Listening

Maybe I’m off-base here, but I think the lack of White House response to these events via social media is outrageous. Not just because there are policies in place to handle events like this, but because it is just common sense to want to put the public at ease when they may be thinking a bomb exploded at the White House and the President of the United States was injured.[read more]

Too many business owners throw their hands up and give up on reviews. It’s personal and it’s painful to read how someone misinterpreted and mis-characterized your service, product, or business. But, the absolutely dead wrong response is to walk away.[read more]

Since last week's defeat of the Toomey-Manchin gun control bill, social media sentiment tracking shows the public is taking aim at foes of the bill in support of background checks.[read more]

consumer strategy

Recently I read a remarkable document from Netflix aimed at investors, titled “Netflix Long Term View.” (The fact that the phrase “long term” was in a document from a public company was only one remarkable piece of the story.) Netflix has a “North Star,” and it’s based on customer satisfaction.[read more]

Facebook strategy

You may have tens of thousands of ‘likes’ on your Facebook page and therefore think you’ve achieved success because of those numbers. Well, think again! Unless you actually work for Facebook, then you need to stop having your social media marketing plan entirely focused here.[read more]

Six years letter, the landscape, the tools, popularity, and even the logo has changed. I talk with Jeremiah Owyang about best social media practices for today's Twitter channel.[read more]

Any business dealing directly with customers wants to make sure they can attract and maintain a customer as efficiently and rapidly as possible. Today’s world offers many touch points – the traditional channels of direct mail and email, and now many more via the web and new social media sites that seem to spring up every day.[read more]

marketing by superfans

Superfans are everywhere. From television shows and video games to automotive and even CPGs, superfans are embracing the brands they love. Brand managers: Are you listening to your superfans? Are you recognizing and rewarding them? If not, your brand may be suffering.[read more]

word-of-mouth marketing

Brand-making is about meaning-making. It’s not about “forced listening” or tune-out minimizing. Abundant research has shown that word-of-mouth is how most messages are spread. And social media is the online equivalent of that word-of-mouth. Sharing is caring. If I don’t share, where’s the proof that I care?[read more]

LinkedIn strategy / shutterstock

Running a B2B business can be challenging, especially when you are trying to contact the right person in a company regarding potential partnerships or a joint venture. LinkedIn is a great way to avoid having to ask to speak to the relevant person and being caught up by a gatekeeper.[read more]

With the massive volume of consumer commentary through billions of daily posts across social networks and open-source channels, accurate, actionable consumer personas can now be constructed based on the actual self-identified comments of the consumers themselves. These personas can be incredibly detailed based on interests, life stage, lifestyles, activities, experiences and attitudes.[read more]

CNN/Hollywood Reporter

As last week proved, social media can be an unpredictable, uncontrollable force. It’s important to critique it and to think of ways it can be tempered, especially during crises. Patronizing journalists should set examples for how social media ideally would be used. Blaming people who only wanted to help won’t make your jobs any more secure.[read more]

Representing a new generation of YouTube pop artists who bypass the stifling corporate music industry with their own do-it-yourself YouTube success, K-pop recording artist Psy has become yet another driving force that is forcing the industry to change its hand. Today’s pop artists have found highly profitable ways to monetize their sounds on YouTube, rather than struggling to profit from their record labels and relying on, in large part, merchandising at concerts.[read more]

social media disaster

Caribou Coffee’s announcement last week, that the company was shuttering stores and laying off employees, proves that relying exclusively on a press release to deliver unpleasant news is a bad strategy in the digital age.[read more]

Don't fire off content with no understanding of how your community will receive it. Become a metrics-based community manager by using metrics to develop a sixth-sense for listening to your community.[read more]

call them? or tweet?

Today, the conversation has now turned digital, be it an email, a status update or a Tweet. Recruiters are now 'hiding' behind a keyboard and a computer for their relationships. Technology and social media has the ability to increase our horizons and encourage interaction across digital networks, but it has limitations.[read more]

It’s not even just e-commerce sites that allow reviews either. Local Directory sites allow customers to review businesses, whether the business encourages them or not. This freedom of opinion on the internet means it has never been easier for someone to find out what others think of your business.[read more]

Social branding case study: Chobani

The #1 Greek yogurt brand, Chobani, transcends the competition by way of high-quality active cultures and a strong social presence. Consumers are CHObsessed. The Chobani brand demonstrates the ideal way to build a social presence: enthusiastically and organically.[read more]

twitter #music

Twitter appears poised to launch a new music app this weekend! The web page was spotted at music.twitter.com featuring the #music hashtag and a sign-in button, suggesting the new service is getting ready to launch.[read more]

advanced social intelligence / shutterstock

As social media grows, so does the valuable intelligence it delivers to businesses smart enough to take advantage. Never before has understanding the intricacies of a market, consumer or competitor been so accessible with a flood of data from social networks and open-source channels.[read more]