Social Media Marketing with Facebook and Twitter (Video)

Lynda.com :: In Social Media Marketing with Facebook and Twitter, Anne-Marie Concepción shows dozens of ways to promote a company’s brand, increase sales, drive traffic to a site, and engage with customers using two of the hottest social networking venues today, Facebook and Twitter. Anne-Marie teaches not only the fundamentals of social media marketing, but also how to create a professional, top-level presence that can put a company in the viral marketing sweet spot. From creating Facebook fan pages to crafting the most perfect Twitter bio for SEO, Anne-Marie dives into the details of both services, and discusses the best third-party add-ons that maximize the social marketing impact. [view video]

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Social Media in Marketing is Just That...Social

Last month I spoke on a panel at a Marketing conference at Electronic Arts in Redwood City with several marketing professionals speaking about innovations in marketing.  The panel was set up a bit around brand marketing as well as social media so those on the panel spread across a large group of marketing functions as well as types of companies.  After all, marketing for a consumer packaged goods company is not the same as marketing for an online gaming company.  We have a much better educated consumer these days.

The questions were pretty basic about our own particular experiences.  I always think that each industry, product and company has its own challenges/barriers to overcome.  In the entertainment business where I have run affiliate marketing partnerships for the last 10 years, the challenges are very unique whether an established brand such as Ticketmaster or a hot new start up like Reel.com was back in 1997.  It is hard to give advice when such antedotes do not apply to other situations.  In the end the basic principles of managing your brand are still the same though and  times have changed in brand marketing, product, promotion, placement, and pricing (the 4 P’s) are still very important and fundamental to the marketing of a product or service.

There did come a point during Q&A though when the panel was asked about what is the new hot thing or what is innovative in Marketing today.  Many on the panel hesitated and I started to agree with some of the responses that there is nothing really new and innovative.  Maybe there were new channels such as the internet and social networks where placement was just more timely and pricing is more discounted and services and browser based products seemed to succeed better than physical products.

Just as the conversation stopped I asked everyone if they knew who the CEO of Electronic Arts is (this panel was taking place in their building after all) and a few hands were raised.  I asked the same about Proctor & Gamble.  Again hardly anyone raised their hands.  I then followed and asked if anyone felt either of those brands knew who they were.  Silence.  When I asked the same of Amazon, Microsoft and Zappos, the names Bezos, Ballmer and Hsieh were blurted out and hands were raised and people agreed those companies sure knew a whole hell of a lot about who their comsumers are.  For years, companies have been wanting to “own” the customer so that they could market to them as efficiently as possible on a 1 to 1 basis.  Well the big deal and innovative piece is that these companies are now able to do this.  Faces now represent the brand more than ever.  Sure we all knew Lee Iacocca but he never had a dialogue like new companies do today.  The opportunity to get to know your customer is there so that the dialogue is no longer about name less faces and people talking to you from a call center in some 3rd World country asking you about the weather.

Sending an email or letter to a company CEO used to be hard enough as nobody gave you their information.  Now people like Tony Hsieh of Zappos have their own public Twitter accounts where you can have a public or private dialogue with him about how much like his company or your favorite pair of shoes that you want him to carry.  Now while that may not be quite that personal and while Tony might not respond to everyone, it is quite empowering to the customer that at least their voice will be heard.  In this day and age our society always wants to air their grievances and praises publicly.  Things just aren’t that personal anymore. 

That said, in the world of music, there is a lot of impersonalization going on when it comes to music discovery.  It always used to be that you had one or two good friends who you could rely on to recommend a hot new song.  You could allso rely on your favorite DJ to introduce you to something cool.  Nowadays, radio stations are being condensed, Djs are now replaced online by music sites where you self select and program your own radio station and or get recommendations from perfect strangers.  I personally find the recommendations on iTunes to be very off-putting.  Artists such as Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) and Matt Morris (@Mattmorris) are getting personal on Twitter, interacting with their fans. Back stage passes mean a whole new thing with artists granting you the opportunity to meet them before a show and take photos for just a little more money.  Gone are the days when the artists were held on a pedastal like gods and you swayed in a mosh pit of 50,000 people barely able to see the band.  People want to touch and feel the merchandise.  My 7-year old daughter now believes that every concert starts with getting together with the band for a photo shoot.  She doesn’t root for people on the awards show because of the music they play but rather on how nice they were to her when we went to see them play.  She wants me to text them during the concert to win an after concert meeting as well.  Of course my job affords me these luxuries occasionally, but as this example points out.  People have a tendency to have an affinity for those things which have a little more touch in their lives.  People don’t want to just have a photo of Lady Gaga, but they want to be in a photo with Lady Gaga

So here’s the point.  Social media now allows us to do what we used to do on a more realtime basis.  We used to get advice from the 3-4 resources in our lives that shaped our tastes.  Now we still can, but we are able to share more information and on a more timely basis.  We’re also able to get more information in your hands so you can make a better decision.  Sometimes the brand, or serice or product is presented to you in a way that is more personal as well.  Your friends who told you about the next great thing, now can just send you a quick note via Twitter to your cell phone.  Why is this important?  Because you’d rather hear that advice from a face and name you know rather than a person you’ve never met.  We learn more about each other and sometimes we get to give feedback that someone will really use.

In the end its all a personal sale, a personal purchase that means more to you than it probably would have 10 years ago.  Its the real change in marketing evolution.  It’s about at lea three things that help social media to change the way we make our buying decisions today: 1) More product information 2) More Personalization/customization and 3) more timely interaction

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So where do we go from here?

Down economy,   Low Cash,  Corporate Downsizing…Mortgage Crisis?

Sound or feel eerily familiar?  I have been down that road.  I have been burned out of every last red penny in my name.  I have slept in my car in the dead of winter…when it won’t even start.  I have stolen food, when I was so hungry that theft being illegal wouldn’t deter me from my mission of finding sustenance.  I ate meals at charities and churches and relied on charitable organizations for a warmer coat.

So how did I find a new comfortable life?  Where did I go that turned my life around.  How did I go from literally nothing at 19 to being retired and financially set at 25?  Well it was a long bumpy road.  Finding odd jobs as a mechanic and working as a night janitor for a fellow I met at my church ( I began going just for the food).  I realized my life wasn’t really going anywhere.  I was living in a small town where people being afflicted homelessness and drug addiction where more common than decent folk holding down jobs.  I was delinquent on all accounts of credit.  My only shelter was a 1995 Saturn Sc2 with a cracked crank and a busted clutch.  My friends and I commonly referred to the town as a “Time Warp”  because people moved in, lost there way, and never were saw by decent society again.  I refused for that to be me.

I joined the U.S. Army in 2005.  I was moved around the country for training courtesy of Uncle Sam.  I found the old Basic Training cadence “Freedom Isn’t Free” to be absolutely correct.  As I was sent to Iraq in Aug 2007-Jul 2008.  I provided maintenance support to a target acquisition battery.  I rode convoy, was shot at, and eventually suffered during an explosion in Mar 08.  In which myself and two more of my friends were injured.

While recovering I realized that besides my eye-sight being taken from me temporarily, my  balance being off and my left ear not working right anymore.  That I did not want to be a career military man as a way of life.  I began hunting on what little internet could be found in Balad, for a new means to support myself and my new soon to be wife (now my wife as of 11 Jul 09).  I saw every scam under the sun.  I was even taken by a few.  I was just about to give up and look for a job as a Police Officer or something Military or Civil Service related when I stumbled across the (now) biggest thing in my life (besides my loving wife).

I was horribly skeptical at first.  I thought MLM’s were a bust.  That the only man who gets paid is the man on the top.  I just never thought that I would find what I found.  I found a company whose sole mission is to make YOU the man on the top of your MLM.  This was huge.  I was still skeptical but signed up anyway to see some free video’s of how these guys were going to teach me how to be the Big Dog.  Lo and behold they came through and taught me everything I needed to know and even stuff I didn’t understand and won’t need to or never will use.  They did it all so awesomely in fact that I feel it’s my duty to share it with my fellow man.  I’m not even going to get paid for this.  I just want you to know that there is a few people out there that have really figured it out.  They gave me step by step instructions on everything from setting up my first sight, to what to cover in my video’s, to advanced media marketing tips.  They even thought of things to help me that as I was looking for help was I was thinking there is no way they thought of letting me track the progress of my site through them.  WOW!  Was I wrong or what.

The first thing I feel you need to know is what Emerson wrote. “Change happens when the pain of staying the same, becomes greater than the fear of change”.  That’s my life quote.

There is no magic turn key site to instant cash.  There is no buying 10000000000 page views a day that convert at 85% for $1.00   However I do allow you to see the same system that saved my life.  Yes you read it right.  This system SAVED MY LIFE!  For a $1.00 for the first 14 days.  No bull though, I put $1.00 into this thing at the recommendation of my father.  I made $95.00 three days later.  Those three days I didn’t sleep, I barely ate, and I worked non-stop.  The money was really there though.

That’s my point.  You don’t get anything without a substantial amount of effort.  If you are willing to work towards good things.  Good things will come!  If you do not desire to go into this Internet World looking for your path to freedom and success, I can be your guide.  For someone once helped me.  I will not claim to be the richest Internet Guru out there.  Lord knows I am not.  I don;t sleep in a car or eat out behind churches anymore.  All my cars are new and work right.  I don’t need rims and a stereo…I will settle for the GT on the back of my new Mustang (paid in cash) be enough for me.  So if you are looking for an honest team mate who’s got your back to help you on your way to success in life.

Please join me.

http://www.sevenfiguremastermindteam.com/DanielJSmith/30584

http://www.workwithdansmith.com/

After all I don’t spam, you searched and you found me.  I am only wanting your email address so I can Give you my knowledge with videos and letters.  I expect you to know that I am real and, that if you are serious you will join with me to build a better life for yourself.

[Via http://workwithdansmith.wordpress.com]

ad of the day - Suicide Sells Pepsi Max

I was amazed to see this Pepsi Max advert using such a taboo subject to illustrate the “one very lonely calorie” idea behind the campaign targeting weight concious consumers. The underdog brand of cola have found the common enemy in this consumer group, the calorie, and so I guess nobody cares if the calorie commits suicide. I think it’s great, it has balls and it certainly doesn’t lack the “LOOK AT ME!!” factor, however, strangely it seems to lack brand consistency with the usual Pepsi Max guidelines, but we’ll let them off for this amazing and evocative illustration.

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How a web design goes straight to hell

Many of us have had clients or bosses turn an awesome project into a complete nightmare. I stumbled upon a website called www.theoatmeal.com, and I found a piece that illustrates a web design project gone bad.  I totally laughed my head off.  Check it out:

Source: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell

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WHY YOU NEED A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY!

If you had any doubts about the value and potential of  using social media, check out 30 Interesting, Useless and Pointless Facts on Jeff Bulla’s blog at the following link!  Don’t be put off by the title!

You begin to understand why you can’t afford not to know to about Social Media whether you are in the public, private or community sectors!

Here is just one example and three facts!

37% of Generation Y were aware of the Ford Fiesta via social media before it launched in the USA.

25% of Ford’s marketing spend is on digital/social media!

Ford is the only US Auto company not to take a government grand!

Now you begin to see the possibilities now that using LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook may bring?  We have some tips for developing a Social Media Strategy at this link

[Via http://wisewolfconsulting.wordpress.com]

Bagel and Pap Smear with a side of Santa?

Oh yes, ladies and gent(tile)s, the CBS Cares pap smear commercial has a christian version. If you missed my post last week you can read about it here. In short CBS has created a campaign around gifting pap smears. (that would be a hell of an item to regift, no?) Here is the jewish version complete with cream cheese reference (ew)

Thanks to my friend 24 at heart, I have been made aware that it’s not just jewish guys that think a pap smear appointment is the perfect holiday gift. I’m not going to lie here, I am a little put off that the christian guy is so much better looking than the pap ’schmear’ jew with the nasal voice. And who could resist the line, “Give her the gift that even Santa can’t deliver”. Check him out (what a babe!)

But… it gets better. You see CBS is an equal opportunity advertiser. So for all you guys out there, this babe is urging us to schedule you a prostate exam. Oh yes, this is not a joke. And the tagline from this sultry blonde would be? “Give the gift that says Merry Christmas, I love ALL of you”. Shouldn’t that have been, “Give the gift that says turn your head and cough?”

What, you say? No woman of the tribe hawking a prostate exam. Oh yes there is! And her line? Oh really, I can hardly type from laughing so hard, “This Hannukah, give the gift of a kosher prostate.” WTF!!!! Again with the food reference. And this hebropsycho has this creepy way of smiling when she says the word prostate, like she is about to… never mind, you know what they say about jewish girls.

Ok, I will have to admit that these are getting attention, but they are kind of like staring at the accident. Since when did secular patient information go out of style?

I can’t wait to hear the hispanic versions!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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