About a year ago, I was asked to testify as an expert witness in a celebrity case where the celebrity in question had Tweeted a negative assessment of a particular service provider. The service provider sued claiming that the said Tweet caused significant damage to their reputation, which ultimately contributed to an unrecoverable loss in overall sales. I turned down the opportunity because in my research, I couldn’t substantiate with confidence that the Tweet caused the amount of stated damages…or…
Digital Trends: Strategies for Reaching and Influencing Connected Consumers
In 2011, the digital landscape underwent a significant shift that will have profound effects on business in 2012. The challenge is that hardly any business leaders noticed. That’s not their fault however. Although the impact of technology on business and consumer behavior was widely reported, in-depth reports on what to do next or how this will affect their business specifically were scant at best. I’m sure you heard it from experts everywhere, “You need a Facebook brand page! Why are…
The Hierarchy of Contagiousness
Guest post by Dan Zarrella, author of Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness The key to applying science to marketing is being prescriptive. Calculating and analyzing data that is interesting is fun, but information becomes useful when it tells you how to achieve a specific goal. Throughout my career, one of the goals I’ve focused on is the engineering contagious ideas. I’ve worked for years, using science and data to understand how to craft content that spreads like wildfire. Humans have been…
Ten Social Media Strategies to Define a Successful 2012
Welcome to another New Year! While everyone else is busy thinking about or already breaking their New Year resolutions, it’s time for us to take a moment to rethink what it is we can really do better now and over the next 12 months. I’m sure you heard it everywhere last year. Experts found the highest blog mountains and social network skyscrapers to Tweet in concert, “You need a Facebook brand page! Why are you not on Twitter yet? Have…
Ford’s Jim Farley on the importance of putting your brand in the hands of customers
During Blogworld Expo in Los Angeles, I was given the opportunity to interview Jim Farley, Ford’s Group Vice President, Global Marketing, Sales and Service live on stage. The discussion was focused on a powerful theme, putting your brand in the hands of customers. Certainly for any business, large and small, the idea of empowering customers to shape and steer your brand can be perceived as both frightening and dangerous. But here, Farley brings a refreshing perspective on why businesses, including…
Going Global by Going Local: Why localization improves engagement
Part 15 in an ongoing series that serves as the prequel to my new book, The End of Business as Usual… The world is becoming a much smaller place. But even with social media contributing to a globally connected society, businesses that continue to take a global approach to social content and engagement may be missing opportunities for greater resonance and relevance. While a global presence is necessary for any organization hoping to connect with customers around the world, placing…
Social CRM Needs Clarity
As the headline implies, even though Social CRM exists as an official category, what it is and what it is not is blurry and hotly debated. No, it doesn’t need a new definition. And, no, it doesn’t need new leadership. sCRM, and now “social enterprise” as categories could however, benefit from clarity around what it is they’re solving for, which companies actually provide solutions against those objectives, and ultimately, how everything works together for the benefit of customer engagement and…
Is the Golden Age of tech blogging over?
My colleague Jeremiah Owyang sure ruffled some feathers with his post claiming that the Golden Age of tech blogging is over. Aside from being a mentor and a tireless analyst, he’s also a long-time blogger. His words over the years helped blaze the trail for blogging and ultimately the micromedia bonanza that he believes is contributing to the erosion of long-form social prose. In his article, he quotes good friends Loic Lemeur, Ben Metcalfe, Ben Parr, Francine Hardaway, Chris Heuer…
2012 Social Marketing & New Media Predictions
Awareness Networks released insights and prognosis from 34 business and marketing leaders as part of its 2012 Social Marketing and New Media Predictions report. It’s written for marketing strategists, brand marketers and consults and those working in agencies. I think you’ll find it interesting to say the least and perhaps even prescriptive. Here are a few of my thoughts… On the evolution of social business: Companies of all sizes will need to transform their business and existing infrastructure, and reverse…
Facebook’s Open Graph is Music to My Peers
Credit: WireImage, Kevin Mazur – Mark Zuckerberg, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, Snoop Dogg and Sean Parker On stage during Facebook’s massive f8 developer conference this past September in San Francisco, Mark Zuckerberg introduced the world to frictionless sharing and the future of music. Freshly minted alliances with Spotify, Turntable.fm, Clear Channel, Rdio and many other services now feed the new “Music” dashboard that transforms friends into social DJ’s and music store clerks. In between their status updates, Facebook’s new frictionless…
