Social Media

Marketers to Spend $220 Million on Ads in Social Games This Year


http://bit.ly/crV3zP RT @eMarketer:

Personally, I don’t like these things. Who’s got time to play games? However, as a student of the art of social media, I do keep up on Facebook and see MANY of my contacts playing “Farmville”, etc. so I guess there’s an audience for it.

What’s been your experience?  What do you think of online games as a marketing tool?

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Marketing, Social Media

Neuroeconomics – Social Networking “Feels” Like Falling in Love


Fresh from the July issue of Fast Company comes this fascinating article that should make all marketers think when it comes to their use of social media in their marketing mix.   Citation: This post is a direct summary of Fast Company’s excellent article by Adam L. Penenberg (who’s other work you should check out immediately).

Paul J. Zak, a.k.a “Dr. Love,” is a professor at Claremont Graduate University who popularized “neuroeconomics,” an emerging field that combines economics with biology, neuroscience, and psychology. 

His angle? Some best-selling behavioral economists such as Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational) and Steven D. Levitt (half of the Freakonomics duo) ponder how we make economic decisions.  Zak wants to figure out why we do what we do.                                    

 In a word – “Oxytocin.”

“…Known for years as the hormone forging the unshakable bond between mothers and their babies, oxytocin is now, thanks largely to Zak, recognized as the human stimulant of empathy, generosity, trust, and more. It is, Zak says, the “social glue” that adheres families, communities, and societies, and as such, acts as an “economic lubricant” that enables us to engage in all sorts of transactions…”

 “…Your brain interpreted tweeting as if you were directly interacting with people you cared about or had empathy for,” Zak says. “E-connection is processed in the brain like an in-person connection…”

“…In a world of social networks, then, this much seems clear: Companies that can connect with us and raise our oxytocin levels should prosper. Those that can’t, won’t…”

Very interesting…

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Marketing, Social Media

Socialnomics Video Update


Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics, has updated the stats in this now famous video.  Yes, it’s funny that a recently published book needs its stats refreshed – but that’s how fast this stuff is moving!  I like the new version even better.

I have found it  an invaluable tool in firing up an audience before a social media meeting, getting the troops excited within our own interactive practice, or just generally communicating the importance of this revolution.   Make it part of your repertoire.

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Marketing, Social Media

Social Media David v. Goliath…


This is an excellent example of fighting a PR conflict using social media.  Who looks like the cool victim here and who looks like the big, cold corporation?  Method will even let YOU DECIDE!  Check out the microsite they stood up which includes the video above. 

Talk about making lemonade from lemons – AND they simultaneously take on a giant competitor and reinforce their brand story!  Smart!

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Marketing, Social Media

“…Dealing with Haters…”


Nice post in Mashable last week.  Main idea is that you can benefit from discord and negativity around your social media efforts out there as well as the positive.  Idea is from Tim Ferriss, autor of “The Four Hour Work Week.”  So, what do you do with haters?  Here are some gems from Tim: 

“…you only need to pick your first 1,000 fans — and carefully. “As long as you’re accomplishing your objectives, that 1,000 will lead to a cascading effect,” Ferriss explains. “The 10 million that don’t get it don’t matter.,,”

“10% of people will find a way to take anything personally. Expect it…”

“The bigger your impact, explains Ferriss (whose book is a New York Times, WSJ and BusinessWeek bestseller), and the larger the ambition and scale of your project, the more negativity you’ll encounter…”

The slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On” was originally produced by the British government during the Second World War as a propaganda message to comfort people in the face of Nazi invasion. Ferriss takes the message and applies it to today’s world. “Focus on impact, not approval…

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Marketing, Social Media

The POTUS and PPC


Caught this from @EyeTraffic on Twitter…

Dallas Lawrence of BulletProofBlog reports in Forbes.com that President Obama and his team are leveraging social media to make their case for financial industry reforms – and they’re using social media (namely PPC advertising, Facebook and Twitter) to bring it to the people.  Check out his article in Forbes.com. 

Here’s a quote:  “…The strategy of going after Wall Street may seem obvious in a midterm election year dominated by economic concerns, but the tactics being deployed at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are anything but–especially for issue advocates and corporate reputation managers, who have yet to fully embrace what our president and his aides learned some time ago, that the Internet is now the strategic high ground of the political battlefield, and that therefore whoever controls it controls the debate…”

Are you more like the POTUS and team or like the “slower-on-the-uptake corporate reputation managers,” who “…have yet to fully embrace [the internet and social media]?”

Wake up!

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Marketing, Social Media

How big is Social Media?…How big is Google?


Big news.  I just got this from a friend at 7Summits.  According to Fast Company Magazine (a must subscribe if you don’t already), Hitwise analysis says that as of this month, “…Google lost its crown as the most-visited Web site in the U.S. last week. The new king of Web site traffic is, of course, Facebook…”  That is how important social media has become.  Just a year or two ago this would not have seemed possible.   Fast Company predicts an Ad War.  Be looking for more ads in your Facebook pages as companies start to divide their spend amongst these two giant aggregators.  How seriously are you focusing your marketing plan on either of them?

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Sales, Social Media

Ode to LinkedIn


LinkedIn has reached 60,000,000 members!  RT @techcrunch: LinkedIn Now 60 Million Strong – http://j.mp/9vkPWB

Think about that.  60 MILLION members.  It is even more incredible when you think that these are people connecting regarding their public/professional lives vs. the private/casual users of other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. 

This service is one of the most fundamentally game-changing new tools for professionals.  What did we do without it?  

When I imagine what the first half of my career might have been like if I started out with this tool for helping and leveraging my network of relationships as I began in sales, it makes me want to cry.

But we have it now!

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