Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
My grandma, bless her heart, handed me a stack of photographs yesterday while I was visiting her. She was sooo excited about all these pictures she had taken over the last year. She told me that she had developed over 30 rolls of film. This got me thinking a bit. When was the last time you used a “film” camera? Or got a roll of film developed? I think for me it was about 10 years ago in high school. I don’t even know what to do with all these photos. I guess some will end up in frames and the rest will end up lost in a box somewhere.
A lot has changed in the last 10 years. Well for some of us, I don’t think Grandma will ever change :) The way we watch TV, thanks TIVO, the way we listen to music, watch movies, get our news, communicate, and so on. Some of these changes took place well over 10 years ago but it has only become part of our lifestyle and routine in the last 10 years. One of the changes that is taking place as we speak is how we interact with eachother. Web 2.0, Social Networking, Social Media, Social Marketing, Social Optimization are all buzzwords that are popping up all over the place. Again, they have been around a while but it has only been recently that they have gained wide accpetance and crossed generation barriers.
The social web has changed how we interact with eachother. It allows us to reach many people, friends, family, colleagues, strangers, customers with a click of a button. It is extremely easy to find new friends as well. A simple google search and I am only milliseconds away from joining a new conversation with thousands of new friends. This is a powerful movement that is taking place and one that is changing the way we communicate and interact with eachother.
Businesses are recognizing this change and are finding new ways to interact with customers and potential customers. A business can now quickly find their enthusiastic devotees as well as their unhappy customers. Businesses are using these social methods to listen and connect with the consumers. As a result the people have a voice and companies are making decisions based off of real people and real feedback. Businesses that have accepted this change in behavior and understand why it is important are rising to the top and consumers are quickly and easily finding them. The companies that are not changing and moving with the people are being pushed down and will eventually be lost.
Though the economy is not in anyone’s corner at the moment, the economy itself will not be the reason these companies are lost. The companies that will be lost will be the ones that lost track of their customers. The online social movement is a way for companies to plug-in and interact with their customers. Be a part of their daily routines and lives. Social marketing is all about the people and making your business all about the people.
It’s a new style of business and one that is popular with your customers. Businesses have said it for years “our focus is on the customer”. Now it’s time to put those words into action. Embrace this new style and put it into action–Your customers have.
Tags: Business, customers, social marketing
Posted in Small business, listening, social media | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 26th, 2009
10 years ago my sister called me so excited to relay that she just bought 3 pairs of socks for $1.99 from the GAP. You know the sock I’m talking about? The ribbed super tight tube sock that was impossible to get on but when you got it on it feels great. When talking about social media and how we interact with our favorite brand I can’t help but think of my ecstatic sister who was clearly participating in word of mouth marketing. To this day she wigs out about sales from the GAP and Target but they have yet hired her as a spokesperson.
Who are your spokespeople? When they call their loved ones what are they saying about your brand? Your brand may not be as massive as GAP but this example helps you think of taking care of your customers.
And to answer the question; my favorite brand right now is Outdoor Research. Their an outdoor clothing company that seriously took care of me last week for a warranty issue.
Tags: brand identification, word of mouth marketing
Posted in Small business, interaction, listening | 3 Comments »
Friday, December 12th, 2008
The new look and website of the re-brand is officially here! Now that this blog has an official connection and look to the new brand, we’ll begin posting more regarding some of the interesting things we are doing with our clients. Hopefully it will be of value to you and help you navigate the social sphere with your own brands.
Here’s to a long and hopefully valuable voice within the social media world!
Tags: social media, social network, web 2.0
Posted in Small business, consulting, social media | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
It appears that SanDisk gets it. They are planning a marketing blitz across several social sites, including facebook and twitter to help promote sales of their data storage devices on Cyber Monday.
They have done it right by looking for a specific target, in this case they sought to reach people that are passionate about movies, music and photography. Some of the things they did in this push include, placing short promotional clips featuring tech personality Gadget Grrl on video-sharing sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Veo, Blip, MetaCafe, etc.), they created branded pages to promote the sale across social sites like Facebook and on Twitter and they enlisted some key bloggers for editorial coverage.
They are measuring success by the number of email addresses collected, video interaction, Facebook ad results, and traffic to Sandisk’s Cyber Monday website.
Posted in Small business, gathering, social media | No Comments »
Monday, December 1st, 2008
Goodnite Latitude, it has been a good time and you have been kind, however, its time for more meaning behind the name of the company.
As you know, we offer social media services - from private online communities, to social media campaigns on the web including managing clients brands throughout the social web and on other social sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. Its is time for a new website, name and brand to better express our talents, services and technology that we offer. We are re-branding the company officially as Ignite Media, LLC - IgniteHQ.com.
The new logo above is an attempt to demonstrate our forward thinking, and creative offering. The word ingite itself gives a feeling of fl ames. We went with a green color as a sign of “growth and nature” to avoid the usual orange and yellowish colors of fire (which give out a negative feeling). The green has softened the concept and is more organic, which is similar to our message of grass roots marketing, word of mouth marketing, social media marketing, and natural traffic flow from good content.
Some feedback we’vre received is that it looks like a logo for an “Energy Drink” company or a skateboarding company. My answer is…so. Our services are not traditional marketing and our technology is cutting edge, so I think it fits. But what you do think?
Leave a comment and let me know.
Posted in Small business, social media | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
When making a decision to buy, word of mouth marketing takes the cake. Word of mouth marketing takes shape on the web in the form of conversations between customers. These conversations never die, meaning, they never end and can never be forgotten. They remain immortailized online for countless potential customers to read and gain value from.
Which leads to the two questions we typically ask business owners…how are you involved in the online conversation about your brand and industry? and, What is your social media business strategy?
A recent study shows that an overwhelming majority (93 percent) of online Americans say companies should have a social-media presence, and 85 percent believe these companies also should be interacting with consumers through social media.
The 2008 Social Media Study also reveals the depth and breadth of social media interaction with companies. Some 60 percent of Americans interact with companies using social media, one in four interact more than once per week, and 56 percent feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they interact via social media.
The news here is that Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media.
Posted in Small business, interaction, social media | No Comments »