Persuasive Picks for the week of 06/07/10

Social Media Marketing: You Have To Be Consistent
Congratulations! You’ve just made the first step towards getting your
feet wet in the sea of social media! But, do you have what it takes to
stay afloat? This post by Ely Delaney on Gather.com explains one of the keys to social media success.

The Ten Myths of Creating Web Content
Joe Ciarallo from Mediabistro’s PRNewser shares 10 web content creation myths and tips that bust them as presented by College Humor founder Ricky Van Veen at the Mashable Media Summit.

Social strategy: Web integration to leverage brand advocacy
Charles Nicholls explains why people tend to follow their favorite brands online, and explains how many companies are missing out by not leveraging this “gift horse.”

Coca-Cola Follows a New Social Media Strategy

Natalie Johnson, Digital Communications Manager for Coca-Cola states “When you think about what your homepage is … it’s not necessarily just your brand page. It’s Google.com. It’s Digg. It’s Twitter. It’s YouTube. It’s Facebook.” This post on Popsop.com provides some insite on that thinking and how Coca-Cola is implementing a new online strategy for increasing brand mentions.

Apple’s Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed
The wildly popular iPad suffered its first blemish this week, but Apple recovered quickly. Luckily, I’m still keeping my iPad at the local Apple store, so I wasn’t affected by the breach.  🙂

Photo Credit: Janine

 

Persuasive Picks for the week of 05/31/10

Will people stop buying Coca Cola? Maybe not, but Eric Bovim writes in PRWeek that Food and Beverage Companies Face a PR Challenge – facing a plethora of new programs focused on healthier food options. From First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Campaign,” to a powerful new coalition of big brands and the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, big food companies need to convince the press to focus on the positive aspects of what they provide… a job easier said than done.

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing wrote a provocative article for Ragan on “Why Social Media Doesn’t Matter Anymore.” He says too many people are focused on adopting or keeping up with the latest and greatest social media tools, when they should rather be focused on customer engagement. A smart piece that takes you through the hype to the heart of the matter when it comes to social media for business and marketing.

Speaking of John, he’s a great marketer who recently wrote a book called The Referral Engine – and it’s featured on Inc. Magazine’s new Business Book Bestseller List. If you’re looking for some great summer reading, check it out.

I’m a fan of Foursquare and am happy to see its growth, as more and  more marketers help brands use it in their campaigns. One of the latest collaborations is a partnership with Cynthia Rowley to launch Cynthia Rowley Bridesmaids at a wedding-centric event. One of PerkettPR’s partner firms, Fashionably Digital, was commissioned to develop and implement the campaign. Women’s Wear Daily Writes in this week’s Social Studies, this is “the first time a manufacturer, a designer and a retailer collaborated on this kind of initiative.”

I’m also in love with my iPad but I’m not quite as creative as other users – which I learned when glamour tech gal Shira Lazar recently pointed me to a CBS piece she wrote on “5 Totally Insane Ways to Use Your iPad.” I don’t plan to perform surgery with mine anytime soon, although I did enjoy learning that the iPad is so cool, it can indeed “Shred.”

 

 

Persuasive Picks for the week of 05/24/10

Facebook_privacy_380pxEvery Facebook Privacy Feature Revealed and Explained
With upwards of 56 different options to play with, Facebook’s privacy settings can be dizzying to say the least. This MacLife post breaks down the options to a more digestible level – at least until Facebook changes things up again!

Planning a New Content Marketing Initiative? Consider These 4 Tips
Michele Linn from the Content Marketing Institute shares several content marketing tips in this entertaining post that compares the challenges of building a proper and maintainable content marketing program to her personal experience of planting a new garden.

How To Use Google Wave for Live Blogging
I’ve recently had a renewed interest in Google Wave now that its switch over to “invite free” public beta has made it more accessible to my social graph. This great post by Frederic Lardinois shows how Wave can be used as a convenient  live-blogging tool.

Facebook to Roll Out Q&A Feature
Mashable’s Jolie O’Dell gives the low-down on Facebook’s new Q&A feature that is sure to challenge the likes of Yahoo Answers and Linked-In Answers.

Is The White Paper Dead for B2B Marketing?
This post from Paul Dunay suggests that the white paper is dead and offers several content options that are much better alternatives.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 05/17/10

selling_sm PR Responsibilities | Selling Social Media
Ashley Wirthlin and Frank Strong offer up Part one of a multi-part series on PR responsibilities. This first post dives into the challenges PR firms face when adding social media to their roster of client services.

10 Ways to Improve Your Work-Life Balance
Inc.com shares 10 tips for web-workers that come straight from many CEOs who have mastered the balance of work and play.

Lessons of Hope: How a Blog Can Change Lives
Veronica Jarski from MPDailyFix shares this inspiring story of a blogger who transformed her simple blog into a thriving and active global community that helps enrich the lives of others.

Facebook’s new functions (and how to leverage them)
This iMediaConnection guest post from Doug Akin provides an nice overview of many of the new functions that are available to help leverage Facebook for your company and brand.

Google TV and the Re-Structuring of the Web
Kristen Nicole gives an overview of Google’s upcoming GoogleTV offering and what it means for both consumers and companies alike in this guest post on the EverythingPR blog.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 05/10/10

Making Time For Evolution
There are plenty of excuses for not integrating social media into your marketing strategy, but more often than not it comes down to resources or time. Amber Naslund from Radian6 urges readers to “harness their potential” and “embrace the unknown” in this motivational post.

The Metrics of Social Media
This post by Danny Brown expands on social media metrics and the importance of clearly identifying what you want to achieve, how long you want to spend achieving it and actually doing the measuring. He also suggests a variety of metrics to consider when getting started.

Social Media for Business (to Business)
Dave Evans from 2020Social provides several examples of how B2B organizations have adopted social media strategies into their organizations.

Taking the First Steps in Social Marketing
Gary Halliwell explains why tying social media profiles to your CRM records is a great first step in the right direction for getting started with Social Marketing.

5 Easy Ways to Drive Social Media Fans to Action
Building a large online community is great, but driving them to action is essential for the bottom line. Peter Wylie from SocialMediaExaminer shares these practical examples to help increase your community engagement.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 05/03/10

Social-media games: Badges or badgering?
CNET staff writer Caroline McCarthy expands on the growing popularity of “badge-based” achievements popping up on websites like The Huffington Post and applications like Foursquare as forms of incentive to interact.

Are your social media metrics diagnostic or objective?
Christopher S. Penn provides an entertaining and informative explanation of the difference between diagnostic and objective social media metrics. His post clearly shows the importance of knowing the difference.

How social media has changed executive roles
SFGate staff writer Benny Evangelista shares this brief interview with Charlene Li about the new wave of Open Leadership that is changing the way executives manage their leadership roles.

Sorry Guys: When It Comes to Your Audience, Size DOES Matter
Justin Kownacki hits the nail on the head with this fantastic post about the long winded debate between quantity versus quality when it comes to follower numbers on social networks. Read on for the secret to success.

Social media used to market Mother’s Day
USA Today’s Bruce Horovitz provides numerous examples of how brands are leveraging social media with targeted campaigns to attract your dollars when it comes to paying homage to Mom this Mother’s Day.

Photo Credit: Nerd Merit Badges

Persuasive Picks for the week of 04/26/10

Social Media Strategy Before Tactics
TopRank’s Lee Odden expands on the idea of strategy versus tactics first and shares responses on the topic from dozens of the top minds in social media and social marketing.

The key to catching a reporter’s eye? Pitch like one
Ragan.com’s Jessica Levco shares five useful tips to keep in mind when pitching reporters gathered from Danielle Cass, communications manager for Kaiser Permanente

Social media war rooms (and why you need one)
This iMediaConnection post by Ari Newman provides valuable advice on being prepared to act when a media crisis strikes.

What to Do When a PR Disaster Strikes Your Startup
This ReadWriteWeb post by Audrey Watters continues the theme of online crisis management and highlights the highs and lows of Blippy’s response to their recent media woes.

Why Small Businesses Fail on the Web
Abe Mezrich from Didit shares this episode of Marketing Obsessions on MPDailyFix.com featuring Jason Teichman from Register.com who discusses where small businesses fail with their online digital presence.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 04/19/10

prwire_iphone PR Newswire Launches App for iPhone, iPod Touch
PR Newswire announces the launch of their new iPhone app that allows easy access to their enormous database of press releases and multimedia content. The app also allows users to share the content back out via email, Facebook, LinkedIn an Twitter.

Twitter kicks off Promoted Tweets
Dianna Dilworth from DMNews explains Twitter’s recent rollout of their Promoted Tweets service and includes some examples of how brands have started using it.

Creating a Social Media Analytics Action Plan – Part 1: Defining KPIs
A 2009 Bazaarvoice survey that revealed (on average) how businesses have no idea what their social media ROI is. Taylor Pratt from Raven Internet Marketing Tools expands on the results and provides tips on defining KPI (Key Performance Indicators) in this first post of his new Analytics series

How to be a PR rock star in a social media world: The changing face of public relations
Rich Brooks from Flyte New Media recently asked his LinkedIn community the following question: “The role of PR is changing, and I’m curious to know what do you need to do to be appreciated at your job? What are the expectations, what new roles do you have, and how do you look like a hero to your boss at the end of the day and year?” He shares some of the interesting responses via this post.

Social Media Turns Tiny Mistakes Into Big Headaches for Delta Airlines
BNET’s travel industry blogger, Brett Snyder shares the account of Delta Airlines most recent online media blunder that clearly shows the importance of paying attention to every detail when it comes to your brand’s online presence. Someone is always watching.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 04/12/10

lifestream-icons Social Media Marketing Overload? Some Tips for Startups
This post by Audrey Watters in ReadWriteWeb’s “ReadWriteStart Channel” provides 4 solid tips to help businesses avoid being overwhelmed when first engaging in social media.

4 Reasons Why PR Agencies Are Taking Over Social Media
Jason Keath provides great food for thought in this post that provides four concrete reasons why PR will eventually rule the social media space for big brands and of course, we have to agree!

How web analytics can help you avoid a PR disaster
Eran Savir, co-founder and VP business development at Kampyle, explains the importance of pursuing and maintaining a high level of customer service and interaction in the online space.

The Engaged User: Bridging Your Web Site And Social Networks
JanRain CEO, Brian Kissel expands on the importance of ensuring there’s a strong bridge between your online social presence and your corporate website that can enable users to become strong proponents of your products, services and content.

Hubspot’s Foursquare Cops
Hubspot’s new video spoof of the TV show “Cops” made its debut this week and is definitely worth a watch.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 04/05/10

How Can SMB Owners Learn Social Media?
Lisa Barone provides some concrete ways SMBs can begin learning the ins and outs of social media on their own without the help of one of the gazillion “social media experts” out there. (Of course, it’s all about having the time to do it!)

Making the real-time Web relevant
The future of online search includes getting information in “real-time.” This CNET post from Tom Krazit gives a great overview on the new direction in search and the struggles that search engines like Google and Microsoft Bing are working through to provide information as it happens.

7 B2B Social Media Tools you haven’t heard of
This SocialMediaB2B.com post from Adam Holden-Bache provides seven new tools that are worth checking out. I’m impressed to finally come a across a list of tools that are all new to me!

10 Tricks For Getting Inspired to Write
Have you officially launched your blog, but have found it difficult to continually come up with fresh ideas for creating content? This Copyblogger post by Jonathan Morrow provides great tips and techniques for writing inspiration.

Will It Blend? – iPad
The long-lasting popularity of BlendTec’s “Will it blend” videos continues with the demise of a shiny new Apple iPad.