By Kyle McCabe | April 30, 2009
Previously I wrote about understanding social media, and explained how it is equalizing global communication and interaction, with specific consequences for business. I want to expand on this idea a bit and talk specifically about ‘marketing‘ on the social web.
Social web?
Yeah, that’s my term du jour. I’ve been slap-fighting a little bit with the whole concept of “social media,” and the fact that this commonly-used phrase just doesn’t work as a definition. It’s too broad; misleading, even. “Social web” is broad as well, certainly, but more specific in scope. It’s made up of spaces across the internet where people can interact with one another – we’re all familiar with some of the more popular technologies that facilitate this communication. The point is that conversations are happening here.
What’s that got to do with business and marketing?
Quite a bit, potentially. A business that approaches the social web the right way can benefit greatly, while providing value for their customers or prospects. Vague enough for you? …Read more »
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By Jillian Anderson | April 28, 2009
- Photo credit to spodzone
- Social media campaigns should have a start and finish. BUT campaigns are only a piece of the social media marketing puzzle.
For several months, I’ve had an issue with people using the term “campaign” when talking about social media marketing. This bothers me because, overall, social media marketing needs to be looked at as ongoing process/strategy and it should not be thought of with a beginning and an end.
Last week, Tracey, Kyle and I attended a presentation by social media strategist Jason Baer.
His talk was lively, entertaining, to the point and right on – breaking down 7 ways to use social media: …Read more »
By Ken | April 14, 2009
It’s often said that if a picture is worth a thousand words, video is worth a million, as it has to power to relate emotional value that is unprecedented.
Recently, our video team had the opportunity to work with the Volunteers of America-Dakota to create a video that tells the ‘day in the life’ story of staff from this non-profit organization.
…Read more »
By Tracey Armstrong | April 9, 2009
Google search
Not long ago, as a business owner, you merely needed to have a website to establish your online presence. In many cases, this meant the company website was a glorified brochure – customers were directed to the website by the salesperson or through traditional media. Customers didn’t just “find” you, you broadcasted your message to them through traditional media, and the website supplemented the sales pitch.
Flash forward a few years…if someone has a question, they “google” it. Today we “google” products, services, people, places, and what ever else we want to know more about – yeah, Google not only introduced a whole new vocabulary, but a whole new concept for searching and making decisions. …Read more »
By Michelle | March 13, 2009
As former newspaper reporter, it breaks my heart to hear about a publication, especially one with as much history as the Rocky Mountain News, closing its doors.
The longtime daily published its last paper last month, just shy of its 150th birthday.
For centuries, newspapers brought local, regional and national happenings to the doorsteps of millions. The world’s historical events were told through the eyes and words of eager journalists.
Today, the newspaper industry is suffering, not only from the current economic situation, but also from the public’s fascination with social media. …Read more »
By Ken | March 6, 2009
Have you seen it? Youtube has opened up a fun little feature to its members. It’s called Annotations.
Remember watching VH1 back around 1996-2000 when they had ‘Pop-up’ video? It was the biggest thing going for a little while. Basically, VH1 would take music videos from all genres and play them with fun little pop-up cartoon bubbles that showed funny little comments like trivia, wardrobe style comments (or lack thereof), and mocking the plot of the video. It was always very entertaining, sort of like a music video ‘roast’.
In June of 2008, Youtube started playing with the idea of Annotation, based on the same concept as pop-up bubbles except these are INTERACTIVE (if you want). Users who uploaded videos have the ability add pop-up bubbles or invisible ‘hot spots’ to their youtube videos on their youtube channel. Why is this a big deal? It’s INTERACTIVE! Users can create hotlinks from their video to other videos in their archive or elsewhere on Youtube. …Read more »
By Jillian Anderson | March 3, 2009
There are multiple myths surrounding advertising (not to mention marketing as a whole) that rob good advertising of its worth and credibility in the minds of small business owners. Most of these illusions stem (of course) from cost. For instance, paying more for something does not necessarily make it better than the less expensive product. On the other hand, paying less for something does not make it a better deal. So what can you do? …Read more »
By Allan Emerson | February 25, 2009
To content manage or not to content manage. That is the question. Or that is essentially what’s asked every time a client wants to know how much editing ability they will have with their shiny new website. Some need a little, some need a lot and some may think they need it when in fact they don’t. The key factor in all instances is having an accurate depiction of how much editing will actually take place. So, how much control does a typical site come with?
…Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | February 19, 2009
A recent blog post by Chris Brogan got me thinking again about a recurring issue I’ve encountered in web development. In his post, Brogan said this: “Stop striving for perfection, and strive for execution instead.”
While this statement may have been somewhat tongue-in-cheek in the context of his article, I find it resonates with me on a more sober note. Like many people, I admit to some (just a little) perfectionistic tendencies in my work. But enough about me.
Don't wait for "perfect." Just launch it.
A friend of mine, Ted Darling, recently wrote about perfectionism as well, and rather than leave a huge comment on his blog, I thought I’d add …Read more »
By Allan Emerson | February 17, 2009
You know, sometimes it’s the random little interactions you have with complete strangers that leave the most lasting impressions.
I took my wife to the doctor’s office today and held the door open for her and an elderly couple entering at the same time. The gentleman said, “Thank you”, and after entering, reached into his shirt pocket. He pulled out a small card and said, “Here, this is for you.” …Read more »
