Mac laptop and just discovered iMovie! as he produces more and more episodes, we'll be working with him on setup, lighting, acoustics, and scripting to show first-hand how one develops their skills in social media. Join us as we watch him grow into a social media darling.

In this first video, anthony tells us about what he's learned through the years regarding picking an agency in the a pilot of a2Z Marketing Tip.