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Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category
Should Google Buy Twitter??
Amanda Moshier | April 6th, 2009
Don’t say you didn’t see it coming. Last Friday, the blog world churned out post after post investigating claims that Google is in talks to buy Twitter. There was quite a bit of finger-pointing going on – whose sources were more legit, who was reporting on derivatives, blah blah blah. I’m less interested in handing out journalism awards and way more excited to discuss just what a Google takeover would mean for Twitter users, marketers included. For those unfamiliar with Twitter, check out this blog post. If you aren’t sure about what Twitter means to marketers, this should give you an overview. For Twitter users, addicts, and fans who don’t necessarily tweet but understand its value, I want to know what you think. The idea that Twitter could be controlled by Google is upsetting, to say the least. One of the best things about Twitter is the fact that it feels very open and free (AKA not controlled by a global corporation, like Google). On top of that, the fact that tweeting is so useful and fun makes it feel like I’m getting away with something every time I tweet. Despite my emotional attachments to Twitter as it stands today, there are folks out there making rational and rather convincing arguments about why it makes sense for Google to acquire the microblogging service, and David Berkowitz, Director of Emerging Media for 360i, is one of them. In an article featured on Advertising Age’s all-things-digital blog, Digital Next, Berkowitz writes: Despite Continue reading…
Tags: Google, Marketing, monetization, Social Media, social networking, Tweeting, Twitter
Posted in Business, Google, Internet News, Marketing, Social Media | 15 Comments
8 Things You Aren’t Doing That Will Boost Your SEM Results
Mike Mothner | April 1st, 2009
1. Always. Test. Everything. It is impossible to create the perfect ad campaign or website on your first try. No matter how great your ideas are or how well you know your client base, it is simply not possible to create the best performing options right away. That is why I live by the motto Always Test Everything (ATE). This includes ad creative copy, overall messaging, keywords, buttons, colors, forms and traffic sources. For example, running a PPC campaign is a great way to test a promotional tagline quickly and efficiently. It is like your own infinite focus group. We were able to do this when deciding on the topic for this blog! We posted 6 different ads, each with a slightly different title, to find out which one would get the most traffic. After a day of testing and $100 spend, we had a clear winner. In the current economy discounts, deals and a sense of urgency are great things to test. Put a discount on your site even if your products are not normally discounted. You could even put a deadline on the discount and test to see if people are motivated to buy. These efforts may seem daunting, but if you start with testing just a few things at a time, you will be able to find out what works best for your website. Then, just keep on testing! 2. Tell The Right Story To The Right Person I cannot stress enough how important it is to Continue reading…
Tweeting to Transparency: 4 Reasons to Be Who You Are in 2009
Amanda Moshier | February 27th, 2009
I know we’ve discussed social media tools like Twitter here before. We’ve even got a blog post on intermediate tweeting from our Director of Viral Marketing, Josh Tauber, in this month’s issue of The Wprogram. But the more I think about it, I realize there is a lot more to say! While the meaning and implications of Web 2.0 have been discussed at length, and some will even say the mere mention of the term is cause to be tarred and feathered, the business world is only beginning to harness the power of social media – and some brands are reluctant to harness it at all. I’m not sure they get it. I know many of us reading this may scoff. ‘What do you mean,’ you may say, ‘I’ve been tweeting since 2004?’ and I get that. But you are tech-savvy. And while some who follow business trends may argue social media has entered the mainstream of corporate communications, there are corporate giants who have yet to take advantage of all that social media has to offer, and others still who missed the boat on claiming their brand name on influential sites like Twitter (brands like Coke, for example). The brands who fear the transparency (read: accountability) that social media tools like Twitter bring to the party are living in a simpler and far more private time. In a market where competition is fierce and communication is a commodity, consumers require more information than they have in the past. If Continue reading…
Tags: 2009, 2009 business tips, 2009 sales tips, Brand transparency, Social Media, social media marketing, Transparency, Tweeting, Tweets, Twitter, Wpromote
Posted in Business, Editorial, Social Media, Yahoo! | 3 Comments
The Intermediate Tweeter – Intertweetiate?
Josh Tauber | February 20th, 2009
by Josh Tauber Director, Viral Marketing & SMO twitter.com/JoshTauber OK, we get it. Twitter is amazing and it can do amazing things. We have all jumped on the bandwagon and are posting a few times here and there, but now what? Here you will find a few examples of what those symbols and weird words mean, as well as some resources to bring you to the next level – an “intertweetiate”. There is no real true way of tweeting but a bit of a standard is being formed. Hopefully this will help you with some of the top twitterizms. @Username: This allows you to tweet at someone. If you see that someone you follow asks a question about something, you can respond to them directly(or if you spied on someone through a third party app like tweetdeck.. more on this below). To do this, simply hit the respond arrow (on the web) or type @(their user name) and type away. Once you post the tweet the user is notified directly! Retweet: A retweet is just that. If a person finds that someone has an interesting tweet and feel the need to spread the word, they simply retweet. A retweet is noted by either “RT” or “RT:” then the copied tweet is pasted afterwards. See example below: #word: This is called a hash. It allows you to keep track of certain topics or tweets from an event such as a conference. To really maximize your tracking capabilities you should follow @hashtags. Continue reading…
Tags: smm, SMO, Social Media, social media marketing, social media optimization, tweet, Twitter, twitter help, Viral Marketing
Posted in Social Media, Viral Marketing | 8 Comments
Facebook Drama, and What About My Videos?
Amanda Moshier | February 18th, 2009
Hi folks, and happy Wednesday. It’s a short one this week and I hope you found the long weekend as productive and exciting as I did. I spent it finishing up a long overdue freelance project, being stalked by a former resident of the house I currently live in (scary), standing 10-feet away from a mind-blowing Valentine’s Day performance by Mirror/Dash, aka Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of alterna-rock legend Sonic Youth, and taking a trip to Guitar Center to replace my DJ headphones in time for my next gig. Let me tell you, it’s a dangerous place that Guitar Center and I’m lucky I made it out of there with *just* headphones. The Mirror/Dash show was amazing. It happened at the MoCA opening for Dan Graham’s retrospective “Beyond,” and was meant for MoCA members only but I managed to score to comp tix and I’m so glad I did. Not only did I impress my Valentine with my uber-cool connections and totally indie taste in music (yes!), I also got the chance to take some crazy low-res footage of the band using my camera phone, which I later uploaded to YouTube and Facebook. If you are at all a fan of experimental, grunge, noise rock, and the like, you may want to check it out here (and here, and here). Anyhow, I figure now is a good time to discuss the news about Facebook and the changes made to its Terms of Service (TOS), changes which were implemented without Continue reading…
Tags: facebook, Facebook Beacon, Facebook TOS, Facebook user content, online privacy
Posted in Editorial, Internet News, Social Media, Technology | 6 Comments
