By Ben Lippert | October 20, 2011

Do you manage a Facebook page for your business? Social media is a free way to stay in contact with your customers. (Most of which probably don’t visit your website very often.)

Facebook provides a great way to get people interacting with your business from a platform they’re already using on a daily basis. There is a method to managing your Facebook business page and we have a few tips that will help build your fan base and elicit interaction on posts.

Post relevant information
Your posts should be industry specific. If you sell computers, an example post could be details on the new Apple iOS 5 operating system. Not all posts need to contain information about your business but they should be applicable.

Poll your audience
Free tools like the “Questions” application allow you to survey people who “like” your page. If the question is a good one people are more likely to contribute and share the question on their own walls for more eyes to see.

Media adds depth
Adding a photo is rather simple and increases the likelihood that people will view your post. If you have several photos from an event or a conference you attended, create an album.

Pat yourself of the back
Use your Facebook page as a PR tool. Tell your fans about accomplishments and customer success stories. Did your business just win an award? Take a picture and put it online for everyone to see. Success instills customer confidence and customer confidence equals more business.

Have a contest
These contests don’t have to be formal. It could be as simple as saying, “the first 10 people to like this post will get a coupon for $5 off their next purchase.” If people know you are prone to offer deals they will be more likely to visit your page without being prompted.

Bonus tip: Try to use proper punctuation and spelling whenever possible. You should also avoid smiley faces and excessive exclamation points. It’s great to be excited but too much schmooze could make you look like a jerk.

By Kyle McCabe | September 22, 2011

Pissed off ghostwriter

Hiring a ghostwriter can be an attractive approach to social media, if you’re a business owner or marketer with little time on your hands to devote to keeping up with social updates on multiple platforms.

There can be some pitfalls to this approach, however – not the least of which is the perceived in-authenticity of the person who has someone else speak for them.

In the case of Mark Davidson, it would appear this morning that he’s been utilizing several ghost writers for his Twitter account, and one of them was just fired. The problem is this person still has access to Davidson’s account, with amusing results. For example:

And all the funny stuff that @markdavidson wrote, that was all me. The other 2 ghostwriters are really boring. Good luck, bro…

This situation taken on first look, the feeling I get (besides the ache in my gut from laughing) is that Davidson has been a little deceptive – or is it apathetic? While I understand the reason Ghostwriters might be used, knowing it still shifts my perspective to one of caution and distrust regarding this particular person. I have to wonder if this is true for all his followers.

Now I’ll admit, this could be a stunt. It could be fake. Maybe his account was hacked and someone is lying. Maybe he’s just having fun (in that case, well played, Mark). There’s no way to know at this point, but the lesson is clear: be careful when hiring ghostwriters – it could cause more problems than it solves.

What do you think?

By Ben Lippert | June 28, 2011

When you’re searching the web for a product or service in your area, where do you go to find it?

Many people start with Craigslist, then check out the area listings on Ebay and as a last-ditch effort they might even browse the Facebook Marketplace. These services are all tried-and-true methods of person-to-person commerce because they are well established and used by thousands of people each day.

Now, lets take a look at Zaarly, a brand-spanking-new e-commerce site who’s motto is,“what you want, when you want it.”

I’m telling you, this could be the next big innovation in person-to-person selling …Read more »

By Molly Albrecht | February 16, 2011

Analytics? Bounce rate?

What language are they speaking?

I have to admit, I thought I might need a passport and a pocket dictionary on my first day at RSA. That day I attended several meetings with the search engine marketing team, and most of the words buzzing around me sounded like a foreign language.

I’m the first to admit, I’m a search engine marketing (SEM) newbie.

I applied for the interactive marketing specialist job at RSA because writing skill was included in the job description. That sounded ideal, since I love writing and studied journalism in college. Little did I know the job encompassed so much more, and I’d be grasping to understand parts of it.

I’ll let you in on a few of the secrets I’ve learned.

Luckily for me, I’ve discovered …Read more »

By Marsha Ahrenkiel | January 13, 2011

check in anywhere

Shades of The Island of Dr. Moreau! (hint: Google H.G. Wells)  Modern-day mad scientists (let’s call them “software developers”) have been merging social networking concepts with a range of other technologies and rolling out new hybrid beasts that could eventually change your marketing and public relations strategies.

One that we’re keeping a close eye on here is a species known as “location based social networking” (LBSN) – combining short message service (SMS), aspects of gaming, smartphone technologies and GPS capabilities.

Location-based Race

A number of competitors are active in this marketplace. You might have heard of or use Gowalla, Foursquare, Facebook Places, or forerunner Brightkite – free  services that allow users …Read more »

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 »

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 7, 2010

A while ago I wrote about the idea of being “transparent” or “authentic” in the social web. My theory is that full transparency is actually over-disclosure (and therefore undesirable), and authenticity just means don’t be fake (rather than meaning “show yourself without any sort of filter,” as the word might imply).

This theory applies to social business (use of social media for an organization) as well.

...

Transparency in Business

No single person is obligated to tell anyone anything (outside the legal sphere), but good communication demands a certain level of honesty. …Read more »

By Robert Sharp | July 6, 2010

Lately marketing blogs have been abuzz with tips for advertising to both ends of the age spectrum – how to craft messages for aging Baby Boomers and technology-obsessed tweens. But as research churns out study after study on messaging for these two groups, we have to wonder: is the now-middle-aged Generation X getting lost in the shuffle?

Encompassing those born from 1965-1976, Gen Xers make up nearly 20 percent of the American population. Compared to previous generations, they are better educated and more technologically savvy, individualistic, ethnically diverse, and environmentally conscious. Now mostly married with young families and a mortgage, Gen Xers have significant spending power that shouldn’t be ignored – as much as $125 billion annually. …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!