By Tarah Heupel | August 5, 2010

As self-professed social media junkies, we have a pretty robust obsession with keeping tabs on what’s happening right now in all facets of the marketing world. We constantly have our eyes peeled for info about emerging technologies, new platforms, and most importantly, innovative campaigns that mix it up in new ways.

Take, for example, some of the inspiring (or at least creative) work we’ve been passing around the office this week: …Read more »

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By Kyle McCabe | July 14, 2010

In a brilliant and entertaining blend of traditional advertising and social media, Old Spice simply nails it here.  With a traditional TV spot posted on Youtube, they simply monitored comments on the video, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, and then shot and posted video responses to some of them.

Simply amazing. This has got to be the first time in a long time any advertising, by itself, has made me want to purchase a product!

And they’re still doing it. Prepare to waste your afternoon…

By Kyle McCabe | July 1, 2010

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The Black Hills Home Builders Association recently help a seminar for its members and invited RSA to come speak to them about social media for business. It was a great time with a small, intimate group, and we fielded quite a few questions. Here are a few of those questions, including our answers.

What is Twitter?
I’ve written about Twitter here a couple times. In short, it’s a networking tool, a way to engage in conversation with people around the globe. It may be new technology, but it’s still just people talking. Sign up for an account and post, 140 characters at a time, about things that matter to you and the people you wish to interact with, whether they be customers, prospects, colleagues or friends.

Try using Twitter’s search feature to find people talking about topics of interest, and begin to engage them. Keep in mind every “tweet” is an invitation to engage – people want to hear from you! …Read more »

By Tarah Heupel | June 28, 2010

We are excited to announce the winners of our first Good Ad, Bad Ad Facebook contest! Congrats to Jackie and Gina, who posted ads deemed the best and worst of the bunch by our esteemed panel of judges (our Search Engine Marketing department, clearly).

Good Ad: Jackie won the prize with the latest commercial in the “Search Overload” campaign from Bing:

We can relate – and now our office is jamming out to Freak Nasty’s “Da Dip.”

Bad Ad: Gina caught our attention with something very, very bad to win the Bad Ad prize:

Okay, it’s not exactly an ad, but close enough. Read more about this British Airways faux pas,  which appeared in an internal staff magazine with an article about mobile boarding. Whether it was a mistake or a prank gone awry, that’s one heck of a PR mess.

Congrats again to our winners, and thanks to everyone for playing. Be on the lookout for more contests in the future!

By Vincent Tyson | June 8, 2010

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The last time I wrote a blog for RSA I discussed the joys and pitfalls of the customer service experience, and promised to return with an update on the window issue. Well I am pleased to say the glass was finally replaced and they did it on time! Wow – some good news.

Now I have another story that addresses customer service and its huge importance in today’s world.

Customer Service Failure

This customer service story involves Sears. The situation has angered me so much that I was forced to employ measures that I had never used before. …Read more »

By Tarah Heupel | June 1, 2010

By now you’ve probably heard that RSA is holding a contest this month. It’s ridiculously easy to play and come June 30, you could walk away with $50 in your pocket. Interested? Yeah, we thought so. Read on for all the official rules/details, then head over to our Facebook page to enter.

For years we’ve been playing a little game we like to call Good Ad, Bad Ad. Each month we get together and look through a plethora of fantastic and horrible ads. Some make us laugh, some make us cry, some make us literally spit out our coffee. It’s a great time – and starting today, you can play along. …Read more »

By Tarah Heupel | April 29, 2010

Me, in a bad dream last week:  “So, tell me why you want to be on Facebook/Twitter/YouTube?”

The phantom client:  “Because everyone else is.”

Still not using a plan? Time to wake up and smell the bacon.

Me: (Shuddering)

To be fair, we spend a lot of time talking about how important it is for businesses to have a social media presence, and a lot of people are ready to get on board, which makes us really happy. However, when we see a business with a lackluster fan page or a silent Twitter feed, it makes us sad.

Social media is seductive – it’s new, exciting, and a relatively cheap initial investment (in both dollars and manpower), requiring only that you choose a clever screen name and upload the perfect photo.

But then what?

Like everything else on the web, social media is a twisting, turning, ever-transforming thing, and you have to be prepared. It’s like having a baby, but with (hopefully) fewer dirty diapers: you need to nurture it, respond to any messes, and eventually …Read more »

By Tarah Heupel | April 27, 2010

The MacGyver of marketing.

As first-time home buyers, my fiancé and I have discovered that we are woefully unprepared for jobs that require a certain level of handiness. While I have a small (pink) toolkit that has been deemed unfit for manly use, his tools are limited to 1) a hammer, and 2) a Swiss Army knife. Apparently, that little knife is a miracle worker.

In the world of interactive marketing, we have our own pocket-size tool complete with screwdriver and bottle opener, à la social media. Social platforms are serious workhorses that give businesses an opportunity to connect with specific people who might be interested in products or services, learn about them, listen to feedback, stay informed, build the brand, and more.

While a lot of businesses have fully embraced the new frontier, there are still a few hold-outs who want to see concrete proof …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | April 22, 2010

I like it. Kind of. Like, maybe.

This month Facebook started rolling out a change to “fan pages” that takes the “fans” out of the picture. Now instead of becoming a “fan” of something, you simply “like” it.

I guess the reasoning is that becoming a “fan” is too much of a social investment for people, resulting in lower page activity than Facebook desires. I get that. There are plenty of brands, organizations, causes and such that I “like” but wouldn’t consider myself a “fan” of.

The problem is they took away fans, but replaced them with… nothing. What do you call those people now? Likers? Former fans? We have a verb replacing a noun, and it just doesn’t work. They thought “fan” was a little too high on the approval scale, but they overcompensated by plummeting to a mere appetitive whim. Blaaaaaah. It’s weaksauce (that’s right, weaksauce).

Like it or not (I’m punny), it seems to be a permanent change. So no more Fan Pages. No more fans. We’re all just people again.

But the burning question I think we’re all asking is this: where the DEUCE is our “dislike” button?

There’s your shot from the hip for this week.

By Kyle McCabe | April 20, 2010

Think of your face.

I wrote previously about my experience at OTA Sessions a few weeks ago, and highlighted some of the topics discussed. It all boils down to changes in the way we do business; whether you like it or not, these changes are occurring.

In this (holy crap it’s long) article I am going to outline what some of the speakers at OTA Sessions said about how to approach this new marketplace–and the new “consumer”–we’re faced with.

Social communication isn’t new

While social media like Twitter and Facebook are new, they are simply vehicles for an activity we’ve always engaged in. Humans are fundamentally social and always have been. We are drawn to each other and impelled to communicate and belong to social groups; something greater than ourselves.

The difference now is the marketplace is shifting to media through which human interaction is enabled–necessary, in fact–rather than muffled or disabled.

Here’s what our speakers had to say …Read more »