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Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’

The Gen Y Guide to Web 2.0 at Work

Friday, September 18, 2009 @ 09:09 PM Author: Erik Olson
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This is the Greatest example of the Next Marketing Generation.

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Why Small Businesses Shouldn’t Take Social Media for Granted

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 @ 01:06 PM Author: Erik Olson
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This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum.

It seems like social media is everywhere these days. But the 2010 Business Monitor United States report — commissioned by UPS — shows that when it comes to small- and medium-sized businesses, social media is still a missed opportunity. A mere 24% of respondents said they’ve received sales leads from social media, with just 1% citing it as a factor for business growth.

The data would appear to indicate that in spite of all the positive press that social media gets, and all the use cases we’ve seen emerge over the past few years, small business owners are taking social media for granted. When done right, social media can be a valuable source for customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Here a few reasons to help drive the value home.


Information is There for the Taking


Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the web. Ignoring, avoiding or just not looking at what people are sharing online about your small business or your competitors is just plain lazy.

10 Dos and Don’ts for Brands on Twitter

Monday, May 10, 2010 @ 09:05 AM Author: Erik Olson
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When it comes to TwitterTwitter and brands, consumers who are also Twitter users have plenty to say on the subject. We’ve interviewed a few folks, analyzed a couple of streams, and come up with ten common, recurring requests and complaints from users who’ve engaged with brands on Twitter.

As it turns out, the rules they expect brands to follow are distinct from the code they expect “normal” users to follow.

Check out these dicta and caveats, and let us know your experiences and best practices in the comments.


1. Don’t Be a Showoff


Give Twitter users your features and benefits. Let them know about special deals. Don’t post links to your latest press release, promote articles written by your CEO or make extravagant claims. A good rule of thumb to determine whether a tweet is user-friendly or brand vanity is to ask yourself, “If I didn’t work here, would I care about this?” If you’re not sure, ask a brutally honest friend who doesn’t work at your company.


2. Don’t Use Poor Grammar or Spelling


If your replying 2 a user make sure ur social media intern doesnt do it like this LOL!

Can Businesses Learn from Lady Gaga’s Branding

Friday, March 12, 2010 @ 10:03 PM Author: Erik Olson
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Gaga’s business model starts with an incongruous product.

Listen to Gaga’s Poker Face and you might imagine it’s Britney Spears  in a track suit. But watch the video and you’ll see a work of conceptual porn. Gaga, a 23-year-old blonde with bulletproof bangs and 3-inch lashes, slinks across stages in gleaming metal bustiers, smoked latex underwear and thigh-high stiletto boots. Performing Paparazzi at the Video Music Awards, she ended the set dangling above the stage in gauzy white La Perla lingerie, horrifying her audience as fake blood gushed from her bosom.

All this debauchery is purposeful fodder for social media and the mainstream press. "She’s a perv, but Lady Gaga understands viral marketing better than anyone on the pop scene today," says magazine industry veteran Simon Dumenco. By showing up wearing a bird’s nest or a model of the solar system on her head, every Gaga appearance becomes an item (11,500 mainstream media stories cite her this year). "She is directing every frame of her music and her life, imagining how clips will appear on YouTube and what people will tweet after she appears on the VMAs," says Dumenco.