100 Social Media and Content Marketing Predictions for 2010
December 15, 2009
Joe Pulizzi of the Junta42 Content Marketing blog (and publisher of the Junta42 top content marketing blogs list, which KeySplash Creative is on) recently asked top social media and content marketers around the world for their industry predictions for 2010.
Predictions came from well-known names like Seth Godin, David Meerman Scott, John Jantsch, and more (including me!). You can read all 100 expert predictions here on the Junta42 blog. There is no doubt that the comments and predictions in this list will make you think and re-evaluate your strategies for 2010.
What’s your prediction for social media and content marketing in 2010? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
From WTF to TFW – How a Blog Caused a Logo Change for Wisconsin
October 6, 2009
Earlier this year, one of my favorite blogs, Your Logo Makes Me Barf, wrote a post called WTF Wisconsin? that pointed out a glaring error made by the Wisconsin Tourism Federation. If you don’t know what the acronym WTF stands for, I’ll tell you — “What the fu*k?” Take a look at the logo below.
While it’s surprising that no one within or working with the Wisconsin Tourism Federation mentioned this problem to them, the more interesting point of the story comes from how they learned about it. The power of the blogosphere is demonstrated once again with the WTF Wisconsin? post on Your Logo Makes Me Barf. The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel wrote about it on the same day in their Hubbub blog.
Perhaps the more unfortunate part of this story though is something mentioned on another of my favorite blogs — Brand New. The organization took the time and invested the money to change their name after realizing the error (the new name is Tourism Federation of Wisconsin), but they just flipped the letters in the logo instead of creating a new one. Now that’s a missed opportunity as this logo leaves a lot to be desired (see below).
Of course, the lesson to learn is — always make sure multiple people review your work. You never know what you might miss.
9 Reasons to Sign up for the GrowSmartBiz Conference
September 9, 2009
Some of you might know that I’m on the Network Solutions Social Web Advisory Board, so sometimes I get emails from them announcing events and webinars. Today, I received an email about the upcoming GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington, D.C. on September 29, 2009 along with a discount code to get two registrations for $99 (a $500 discount) that I’m happy to share with KeySplash Creative Conversations readers. Following is the email I received from Network Solutions with all the details:
Nine reasons to sign up today for the GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington, D.C., Sept. 29!
- Get an opportunity to network with small business owners and entrepreneurs – learn and grow your business at the same time!
- Gain insight – including tips and strategies – from more than 20 of the nation’s top small business experts.
- See Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail and Free, as the conference keynote.
- Walk away with executable, cost-effective ways to market, promote and grow your business.
- Find out what others are doing to weather the current economic storm – and pick up strategies and tactics you can apply to your own business.
- Learn how to navigate your way through what can be a financial maze from people who hav[e done it – and succeeded.
- Expand your marketing arsenal – figure out how to enhance your current promotional efforts by integrating social media.
- Score lots of free stuff – including a free domain name from Network Solutions®, a copy of Chris Anderson’s best-selling book, Free, and business planning software from Palo Alto Software.
- TODAY ONLY, REGISTER TO RECEIVE TWO ADMISSIONS FOR JUST $99 TOTAL – A SAVINGS OF NEARLY $500! But, you have to act fast – the offer is only good Wednesday, September 9 from 12 a.m. EST to 11:59 p.m. EST. REGISTER NOW by using the promo code: GSB999 and clicking here!
United Breaks Guitars – YouTube to the Rescue
September 1, 2009
First the backstory –
In Spring 2008, musician Dave Carroll took a United Airlines flight heading toward Nebraska for a 1-week tour. Due to carry-on bag restrictions, he had to check his $3,500 Taylor guitar. While sitting on the tarmac, another passenger brought everyone’s attention to the United Airlines baggage handlers who were throwing Carroll’s guitar (among other things) into the plane in a manner that left little hope for survival. After 9 months of phone calls and discussions with a myriad of United Airlines employees, Carroll was finally told that United Airlines would not compensate him for his loss. You can read the full story here.
So what did Carroll do? He turned to the power of the social web, namely YouTube, to share his story — and it worked!
Carroll wrote a song and filmed a video called “United Breaks Guitars” (which is very funny) and uploaded it to YouTube on July 9, 2009. You can view it below (or watch it here). As of today, not even two months since it’s release, the video has been viewed over 5.3 million times.
Word got out and the video became a big enough viral sensation that United had to respond. They contacted Carroll and offered to compensate him for the damages done to his guitar, but Carroll declined the money and asked United to donate it to charity. He uploaded a new video on July 10th in which he describes his discussion with United, which you can watch below (or view it here on YouTube).
On August 17, 2009, Carroll uploaded the second song and video in his 3-part United song series. As of today, just two weeks later, already nearly 300,000 people have watched the video, shown below (or view it here).
Carroll is now writing the third and final song in his United series, which will be released on YouTube with a corresponding video soon.
There are two things marketers must learn from this story. First, the social Web is a powerful tool with the potential to make or break a brand. Make it work for you, not against you. Second, United breaks guitars.
Building the Perfect Website
July 25, 2009
I’ve been giving a lot of thought about online content lately. One of the terms I often use when discussing online content and marketing with my clients is the shift that happened many years ago with the birth of the social Web that is at the forefront of the online environment today and still growing — that is moving from destination-centric to audience-centric in web design, web development, online brand building, and web usability.
No longer can websites exist simply as an online destination. Instead, they must be 100% audience-focused and deliver the information consumers are looking for — and they must do it fast!
So what’s the first step to building a perfect business website in the early years of the 21st century? Make sure every page, every sentence, every image, and everything else on your website is audience-centric. Focus on the consumer, not you. That’s one of the core rules of social media marketing success, but truth be told, it has become the core rule for online marketing as a whole. I even discuss that rule in my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps
For example, a website like YouTube is great as a destination for online video. However, it can be challenging to find the specific content you’re looking for on YouTube. In 2009, highly targeted niche sites are all the rage, and the trend from creating destination sites to audience-focused sites makes sense — consumers have neither the time nor the desire to sift through page after page of useless information. They want specific information and they want it fast. Deliver it to them on your website by developing the structure and content with your audience’s needs and wants ranked as the top priority. Be audience-centric, not destination-centric.
Your thoughts?
Image:
The Evolution of CONsumers to PROsumers
July 16, 2009
The term “prosumer” isn’t a new one. It’s been around the marketing world for years, but in today’s world of the social web, it has taken on a new importance that marketers can’t ignore.
The term “prosumer” has transformed from “professional consumer” to “product and brand advocate”. Rather than simply “consuming” products, people are becoming the voices of those products and significantly impacting the success or failure of companies, products, and brands, particularly thorugh their involvement on the social web.
In simplest terms, no longer are businesses completely in control of their products, brands and messages. Today, consumers are in control. The leaders of this shift are the members of the social web — bloggers, microbloggers, forum posters, social networking participants, and so on, who spread messages, influence people around the world, and drive demand. Prosumers are the online influencers that marketers must not just identify but also acknowledge, respect and develop relationships with in order for their products and brands to thrive. The high level steps to leveraging the power of prosumers are as follows:
- Identify the key online influencers for your product, brand, business or industry (i.e., the prosumers).
- Acknowledge those people (e.g., send product samples, ask opinions, etc.).
- Join the online conversation where those people already spend time.
- Develop relationships with those people by interacting with them, providing useful information, and being accessible and human.
- Leverage the opportunities of the social web by creating your own branded destinations such as a blog, YouTube channel, Twitter profile, Facebook group or fan page, LinkedIn group, podcast, etc.
The bottom line to connecting with prosumers and to get them talking about and advocating your brand, products and business is to deliver content that adds value to their experience with your brand. Then, don’t be afraid to let them take control and spread your messages. That’s where the power of the social web and online influencers to drive word-of-mouth marketing farther than ever comes into the picture, and that’s the ultimate goal for marketers.
Getting More for Your Money – Leveraging Technology to Improve Your Employer Brand
June 22, 2009
Susan Gunelius will lead a webinar for The Human Capital Institute and sponsored by Taleo on July 7, 2009 at 12:00 Eastern time called “Getting More for Your Money - Leveraging Technology to Improve Your Employer Brand.” This is a free webinar, which you can register for through the Human Capital Institute website.
The Human Capital Institute (HCI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to driving innovative new thinking in talent acquisition, development, deployment and new economy leadership. Through research and collaboration, the HCI global network of more than 150,000 members develops and promotes creativity, best and next practices, and actionable solutions in strategic talent management. Executives, practitioners, and thought leaders representing organizations of all sizes, across public, charitable and government sectors, utilize HCI communities, education, events and research to foster talent advantages to ensure organizational change for competitive results. In tandem with these initiatives, HCI’s Human Capital Strategist professional certifications and designations set the bar for expertise in talent strategy, acquisition, development and measurement.
The webinar will teach attendees about how companies can utilize the tools of the social web, not just for marketing, PR, sales, and so on, but also for human resources functions such as recruitment and retention. Brand building, social media, and companies that provide great examples of social media strategy implementation will be discussed.
Online Video Advertising Tips
June 8, 2009
My newest article is now live on Entrepreneur.com. This month, I wrote about online video advertising, which is a great opportunity for businesses to connect with the rapidly growing online audience that actively watches online video.
You can read the article here and start thinking about how you can add online video advertising into your own business’ marketing plan or add related services to your client offerings.
And you can follow this link to view my previous articles about copywriting and marketing communications published on Entrepreneur.com.
Yahoo is not a Search Company
May 28, 2009
According to Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz, “We’re not a search company.” You might ask, then what the heck is Yahoo? According to Bartz, it’s a site that creates a complete experience through social, mobile and video components.
The Yahoo! we know today is just the tip of the iceberg of where the company and brand are going in the future. The challenge will be repositioning the brand that has for so long been associated with search and as the brand tagging along behind Google, into a brand that delivers a more experiential and less transactional promise.
I’m rooting for Yahoo, and I think repositioning the brand could be what saves it. I give props to Carol Bartz for recognizing that the online market has changed and for trying to catch up. There is deep value in the Yahoo! brand, and watching it struggle in recent years has been unfortunate.
The repositioning of Yahoo! won’t succeed overnight. It’s going to take time, investment and patience. According to Bartz (and despite all the rumors and negative press to the contrary), the majority of Internet users still visit Yahoo! Perhaps the shift in brand perception among consumers doesn’t have to be a rough road. Only time will tell, but it sounds like Bartz is on the right track.
Watch the video interview with Bartz to hear her take on the future of Yahoo! firsthand.
What do you think? Can Yahoo! rebound?
Image: Flickr
Review of ‘Twitter Power’ by Joel Comm
May 12, 2009
Recently, I received a review copy of Twitter Power
Long story short, I liked Twitter Power and think it’s particularly useful for beginner Twitter users.
