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Posts Tagged ‘trust’

Weekly Link Roundup (05-01-10)

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

What Drives Participation in a Social Network? (Direct Marketing Observations)

Social media engagement is all about validating each other and our experiences and the content that we have created and…shared. Understand this and creating a successful social media-centric campaign may not require so many complexities.

Why It’s Time to Hit the Reset Button on Trust (AdAge)

Ostensibly, brands that engage in authentic conversations boost their trust factor. But if the end game of marketing is selling a product, doesn’t true authenticity have limits? Pete Blackshaw lists down a few ways to keep your brand in check as it engages through social media.

Language Translation and Social Media (Collective-Thoughts.com)

If you know how to harness the power of online marketing and social media, it is easy to promote your business worldwide, even with a tight budget. It is important, though, to make sure you’re targeting the right social media, especially when it comes to international campaigns.

85 Social Media Infographics for Ad Agency New Business (FuelingNewBusiness.com)

Our generation is crazy over infographics! They make things easy to understand and make for good eye candy. For ad agencies and marketing companies, it is a great way to connect with prospective clients for new business.

Is Location Where It’s At in Social Networking (Futurity.com)

Markerters can learn a lot from Foursquare. Such geo-targeting social networking applications teach us how knowing exactly where customers are and pitching offers or offering services based on the spots these customers frequent can reap a lot of rewards. And no, we don’t just mean badges.

Another Facebook Phishing Scam On The Rise, McAffee Says

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Image by Majiscup – Drink for Design

With the continuous popularity of social networking sites, the cycles of malicious activities are expected to remain persistent though evolving to keep up with the modifications the site’s layer of security go through. Another malware alert was recently raised by security firm McAffee through their Security Insights blog regarding malicious activities proliferating through Facebook via e-mails sent from what appears to be from the social network itself.

According to the blog post, the e-mail claims that Facebook has reset the user’s password and that they would have to click on an attachment to be able to retrieve their new password. The attachment in question is actually a password stealer which, upon launch, would install itself into the user’s computer. It targets Windows machines and can potentially access any login credentials utilized there, Facebook or otherwise.

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When to Hire A Professional Social Media Consultant

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Social media is more than just one more new method of marketing or advertising online. Social media is a living, breathing, growing organism, and it is based in communities. The fact is, if you’re not active in this growing industry, you will be left behind. People are talking about you, whether you’re present in those discussions or not.

You can’t keep sending out one-way communications in this new business environment. People no longer trust advertising; people trust people. Consumers trust their peers’ opinions. So you have to make personal connections.

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How to Not Let a Social Media Initiative Fall Flat

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Photo by . SantiMB .

Ever notice a business that makes a social media appearance…then disappears?

Many companies start off strong and are excited to create their social media accounts and execute their campaign. The excitement to launch is energizing and really fuels the success of the campaign, that is if it doesn’t disappear.

A social media campaign will only be as good as the execution and if the execution fizzles a few days or weeks into the campaign, the energy will fizzle and the campaign will flop.

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Don’t Jump In Right Away!

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Photo by Mark Strozier

You know when you are about to take a shower and you touch the water to see its temperature? The reason we do this is because we have to be careful before jumping right in, otherwise we may get burned or frozen. We do it because we analyze the situation before taking action. Well, social media should be approached in the same way: you look at it, you touch it, before jumping in!

Some recommendations to avoid making big mistakes in social media:

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Social Media…Circle?

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Business people in bar.

I don’t like flowcharts. I don’t like organization charts and I surely don’t like thinking in lines with arrows at the end…but I just can’t get this social media circle of influence and integration out of my head. I am talking about a marketing circle of strategies with a social media integration! Let me explain…

I was at a meeting the other day and we discussed sampling. Sampling is the best way to market a product and get it into the hands of potential consumers with buying power. The idea for this campaign is that the user must complete 2-3 easy steps online and once complete, will receive a complimentary sample. The online portion will encourage online brand engagement and will be driven by social media (i.e. company Twitter account and Facebook fan page) and other media buys. The company is putting a lot of effort into driving site traffic and encouraging sign-ups. The focus is front-loaded and very concentrated on getting users to engage and receive the sample. Then, after the user receives the free sample…there is nothing planned, hence the broken circle.

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Breaking Down Common Barriers, Part 1

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

iStock_000003937940XSmall

When companies consider making the leap into social media, it often strikes fear in the hearts of those who will be leading the charge as much as those who in charge. It’s easy to cite any number of concerns and barriers to overcome, but the truth is, these common fears need not paralyze us in our efforts. Whether you’re working within your company to convince your team of the necessity of social media or trying to weigh the benefits and risks of jumping in, the following discussion of the most common barriers will help guide you towards success in social media.

How do I build and maintain a social media presence?

The most important thing to remember when joining a social network is that it is an ongoing commitment, but in turn you’ll have exponentially more opportunities to communicate with your consumer base and provide value to them. As you grow your online presence, you’ll find that that certain approaches work better than others, so you’ll need to revisit your social media plan regularly. This doesn’t mean that your campaign isn’t working; it means it is merely getting streamlined and becoming more effective. Social media works in real-time, so we must respond likewise.

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